On Monday, your New York Islanders
faced the Anaheim Ducks in game 2 of their western road trip. It was an opportunity to get a big win against
a good team and build some momentum.
With Pierre-Marc Bouchard on waivers to make room for Ryan Strome,
things could be happening for New York.
More opportunities for the Isles blue chip prospects can mean an
injection of hope into the stagnating line up.
Forwards: Vanek-Tavares-Okposo, Nelson-Nielsen-Bailey,
Grabner-Regin-Clutterbuck, Martin-Cizikas-McDonald.
D-Pairings: de Haan-Hamonic, MacDonald-Hickey,
Ness-Carkner.
Anders Nilsson is in net with
Kevin Poulin on the bench.
In the first period, the Islanders were keeping pace with
the Ducks. They were using their speed,
cycling the puck and trying hard to get something going offensively. John Tavares (Vanek & Nielsen) gave NY a
1-0 lead only to have the game tied a few minutes later. Thomas Vanek (Tavares), who was on his game
made it a 2-1 score for the Isles early in the second period. Anaheim would score again to tie it later in
the period. Later in the second, the
Islanders started to misfire and lose their edge. The Ducks scored a SHG and another goal just :30 later. It was clear that the Islanders were once
again taken off their game and became disorganized rapidly. Per islanders.nhl.com, “That’s
the turning point in the game,” head coach Jack Capuano said. “We couldn’t
overcome it.”
Anaheim would score again mid way into the third period to
go ahead by the score of 5-2 which would be eventual final. Although out shooting the Ducks 37-31 and
besting them in the face off circle 35-27, Anaheim showed the Islanders what an
elite team does when they are called to answer a challenge. The Isles were only 1 of 4 on the PP and Anders
Nilsson was 26/31 with a .839Sv%. Even
with some strong plays on defense, to many mistakes were made to preserve the
win. “We’ve been doing good
things, but good things aren’t what we want. John Tavares had this to say on the
Isles game lately, "We want wins,” Tavares said. “We’ve come out hard, but
we haven’t been able to carry it for 60 minutes. We’ve been shooting ourselves
in the foot.”
There are a few line up changes coming and a few possible trades being
sought by Garth Snow. If the Isles
can get free of Injuries and embrace some changes, there is hope. Lets be real, character needs to come
roaring back to this team. They need to
get a chip on their shoulder and grab the future by the throat and make things
happen for themselves. I think this
team has more than they have showed and I also will say again that the have
stopped playing for Capuano.
Hopefully, Management can change the coaching for the
better. An experienced NHL coach that
has been around a winning culture is what New York needs. If a coaching change isn't made and the
roster changes don't come, this team may be done for the season. All the positive attitudes, pep talks and
closed door meetings in the world are not going to help.
Lets get to respectability again. The only way to get there is to earn it.
Isles Notes:
Per New York Islanders, "TRANSACTION: Team has placed Pierre-Marc Bouchard on waivers."
Update: Bouchard has cleared waivers and has been
loaned to the #BST.
Per NHLFREEAGENTS, "New
York Islanders recalled (F) Ryan Strome from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers."
Ryan Strome Named AHL/CCM Player
of the Week
for second consecutive week.
Per Arthur Staple, "Mentioned
on @MSGNetworks that Strome may not go right in vs.
SJ tomorrow -- have to see what happens tonight before that call is made."
NHL Notes:
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