Monday, April 27, 2015

2015 Playoffs: Isles Fall Short in Game 7.


Tonight, your New York Islanders are on the road and in a do or die game 7 situation against the Washington Capitals.  The winner of tonight’s game will face the New York Rangers in the 2nd round of the eastern conference playoffs.  The loser goes home and will have to wait until next year.


The Islanders are 3-4, all time in game 7’s and will have some extra motivation to win tonight.  Capuano: "There is nothing more that we wanna do then to come back in front of our fans."  So what do the stats tell us?


They say that Jaroslav Halak is 6-1 in game 7’s and a solid 4-0 against the Capitals in elimination games (including Saturday’s win).  Per @EliasSports, Capitals have scored 2 or fewer goals in 10 straight Game 7's. Longest streak in NHL history.  Erick Hornick points out that, Johnny “Boychuk is only current Isles to have scored a goal in a game 7 (1-2-3 in 7 game 7's).”   Boychuck knows the importance of playing well in a game 7.  You have to pay more attention to details. It’s a critical game for both teams. You want to stay disciplined, but you still want to play hard.”


But stats are not what the Isles need to rely on to win what is sure to be a hard-fought and gritty game in D.C. tonight.  The Islanders will have to pressure Holtby all game long with balanced scoring, contain Ovechkin & Backstrom with thinned defense, and have an answer to the physical play of the Caps with toughness of their own.  They will need to play a strong checking game and get a huge game from Jaro Halak to win tonight. 


Nelson-Tavares-Strome, Bailey-Nielsen-Okposo, Kulemin-Grabovski-McDonald, Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck.

Leddy-Boychuk, Hickey-Strait, Donovan-Mayfield.

Jaroslav Halak is in net and Michal Neuvirth will serve as back up.


The Isles 4th line out duels the Caps 4th and Jaro Halak makes a pair of huge saves to start the game.  Scott Mayfield continues to look comfortable with some good opening shifts and is hitting everyone in a red jersey.  The Islanders see a lot of action in their own zone in the first 5 minutes, generate a little pressure of their own, but aren’t able to control play in the 1st period.  The game has definitely taken on an unfriendly, physical flavor.  Ovechkin looks as if he may have hurt his arm, but returns to the ice for his next shift.  Holtby “loses his mask” and benefits from an official’s stoppage in play.  That was an intentional move to slow things down if you ask me.  Halak coming up big time and time again towards the end of the period.  Isles badly outshot (10-3 WSH) late in the period with Washington controlling much of the neutral zone.  37 hits in the period.

Islanders with a tough start to the 2nd period, getting out played & committing turnovers.  Jack Capuano calls a timeout at the 13:15 mark with the Isles in “survival mode,” per Howie Rose.  Holtby hasn’t seen much action so far in the game with the Caps outplaying the Islanders thus far.  Halak has been the answer, but he is going to need some help.  Capuano trying to stir something up with juggling lines: Bailey, Tavares & Clutterbuck.  Isles coming to life a little and Washington calls their time out.  Now Nelson out with Nielsen & Strome.  Arthur Staple points out that the Isles register their 6th shot of the game (16-6) after 31:00 of play.  Not a good sign.  Nielsen is caught with a high stick that bloodies his nose, no call.  The officials have been “hands off” all game.  Ovechkin levels Hickey from behind into the boards with no call.  Hickey slow to get up and skates to bench.  Meltdown is imminent if the officials allow game 7 to continue at this pace. Someone can be seriously & needlessly hurt.  Isles lose another face off, Ward high sticks Boychuck in the face, then scores a backbreaker with 1:25 remaining in the 2nd. 1-0 Caps.  Shots are 10-4 in the 2nd & 21-7 Caps after 2.  Terrible officiating.  Good news is a 1-0 deficit in game 7 on the road is a best case scenario for the Isles & how they have played so far.  Time to play a desperate game.  Here's where an NHL coach that is ready to take his team to the next level gets things turned around with a talented team like this. Prove me wrong Jack.


The Islanders generate some pressure after the first few shifts and Fran Nielsen (Hickey & Strome) gives the Islanders the tying goal.  The score came just 3 minutes into the 3rd period on a goal that Holtby wants back.  Score tied at 1-1.  Beagle benefits from a golden bounce off the boards with Jaro moving out to play the puck, but somehow, Halak recovers to make a huge save with the entire lower bowl jumping to celebrate a goal that wasn’t.  Both teams clamp down for the second half of the period.  Kuznetson out waits Halak who goes down & makes it 2-1 Capitals with 7:18 remaining.  Isles return to some desperate play, but send several shots wide of the net.  Isles to the PP with 2:43 remaining for a rough call on Casey Cizikas by Carlson.  Halak goes to the bench in the final minute after PP expires.  Caps ice puck with 30 seconds left.  Huge face off in the Caps end for the Islanders.  Too little, too late for New York and the Capitals will face the Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cups playoffs with a 2-1 win in game 7.  The Islanders season is over and so is their tenure at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.


Although the officiating made me sick tonight, the Islanders simply never consistently got their game in gear, getting out shot 26-11.  Their abysmal PP failed them again, this time it happened at the worst possible time.  With less than 3 minutes in the 3rd, down by one with a chance at forcing overtime, it went 0-14 in the series and helped eliminate the New York Islanders from the 2014-15 playoffs.  Erick Hornick pointed out that NYI forwards generated only 3 shots over the entire game tonight and John Tavares had none.  After a season that can be counted among the best in years, the offense was missing for too many periods over the second half and for much of the play offs.  The injuries to the Isles blue line hurt them, but I think Matt Donovan & Scott Mayfield showed a lot about their games.  But this series taught us the Isles need to get bigger, especially on defense.  With Reinhart & Mayfield on the horizon, that will be addressed and bolstered by the possibilities of several good prospects.  I am not satisfied with the coaching staff for several reasons, but I am most disappointed in how this team couldn't get it together for 60 minutes in such an important game.  And while it could be considered a great season, it was another failed post season without a series win.  The Islanders have a bright future, but the stink of this loss is indicative of some major flaws that were exposed over the length of the round.  This is a good team, but there is some work to do in making it a serious contender.  Another tough lesson learned.


I am still proud of this this group and I like several things about them.  2014-15 was a positive campaign in many ways & I will take a look back at it in my recap in the coming weeks.  I am however heartbroken that we cannot ever see our team play at the Coliseum ever again.


Tavares:  “It’s just hard to believe it’s really over."
***

Grail Knight of the game goes to Matt Donovan & Scott Mayfield.  As the 5th & 6th D men is a playoff elimination game, these guys were solid for the Islanders.  Despite not getting a lot of time with the Isles this season and this being only their 2nd NHL playoff game, they filled in and gave New York a stabilizing presence on their blue line.




***
Grail Knight of the series goes to Jaroslav Halak who was great again tonight as the games 3rd star of the night, going 22 of 23 with a .957Sv%.  He was a major component of the Islanders success throughout the season and was the core of any success this team was able to generate in this series.  Halak finishes 3-4 with a 2.30 gaa & a .926Sv%.







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