Richards breaks Isles' back as Rangers run streak to seven

There it was. Matt Moulson injected some life into his struggling team. After he buried a John Tavares saucer pass for a power play equalizer, Nassau Coliseum was alive. There were the Islanders, who entered with only one win in 10, all knotted with their longtime nemesis from Manhattan. The Rangers rolled in winners of six straight. None of that mattered when one of the game's best rivalries was renewed. You could feel the intensity both on the ice and in the stands where noise was at a feverish pitch. It didn't matter what the teams' records were in the second grudge match of six. This was no holds barred.

That's how you could describe almost any game the Rangers and Islanders play. Battles all over the ice. Hitting. Scrums. Fights. Penalties. Goals. Goaltending. Yes, last night's latest installment had all those key factors which exemplifies exciting hockey that's on the edge. Unfortunately for the Long Island hosts, they fell just a little short again, dropping a tough 4-2 decision for their 10th defeat over the last 11. Challenged by their coach Jack Capuano, the Islanders gave a valiant effort. However, the latest big ticket Ranger star delivered the crushing goal late that decided it. The Rangers signed Brad Richards for such moments. Richy Rich didn't disappoint notching the game-winner with 4:55 left in regulation. The Islanders came oh so close with Andrew MacDonald hitting a post in the dying minute but couldn't get one more past Henrik Lundqvist, who was brilliant finishing with 31 saves.

“It’s frustrating,” Capuano lamented after his team's latest defeat. “We played one of our better games. ... We have to get secondary scoring to win."

That's been a huge problem for the Isles who fell to 4-8-3 and sit dead last in the East with 11 points. Fifteen games in, a club many felt would challenge for the playoffs is already digging a hole. They trail eighth Ottawa by eight points with defending champ Boston turning it around. It could be a long climb with New Jersey and Tampa Bay likely to be in the mix. Don't discount Carolina either. In an improved conference with early surprises Toronto and Florida, the Islanders can ill afford to have another lull like last year that got Scott Gordon canned.

"It's frustrating. These are the ones you really have to learn from. [The win] was right there [for the taking]," second-year blueliner Travis Hamonic said. "We had it. We made just one mistake and it ended up in our net. At the end of the day we have to learn from that, and now this one is put away. It's a bad feeling. This is a feeling we don't want anymore."

While the Rangers are sitting pretty in a three-way log jam behind first overall Pittsburgh while tied with fifth Philadelphia, the Isles have their work cut out on a pivotal homestand. It shouldn't get any easier when Montreal and Boston visit tomorrow and Saturday before Capuano's club travels to Pittsburgh where Sidney Crosby could be awaiting if the latest rumors are true about a possible return this weekend. They also host the Flyers and Devils next week with a home-and-home in Newark following Black Friday. The Isles end the month with a visit at Buffalo. Not an easy game in the sched. Especially when you're not finishing. Outside of leading scorer Tavares' line, they've been firing blanks.

It didn't help that they ran into one of the game's best in Henrik Lundqvist, who aside from a softy to Frans Nielsen, stood on his head. King Henrik made acrobatic stops, including a signature header before diving across with the right glove to rob an Islander of a certain goal. The Islanders also got brilliant netminding from Evgeni Nabokov, who couldn't quite make it two for two against the Blueshirts despite 26 saves. A few were sparklers, including a sprawling stop to deny Derek Stepan's stuff try with the Isles' goalie down and out. The problem was Josh Bailey's feeble clear attempt cost them dearly. Tied at two with dueling chants from a galvanized crowd, one mistake decided it. Bailey tried going up the middle but his soft backhand was easily intercepted by Brandon Dubinsky, who quickly dished to an open Richards who did the rest- blasting one upstairs with Ryan Callahan screening a helpless Nabokov.

"Whenever you play in this building, it’s up and down, and you never know what’s going to happen,” Ranger coach John Tortorella said. “Richie has had some big plays for us early on here. I thought that it was probably one of his better games.”

“We signed him for nine years. That’s exactly why we signed him,” Lundqvist noted of Richards' heroics. “A guy like that, he has a tendency to step up at the right time. His focus is good when it comes down to the final minutes, when you need that extra play. It’s great to see.”

Early on, Sean Avery got the party started scoring for the second consecutive game when he steered home his own rebound. His sudden emergence was rewarded with the once exiled Ranger getting 12 minutes, including a big shift late where his forechecking kept the Islanders pinned in. Nielsen replied back less than three minutes later when his high wrister trickled off Lundqvist's glove, squaring it. Hamonic and P.A. Parenteau combined to spring Nielsen for his fourth. Avery renewed pleasantries with Mike Mottau following matching roughs. Apparently, the ex-Devil can't let go. So, the two fought 69 seconds into the second. It wasn't the only scrap with Brandon Prust battling Islander enforcer Matt Martin 1:45 later.

Though the Isles were better in the second testing Lundqvist, an unlikely source scored the lone goal when Steve Eminger of all people took a brilliant Callahan cross-ice feed and beat Nabokov five-hole. “I saw him creeping in a little bit,” Callahan said. “I was trying to buy him a little bit of time to get him back there. I saw him and made the pass.”

The Rangers had a golden opportunity to salt it away but failed on an extended five-on-three late in the second with Richards hitting goal post. Credit the Isles' penalty killers with outstanding work, blocking a few shots that never reached Nabokov, who was there when needed. That left the door open. After the Blueshirts failed on another power play in the third, two straight penalties finally bit them with Moulson getting his fifth from Tavares and Nielsen to level it with 13:02 remaining. That allowed Richards to play the hero late. A mad scramble late didn't tie the game despite several chances. Eventually, Callahan scored into an open net with under a second left, icing it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star: Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (31 saves)
2nd Star: Frans Nielsen, NYI (goal-4th of season, assist)
1st Star: Brad Richards, NYR (GW w/4:55 left)

An Islander Revival

Much has been made of the Devils' ridiculous splash back into postseason discussion. Their 15-1-2 record is an amazing turnaround for a team that won only 10 of its first 39. While that story continues to unfold with New Jersey visiting Dallas and former captain Jamie Langenbrunner tonight, another rejuvanted team is flying under the radar.

At one point, the New York Islanders dropped 20 of 21 (1-17-3) leading to Jack Capuano taking over behind the bench. It took a while for him to get his first win but eventually, the new coach got his young team to buy in. Believe it or not, the Islanders off yesterday's latest win- a 5-1 domination of the Panthers at Nassau Coliseum in which Matt Moulson notched a hat trick to surge ahead of rookie Michael Grabner for the club lead in goals with 26- this more confident bunch who won their sixth in seven trail eighth Carolina by 11 points entering tonight's game against Toronto. Another team ahead of them in this wild goose chase that includes the Devils, who are one up on the guys from Long Island. Oh. Did we mention that eighth Carolina hosts the seventh ranked Rangers in an all important battle? A Hurricane regulation win ties them for seventh. So, are the Devils and Islanders actually pulling for their bitter rival to snap out of it for just a night?

While that can be debated in sports bars or on Twitter, both clubs have more business to take care of. For the Islanders, who enter having won eight of 11 and are 18-12-2 since that mid-December swoon that threatened their season, they should be fairly confident when Capuano's healthier club takes on the Maple Leafs with a chance to get within two of another team in the hunt for April.

Can former Ranger '04 No.1 pick Al Montoya continue writing his own personal chapter in his third consecutive start with bright Leafs' rookie James Reimer opposing? The 26 year-old Montoya's story is well chronicled with the Cuban American never getting the chance to even start one game for the team who drafted him over in Manhattan where Henrik Lundqvist blocked his path. It's also conveniently forgotten that Montoya wasn't a total scrub, making Planet USA in his second AHL season for the former Hartford Wolf Pack (now Connecticut Whale). But there never was a spot for him with the Rangers using vet Steve Valiquette and then Alex Auld last year. Montoya was eventually dealt to Phoenix where he in one brief cameo, he showed what he could do pitching a shutout and posting a 3-1-0 record with a 2.08 GAA and .925 save percentage in five games- four of which were starts two years ago. The former University of Michigan standout was blocked yet again by the healthy return of Vezina runner-up Ilya Bryzgalov. Ironically, former Ranger property Jason LaBarbera is the backup. Go figure. So, Montoya was shipped to Long Island for one more opportunity. One he hopes to make the most of.

“People want to knock us down every day, from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” the '04 WJC USA hero said after turning aside 20 of 21 in yesterday's win to improve to 3-0-0 with a 1.23 GAA and a .953 save percentage entering tonight. “You want to play that underdog role. You go out there and play hard and show the rest of the league what you can do.”

In an unpredictable year where anything's possible, why not? Who saw the Devils reversing course under Jacques Lemaire playing lights out hockey with no real No.1 caliber D and Johan Hedberg starring over Martin Brodeur minus Zach Parise? In the Islanders, here you have an even better story because it's a younger nucleus coming together and producing three 20-goal scorers with Moulson (26) and surprising Grabner (25) leading the way with John Tavares (23) right behind. Coincidentally, the run has come since Kyle Okposo returned with the former club No.1 pick going 2-7-9 plus-five in 16 games thus far. Speaking of great stories, there's well traveled journeyman P.A. Parenteau finally getting his chance in the bigs and making the most of it with the ex-Ranger third in team scoring with 38 points (14-24-38), already re-signed for next year.

On defense, Travis Hamonic is poised beyond his years playing the kind of solid hockey that has Islander fans excited about the club's future. Already logging important minutes, the 20 year-old from Manitoba has two goals and 15 helpers while resembling the player the team can trust on a revamped blueline that eventually will feature Calvin de haan. Hamonic's play is eerily similar to that of Mark Fayne, who arguably is the best Devil defenseman during their improbable run. Could it really be true that a pair of rookies have been instrumental in each of their teams' turnarounds? Pretty exciting stuff for both Battle clubs.

And while Mike Del Zotto baffles in Year Two on Broadway, the same cannot be said of freshmen tandem Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer, who've become John Tortorella's second pair. The theme on all three is they're young and learning the ropes on the fly.

Can the Islanders continue their rise back into the race against a Toronto team that boasts one of the hottest lines in hockey in dangerous trio Nikolai Kulemin-Mikhail Grabovski-Clarke MacArthur? There's also streaky Phil Kessel who's caught fire with his name bandied about a year after coming to be Brian Burke's building block. It shouldn't be easy. But at this point, nothing has fazed Coach Capuano's together team who wants to prove everyone wrong, earning respect. The way they're playing, don't doubt them for a second.