SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
By BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, Rink Rat
Ahh, New York, New York.
A battle of titans, sort of, with the Broadway Wallets taking on the Long Island Losers.
The Islanders arrive at Madison Square Garden having played 8 games in 15 days, the previous four games on the road and this tilt being their third in four nights. The Isles are still not firing on all cylinders. G.M. Mike Milbury's year of genius ended last May, the team is again in turmoil, the goaltenders are awful, Alexei Yashin has reverted to being a one-way player, there was the Mike Peca nonsense, and trade rumours abound. Back to business as usual. The Isles on the road are an odd team. They lead the Eastern Conference in shots/game (33.2) but have scored only 18 goals (12th). They allow a commendable 26.9 shots/game (4th best) but have conceded a whopping 28 goals (10th). Their power play is bad but the penalty killing is worse - opposition power plays plunder the Islanders penalty killers to the tune of a 25% success rate. Goaltenders Chris Osgood and Garth Snow contribute to the fun by having an .870 road save percentage. How did this team ever hammer Tampa Bay Thursday night?
The Rangers contribute their own unique form of madness to the situation. The ancient Mark Messier played 20 minutes Thursday night. In Vancouver last Saturday the tandem of Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros were playing so poorly coach Bryan Trottier broke them up. Pavel and his trademark sneer hardly noticed. At least Lindros broke his 15 game goal-scoring drought against Anaheim. On Thursday the Rangers uncharacteristically put four goals behind Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, an achievement since New Jersey's goals against average was 2.00. Like the Islanders, the Rangers have been a busy team. This game against the Isles will be their seventh in 14 days. They recently returned from a four game western swing (2-2) then won the first game home, always a difficult task after a road trip, 3-2 in overtime against Anaheim. Overall the Rangers at home aren't fireballs, however they are consistent. Their goals for is 12th (27 goals), goals against is 10th (31 goals against), the power play is 13th (14%), and penalty killing 12th (78.3%).
In sum, the Rangers defensive side of the game is marginally better than the Islanders attack. The Isles have taken roughly 265 road shots and scored on 6.5% of them. That means opposition goaltenders have a combined .935 save percentage against the Isles. Ranger goaltender Dan Blackburn is better than either of the Islanders 'keepers and he can handle 30-35 shots, seeing as many of them will be of the beach ball variety. Ranger penalty killing stones the Islanders' power play and the Rangers win a close one.
Take the RANGERS on the MoneyLine !!!
www.bookiekiller.com rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
By BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, Rink Rat
Ahh, New York, New York.
A battle of titans, sort of, with the Broadway Wallets taking on the Long Island Losers.
The Islanders arrive at Madison Square Garden having played 8 games in 15 days, the previous four games on the road and this tilt being their third in four nights. The Isles are still not firing on all cylinders. G.M. Mike Milbury's year of genius ended last May, the team is again in turmoil, the goaltenders are awful, Alexei Yashin has reverted to being a one-way player, there was the Mike Peca nonsense, and trade rumours abound. Back to business as usual. The Isles on the road are an odd team. They lead the Eastern Conference in shots/game (33.2) but have scored only 18 goals (12th). They allow a commendable 26.9 shots/game (4th best) but have conceded a whopping 28 goals (10th). Their power play is bad but the penalty killing is worse - opposition power plays plunder the Islanders penalty killers to the tune of a 25% success rate. Goaltenders Chris Osgood and Garth Snow contribute to the fun by having an .870 road save percentage. How did this team ever hammer Tampa Bay Thursday night?
The Rangers contribute their own unique form of madness to the situation. The ancient Mark Messier played 20 minutes Thursday night. In Vancouver last Saturday the tandem of Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros were playing so poorly coach Bryan Trottier broke them up. Pavel and his trademark sneer hardly noticed. At least Lindros broke his 15 game goal-scoring drought against Anaheim. On Thursday the Rangers uncharacteristically put four goals behind Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, an achievement since New Jersey's goals against average was 2.00. Like the Islanders, the Rangers have been a busy team. This game against the Isles will be their seventh in 14 days. They recently returned from a four game western swing (2-2) then won the first game home, always a difficult task after a road trip, 3-2 in overtime against Anaheim. Overall the Rangers at home aren't fireballs, however they are consistent. Their goals for is 12th (27 goals), goals against is 10th (31 goals against), the power play is 13th (14%), and penalty killing 12th (78.3%).
In sum, the Rangers defensive side of the game is marginally better than the Islanders attack. The Isles have taken roughly 265 road shots and scored on 6.5% of them. That means opposition goaltenders have a combined .935 save percentage against the Isles. Ranger goaltender Dan Blackburn is better than either of the Islanders 'keepers and he can handle 30-35 shots, seeing as many of them will be of the beach ball variety. Ranger penalty killing stones the Islanders' power play and the Rangers win a close one.
Take the RANGERS on the MoneyLine !!!
www.bookiekiller.com rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
