The Islanders hadn't fared well against the Bruins this season, and haven't done particularly well on the road as of late. Set to return home for a Sunday matinee against the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders were looking for any positives they could take back to Long Island with them. They were able to get a few.
The Islanders defeated Boston 3-2 behind the strong play, once again, of Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov made 32 saves to really keep the Islanders in the game and give them the chance they had to win it. He had to be spectacular and he was.
The Islanders got goals from Josh Bailey, Matt Moulson and John Tavares. For Bailey it was his 4th in the past three games. Moulson's goal brought him to within two of hitting the 30 goal mark for the 3rd straight year. Frans Nielsen had a solid game and made a few nice passes, registering two assists.
While the Bruins were the much bigger team, the Islanders were able to withstand what they brought. P.A. Parenteau played a bit of a chippy game, and he did take a bad penalty to negate an Isles man advantage but I did appreciate him stepping up the intensity. I thought David Ullstrom and Casey Cizikas did a good job of this as well.
The Bruins game plan seemed to consist of frequently blasting the puck from the point and trying to use their size to get in front and pick up a few rebounds. Unfortunately for them they ran into Nabokov. There were a few "how did he do that" saves and a few near misses he was extremely lucky on. But all in all he did a good job of seeing the puck, even though his defense didn't cooperate much.
The Islanders will now try and harness this same kind of effort for Sunday afternoon at home against a Devils team that is playing some good hockey right now. We all know how the Devils like to play, and it's no different no matter who the coach is. For the Islanders, it will have a playoff series feel to it as their next three games are against their division rivals. The Devils have a game against a different opponent thrown in there. You got to love the NHL and it's scheduling (not). Actually, in all seriousness this could be a fun series. Hopefully it can get the intensity of a playoff series, to give the players a chance to experience that kind of atmosphere.
NYI FYI on Sunday: As usual, Sean and I will be talking all things Islanders on Sunday morning at 11 AM. Be sure to catch us live, and participate in the chat room.
We'll discuss the week that was and touch on other items from around the league, such as the trade deadline.
Enjoy the show guys and feel free to bring your comments!
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
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