John Tavares will play his 400th
NHL game as your New York Islanders welcome the Florida Panthers to the NVMC. Unfortunately, we will have to endure seeing
the fisherman style jerseys for warm ups.
At least the proceeds will go to charity. It has been reported that Kyle Okposo will
miss 6-8 weeks for what is being reported as a “detached retna.” Colin McDonald was called up again on an emergency
basis with the possibility that Casey Cizikas couldn’t go again tonight, but
was sent down just prior to game time.
With the division lead
diminishing, special teams & defense need to improve. The Isles have been
sloppy, committed turnovers and allowed way too many shots over the last few games
and need to reverse that trend. These
points must be treated as life or death going forward, especially against “weaker”
opponents. It’s put up or shut up time
for a team that wants to be known for having taken the next step. Several
strong teams around them won't allow losing streaks. It’s go time.
Forwards: Lee-Tavares-Bailey, Grabovski-Nielsen-Kulemin,
Grabner-Nelson-Strome, Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck.
Defensive Pairings: de Haan-Hamonic, Leddy-Boychuk,
Hickey-Visnovsky.
Jaro Halak is in net
with Chad Johnson backing up.
Anders Lee is set up by
a nice zig-zag pass play from Josh Bailey and John Tavares to give the Isles a
1-0 lead early in the game.
Unfortunately, the Isles have struggled again defensively and Hayes
would tie the game at 1-1 on a blind shot for Florida less than three minutes
later. Butch Goring pointed out the defensive
breakdowns in front of Halak and they have happened a lot in the period. The Isles are again struggling to clear their
own zone and the momentum has been almost all Florida. They are playing a fast paced aggressive
style that dictates the Isles unsettled style of play. Conversely, Anders Lee looks really playing
well on the top line and has been the Isles best player in a sloppy team period
for New York. Ekblad gets a delay of
game penalty, the Isles go to the PP. Time
expires in the first with the Isles on the man advantage. The teams were split at 12 shots a piece. New York will need to be a lot better in the
second period if they want to get back to their winning ways. Halak did a great job without too much help
keeping the tie intact.
The Isles start the
second with the remaining 47 seconds of their PP, but do not generate much. Isles are still noticeably out of sync. Gundbranson beats Cizikas and backhands a
weak one past Halak on the short side, 2-1 Florida. Islanders are starting to generate more
pressure in the offensive zone and doing a better job of moving the puck,
especially out of their own zone. Panthers
caught with too many men penalty, Isles to the PP again. Visnovsky with a huge giveaway, Halak makes
the save. Anders Lee (Hamonic &
Leddy) redirects a Travis Hamonic blast to tie the game on the PP at 2-2. Lee (15) is now 2 goals behind Forsberg (17) for
tops in rookie goal scoring. John Tavares
takes a slash form Bolland without a call and retaliates. Isles finish the period on the PK. Panthers will have 27 seconds of PP time to
start the third. Isles with a 14-9
advantage in shots for the period and while it was far from perfect, it was a
much better effort.
The Panther PP finishes
without a shot to open the 3rd period. Lubo Visnovsky with another giveaway and Cal Clutterbuck
is called for a questionable high-sticking call on Pirri and Hayes makes it 3-2
Panthers. Isles PK is absolutely fallen
off the dramatically. Petrovic takes
liberties with a slash to Martin who obviously takes exception. Michael Grabner with a good break away
chance, but can’t convert. Pirri called
for a faceoff violation, Isles back to the PP late in the third down by one. Isles called a timeout with 46 seconds left
in the man advantage. Halak is pulled
with 12 seconds left to the PP for a brief two man advantage. Isles with an extra skater to try and tie the
game and Pirri scores the ENG for a 4-2 Florida win. Panthers manage a 9-8 advantage in shots for
the third with the Islanders holding a 34-30 edge in the game. Jaro Halak was 26 of 29 with an 897Sv%. Anders Lee was named second star of the game and was definitely a bright spot for the Isles.
Capuano, “I'm going to opt
out on PK questions tonight.” He also
had no comment on report on Okposo and his injury.
The Islanders season is
far from lost, but again, these miscues are starting to multiply and cost the
team momentum, wins and points. Key
injuries are starting to test their depth and the team is struggling to get
back on track with on ice management in my opinion. A loss against the Panthers is another missed
opportunity and a huge loss of two points in a tight divisional race. It’s also the Isles first back to back home
loss of the season. Special teams were
terrible again (PP at 1/3 & PK 1/2) and their defensive play was erratic. These two things are key in the success for
this team moving forward and must be improved for the team to be considered as
an elite team or even stay in the thick of the race.
With the Isles in first
place, dropping their last three games, the Rangers who sit in third place for
example now have two games at hand and only three points behind them. Not stating this to be a hater, just reiterating
the obvious.
There is plenty of time
and the talent is there, but Capuano and his staff need to figure this out.
The Islanders are in Philadelphia on
Thursday.
Isles Notes:
Attendance was 14,407 for tonight’s game
which ends the home sell out streak at 7 games.
John Tavares has been named second star of
the week for the NHL. “@91Tavares shared
3rd in NHL w/ 16pts in 12 games to lead @NYIslanders to
7-5-0 January & top spot in the Metropolitan Division.”
Former Isles goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov
cleared waivers (TBL) and is considering retirement.
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