For now, we are back to Sept.2 which is when we changed servers. At the time, I had written a very special piece on Bryan Fogarty, who never handled the pressure due to a terrible battle with anxiety. Instead, a talented defenseman who shattered Bobby Orr’s junior record for most goals scored by a blueliner turned to alcohol and drugs. After an extremely disappointing career, he wound up out of the league and eventually passed away. In the article which looked to be lost for good, we highlighted what went so wrong while discussing my own personal bout with anxiety. A problem that is increasing as evidenced by other athletes, who have needed time away from their teams because of how stressful it can be. Not everyone is built right, meaning that sometimes pressure gets to us for whatever reason. We’ve seen a few ballplayers go through it with it sidetracking Zach Greinke for two-plus years before he battled all the way back to the tune of an Al Cy Young this year on the lowly Royals. Cincinnati star first baseman Joey Votto also went through similar stuff but has comeback to be one of the best young slugging first basemen in MLB. While we haven’t seen it as much at the NHL, don’t forget that a big reason Theo Fleury cracked was due to an awful experience as a teenager as he details in Playing With Fire. Somehow, he managed to score 555 goals and net more than a point-per-game. A Hall of Fame caliber career which will never be because of how badly it ended.

The most important aspect is that it looks like Mr. Fleury is doing better and finally happy. Happiness is the most important thing in life. Never forget it.

One listen to the respectable Candy Cane tandem of John Forslund and Tripp Tracy details the seriousness of what was a dangerous hit by the game’s brightest star. Ovechkin was also kicked out of a Buffalo game for catching Patrick Kaleta from behind. So, there was no way the NHL could ignore this latest incident. Amazingly, Gleason returned to the game and the two-time rating MVP tested his knee this morning after looking a lot worse being helped off the ice.

While two games is a start, it says here Ovechkin should’ve received at least four. Especially because of how he led with the knee. A no no in our sport. While we were really tough via Twitter feeling such a reckless hit should warrant eight games, Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski notes that The Great Eight didn’t have a reputation, which might better explain the light sentence. One which has infuriated the hockey world because he probably could use those two nights off to help recover. The Caps don’t play until Thursday anyway. Not that coach Bruce Boudreau minds. Especially if his top gun is alright. Even he expressed genuine concern for how Ovie plays. Of course, his pupil basically came out and said he was invincible. But that’s hardly the right approach after such a close call.

We hardly expect Ovechkin to change his style but as Boudreau alluded to, he should sit down and talk to his big star, advising him to better pick his spots. It’ll benefit the Caps in the long run. Especially with such a loaded roster that is on the cusp of challenging for Lord Stanley. They might be only a defenseman away from winning the franchise’s first Cup. Would they ever consider trading Alex Semin? A topic for another day.

Hopefully, AO will learn from this and comeback smarter. The game needs him in the spotlight. Even if the league can get carried away at times. This is one of the great talents the game has ever seen and with the persona to match. Let’s hope he keeps it clean.

The big game between the I-95 rivals can be seen on Versus and probably will begin a little late due to the Broad Street Bullies honoring Dave Schultz, who will become the 20th former player inducted into the Flyers Hall Of Fame. Against a nemesis that’s historically been a thorn in their side, fitting that it would be on this night. Andrew Peters is dressing for the Devs. Might there be some traditional fisticuffs between these two Atlantic rivals? You always hope so.

Since starting 0-2, the Devils have won 14 of 16 including a current eight-game win streak. Not only are they getting contributions from usual suspects Zach Parise and Travis Zajac but others have stepped up as well, including Andy Greene, who’s gone from afterthought to the club’s best defenseman minus Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya. In their 5-2 come from behind home win over the Caps, even Colin White got into the act, scoring to start the rally. Jamie Langenbrunner has been moved off the top line, replaced by gifted rookie Nicklas Bergfors, who’s been white hot lately. In fact, it’s hard not to include him as one of the top freshmen, even if he didn’t make Stan Fischler’s top six the other night.

Once again, Martin Brodeur has been a huge part of the great start, turning his season around. His key save on Chris Clark kept the game tied the other day. Of course, MB30 continues to trail Terry Sawchuk by one for most career shutouts. Might No.103 come against a club he’s owned? Don’t be shocked if it does. The man has a flair for the dramatic.

The action gets underway soon. So, be sure to check it out. Also returning to the ice are the Islanders, who visit Beantown. It should be an interesting night.

Oddly enough, the Flyers’ fifth consecutive win over the Sabres came mostly from unlikely sources with third and fourth liners stepping up by contributing three goals and three helpers, helping the team from the City of Brotherly Love win their third in a row. Daniel Carcillo scored twice. Ian Laperriere notched two assists, Darroll Powe scored and former Ranger PK ace Blair Betts added a helper.

During a seesaw first period, both clubs had chances but the goalies kept it scoreless until some excellent hand eye coordination from Carcillo got the Flyers on the board with 1:21 left. He deflected Braydon Coburn’s point shot past Miller for his first of the season, ending a 46-game drought. Both Miller and rookie defenseman Tyler Myers immediately protested that it was scored with a high stick, forcing a review. But replays indicated that Carcillo redirected it legally. So, the Flyers led.

It took the visitors just 28 seconds into the second to increase it to two when Chris Pronger took a Betts pass and beat Miller with a wrist shot from the point. There was little traffic, meaning it was one he should’ve had. Laperriere added an assist. But the Sabres struck back 4:00 later when Derek Roy pounded home his second in two games on a four-on-three power play. Tim Connolly setup Jason Pominville’s one-timer which caromed off Ray Emery right to Roy who finished, slicing it to 2-1.

A pivotal moment came with under six minutes left when Buffalo nearly tied it. However, Emery denied Clarke MacArthur’s stuff attempt keeping his team ahead. That proved large when on the next shift during a four-on-four, rookie James Van Riemsdyk surprised Miller with a backhand that went right through the wickets. He was looking to center for Jeff Carter but wound up catching Miller cheating. It was the 20 year-old Old Bridge New Jersey native’s third, extending his point streak to four straight (2-5-7). The good stretch allowed him to tie for the rookie scoring lead with Ryan O’Reilly with each having 14 points, one better than Mike Del Zotto.

The Flyers’ grit led to some sloppy passing from Buffalo in their end. Carter nearly made it 4-1 but Miller shut the door. Instead, they settled for a two-goal lead into the locker room. But that changed early in the third when some more ugly play from the Sabres led to a turnover, allowing Darroll Powe to catch Miller napping with a routine slapper, increasing to 4-1 at 2:34. The third softie of the night.

Van Riemsdyk’s vision nearly made it four when he found Laperriere all alone in front but Miller said no. The Sabres would go on the power play thanks to a great individual effort from Drew Stafford, who nearly beat Emery. On the man-advantage, after nearly getting scored on shorthanded, Myers scored when his centering feed trickled off Coburn past Emery, cutting it to 4-2 with 9:26 remaining. Roy and Craig Rivet netted assists.

Buffalo almost made it interesting, coming close with five and a half left but just missing wide. That was the last hurrah with Pronger feeding Carcillo for an empty netter, sealing it with 48 ticks left.

Lindy Ruff’s club is back at it on a busy Saturday that includes a 4 PM matinee between the hapless Preds and surprising Kings. Buffalo travels to Beantown to face old Adams rival Boston. The B’s haven’t been scoring, finally getting a late Patrice Bergeron marker to snap a two-plus game drought, salvaging a point in a shootout loss to the Habs. So, it should be interesting. The question is will the Sabres be tired in what’s a back-to-back along with their third in four nights. We’ll see.

Battle Saturday: Not surprisingly, all four Battle teams are in action with the Devils going for eight straight on the road when they visit Ottawa with Martin Brodeur expected to be back in net looking to tie Terry Sawchuk. Meanwhile, the Islanders play their third in four when they return home to host Atlanta. They received some bad news earlier today with key defenseman Radek Martinek done for the season after suffering a torn ACL in last night’s 2-1 loss to the Devs. Unforturnately, he never stays healthy and is a huge loss for an Isles’ club that also will be minus captain Doug Weight, who’s out with an upper body injury. Later tonight, the Rangers visit Calgary at 10 PM with it being Sean Avery’s return a year after his poor remarks about ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert, who Dion Phaneuf was seeing. Predictably, Avery’s taking the high road which sums things up for a player who’s in John Tortorella’s doghouse being relegated to fourth line status. He earned it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Derek Roy, (PPG-2nd of season, assist, 2 SOG, hit, 10-5 draws, -1 in 18:03)

2nd Star-James Van Riemsdyk, (goal-3rd of season, 3 SOG, hit, +1 in 18 shifts-12:19)

1st Star-Daniel Carcillo, (2 goals, 7 SOG, 2 hits, +3 in 13:06)

While the forecast remains cloudy off-ice due to the injury list, it’s all sunshine and roses on it, as the Devils beat a game Islanders team 2-1 at the Rock for their second straight home win and tenth win overall in fourteen games.  Ex-Isle Yann Danis did the job again tonight, making 23 saves to stick it to his former team - including some of his best work in the final, tense minutes (more on that later).

Given the Devils’ tendency to start slow at home, the first ten minutes didn’t come as much of a surprise as the Islanders dominated early, outshooting the Devils 9-1 to start the game.  Ironically, things got off to a flying start with David Clarkson’s wild fight against Tim Jackman just forty seconds in.  While the fight was pretty close to a draw, the Isles did get the upper hand where it mattered as Clarkson’s holding penalty gave them a power play.  Colin White further complicated matters by taking an interference penalty at 2:19, giving the Isles back-to-back power plays and 21 seconds with a two-man advantage. 

During the penalty kills came arguably the Devils’ best moment of the period when on Elias’s first shift he nearly created a goal with some fancy stickwork, poking the puck through an Islander defenseman and retreiving it, resulting in a terrific chance that went just wide of the net.  Even after killing both penalties however, the Devils still couldn’t prevent the Isles from jumping out front when Frans Nielsen beat Danis from just inside the faceoff circle 6:23 in after some sloppy defending gave him a quality scoring chance that he wouldn’t waste.

Despite the fact they still trailed going into the second period, at least the Devils started to play better going into intermission though most of their shots on goal weren’t what I’d consider real high-quality.  Still, it would take a lucky break to bring the Devils back even, from an unlikely source to boot – Cory Murphy.  The little defenseman that looked so good offensively in the preseason finally contributed to the offense when it counted, somehow beating Biron with a shot from the point that found its way in through a maze of bodies and off of the beleaguered Martin Biron (given his career record against the Devils) for his first goal of the season at 2:38.  Even more surprisingly, Illka Pikkaranen and Rod Pelley got assists on the goal, as the fourth line actually contributed in a positive way last night.

Now tied, the Devils started to gain more momentum after the Murphy goal and at 13:40 of the second period, a revived power play proved decisive when Andy Greene set up Brian Rolston for one of his patented slapshots from the blueline - and this time it found the back of the net for Rolston’s fourth goal of the year and second in two nights.  David Clarkson also had an assist on what would prove to be the winning goal.

There was little action early in the third period as the Devils sought to protect their lead, though to their credit they didn’t fall back (at least early on), there were few narrow misses - a Clarkson shot off the crossbar real late in the period was one.  On the back end, the Devils were a bit vulnerable as there were open Islanders in prime scoring positions time and again but many weren’t seen and passes didn’t get to their intended targets.  To the Devils’ credit, they kept phenom John Tavares quiet the majority of the game, though he had a prime scoring chance in the final minutes when he deked in close and was stonewalled by Danis.  Danis also stopped Mark Streit with a nice save, but in the final seconds could do nothing about a Kyle Okposo shot that seemed set to trickle through during a frantic netmouth scramble – until Travis Zajac came out of nowhere to save the day, coolly shooting the puck back under Danis and out toward safety.  For some reason, Mark Joanette blew the whistle when the puck was clearly not under control and it acutally wound up costing the Devils an empty-net goal, as Zajac’s clear trickled in. 

Oh well, at least the Devils hung on for a 2-1 victory – their tenth win in the last twelve games.  Danis became only the fourth Devil goaltender to win his first two starts with the team, the others being Alain Chevrier, John Vanbiesbrouck and of course Martin Brodeur.  After a slow start, the Devils outshot the Isles 30-15 the remainder of the game and will travel to Ottawa tonight, trying to extend their perfect road record.  Not making the trip will be Elias, who won’t be playing back-to-back nights which in my view is pretty prudent.  Goalies sit during back-to-backs (even Brodeur now apparently), why not forwards just getting their conditioning back after a lengthy injury?  Especially since Brent Sutter’s whining last year about Elias not being in the lineup against the Flyers contributed to him coming back too soon, and not being the same player in the playoffs.  Apparently there will be a call-up from Lowell though technically it isn’t neccesary as the Devils do have 21 players still active with Pierre Luc-Letourneau Leblond being the only healthy scratch last night.  As if it needed to be said, Brodeur will be playing tonight in Ottawa looking once again for the shutout that will tie Terry Sawchuk on the all-time list.

Notes: Remember Dean McAmmond?  Well the Devils signed him back to Lowell recently and yesterday he got a two-way contract, despite the fact that he’s under the weather and won’t be available this weekend he will be joining the team soon.  And so the roster turns again.  New York lost defenseman Radek Martinek to injury late in the third period when he had to be helped off the ice, but the nature of said injury is unknown at this time.

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Brian Rolston (PP goal, 6 SOG)
2. Yann Danis (23/24 saves)
3. Frans Nielsen (goal, +1)

“We played a real sound game coming off that loss,” Miler said referring to their Saturday defeat at The Coliseum which featured Jeff Tambellini’s first career hat trick. “We did a very sound job pushing the puck up the ice, and we didn’t give up anything that was too dangerous. We want to be a team that’s in control.”

With the Yankees wrapping up their 27th world championship last night dethroning the Phillies, we missed most of it. Here are game highlights via NHL Video off You Tube:

The Sabres victimized the Islanders for two power play goals off the sticks of Derek Roy (1st of season) and Thomas Vanek (5th). Roy got the scoring started when just six seconds into a Kyle Okposo hooking infraction, the playmaking pivot wired a shot from the top of the left circle past former teammate Martin Biron 8:27 in. Biron had shut Buffalo out making 38 stops four days prior but it wasn’t repeating itself this time.

The Isles did generate a couple of chances to tie but Miller said no, including a nice save on Okposo from the slot off a broken play. On another power play, Buffalo nearly went up two but Biron kept his team afloat with some nice work, thwarting Roy on the doorstep as Brendan Witt shoved Clarke MacArthur into the net which went unpenalized.

With Biron having stopped 13 of 14 in the first, the Isles nearly took advantage again coming close to tying but Miller slammed the door on rookie John Tavares. After a Sabre penalty expired on Andrej Sekera, the defenseman came out of the box and broke in on Biron but he denied him and then made another strong save minutes later. With his team still trailing and Witt in the box for boarding, he nearly kept it a one-goal deficit with some more solid goaltending but couldn’t keep Vanek from putting away the rebound off a nice setup from Drew Stafford and Tim Connolly, making it 2-zip Sabres at 17:13 of the second.

“It was a real great effort,” said Vanek, who snapped a five-game goal drought. “We adjusted good from the other night, and overall played well and deserved to win.”

Down two, Biron continued to play well making a few more nice stops, including smothering a Vanek backhand off a mini-break. But on a night he turned aside 36 of 39, the problem was his former ‘mate Miller, who took over the No.1 job a few years ago. That along with a relentless Buffalo attack (39-24 SOG edge) helped end the Islander win streak at four.

“I think they had to find their moments,” Miller added. “They couldn’t get a consistent attack going, which I think is why we ended up winning that game.”

The final nail in the coffin came in odd fashion when Paul Gaustad was rewarded with his third following a lengthy review. Initially, the refs blew it dead but both Gaustad and teammates contested that he’d stuffed the puck in before the whistle blew. This also happened last month in a Ranger home win over LA, which rewarded Vinny Prospal with a crucial goal. This time off a faceoff win, Gaustad got to the front of the net and took a few whacks at a Tyler Myers rebound as Biron tried to cover it.

Via the MSG Buffalo feed, replays seemed to indicate that he was successful jamming it in just prior to the whistle. So, after taking a few minutes to look over it, they rewarded Gaustad with a goal making it 3-0 with 3:41 remaining. Though Islander captain Doug Weight didn’t seem to agree. Perhaps NHL brass needs to go over these type of situations, making an adjustment with the rules that clarifies when goals count so there’s not so much confusion as we’ve seen with Weight and Terry Murray when it went against them. For another day.

It was highly predictable that the Sabres would win the rematch. Especially off such a poor outing in which they won no battles. Plus Lindy Ruff’s club was well rested while Scott Gordon’s had played another game in between, getting the better of Edmonton, who hosts the Rangers later tonight.

“They did a lot of things right, but you combine that with our lack of efficiency in the face-off dot, our lack of urgency at times, poor decisions, and not skating when we had the opportunity, it was a bad combination,” Gordon duly noted. “They are one of the better teams in the league, and they have the ability to do what they did.”

Notes: Not coincidentally, Tavares’ four-game point streak came to a halt. In nearly 16 minutes, JT91 finished with two shots while struggling in the faceoff circle losing seven of nine. However it was a team-wide epidemic as the Isles somehow managed to lose a preposterous 83 percent of draws with Buffalo holding a 39-8 margin (Roy 14-zip, Gaustad 13-4). Frans Nielsen lost 11 of 14 and Josh Bailey went 1 and 8. Awfully hard to win when you never have the puck. Something we’re certain Gordon had his centers practice in preparation for the Devils at The Rock tomorrow night.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan Miller, (24 saves-2nd SHO and 14th career)

2nd Star-Thomas Vanek, (PPG/assist, 4 SOG in 17 shifts-11:47)

1st Star-Derek Roy,  (PPG-1st of season, 4 SOG, perfect 14 of 14 draws in 18 shifts-12:42)

Oh, and the Devils recalled defenseman Jay Leach from Lowell but had to subject Leach to re-entry waivers.  If he isn’t claimed by noon tomorrow it’s likely he’ll play at least one of the games this weekend, especially with a third defensive pairing of rookie Mark Fraser and the scary bad Cory Murphy each only getting around ten minutes a night, driving up the icetime of everyone else such as Mike Mottau and Andy Greene, who’ve both averaged around 25 minutes a night the last few games.

Save us the built in Marian Gaborik excuse which Joe Micheletti used repeatedly as if it was some crutch. Pathetic would be an accurate assessment for what John Tortorella’s club did against an archrival, earning the mock song:

“If you know the Rangers suck, Clap your hands,” from the cheesy organist. Yeah. About as bush league as it gets but they deserved it.

Any Ranger fan who went had to be hanging their head at how brutal this team looked minus their offensive leader. It was as if they forgot how to play organized hockey. What exactly does that say for so-called ‘team leader’ Chris Drury? Well, at least he’s not Michal Rozsival. By far the most overpaid stiff and typically responsible for putting the contest out of reach. Uh. That would be for the home team! Wow.

While the Rangers stunk making it one heck of an unwatchable game filled with more turnovers than a bakery holds, offsides and disgusting passing that even a pee wee team wouldn’t make, the Islanders looked right at home locked in on getting the ‘W.’ Indeed, they brought their A game as was expected against the most hated rival, giving their fans what they wanted to see for so long.

From the very outset, Scott Gordon’s club was sharper. And it didn’t take long for them to go ahead with great find Matt Moulson beating Henrik Lundqvist on a clean breakaway just 55 seconds in. Taking complete advantage of some horrid play from Wade Redden and Matt Gilroy, Islander defenseman Jack Hillen sprung Moulson who was left behind Gilroy while Redden was too far out of position to recover. As soon as he got the puck, I knew he was scoring. He went shortside on Lundqvist for his club-leading sixth, pumping his fists as teammates mobbed him.

Gaining all kinds of early momentum, the Islanders attacked, attacked and attacked against a flat Ranger club which kept turning the puck over in its own end. Part of this was due to the aggressive style the home team played, really getting after our D. A solid game plan from Gordon, who obviously knew they could be pressured. If not for a few timely stops from Lundqvist, it could easily have been 3-zip. The Isles were all over his crease, fishing for pucks making things edgy. But as usual, nobody defended our goalie. Especially with Donald Brashear out. Sure. There were scrums but again, not one message sent. Even you Sean Avery, who at least was visible tonight.

Despite holding the edge in play, the Islanders only led by one. Soon, that one-goal lead got erased thanks to some hard work from Hartford call-up Pierre Parenteau. In his first game with the big club, the AHL leading scorer was superb in 17 shifts, gaining Tort’s trust. Fittingly, he scored the team’s only goal when he stuck with a broken play, rifling a backhand thru a Christopher Higgins screen. The play was started by Drury along the boards but the puck came to Parenteau before deflecting off an Isle right back to him. With Higgins screening Dwayne Roloson, Parenteau buried the chance to tie it 1-1 at 8:30.

The rest of the period was fairly even with both teams getting chances but neither able to break the tie. Following coincidental minors (NYR-too many men, NYI-Sean Bergenheim interference), the Rangers had the best opportunity late. With time winding down, Vinny Prospal found Marc Staal in the slot but his backhand sailed off the goalpost. It would be one of five the Blueshirts hit.

After getting outshot 13-8, they came out better in the middle stanza. Starting to dictate, the Rangers blew a few chances to go ahead highlighted by Ryan Callahan firing a perfect Prospal feed off the post. Enver Lisin also hit the crossbar later and missed another chance which would’ve tied it in the third. That’s the kinda night it was. But really, when push came to shove, the Islander D bent but never broke. They wouldn’t allow the Rangers to get to rebounds, keeping them to the outside all game.

If it was a product of no Gaborik, that’s pretty sad. If they want to be considered a good team, they have to learn to win without him. It’s not like these guys haven’t played before. With the exception of rookies Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto and Artem Anisimov, they’re experienced enough to know what to do. Yet if we were to judge on tonight, you’d have thought just the opposite. In a period they gave as good as they got, the Rangers fell behind when Dan Girardi failed to take Kyle Okposo, allowing him to rebound home a Hillen shot for a power play goal with 1:46 left in the second. It broke an eight-game drought for a guy who always seems to score on us.

Islander captain Doug Weight got the other assist. The classy vet was back after missing the last five with swine flu. He sounded just fine when John Giannone interviewed him. Coming out of the box was Avery, who took a selfish hooking minor in the offensive zone. The kind that deserves a benching.

The final period was a total embarrassment. Forget the 15-7 SOG edge because it lied. Few were quality with the more determined Islanders doing a diligent job boxing out. A basketball terminology which apparently doesn’t apply to the Knicks. Oops. Couldn’t resist. Give the Isles credit. They did a nice job killing off all three of our power plays including an early one that saw Tim Jackman in the box. Nate Thompson had taken a similar penalty 190 feet away in the second but the Rangers looked lost. Those are the kind fringe players must stay away from.

Predictably, Tortorella shuffled lines but all night, players were skating different ways. A few at least showed. If you watched, I think you can figure out who. The same guys who usually do. How bad was the third? Brutal enough to remind me of Rangers past when the team royally sucked. We flipped between that and the Yankee game with them at least so far, faring no better against the Phillies. Not looking good there either.

Somehow, the Rangers were still down just one. But I knew it was a matter of time before they cracked. Leave it to Rozsival to hand the Isles the insurance marker. This is a team that entering couldn’t protect leads to save their lives. Yet if you saw it, they looked like the Jacques Lemaire Devils.

So, how did the final nail in the coffin happen? Here was Rozsival losing his stick as only he can. Then, the puck came to him with a chance to get it out. A few nights ago, Gaborik wisely kicked it out with ease. But Rozy is the royal definition of a klutz. If you looked it up in the dictionary, his photo should be there. Instead of kicking it, he pushes the puck weakly which of course allows Jeff Tambellini to push it to Tavares, who gets his initial shot blocked by Redden. But it came right back allowing him to surprise Lundqvist for his fourth, ending a four-game pointless stint.

Game over. Once again, Rozsival screwed up. When oh when will our senile GM just pay him the rest of his contract so we don’t have to see him ever again? Ahhh. He’s lost. Period. With under two minutes left, here was Marc Staal battling two Isles behind the net in an attempt to free the puck while No.33 couldn’t even be bothered, instead watching. What’s more? His lack of hustle in his own end led to Tavares’ marker. The man never skates hard. It’s a freaking travesty.

It’s no surprise that they lost to the Islanders because these games are like their Cup. They always play hard. And they brought it while our guys loafed. So, both teams got what was deserved. Tavares and the Isles drew first blood.

Notes: Roloson was solid making 34 saves including 27 the final 40 minutes. … Lundqvist turned aside 29 of 32 but showed frustration with both Girardi and himself for a bad rebound that allowed Okposo to net the winner. … Hillen tallied two assists. … With a helper on Tavares’ goal, Tambellini has four points (3-1-4) in his last three. … Summing up the night, the Isles dominated in the faceoff circle, winning a ridiculous 64 percent (36-20) led by Richard Park (10-3) while Tavares went 7-4. For the Blueshirts, only Anisimov was good taking four-of-six but mystifiably was reduced to 12 shifts (7:35) despite being one of his team’s best skaters in which he got two shots on net, including a spin-a-rama backhand that Roloson gloved out of harm’s way. … Isles outhit the Rangers 38-24 with at least seven players registering four paced by Thompson’s five. Not one Ranger had four with Callahan and Ales Kotalik each having three. When Kotalik’s one of your most physical, that’s a ringing indictment. … NYI also blocked 16 shots to NYR’s 10 with both Brendan Witt and Mark Streit each getting in the path of three. On an otherwise forgettable night, Gilroy had three.

… On the downside, with Gary Bettman in the house indicating that the franchise needed a new arena, the game wasn’t a sellout with 15,213 making the trip. … Islanders (2-4-5, 9 Pts) next visit the Caps on All Hallow’s Eve while the Rangers (8-4-1, 17 Pts) are in St. Paul to face Gaborik’s ex-team. Will he miss it?

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Pierre Parenteau,  (1st goal of season, 3 SOG, hit, +1 in 14:07)

2nd Star-Jack Hillen,  (2 assists, SOG, blocked shot, +1 in 14:43)

1st Star-Kyle Okposo,  (PPG-2nd snapped a 1-1 tie, game best 7 SOG, 2 takeaways, 2 blocked shots, 1-0 draws, +1 in 17:37)

While the injury updates aren’t official yet, the whispers are that Martin suffered a forearm fracture while Pandolfo has either a seperated or dislocated right shoulder.  Martin’s injury apparently stemmed from a Bill Guerin shot early in the third then a later slash on that same arm.  Pandolfo’s injury irritated the Devils even more because it was the result of a Mike Rupp boarding penalty in the second period.  While the Devils were hopping mad that an ex-teammate would hit Pando on the boards when he was in a defenseless position I couldn’t really get that mad about the hit itself.  He did shove him and deserved a penalty but I’ve seen worse along the boards where the player walked away.  Unfortunately Pando’s shoulder popped out and he had to pop it back in himself, a la Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies.

Without their top defenseman and penalty-killing forward for the forseeable future it’s unclear what the Devils would do in terms of not only player moves but lineup adjustements.  You don’t replace a Martin but for the time being his spot in the lineup could be filled by Mark Fraser, who had a decent season debut last night, even scoring a surprise first career goal 9:50 into the first period when he took a shot that bounced off Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove and into the net to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.  However, don’t count on Fraser for much offense beyond that – and a defense of Fraser, Colin White, Mike Mottau and Bryce Salvador may be one of the three to five slowest in the league. 

If the Devils want to replace Martin with speed and puck-moving, well Cory Murphy’s always available to return and wouldn’t have to clear re-entry waivers.  Not sure if I see that happening though the Devils’ offense from the blueline is even more scary right now without Martin.  Fraser’s goal was the first of the season by a Devils’ defenseman in their ninth game.  It’s probably more likely they play Fraser and call up a fill-in type like Jay Leach or Rob Davison – but only the latter doesn’t have to clear waivers on the way back up.

As far as replacing Pandolfo’s spot on the roster, maybe the Devils will call up Vladimir Zharkov who almost made the team in camp and has looked good for Lowell so far, getting their only two goals last night in a 5-2 loss at Hartford and scoring a shootout winner the night before.  Replacing him on the penalty kill won’t be as easy though, especially after coach Jacques Lemaire joked a while back that he would have to look for penalty killers on Google beyond his current four of Pando-Rob Niedermayer and Jamie Langenbrunner-Travis Zajac.  I suppose Rod Pelley could get another shot, since he played on the PK a couple years ago under Brent Sutter.  Another possible option is Brian Rolston, who killed penalties in the first part of his career and actually was a terror as a short-handed threat for the Devils during a season or two but he hasn’t done it as much lately.  Zach Parise could probably kill penalties but do you really want to run up the icetime of all three of your top-line members?  Of course, Patrik Elias will return soon and he can penalty-kill as well.

Ironically last night the penalty killing had their best showing of the season so far after a slow start, killing off all four Penguin power plays in last night’s victory.  Even the Devils’ power play managed to get a goal on their one chance last night after the Rupp penalty, when a Pelley shot squirted through Fleury’s pads and Nicklas Bergfors tapped it in for the Devils’ second goal at 14:31 of the middle period.  Rather amusingly Bergfors beat his own teammate Andy Greene to the puck, as he could have just as easily tapped it in at the side of the net too.  For Bergfors however, it is his second goal in two games and just as one might suspect once the first one finally went in he’s feeling more confident with the puck.

While it was perhaps unexpected goal-scorers and assist-men that contributed to the first couple of goals, the Devils’ main guns combined to finish off the Pens in the third with two goals, first Zajac scoring his fifth just 26 seconds into the period off a rebound from a Parise shot.  Then, after the Pens’ Alex Goligoski spoiled Martin Brodeur’s bid for a record-tying 103rd shutout at 9:36 cutting the Devils’ lead to 3-1, the Devils surivived a few anxious minutes before Parise put it away at 16:32 off a pass from Zajac with the neccesary time and space to spin and beat Fleury to the far post.

Though the Devils now have to worry about the prognosis of Martin and Pandolfo, not to mention waiting for Patrik Elias to return in a week or two and hoping Mottau comes back for Wednesday’s game against the Sabres at the Rock, the Devils at least can be happy about their best performance of the season and a good win over a team that had taken seven straight games during a 9-1 start in defense of their Stanley Cup.

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Martin Brodeur (32/33 saves)
2. Travis Zajac (goal, assist, +2)
3. Zach Parise (goal, assist, +2)