MONTREAL – Think the loss to the Rangers still lingers in the Isles’ locker room? Think again.

“To me, this is a bigger game than the Ranger game,” coach Peter Laviolette said of last night’s matchup with the Canadiens.

The Islanders have made a reputation for coming back strong after losses this year around the league. After the first overtime loss to Detroit, the Isles came out like a house of fire and blew Carolina’s doors off. Following the 2-1 regulation loss to the Red Wings, the Islanders stormed the Flyers for a 2-1 win in Philadelphia.

Islander fans may have taken the Ranger loss harder than the Islander players, who have been going about their business in a one-game-at-a-time manner.

“If we only cared about the New York Rangers,” Laviolette said, “we’d end up in last place.”

But Theo Fleury’s infamous “Chicken Dance,” in which the Ranger pest flapped his arms like a chicken and clucked in the direction of Eric Cairns in the penalty box for his cross-check of Sandy McCarthy, still smells.

“It was not a classy move. What else do you want me to say?” Laviolette said.

After the game, Cairns barked the c-word at Fleury as he left the Coliseum, which was the only retaliation made by any Islander for disrespecting the team on its home ice.

Laviolette didn’t say that he was disappointed no one took a shot at Fleury during the game for his long, drawn-out mockery of the Islanders.

“The next time we play the Rangers, I want to see us win the game,” Laviolette said.

Twenty years ago, the miniature Fleury would not have left the game without being run or challenged to a fight. After the game, Michael Peca said that there was nothing in the league to deter Fleury from acting a fool, such as a fine or suspension.

“You know how we can hurt the Rangers next time, is we can kick their [butt],” Laviolette said.

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Mark Parrish, who leads the NHL with 13 goals, has played himself into contention for the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Salt Lake City in February.

Herb Brooks was scouting American players Parrish, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter at Thursday night’s Isles-Rangers affair at the Coliseum and said that he likes what he sees out of the Islanders’ Minnesota-born right wing.

“I think it would be a tremendous honor for him and for our organization,” Laviolette, a two-time U.S. team member, said.