This one was the type of hockey that hooks unsuspecting bystanders for life. It was the type of game that illustrates the unlimited potential of the NHL, if only the cavemen who run it would stop and take notice.
For one brief shining moment, a self-described “three-two shutdown league” was saved from itself on Monday night. The New York Rangers and New York Islanders put on the show of the year and delivered what Islander announcer Howie Rose described as a regular season classic. The Rangers scored a stirring 6-5 comeback win on the Island in a game that truly had it all.
Unrivaled Atmosphere
A review of this one begins with the phenomenal atmosphere at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A packed house that had about a 70/30 split of Islander and Ranger fans blew the roof off of the old barn. The Islander fans were charged on by organist Paul Cartier, who gets perhaps the most playing time in the game and is one of the best. Islander fans shook the building with their “yes, yes, yes” chants after each goal by the home team. It was all purely organic and a reminder of the passion that American fans can have for the game when it is played well and for high stakes. There was a nonstop buzz that continually exploded into roars throughout the game.
Islanders Staked to Early Lead
There was a sense right from the start that this one would be wild when the Islanders John Tavares scored off the right wing at a difficult angle when Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot made an ill-advised pass after playing the puck from behind his net 11 seconds into the game. Frans Nelson made it 2-0 for the Isles and it looked like a potential rout. But Ranger defenseman Ryan McDonough stopped the Isles momentum with a goal at 14:35 of the first to cut the Islanders lead to 2-1 after the first. McDonough would go on to score two goals on the evening.
Rangers Rally in Third
From there it was a heavyweight bout in which both teams swung away and landed blow after blow. The Islanders outshot the Rangers 43-42 in a game that was full frontal assault hockey. The Islanders would take a 5-3 lead early in the third after Ryan Strome scored his second goal of the game but from there the Rangers rallied for the final three goals including their first and only lead of the game when Kevin Klein scored at the 15:28 mark for the game winner.
Shutdown Coaches Nightmare
It is often said that bad hockey is exciting hockey and that good hockey is not fan friendly. You cannot call this game bad hockey. It was, in fact, a blue print of what the game could and should become. If the NHL would be more aggressive about engineering rules that would produce more games like this, it would not have the minuscule TV ratings that it continues to suffer from in the United States. This game appealed not only to long time hockey fans who remember when the league routinely delivered games like this, but it was also the best possible sale of the game to new or very casual fans who were drawn in by the nonstop 60 minutes of intensity and excitement.
This game is the ultimate indictment against the NHL to rip the game away from shutdown coaches and their drone-like systems and to give it back to its talented and creative players and the fans that hunger for this type of play.
Metro Remake
The Islanders hold a two point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division with the Washington Capitals five points back. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs and from there the fourth place team would be subject to being a potential wild card team that would have to cross over and face the top team in the Atlantic Division.
