The Rangers and Islanders play again tonight at the Crappy Nassau Coliseum for the 4th time this year. The Rangers are 2-1 against the Islanders so far this year, and 6-2-1 against them in the last 9. The Blueshirts looked impressive in the last two games, getting back to their defensive style of play after about a month of forgetting how to play in their own end.

The Islanders, on the other hand, are, well, awful. They are 12-26-4, with a whopping 28 points, and look to be the leaders in the John Tavares sweepstakes. They are currently 0 for January, and are 2-14-2 since December. That’s 6 out of a possible 36 points. At some point you kind of have to feel bad for their lone fan. And once again, Rick Dipietro will be out. Since DiPietro signed that laugher of a 15 year deal in 2006, he has played in a total of 130 games (out of a possible 246), including just 5 this season. As a matter of fact, he has played just 5 games since March 15, 2008. I met DiPietro at the BU alumni game during the strike (when the NHL BU graduates played against the BU team), and I have to say he was a real cool guy, so you kind of feel bad that he’s been injured for that long. But then you remember he’s an Islander, and you just hope he stays hurt longer. I would much rather face Joey MacDonald than DP.

The Islanders always play the Rangers hard, and beware the awful team with the backup goalie. The Rangers have a habit of making backup goalies look like Superman.

Hank is in net tonight after a solid performance and shutout against Ottawa on Saturday night. I would expect the same lineup tonight, with Fritsche and Voros sitting.

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