- Rangers 2 Islanders 1: Why did he do it? He had to know how important this game was and he had to know this wasn’t the time to take a penalty. So, why did Chris Simon decide to take a total cheap shot against Ryan Hollweg? Was it because Hollweg had checked him, cleanly we should note, into the boards? Was it because he has always been willing to mix it up in his career? We may never know, but Simon will take a long “vacation” from the NHL and the Rangers got a huge win out of it.
The Islanders controlled the game for most of the first two periods and took a 1-0 lead off of a goal by Simon. But, the Rangers rallied and the newest Ranger, Paul Mara, scored off of the power play to tie the game at one.
That’s where things stood in the third period when Simon committed his atrocious penalty. Petr Prucha scored on the resulting power play and the Rangers benefited from what appeared to be a horrible replay call to secure the victory and move into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
- Devils 4 Pittsburgh 3 (shootout): While the excitement was on Long Island, New Jersey played a huge game in Pittsburgh. Thanks to Patrik Elias, they walked away winners and extended their lead in the Atlantic Division.
- At the Big East Tournament: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Lousville and Pittsburgh all advanced to the semifinals.
