Saturday, January 11, 2014

Isles Endure Avalanche



Chris King of Islanders radio will be paired with Butch Goring and carry the play by play duties tonight against Colorado and Sunday against Dallas.  The Isles will try and keep things moving in the right direction tonight by trying to improve their streak of five straight and six of their last seven wins on the road.  The changes in the line up are that Colin McDonald is in for Eric Boulton & Matt Donovan is in for Matt Carkner.  The Avalanche are playing well and are coming off a 3-1-0 start in January.  Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau will be out of the line up (IR) for the Avalanche tonight.
 

Forwards:  Vanek-Tavares-Okposo, Nelson-Nielsen-Bailey, Grabner-Strome-Clutterbuck,
Martin-Cizikas-McDonald.


D-Pairings:  MacDonald-Strait, de Haan-Hamonic, Donovan-Hickey.


Kevin Poulin is in net with Anders Nilsson backing up.



The first period was a good road period for the Islanders.  Slow paced and controlled.  Kevin poulin played a focused period and came up big on the PK.  Colorado outshot the Isles 9-7.  The second period started out in similar fashion, but quickly became a spirited joust between the teams.  The Isles raised the level of their fore checking to answer the offensive pressure brought by Colorado.  Their defense has been ok, but have run around a little tonight in front of Poulin who has been good when he had to be.  MacKinnon with Grabner like speed converts on a fast break opportunity, high on the glove side.  1-0 Avalanche to end the period.  Shots are 13-9 in favor of Colorado.
 

The Islanders need someone to step up and grab this game by the throat.  Isles work the puck into Colorado's zone, de Haan joins the play and Brock Nelson (de Haan & Nielsen) buries it behind Varlomov.  Score tied at 1-1. The period remains even and this game is going to overtime.  The Isles get a point and will go for two.  Colorado outshot the Isles 29-21.
 

Michael Grabner races into the zone, fights off a check, resets and scores to win the game in O.T!  2-1 the final.  Isles outshot Avs 3-2 in the O.T. period.  Isles improve to 16-22-7 with 39 points and are 7 points out of a playoff spot.
 

I Love de Haan's game.  He is so good with his stick and body position on defense.  Playing with Hamonic is a great pairing for New York.  Kevin Poulin (30/31 with a .968 Sv%) was focused in a slow road game.  He was poised and played the angles with confidence and made the big save when it mattered.  And again, credit Michael Grabner for becoming a better all around player, especially on special teams and defense.  If his confidence keeps growing and his can improve his scoring touch, he will devestate the opposition.  The Isles win as a team for first time without scoring 3 goals, but credit Poulin for giving just a little extra in his game tonight.  Good effort by the defense, except for a few mistakes of the flat footed variety.  It was another come from behind win and the winning streak is up to 6 on the road and the Isles go to 7-3-0 in their last 10.  Eric Hornick mentions, "Vanek (10) & Tavares (6) point streaks ended by Grabner OT goal."


The Isles are once again improving before our eyes and showing us something.  Despite the season not really being a success, the depth at forward, defense and goaltending is starting to show by its own necessity.  It isn't always pretty or timely, but this team is making strides amidst all the frustration, Capuano included.  Consistency.
 


 

Isles Notes:
 

The Islanders have signed BPT G Kenny Reiter to a 2-way (NHL/AHL) contract.


Thank you everyone who has helped me in my hockey career. I'm honored and excited for the opportunity. Means a lot #thankyou #NYI


New York Islanders captain @91Tavares will wear No. 20 for Team Canada at the Olympics in February.

 
Per Matt Saidman, Viewing Party: 1/21 Isles-NYR at Diamond Sports Bar in Ronkonkoma. $20 open bar & buffet. Real close to LIE & LIRR. pic.twitter.com/LP3QM0MEMy





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