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| DP > Henrik | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 7 2007, 12:50 PM (511 Views) | |
| Andy | Nov 7 2007, 12:50 PM Post #1 |
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Enjoying the game.
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http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islan...,1251074.column Newsday.com DiPietro outduels Lundqvist Mark Herrmann November 7, 2007 It doesn't take perfect vision to see that hockey in New York revolves around the goaltenders. You could say hockey everywhere revolves around goalies, but it goes doubly in New York. And that is not even counting New Jersey, where Martin Brodeur is in the latter stages of a Hall of Fame career. Just taking the parochial view, though, the discussion usually starts with the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist, who lately has been talked about as the best goalie in the National Hockey League. No argument there, except maybe last night from the other end of the rink and the other side of the East River. This game belonged to Rick DiPietro, the Islanders' goalie who did just fine without having perfect vision. He made two intense, athletic and absolutely essential saves in the last minute that saved the Islanders' 3-2 win at Nassau Coliseum. He stopped Nigel Dawes and Chris Drury one right after another, which would be pretty good for anyone but really good for someone whose right eye wasn't quite right. "It still feels a little different from the other one, but I continue to see better," DiPietro said. "It's tough to explain." Much easier to explain is the way the Islanders and Rangers rely on their goalies, both of whom are homegrown with their current teams, both having come from the 2000 draft. DiPietro was the first goalie ever taken first overall, Lundqvist was a seventh-rounder who blossomed later. The whole thing sets up a nice rivalry within a rivalry that doesn't figure to fade any time soon. Lundqvist is the cool, quiet cornerstone of the Rangers, who have developed a knack for playing good defense this season. Heck, sometimes it seems as if they have morphed into the Devils. Don't snicker. It works, what with the Rangers having allowed a total of two goals in their previous four games, all wins. DiPietro is the fiery heart and soul of the Islanders. "When he practices hard, the team practices hard," coach Ted Nolan said. "When he plays a good game, we play a good game." No wonder the Islanders get a little queasy when they see him doubled over on the ice and heading off to the hospital with a bloody eye, which happened Saturday after Penguins star Sidney Crosby accidentally high-sticked him. It turned out not to be too serious. DiPietro practiced Monday and knew that night he was going to play in the Rangers game. "The doctor cleared me to play," he said, "and I did." No big deal. Except the Islanders know better. They know that the franchise is being built around him. They know that management signed him to a 15-year contract. They know he put down roots on Long Island, something about as appealing to many big-name players as a stick in the eye. "He's the backbone of our team," said Bill Guerin, who should know, considering he is the captain. "This is a guy who we rely on every night to be our best player. He's a guy who invested in this organization with his whole career. He's a kid who's into it. He's happy to be here, he wants to win here and he comes to the rink every day and works." There have been times when DiPietro has made a critical mistake against the Rangers, times when he has not looked to be Lundqvist's equal. Last night was not one of those times. He came up big when the Islanders needed him most, especially in that Dawes-Drury flurry. "I don't know, they had some shots, our 'D' blocked some shots and it was in front of the net, which was huge," the winning goalie said. It gets too easy sometimes to pin a win or tag a loss completely on the goalie. Lundqvist said he felt good and offered the measured explanation that the Rangers gave up the puck "in the wrong areas." Rangers coach Tom Renney was emphatic in saying Lundqvist "needed much more support than he got." "This loss had zero to do with Henrik Lundqvist," Renney said. But we all know how it works: When Lundqvist notched his four shutouts, no one said he got too much credit for solid team defense. So the Islanders' three-goal third-period burst goes down as a loss on Lundqvist's personal statistics. That's the way it goes with goalies, especially in New York, where goalies are stars. It is just another reason that this rivalry sparkles, which is plain to see. --- Now watch, as HK gets showered with praise for keeping the Rags in games where they can't score, and DP is continuously written off.
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| Webb20 | Nov 7 2007, 01:26 PM Post #2 |
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Godfather
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I wasnt very happy with the slant on this article, especially coming from the guy who was our 'beat' reporter while Logan was gone. DP Herrmann's take
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I sold it all, retired and moved to Fabulous Las Vegas! "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."-Ben Franklin "Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."-Ronald Reagan | |
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| SimonSays | Nov 7 2007, 08:10 PM Post #3 |
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Snow likes Wang
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They forgot to say that Henrik is the first female goaltender in the nhl. |
| Beat me at the Lighthouse | |
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| Tavarizard | Nov 7 2007, 08:17 PM Post #4 |
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Born during the 1993 Stanley Cup. How heartbreaking is that?
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Thank you for that. But really, this article's a really nice read. Unbiased, informative, very well done. DP = ![]()
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| ronski631 | Nov 7 2007, 08:29 PM Post #5 |
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Stubborn Polish Maniac
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Rh%C3%A9aume ![]() |
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| Snowy | Nov 8 2007, 04:47 PM Post #6 |
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The Dark Knight
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Henrik is an excellent goalie, he really is. But he is the most overrated goalie I think I have ever seen come into this league. The Rangers games on Monday and Tuesday nights are perfect examples: Monday, Lundqvist shuts out the Flyers 2-0. He made 30 saves. Another shutout for the hottest goalie in the league. He gets all the credit. Tuesday, Lundqvist loses to the Islanders 3-2. He makes 24 saves on 27 shots. Renney comes out and says that this loss cannot be blamed on him at all. Sorry, can't have it both ways. All three goals were scored on some pretty awesome shots, but none of them were unstoppable. Tank's goal was the most difficult of the shots to stop, and I wouldn't blame him. But wrist shots coming from above the hashmarks are not unstoppable. If he didn't sit back in his net the way he does and came out and challenged Miro especially would have had nothing to shoot at. DiPietro is the best player on our team and he is the heart and soul. I wouldn't trade him with any goalie in the NHL because he is not only a good goalie who is developing into a great goalie, but his puckhandling is superior and his fire and competitiveness are unmatched. But if he lets in a couple of sh!t goals we tell it like it is. But at the end of the day he is the franchise. We don't put on this Circus Act that when he wins its all him and when he loses it's the team's fault. |
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| LEDZEP | Nov 8 2007, 04:54 PM Post #7 |
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The Best That Ever Skated 80-81-82-83
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Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do... ![]() What puckhead says is Islander law Come in with the milk "A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough." Ronald Reagan | |
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| king glorious | Nov 8 2007, 06:53 PM Post #8 |
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All Star
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if I had the best goalie in the league playing for me and I was still under .500 I would be a bit concerned (there are several great goalies in this league - it is hard to separate them, but dp is def. part of that conversation).... DP has played very well, but we have been winning as a team, I cant wait for him to get hot. |
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| Islander4cups | Nov 8 2007, 07:17 PM Post #9 |
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In Garth I Trust
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I found it hysterical last year that Lundqvist was a finalist for the Vezina when you consider on Jan 1 he had a GAA of 2.8 and a sv % at .895. Granted his defense was terrible, but I thought the Vezina was for THE WHOLE SEASON, not just the last 2/3 of the year. If Brodeur wasn't so good last year, I'm sure the NY media would have stolen it for "the Court Jester". |
I miss these and want more of them ![]()
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| Snowy | Nov 8 2007, 08:33 PM Post #10 |
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The Dark Knight
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Let's also mention that he was only a finalist for the Vezina because for the first time ever they allowed 4 Finalists (because of a tie between Mr Hanky and somebody else in the voting). |
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| OpieAnthony | Nov 9 2007, 09:33 AM Post #11 |
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4th line
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As bad as he was at the beginning of the season, look at his season stats. In the end they were as good as anybody else's. He was great at the end of last year and carried the Rags back into the playoffs. But, he did it while facing the least amount of shots in the league because the Rags found the trap. He has really benefitted from their style of play the way Brodeur did. Both great goalies that make the big stop when they have to, but they don't have to more that 2 or 3 times a game. |
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| Islander4cups | Nov 9 2007, 12:41 PM Post #12 |
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In Garth I Trust
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I'm not bashing Lundqvist. I thought from Feb-end of the season DiP and Lundy were easily the best goalies in the east. However, with as well as Lundqvist played, it doesn't cover up for the fact that he was BRUTAL the first 30 games of the season for the Rangers and playing poorly to Jan 1 of your team's games should effectively remove you from Vezina consideration in my mind. |
I miss these and want more of them ![]()
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| 3POTI | Nov 9 2007, 10:29 PM Post #13 |
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Bring back...PRIDE OF THE ISLAND
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Hey! |
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Today Is A Great Day To Be An Islander Fan! Live For The Moment! | |
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| Numbers65 | Nov 10 2007, 10:47 AM Post #14 |
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4th line
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When DP is on he is ON! And he definately does more than stop pucks. I he could wear a letter, he would be the Captain! Since he can't be captain, we are FORTUATE to have GUERIN!
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| blakenyash25 | Nov 10 2007, 11:14 AM Post #15 |
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4th line
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Don't get me wrong I hate the Rangers, I despise them, but Henrik Lundqvist is an amazing goalie, theres no denying that and I think its DP = Henrik Henrik is a better goaltender's goalie DP is a better overall, he is the best Goalie in the league playing the puck and will probably produce 20-30 breakaways, 2 on 1, 3 on 2, etc. this year and probably handful of assists and you dont see that with any other goalie Plus DP wasn't too great in the beginning but lately hes been great (except carolina) but its just going to be great to watch DP & Henrik for the next 5-7 years and plus Henrik is gunna get like 5.5 - 7 million after this year and buckle the rangers salary cap wise. While DP will make 4.5 mil for the next 13 years, now the Rags will have basically have 28-30 million with 4 guys: Gomez -- 8 mil Drury -- 7.1 mil Jagr -- 8.3 mil Henrik -- probably 5-7 mil More than half of their cap between 4 guys ![]() and the only guys with contracts for next year are: Hollweg Orr Betts Callahan Prucha Staal Jagr Drury Gomez WITH RFA's: Lundqvist Gerardi Tyutin Hossa Dawes Moore This is going to be Sather in the offseason ![]() Sorry I know I just went off on a huge rant, I just laugh every time I think about it ![]() |
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| MrsDP | Nov 10 2007, 11:44 PM Post #16 |
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Unregistered
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We should sign lundqvist to back up DP
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| 3POTI | Nov 10 2007, 11:47 PM Post #17 |
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Bring back...PRIDE OF THE ISLAND
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Maybe he can be DP's shoe shine boy? |
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Today Is A Great Day To Be An Islander Fan! Live For The Moment! | |
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3:27 AM Jul 11