Isles Do It Best From Behind

Tonight, Your New York Islanders will give a rematch to the Stars in Dallas, just 6 days after their come from behind, 7-3 win on Monday.  The Isles will try and build on their 7-3-0 surge in their last games while Dallas will try to exact some payback.  Can the Isles make it 7 straight on the road?  Isles radio voice, Chris King will have the play by play again tonight with Butch Goring.

 

 

Forwards:  Vanek-Tavares-Okposo, Nelson-Nielsen-Bailey, Grabner-Strome-Clutterbuck, Martin-Cizikas-McDonald.

 

D-Pairings:  MacDonald-Strait, de Haan-Hamonic, Donovan-Hickey.

Kevin Poulin is in net tonight with Anders Nilsson on the bench.

Evgeni Nabokov is traveling with the team, but is still injured and will not play.

 

The Islanders started the game with jump.  They made crisp passes, worked hard along the boards and moved the puck well.  Kevin Poulin look confident and made some big saves for New York.  Slowly, something changed that made some sloppy habits returned for the Isles.  Creative officiating showed itself through out the first half of the game with some amazing non-calls on behalf of the Isles, but that would not be an excuse.  New York needed to play a better game. Dallas would score twice off mistakes by the Islanders and take a 2-0 lead into the second period.  The Isles would respond in the second at the mid point of the period when Kyle Okposo would finish a sick passing play from Tavares & Vanek to make it a 2-1 game.

 

In the third period, both teams would create some chances.  Dallas seems to be aware of the officials blind eye against the Isles and John Tavares is getting the worst of some non-existent high sticking calls while Cal Clutterbuck took the worst of some cross checking.  Travis Hamonic has left the ice and Arthur Staple has reported he may not be back.  Kyle Okposo (de Haan) ties the score at 2-2 with his second of the game with a nice wrist shoot that gets behind Ellis.  The Isles have taken back momentum and answered the challenge from Dallas.  John Tavares takes a nice feed from de Haan & Vanek and gives the Islanders a 3-2 lead late in the third period.  Dallas pulls their goaltender and Brock Nelson makes them pay with an ENG, 4-2 Isles.  That was 3 goals in the last 5 minutes.  Shots on goal were even at 31 and although the PK was good, going 2 for 2, the PP went 0 for 2.

 

The Isles win by a score of 4-2.  Tonight is the Isles fifth straight come from behind win and the teams first 4 game winning streak of the season.  After tonight's win, the Isles 7 game road winning streak (1st since '81 and 2nd in club history per Eric Hornick) is the longest in the NHL this season so far.  Kyle Okposo (8g & 5a in last 9 games) scores twice and JT scores the GWG in another great come from behind win.  Matt Donovan and Thomas Hickey made some nice plays tonight and Calvin de Haan continues to impress with all facets of his game.  Josh Bailey has a had a few good games in a row and his best tonight in quite a while.  It was a great team effort, solid regrouping and another strong play by Isles goaltender, Kevin Poulin who was 29 for 31 with a .935 Sv%. 

Now if we could just master the occasional blow-out from the start of the game thing, that would be great.  Maybe just once or twice to try it out?  Get back to us then.

 

Screen capture from Kevin Schultz of IPB

Isles Notes:

 

UPDATE:  Per Arthur Staple, Capuano says Hamonic was ill, NOT hurt. Said he got too dehydrated to keep going after 2nd.

 

 

 

 

Isles Endure Avalanche

Chris King of Islanders radio will be paired with Butch Goring and carry the play by play duties tonight against Colorado and Sunday against Dallas.  The Isles will try and keep things moving in the right direction tonight by trying to improve their streak of five straight and six of their last seven wins on the road.  The changes in the line up are that Colin McDonald is in for Eric Boulton & Matt Donovan is in for Matt Carkner.  The Avalanche are playing well and are coming off a 3-1-0 start in January.  Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau will be out of the line up (IR) for the Avalanche tonight.

 

Forwards:  Vanek-Tavares-Okposo, Nelson-Nielsen-Bailey, Grabner-Strome-Clutterbuck,

Martin-Cizikas-McDonald.

D-Pairings:  MacDonald-Strait, de Haan-Hamonic, Donovan-Hickey.

Kevin Poulin is in net with Anders Nilsson backing up.

The first period was a good road period for the Islanders.  Slow paced and controlled.  Kevin poulin played a focused period and came up big on the PK.  Colorado outshot the Isles 9-7.  The second period started out in similar fashion, but quickly became a spirited joust between the teams.  The Isles raised the level of their fore checking to answer the offensive pressure brought by Colorado.  Their defense has been ok, but have run around a little tonight in front of Poulin who has been good when he had to be.  MacKinnon with Grabner like speed converts on a fast break opportunity, high on the glove side.  1-0 Avalanche to end the period.  Shots are 13-9 in favor of Colorado.

 

The Islanders need someone to step up and grab this game by the throat.  Isles work the puck into Colorado's zone, de Haan joins the play and Brock Nelson (de Haan & Nielsen) buries it behind Varlomov.  Score tied at 1-1. The period remains even and this game is going to overtime.  The Isles get a point and will go for two.  Colorado outshot the Isles 29-21.

 

Michael Grabner races into the zone, fights off a check, resets and scores to win the game in O.T!  2-1 the final.  Isles outshot Avs 3-2 in the O.T. period.  Isles improve to 16-22-7 with 39 points and are 7 points out of a playoff spot.

 

I Love de Haan's game.  He is so good with his stick and body position on defense.  Playing with Hamonic is a great pairing for New York.  Kevin Poulin (30/31 with a .968 Sv%) was focused in a slow road game.  He was poised and played the angles with confidence and made the big save when it mattered.  And again, credit Michael Grabner for becoming a better all around player, especially on special teams and defense.  If his confidence keeps growing and his can improve his scoring touch, he will devestate the opposition.  The Isles win as a team for first time without scoring 3 goals, but credit Poulin for giving just a little extra in his game tonight.  Good effort by the defense, except for a few mistakes of the flat footed variety.  It was another come from behind win and the winning streak is up to 6 on the road and the Isles go to 7-3-0 in their last 10.  Eric Hornick mentions, "Vanek (10) & Tavares (6) point streaks ended by Grabner OT goal."

The Isles are once again improving before our eyes and showing us something.  Despite the season not really being a success, the depth at forward, defense and goaltending is starting to show by its own necessity.  It isn't always pretty or timely, but this team is making strides amidst all the frustration, Capuano included.  Consistency.

 

 

Isles Notes:

 

The Islanders have signed BPT G Kenny Reiter to a 2-way (NHL/AHL) contract.

Kenny Reiter ‏@Reiter35

Thank you everyone who has helped me in my hockey career. I'm honored and excited for the opportunity. Means a lot #thankyou #NYI

New York Islanders captain @91Tavares will wear No. 20 for Team Canada at the Olympics in February.

 

Per Matt Saidman, Viewing Party: 1/21 Isles-NYR at Diamond Sports Bar in Ronkonkoma. $20 open bar & buffet. Real close to LIE & LIRR. pic.twitter.com/LP3QM0MEMy

Calvin de Haan & Ryan Strome: New York Islanders Booster Club Meeting on 1/8/14

On Wednesday, January 8th, the New York Islanders Booster Club met in the lower levels of the Marriott Hotel.  It was a standing room only event in the small amphitheater as a group of Isles fans waited to meet two young players who figure largely into the future success of the team.

It was a night that featured Calvin de Haan & Ryan Strome.

 

 

 

Both guys came in and ingratiated themselves with the assembled fans, making jokes and entertaining any questions asked.  I went on to add any interesting comments to my Knight of Cups twitter feed. 

I asked them how it felt to be put into the game for key special teams play or in the final moments of a game to preserve a lead or get a tying goal.  They said its great to have the coaching staff's confidence when the game is on the line. Its been something they have faced their whole careers, so they prepare for it and embrace it in the NHL as well.  Its' both a challenge and an honor to be sent out to protect a lead or be put on the ice at a key time in the game.

I also asked about what they learned in the minors as part of the Isles system.  Both de Haan & Strome concurred that playing in Bridgeport was motivation. They also stressed that you need to keep playing hard and do what's required to stay in the line up.  In the minor leagues, a player needs to become a professional by changing your diet, train, sleep properly and keep a mindset that helps you do what you need to do in order to get called up again and maintain that level of play.  Strome agreed that "lifestyle" is a big adjustment between Minors and the Pros, even more that the size & strength of the opposition.  There is less hitting in the NHL and the speed is the biggest difference.  Both guys don't pay too much attention to what is written in the media or worry about distractions that could affect their game.

 

Calvin de Haan grew up an Ottawa fan and said he would like to become a defensemen who resembles a Scott Niedermayer, Paul Martin or Kenny Jonson.  I dont know about you, but that would work for me as well.  Ryan Strome admired Matts Sundin & Gary Roberts, Alex Mogilny and grew up a Toronto fan.

Strome was asked about his training with John Tavares.  It's Four days at the gym, go to bed early and do mobility training and practice power skating,  play in organized pick up games with other NHL and minor league players to stay sharp.  As part of his training regiment, Strome participates in Yoga.

Other than the coaching staff, both guys said that John Tavares, Evgeni Nabokov, Kyle Okposo & Eric Boulton are the primary motivators in the locker room.  Boulton, said Strome is always there to say something at the right time.  It seems that even with his limited role on the team, Boulton  who was called, "a great team guy," has both Strome & de Haans' respect based on the way they spoke of him.

 

 

 

 

They will most likely return to Bridgeport during the Olympic break to keep themselves in game condition and stay in practice.  In the future, both guys would love to reach the necessary level it takes to represent Team Canada.

 

It seems that these guys are excited to be Islanders and have been pleased to be a part of the teams recent successes in the win column.  Thanks to @strome18, @cal_dehaan, @NYIslanders & the @NYIBooster club for a great meeting.

 

 

 

Calvin de Haan & Ryan Strome give autographs and meet fans after the meeting.

Isles Notes:

Per Arthur Staple, "Don't think this news made it to the links last night: Evgeni Nabokov's injury is not considered major, likely to be out 2 weeks."

Per Sound Tigers, "PLAYER TRANSACTIONS: Parker Milner has been recalled from Stockton (ECHL) while Peter Boyd has signed a PTO."

Islanders Shread Maple Leafs

The Islanders begin a 6 game road trip tonight in Toronto against the conference rival, Maple Leafs.  Eric Hornick mentions that the Isles are 4-1-0 in last 5 trips to Toronto.  They will do it with Kyle Okposo, who flew up to Canada to meet his team mates for tonight's game after missing yesterday’s game due to the birth of his daughter.  The word on Evgeni Nabokov is that he will miss at least a week and everyone knows the Isles wasted no time putting him on injured reserve.  That’s never a good sign and is most likely, a re-injury of what kept him out from Nov. 18th thru December 12th.  Per Kevin Schultz, Nabokov had a .924 SVP and one shutout in 10 games prior to getting hurt last night. 924Sv%.

Forwards:  Vanek-Tavares-Nelson, Bailey-Nielsen-Okposo, Grabner-Strome-Clutterbuck, Martin-Cizikas-Boulton.

D-Pairings:  de Haan-Hamonic, MacDonald-Strait, Hickey-Carkner.

Kevin Poulin will get the start with Anders Nilsson on the bench.

 

 

The Isles went down quickly after a de Haan turnover, and a Toronto redirection, 1-0 Leafs.  After a few shifts, Capuano was back to Vanek-Tavares-Okposo.  Kevin Poulin recovered nicely after that and played well for the remainder of the period.  Kyle Okposo (Tavares & Hamonic) beats Bernier late in the period to tie the game at 1-1.

 

 

In the second period, Frans Nielsen tries a home run pass to Grabner, but over shoots his man. Michael Graner stays with it and makes Reimer pay after he moves to misplay a puck out of the trapazoid, and goes around the net and tucks it in on the far side, 2-1 Islanders.  Leafs score off weak clear by deHaan who is not having his best game, score tied at 2-2.  Isles seem to be giving up the blue line, then struggling to catch back up.  They are playing a sloppier and unpolished effort than last night.  At least their PK has been good tonight going 3/4.  Frankly, the Isles are fortunate to be tied at this point.

 

 

Thanks to IslanderMania & @60CarltonSt for the screen capture.

 

The Isles get a rare PP chance to start the third and Frans Nielsen (Vanek) makes it count, 3-2 Isles with a PPG, which is 1/1.  That gives Thomas Vanek a 10 game point streak.  Shortly after, Calvin de Haan (Hamonic) makes no mistake here with a high shot from the top of the left circle and it goes behind Reimer to give the Isles a 4-2 lead.  It is de Haan's first NHL goal.  He has settled down and resumed his solid play for the Isles on D, especially on the first pairing.  The Isles D is playing well as a unit tonight.  The Maple Leafs score with just over 3:00 remaining off an odd bounce in front of the net, 4-3 Isles.  Reimer goes to the bench with 1:13 remaining in the third period, empty net for Toronto.  Michael Grabner blocks a Toronto shot, and clears the puck from the zone to Cal Clutterbuck and he gets the empty net goal to seal the deal.  Islanders win, 5-3 on the road and gain 2 points, just 7 points out a playoff spot. 

 

The Isles PK comes up big, going 4/5, and lead in take-aways 13-4.  That was a big adjustment from the start of the game.  The shots on goal were 26-25 in favor of Toronto.  Kevin Poulin made some mistakes, but got it done when it mattered most, going 23/26 with a .885Sv%.  And congratulations when it is due.  Head Coach, Jack Capuano got his 100th career win behind the Isles bench tonight.

 

It was a clutch win and a character building moment for your New York Islanders tonight. The more these moments happen for this team, the more real they become. Let’s do this.

 

 

Isles Notes:

 

John Tavares named to Canadian Olympic team; Thomas Vanek, Michael Grabner selected for Austria.  Lubomir Visnovsky was named to the Slovakian national team, although he isn’t expected to play.

Per Eric Hornick, “As Butch bids adieu to Jiggs, Chris King is sharpening his skates. Howie mentioned last night that Chris has games in Denver/Dallas.”  I am looking forward to hearing Chris King on the MSG T.V. Isles broadcast.

 

Back for More.  All Islanders.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKNuoaGHO0 … … … … … … … … … … … … #Isles #believe #STRONGisland @FFDP

 

 

 

Islanders Make Dallas See Stars

Your New York Islanders host Tyler Seguin and the revamped Dallas Stars tonight at the NVMC.  The teams will meet again in Dallas on Sunday, January 12th at 6 pm.  The Isles will be looking to get back on the winning track and start a new winning streak. 

26 Thomas Vanek – 91 John Tavares – 29 Brock Nelson
16 Peter Regin– 51 Frans Nielsen – 12 Josh Bailey
40 Michael Grabner – 18 Ryan Strome – 15 Cal Clutterbuck
17 Matt Martin – 53 Casey Cizikas – 13 Colin McDonald

37 Brain Strait - 47 Andrew MacDonald
44 Calvin de Haan – 3 Travis Hamonic
46 Matt Donovan - 14 Thomas Hickey

20 Evgeni Nabokov in net with 60 Kevin Poulin on the bench.

Kyle Okposo will be out tonight to be with his wife after the birth of his first child.  That means Brock Nelson will get another shot with J.T. and T.V. on the first line.

 

The Dallas Stars jumped to a 1-0 lead after a defensive give away from the recently recalled Matt Donovan.  Donovan is a strong prospect who earned another shot with the Isles from some solid play in Bridgeport.  Hopefully, he can put it behind him and refocus to make the most of this chance.  Evgeni Nabokov (7/8 with an .875Sv% before injury) stretched out to make a save and looks to have hurt himself.  I hate to think he could have re-injured himself.  If that is the case, The Isles will need a younger goaltender ready to carry the starting load that is good enough to keep them in the game each and every night.  Is that Kevin Poulin?  Kevin Poulin came on in relief and looked screened on his first shot against, 2-0 Dallas.  The Islanders battle through a tough period, but remain focused.  Per Eric Hornick, "Hamonic: "We've shown we can come back in games in the past -- two big periods coming up."

 

The second period would see Ryan Strome score a PPG (Vanek & Tavares) and his first career NHL goal to put the Isles on the board, 3-1 Dallas.  John Tavares (Vanek) ties the score about 5 minutes later at 2-2.  Just after the 9 minute mark, Peter Regin is set up (Bailey & Hickey) to give the Isles a 3-2 lead in the game.  Kevin Poulin has settled in and looks much better in net for New York.  Dallas ties the game at 3-3 off a penatly call on Casey Cizikas, who was caught retaliating.  Brock Nelson (Cizikas & de Haan with his 1st NHL point) gives the Islanders the lead again with just :27 seconds left in the period, 4-3 New York.  Isles have a 25-17 shots advantage after two.

 

Brian Strait uses Dallas D as a screen and goes 5-hole to give the Isles a 5-3 lead. Casey Cizikas victimized again on a penalty call of goaltender interference when he bumped into the net and Lehtonen fell to ice like he was shot, Isles good for the kill.  John Tavares scores a PPG (Nielsen & MacDonald) to give the surging Isles a 6-3 lead over the Stars.  MacDonald & Hamonic are victimized late in the period, but give the Isles a 5 on 3 PP opportunity.  John Tavares (MacDonald & Cizikas) gets his 5th NHL hat trick on a PPG through a Matt Martin screen in front of the crease. That makes 300th career point, 51 pts (in 43 games) on the year & 5 points on the night for Tavares.  Final score is 7-3 New York.  How is that for secondary scoring?  Isles outshot Stars 43-23, were 3/6 on the PP and won an impressive 45 faceoffs in the circle.  Oh, and Tyler Seguin? Not a factor tonight.

Stars of the game tonight:  1) Tavares   2) Strome   3) Vanek

 

Ryan Strome, Calvin de Haan, Brock Nelson & Kevin Poulin (13/15 with an .875Sv%) all figured prominently in tonight's win for the the Islanders.  The system is turning out quality players that are answering the organizations need for more than just roster spots.  These players, while having times to stumble as they learn, have really shown a reason to believe in Garth Snows rebuild.  When they play the amount of minutes that is asked of them and show improvement at this level, they are learning on-the-job and showing what we can expect in the future.

What else can you say about John Tavares?  He is an elite NHL player and the pride of the New York Islanders.  I wonder if he will make Team Canada?  Peter Regin who is often maligned, played very well tonight on second line with Nielsen and Bailey.  His defensive game is usually strong, but he added a big goal to the scorecard tonight.  Isles gain 2 points and improve to 15-22-7 with 37 pts in another "best of the season" type performance.

Isles came back with a character game here tonight. They went down 2-0, saw Nabby get hurt & could have mailed it in after that. Instead, they buckled down and fought their way back into the game.  Their fore and back checking were awesome and they played with the grit and snarl to get themselves back into it.  If this teams resilience & fire can be summoned when it is needed, they will be deadly. 

 

 

Consistency.

Isles Notes:


UPDATE:  Per NYI, "Evgeni Nabokov placed on IR w/ lower-body injury. Anders Nilsson recalled on emergency basis."

 

Per Scott Cullen, "Islanders D Andrew MacDonald 8 A in past 5 GP; C John Tavares 7 G, 6 A in past 6 GP; LW Thomas Vanek 5 G, 9 A during 9-game point streak."

 

Per Jeff Mannix, "Corey Trivino will make his Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotes) debut tonight. He signed a PTO earlier this week.  Trivino scored 5-19-24 in 29 games for the ECHL Stockton Thunder this season."

 

Weekend Lookback: Chicago and Carolina

On Thursday, your New York Islanders faced the 2013 Stanley Cup Champion, Chicago Blackhawks and answered every challenge they faced en-route to a 3-2 OT win at the NVMC.  Casey Cizikas scored in the first and Thomas Vanek (Okposo & MacDonald) scored in the second to give the Isles a 2-0 lead in the game.  The Isles gave a spirited and hard fought effort through out the game behind another solid comeback from injury, performance by Evgeni Nabokov (37/38 with a .949Sv%) and a seemingly re-focused defensive squad. 

 

Chicago would comeback and tie the game to force an OT period, but spurned U.S. Olympian, Kyle Okposo (Tavares & MacDonald) showed his mettle when he brought the puck towards the net and put it past Corey Crawford to win the game and the extra point for New York.  It would put Okposo at 2 pts on the night & extend his eight game point scoring streak.  It would also put him in the NHL's top 10 in scoring.  It pushed the Isles win streak to 3.

 

Per Brian Compton, "You're giving me chills right now." Okposo to crowd on USA chants. "

 

 

 

 

Just two days later, the Isles would look to push their winning streak to 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes.  But as they have many times this season, they followed up another season’s best performance with another substandard effort against a weaker team to end the streak.  John Tavares (Vanek) tied the game at 1-1 in the first period, only to see the Hurricanes take a 3-1 lead through two periods.  Thomas Vanek (MacDonald & Strome) would score late in the third to bring the Isles within 1, but New York would ultimately fall short in their efforts by a 3-2 score.  The Isles outshot Carolina by a 40-30 margin.  Evgeni Nabokov was 25/28 and a .900Sv%.  Capuano told islanders.nhl.com, “On two of the goals, we had the puck on our stick,” Head coach Jack Capuano said. “[We gave them] three gifts and on two of them, we had possession of the puck [and gave it up]. Puck decisions are what get us into trouble.” 


The struggling Islanders defense had another bad game, allowing turnovers and odd man rushes against that contributed to the loss.  Hurricanes net minder, Anton Khudobin, a free agent in last summer’s goalie pool, stood tall in the game for Carolina bringing some of the Islanders scoring issues to light.  Khudobin’s biggest stops were again Vanek and Tavares on fast break opportunities including a late scoring attempt by Andrew MacDonald.  While Okposo’s scoring streak was ended, Thomas Vanek’s eight game streak (matching a career high) continues.  The Isles will have a home game on Monday against Dallas @ 7 pm and go on the road Tuesday vs. Toronto @ 7 pm and on Friday against Colorado @ 9 pm.

 

Isles Notes:

 

Congratulations to Isles prospect Ville Pokka and Team Finland on winning the gold medal at the 2014 World Junior Championship.

 

Attention Isles Booster Club Members!

The next Islanders Booster Club meeting will be held Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Long Island Marriott amphitheater (across the parking lot from Nassau Coliseum). Booster club members will be joined by two very special guests, Isles rookies Ryan Strome and Calvin de Haan. Both players will be on hand to meet fans and answer questions.

The NYI recalled, D Matt Donovan from the AHL affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Thursday.

 

NHL Notes:

Per Michele Catalano, "8.2 million people in North America watched the Winter Classic. 105,000 were at the game. But nobody cares about hockey."  Nice.

 

 

 

Isles Comeback In Boston

On the last night of 2013, Your New York Islanders will travel to TD Gardens in Boston and face the Bruins.  We shall see if the Isles can ride the wave of momentum after their thrilling come from behind win against Minnesota.  Zedeno Chara is back in the line up for Boston while Michael Grabner & Matt Carkner are back in for Boulton & Ness.  Josh Bailey is still day to day with an upper body injury.

Forwards:  Vanek-Tavares-Okposo, Grabner-Nielsen-Clutterbuck, Nelson-Strome-McDonald, Regin-Cizikas-Martin.

D-Pairings:  MacDonald-Hickey, de Haan-Hamonic, Strait-Carkner.

Evgeni Nabokov is net with Kevin Poulin on the bench.

 

The Islanders come out slow once again and immediately find them selves trying to catch up and protect the net in their own end.  Boston has dictated the pace in the first period, But credit Nabokov for his work thus far.  Isles continue to struggle and Boston makes it 1-0 as Cizikas makes a bad clear and Carkner is seemingly unable to move bodies from in front of the net.  To make it worse, the Isles get a bad penalty call, but are successful on the PK.  As the Islanders pressure Boston in their own zone, the puck ends up behind Rask from a Clutterbuck shot.  After the review, the call is no goal.  It looks like the puck crossed the goal line to me, but the call says otherwise.  Its hard to complain about calls, but it seems to me that each game is an uphill battle.  You tell me. (@BruinsDaily)

 

 

 

 

Thomas Hickey, Cal Clutterbuck and Colin McDonald are really working hard tonight and their play is infectious.  PP for the Isles.  Kyle Okposo takes the puck off the boards to John Tavares and Frans Nielsen puts a quick wrist shot by Rask tying the score at 1-1, PPG.  de Haan gets called for a cross check and Boston makes them pay, 2-1 Boston.  Just :25 seconds later, Boston scores again and makes it 3-1 off a Hickey turn over to Chara.  The Islanders get refocused after a Boston Bruins time out is called.  They seem more active and aggressive in the offensive zone with strong fore checking, creates a PP opportunity.  Isles cash in as Frans Nielsen scores (Vanek & Taveres) to get closer to evening the score, 3-2 Boston.  Lucic crosschecks McDonald immediately from the face off.  The Isles went right back to a PP chance, but failed to score this time.  Rask takes a delay of game penalty with close to a minute remaining and Kyle Okposo scores a PPG with 2.6 seconds left on the clock, game tied at 3-3 at the end of two.

 

John Tavares scores 5 seconds into the third period to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead to start the third period.  Both teams have found another gear and are testing each other regularly.  Isles really starting to get under Bostons skin, especially Colin McDonald.  Marchand goes after Strome, Isles to the PP.  John Tavares scores PPG! 5-3 Islanders.  Isles to the PK, Grabner gets a short handed break away and goes wide.  Lucic "boards" Hamonic and gets 4:00 (boarding & unsportsmanlike conduct) and a 10 minute game misconduct.  Jiggs McDonald asks Butch Goring, "What in the world has happened to respect for your opponent in this sport?"  Isles will get almost 3:30 that could technically allow them to finish the game on the PP after some 4 on 4.  The Isles win the game 5-3, but get outshot 38-31, but going 4/8 on the PP against a team like Boston.  Not too shabby.  Evgeni Nabokov was strong, especially late going 35/38 with a .932Sv%.  I loved the aggressive fore and back checking and the gritty play by McDonald and Clutterbuck who just keeps getting better and better.

 

John Kreiser said it well, "Happy new year for Isles, who rally from 3-1 down for 5-3 win at Boston. 6-0-1 in last 7 games on Dec. 31 - last loss was in '98, 1-0 at CHI."  A nice display of resiliance lately, especially over the last two games, coming back from behind and really turning the game back at their opponent.  John Tavares with 44 pts after a (2 & 2) 4 pt night.  Kyle Okposo with 40 points, 3 pts tonight.  Frans Nielsen with 32 points had 2 goals, Andrew MacDonald & Thomas Vanek with 22 points had 2 assists and Thomas Hickey had an assist on the night.  Both the PP and PK have been a big reason for the Isles success in recent games, winning the last 4 on the road and 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.  The Isles improve to 13-21-7 with 33 pts.

 

Isles Notes:

I will be AFK for the games against Chicago on Thursday, 1/2 @ 7 pm & Carolina on Saturday, 1/4 @ 7 pm.  I will try and rejoin the hockey universe on Monday against Dallas @ 7 pm or Tuesday vs. Toronto @ 7 pm with a recap and current game coverage. 

 

Happy New Year Everyone.

 

Thanks for checking out Knight of Cups for your New York Islanders News.