Pre-Gaming: Rangers vs. Islanders

Tonight the Rangers take on the struggling Islanders at the Coliseum. Struggling, I think, is a pretty polite way to put it.

Coming off of a year when their leading scorer was defenseman Mark Streit, logging a whopping 56 points, the Islanders have put all of their eggs in the John Tavares basket. Fair enough, I would too if I were them. Aside from Tavares, there's Kyle Okposo (overhyped), and Josh Bailey (rushed from Juniors). Maybe these two will flourish this year under the kind of steady hand of Dough Weight (currently out after a bout with H1N1). But it's more than likely they won't and they'll turn out like bite-sized Islanders stalwart Richard Park, who skates very fast but cannot score goals. Think Nigel Dawes with speed. Lately, Park has been throwing himself all over the ice because he is just so tired of losing that he just can't take it anymore. Can't say I blame him - every man has his breaking point.

In net, the Isles have the powerhoue tandem of Dwayne Roloson & Marty Biron, two goalies no other NHL team would sign. Until Rick DiPietro's robotic legs are good and ready to be re-injured, Scott Gordon is going to have to pick which one of these guys is going to start every game, which I'm sure is the worst part of his day aside from the part where he has to coach the New York Islanders for sixty minutes of hockey. Actually, make that forty minutes. In case you haven't been watching, the third period is pretty ugly for these guys.

That being said, the Islanders always come out like a different team against the Rangers. In the years since the lockout (including one where the Islanders actually made the playoffs under the stern, cold gaze of Ted Nolan), the rivalry has been heated, as the Isles play Blueshirts like they have absolutely nothing to lose. Usually they don't actually have anything to lose, but that's besides point. They're inspired against the Rangers and they've certainly managed to pull out a few wins both at home and at the Garden in the last few seasons. Regardless of their record, they're a team the Rangers need to take seriously.

With Gaborik injured, this seems like it would be a good game for the Rangers to really establish some secondary scoring. Callahan and Drury, both still struggling to score, are two players that almost always come up big in games against divisional rivals. Even with their underwhelming stats thus far this season, both players have a fifth gear for big games and have been with the team long enough to understand the importance of pulling out a W against the Islanders. And Chris Higgins, playing on his native Long Island for the first time since being traded to the Rangers, might finally break his scoring slump. He came close a few times against Phoenix on Monday night, including one quick release, bad angle shot off of a rebound that almost found the back of the net.

Go Rangers. Go Yankees. Everybody just win tonight.