Brandon Dubinsky

Preview:  The New York Islanders return home to Nassau Coliseum to take on their all-time rival, the New York Rangers. 

The Islanders are coming off a western road trip which saw them give up a 3 goal lead in an overtime loss to the Avalanche, and a clinic put on by the Canucks in a loss to Vancouver.  The Islanders have played better hockey since changing up their offensive lines a few games ago, putting up more scoring chances more consistently.  However, they haven’t been able to translate the better play into wins.  A win tonight against the Rangers would mean even more than usual, as it would end a slide of losing efforts. 

The Rangers ...

If you were to take a quick glance at the box score from tonight's tilt at Madison Square Garden, you would probably have to assume that the New York Rangers had their way with the Montreal Canadiens. 5-3, heavy advantage in powerplays, faceoffs,  and (especially early) in shots, everything on paper screamed out that this was the Rangers' game.

But of course, stats can sometimes be misleading. You see, despite a relatively horrendous first period, for many reasons, the Montreal Canadiens may have actually been the better team on the ice tonight.

The chances definitely went in the Canadiens' favor, as did the hits and the sho...

The New York Rangers took care of what looked to be their most challenging item of business this summer; signing F Brandon Dubinsky to a long-term deal ahead of his arbitration hearing. Well, mission accomplished as the Blueshirts and Dubinsky agreed to a four-year deal worth a total of $16.8 million. In actuality, the arbitration hearing scheduled for 9:00 AM Thursday was postponed because both parties felt they were close to an agreement. It was imperative the deal get done without an arbitration hearing being held and that's exactly what happened.

Why is arbitration such a bad thing, anyway? In order to convince the arbitrator the player is only worth the salary figure the te...