After suffering their disappointing loss on Monday night against the Rangers, the Islanders had to be sure they did not suffer a major setback against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. This was a dangerous game because it was going to have a much different feel than the day before, and not to mention was on the road.
Showing posts with label Carolina Hurricanes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carolina Hurricanes. Show all posts
February 18, 2015
November 8, 2013
Isles Shutout in Carolina
Every team is going to have games where the opposing goaltender makes some fantastic saves and they'll have trouble getting a puck past them all night. Unfortunately, that night came for the Isles at an inopportune time.
October 20, 2013
Isles Comeback Falls Short vs. Canes; NYI FYI Sunday Morning
The first few minutes of the game on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes looked like a carryover of play from the previous game against Edmonton. As time went on though, the Isles regressed in their play and the result would end up being the opposite.
The Isles fell into some traps that they were ultimately unable to recover from as the Hurricanes pulled out a 4-3 win over their new division rivals.
The Isles fell into some traps that they were ultimately unable to recover from as the Hurricanes pulled out a 4-3 win over their new division rivals.
February 25, 2013
Canes Score Four Straight, Isles Drop Another Home Game
Despite taking a 2-0 lead in a period in which they were grossly out-shot, the Islanders gave up four unanswered goals to the Carolina Hurricanes, giving them the 4-2 victory as the Islanders perplexing play at home continued.
February 12, 2013
Danger Zone? Canes 6, Isles 4
The Islanders have hit a serious snag in their playoff hopes for this shortened season, and they have done so in an alarming way that's causing some concern among the masses.
January 31, 2012
Tavares Picks Up Where He Left Off
I didn't get a chance to write over the weekend as it was happening, but John Tavares did a fantastic job of representing the Islanders in Ottawa during the All-Star break. He had some neat moves in the shootouts on Saturday during the Skills Competition, and was one of the final shooters in the last breakaway portion of the event.
January 22, 2012
Tavares, Nabokov Star as Isles Win Third Straight
John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov are both playing like men on missions right now, and they are single-handedly trying to bring the Islanders back into playoff contention.
So far, so good. The Islanders have picked up a number of points over the past two weeks behind strong play from both, and currently sit eight points out of the picture with 36 games remaining.
So far, so good. The Islanders have picked up a number of points over the past two weeks behind strong play from both, and currently sit eight points out of the picture with 36 games remaining.
April 19, 2011
Grabner Nominated for Calder; Will He Win?
In what was pretty much just a formality at this juncture, Michael Grabner was nominated for the Calder Trophy after having a rookie season to remember.
Grabner scored 34 goals for the Islanders this season. It's funny to look back on things such as this and realize how much of a surprise it was.
Throughout training camp, it was widely thought that if Grabner didn't make the cut, Florida could very well waive him. In all honesty, if you told m they would when camp opened I would have laughed and said you were crazy.
In our preseason "Face Off," Sean and I both agreed that you could put Grabner down for 20-25 goals once he got going. When he did eventually get going, he would far exceed that.
Here's the scarier thought: when he really got going in January-ish, he was sitting at about nine goals. He scored at quite an alarming rate, and did so while often getting 15 minutes of ice-time or less per game, and not a whole lot of power-play time.
But are Grabner's accomplishments enough to put him over the top against his competition in Carolina's Jeff Skinner or San Jose's Logan Couture?
This is the first year that I can recall where there were a number of strong candidates. Between these three, Corey Crawford, Sergei Bobrovsky, P.K. Subban and a few others, some players who had fine years were going to be left out.
While some people think that the Professional Hockey Writers Association strike will affect who wins in the end, I really don't think it will move enough mountains for Grabner to win the trophy. Besides, this boycott started well before the ballots were handed in, and the fact that he's been nominated pretty much puts to bed any idea that this will really sway the voting in one of the other impressive youngsters’ direction.
In my eyes, you'd be hard pressed to not vote for Jeff Skinner.
Sure, you can say Skinner had a better team around him. Steve Stamkos had an even better one around him in his rookie year in 2008, however and didn't have the year that Skinner did.
We can also sit here and discuss how Carolina didn't make the playoffs, so Skinner's season doesn't mean as much.
Be that as it may, you would be foolish to do that. What this 18 year old with a boyish face did - in a men’s league - is absolutely astonishing. Especially when you take into account he was a fairly little known 8th overall pick.
Taking a look back over time, there haven't been many players who went from a late top-10 pick to being a regular on an NHL team in a matter of months. The previous two? Sam Gagner (6th overall in 2007) and the Isles very own Josh Bailey (9th overall in 2008).
Neither has come close to having a season like the 31 goal, 32 assist campaign that Skinner did at any point in their combined seven years of service. It is very tough to come from the back of the top-10 and contribute right away, but that's exactly what Skinner did.
I know my thinking is probably not one of the more popular ones around here, and some of you had made it known during our final show of the season. That's all well and good. Just remember that the rest of the competition is very impressive to, however. I think when you look at some of these facts, while Grabner will put up a great fight, he will most likely finish a close second to Skinner. I understand Skinner has more of the media behind him and whatnot too, and yes that does play a big part.
What bothers me a little bit is when people say this as if it's a bad thing. In my opinion, all of the talk around Skinner is well deserved. People should be more in awe of his feat rather than talking about NHL bias and how that will be why Grabner doesn't win. The fact we can be having a discussion like this is excellent news for the Isles, Canes, Sharks and the NHL. A rookie class like this is something the league needed, and it's good to see they finally got one.
At any rate, Grabner has his work cut out for him. Congrats to him for the well deserved nomination, and good luck!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Grabner scored 34 goals for the Islanders this season. It's funny to look back on things such as this and realize how much of a surprise it was.
Throughout training camp, it was widely thought that if Grabner didn't make the cut, Florida could very well waive him. In all honesty, if you told m they would when camp opened I would have laughed and said you were crazy.
In our preseason "Face Off," Sean and I both agreed that you could put Grabner down for 20-25 goals once he got going. When he did eventually get going, he would far exceed that.
 |
| Grabner and Skinner will now battle for the Calder. Photo by C. Hessel |
But are Grabner's accomplishments enough to put him over the top against his competition in Carolina's Jeff Skinner or San Jose's Logan Couture?
This is the first year that I can recall where there were a number of strong candidates. Between these three, Corey Crawford, Sergei Bobrovsky, P.K. Subban and a few others, some players who had fine years were going to be left out.
While some people think that the Professional Hockey Writers Association strike will affect who wins in the end, I really don't think it will move enough mountains for Grabner to win the trophy. Besides, this boycott started well before the ballots were handed in, and the fact that he's been nominated pretty much puts to bed any idea that this will really sway the voting in one of the other impressive youngsters’ direction.
In my eyes, you'd be hard pressed to not vote for Jeff Skinner.
Sure, you can say Skinner had a better team around him. Steve Stamkos had an even better one around him in his rookie year in 2008, however and didn't have the year that Skinner did.
We can also sit here and discuss how Carolina didn't make the playoffs, so Skinner's season doesn't mean as much.
Be that as it may, you would be foolish to do that. What this 18 year old with a boyish face did - in a men’s league - is absolutely astonishing. Especially when you take into account he was a fairly little known 8th overall pick.
Taking a look back over time, there haven't been many players who went from a late top-10 pick to being a regular on an NHL team in a matter of months. The previous two? Sam Gagner (6th overall in 2007) and the Isles very own Josh Bailey (9th overall in 2008).
Neither has come close to having a season like the 31 goal, 32 assist campaign that Skinner did at any point in their combined seven years of service. It is very tough to come from the back of the top-10 and contribute right away, but that's exactly what Skinner did.
I know my thinking is probably not one of the more popular ones around here, and some of you had made it known during our final show of the season. That's all well and good. Just remember that the rest of the competition is very impressive to, however. I think when you look at some of these facts, while Grabner will put up a great fight, he will most likely finish a close second to Skinner. I understand Skinner has more of the media behind him and whatnot too, and yes that does play a big part.
What bothers me a little bit is when people say this as if it's a bad thing. In my opinion, all of the talk around Skinner is well deserved. People should be more in awe of his feat rather than talking about NHL bias and how that will be why Grabner doesn't win. The fact we can be having a discussion like this is excellent news for the Isles, Canes, Sharks and the NHL. A rookie class like this is something the league needed, and it's good to see they finally got one.
At any rate, Grabner has his work cut out for him. Congrats to him for the well deserved nomination, and good luck!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
April 2, 2011
Hurricanes Show Why They Are Still in This
The Carolina Hurricanes knew they had what was essentially a do or die game for them as they came into the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night for their final match-up with the Islanders this season.
By the time the game was over, everyone saw why this is a team that is very much still in this playoff race.
Despite the Islanders getting a 2-1 lead and then proceeding to control the play for a good chunk after that, the Hurricanes did not back down and would score three unanswered goals in the third period on their way to a 4-2 win.
Every Rangers fan was rooting for the Isles in this one, and for a decent portion of the game they were getting exactly what they wanted. However, things would quickly fall apart for them. After the Hurricanes won, the Sabres played a back and forth game with the Capitals, earning a point as they lost in overtime. The Toronto Maple Leafs also won as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2.
The Rangers have a Sunday afternoon date with the Philadelphia Flyers, and they sit one point behind the 7th place Sabres and one point ahead of 9th place Carolina.
The Islanders, meanwhile, put up a good fight against another team that has been playing some really strong hockey of late. The same individuals who have been carrying the Canes were at their top of their games - guys like Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Jesse Joensuu was one of the top Isles forwards. I feel this was clearly one of the better games I've seen him play. Earlier this season, I felt he was playing well but I was clearly in the minority when the Islanders sent him down shortly after that. I think there is still a decent amount of untapped potential when it comes to Joensuu, and so far he is off to a good start when it comes to making a last gasp impression to the coaching staff and management. He got almost 16 minutes of ice time Saturday night, and given what he did with it, will continue to log significant minutes in the final three games.
I was disappointed with the way that Josh Bailey played. He only got 14 minutes of ice time, and to me was rather invisible. As he gets slightly less ice time and more is given to guys like Joensuu, especially with players like Frans Nielsen now missing time, one has to wonder about his future. He will be an RFA this summer, and hasn't done a ton to warrant a huge pay raise. It'll be interesting to see how that all plays out.
The Isles had to patch together a defense, but I felt they played pretty well. Dylan Reese in the past two games has looked the way he did for a majority of the games to end last season. Mark Katic has looked good to me considering his size and what he is. With the Isles on a 6-on-4 advantage, Katic did fumble the puck that led to the Staal empty net goal, and that is one play you can definitely chalk up to inexperience. But aside from that, I thought he looked steady, picked his spots as far as when to jump into the play and was very strong positionally.
Meanwhile, Ty Wishart and Jack Hillen both returned after suffering injuries against the Rangers and got very limited ice time. That gave both Katic and Reese the opportunity to log 20+ minutes, and they did quite well with it. I would imagine now with a few days off Hillen, Wishart, Bruno Gervais and Milan Jurcina will have plenty of time to rest up. I'm not really anticipating many of those guys to practice these next few days.
Al Montoya wasn't really tested with anything incredibly tough. The Carolina goals were from some tips in front, particularly Cole's goal. That's one instance where the defenseman has to do a better job there, especially on someone who has made a career out of scoring big goals in front like that. But Montoya made most of the saves that he should have and doesn't really get much blame in this one.
In a way, this was like the tale of two games. For most of the third period, the Canes wanted it more and you could feel their desperation and their pressure. At that rate, you knew it was only a matter of time before they started to break through. There's a reason they are still in this race with so little time left.
The Isles have off until Wednesday when they go into Boston to take on the Bruins. That is going to be one tough game. But, the last time these teams met the Islanders stunned the Bruins and beat them 3-2 at the Coliseum. So, we can definitely say that stranger things have happened. But while the Isles have been on a good run since that point, the Bruins have as well.
NYI FYI SUNDAY: Just a friendly reminder that we will be on live tomorrow at 11 AM. You can tune in by watching us on our NYI FYI UStream page. There you can watch us in real time, as well as participate in the live chat. So be sure to come prepared with your comments or questions.
We have a good show planned for you guys as we'll discuss the team's play this week, the re-signing of Al Montoya, the PHWA boycotts in honor of Chris Botta and more. Remember - Sunday at 11 AM!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
By the time the game was over, everyone saw why this is a team that is very much still in this playoff race.
Despite the Islanders getting a 2-1 lead and then proceeding to control the play for a good chunk after that, the Hurricanes did not back down and would score three unanswered goals in the third period on their way to a 4-2 win.
Every Rangers fan was rooting for the Isles in this one, and for a decent portion of the game they were getting exactly what they wanted. However, things would quickly fall apart for them. After the Hurricanes won, the Sabres played a back and forth game with the Capitals, earning a point as they lost in overtime. The Toronto Maple Leafs also won as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2.
The Rangers have a Sunday afternoon date with the Philadelphia Flyers, and they sit one point behind the 7th place Sabres and one point ahead of 9th place Carolina.
The Islanders, meanwhile, put up a good fight against another team that has been playing some really strong hockey of late. The same individuals who have been carrying the Canes were at their top of their games - guys like Eric Staal and Erik Cole.
Jesse Joensuu was one of the top Isles forwards. I feel this was clearly one of the better games I've seen him play. Earlier this season, I felt he was playing well but I was clearly in the minority when the Islanders sent him down shortly after that. I think there is still a decent amount of untapped potential when it comes to Joensuu, and so far he is off to a good start when it comes to making a last gasp impression to the coaching staff and management. He got almost 16 minutes of ice time Saturday night, and given what he did with it, will continue to log significant minutes in the final three games.
I was disappointed with the way that Josh Bailey played. He only got 14 minutes of ice time, and to me was rather invisible. As he gets slightly less ice time and more is given to guys like Joensuu, especially with players like Frans Nielsen now missing time, one has to wonder about his future. He will be an RFA this summer, and hasn't done a ton to warrant a huge pay raise. It'll be interesting to see how that all plays out.
The Isles had to patch together a defense, but I felt they played pretty well. Dylan Reese in the past two games has looked the way he did for a majority of the games to end last season. Mark Katic has looked good to me considering his size and what he is. With the Isles on a 6-on-4 advantage, Katic did fumble the puck that led to the Staal empty net goal, and that is one play you can definitely chalk up to inexperience. But aside from that, I thought he looked steady, picked his spots as far as when to jump into the play and was very strong positionally.
Meanwhile, Ty Wishart and Jack Hillen both returned after suffering injuries against the Rangers and got very limited ice time. That gave both Katic and Reese the opportunity to log 20+ minutes, and they did quite well with it. I would imagine now with a few days off Hillen, Wishart, Bruno Gervais and Milan Jurcina will have plenty of time to rest up. I'm not really anticipating many of those guys to practice these next few days.
Al Montoya wasn't really tested with anything incredibly tough. The Carolina goals were from some tips in front, particularly Cole's goal. That's one instance where the defenseman has to do a better job there, especially on someone who has made a career out of scoring big goals in front like that. But Montoya made most of the saves that he should have and doesn't really get much blame in this one.
In a way, this was like the tale of two games. For most of the third period, the Canes wanted it more and you could feel their desperation and their pressure. At that rate, you knew it was only a matter of time before they started to break through. There's a reason they are still in this race with so little time left.
The Isles have off until Wednesday when they go into Boston to take on the Bruins. That is going to be one tough game. But, the last time these teams met the Islanders stunned the Bruins and beat them 3-2 at the Coliseum. So, we can definitely say that stranger things have happened. But while the Isles have been on a good run since that point, the Bruins have as well.
NYI FYI SUNDAY: Just a friendly reminder that we will be on live tomorrow at 11 AM. You can tune in by watching us on our NYI FYI UStream page. There you can watch us in real time, as well as participate in the live chat. So be sure to come prepared with your comments or questions.
We have a good show planned for you guys as we'll discuss the team's play this week, the re-signing of Al Montoya, the PHWA boycotts in honor of Chris Botta and more. Remember - Sunday at 11 AM!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
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