Eastern Quarter Finals, Game 3 - Islanders vs. Pittsburgh
Pens coach Dan
Bylsma: "Our players have not seen this building like the way it’s going
to be tomorrow."
Today, your New York
Islanders are on Colisieum ice to battle the Pittsburgh Penguins in game
3. It was in game 2, the Isles answered
for their loss in game 1 and the return of NHL golden boy, Sidney Crosby with a
come from behind victory, fit for the storied pages of Isles history. The Isles showed character and the kind of
bond they have forged with a solid game in a hostile building. Today, the stakes and reward, will be even
higher as they play before a packed house of Long Islanders and NY fans that
have earned their place in the hoopla.
Isles fans are the greatest in sports.
Our passion shows itself in good times and in bad and despite all the
struggles of the past, Your New York Islander have some more noise to make this
year. Together, we will see how much
more.
Forwards: Bailey-Tavares-Boyes, Moulson-Nielsen-Okposo,
Ullstrom-Aucoin-McDonald, Grabner-Cizikas-Martin.
Defensive
Pairings: Streit-Carkner,
Hamonic-MacDonald, Strait-Visnovsky.
Evgeni Nabokov is in
net with Kevin Poulin behind the bench.
In the first period,
The crowd is electric and the Isles came out on fire to match. The Isles have some strong puck movement,
and cycle past Fleury in the Pens net.
Matt Moulson (Visnovsky & Okposo) slides it between Fleury's leg and
left post, 1-0 Islanders. Isles come up
empty on a PP chance. Nabokov robs
Crosby with an awesome glove save.
Casey Cizikas (Grabner) puts in a one timer off Niskanen and doubles the
Isles lead, 2-0 Isles. Islanders are
firing in all aspects of their game.
They are moving the puck, hard on the check and playing a physical
game. Colin McDonald draws another PP
opportunity. Isles and the barn are
buzzing. Islanders with some good
pressure, but fail to score with the extra man. McDonald huge in his defensive assignments. Strait and Hamonic strong on D for Isles
(Arthur Staple). Grabner stopped on a
breakaway chance.
Pens draw a PP
chance off Streit. Hamonic holds to
give Pens 5 on 3 PP. This could be
trouble. Pens score right away to make
it 2-1 Isles, still 1:37 on Hamonics penalty.
Game tied at 2-2 off a touchdown pass from Malkin to Kunitz between the
Isles D. Two goals at :19 seconds
apart. Now, its back to a game and the
momentum has shifted. Granber and
Cizikas making Fleury work, Isles bringing more effort, pressuring Penguins
defense. Penguins take the lead off a
pass from Crosby across crease to Dupuis with 1:00 remaing, 3-2 Pens. Arthur Staple reports Ullstrom not on
bench. Could be from Cooke hit earlyier
in the period. Isles outshoot Pens 13-8
in the period. Islanders need to keep
up their level of play and regroup.
Another lesson learned. I am
impressed with how they came out and have still not slowed down. They need to bring the crowd back in
it. Work Fluery and Pens defense
hard. Better things coming.
David Ullstrom back
on the bench to start the second period.
Isles need to dictate flow, play hard and physical - get the crowd fired
up. Most importantly, stop taking
penalties. Michale Grabner having a
strong game. Cooke and Carkner called
for an odd interaction at the isles bench with Carkners stick blade. 4 on 4 situation for 2:00. Nabokov has looked better so far in the
second period. Cizikas and Hamonic make
friends with Malkin. Isles have raised
their energy level. I want to see Michael Grabner get rewarded
today. He has been playing his ass off in this game. Isles bench calls a
timeout. Despite everything, Murray
hits top righ corner, 4-2 Pens.
Colisieum is quiet. The period
ends with shoots even at 8 each. Isles
have the 21-16 edge in the game so far.
To start the third
period, the Isles need to turn it up down two goals. John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov need to be the saviours. They need to make Fluery work, control the
flow of play and bang bodies. Forcing defensive turnovers and Fleury is their
weakness. Despite what happens, I love
their fight. Good things are coming
fans.
Isles watch Crosby
get the golden boy nod against Strait for a PP call. Josh Bailey springs Kyle Okposo for an awesome short handed break
away goal with a Penguins player draped all over him. 4-3 Penguins. Crowd all
over Crosby, Fleury and the game. Isles
with strong puck control enetering the Pens zone. John Tavares (Bailey) gets a huge goal for his playoff first!!
Game tied at 4-4. Fans chant,
"M-V-P." Isles on the PP. Teams fighting back and forth, but Isles
continue to control the play. This game
will go to O.T. Isles outshot Pens 13-3
in the period and 34-19 in the game.
In O.T. of game 3,
your New York Islanders entered the extra period with some good defense against
the Pens and some solid chances in the offensive zone. Pens get another weak PP chance from Strait
on Crosby. Kunitz, Strait can not take
his sceond hand off the stick there.
Pens win it 5-4 in 8:44 of O.T.
Evgeni Nabokov went 20-25 with a .800Sv%. Pens with a 6-2 shots advantage in O.T., Isles finish 36-25 in the
game.
Recap:
It would be nice to
blame the officiating for bad calls and non calls against the Isles, but the
Penguins made the most of another PP chance.
While Strait can not take his second hand off the stick while covering a
diver like Crosby, the Officials should not and can not make that call. Especially as Crosby is purposely falling
down in an NHL Playoff O.T. period. The
result of the call can and did, mean the difference in the game.
This one hurt to
lose, but credit the team and the coaching staff for coming out and playing one
hell of a game. Coach Capuano has
recovered well in games two and three with leadership and a good game plan. He deseves the credit. I am glad to see that the Islanders are
playing a game that makes its fan base proud against a very good Pens
team. The Isles have been good at
jumping on their opponents mistakes,
applying pressure that force turnovers and pushing through adversity to keep
themselves in a difficult game situation.
You should be proud of this team fans.
They will just continue to learn from experience and get better as a
team and an organization.
Game 4 is set for
tuesday at the NVMC and I'll be there in section 331.
@Schultz88 Hamonic: Fan support “sent chills down my
spine” after anthem.
#beLIeve
#STRONGisland
Grail
Knight of the game is a new category for KoC that awards a player for his
standout performance
that kept his team in the game, helped them win or just never surrendered.
Grail
Knight for Game 3: Michael Grabner and Kyle Okposo will share the honors for
game 3. Grabner was everywhere with an assist & winning
battles and Okposo's SHG and leadership were big. Throughout the game, both made plays, made things happen and
fought hard for the Islanders.
Isles Notes:
Retweet #Islesfans! Never Say Die!!!!@NYIslanders playoff song here!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKNuoaGHO0 … … … … … … … #beLIeve# STRONGisland @FFDP
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