UNIONDALE, N. James Farrior Jersey.Y. - Ted Nolan can start Rick DiPietro, Wade Dubielewicz, or even coax Hall of Famer Billy Smith out of retirement. If the New York Islanders keep playing poor defence in front of their goalie, it wont make much difference who the coach picks to play. Scott Gomez deflected a shot past Dubielewicz, the usual backup to DiPietro, early in the third period, and the New York Rangers earned a split of the home-and-home series with a 4-1 victory Thursday night. The Rangers, who lost to the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night, came out of the two-game series with three points out of four. They are 8-0-3 in their last 11. "Not that we want to put ourselves in the situation where were going into the third periods with one-goal leads, but its certainly good practice," said Sean Avery, who scored twice. "Its good for us to have that in the back of our heads that we can go into the third and hold the lead." Even though the Islanders lost, the decision by Nolan to start Dubielewicz over DiPietro couldnt be faulted since the goalie had little chance to prevent any of the goals. DiPietro, in the second season of a 13-year contract, was away from the team for three days following the death of his grandmother. He returned to practice Wednesday, but Nolan already seemed to be leaning toward playing Dubielewicz because of the his solid performances against Florida and the Rangers in DiPietros absence. "Hes a hot hand," Nolan said. "You can second-guess yourself, ifs, ands, buts and everything else. I mean, Dubielewicz has been playing well. Rickys had three or four days off. Its kind of unfair to put him into a situation like this. Now, hes got two practices, and hell run with it from here on in." Brendan Shanahan scored a breakaway goal just 1:29 in during a delayed Islanders penalty, and Avery built the Rangers lead to 2-0 later in the first period when he was left open in the slot. "Two point-blank goals basically. Youve got one guy thats scored 700 goals in this league just sitting by himself on the blue-line, and then another guy wide open on the back door," Islanders captain Bill Guerin said of Shanahan, who has scored 649 goals. "In games this big, that cant happen. Its just mental breakdowns. It killed us." Gomez made it 3-1 when a shot by Marc Staal ricocheted in off him and Islanders defenseman Rob Davison at 1:12 of the third. The Rangers jumped over Boston into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with the Bruins holding a game in hand. The Islanders are on the outside of the playoff race, stuck in 11th place - five points and three spots below the post-season cutoff with only 13 games left. "Were going to have to win a lot of those, and some people are going to have to lose," Guerin said. "Nobody is quitting. Were going to keep going and see where everything falls after 82 games." DiPietro took the news that he wouldnt play in stride and watched the game from the far right corner of the bench, wearing a white Islanders baseball cap. Dubielewicz finished with 24 saves, and was bailed out a few times when the Rangers found goal posts when shooting at an open net. His best stop came on Chris Drury, when he dived across the crease to make a stick save. Avery sealed it with an empty-net goal with 57.8 seconds remaining. "It wouldve been nice to be the hero, but what can you do?" Dubielewicz said. "You cant sit around and pout and worry about it now. Ive got to regroup and start working hard and get ready if Im going to get another chance to play." Henrik Lundqvist bounced back from Tuesdays loss with a 26-save effort. His only blemish was Sean Bergenheims second-period goal that caromed in off Rangers defenseman Marek Malik. "I felt good the whole game and I felt like the guys were on their toes," Lundqvist said. "Every time there was a scramble in front, they cleared their guys and got the pucks." The Islanders anemic power play fizzled again, going 0-for-5 including a 5-on-3 advantage for 51 seconds in the middle period. They clicked only twice in the past 41 opportunities over 10 games. "Its awful. Its awful," Guerin said. "Weve tried to figure it out. Weve tried to do different things every game. I dont know what it is." The Islanders fell to 4-2 against the Rangers, and the teams will conclude the eight-game season series with another home-and-home set in April. Notes: Dubielewicz, who has 13 NHL victories, had been 2-0 in his career against the Rangers. .. The Islanders are 96-96-19-3 versus the Rangers. .. Islanders D Brendan Witt tweaked his injured right knee in the third period, but said he expected to be OK. Danny Woodhead Jersey. [PhotoXinhua] HARBIN - More than 20 teams from 14 countries participated in the 16th Harbin International Snow Sculpture Contest Monday in northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. Matt Schaub Jersey. It will be up to arbitrator Richard Bloch to determine if the NHL was within its legal right to reject the 17-year, $102 million contract Kovalchuk signed with the New Jersey Devils on July 19 or if the contract should be immediately approved by the League. Ahmad Bradshaw Jersey. The Sculptress JOEL works on the statue of Ruswarp. A bronze casting of the devoted dog will be unviled at Garsdale Station early next year. [Agencies] When Mr Nuttall, 41, did not return to Burnley in Lancashire from his days walk in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, neighbours raised the alarm. Authentic Mario Manningham Jersey. Raptors coach Jay Triano told reporters after Mondays practice that he will travel with the team for the game, but wont be in the lineup. Clay Matthews Jersey. But American orthopedic specialists have found that talking too much holding a cell phone can lead to cell phone elbow. Donna Malloy, a 66-year-old American lady, said she noticed the numbness in her hands when she spoke on her cell phone for hours.Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - The Tennessee Titans have reportedly agreed to terms on a contract with rookie running back Chris Johnson. The Tennessean reported Saturday that the Titans have signed their first-round pick to a five-year $12 million deal, worth $7 million guaranteed. With the signing of Johnson, whom they picked 24th overall out of East Carolinaa, the Titans have inked all of their draft picks. Tim Tebow Jersey Johnson is expected to compete for time both as a running back and as a slot receiver for the Titans, while also contributing in the return game. Johnson led the NCAA with 227.7 all-purpose yards per game (109.5 rushing, 40.6 receiving, 77.6 kickoff returns) during his senior year. ' ' '