DiPietro stones Sabres, Fans Panic!!!

Well, I am feeling a bit pessimistic this morning.

It's April 16th. It is tax day. It is snowing...hard.
Worst of all I just listened to Sabres fans panic for 1/2 hour straight on WGR55.
Perfect! It is absolutely not the way I needed this week to start.
Did I mention it is snowing on tax day?

Anyhow, enough of that.
The Sabres lost a game Saturday that they did not deserve to win. They failed to show up for the first 15 minutes of play and went down two goals. It was hole they clawed out of well. In fact they dominated much of the rest of the game but couldn't score in the clutch.

I have got to hand it to Ted Nolan and the Islanders. They had a plan and worked it well. They collapsed down on DiPietro and took advantage of a Sabres team that didn't come top play.
After they got their two goal lead they played tough defense and refused to panic in the face of pressure. I myself have criticized Nolan's game planning prowess in the past, but not today.
He refocused a team who's confidence had been dented and had them play their game.
Heck, even Miroslav Satan was forechecking and playing physical.
That is worth the Jack Adams in and of itself.

Now for the Sabres. Did they play poorly? Not really. They started bad and were dominate after. They sseem to have forgotten that this is the playoffs though and that you have to play 60 minutes to be a champion. it shouldn't have been all that surprising though as this has been the MO of this club all year. Play haphazard hockey and turn on the jets when the other team gets ahead. Well, it didn't work this time. Is it the end of the world?

Nope, just a bump in the road.

The Islanders and DiPietro played their absolute best and barely held on.

Some of the Sabres need to look in the mirror and decide if they are ready.
Daniel Briere has looked mediocre an Ryan Miller was shaky at best Saturday.
These are trends that need to reverse or this team could find itself in an Edmonton Oilerish nightmare.
That being said pretty much every other player is firing on all cylinders and the Vanek-Afinigenov-Roy line is proving just how good it is.

I fully expect the Sabres to come out blazing tonight and break the Islander's will. That has been another hallmark of this team.
Any adversity has been met with determination and often domination.

It is what I expect tonight. Buffalo still wins in 5.

Islanders' rushing of DiPietro is a panic-filled move...

Do the Islanders remember who this guy is above? What he did to take the Islanders into the playoffs?

According to a New York Newsday report, Rick DiPietro has been cleared to play by doctors.

He will skate in a full practice today with the team.

I am actually very surprised at this, I think that they're rushing Rick DiPietro back way too quickly.

I just don't get what the problem is with Dubielewicz's play?

He played well last night in New York's 4-1 loss, he made 31 saves and was key for the Islanders in that final stretch while replacing Rick DiPietro.

Jesus, the guy endures 2 concussions in one month and he's already back, I think this is a panic move on the Islanders' part, they probably think they don't have a chance to beat the Sabres with Dubielewicz in net.

This is deja-vu all over again.

Remember when Cristobal Huet was rushed into play, 2 months after undergoing surgery for a torn hamstring last Saturday in Toronto?
Huet was obviously rusty and played shakily in a 6-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs which proved to be the difference maker in the Canadiens' run to make the playoffs.

Jaroslav Halak was riding hot but played "ordinarily" in game 80 for Montreal against the Rangers (3-1 loss), Wade Dubielewicz was playing great and he gives up a weak goal against the Sabres...yes, that means it's time to rush Rick DiPietro back into the net.

Now tell me: why is it that the backup goalies who have been called up from the minors and have suddenly played spectacularly are being completely degraded here.

There is no need to rush DiPietro back, he'll probably have a rusty game and cost the Islanders Game 2 as well, and to think that 2 days ago every living being in the media kept saying how Rick DiPietro was down and out.

Dubielewicz deserves to start Game 2, and possibly Game 3 depending on his play.
Right now, it's simple for Ted Nolan and his GM: "Play the hot hand".

They're just making this complicated for themselves...

My God, have they forgotten Wade Duielewicz COMPLETELY?

"No, there's no decision there at all," Nolan said when asked about who would start Game 2. "We'll make that decision when [the time comes], but we know exactly what the decision will be when Ricky comes back."

He was not to blame for last night's loss...the Islanders didn't play well at all, I think they forgot it was a playoff game...oh yeah? Just take a look at their shot total: a measly 21.

It is not yet known if DiPietro will play Game 2, but if he does, hold your breath...and no, I haven't forgotten his marvelous season.

Maybe they think that they'll have a better chance to win with DiPietro in net, but I think otherwise, especially right now.

If the Islanders want to win, they have to shoot more and be more consistent on offence. They can't just sit back and play defence...IT'S THE PLAYOFFS!

If they think their chances of winning are better with DiPietro in goal, they thought wrong.

-The Flames put up a poor performance last night and lost to the Wings 4-1.
Miikka Kipprusoff is not looking like the heroic goalie that made stupendous saves when needed for Calgary in their previous playoff runs.
Penalties were key to the game, as Calgary took one penalty after another and fell to a botomless pit that went by the name of Detroit.
The Wings lead 1-0, and I can see them knocking this Alberta team off this time around.
-The Sabres breezed by Ted Nolan's squad, 4-1 last night.
Arron Asham scored the only goal for the Islanders on a pretty 2-on-1 setup by Jason Blake, and that was the only shot that mattered for New York last night.
They only got 21 shots on net and Ryan Miller could've won this thing with his eyes shut.
Tim Cononlly had a good game, Dainius Zubrus is finally producing offensively with a 3 assist night.
-Atlanta loses their first ever playoff game, 4-3 to the Rangers who won their first ever playoff game since 1997.
After being swept by the Devils in the first round of the playoffs last season, the Rangers put up a W for the first time since 1997...
Jaromir Jagr was miserable, despite scoring the Rangers' first goal:
"I don't like to score the first goal," Jagr said. "That gives me bad luck. I scored the first goal this year and I struggled. I hate that."
I didn't know that, that's nice to know!
Pascal Dupuis haunts his former team (the one he spent less than a week with) and scores a goal for Atlanta, he's been a great pickup by Don Waddell!
Michal Roszival, Marcel Hossa and Michael Nylander helped out Jagr and scored the other 3 Ranger goals.
Eric Belanger, another good acquisition, scored a powerplay goal late in the first period and defenceman Shane Hnidy scored the other goal for the Thrashers.
After Tomas Pock took a holding the stick penalty with about 1 minute to go, the Thrashers came oh-so-close to overtime as (I can't recall who) hit the post.
-Goalie woes continue for John Tortorella's team; Devils top the Lightning 5-3.
Vincent Lecavalier and Zach Parise each scored twice for their teams, the Lightning blew a chance to tie with about 6 minutes remaining by not capitalizing on Devils penalties.
Johan Holmqvist put the game out of reach by making a pad save on Patrik Elias and then promptly passing the puck to his surprised defenceman, who wasn't ready for that, Scott Gomez picked the puck up, made a move and passed to an open Gionta in front of the crease who insured the Devils of their 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Rick DiPietro makes 59 saves in 2-1 shootout loss to cross-town foes

Rick DiPietro shut the door for the Rangers with a 59-save performance last night, however he could not stop Matt Cullen in the shootout, giving the Rangers a 2-1 win over the Islanders.

Rangers 2, Islanders 1 (SO)

That was what I saw last night while watching Sportscentre at 11:00 on their ticker at the bottom of the screen, and then all of a sudden to the right of the score appeared the words: L-R. DiPietro, 59 saves.

The first thing that came to mind was "wow".

Despite the Islanders' loss, DiPietro shone all game long, making great saves and saving the Islanders from a potential embarrassing outing.

DiPietro made a team record 59 saves in a losing cause to the cross-town Rangers.

"It's my job to make as many saves as I can. I was able to do that for the most part," said DiPietro, who made a career-high 15th straight start. "It's always tough to lose."

The Rangers got an early 3rd period goal from Petr Prucha, ending DiPietro's shutout bid and what would be, an Islanders win.
After Prucha's goal, the Rangers pushed frantically for the lead, bombarding DiPietro with a meteor shower of shots for about 7 minutes in a row.

DiPietro came up one save shy of putting the Rangers away and heading to the showers, but he could not stop Matt Cullen in the 2nd round of the shootout, allowing the only shootout goal of the night.

"It was a good move," DiPietro said of Cullen's goal. "He made a quick shot."

Jason Blake scored the Isles' lone goal on a power play in the first period, sending a shot past Lundqvist that caromed off of newly-acquired defenceman Paul Mara and to the back of the net.

Henrik Lundqvist himself played a great game, obviously overshadowed by DiPietro's performance and continued to be phenomenal in shootouts, notably stoning Randy Robitaille on the final shot of the tiebreaker.

With this win, the Rangers move up to the 10th spot, one point behind the 9th place Canadiens, and two behind the 8th place Hurricanes.

The Islanders remain in the 7th spot with a solid 94 points and it seems now, barring any late-season losing streak, they have locked down a playoff spot.
Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.