Islanders Lose to Capitals

The Islanders lost 2-1 to the Washington Capitals on Monday at a sold out Nassau Coliseum. It was the second straight sellout at the NVMC. Richard Park scored the only goal for the Isles, while old friend Viktor Kozlov and Brooks Laich scored for the Caps.

One thing that killed the Isles today was their power play, as it had no power. Many chances to score were ruined. The power play seemed a bit hesitant and slow. The first 2 games the power play was OK, the first game being the best. That is something that has to work in order for the team to continue to be successful.

What caused the Isles to lose the game was a failed clearing attempt by Mike Comrie. Comrie tried to clear a puck up the middle, where it was intercepted by Michael Nylander. Nylander passed it to defenseman Brian Pothier, who got the shot on net where Rick DiPietro left a huge rebound that was buried by Laich. The Isles weren't able to get a marker of their own for the rest of the period.

The Isles played a good game today, but it definitely feels like the team should be 3-0 right now. They out shot Washington 31-12, but netminder Olaf Kolzig did the only thing he knows to do against the Isles-play solid and win. The team must say "oh well" and look towards Wednesdays game against the Rangers. That will be a tough one and I feel is a must win, as it wouldn't be very good to go 0-2 after starting 2-0.

LINK TO PODCASTS ADDED: We have added a link on the side to our website for the podcasts. The first show is up from Sunday, where we talk about the first 2 games in Buffalo and analyze the 4 games the Isles have this week. One game has past, but games still remain against the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers. Listen to the show to get our rundown and how we think things will shake out.

FREDDY MEYER CLAIMED BY 'YOTES: Defenseman Freddy Meyer was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes today before the noon deadline. Meyer played in 35 games for the Isles, all last season and was 0-3-3 with an even +/- rating. This paves the way for a possible signing of defenseman Bryan Berard, who had a good camp with the Isles on a training camp tryout. He would definitely help the power play as well.

JASON BLAKE ILL: Jason Blake announced today that he has been diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, which according to Blake is a disease that is easy to treat. He is taking a pill that is working well, and does not expect to miss any time. Still, we are hoping for the best and hopes that Jason comes out strong here and does not get worse. Get well Jason, you have many fans here on the Island and we appreciated all you did for the team in your tenure here. Here's to a speedy recovery for Jason.