Islanders Flat Against Panthers

Forwards: Moulson-Tavares-Okposo, Grabner-Nielsen-Parenteau, Rolston-Bailey-Martin, Wallace-Pandolfo-Niederreiter.

Defensemen: Streit-Staios, Ness-MacDonald, Eaton-Jurcina.

Nabokov in goal, Montoya backing up

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The Islanders start the game with a strong effort again by throwing checks and moving their feet in pursuit of the puck.  Frans Neilsen scores first, going five hole on a break away to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead early in the 1^st period.  Evgeni Nabokov stands tall again making a couple of big saves.  Josh Bailey hits a post on a strong move to the net.  Bailey has almost found his game, but he has yet to finish regularly.  Michael Grabner, P.A. Parenteau and J.T. putting on the pressure early on in the game.  The Islanders seem to really be focused on good team defense thus far.  In a bit of bad luck, the puck deflects off Steve Staios and goes in behind Nabokov.  The game is tied at 1-1, with the shots on goal even at 9.

Florida seems to be getting the breaks early on in the second period.  They take the lead at 2-1 and then 3-1 early in the second.  Isles getting out shot 15-14.  Panthers have taken over, going up by a score of 4-1 now.  Isles seem to be slow to the puck now and may be tired, now feeling the effect of back to back matinees, especially the physical nature of yesterday’s game.  Most notably, Florida’s face off wins are turning into goals.  They have also been able to camp forwards in front of the Isles goal to create a screen so far this game with little exception shown by New York.

Al Montoya now in net for Isles to start the third period with Nabokov on the bench.  Isles showing a little more fight, but still can’t get a break to go their way.  Too many shots are regularly missing the net.  The Isles are playing flat and seem to always be missing the mark.  While they haven’t quit, they again seem to be grinding to make something happen with little success.  Inconsistency seems to be creeping back into all parts of their game, from passing to shooting to positioning.  Montoya didn’t allow a goal, but looks shaky again in his relief of Evgeni Nabokov today.

With recent success, there probably isn’t any reason to panic, but every point loss will help kill the slim playoff chances that remain for New York.  What can be unsettling is the way the team played in such a vital game to a team above them who hey need to start beating to take the next step.  The Islanders looked good at times, but overall, they played a bad game at home.  The Panthers dictated play for most of the game.  Their lack of scoring made itself apparent today when most shots towards the net were off target.  It made Theodore’s job easier in net for Florida when the shots that were on target hit him in the chest or pads.

They need to just forget this game and move on to the next one.  A win against a struggling Jet team should be an attainable goal.  They need to outwork their opponents because they aren’t quite good enough yet to out duel them in every game.  Focus and build on the positives while retooling the negatives.  The Isles need to get back to what was winning games and force the opponent to play their style of game.  What they can’t afford to do is spot their opponents an early lead and try and catch up if they want a realistic chance of competing for a playoff spot.

Chris Botta remarks, “With so much at stake for the first time in a long time, #Isles come up small in homestand against MTL, LA and FLA and lose 2 of 3.”

The Islanders are now 23-24-8.

Isles Notes:

Brian Compton reports “with 306 wins, Evgeni Nabokov has passed Billy Smith on the all-time list.”

NYI had blocked a league high 944 shots after the game vs the Kings.

The Islanders’ 48 hits vs the King’s set a new franchise record.

Eric Hornick reports that Evgeni Nabokov & Bruins goaltender, Tim Thomas have 0 OT/SO losses this yr. Only 3 goalies in the SO era have done so over full season (28+ gms) They would be Raycroft, Smith and Lehtonen.

Tom Mascioli of @islesinfo mentions that “Micheal Haley gets the hat trick, 8th of the season at 10:23 of the 3rd prd to give Bridgeport an 8-1 lead. Mouillierat & Landry assisted.”

Also, “Kirill Kabanov returned to action tonight with Shawinigan after missing just 1 game with what was reported to be a possible concussion.”

Dee Karl is reporting a Tuesday meeting for the New Development Group on the NVMC project.  It seems the Islanders will not have official representation at the meeting.