Not To Rain On the Ranger's Parade (at least their fan's)
Maybe it's because I live in New York and the Yankees lost this year and all those fans are hyped up with a "New Yorker sports fan" pride (and that they are starting to get some bragging rights), but Dubinsky's assist last night was not that great. Sure, he and Callahan made Fleury look a bit ridiculous, but on a 2 on 0 with all the time in the world (and at nearly a standstill), they better. I've heard from a few of my die-hard Rangers friends that Dubinsky's assist was amazing, so I had to check it out for myself.
Ok, I give credit to Dubinsky's move around the defenseman, and his ability to stick-handle behind his back foot, but no matter what he did, this was a gimme-goal. Sorry Dubie, Fleury went down before you even passed the puck so it was going to look like a nice goal anyway. What he did do very well is sell the shot but this wasn't by a nifty move of fake shot. Dubie was actually just moving the puck to get around the defenseman's reaching stick. Fleury mis-read that move as Dubinsky looking to shoot. He actually wasn't in a good shooting position because the puck was so far behind his back foot, so making a pass was a better play (Callahan was in a better shooting stance). And when Fleury goes down early, the decision to pass is even more pronounced.