Rangers 3, Islanders 1

Is going 0 for 11 on the power play any worse than, say a National League championship club going 0 for 30 with runners in scoring position? You can ask Islanders coach Steve Stirling, though he is quick to remind fans who write to him c/o of the club’s website, “I’ll read anything an Islander fan wants to tell me. Just keep in mind two things: I’m the coach, not the GM.”

Mike Piazza’s close personal chum Zakk Wylde (shown above, circa the extensions-era) opened the evening with his six-string rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” — apparently no one at Cablevision could find Liz Phair’s telephone number.

Not a great night thus far for Todd Bertuzzi’s line versus the Avalanche, though on the bright side, they’re all playing hockey and aren’t in jail.