Isles Ice Pens

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 4^th 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 3^rd 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 1^st & 2^nd 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.

Decades Night honorees Added to Second HalfPromotional Schedule. 

 

Sound Tigers Notes:

 

BST defenseman, @aaron_ness has been added to the 2015 #AHLAllStar roster.

Rags To Riches

Tonight, your New York Islanders visit MSG to face the New York Rangers for the final time this season in a pivotal eastern conference match up.  The Isles won 6-3 in the first meeting of the season and hold 1^st place in the Metro with 57pts while the Rangers hold the 4^th spot (52pts) in the division.  In addition, the Rangers have won 13/14 games, including their last 5 contests.  Jaroslav Halak gets the start for the Isles.  He is 22-8-0, 2.29 & .914, while Henrik Lundqvist is 20-8-3, 2.26 GAA & a .918 save percentage for the Rangers.

Kyle Okposo told Arthur Staple about what the Isles hope to expect about the Islanders fans at MSG: "When we score there'll probably be some, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' chants. Hopefully we hear it a few times."  I am sure the fans will be there in droves and will be vocal if the Isles give them something to cheer about.  The last time the Islanders went to MSG at least 15 games over .500 was on March 29, 1982 with a 52-15-9 record.

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, both teams start with energy.  Michaels Grabner’s rush and wrister is stopped by Lundqvist.  Thomas Hickey goes to the bench after blocking a shot off his foot.  The Isles first line, Ryan Strome & Nikolay Kulemin are making some noise early, but Rangers very tight defensively.  Good back & forth so far and an uncomfortable nastiness feels like it’s about to break through in the 1st period.  Strait with two BAD giveaways in front of the net. The second time, the shot hit off the post.  Rangers pressing in the Isles zone a little too much, Halak making the saves so far.  The Isles 4^th line with some solid pressure late in the period & Josh Bailey with a strong defensive effort.  Isles buzzing a little late, JT with a strong move on Lundqvist.  Rangers respond with a couple of posts behind Halak, but net nothing.  Isles doing a good job of getting Lundqvist to move laterally & forcing him to respond often.  This could be a very good thing.  The Islanders lead in shots, 13-9.  They have been both lucky & good in a pretty well played road period, but they have to be better.  Isles are solid in the faceoff circle, going 13-5 (74%).  The fact is they are very lucky to be heading into the second period scoreless. 

Isles & Rangers start the second with some good pressure.  Both goaltenders have been good so far in the game.  Rangers take a time out at the 16:38 mark of the second after the Isles go 5 for 5 for face offs and generate a lot of pressure against Lundqvist.  Brian Strait puts a good shot on net and the puck trickles past Lundqvist, but the goal is waived off because of “incidental contact.” To me, Cizikas is pushed into Lundqvist as the puck goes in the net.  Rangers look to a little overwhelmed & are being outshot 20-10 at the 13:00 mark.  The Isles need to keep up the pressure.  Calvin de Haan puts the puck on net & Anders Lee (de Haan & Hamonic) establishes a position in front of Lundqvist and back hands the puck into the net. Isles lead 1-0 at the half way point.  Ryan Strome follows a Frans Nielsen rebound and comes close to another goal. Credit Lundqvist with a big save.  Johnny Boychuk crushes Rick Nash. Islanders go to the PP off a Staal interference call at the 6:54 mark of the second.  Kyle Okposo hits the post off the draw & the Isles with some good passing and strong shots, but they fail to score.  Halak makes a big save on St. Louis, Casey Cizikas takes exception to Brassard.  The game has gotten chippy.  Thomas Hickey makes things happen and Nikolay Kulemin slaps in the rebound through traffic to make it 2-0 Islanders.  FYI:  Isles are 12-0-0 when Kulemin registers a point.  Jaro Halak with a couple of big saves to follow up the Isles goal to keep the Rangers off the board.  Travis Hamonic gets a cross check on Moore with 1:12 left in the period.  Johnny Boychuk springs an odd man rush and Frans Nielsen scores a SHG to make it 3-0 Islanders.  Isles outshot Rangers 19-11 in the period & 32-21 in the game so far.  Isles had a big second period, but better be ready for an even higher intensity by the Rangers in the third.  Lundqvist finishes the game going 29 of 32 with a .906Sv%.

Cam Talbot is now in net for the Rangers.  The Islanders kill a big 48 seconds of PK time to start the third.  The Isles heart in the third period of this game will show the real mettle of this team right now. As the period has gone on, the Islanders have matched the Rangers intensity and have been able to outplay them outright.  The Garden was silenced except for the jeers of the home fans and the loud cheers of the invading blue & orange army.  Another scrum ensues at the end of a game as time expires instigated by the Rangers out of what must be sheer frustration.  Shots ended up as a 12-6 total for the third and 44 to 27 for the game.  There was a 26-20 advantage for the Isles in the faceoff circle and they were 0/1 on the PP and 1/1 on the PK. Per Andrew Gross, “Carl Hagelin: ‘They (the Isles) kept playing their way and we couldn’t figure it out."

When you take inventory of tonight’s game, we must remember the three posts hit by the Rangers to start the game and the Islanders goal that was called back.  It was an odd combination of events, but an even stranger feeling to see the Islanders never quit and create their own destiny, so to speak.  It was obvious that the coaching staff had the team ready & focused to play tonight.  There were several players who contributed to the flow & success of the Isles game.  Jaro Halak was solid in net again with 27 saves in his 23^rd win & 4^th shutout of the season in a hostile environment.  Pete Jensen reported, “Jaroslav Halak has a .957 SV% (67 saves on 70 shots faced) vs. NYR this season. Both games were at MSG.”  Billy Smith was the last Isles goalie to get a shut out at MSG on Dec. 17, 1975.

The team played a strong defensive game and outpaced the Rangers with a relentless wave after wave of offensive pressure.  Boychuk & Leddy were huge all game long.  Hickey & Strait had some struggles early, but really responded as the game went on.  Anders Lee, Nikolay Kulemin & Frans Nielsen were huge tonight on both sides of the puck. 

Jaro Halak, Frans Nielsen & Anders Lee were the 3 stars of the game.

This was an absolute statement game by your Islanders and it should answer the few remaining critics of what this team has really accomplished this season.  Like it or not, the Islanders are for real and in 1^st place in the east at 29-13-1.

The Isles have Pittsburgh at home on Friday for another big test. 

Isles Notes:

The next meeting for the Isles Booster Club is on Wednesday 1/28 with special guest & former @NYIslanders' own @Bossy5050.

Devon Toews is putting up points at Quinnipiac. 

Sound Tigers Notes:

The #BST have signed defenseman Matt Lashoff to an AHL contract.

Weekend Lookback: New Jersey & Columbus

On Friday & Saturday, your New York Islanders visited New Jersey to face the Devils & Columbus to play the Blue Jackets. Now it’s no secret that after two sub-par efforts in Edmonton & Vancouver, the Isles needed wins against these Metro Division, Eastern Conference teams.  Read on!

 

Last Friday, the Isles had Jaro Halak in net, with Josh Bailey in for Cal Clutterbuck (day-to-day, upper body) at forward & Brian Strait in for Matt Donovan on defense.  Devils goaltender & Long Island native, Keith Kinkaid would get the start for New Jersey again against the Isles, probably based on the strong effort he brought in their last meeting. 

Forwards:  Grabovski-Tavares-Okposo, Lee-Nielsen-Strome, Grabner-Nelson-Bailey, Martin-Cizikas-Kulemin.

Defnsive Pairings:  de Haan-Hamonic, Leddy-Boychuk, Hickey-Strait.

Jaroslav Halak gets the start with Chad Johnson backing up.

 

 

The first period saw the Isles outpace the Devils, but get nothing to show for it.  To make things worse, Zajac looked to grab the lead when he pushed the puck and Halak who made the initial stop, into the Isles net.  The goal was waved off.  Zajac would get another chance, but would convert this time to put N.J. up 1-0 about half way through the second off an Okposo miscue in front of Halak. A few minutes later, Matt Martin scraps with Fraser and makes a statement for the Isles who needed a little more spark in their game.  John Tavares was livid after getting called for a phantom tripping call on Harrold, but the Isles would kill the penalty.  The Isles would get more bad news when Mikhail Grabovski left the game with a lower body injury. 

Kinkaid did a great job to keep the Isles off the score sheet going into the third period.  The Islanders would find their missing spark just a minute into the period when Josh Bailey (Tavares & de Haan) tipped in a Calvin de Haan blast from up top to tie the game at 1-1. The Islanders continued to apply pressure until Gomez grabbed the puck away from Halak behind his net to make it 2-1 Devils.  That’s Halak’s 2^nd giveaway for a goal in 3 games.  The Isles would rally behind the play of John Tavares (Okposo & Boychuk) who tied the game at 2-2 with around six minutes to go to force overtime.  Tavares would come through again to give the Isles a 3-2 O.T. win.  Tavares celebrated the goal by looking up to the thousands of Isles fans who invaded the Rock and pumped his arms in salute to the Yes! chant. John Tavares was named 1^st star of the game.  Jaroslav Halak had a tough night for the winning team, going 21/23 with a .913Sv%. 

 

 

It was an ugly start to the game, but an equally strong character comeback in the third period for the Isles, who hit the midpoint of the season with 27 wins to tie the franchise record set in 1978-79 (in 80-gm season).  The Isles improved to 3-2-0 on their road trip & outshot N.J. 31-23 in the game, going 0/4 on the PP & were perfect on the PK.  They won the face-off battle 37-25.  Another important item to note is the Isles 11-2-0 record against Metropolitan Division teams.

 

***

 

On Saturday against the Jackets, Johnson got the start in goal.  Mikhail Grabovski was labelled day-to-day (lower body), but Cal Clutterbuck returned to the lineup. 

 

Forwards:  Bailey-Tavares-Okposo, Lee-Nielsen-Strome, Grabner-Nelson-Kulemin, Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck.

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

Chad Johnson gets the start with Jaro Halak backing up.

 

The Islanders would look to have a more complete effort against the difficult to play, Blue Jackets in Columbus.  There would need to be more focus on a team game from both the offensive & defensive sides of the puck and there was.  Whether it was better preparation by the coaching staff, better focus by the team or a combination of both, The Islanders came out to play a better game and get another crucial divisional win.

Just 31 seconds in, Nikolay Kulemin (Leddy & Grabner) put the Isles up 1-0 off a shot from the circle by Nick Leddy.  About 4 minutes later, Johnson would score a PPG through a screen to tie the game at 1-1 for Columbus.  New York outshot the Blue Jackets 16-4 in the first period.  In the second, Chad Johnson would make some nice saves early, especially through traffic to keep the game tied that included a breakaway behind a stick less Travis Hamonic as the lone defensemen. 

Around the 10 minute mark, Casey Cizikas led a rush into the offensive zone, dropping it to Thomas Hickey who passed it across to Ryan Strome, who put a hard shot on net that Matt Martin was able to tip past Bobrovsky for a 2-1 Isles lead.  A few minutes after that, Anders Lee (Strome & Hickey) strips the puck from Connauton and scores an absolutely sick five hole goal to make it 3-1 New York.  Brian Strait (Cizikas & Clutterbuck), who played a good gamefor the Isles, made it a 4-1 New York lead just a few minutes later. 

 

In the third, Foligno tightened the score to 4-2 a little over 3 minutes in.  Despite the goal, the Islanders continued to outwork the Blue Jackets throughout the game and out played them through the third period as well.  Kyle Okposo (Bailey & Strait) would add an odd goal with about 5 minutes remaining to close the scoring at 5-2 and seal the win for New York, who failed to convert on significant PP time that included a late 5 on 3 opportunity.  Columbus stayed classy with some late-game goonery as time expired.  It would be the first ever regulation win for the Isles in Columbus and get them to a 4-2 mark on the current road trip. 

Chad Johnson was only 16/18 with an .889 Sv%, but played a pretty good game in net for the Isles.  It will definitely be something to build on for Johnson, who has struggled after some early season success.  The Islanders played a solid defensive game, blocking 16 shots & outshooting the Blue Jackets by a 40-18 margin.  New York was a dismal 0/6 on the PP and surrendered 1 goal on 3 PKs.  The Isles had 5 different goal scorers in the game and played a complete team game on the road.  Ryan Strome, Anders Lee & Thomas Hickey were named the 3 stars of the night.

 

 

 

 

The Islanders visit Manhattan on Tuesday to face a Ranger team who has won 13 of their last 14 & has gone 11-1-0 behind Henrik Lundqvist, who has boasted 1.57ga, a .939Sv% and 1 S.O. in his last 12 games.  But the Isles have turned some heads going 28-13-1 so far this season, especially on the road (14-9-1) to get to 1^st place in their division and 4^th in the entire NHL with 57 pts in 42 games.

 

Get ready for the whole, "The Rangers don't make a big deal out of playing the Islanders. It's really an Islanders thing." We know it’s all crap, but whatever you believe, both teams will be ready to face each other on Tuesday.  It will be the first time, long time that an Isles-rags game has meant this much, so late in the season for quite some time.

 

Isles Notes:

Islanders Captain, John Tavares has been named to the 2015 NHL All-Star game. 

 

Per Nick Sheehy, “NYI F Anders Lee is 3rd on team in goals with 10, 2nd in 5-on-five goals with 9, 4th in +/- with +5 and 18th in total ice-time this season.”

“NYI Nick Leddy played his 300th consecutive regular season NHL game since his Chicago Blackhawks debut as a 19 year-old Sat. v. Columbus.  Leddy has 26 goals, 86 assists for 112 points and +10 in 300 consecutive NHL games played at the young age of 23 years old.”

 

 

The Islanders released an image of the "Fisherman" throwback that is to be worn on February 3rd game against the Florida Panthers during warm ups.  I hate the jersey and the idea, but I'll get over it.

 

Former Islander, J.P Parise lost his battle with lung cancer.  Parise was a storied Islander who scored an O.T. goal against the Rangers in the first round of the 1975 playoffs to give the fledgling Isles their 1^st franchise extra session victory.  Parise was a major piece of the Isles organization while they were building to be a Stanley Cup contender.  Kyle Okposo had this to say on his relationship with Parise, “Not many people seemingly have all the right things to say, but JP Parise was one of them. He was infinitely wise as he was kind. I will miss his wise cracks and his advice. To someone who had such a huge impact on me as a person, au revoir. May you rest in peace.”

Howie Rose reminded us JP Parise was the first Islander to have his name chanted at NVMC. 

 

Stan Fischler said Parise was bestowed the highest honor a Brooklynite could give, he was referred to as an "ACE."

 

 

 

 

West Coast Lookback: Vancouver

Last night, your New York Islanders were in Vancouver to face the Canucks in an attempt to put the lack luster effort in Edmonton behind them and get another win on their west coast swing.  They would have to do so without the services of Lubo Visnovsky (upper body to IR from 1/4) and Josh Bailey (scratch), but would see Matt Donovan in for Lubo & Michael Grabner return from the IR list.  Donovan gets another chance to make an impact the way Thomas Hickey has done in a bid to make the Islanders as a regular while Michael Grabner returns with a chance to play with JT & KO.  Grabner must feel pressure to try and carve out a niche for himself on a much improved Isles squad and become a relevant piece of the machine.

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

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

Jaroslav Halak in net with Chad Johnson backing up.

 

The Isles started the game very flat and struggled to find a rhythm behind a good defensive effort by Jaro Halak.  Matt Martin would generate a little jump & get New York a 1-0 lead around the half way mark of the first off a nice feed from Travis Hamonic.  It was Martin’s 5^th goal of the season.  A few minutes later, Stanton would add one for VAN by taking a terrible Brock Nelson drop pass and going behind Donovan & off a bad defensive read by Hickey. Vancouver would add two more goals in second from Bonino & Vey to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.  Thomas Hickey was victimized on the other two Vancouver goals as well and had a rough night on defense.  The Isles would add a goal to bring the score within 1 off a Mikhail Grabovski (Okposo) one-timer late in the period, but that would be it for the Islanders who would fall to the Canucks by the score of 3-2.  Matt Martin was named 2^nd star of the game.

 

The Isles were physical with 36 hits in the game and outshot Vancouver by a 23-20 margin, but saw the Canucks block 26 shots on their net.  On special teams, the PP was an dismal 0/3 while the PK stayed true, going 2/2 on the night.  Halak made 17 saves & generated an .850 Sv% in the loss.  New York was good in the face-off circle with a 35-20 advantage, but would turn the puck over enough to play from behind for much of the game.  Turnovers were the story of the game and mistakes, the tale of the last two.  They negated offensive rushes and forced the Isles back into their own zone on several occasions.  It was the second such sloppy game for the Isles and as a result, many players and fans were very disappointed in the loss.  While I think the fan reactions was a little much, the concern for the Islanders essentially giving both of their last two games away has merit.  All 3 Vancouver goals came off miscues by the Islanders.  Several Islanders made no excuses for the loss and took ownership on their mistakes.  Hickey said, "There's got to be a higher standard of play and it starts with myself," while Okposo said “We weren’t sharp, we didn’t execute.”  The Isles will have time to regroup in the coming days.

 

The Islanders will face the Devils in New Jersey on Friday, Blue Jackets in Columbus on Saturday and visit MSG to face the rival Rangers the following Tuesday night.  Let’s hope they right the ship and do it quickly in the next three divisional games. 

 

Isles Notes:

Sorokin takes silver at 2015 WJC. Read about all the Isles prospects at the WJC here. 

 

Sound Tigers Notes:

Ryan Pulock was named to the AHL All-Star team.

Griffin Reinhart practices for 2^nd straight day and Ryan Pulock met with Doctors per Connecticut Post.

Islanders Blow Gasket In Edmonton

Since your 26-11-1 New York Islanders have not won in Edmonton since March of 2003 and the Oilers are struggling to win a game at 8-22-9 (2-14-8 in last 24) and looking to avoid a three game losing streak, the Isles had better be ready to play fast & hard.  John Tavares should continue his resurgence and Jaro Halak will look to be strong in his 300^th NHL game tonight.

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

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

Jaro Halak gets the start with Chad Johnson backing up.

In the first period, Edmonton jumped out to a 3-0 shots advantage with some nice early saves by Halak.  While there was a lot of back and forth, the period had a strange, numbing flow to it.  The Isles generate a few chances, but Scrivens comes up with some good stops to keep the game scoreless.  Halak gives the puck away and Hendricks gets the Oilers a 1-0 lead with 3:00 remaining. Tough break there for Jaro & New York.   Hall goes off for tripping drawn by Josh Bailey. Isles to the PP, but fail to do anything.  Isles were better as the period went on and outshot EDM 10-5, but need to come out with more jump in the second to change the flow of this game.

Eberle scores just 8 seconds into the second period, 2-0 Edmonton. It’s another weak goal surrendered by Halak and a sluggish defensive effort by the Islanders.  Halak takes another hard shot off his mask.  Isles to the PP off a Ferrence hook against Josh Bailey.  The hometown boy, Johnny Boychuk (Leddy & Tavares) gets the Islanders on the board with a PPG, 2-1 Oilers.  Okposo gets hit in the ribs by a Leddy shot and skates to the bench in discomfort to shake it off.  Thomas Hickey breaks his stick, coming close to a chance to the game, then Roy & Purcell can’t generate anything on a 2 on 0 for Edmonton going the other way.  Lee goes off for hooking, Isles to the PK against the 29^th ranked Oiler PP.  Cizikas gets called for goaltender interference. Oilers will get a 56 second 5 on 3 PP chance.  Halak makes a couple of strong saves behind the Isles PK to kill off Lee’s penalty, back to 5 on 4 until the period expires with 36 seconds remaining to the Isles PK.  Edmonton with a 14-9 second period advantage in shots to knot the two period output at 19-19.  Again, the Islanders need to be better in the third to avoid the loss to a weaker team tonight.  Oilers are in control at this point. 

Isles kill the remainder of the Cizikas minor and return to 5 on 5 play to start the third period.  Visnovsky gives the puck away and Roy makes it 3-1 Edmonton.  Islanders respond with a few good shifts, attacking the offensive zone.  John Tavares is stopped by Scrivens past the halfway point.  Ference off for hooking against Tavares, Isles to the PP, but can’t get it done with time running out.  Cizikas & de Haan with some good pressure against Edmonton while the Isles mount another surge late in the game.  Capuano calls a time out and Halak goes to the bench. Hendricks gets the empty net goal to make it 4-1 Oilers.  Fraser beats Halak & the dead horse to make it 5-1 Edmonton.  Yakupov called for a slash with 1:04 remaining, Isles to the PP. Brock Nelson adds a PP goal to make it 5-2 Oilers with just over 30 seconds left.  Time expires, the Isles lose 5-2.  Credit Scrivens & the Oilers for bringing it tonight.  The Isles outshot Edmonton 14-4 in the third & 33-23 in the game.  They were 2 for 4 on the PP, 2/2 on the PK and finished 30-28 in face-offs.  Tavares & Boychuk have 2pt nights.

Erick Hornick summed it up well when he said, “When I was 18, Jiggs gave me a phrase I've never forgotten: "That's why they play the game".  These are the kind of games some teams can look past if they aren't disciplined enough for whatever reason. I don't like it, but it happens.  The Isles were off from the start and showed signs of life, but weren’t able to fully recover.  Several factors contributed to the result tonight.  Secondary scoring was missing while team turnovers were big & the complete team effort just wasn’t there.  The transitional game was misfiring all night as well.  Jaro Halak (18/22 with an .818Sv%) was definitely off, but this was a team loss & it was not a big deal in the grand scheme of the season.  It may serve them well as a huge learning experience with minimal damage overall, similar to their misstep against the Sabres. 

John Tavares called the loss "unacceptable" and said, "it all starts with me."  Capuano said he was disappointed in a few guys tonight & there may be some minor lineup changes coming in the Vancouver game on Tuesday.  Grabner?    Isles still sit at 26-12-1.  What will change on Tuesday?

We shall see.

Islanders Fight Fire With Fire In Calgary

Your New York Islanders are in Calgary to face the red hot Flames, (see what I did there) who have been winners in their last 4 games.  They have strong goaltending with Hiller (2.31gaa & .917Sv%) and are very good at erasing leads lately, doing so a league high 8 times when trailing by 2 goals, scoring 48 3^rd period goals this season.  So if that scenario should arise, Capuano’s Islanders had better be ready to finish what they start.  No Isles team has gone 15 wins over the NHL .500 mark in the post cup era.  I know Calgary native, Thomas Hickey will be ready. Take it away Jiggs!

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

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

Jaroslav Halak will get the start with Chad Johnson backing up.

 

The Islanders come out in the first period with jump, fore-checking well and playing with an edge. Couldn’t ask for a better effort to start the game.  Boychuk draws a penalty (Bouma) on a breakaway chance.  Boychuk is slow to get up.  On the faceoff, Stajan covers the puck, full 5 on 3 for the Isles.  John Tavares (Strome & Okposo) takes a beautiful pass from Ryan Strome & puts it in from just off the left post, 1-0 Islanders.  Isles have about 40 seconds remaining on the second PP, but fail to generate anything else.  CGY without a shot on net half way through the period.  Halak stays focused & makes a few nice saves late in the period, Calgary with a better effort.  Period ends with Isles leading is shots 9-7 & dominating in the faceoff circle, 11-1.

 

Islanders keeping pace with the resurgent flames in the second period.  Nielsen called for hooking at the 9 minute mark. Isles successful on the PK.  Halak with a big stop in traffic to preserve the lead.  The Islanders kid line turns up the pressure as the period expires.  Shots change to 9-6 CGY in the period, 16-15 in the game.  Isles hold a 22-19 edge in face-offs.

 

Brock Nelson is hit with a Brodie slap shot and hobbles to the bench at the start of the third period.  John Tavares breaks in under pressure and comes close to increasing the Isles lead.  Nelson is back on the ice.  Strome gets called for slashing, Isles finish the kill.  Credit de Haan for some good special teams play.  Strome leaves the box & Tavares gets called immediately for a high stick. Isles back to the PK. The Isles kill another one with a strong SH chance by Kulemin.  As bad as the PP is, the Isles PK has gotten better, Halak is a huge reason for that.  John Tavares (Okposo) puts a wicked wrister past Hiller to make it 2-0 Islanders.  Islanders respond with furious urgency in the offensive zone.  Hiller with a huge stop on Anders Lee.  With Hiller pulled early, Gaudreau scores late on an odd bounce in the third to make it a 2-1 game with 3:25 left in the game.   Hiller goes to the bench again with 1:30 remaining.  Halak with a huge save against Monahan in the final minute.  Calgary calls a timeout with 2.1 seconds remaining.  Islanders win 2-1. 

 

 

Shots were 9-7 in the period and 24-23 in the game and had a 34-24 face off margin.  Halak won his 18^th of the season out of his last 20 starts making 20 saves with a .957Sv%.  He is the only goalie in the NHL with two seven game winning streaks. The Isles were 1/2 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK.  Per Eric Hornick, “Isles now 16-2-1 in games with a perfect PK and are 15-4-0 when scoring on the PP.”  John Tavares & Jaro Halak were the 1^st & 3^rd stars of the game.

 

The Isles reach the 15 game over .500 mark and are the first NHL team to 26 wins at 26-11-1.  John Tavares and Jaro Halak played like the elite players they are to bring their team to the next level again tonight.  Calvin de Haan had a huge game on defense and was the difference in front of the net.  Most importantly, the Islanders played their game.  A tight, physical & transitional game while responding to every challenge issued tonight.  They held a one goal lead through the game & got another big win.  I present your 2015 New York Islanders. 

Isles have a Dangerous game in Edmonton on Sunday at 9:30PM.

 

Sound Tigers Notes:

Philippe Trudeau and the BST have mutually agreed to terminate the goaltender's AHL contract. 

 

Hockey Notes:

Team USA was eliminated from the WJC today, losing to Russia by the score of 3-2.