The next in a series of blogs reviewing some of my favourite moments from the just-completed 2010-11 National Hockey League season:
One of the great frustrations of following the Rangers this year was the up-and-down form of Marian Gaborik, the Slovakian sniper who had shown such promise in his first season on Broadway. But whenever the Islanders appeared on the schedule, you could almost count on #10 having one of his blinders. On this night, he did - and then some!
It was the first game of a home-and-home in December. The Rangers were on Long Island at the Nassau Coliseum, a venue with as many Blueshirts as there were Islander fans, a wonderful thing when you invade the arch enemy's turf. There was intensity in the crowd and on the ice. Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro had shot his mouth off again, talking about how much he hated the Rangers.
The game started off scrappily, short stretches of play between whistles. Then noted heavyweights Derek Boogaard and Trevor Gillies. The late, great Boogey Man got on top early, and threw some massive punches at the Islander with the ridiculous-looking handlebar moustache, and although it was Gillies who managed to get Boogaard down on the ice to end the bout, there was no doubt that Derek took the decision. This was a much anticipated bout. We all knew it would happen, and no one was disappointed.
It was a game of ebb and flow, momentum changes. One team held the ascendancy for a while, then it switched to the other. It was good hockey to watch. The Rangers-Islanders rivalry is really back, and hockey is much more interesting because of it.
The Rangers were up 2-0 with 1:00 to go in the first period, thanks to goals from Erik Christensen and Ryan Callahan, but the Islanders struck back, scoring three consecutive to chase Martin Biron from net - he was replaced by Henrik Lundqvist - before the Rangers came back with two of their own, to Brandon Prust and Marian Gaborik. The wild second period featured four goals and a fight between Matt Martin of the Islanders and NYR's Michael Sauer. Martin won easily and quickly.
Gaborik's second goal, at 3:31 of the third, was a thing of beauty off a monster of a feed from master agitator Sean Avery, who meshed excellently with Gaborik and Christensen that night. It was a sweet pass from behind the goal, to Gaborik in front, on the edge of the paint, and a quick wrister buried it behind DiPietro's back. Like Gaborik, Avery had a whale of a game.
The Isles came back, another change of momentum, and tied the contest at five. Then came the moment where Gaborik really stamped his authority on the game. It was his second hat-trick - the first had come in an 8-2 victory vs. Edmonton at Madison Square Garden a few weeks before - but this one was important, a game winner from the side of the net against one of the biggest rivals the Rangers have. What a way to close out a win on the road. Surprise, surprise, on a night when they led the offensive charge, once again it was the Christensen-Avery-Gaborik line that combined for the winning goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment