The troubling thing for the Islanders is that Brodeur was only slightly more active than he was on Monday. Four goals in 40 minutes chased Brodeur to the bench in the Islanders win in that contest, though the Hall-of-Fame bound Devils goalie extracted revenge in the rematch to lead New Jersey to a 4-2 win.

The Islanders mustered just three shots in the final period, losing for the first time in six home games after Zach Parise scored twice and Bryce Salvador broke a 2-all deadlock with a left point shot 13:11 into the third for the game-winner.

Kyle Okposo and Jack Hillen scored twice during a five-minute match penalty in the second period to hand the Isles a temporary lead.

But Parise tied it at 2 heading into second intermission with a final-minute goal that set the tone for a final period in which the Devils forged a 14-3 edge in shots.

“In the third period, we didn’t have it,” Okposo said. “I don’t have any explanation for it. We had a bad period and we need to correct some things.”

The Islanders lost for just the second time in seven games. Colin White’s game misconduct and major penalty for driving Sean Bergenheim into the sideboards galvanized the power play, which saw Okposo and Hillen score in a 2:02 span midway through the second period.

Rookie John Tavares picked up an assist on Okposo’s goal at 9:34. Okposo did most of the legwork, driving a shot that beat Brodeur glove-side at the low right post.

Tavares, the Islanders second leading scorer, has scored just one goal in his last 14 games and said the Islanders allowed New Jersey to dictate play in the last 20 minutes.

“We didn’t get any momentum to allow us to generate our forecheck,” Tavares said. “That allows them to set-up and they’re good at closing lanes. They have a goaltender who plays the puck very well, so it makes it difficult if we have no speed to get on it.

“When we don’t do that, we don’t get any shots on net. That was the difference.”

Brodeur made 20 saves as the Devils looked like a much-improved group than six days ago when the Islanders surged to a 4-0 win in front of a sold-out crowd. The arena was filled to capacity again before New Jersey scripted a different ending.

The Devils were coming off three straight road wins and also lost to Montreal at home the night before. Islanders coach Scott Gordon said his team failed to take advantage of an opponent who was less rested than his team.

“We didn’t push the pace to allow ourselves the opportunity to win the game,” Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. “We played the game not to lose.”

Sportsday Islanders vs. Devils Post-Game Recap January 2010

Whatever it is, though, this is a different man than the one who lashed into his team last week for lack of hustle against the New York Islanders.

“I didn’t say too much to the team about it,” the coach said. “They are professional athletes and they know what went on here prior. We haven’t won consistently here. You want to win on the road, but you are not going to get anywhere if you don’t establish yourself at home.”

And tonight the Rangers finally won at home with a very good 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers.

“I am thinking I am playing really well, but the guys in front of me are playing really, really well,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who had 33 saves. “They are really making a difference.”

Actually what worked was the fear of Torts. After lashing out at his team last week and then benching Ales Kotalik and Wade Redden for two games, the Rangers responded with impressive wins on the Island, Philadelphia, and in Carolina. They are hustling, playing strong off the puck, and taking chance.

More importantly, they are winning games they would have lost two weeks ago.

“I think it comes from being embarrassed from that night against the Islanders,” said Vinny Prospal, who scored two goals in tonight’s match. “We had a team meeting and there were things that were said, that needs to be changed or there may be changes in the locker room.

“We have been playing more disciplined hockey and we have been scoring a little more.”

Now, the benchings and rippings are classic Tortorella tactics. Prospal knows that, as he has seen it in Tampa when “The Paper Italian” ran that club.

“I have seen it a few years ago in some other players,” Prospal said. “Torts, you always know him very well. He always tells the players to step up and play better. It’s all business and he doesn’t mean it in a personal way. It’s all hockey to him.”

And since last Wednesday, the Rangers have been playing nothing but sharp, crisp, games with many of the players stepping up in key spots.

Chris Drury has three goals in the last four – including the game tier in the first period – after Tortorella moved him down in the lineup. The coach said he feels the pressure is off his captain, which allows No. 23 to play “within himself.”

And Kotalik seems to be playing sharper hockey after getting two games rest. Yet, that’s the response Tortorella wanted from his players when he challenged them last week.

“I think we get strong play, strong goaltending, and big goals at key times,” said Marian Gaborik, who scored a beauty breakaway from a sharp angle in the third period off Tomas Vokoun for his lead leading 26^th goal of the season. “I think we’re playing defensively better and we come away with a key offensive or defensive play at key times.”

And that’s what Tortorella was looking for. Look, the Rangers will not be this good every night and there will be some stink bombs out there, but there’s still time for the team to turn the season around. If the Blueshirts can continue with the effort, then they should be fine going into 2010.

And Tortorella should keep his happy disposition up.

Yet, in less than a year into the John Tortorella regime, the Rangers stand at 14-15-2.

Say what you want about the Rangers abrasive coach, but the fact is that record is not getting the job done. Renney, for all his flaws, knew how to win on Broadway, something many a good coach could not do.

Maybe, we should add Tortorella to that list. He came here with a reputation as the Anti-Renney, an offensive coach, who is as abrasive and outspoken as he is an up-tempo genius. But now he has a team that just can’t score any goals. Just look at the numbers. In the last 19 games dating back to Oct. 28th, 15 times the Rangers scored two goals or fewer.

And, tonight was no exception with the Rangers scoring just two goals in their 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.

“Bottom line, we know we have to win,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “We are doing a lot of good things and the work ethic is definitely there. We work really hard. We just come up short a lot of nights. I don’t know what else to say.”

To help Lundqvist out here, the Rangers come up short because they are in an offensive system that doesn’t score. Too many times their all-world goaltender is left naked out there by a very suspect defense filled with two overpriced and underperforming veterans and a bunch of youngsters, who are just learning.  Under Renney this worked, because the trapping system masked defensive deficiencies, but they are now exposed under Tortorella.

And that is where the problem just starts. Every night it’s the same story and over the past few weeks changes started to happen. But frankly, they are the wrong ones. Was it really Stephen Valliquette’s fault that the Rangers are playing so poorly? And why was Matt Gilroy sent down and not Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival?

Tortorella was brought in because Renney was considered too nice to bench or demote any of his high priced veterans., but we have failed to see the tough love given to players like Rozsival, Redden, Chris Drury, or Christopher Higgins, all of whom could use a game or two sitting in the stands and maybe one or two of them should be shown the Hartford shuttle. Yet all are enjoying NHL minutes and NHL meal money on an everyday bases.

Earlier in the year, Tortorella was shocked out the press’s reaction when it comes to benchings, saying it’s “treated like crucifixions” here. But how can anyone take his no-nonsense seriously when he refuses to sit down some of his veteran. His rules seem to just be for the players he can push around and not the ones who deserve it.  But what do you expect from a coach who benched his best agitator in the playoffs last year, only to make a fool out of himself by squirting a bottle on a few fans.

Is there time to turn this around? Of course. But it also means the team needs a personality transplant. They need to bare down and the veterans need to step up and lead this club, or John Tortorella’s Rangers are destined to become a failure, like many other successful coaches when they came to Broadway.

And before you ask, Marian Gaborik only had two.

The Rangers finally broke out of the scoring drought with a 7-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Goal after goal, the team looked sharp, which is precisely the team needed.

“We had a good forecheck and we kept playing in their zone which was important,” said Gaborik, who also had two assists to go along with his two goals. “Our defensive side of the game was good. We’re talking about having the third guy coming back and being responsible defensively and I think we did that.  It has to carry over on the road. We haven’t had a long trip in a while so we have to build on this and just go from here.”

The welcomed relief came after a well timed time out called by coach John Tortorella. After the Blue Jackets went up 2-0 at 9:31 of the first period, the team got a break.

“It was good to have a break, that is for sure,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. “I think the first goal was huge.  To get that in the first period and not go in here trailing 3-0.  We needed some positive energy and we got that from [Marian Gaborik].  After that, you could see how we got confidence.”

After No. 10 put the Rangers on the board, the secondary scoring happened. First Artim Anisimov scored followed by Michael Del Zotto to give the Rangers the lead in first 3-2.

Then in the second the goals kept coming. Sean Avery scored at 6:12 to chase Steve Mason, and his replacement Mathieu Garon came in with a tank of gas and a book of matches.

Less than a minute later, Avery scored again, followed by Gaborik after another 20 seconds, to make it 6-2.

“The biggest thing was coming back from a two goal deficit,” said Avery. “I think regardless of what the score was, coming back and winning a game after you’re losing 2-0 us big for a team that is struggling. I hope it puts everybody around here in a good mood.”

Matt Gilroy capped the Ranger scoring later that period with beautiful breakaway beating Garon.

Even with the seven goals, Columbus was able to make it close with a goal late in the second and one in the third.

“Do you think we were going to score seven goals tonight?” Tortorella said. “Who knows how this happens. When you go through some tough times, you need to stick with it. We got a bunch of breaks and their goaltending wasn’t that great. You can’t figure it.”

The Rangers now go on a three game road trip that includes both Florida destinations and Pittsburgh before coming home next day to Madison Square Garden.

Notes: After allowing the game’s first two goals, New York tallied seven straight from 11:29 of the first period to 12:47 of the second, marking the first time the Rangers tallied seven unanswered goals since a 7-0 victory against Boston on Mar. 7, 2009; the Blueshirts tallied three goals in a 71-second span in the second period…Marian Gaborik led all skaters with four points (two goals and two assists) to extend his point streak to seven games (seven goals and 13 points); he also tied for the game-high with a plus-three rating…Sean Avery notched two goals in 51 seconds, including one power play tally and the game-winning goal; it was his second multi-goal effort on the season and 10th of his career.

Saying that New York Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist masked his team’s recent offensive struggles not only describes his 1-0 shutout over the visiting Boston Bruins, but it simultaneously references a connection with a moment that changed the face -– literally –- of hockey history, fifty years ago to the day.

Go back exactly half a century, also on a Sunday, November 1st, 1959, at the same venue.

Montreal Canadiens’ goalie Jacques Plante left the Garden ice that day after having his nose broken by a wrist shot three minutes into the Canadiens’ eventual 3-1 victory over the Rangers.

Plante returned to that game with a mask and only convinced coach Tom Blake that he should continue wearing it after the Canadiens remained unbeaten for another 17 games with Plante’s scarred face safely protected.

On March 8, 1960, Plante discarded the mask at Blake’s request and the Canadiens lost to Detroit, 3-0. The mask returned for good the next night and the Canadiens went on to win their fifth straight Stanley Cup that season.

But, this isn’t all about what happened fifty years ago. No, it’s about what’s happened since.

Plante became an instant pioneer. Ever since that famed day in 1959, the goalie mask has become standard equipment thanks to the Hall of Famer who additionally revolutionized the game by being the first goaltender to play the puck away from the net and to raise his arm to indicate an icing call, while also perfecting the stand-up positional style of cutting down angles.

Fast forward back to Sunday, after Lundqvist, a great goaltender in his own right, had a special helmet (not just a mask, these days) made featuring renderings of Plante’s masked face, the dates “1959-2009,” and a ticket stub from that now-famous Canadiens-Rangers game in 1959.

Perhaps an even better tribute though, was the way Lundqvist played in the same building fifty years later, recording his first shutout of the season and the 21st of his career, while notching his 150th career victory.

What better way to pay homage to the anniversary of The Plante Mask Game than an old-school, one-goal, milestone, shutout win in a grind-out type of fashion between two Original Six teams? Especially considering that Sunday also marked another anniversary involving the Rangers’ opponent — the 85th anniversary of the Bruins becoming the NHL’s first team based in the United States, on November 1st, 1924.

And, who better to score the only goal in a game of that style than Rangers’ right winger Marian Gaborik?

The Rangers sorely missed their leading scorer, who was a game-time decision after missing the Ranger’s previous two games with a knee injury.

But, even at less than 100 percent, Gaborik was still exactly what New York needed. His lone score was enough offense for Lundqvist, who stopped all 29 shots he faced. Like all great goalies, Lundqvist relished the pressure of protecting a 1-0 lead in the final period. “It was a fun game,” he said. “The feeling was one mistake could cost us big time. “I like that feeling. I have to be on my toes all of the time.”

Gaborik’s goal came as New York cleared its own zone, and center Vinny Prospal streaked up the left side to move inside the face off circle to the right of Bruins’ goaltender Tim Thomas, whose 22 saves earned him the third star of the game behind Gaborik and then Lundqvist (and, no Knick fans, that’s no relation to the other Tim Thomas who used to play basketball in the same arena).

Prospal made a nice cross-ice pass, leaving it back a bit for Gaborik to get to the puck in rhythm and one-time it low and right, for his 11th goal of the season, just out of the reach of the left glove of Thomas, with 4:09 remaining in the second period. The assist was Prospal’s team-leading 14th this season. Defenseman Marc Staal, a 2005 Ranger first-round pick, who passed ahead to Prospal on the play, was also credited with his fourth assist of the season.

Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella said of the game-breaking ability of the former first round pick spending his first year in New York after eight seasons in Minnesota, “That’s why Gabby’s here, that’s why we made the deal.”

Getting more scoring chances for Gaborik or any other Ranger was a challenge all game long in the defensive-minded contest. “In the first half of the game,” Tortorella said, “I was trying like hell to get Gaborick away from Chara,” Boston’s 6-foot-9, 255-pound defenseman tasked with spying the Rangers’ star who entered the game having registered at least one point in 11 of the 12 games in which he appeared this season.

Tortorella noted Gaborik’s other contributions besides the big goal, saying “Gabby scores a big goal for us, [but] I thought he [also] played very well away from the puck and killing penalties.”

That paid extra dividends for the Rangers in a game like Sunday’s, because as Tortorella pointed out, ”You have to play a real patient, grinding type [of] game [against Boston]. I thought our decision making was good. I thought our grinding was better [than it had been].”

Leading by a goal after two periods, the chances were good that the Rangers, who started the season 7-1, winning seven straight games right before a 1-4-1 slide, would get back on the winning track again. Sunday’s victory pushed New York to 7-1 when scoring first this season and a perfect 8-0 when leading after two periods.

Still, it wasn’t over until the final minute, as Boston made several late charges, including back-to-back power plays early in the third period. Ranger defenseman Michael Rozsival was called for tripping 2:28 into the final period. As soon as New York killed off that penalty however, center Brandon Dubinsky was whistled for slashing at 4:28, creating essentially, a four-minute Boston power play.

“I thought we lost ourselves a little bit when we went back-to-back with the penalties in the third period and then they started coming a little bit,” Tortorella said.

But, the Rangers killed off both penalties successfully, as Boston was held to 0-for-5 on the power play for the game. The Rangers were 0-for-2 with the man advantage, themselves.

Tortorella acknowledged the play of Lundqvist and his defense as the reasons the Rangers held on to win. “I think an important part of winning in the third period is your goaltender,” he said. “I thought [Lundqvist] made some key saves in the third period.”

Tortorella noted that the most of the Bruins’ best chances came late in the game, and he was proud of how his team responded defensively. “I think Boston only had two or three chances throughout the first two periods,” he said. “The latter half of the third period they came at us pretty hard but I thought we defended well.”

Two players who helped bolster the defense, who like Gaborik, missed the Rangers’ previous game and were uncertain to play before the puck dropped on Sunday, were left wingers Steve Avery and Smithtown, New York native Christopher Higgins.

Tortorella especially credited Higgins, saying “I thought Higgins had a really good game. It certainly stuck out how hard he played and that’s why he gets on the ice in the last minute of the game because of the way he grinded, blocking shots, killing penalties.”

It was in that final minute that Lundqvist made probably his best and most important save of the game, denying right winger Mark Recchi, the NHL’s active leader in assists, points, and games played, with a pad save, holding on with 47.7 seconds left in the game, after Recchi fired from point blank range, just a few feet outside the crease.

“Henk comes up with a great save there,” said Tortorella.

One that Plante would have probably appreciated himself.

It was certainly respected by the 18,200 fans in attendance, who rose to their feet and serenaded Lundqvist with chants of “Henrik! Henrik!”

Staying undefeated (4-0-1) against the Northeast division and moving to within three points of idle, first-place Pittsburgh in the Atlantic division, the Rangers (9-5-1) will embark on a three-game western trip Tuesday through Saturday, which takes them through Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, before returning home against Atlanta, on November 12th.

The Bruins meanwhile, who played without two key players, center Marc Savard and left winger Milan Lucic, have been the model of inconsistency, starting 6-6-1, having alternated losses and wins over all 13 games this season. Boston will have a chance in the coming week to finally put consecutive wins together during a four-game homestand which commences after a trip to Detroit on Tuesday.

“Congratulations to the players,” said head coach John Tortorella in the postgame press conference. “They have fought through it the past couple of months here, [through] ups and downs, lots of things going on around the team-but they found a way. They set themselves up to win one more home game to get in and they got it accomplished.”

The Rangers did all their scoring in the first period, drawing first blood after only eight seconds of play on a contentious goal that probably should have been called off. Markus Naslund stole the puck in the Flyers zone and, after passing to Ryan Callahan via Chris Drury, rushed the net where he would up jamming it past Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron. After reviewing the play, the officials let the goal stand, presumably because there was no hard evidence that Biron had covered the puck before Naslund struck it.

The early goal was exactly what the Garden crowd ordered. Even before the puck dropped the noise was comparable, if not louder, than it had been at nearly any point this season, including Adam Graves night.

Fired on by the crowd, the Rangers doubled their lead at 12:06 of the opening period. Callahan got his 22^nd goal of the season, tipping in a Derek Morris slap shot from the blue line. “Mo shot from the point, I tried to get a stick on it and was lucky enough to,” Callahan said about the goal. “That was really big to get two quick ones. It kinda calmed us down a bit.”

The Rangers clearly owned the first period and could have led by three or even four goals. But Morris picked up a tripping penalty late in the period and New York was forced to start the second with a man disadvantage. The Flyers dominated the powerplay and, though they did not get a goal, clearly took control of the tempo of the game. Daniel Briere’s powerplay goal at 9:14 was the logical consequence. The Rangers had clearly lost steam and were pinned in to their end most of the period. Only in the final minutes did they appear to get back on their feet.

The catalyst was once more Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers All Star goalie, who simply got better as the game wore on. The Swedish backstop faced 38 shots on the night, saving all but one. The most spectacular-a glove save from point blank range-came at 4:28 of the final period, when the Blueshirts were struggling to hang in the game. “I don’t know if it was the turning point,” Lundqvist said when the idea was suggested to him afterwards. “As a goalie, when it’s a 2-1 game, it’s fun because every save can be the difference…I did my job and here we are.”

The final minutes were tense and the Rangers also got lucky, with the post and crossbar sparing the team the equalizing goal. New York also had to face another shorthanded situation, when Markus Naslund was called for interfering with Biron, but managed to kill the penalty. In the final two minutes, the Rangers forecheckers did their job superbly, keeping Philadelphia from advancing past neutral ice and preventing John Stevens from pulling his goaltender for an extra skater. The final minute was pure bedlam; the Garden crowd on its feet, Rangers players throwing themselves into shots.

“We fought it for a little bit there. We were under siege for awhile,” said Tortorella. “But we just kept on fighting and tried to figure out some way to get through the game and win it.”

Mission accomplished. After firing Tom Renney Feb. 23, the team has gone 11-7-2 under Tortorella. Would the Rangers have made the playoffs with Renney? “Who knows? That’s one of those questions you’ll never know,” said Scott Gomez.

Notes: By a unanamous vote, Renney was named this year’s Good Guy for his cooperation with the media, as voted on by the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, while Henrik Lundqvist was named team MVP.

Sutter could have been referring to a few different things happening in the Devils organization.

The win over Phoenix marked a team-record ninth straight home win, which comes after the team has clinched its 17^th straight winning season and 12^th straight 40-win season.

New Jersey is in second place in the Eastern Conference with 91 points, and has 15 more games to reach the 100 point plateau.

Individually, Martin Brodeur is one win away from tying the all-time record for career wins, making 26 saves against the Coyotes for his 550^th career victory.

Zach Parise notched his 40^th goal of the season 18 seconds into the game, giving the league’s second-leading goal scorer a 40-goal, 40-assist season.

All four lines scored against the Coyotes, and the defense is a collective +25 over the last seven games.

Sutter was not kidding when he said that “things” can be accomplished.

Standing in the path of the storming Devils were the extremely young Phoenix Coyotes.

To put in perspective how young the Coyotes are, the team’s average age is 25.68, with Ken Klee (37), Shane Doan (32), Steven Reinprecht (32) and Ed Jovanovski (32) being the team’s elder statesmen.

On the Devils, the age of 32 would make you a junior senator.

New Jersey used that experience to control the puck and the game from the beginning.

With the early 1-0 lead, defenseman Johnny Oduya pushed the puck up the right wing to John Madden at 2:56. Madden stuck his stick out and tipped the past goaltender Josh Tordjman to extend the lead.

“I got pretty lucky. Johnny Oduya made a great play to get us on net. I was going hard to the net, I actually thought their goalie was going to poke-check the puck before I got there so I stuck my stick out hoping I would beat him to it and I found the lane on that shot and I was pretty lucky,” Madden explained.

Phoenix made things interesting in the first period when Dainius Zubrus was called for a double-minor high sticking penalty when his stick caught Jovanovski in the mouth at 8:58.

Less than a minute later, Devils’ defenseman Colin White attempted to clear the puck out of the New Jersey zone with his skate, but Scottie Upshall took the puck away and fired past Brodeur, who was still recovering from stopping a previous shot.

The score remained 2-1 through the end of the first period, despite the Devils out shooting the Coyotes 16-5.

“It helps when guys are scoring goals and you don’t have to worry about the next goal being maybe a game-changer,” Brodeur said.

The Devils used the middle of the second period to insure their lead and remove any pressure from their goaltender.

Zubrus fired a one-timer from the right circle off of a backwards pass from Brendan Shanahan. Tordjman did not have a chance.

“Once Shanny got it, he cycled it quickly, and he put it on his backhand with a lot of guys around him. I bounced off and he read what I was going to do and put it right on my tape, so it was an awesome play by him,” Zubrus said.

Turnovers were key to New Jersey’s control of the game. The Devils took the puck away 11 times from the Coyotes, using the puck control to get a head start on the offense.

At 13:03, Brian Gionta and Patrick Elias forced an odd-man rush, and Gionta on the left side passed the puck through the wide open middle of the ice to Elias on the right. Elias fired a wrister that Tordjman initially stopped, but the puck took a bounce and trickled into the net.

Sutter had switched up his second and third lines during the second period of Tuesday’s game against Calgary, moving Zubrus to the third line with Shanahan and David Clarkson and bringing Brian Rolston up to the third line to center Gionta and Elias.

Another recent development in the Devils game plan has been using Rolston at the point for one of the power play lines instead of a defenseman. That move paid off for New Jersey’s fifth and final goal of the game.

Upshall was penalized for hooking at 3:39 in the third period, and at 4:41 Dmitri Kalinin put the puck over the glass and was called for a delay of game penalty, giving New Jersey a 5-on-3 situation for 55 seconds.

It only took 18 seconds for Rolston to fire a shot from the left point that went on net. Travis Zajac was ready on the opposite side and pushed in the rebound for his 19^th goal of the season.

With the game in hand, the Coyotes got frustrated and began to instigate the Devils.

Clarkson crashed the Phoenix net with only six minutes to go, and the Coyotes took exception, shoving Clarkson around after the whistle. But it was Clarkson who ended up in the penalty box for roughing.

Immediately after serving his time, Clarkson got on the ice and found Brandon Prust, who had already fought Bryce Salvador in the second period, and began an altercation. Clarkson got in the majority of blows on Prust, and once the two were separated, they immediately reported to their respective locker rooms to serve their five minute penalties.

The Coyotes seemed to be invigorated by their teammates’ boxing match, and Steven Reinprecht tried to make the score more respectable at 17:52 by putting the puck past Brodeur.

But the comeback attempt was thwarted, and the Devils did reach nine straight wins at home, the longest current streak in the league.

“We certainly have been a focused group here through this. I still think it’s a very good accomplishment to do what we’ve done, but we’re not patting ourselves on the back. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played here. We want to be a good team down the stretch,” Sutter said.

The Devils go on the road this weekend to face the Montreal Canadiens, Brodeur’s hometown team, on Saturday. If New Jersey wins with Brodeur in net, he will tie Patrick Roy’s career win record.

New Jersey then returns to the Prudential Center for a St. Patrick’s Day game with the Chicago Blackhawks, a possibility for Brodeur to make history at home.

If Brodeur does take the record on Tuesday, they may have to switch the holiday to “St. Marty’s Day.”

But Snow didn’t even wait until the end of February to fire the salvo in a potential fire sale, sending Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli to Ottawa in exchange for a 2009 first-round pick the Senators had previously acquired from San Jose. Dean McAmmond also included in the deal and will take Comrie’s place on the roster as a forward.

The move was the opening salvo in the quest to stockpile picks for an Islanders club that claims an NHL-low 40 points and 17 wins.  For the short term, Snow will be able to plug in McAmmond-a veteran of 916 games-into a winger spot. The 35-year-old will be joining his seventh organization since entering the league with the Blackhawks in 1991-92. He has 176 career goals.

“We’re excited that we are able to add another piece to our rebuilding plans while bringing in someone like Dean who will provide additional depth for our team,” Snow said in a statement. “The Islanders organization would like to thank Mike and Chris for their contributions both on and off the ice over the past few seasons.”

By procuring the first round pick, the Islanders will be able to pick twice in the first 30 spots of a draft. The last-place Isles are the favorite to land the No. 1 overall selection and could pick anywhere from No. 21-30 with the second pick depending on how the Sharks finish the regular season. San Jose currently leads the Pacific Division.

Campoli was the key to the deal. Ottawa picked up the 24-year-old defenseman after he asked the Islanders to trade him. He told reporters that he didn’t feel like a good fit in first-year head coach Scott Gordon’s forechecking-intensive system.

During his rookie year in 2005-06, Campoli seemed like a potential cornerstone offensive-minded defenseman when he tailed nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points in 80 games as a 21-year-old.

But Campoli was sidelined by injuries the past two years, never playing more than 60 games. He recorded just one goal in 51 games in going through a sophomore slump and f followed that up with a four-goal effort in 46 games last season. His numbers picked up this year via his six goals in 51 games, though he struggled in adapting to Gordon’s style, carrying a minus-20 into his new team.

Comrie re-signed with the Islanders last season, inking a one-year contract extension. But that means the 28-year-old can be an unrestricted free agent. The centerman battled through back problems this season, scoring just seven goals in 41 games. He was the only Islander outside of Bill Guerin to crack the 20-goal mark in 2007-08, notching 21 in 76 games.

The River Rats scored the first goal of the game off of the opening faceoff when left wing Joe Jensen sped into the offensive zone and, while shielding the puck with his body, sent a strong backhand pass across the slot to Dwight Helminen for the finish; Helminen’s third goal in two nights came just 19 seconds into the game.  The Devils tied the game six minutes later when Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond deflected a Matthew Spiller slap shot passed Albany goaltender Daniel Manzato to make it 1-1.  Midway through the frame Lowell took its first lead of the contest when Rod Pelley set up Matt Halischuk for a quick one-timer in the slot at 11:29.  With just 34 seconds remaining in the period the River Rats tied the game as rookie Nick Dodge found Jakub Petruzalek all alone in front of the net and, one-on-one with Devils goalie Jeff Frazee, Petruzalek patiently waited out the goaltender and wrested the puck into the top corner.

Albany hit a rash of penalties in the second period as the River Rats were called for three consecutive minors.  Lowell cashed in at 9:52 when defenseman Anssi Salmela gained the blue line and wound up for a big blast that beat Manzato on the glove side.  Jon DiSalvatore gave the Devils a two goal cushion at 16:00 on a slap shot from the point that clanked in off of the low post.  After allowing his four goal of the night Manzato was pulled in favor of backup Justin Peters; Peters did not face a shot over the final four minutes of play and Albany headed to the dressing room trailing 4-2.

The Rats charged out in the third period and scored two quick goals to level the score at 4-4.  1:29 into the third Mike Angelidis charged wide around a defenseman and squeezed a backhander by Frazee on the short side to make it 4-3.  Just nine seconds later Jerome Samson tied the game, putting away his own long rebound from a sharp angle.  The Devils took just thirty nine seconds to break the tie with another deflection, this one off the stick of Pelley from a Salmela shot at 2:17.  Twice in the next few minutes Albany fans thought that their team had found the equalizer; the referee first correctly overruled the goal-judge and indicated that the puck had hit the side of the net, and then waived-off another goal when a cross-bar shot fooled the goal-horn operator.  The Devils posted an insurance goal on a counter attack when Michael Swift sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Nicklas Bergfors at 17:34.  Letourneau-Leblond added an empty net goal with 0.4 seconds remaining to cap off the scoring.

Lowell goaltender Jeff Frazee stopped 30-of-34 shots and earned the win as the Devils improved to 25-21-1-4 on the season.  Albany starter Daniel Manzato blocked 13-of-17 shots in 36:00 of action and received a no decision.  Backup Justin Peters made three saves on five shots over the final 22:03 and took the loss as the River Rats fell to 24-24-3-2 on the year.  Albany out-shot Lowell 34-23 in the game and went 0-for-2 on the power play; the Devils went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

The River Rats will complete a three-game home stand on Monday, February 16^th as they host the Manchester Monarchs for a 5:00 pm President’s Day game at the Times Union Center.

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office.  For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.

Bobby Holik scored eights minutes into the second period and Zach Parise added a power play goal 1:27 later, giving the New Jersey Devils a lead the New York Rangers could not over come.

The Devils won 3-0, and goaltender Scott Clemmensen earned his first shutout this season and the first since March 26, 2004.

“It’s most important to get the win, but now that I have one, I can say it feels really good,” said Clemmensen.

New Jersey (34-17-3) is now 25-0-1 when taking a lead into the third period. Finding that lead, though, has been difficult for the Devils recently.

Clemmensen was solid early, making glove saves and protecting rebounds on several Rangers’ power plays. His teammates also kept the pressure off of him by keeping the puck in the offensive zone.

The Devils outshot the Rangers 13-7 in the first period, including several two-on-one rushes and short handed opportunities. New York is last in the NHL in short-handed goals allowed, and New Jersey’s penalty kill unit seemed more aggressive than usual because of it.

Zach Parise scored the second goal of the game. (Jim leary/NYSD)

In the beginning of the second period, John Madden and Brendan Shanahan created a shorthanded two-on-one opportunity that was deflected behind Lundqvist, but “King Henrik” was not safe for long from his former teammate.

Shanahan, playing in his first game against his former club, pushed the puck up ice with eight minutes gone in the second. He sent the puck to Patrick Elias on the wing, and Elias passed back to Shanahan behind the net.

Shanahan found Holik on the left post and put the puck right where Holik could tap the puck in between Lundqvist’s legs.

“For once in a long time, I timed it well and it skated right into him. A little bit of hard work and a lot of luck,” explained Holik.

Before the Prudential Center crowd could calm down from the first goal, a holding penalty was called on Rangers center Brian Dubinsky, and the Devils’ power play unit capitalized.

At 9:27, Jamie Langenbrunner sent the puck from the point on net. With Parise crashing, Travis Zajac knocked the puck out of the air and swept it to Parise on the left post. Parise knocked the puck past Lundqvist to extend the lead to 2-0.

Taking the lead into the third period was important to all the Devils, but especially to Clemmensen.

“I didn’t want to give up a goal, because that would have brought them within a goal of tying us,” Clemmensen said. “They battled all the way to the very end, and I expect nothing less from them.”

He helped his own cause by making a great save on Aaron Voros in the third period.

Voros made a charge down the left wing and put a shot in on Clemmensen that took a funny bounce.

Clemmensen made the save and another on a Chris Drury one-timer half way through the third that was deflected out of play.

With all of the lines for New Jersey working hard to keep the puck out of harms way, the Rangers had to up the offensive pressure.

With just under two minutes left in the game, Lundqvist was pulled for an extra attacker.

On the ensuing faceoff, Zach Parise took the puck from Langenbrunner and skated all the way to the other end of the ice, scoring an empty-net goal with 1:23 left to seal the game.

Shanahan down played the rematch with his former teammates, saying “The focus was on us getting a win against a division rival.”

Head coach Brent Sutter was extremely pleased with his team’s effort and performance, a change from the previous home games. “We responded well, it was a very solid game on our part, through our whole lineup,” he said.

The Devils will have another chance to put on a show for the home crowd against a division rival when the Islanders come to the Prudential Center on Wednesday. New Jersey hosts two more games this week, against the Boston Bruins on Friday and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Check out www.devilsmademedoit.com for more from Melinda on the Devils homestand.