Islanders Legend, Jiggs McDonald will once again call
tonight's game as the Ottawa Senators host your New York Islanders in Kanata,
Ontario. Ottawa is 5 points behind
Columbus with 7 games remaining in the NHL season. They will surely be ready to face the Isles who are 6-3-1 in
their last 10 games. The Isles and
their 10 rookies will take the ice once again with a hot Josh Bailey in his
400th NHL game who has 1 and 3 for 4 pts in his last four games. Kyle Okposo & Michael Grabner remain out
of the line up. Arthur Staple mentions,
"1st game here for Calvin de
Haan, who grew up 10 minutes from the arena in Carp. I can already see a few
Isles No. 44 jerseys in the crowd."
Forwards:
Lee-Nielsen-Bailey;
Persson-Nelson-Clutterbuck; Martin-Strome-McDonald; Halmo-Cizikas-Sundstrom.
D-Pairings:
de Haan-Hamonic;
Hickey-Czuczman; Donovan-Carkner.
Anders Nilsson is in net with Evgeni Nabokov on
the bench.
In the first period, The Senators go for it
right from the start. The Islanders are
scrambling, but doing a good job keeping them pushed to the outside. Anders Nilsson with several big saves on the
PK early in the period. Cal Clutterbuck is stopped on a shorthanded breakaway by Anderson. Good transitional game by both teams with
strong pressure in the offensive zone.
Casey Cizikas brings so much to this team, even in a scoring drought
& Anders Lee has some good moves.
Islanders fail to score from 5 on 3, but Josh Bailey scores a PPG for
his 8th of the season from Ryan Strome & Matt Donovan, 1-0 Islanders. The Isles finish the period out shooting
Ottawa 14-13, 1 for 2 on the PP and 2 for 2 on the PK.
The Islanders start
the second period with strong defensive plays that create offensive
rushes. The defense is much improved
over the last few games. Isles come up
empty again on the PP. Capuano calls
time out after things get dicey around the 13:00 minute mark. Clutterbuck is stopped again on a break away
chance late in the period. Travis
Hamonic attended to by trainer after bench door slammed into his knee from off
a check. Isles on the PK to finish
period. Sens with a 7-6 edge on shots
in the period, 20-20 through two.
Anders Nilsson sharp
to start the third period. He seems to
be having less trouble with his rebound control in the game. Nilsson takes a swing at Neil with liberties
taken. A little more urgency has crept
into Ottawa's game. Ryan Strome comes
close on a wide shot with Anderson down with around 14:00 remaining. Johan Sundstrom heading off for tripping
with 13:43 to play in the third, player pile moves into Nilsson's crease and
after what seems like an eternity with Nilsson inside the cage, the puck goes
in, score tied at 1-1. Arthur Staple,
"Neil shoves into Nilsson to dislodge puck, Michalek scores off scramble.
1-1. Bet that'll be reviewable next season. Now? Not so much." Shortly after, Isles to the PP and Casey
Cizikas scores a PPG from Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey, 2-1 New York. It's been a 33 game scoring drought for
Zeeker. Islanders are on the puck and
quick to break up Ottawa scoring chances late in the period. Islanders pressure keeps Anderson in Ottawa
net until :45 seconds remaining.
Nilsson with sharp save on difficult rebound. Clutterbuck just misses the open net, but it doesn't matter. Isles win 2-1. PP finishes 2 for 4 and PK was 3 for 4. Ottawa outshoot Isles 15-7 in the period and 35-27 in the game. Anders Nilsson went 34 for 35 with a .971Sv%.
These are empty wins
as far as the playoff race goes for the Isles, but their last few opponents
were desperate for those points. Everyone
came to play tonight. From Czuczman to
de Haan to Cizikas to Halmo to Bailey, the team seems to be playing well as a
unit as the young guys learn the ropes.
Nilsson had some huge saves and was much better in the game tonight as
was the defense in front of him. That is a real good sign. The Islanders have a
14-4-2 record on the road in their last 20 games. They are finding a way to win with a depleted roster. Its frustrating to think of those early
season losing streaks and blown leads and where this team, even now could have
been.
Sound Tigers Notes:
Confirmed - Jason
Clark has been reassigned to the Sound Tigers from Stockton (ECHL).
Chris Bruton has been
named the Sound Tigers winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the
Year.
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