This is the way the Rangers season ends, this is the way the Rangers season ends, not with a bang but an ONSLAUGHT FROM THE 30th-PLACE RIVALS.
Well, perhaps that's jumping the gun juuuuuust a tad. But if would be fun if a) The Isles won (in regulation), and b) it continued the Rangers' spiral. A lot to ask, I know, but I had to work on Presidents' Day {plays violin}, so I feel that I -- like the cheesemakers and the meek -- deserve something.
New York Islanders (17-33-6, 30th) at Short Island Smurfs (30-22-6, 7th/E)
7 p.m. | Madison Square Garden | MSG-/MSG+
[Lighthouse Hockey preview: Finish Them!]
Blogs of the Misguided: Rangerland.net | Scotty Hockey | Hockey Rodent
For my part, tonight will be a little different than the normal still-nascent game threads, where visitors are always encouraged to chime in with id and insight during the game.
But see, tonight Doug of the Islanders 'Official's Outlook blog has organized a Cover It Live live blog with some of the other Islanders bloggers. So I will be joining him and others there while also checking in here to keep the light on and my dinner warm. Islesblogger Mike, meanwhile, has a friend over and some beer on tap, so he will participate in the liveblog -- but with a focus on enjoying this "road" game the way nature intended before this bunch of tubes formed to create an innerwebs.
I invite you to stop by and leave your (SFW-ish) piece in either forum. I think Cover It Live usually entails some form of comment moderation -- whereas these SBN threads trust you to behave before you get slapped with a misconduct -- so we'll see how that part goes. Either way, it should be fun. As always, this matchup -- no matter the standings -- has explosive potential.
Game/Roster Notes
I've seen no updates as of this scheduled posting, but this Event Summary link should work and have the game's rosters whenever they're filed.
Note: Box scores and links from this season's previous meetings after the jump...