On the Islanders Beat

As the shootout was about to begin last night at GM Place, Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo and the Islanders’ Rick DiPietro both were bent over, gathering themselves for the one-on-one contest to decide what had been an emotional 2-2 game matching two special players who always will be linked in NHL history.

He downplayed it later, but this game meant a lot to DiPietro, who was taken with the first overall draft pick in 2000 when former Islanders general manager Mike Milbury traded away Luongo and forward Ollie Jokinen to Florida for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish. Heading to the shootout, DiPietro had to be running on fumes after facing 45 Canucks shots compared to 28 by the Isles against Luongo.

Yes, the tying goal DiPietro gave up to Daniel Sedin just 1:22 after Blake Comeau had given the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 2:58 of the third period was disappointing when it squeezed between his pads. It looked so simple compared to what seemed like an unending series of brilliant saves. DiPietro began by stopping 18 of 19 first period shots by the Canucks, including back-to-back breakaways by Byron Ritchie, and he reached a crescendo with a near-impossible spinning deflection of defenseman Willie Mitchell’s point-blank blast in front about 40 seconds into overtime.

It was reminiscent of the game last March 5 at Madison Square Garden when DiPietro stopped 56 of 57 Rangers shots only to lose in a shootout to rival Henrik Lundqvist. The same thing happened here as Alexander Edler gave the Canucks a 2-1 edge in the shootout to record a 3-2 victory in the game.

Still, it was an epic confrontation in which DiPietro earned applause from the Vancouver crowd after the save on Mitchell. Despite the result, DiPietro was asked if the game was as much fun for him to play as it was for the spectators to watch.

“No, we lost,” DiPietro said with a shake of his head. “It’s never fun. Losses are brutal. Never. I feel sick to my stomach.”

That’s what it means to be a professional. DiPietro knows how good he was for 99 percent of the night under extraordinary pressure. But he has to live with the bottom line and try to be even better the next time.

Speaking of Daniel Sedin’s tying goal through gritted teeth, DiPietro said, “It’s a deflection in front, and it squeaked in my five-hole. It happens. I get frustrated every time they score to be honest with you. I don’t like to be scored on, period, regardless of how it goes in. We took a 2-1 lead. I’d like to play at least a couple minutes with the lead, but that happens. We fought hard and got the point.”

Asked about his acrobatics in what he described as a “chaotic” first period, DiPietro said, “They’re a good cycling team. They create stuff in front of the net. You can’t always stay compact. You’ve got to flail around a little bit.”

While the Islanders missed a chance for two points, they at least grabbed one and hung tough in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference despite four straight losses in which they still gained three points for reaching overtime. The rest of the Isles, who have been fighting themselves when it comes to scoring, know where their bread is buttered.

“Ricky has been absolutely spectacular,” said captain Bill Guerin, who scored the first of two fluky goals given up by Luongo. “He’s proven time and time again this year that he’s an elite goaltender in this league. I know he wanted to win real bad tonight. He wanted to beat Roberto. He’s a competitive kid. It’s our opinion in here, and I think Ricky’s making a great case for himself, that he is one of the elite goaltenders in this league.”

Reflecting back on all the first period breakdowns in front of DiPietro, Guerin said the Islanders couldn’t get as far as the red line coming out of their own end without losing the puck and creating breakaway chances. “Honestly, it was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters in our end for a little while,” Guerin said. “We were running around. It was disappointing. We were not happy with ourselves. But I like the character of our team to jump back and play two solid periods like that.”

Coach Ted Nolan, who was upset by a 4-0 loss the previous night in Edmonton, began the game by dropping Miroslav Satan, Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko to the fourth line. Before the night was over, he would bench Vasicek and rookie Blake Comeau in the second period and then throw out at least five new line combinations over the course of the third period.

Comeau got back on the ice early in the third with Vasicek and Sean Bergenheim and scored the go-ahead goal when Luongo lost the puck in his skates and kicked it loose in the crease, where Comeau tapped it in while Luongo was searching behind himself. “It’s never nice to sit out, but I’m sure Teddy had a reason for it,” Comeau said. “I just wanted to come out in the third and contribute, and I got a lucky bounce.”

Nolan also had Fedotenko and Andy Hilbert together on the ice with Mike Sillinger for one shift and with Tim Jackman for another. He dropped Richard Park down from the top line to team with Sillinger and Trent Hunter and moved Satan up from the fourth line to Park’s spot with Guerin and Mike Comrie.

By the end of the game, the Islanders all were just playing a hard hockey game no matter what position they were asked to play. “When things ain’t working, it’s our job to mix and match and try to get them going and get that little spark to get them through this little bit of a lull we’re going through,” Nolan said. “Once we get through it, all the guys will be back on their regular lines. But when things ain’t working, you just try to find little things that will get them fired up and get them through the tough spots. But by no means are we giving up on people.”

The coach said it was a positive sign that his players were cheering for each other on the bench at the end rather than pouting or hanging their heads. Now, it’s on to Calgary, where DiPietro will face another high-powered Western Conference team on Friday night.

“Ricky’s been terrific for us,” Nolan said. “People here in the west don’t have a chance to see him like we don’t see Luongo that much. But we know what kind of goaltender he is, and the people here in the west can see what kind of goaltender we have on Long Island.”