West Coast Lookback: Los Angeles

Your New York Islanders played the Stanley Cup Champion, Kings in Los Angeles last night in front of a sell out crowd. To win, they needed a strong  attack, well played defense & have their top players to have big games.  Check, check & check.  The Isles won another one in Southern California, in extra time and in dramatic fashion.  Lets talk about how they did it.

Forwards:  Kulemin-Tavares-Okposo, Grabovski-Nielsen-Clutterbuck, Lee-Strome-Nelson, Boulton-Cizikas-Martin.

Defensive Pairings:  de Haan-Hamonic, Leddy-Boychuk, Hickey-Visnovksy.

Chad Johnson gets the start with Jaro Halak on the bench.

 

In the first period, I couldn't help but notice how skilled, quick and polished the Kings were in their play once again.  That being said, I was glad to see that the Isles were matching everything the Kings had in store for them.  The offense were creating pressure and the defense were able to shut down Los Angeles in their zone and start the transition back the other way for much of the period.  But it would be the Kings taking a 1-0 lead after only a few minutes into the first.  Despite yielding the first goal, the Isles kept playing their game pretty well.  They were physical and recovered well to the Kings relentless pressure.  The first line made an impact, especially Kyle Okposo who was everywhere throughout the game.  Even early on, Chad Johnson was solid.  He made some big saves that kept the Isles in it. 

 

 

The Isles had some strong pressure of their own against Quick, especially on a great scoring chance by Cal Clutterbuck in the first period.  The Grabovski, Nielsen & Clutterbuck line were strong throughout the game, getting several good chances.  The Lee, Strome , Nelson line got into it as well.  They were even physical when needed.  Ryan Strome took exception to a hit on Lee, and went back at the opposing player involved.  That is a good indicator that these guys not only want to win, but are following the example of team unity established by John Tavares.  Towards the end of the first period, Brock Nelson (Tavares & Strome) ripped it over Quick from the short side of the net to tie the tightly contested game at 1-1.  The Isles had good energy and played well, but still struggled in the faceoff circle, going 3 of 10 in the first and won just 22 of 55 (40%) in the game.  Erick Hornick points out that has been a major flaw in their PK success over the past few seasons.

Over the next two periods, the Isles continued to work hard.  Although there wasn't any scoring by either team, the chances were there, including an clink off the post and a failed 4 minute PP by New York.  Ryan Strome's line played hard and the defense continued to make some really solid plays.  As good as all 3 pairings were, Thomas Hickey & Lubomir Visnovsky made an impression on me.  They made some great plays and forced the Kings work for every inch they got.  Even with the PP failures, the Isles were much better on both sides of the puck last night then they were previously, even in the Anaheim game.  Kulemin & Nielsen were strong defensively once again for the Isles.  Eric Boulton had a tough night, victimized on a few plays that the Kings turned into scoring chances.  Johnny Boychuk was involved in a scary moment after going down hard from a Kyle Clifford hit.  Boychuk would return and not miss a stride for the rest of the game.

After going to O.T., both teams had their chances with both goaltenders making huge saves for their teams.  Thomas Hickey had a quality chance early in the extra session, but Quick was all over it.  Visnovsky had a part in several O.T. chances, including a mostly open net, but again, Quick was there.  Chad Johnson (28/29 with a .966Sv%) made some saves of his own, so the game moved to a shoot out.  Isles were outshot 29-26 in the game.

 

 

 

Chad Johnson makes the save on Kopitar.

Kyle Okposo undresses Quick & scores!

Chad Johnson stops Carter.

Frans Nielsen freezes Quick & rips one past him going between the legs.  Quick is furious.

 

Islanders win 2-1 in the S.O.

With last night's win, your New York Islanders picked up 4 of possible 6 pts. in Southern California (first time ever) and have won back-to-back games after losing 3 straight. Their PP did score a big goal in the first, but went a lack luster 1/5 while their low ranked PK came up big, going 4/4 in the game.  Isles played a great game. Need to improve with face off %, but special teams, defense and grit were there when they needed to be for the most part. They managed to beat an elite team and looked good doing it.  Of the many players who had a big game, Brock Nelson (2nd Star) continues to be one of the Isles strongest players each and every night.  He plays hard and gets the big goal.


The Isles are 2-1-0 this November and improved to 8-5-0 on the season.  Coach Capuano did a better job of keeping things in check over the last 2 games.  His management of ice times were better in the game tonight and that probably boded well for the Isles as a team.

 

Chad Johnson: "It was a great fast paced game…we battled and stuck together…Our identity started to shine through…Awesome effort by us to get four points; it's a good confidence-builder for us."

 

 

 

Islanders are in Arizona tomorrow night to face the Coyotes @ 8pm.  Jiggs with the call!

Isles Notes:

Per Eric Hornick, "Josh Bailey, Michael Grabner and Matt Carkner are on injured reserve. Matt Donovan was scratched for the 13th straight game while Brian Strait was scratched for the 3rd straight game.  Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup, causing Cory Conacher to sit out for the first time this season.  The Isles have lost 48 games this season due to injury."