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Dubielwicz, Tambellini helps Islanders top Rangers

Mar 5, 2008 - 4:47 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Rick DiPietro was not ready to return for the New York Islanders. Just like last season, Wade Dubielewicz was up for the challenge.

Dubielewicz made 27 saves and stopped three more shots in the shootout and Jeff Tambellini scored in the sixth round of the shootout as the Islanders posted a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Dubielewicz made his second straight start in place of DiPietro, who did not have a chance to practice after attending his grandmother's funeral. He made 27 saves before the shootout and picked up his second career win in the bonus format.

"That's my job," Dubielewicz said. "That's just the way it is. If you don't to it, you'll be replaced by someone who will."

His other shootout victory came in New Jersey on the final day of the 2006-07 season, allowing the Islanders to clinch the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth despite DiPietro's absence due to injury. Tuesday's triumph came after the Islanders scored a total of one goal in home losses to Philadelphia and Florida over the weekend.

"He's done a great job for us, not only last year, but this year coming in when we need him," Islanders right wing Trent Hunter said. "If you look at tonight, he played great and was amazing in that shootout and allowed us to get that win."

"He did it last year for us," Islanders coach Ted Nolan added. "He's proven to be a quality goaltender. He's proven to be quite capable, as is Ricky, in big games."

While Dubielewicz was stopping the Rangers in the shootout, the Islanders picked up their fourth win in the season series (4-1-0) when Tambellini raced in and rifled a shot past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

"I was hoping (Martin) Straka would miss so I didn't have to play the role of scoring when we were down," Tambellini said. "I was looking to go glove the whole way, and he just kind of dropped the last second and I got the shot I wanted."

Tambellini would not have had a chance to win it if Dubielewicz allowed more than one tally in the shootout. He gave up a goal to Nigel Dawes in the second round but stopped Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and defenseman Michal Rozsival before Straka's wrist shot sailed over the net.

The goal lifted the Islanders (32-29-7) within three points of eighth-place Philadelphia (33-26-8) in the East.

Blake Comeau, Sean Bergenheim and Trent Hunter tallied in regulation for the Islanders, who are 4-2 in the shootout this season.

The Rangers rallied from a pair of deficits to push the game beyond regulation. Dawes scored a power-play goal early in the second to tie the contest at 1-1, Chris Drury tallied midway through the session to draw the Rangers within 3-2 and Ryan Callahan scored a shorthander 5:47 into the third to forge a tie.

Callahan's tally helped earn the Rangers (34-24-9) a point for the 10th consecutive game (7-0-3). However, they failed to win their fifth in a row and also remained tied for sixth in the conference with the Boston Bruins (35-24-7).

"There were a couple of tough bounces tonight, but I can't make excuses for that," Lundqvist said. "I think we played hard, and it was good to tie the game and get a point, but it's disappointing to lose."

The Islanders opened the scoring late in the first on a fluky play as Comeau ended a 14-game goalless drought. He came flying hard into the right corner intending to deliver a check to Marek Malik but instead gained possession of the puck when the Rangers defenseman turned it over and threw a pass into the crease that went off Rozsival's skate and in.

Dawes tied it at 2:29 of the second, when he banged home Gomez's centering pass from behind the net, but the Islanders countered with two goals in two minutes.

Bergenheim made it 2-1 just moments after Dawes' goal was announced as he put a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle past Lundqvist. Exactly two minutes later, Hunter tipped a shot by Ruslan Fedotenko past the Swedish goalie.

The Rangers tied it when Callahan put in the rebound of Gomez's shot. It was the 14th shorthanded goal allowed by the Islanders this season.

Dubielewicz kept things tied with several key saves, including a point-blank stop on defenseman Marc Staal with under three minutes left in overtime.

"For whatever reason, Dubielewicz really plays well against us," Shanahan said. "I don't know if he gets in the head of the players or what, but he comes out and plays big games against the Rangers."