The Islanders gained some momentum for themselves heading into the game on Tuesday against a red hot New York Rangers team by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Saturday night. The game was the second of a back-to-back and after playing into extra time with the Devils in that previous night the Islanders certainly made a huge statement in Columbus.
Showing posts with label Sergei Bobrovsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sergei Bobrovsky. Show all posts
January 11, 2015
November 10, 2013
Isles Lose Game to Blue Jackets, Vanek to Injury
Things could not be going any worse for the New York Islanders lately. By 10 PM on Saturday, the Islanders had suffered yet another lopsided loss, this time to the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets and lost new winger Thomas Vanek to an "upper body" injury after just one shift.
Not to mention Evgeni Nabokov kept up his alarming trend of giving up many goals on few shots. The Blue Jackets had trouble getting pucks towards the net for the first half of the game - they only had six by that point - but had two goals to show for it.
Not to mention Evgeni Nabokov kept up his alarming trend of giving up many goals on few shots. The Blue Jackets had trouble getting pucks towards the net for the first half of the game - they only had six by that point - but had two goals to show for it.
October 6, 2013
Isles Blow Two Goal Lead but Salvage Point in Home Opener; NYI FYI Sunday at 10 AM
The Islanders let a two goal lead slip away in their home opener, losing in a shootout to their new division rivals the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus didn't have much of a chance to control the play in the first period, and only had four shots on Evgeni Nabokov through the first frame. Meanwhile the Isles didn't do enough to capitalize on their possession time, often missing passes and having a hard time getting pucks towards Sergei Bobrovsky.
Columbus didn't have much of a chance to control the play in the first period, and only had four shots on Evgeni Nabokov through the first frame. Meanwhile the Isles didn't do enough to capitalize on their possession time, often missing passes and having a hard time getting pucks towards Sergei Bobrovsky.
January 20, 2012
Finally! A Win in Philadelphia
On Thursday night, the Islanders went into a building that hasn't been kind to them. But a funny thing happened, one that the Flyers have not been used to the last few years. That's right - the Islanders won a game in Philadelphia.
It was their first win at the Wachovia Center since April of 2007. Many Isles fans will remember that as the second to last game of the 2006-07 season, and the third of four straight wins to close out the season and clinch the final playoff spot.
It was their first win at the Wachovia Center since April of 2007. Many Isles fans will remember that as the second to last game of the 2006-07 season, and the third of four straight wins to close out the season and clinch the final playoff spot.
February 24, 2011
Isles Battle Back, Fall to Flyers in OT; Saturday "Whiteout"
The Islanders played the Flyers well enough to win. Unfortunately, the Flyers skill level shined through just enough to give them the 4-3 OT win over the Isles.
This was a really fun game to watch because of the intensity that both teams brought. The Flyers did not take the Islanders lightly. The Isles were up to the task of trying to take down the big, bad Flyers.
Although the game wasn't all that high scoring, it had the feel of a pond hockey game. There was a lot of north-south play, a lot of pressure put on the goalies thanks to turnovers from sloppy plays on both ends, and a ton of shots.
The Islanders were ultimately done in by a long shift with a lot of scrambling in their zone as all four guys on the ice collapsed right around Al Montoya. That left Andrej Meszaros wide open to get a pass and take a quick wrister from just above the hash marks.
Both Montoya and Sergei Bobrovsky made some really solid saves when they had too. There were some tough ones, like the Flyers third goal from Jeff Carter that deflected twice before skipping past Montoya. He would redeem himself in overtime though, when he made a nice split save when Kimmo Timonen was allowed to walk in from the blue line.
Matt Martin scored two goals, including the one to tie it with 27 seconds left. His first goal was off of a nice feed from Micheal Haley. Martin positioned himself perfectly in the slot to receive the one-timer. Martin has been making the slot area his home the last two or three weeks, and that is an excellent sign. You can see that he is starting to think an offensive game slightly better even though the results have not completely come to fruition just yet.
Frans Nielsen was perhaps the Isles best forward. He scored the first goal on a really nice wrister after beating his man one-on-one. Nielsen did a lot of the other stuff that you have come to expect out of him too. He seemed to be the straw that stirred the drink on his line, which consisted of Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner. Both of them had some nice chances, thanks to some nice plays and positioning by Nielsen.
Although they gave up a lot of shots, the Isles defensive unit was not as bad as I feared they would be. They blocked a ton of shots, and just tried to keep things simple. They didn't go out of position to do anything, and didn't try and manhandle any of the Flyers forwards in a one-on-one play. This Flyers team is so fast, experienced and skilled that you really can't afford to make any glaring mistakes against them.
Mark Katic made his NHL debut, and didn't really get involved too much. But he looked pretty good a couple of times. He is a VERY offensive minded defenseman, but each time he pinched in deep he got back rather quickly. Being an excellent skater like that gives you the chance to be able to pinch more often as long as you are mindful of when you have to cut back the other way. I don't suspect he'll be here for very long with Milan Jurcina's injury not appearing too serious, but it's always good to get a young, still raw defenseman a taste of what could be in store for him in the future.
On a negative note, in order to make room for Katic both Jesse Joensuu and Jeremy Colliton were sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. This meant that Rob Schremp found his way back into the lineup after three games as a healthy scratch. I thought that Schremp had an opportunity now to try and prove that he should not have been scratched and that he had his head in order, but it wasn't meant to be.
What has gone on here with this player is really a shame when I think about how he was playing not even a month ago. He was even doing some of the little things right when not scoring, like back-checking or playing solid enough defensively. Now, he just plays like he's disinterested, and when he touches the puck it's like it has entered a black hole. He isn't even using his skills to keep the puck away from opponents. He seems to be trying to deke them out of their skates every time which usually ends up with Schremp easily being knocked off the puck. The regression here is such a shame.
The Islanders take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in what will be their final game before the trade deadline on Monday afternoon, with trade talks heating up (or have they already boiled over?) around the league. LOTS of deals have gone down already, but there are still plenty of guys out there who will undoubtedly be looking for new homes over the next few days.
Is Radek Martinek one of them? I know a couple of days ago I promised a little post on his value, and I still have that in the plans. I hope to get that out there in the next day or so (as long as he's still here, but I might put it up anyway even if he leaves before Monday). But, it's not a foregone conclusion that he will be dealt away.
For those of you attending Saturday's game, the fans have organized a "Whiteout the Red" campaign, where fans are encouraged to wear white. The concept is cool, and would have been much cooler if the Isles walked away with three out of four points on this road trip, but it's a nice way to get behind the team and tell them you don't care about a draft pick and want to see them win out. Judging how well the Caps have played in NVMC in recent years, anything folks need to do to get behind the Isles is greatly encouraged. A whiteout seems like a nice way to generate some excitement among the fans and players. Kudos to the Isles fans who have put time into getting the word out. Hopefully, it hit enough people.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
This was a really fun game to watch because of the intensity that both teams brought. The Flyers did not take the Islanders lightly. The Isles were up to the task of trying to take down the big, bad Flyers.
Although the game wasn't all that high scoring, it had the feel of a pond hockey game. There was a lot of north-south play, a lot of pressure put on the goalies thanks to turnovers from sloppy plays on both ends, and a ton of shots.
The Islanders were ultimately done in by a long shift with a lot of scrambling in their zone as all four guys on the ice collapsed right around Al Montoya. That left Andrej Meszaros wide open to get a pass and take a quick wrister from just above the hash marks.
Both Montoya and Sergei Bobrovsky made some really solid saves when they had too. There were some tough ones, like the Flyers third goal from Jeff Carter that deflected twice before skipping past Montoya. He would redeem himself in overtime though, when he made a nice split save when Kimmo Timonen was allowed to walk in from the blue line.
Matt Martin scored two goals, including the one to tie it with 27 seconds left. His first goal was off of a nice feed from Micheal Haley. Martin positioned himself perfectly in the slot to receive the one-timer. Martin has been making the slot area his home the last two or three weeks, and that is an excellent sign. You can see that he is starting to think an offensive game slightly better even though the results have not completely come to fruition just yet.
Frans Nielsen was perhaps the Isles best forward. He scored the first goal on a really nice wrister after beating his man one-on-one. Nielsen did a lot of the other stuff that you have come to expect out of him too. He seemed to be the straw that stirred the drink on his line, which consisted of Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner. Both of them had some nice chances, thanks to some nice plays and positioning by Nielsen.
Although they gave up a lot of shots, the Isles defensive unit was not as bad as I feared they would be. They blocked a ton of shots, and just tried to keep things simple. They didn't go out of position to do anything, and didn't try and manhandle any of the Flyers forwards in a one-on-one play. This Flyers team is so fast, experienced and skilled that you really can't afford to make any glaring mistakes against them.
Mark Katic made his NHL debut, and didn't really get involved too much. But he looked pretty good a couple of times. He is a VERY offensive minded defenseman, but each time he pinched in deep he got back rather quickly. Being an excellent skater like that gives you the chance to be able to pinch more often as long as you are mindful of when you have to cut back the other way. I don't suspect he'll be here for very long with Milan Jurcina's injury not appearing too serious, but it's always good to get a young, still raw defenseman a taste of what could be in store for him in the future.
On a negative note, in order to make room for Katic both Jesse Joensuu and Jeremy Colliton were sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. This meant that Rob Schremp found his way back into the lineup after three games as a healthy scratch. I thought that Schremp had an opportunity now to try and prove that he should not have been scratched and that he had his head in order, but it wasn't meant to be.
What has gone on here with this player is really a shame when I think about how he was playing not even a month ago. He was even doing some of the little things right when not scoring, like back-checking or playing solid enough defensively. Now, he just plays like he's disinterested, and when he touches the puck it's like it has entered a black hole. He isn't even using his skills to keep the puck away from opponents. He seems to be trying to deke them out of their skates every time which usually ends up with Schremp easily being knocked off the puck. The regression here is such a shame.
The Islanders take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in what will be their final game before the trade deadline on Monday afternoon, with trade talks heating up (or have they already boiled over?) around the league. LOTS of deals have gone down already, but there are still plenty of guys out there who will undoubtedly be looking for new homes over the next few days.
Is Radek Martinek one of them? I know a couple of days ago I promised a little post on his value, and I still have that in the plans. I hope to get that out there in the next day or so (as long as he's still here, but I might put it up anyway even if he leaves before Monday). But, it's not a foregone conclusion that he will be dealt away.
For those of you attending Saturday's game, the fans have organized a "Whiteout the Red" campaign, where fans are encouraged to wear white. The concept is cool, and would have been much cooler if the Isles walked away with three out of four points on this road trip, but it's a nice way to get behind the team and tell them you don't care about a draft pick and want to see them win out. Judging how well the Caps have played in NVMC in recent years, anything folks need to do to get behind the Isles is greatly encouraged. A whiteout seems like a nice way to generate some excitement among the fans and players. Kudos to the Isles fans who have put time into getting the word out. Hopefully, it hit enough people.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
December 5, 2010
Isles Drop Tough One to Flyers
4:52 PM - The Islanders lost their 3rd straight game as the Flyers pulled off a comeback, winning 3-2.
For much of the early going of the game, it was pretty even. The Islanders looked very hesitant to play more of an uptempo offensive game, often hanging back in order to prevent the skilled Flyers team from getting any easy chances.
The Flyers would end up scoring in the 1st period. Matt Carle took the puck below the goal line off to Dwayne Roloson's right, threw the puck towards the net and it trickled in. The original scoring there was that it was Jeff Carter's goal, but that was later changed by the second period. The Islanders were only able to register four shots on net in the period to answer the Flyers eight.
The second period provided some more offensive chances for both teams, but no one was able to score. The Islanders had a huge power-play opportunity, which became a 5-on-3 for 28 seconds. They failed to score on it and the struggles continued.
Despite the struggles, rookie defenseman Travis Hamonic seemed optimistic that the Isles power-play, now scoreless on their last 35 chances, will come around. "I think we're generating some chances. It's one thing to be worried about if you're not getting your opportunities, but we're getting them and things are going to break for us."
The 3rd period prooved to be a bit of a whild one when P.A. Parenteau and Frans Nielsen scored 36 seconds apart to give the Isles a 2-1 lead.
Radek Martinek skated into the zone, and dropped the puck back to Rob Schremp who made a nice cross-ice feed to Parenteau for the one-timer goal. Parenteau has come under fire from many Islanders fans for his often missed chances at shooting the puck off a pass, but he got all of this one.
Nielsen came in on the right wing and took a quick shot at Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky that trickled in. There was a bit of a delay after that because they had to be sure the referee did not blow the whistle on Bobrovsky's initial save.
Matt Moulson took an offensive zone penalty, which lead to a Flyers goal by Andreas Nodl which tied the game at two. Andrew MacDonald, who made two blocks on the play, had the 2nd one just get by him and Hamonic didn't see Nodl blow by him originally. It made for a rather easy chip-in.
Shortly after that, Danny Briere would receive a nice pass in the slot from Ville Leino to give the the Flyers a lead and ultimately, the win.
Parenteau was very upset with the way the team started, and even told me as much in the post game.
"It was embarrassing in the first. I don't know if it was the 1 PM start or not, but after that we came out to play."
"It was a lot of the same things," interim Head Coach Jack Capuano said after the game. "Two things went wrong - we made some bad decisions, and we didn't get the pucks deeper when we could have."
"We have to find ways to win again. Losing is unacceptable."
"It seems like the same story over and over," Nielsen said. "We lost on the special teams again."
The Isles will once again go back to the drawing board and try and figure some things out. Their have their next chance on Thursday when they go on the road to face the Boston Bruins.
PODCAST UPDATE: As many of you already know by now, Sean and I usually record our podcast's on Sundays. Obviously since I was in the press box for the game and Sean had a commitment in the evening, we have to put this one on hold for now. Once we come up with the day for it to be recorded, we'll let you guys know. But for now, just hold tight and don't be alarmed when you don't see anything new to download.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For much of the early going of the game, it was pretty even. The Islanders looked very hesitant to play more of an uptempo offensive game, often hanging back in order to prevent the skilled Flyers team from getting any easy chances.
The Flyers would end up scoring in the 1st period. Matt Carle took the puck below the goal line off to Dwayne Roloson's right, threw the puck towards the net and it trickled in. The original scoring there was that it was Jeff Carter's goal, but that was later changed by the second period. The Islanders were only able to register four shots on net in the period to answer the Flyers eight.
The second period provided some more offensive chances for both teams, but no one was able to score. The Islanders had a huge power-play opportunity, which became a 5-on-3 for 28 seconds. They failed to score on it and the struggles continued.
Despite the struggles, rookie defenseman Travis Hamonic seemed optimistic that the Isles power-play, now scoreless on their last 35 chances, will come around. "I think we're generating some chances. It's one thing to be worried about if you're not getting your opportunities, but we're getting them and things are going to break for us."
The 3rd period prooved to be a bit of a whild one when P.A. Parenteau and Frans Nielsen scored 36 seconds apart to give the Isles a 2-1 lead.
Radek Martinek skated into the zone, and dropped the puck back to Rob Schremp who made a nice cross-ice feed to Parenteau for the one-timer goal. Parenteau has come under fire from many Islanders fans for his often missed chances at shooting the puck off a pass, but he got all of this one.
Nielsen came in on the right wing and took a quick shot at Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky that trickled in. There was a bit of a delay after that because they had to be sure the referee did not blow the whistle on Bobrovsky's initial save.
Matt Moulson took an offensive zone penalty, which lead to a Flyers goal by Andreas Nodl which tied the game at two. Andrew MacDonald, who made two blocks on the play, had the 2nd one just get by him and Hamonic didn't see Nodl blow by him originally. It made for a rather easy chip-in.
Shortly after that, Danny Briere would receive a nice pass in the slot from Ville Leino to give the the Flyers a lead and ultimately, the win.
Parenteau was very upset with the way the team started, and even told me as much in the post game.
"It was embarrassing in the first. I don't know if it was the 1 PM start or not, but after that we came out to play."
"It was a lot of the same things," interim Head Coach Jack Capuano said after the game. "Two things went wrong - we made some bad decisions, and we didn't get the pucks deeper when we could have."
"We have to find ways to win again. Losing is unacceptable."
"It seems like the same story over and over," Nielsen said. "We lost on the special teams again."
The Isles will once again go back to the drawing board and try and figure some things out. Their have their next chance on Thursday when they go on the road to face the Boston Bruins.
PODCAST UPDATE: As many of you already know by now, Sean and I usually record our podcast's on Sundays. Obviously since I was in the press box for the game and Sean had a commitment in the evening, we have to put this one on hold for now. Once we come up with the day for it to be recorded, we'll let you guys know. But for now, just hold tight and don't be alarmed when you don't see anything new to download.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 30, 2010
Massacre and Fight Night on Broad Street
On the eve of Halloween, I feel that the use of the word "massacre" is fitting for the game between the Islanders and Flyers on Saturday night. In a sense, anything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong for the Islanders.
The game was a sloppy one all the way around. The Islanders gave the Flyers way too many chances on the power-play. This is a very deadly team with more weapons than they know what to do with, and you could see it.
The Flyers had no goals from defensemen entering the game, but got three, with Chris Pronger getting two while Kimmo Timonen got one of his own.
Rick DiPietro was less than stellar tonight. He seemed very out of place and was off on some of his anticipation. The 2nd Flyers goal was evidence of this, with DiPietro expecting Mike Mottau to block Jeff Carter's shot, leaving his 5-hole wide open for the puck to sneak through. He fell a couple of times, came out of the net way too much and even flubbed a clearing attempt that Blair Betts almost buried into an empty net.
After the score got to 6-1, various fights broke out. The last few minutes of the game took forever, thanks in part to the Islanders 73 penalty minutes and the Flyers 47. The refs did a rather poor job of controlling the game. They threw Zenon Konopka out of the game after his second fight of the game with Dan Carcillo in order to try and keep the peace, but obviously it did not help. Every subsequent move they made after that seemed to make matters worse, actually.
Trent Hunter got ejected for an alleged hit to the head on Andrej Meszaros, when it in fact was not. Expect the NHL to review that and rescind the game misconduct. Trevor Gillies acted out, but I can say that I have never seen a triple minor penalty handed out, nor did I even know that they existed. Gillies definitely should have gotten something for his little spat with Briere, but a triple minor is just odd. Frans Nielsen received cheap shot hits by both Briere and Carcillo, and while they both got something for that, Nielsen got the worst of it by getting a 10 minute misconduct. Nielsen appeared to say something prior to the face-off, which he probably shouldn't have done, but for him to get 10 minutes while the others didn't get thrown out but were handed majors, whatever. It was in garbage time, but the league is primarily responsible for the ending in this one as far as I'm concerned.
I like the intensity on DiPietro, but honestly, we don't need him to try and fight people in a 6-1 game. It's great to show that leadership, but not after you have had at least two knee and two hip surgeries in the past two years. It looked more like Pronger was trying to keep DiPietro out of his own way rather than trying to fight with him. You can see them having a conversation, and After DiPietro says something to Pronger, Pronger responds with a "well, OK" type of response and lets go of him so he can go after other players. I give some props to Pronger for that.
All in all, this was an ugly game on many levels. The Islanders seemed to be running into each other a lot on plays, and it's been happening a lot during the four game losing streak. The penalty kill setup is off as well, sometimes with two forwards in the same area of the ice. If the Islanders are trying to work with a diamond penalty kill formation, it hasn't looked too solid the past couple of games. I'm not a big fan of it.
One thing worth pointing out on the Flyers side was the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. This is an impressive young net minder. In the Flyers games I have been able to watch in the early going of the season, I find myself sitting in awe at some of the saves he has been making, and he continued that tonight. The Islanders did have a couple of good chances and he just stood tall. His movements are really quick for someone that big. He has learned well in the KHL, and if he keeps it up, then we may not hear too much about these Flyers goal tending issues much longer. Great job by him tonight.
Fortunately, the team has off until Wednesday. This is a tough loss to sit on for that long, but if you are looking for something to hang your hat on, you can be proud of the way you tried to defend yourself in a game that had no business getting this much out of hand. Work on the systems, get everyone healthy and go back at it.
Hopefully, Michael Grabner can return to the line-up. We already know there is a good chance Rob Schremp comes back seeing as his conditioning stint is now over after a really nice performance against the Manchester Monarchs. We'll see what the lineup looks like after the next few days.
PODCAST COMING: Sean and I will be recording a podcast Sunday afternoon, and we'll definitely have a lot of things to discuss for this one. I can tell you that we both have a lot on our minds after this week, so we'll share all of that with you guys.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
The game was a sloppy one all the way around. The Islanders gave the Flyers way too many chances on the power-play. This is a very deadly team with more weapons than they know what to do with, and you could see it.
The Flyers had no goals from defensemen entering the game, but got three, with Chris Pronger getting two while Kimmo Timonen got one of his own.
Rick DiPietro was less than stellar tonight. He seemed very out of place and was off on some of his anticipation. The 2nd Flyers goal was evidence of this, with DiPietro expecting Mike Mottau to block Jeff Carter's shot, leaving his 5-hole wide open for the puck to sneak through. He fell a couple of times, came out of the net way too much and even flubbed a clearing attempt that Blair Betts almost buried into an empty net.
After the score got to 6-1, various fights broke out. The last few minutes of the game took forever, thanks in part to the Islanders 73 penalty minutes and the Flyers 47. The refs did a rather poor job of controlling the game. They threw Zenon Konopka out of the game after his second fight of the game with Dan Carcillo in order to try and keep the peace, but obviously it did not help. Every subsequent move they made after that seemed to make matters worse, actually.
Trent Hunter got ejected for an alleged hit to the head on Andrej Meszaros, when it in fact was not. Expect the NHL to review that and rescind the game misconduct. Trevor Gillies acted out, but I can say that I have never seen a triple minor penalty handed out, nor did I even know that they existed. Gillies definitely should have gotten something for his little spat with Briere, but a triple minor is just odd. Frans Nielsen received cheap shot hits by both Briere and Carcillo, and while they both got something for that, Nielsen got the worst of it by getting a 10 minute misconduct. Nielsen appeared to say something prior to the face-off, which he probably shouldn't have done, but for him to get 10 minutes while the others didn't get thrown out but were handed majors, whatever. It was in garbage time, but the league is primarily responsible for the ending in this one as far as I'm concerned.
I like the intensity on DiPietro, but honestly, we don't need him to try and fight people in a 6-1 game. It's great to show that leadership, but not after you have had at least two knee and two hip surgeries in the past two years. It looked more like Pronger was trying to keep DiPietro out of his own way rather than trying to fight with him. You can see them having a conversation, and After DiPietro says something to Pronger, Pronger responds with a "well, OK" type of response and lets go of him so he can go after other players. I give some props to Pronger for that.
All in all, this was an ugly game on many levels. The Islanders seemed to be running into each other a lot on plays, and it's been happening a lot during the four game losing streak. The penalty kill setup is off as well, sometimes with two forwards in the same area of the ice. If the Islanders are trying to work with a diamond penalty kill formation, it hasn't looked too solid the past couple of games. I'm not a big fan of it.
One thing worth pointing out on the Flyers side was the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. This is an impressive young net minder. In the Flyers games I have been able to watch in the early going of the season, I find myself sitting in awe at some of the saves he has been making, and he continued that tonight. The Islanders did have a couple of good chances and he just stood tall. His movements are really quick for someone that big. He has learned well in the KHL, and if he keeps it up, then we may not hear too much about these Flyers goal tending issues much longer. Great job by him tonight.
Fortunately, the team has off until Wednesday. This is a tough loss to sit on for that long, but if you are looking for something to hang your hat on, you can be proud of the way you tried to defend yourself in a game that had no business getting this much out of hand. Work on the systems, get everyone healthy and go back at it.
Hopefully, Michael Grabner can return to the line-up. We already know there is a good chance Rob Schremp comes back seeing as his conditioning stint is now over after a really nice performance against the Manchester Monarchs. We'll see what the lineup looks like after the next few days.
PODCAST COMING: Sean and I will be recording a podcast Sunday afternoon, and we'll definitely have a lot of things to discuss for this one. I can tell you that we both have a lot on our minds after this week, so we'll share all of that with you guys.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
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