It’s another sell out tonight as the Pittsburgh
Penguins come to the NVMC to face your first place New York Islanders. The
Isles lead the penguins by one point and will have to be ready to play a
complete game. Bryan Trottier will be
honored again (Jersey retired in 2001) by the Islanders organization as a part
of their decades night promotion for his contributions to the teams storied cup
run. "Any time I get a chance to come back and
hear the cheers of Long Island, whether they're for the days of the past or the
current team, it's wonderful to see this place rocking," said Trottier,
"I'll really enjoy the evening." In other news, Jaroslav
Halak has been added to the NHL All-Star roster as an injury replacement. He will be heading to Columbus after the teams last game against the
Flyers on Monday prior to the break.
Forwards: Bailey-Tavares-Okposo, Lee-Nielsen-Strome, Grabner-Nelson-Kulemin,
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck.
Defensive Pairings: de Haan-Hamonic, Leddy-Boychuk, Hickey-Strait.
Jaroslav Halak is in net
with Chad Johnson backing up.
In the first period, The
Islanders come out setting the pace on the forecheck. The fourth line is buzzing and the Lee, Nielsen,
Strome line generate scoring opportunities.
Josh Bailey draws a penalty (Spaling), the Isles go the PP & move
the puck well, but fail to score. Fleury
looking good so far. Granber gets called
for tripping (Harrington), Isles to the PK.
Isles turn over the puck on a shorthanded breakaway and the puck goes in
on the rebound off Crosby, 1-0 Penguins.
Sill gets away with a trip on Strome to start the Pens rush going the
other way. Play was under review, but
counts. Isles are 13-4 when allowing the
first goal. Isles back to the PK of a
high stick from Clutterbuck. Perron
scores on a one timer with Halak screened, 2-0 Pens. That’s 2 PPG’s by Pittsburgh. Islanders back to the PP off a hooking
penalty by Harrington, but they fail to
convert. Kyle Okposo (Tavares &
Bailey) scores inadvertently off his skate to bring the Isles within 1 goal at 2-1. With the assist, its JT’s 200th career
point. Play was under review, but counts. Déjà vu.
de Haan springs Martin who can’t get a handle on the puck as Fleury
lunges to make a desperate sprawl to deflect the puck. Martin avoids Fleury, showing a lot of
class. He could have hurt him badly. Isles with an 11-10 shots advantage. The Islanders need to stop giving Pittsburgh
PP chances. It’s that simple.
Frans Nielsen breaks
into the offensive zone and rings a shot off the post behind Fleury. Frans Nielsen has been relentless. Cizikas & Erhoff off for roughing &
holding. Halak comes up big with a few
clutch saves off Isles turnovers near the midpoint of the period. Isles press hard again, peppering Fleury with
shots. This is the kind of hustle they
used to outlast the Rangers. And just
like that, Ryan Strome (Lee & Nielsen) makes it a tie game, 2-2. Hamonic & the Isles checking and bumping Crosby hard all
game long, but cant neutralize him. Crosby
jumps on a rebound, 3-2 Pens in the final seconds. Tough break.
Penguins lead 9-8 in shots thorough the second period & even at 19
for the game.
The Islanders start the
third period on the defensive.
Pittsburgh with multiple scoring attempts and applying serious pressure
in the Isles zone. Kyle Okposo (Tavares
& Bailey) puts it on net and collects the rebound for his first two goal
game of the season and ties the game at 3-3.
The second line comes close as Strome sets up Lee, but they can’t convert. Isles moving the puck very well and starting
to change the momentum in the period.
Kyle Okposo (Bailey & Hamonic) gets his first career hat-trick with
a beautiful wrister from the slot, 4-3 Isles.
Fleury hearing it from the Isles faithful. Downie slashes Brock Nelson. The Isles to the PP with 2:41 remaining. Kyle Okposo (Tavares & Boychuk) nets his
4th of the game on the PP, 5-3 Islanders. Fleury to the bench. Michael Grabner gets the ENG to make it 6-3. The Islanders net 4 in the 3rd and
win 6-3. Isles out duel Pens with
a 16-5 shots advantage in the period and 35-25 in the game. They go 1/3 on the PP and 0/2 on the PK. Face offs were tied at 30.
The Islanders fell
behind on two PP goals by Pittsburgh, but adjusted their game, stayed
disciplined and put on another methodical grind to get back in the game. After they did that, they continued until
they out played Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Jaro Halak (21/24 with an .875Sv%) was better than his numbers, especially late in the game to solidify the
defensive side of things. Calvin de Haan
& Travis Hamonic were good on the blue line while Josh Bailey continues to
play at a high level. Bailey as once
again noticeable for his defensive contributions. Frans Nielsen was solid and “Trottier” like
for the Isles tonight on both sides of the puck. The second line continues to do damage to Isles
opponents confidence each and every game while the fourth line was clutch,
bringing energy and taking the Pens off their game. What else can you say about Kyle Okposo’s game? The guy never stops and is a prime example
of the never say die-landers attitude this season. The Penguins took the lead twice and the
Isles came back and finished them off in the third period.
Tonight is another huge win against another great team that’s right
behind them in the standings. It
appeared that Okposo’s fourth goal would be given to Brock Nelson, but the NHL
changed the decision and the goal remains with Okposo. 4 goals on the night. Kyle Okposo & John Tavares were named 1st
& 2nd stars of the game.
Okposo: "The crowd was awesome
tonight. After the fourth goal when we took that lead it was bumping. It was a
great atmosphere."
The Isles are 14-2 against
Metro division opponents & are the first team in the NHL to reach 30 wins. The entire team did the Yes! Chant from
center ice after closing ceremonies. How
much do you love this NYI fans? Keep
enjoying the ride. These guys are fun to
cheer for.
30-16-1. First
place.
“You can’t beat us!”
Isles Notes:
Isles are in Montreal tomorrow night @7pm.
Isles are in Montreal tomorrow night @7pm.
Decades Night honorees Added to Second HalfPromotional Schedule.
Sound Tigers Notes:
BST defenseman, @aaron_ness has been added to the 2015 #AHLAllStar roster.
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