The Rick DiPietro Show

Look, if Ricky wanted a case to sue his defense for non-support, last night's 56 save effort in the shootout loss to the Rangers would be Exhibit A.

Rick was not just outstanding. He was Otherworldly. Sure, lots of the shots were great positional saves that hit him because he was in the right spot, but he also had some great stops mixed in there. And nobody needs to be facing 56 shots a night.

Was I the only one who thought that the game was a lot like the old Oilers games were back in the glory days? You'd see Grant Fuhr in net getting peppered over and over and over and the Oilers would win the game. Only difference was last night, the Isles didn't score 6 goals.

The Rangers-to their credit-played like a desperate team last night and more than deserved to win the game.

Here's an interesting quote in a game report from the NY Times' Lynn Zinzer. This is Jagr:

...Then Jagr joked that he thought DiPietro should take a game off to celebrate setting the record for most saves by an Islanders goalie, surpassing the 55 stopped by Billy Smith in 1972 and by Félix Potvin in 1999.

“That’s what I would do,” Jagr said.


Yep, that is what Jagr would do: he'd quit. He'd take a powder. No matter that he's in the middle of a playoff push. The guy would disappear...rather than persevere. He's been goldbricking the shootouts all year because he doesn't feel up for them. (Why am I talking like Bobby The Brain Heenan? I blame WWE 24/7.)

How long before Tom Renney pulls a Phil Spector and wigs out (no pun intended, Phil) at Jagr's diva horsepiles? Between managing him and a character like Sean Avery (who mixed it up pretty good last night), Renney's got to be given credit for keeping his team in the hunt this long. And yes, my head just almost exploded because I had to heap praise on two dirty Rangers!

So now we look to Thursday and the "and-home" part of the home-and-home. Should coach Ted Nolan sit Ricky in favor of Mike Dunham? That is a tough call. I was hoping for Rick to get a night off last Saturday when our boys played the Capitals. Maybe Nolan is shooting for this upcoming Saturday when the Caps are in town. The Isles have two games with direct playoff implications on the 13th and 15th when they visit Montreal and Ottawa, respectively.