The Islanders come into
tonight's game against the 1st place Montreal Canadiens with something to prove
to themselves and their fans. That
their head coach is viable and they are disciplined enough to take the next
step in their evolution. Thats a tall order,
but I will be cheering them on.
Forwards: Moulson-Tavares-Boyes,
Bailey-Nielsen-Aucoin, Grabner-Reasoner-Okposo, Martin-Cizikas-McDonald.
Defensive Pairings: Finley-Streit, Hickey-Visnovsky,
MacDonald-Hamonic.
Evgeni Nabokov gets the start in
net with Rick DiPietro dressing as back up.
In the first period, Mark Streit
put a pass deep in Montreal's zone, behind the defense for a 1 on 1 with
Price. Advantage, Price. Good start to the game for the Isles. Moen scores for the Habs after a giveaway
from Hamonic, 1-0 Montreal on their first shot of the game. The defense really needs to communicate
better. Per Arthur Staple, "3rd
time this season Isles opponent has scored on 1st shot against -- occurred 10
times last season." Eric Hornick
adds, "2nd time in 3 games Isles have allowed goal in first
minute." I blame the preparedness
and mindset of the Islanders. Coach
Capuano does not have this team dialed in once again. Nabokov has fought off shooters well so far. The Canadiens have been clicking, especially
in the Isles zone. Pacioretty takes
advantage on the PP, Isles D out of position and its 2-0 Canadiens. Motreal out shooting Islanders by a 15-2
margin and have dominated play thus far.
Brian Compton points out the Islanders have only 1 goal in the last 140
minutes of game play.
The Isles to start period with a
PP, and Matt Moulson (Streit and Visnovski) deflects it past Price. 2-1 Montreal. Islanders starting to look better with the puck. A turnover by the Hamonic in the Isles zone
results in another Montreal score. 3-1
Canadiens. Travis Hamonic and D partner,
MacDonald has been off for the last three games. As crazy as it sounds, I think he should be scratched. He needs to refocus. Isles take advantage of a PP, Moulson scores
(Tavares) to make it 3-2 Montreal.
Despite the 28-13 shots advantage and 5 on 5 Montreal control, the Islanders are
not giving up. John Tavares brings this team hope each and every game with his effort. Per Eric Hornick, the
Isles now have 12 PP goals in last 11 games, even though they actually have 0
PP goals in 7 of them.
The third period starts with
penalties for both teams, only seconds apart.
That kills a crucial PP chance for New York. Montreal called for another penalty. Isles get a :53, 4 on 3 PP chance. Nothing gained. Isles on
5 on 4 PP. Nothing there either. Big opportunity missed by the Isles. John Tavares continues to struggle in the
faceoff circle, 14/21. Montreal icing
the puck 6 times in the first 8+ minutes of the third period. Nielsen works it out of the Isles zone to
Aucoin, Bailey back to Nielsen with a wrist shot to beat Price, game tied at
3-3 with about 10 minutes remaining.
Islanders kill a big PP chance for the Canadiens. Casey Cizikas being creative on the PK,
clearing the puck. Visnovsky gets
called for interference with just under 3 minutes remaining in the game. Isles kill the penalty, get a point and
force Overtime. Emelin cross checks
J.T. to the elbow and Tavares coasts to the bench in pain. Looks to be better now. Montreal outshot Isles 32-23 in the 1st 3 periods.
In O.T., both teams trade
chances early. Thomas Hickey scores (John Tavares -from laying on the ice, Michael Grabner) and wins it in overtime for the Islanders! It's Hickey's first NHL goal. The win puts the Islanders 3 points out of
8th position in the eastern conference.
The Islanders' lacked
physicality, a defensive pressence and a reliable and calming influence behind
their bench, and it showed early in the game.
The Isles STILL need a stronger effort 5 on 5 and can not spot these
early leads to strong defensive teams.
Eric Hornick notes, Isles are 1-5-1 when trailing after 2; 2-31-2 last
season.
The Islanders strong PP efforts
are a good positive to focus on with this team. John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Frans Nielsen, Casey Cizikas, Mark Streit, Thomas
Hickey and Evgeni Nabokov had particularly strong efforts tonight. The defense, led by Streit, added to the
offensive rush tonight as the game went on.
It showed as well.
I also still
say we can get excited about the AHL call ups.
Nino Niederreiter,
Ryan Strome, John Persson, Brock Nelson, Kirill Kabanov, Aaron Ness and Matt
Donovan deserve a serious look soon. Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson deserve
one as well. And don't forget Anders
Lee. The organization really does have
the depth, they just need a few tweaks right now.
Lets hope the
coaching changes. That is the biggest problem holding them back right now. Say
what you will, they have a lot of the pieces already. I still contend they are
1 Offensive and 1 Defensive free-agent player from a competitive line up. The Islanders will get there Isles fans. It
has and will take longer than it needs too, but they should/will contend by
next season and Brooklyn will only help things improve.
Isles Notes:
Per Eric Hornick, Tuesday's game
against Ottawa was DiPietro's 14th gm since fite w Brent Johnson in 2011. He's
allowed 3+ goals in 13 of them, and had a save % >900 only 2x.
On February 20th, the Islanders
retired Billy Smith's #31.
Per NHLhistorygirl, In 16 years
of playing in the NHL, Isles Billy Smith was pulled from a game only once
because of injury.
Per nhlfreeagents.com, the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins released former Isles (D) Mark Eaton from pro
tryout contract.
The Islanders will be on NBC for
a game at the NVMC vs. the Carolina Hurricanes @ 7PM.
*** I will most likely miss
covering the Buffalo and Carolina games.
I will try and get updated by early next week.***
NHL Notes:
Lindy Ruff has been fired as
head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
Brian Compton adds, Isles have
had 12 head coaches since Lindy Ruff was hired by the Sabres.
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