If you watched the beginning of the Islanders vs. Penguins game on Friday night and quickly got annoyed and turned the game off, then you missed quite a game. The Islanders fought back, lead by Kyle Okposo and his four(!) goals in a 6-3 victory that gave them 30 wins for the year and put them in the Eastern Conference lead once again.
Showing posts with label Sidney Crosby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sidney Crosby. Show all posts
January 17, 2015
November 23, 2014
Crosby held Scoreless as Isles Sweep Home-and-Home with Pens
We are still early in a season that's already been full of statements for the Isles, but no statement has been as big as what they just accomplished on Friday and Saturday night against one of their biggest rivals in the Metropolitan Division - perhaps even their biggest rivals.
November 23, 2013
Isles Fall in Heartbreaking Loss to Pens
It's hard to find a loss more heartbreaking than the 4-3 one the Isles suffered on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, especially given the circumstances.
May 6, 2013
Pens Take Game 3 over Isles in OT with Strong Powerplay
If there was ever a time for the New York Islanders to make a statement that they were relevant to the NHL again, doing so Sunday on national TV was the perfect forum to do so. And overall, the Islanders made their fans proud and really for the first time in a while turned heads.
You really have to look no further than what’s being said by every analyst from one coast to another regarding the penalty assessed to Brian Strait in overtime for the way he played Sidney Crosby peeling off of the side boards.
A penalty in October. Not in overtime in the playoffs.
The Penguins scored on the resulting powerplay, bringing a great deal of frustration to the Islanders, their fans, and anyone out there actively rooting against the Pens in this series (which I’m pretty sure is 95% of all other fanbases at this point).
The Islanders let a fast start get away from them, allowing the Penguins to get back into this game with some undisciplined play, started off by Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic in what were both fair calls. As mentioned in the last post, you CANNOT let this team get the man advantage with the guys they put out there. In a flash, the energy was sucked away for a spell and that came to a head when Pascal Dupuis buried a nice cross ice pass from Crosby, with John Tavares unable to do enough to disturb Dupuis, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
You have to give all the credit to the world though to this Islander team, who battled and fought their way through even after giving up a goal to Douglas Murray to give the Pens the 4-2 advantage. It left many of us in the building wondering if the Islanders had yet another game of storming back against these guys in them, and they did.
Feeding off energy from one another and the crowd the Isles busted through, and while on a penalty kill Frans Nielsen somehow recovered a puck after losing it off his stick, turning it around and firing it up ice to a streaking Kyle Okposo. It’s hard to put into words what exactly Okposo does here, but the eruption of the crowd after scoring on the breakaway is probably the best way to put it. I’ll never know how he didn’t lose that puck in his skates and was able contort his body that way.
Nassau Coliseum was a home again, and this was accentuated by John Tavares, the face resulting from 20 years of struggling to find an identity and a string of consistent, good play. It was Tavares who scored the goal that tied the game, leaving the building with nothing to do other than chant “M-V-P.”
The Islanders had a huge opportunity on the powerplay not long after that, but were unable to capitalize. That’s becoming an alarming trend especially when you are trying to take down a team as tough as Pittsburgh.
The Islanders had their chances in the overtime too, but they missed a couple of opportunities and in some cases the Pens got away with cheap shots that left them unable to bury those chances.
Overall, the game wasn’t the best officiated, but it wasn’t the worst either. In the interest of fairness, from where my seats were there were several instances where Isles’ defensemen interfered with Pens players on the boards (blatant holding), just feet in front of the refs that went uncalled. So it goes both ways.
But as mentioned earlier, that’s a pretty tacky call in overtime for two teams that were playing their hearts out.
It was a solid hockey game all around, and for the second straight game the Islanders outworked and outplayed the opponent (well, for most of two games). They can beat this team but need to be a little more disciplined.
It was not a banner game for Strait, and I’m still not opposed to benching him in the next game. He had some solid moments and was key in Game 2, however Crosby is a very tough match-up for him and you need a better effort with Hamonic’s hands full of Evgeni Malkin. Radek Martinek has done this before, guarded against Crosby for the Isles and would be my choice for Game 4 in place of Strait who’s clearly not at 100% still.
It’s very hard to find anything negative here aside from the discipline, a shaky defensive play here and there and goaltending.
The latter deserves it own category as Evgeni Nabokov has struggled mightily this series. It’s tough to put full blame here and go all-out declaring this was why San Jose always choked but let’s be honest with ourselves. They’re playing a Penguins team that’s got two of the best three players in the league and a top-5 defenseman in the league on their man advantage. If you continue to give them these chances it won’t matter who is in the net.
Bottom line: Nabokov has given up some softies, and that has to change. In the past month we’ve some of the craziest saves from him, and almost one in every game. But that’s been absent through the first three games against the Pens here.
The forwards all came to play and all executed their roles pretty well. The most alarming however is Matt Moulson, who opened the scoring and pretty much disappeared the rest of the way. Brad Boyes is having trouble sustaining offensive momentum but I have liked the way he’s thrown his body around a bit. But he needs to be better with the puck and quickly get himself back in the slot area.
The crowd is one final thing to address here. Can you tell we’ve been waiting a long time for this?
I’m thrilled to say I was able to be a part of that atmosphere because I never had been. The last playoff game I was at had thousands of screaming Sabres fans there. But not Sunday. Sunday was virtually all Islanders, with a scattering of Pens fans here and there throughout the building.
The building left me speechless; as I’m sure it did the same for many of you. It sets up a really intense situation for Game 4 on Tuesday, and that’s become a talking point around the league with several people – media and fans alike - taking notice and calling this the loudest home game of the playoffs thus far.
A few adjustments need to be made heading into Tuesday, but there’s no doubt the Islanders will attempt to make them. They made the adjustments from Friday into Sunday, but allowed themselves to get into penalty troubles again which cost them the game more than anything else, quite frankly, including the officiating. If that 5-on-3 situation never comes up, we’re not even discussing the Strait penalty in overtime.
If the Isles can come out on Tuesday and play their game with some minor adjustments, they stand a very good shot of ending the home playoff game futility streak, and turn this into a three game series.
- Chris
You really have to look no further than what’s being said by every analyst from one coast to another regarding the penalty assessed to Brian Strait in overtime for the way he played Sidney Crosby peeling off of the side boards.
A penalty in October. Not in overtime in the playoffs.
The Penguins scored on the resulting powerplay, bringing a great deal of frustration to the Islanders, their fans, and anyone out there actively rooting against the Pens in this series (which I’m pretty sure is 95% of all other fanbases at this point).
The Islanders let a fast start get away from them, allowing the Penguins to get back into this game with some undisciplined play, started off by Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic in what were both fair calls. As mentioned in the last post, you CANNOT let this team get the man advantage with the guys they put out there. In a flash, the energy was sucked away for a spell and that came to a head when Pascal Dupuis buried a nice cross ice pass from Crosby, with John Tavares unable to do enough to disturb Dupuis, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
You have to give all the credit to the world though to this Islander team, who battled and fought their way through even after giving up a goal to Douglas Murray to give the Pens the 4-2 advantage. It left many of us in the building wondering if the Islanders had yet another game of storming back against these guys in them, and they did.
Feeding off energy from one another and the crowd the Isles busted through, and while on a penalty kill Frans Nielsen somehow recovered a puck after losing it off his stick, turning it around and firing it up ice to a streaking Kyle Okposo. It’s hard to put into words what exactly Okposo does here, but the eruption of the crowd after scoring on the breakaway is probably the best way to put it. I’ll never know how he didn’t lose that puck in his skates and was able contort his body that way.
Nassau Coliseum was a home again, and this was accentuated by John Tavares, the face resulting from 20 years of struggling to find an identity and a string of consistent, good play. It was Tavares who scored the goal that tied the game, leaving the building with nothing to do other than chant “M-V-P.”
The Islanders had a huge opportunity on the powerplay not long after that, but were unable to capitalize. That’s becoming an alarming trend especially when you are trying to take down a team as tough as Pittsburgh.
The Islanders had their chances in the overtime too, but they missed a couple of opportunities and in some cases the Pens got away with cheap shots that left them unable to bury those chances.
Overall, the game wasn’t the best officiated, but it wasn’t the worst either. In the interest of fairness, from where my seats were there were several instances where Isles’ defensemen interfered with Pens players on the boards (blatant holding), just feet in front of the refs that went uncalled. So it goes both ways.
But as mentioned earlier, that’s a pretty tacky call in overtime for two teams that were playing their hearts out.
It was a solid hockey game all around, and for the second straight game the Islanders outworked and outplayed the opponent (well, for most of two games). They can beat this team but need to be a little more disciplined.
It was not a banner game for Strait, and I’m still not opposed to benching him in the next game. He had some solid moments and was key in Game 2, however Crosby is a very tough match-up for him and you need a better effort with Hamonic’s hands full of Evgeni Malkin. Radek Martinek has done this before, guarded against Crosby for the Isles and would be my choice for Game 4 in place of Strait who’s clearly not at 100% still.
It’s very hard to find anything negative here aside from the discipline, a shaky defensive play here and there and goaltending.
The latter deserves it own category as Evgeni Nabokov has struggled mightily this series. It’s tough to put full blame here and go all-out declaring this was why San Jose always choked but let’s be honest with ourselves. They’re playing a Penguins team that’s got two of the best three players in the league and a top-5 defenseman in the league on their man advantage. If you continue to give them these chances it won’t matter who is in the net.
Bottom line: Nabokov has given up some softies, and that has to change. In the past month we’ve some of the craziest saves from him, and almost one in every game. But that’s been absent through the first three games against the Pens here.
The forwards all came to play and all executed their roles pretty well. The most alarming however is Matt Moulson, who opened the scoring and pretty much disappeared the rest of the way. Brad Boyes is having trouble sustaining offensive momentum but I have liked the way he’s thrown his body around a bit. But he needs to be better with the puck and quickly get himself back in the slot area.
The crowd is one final thing to address here. Can you tell we’ve been waiting a long time for this?
I’m thrilled to say I was able to be a part of that atmosphere because I never had been. The last playoff game I was at had thousands of screaming Sabres fans there. But not Sunday. Sunday was virtually all Islanders, with a scattering of Pens fans here and there throughout the building.
The building left me speechless; as I’m sure it did the same for many of you. It sets up a really intense situation for Game 4 on Tuesday, and that’s become a talking point around the league with several people – media and fans alike - taking notice and calling this the loudest home game of the playoffs thus far.
A few adjustments need to be made heading into Tuesday, but there’s no doubt the Islanders will attempt to make them. They made the adjustments from Friday into Sunday, but allowed themselves to get into penalty troubles again which cost them the game more than anything else, quite frankly, including the officiating. If that 5-on-3 situation never comes up, we’re not even discussing the Strait penalty in overtime.
If the Isles can come out on Tuesday and play their game with some minor adjustments, they stand a very good shot of ending the home playoff game futility streak, and turn this into a three game series.
- Chris
May 4, 2013
Okposo, Isles Ruin Crosby's Return to Stun Pens and Even Series
Since their Game 1 showing on Wednesday night, the Islanders did a lot of talking about playing in the playoffs, adjusting to a different style, and what is required to be competitive. Both John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov talked about how playing at a playoff intensity level was "supposed to hurt" and how they just didn't get the job done.
March 31, 2013
Isles Strong, but Pens Streak at 15
When it comes to playing a team on the kind of streak that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on right now, you couldn't have asked for more when it comes to the Isles play.
November 22, 2011
Sid Puts on a Show Against Isles
The Islanders held Sidney Crosby off as long as they could: Five minutes and twenty-four seconds.
Crosby opened the scoring of the game, slaloming through Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo and Travis Hamonic and driving around Andrew MacDonald with ease before lifting a backhand shot over a sprawled out Anders Nilsson.
Crosby opened the scoring of the game, slaloming through Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo and Travis Hamonic and driving around Andrew MacDonald with ease before lifting a backhand shot over a sprawled out Anders Nilsson.
January 26, 2011
Poulin Looks Sharp as Isles Fall to Pens; Nabokov Suspended
Evgeni who?
For those wondering what Kevin Poulin may have thought about the Evgeni Nabokov claim, the 20 year old let his play do the talking Tuesday night against the Penguins.
Poulin looked sharp all game, particularly early on. That was a big plus considering he has had slow starts every time he has been in a game as a starter. A lot of debate has been going on about Poulin the last couple of days, with many wanting him to go back to the AHL to get the playing and development time he needs. That was the number one motive behind the Nabokov claim.
With Nabokov refusing to report and Nathan Lawson out a week or two with a knee injury, Poulin will get some extra chances to prove that his time is now. Tuesday he certainly made a statement as he had what I would have to day was his most solid effort.
The rest of the Islanders weren't to shabby either, but unfortunately their effort wasn't enough to topple the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin-less Pens.
It took all of 49 minutes for the Penguins to finally solve Poulin as Craig Adams would put a rebound past Poulin.
For the Isles, it was their 10th straight loss to the Penguins on the road.
Unfortunately, we had yet another game with some pretty poor officiating on both sides of the puck. Some could say that they were letting the boys play, and it certainly appeared like it at times. However, the few calls that were made were very questionable. Fortunately, it didn't seem to cost anyone.
In all honesty, aside from Poulin there was no one in particular who really stood out to me. Michael Grabner played pretty well and made some nice plays there, but it's the stuff he's been doing for the last month or so. It's great to see him keep that up and get the puck towards the net any way that he can.
The defense looks shaky at times. I'm a big fan of Travis Hamonic, but lately he has looked a bit weak to me. He had a nice fight 26 seconds into the game with Tyler Kennedy. But defensively, you can tell that he is very young. He'll get there though.
Overall, the team has a hard time shooting off of a pass. I notice quite frequently that the Islanders will pass the puck around at the point, and they will hesitate to shoot. Despite the fact that it wasn't very accurate, this is one thing I miss that James Wisniewski provided. He had his fare share of hesitations, but sometimes was not afraid to just rip a hard slap shot. A lot of the guys are hesitant to do that, and often have weak attempts or just have the shots easily blocked as they allow the defense to get set for the shot. The urgency is something that they need to continue to work on.
The Islanders return home for a Wednesday night match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have been playing some decent hockey of late, and have been one of those up and down bubble teams looking for a playoff birth. They are 9th right now, just one point behind the Atlanta Thrashers. I'm looking forward to seeing them live as I will be in the press box for the game (weather permitting).
NABOKOV SUSPENDED: As expected, the Islanders suspended Nabokov after failing to report on the 2nd flight that the team set-up for him this weekend. It appears that he will not have a change of heart. So, as I mentioned earlier, Poulin has the chance for the time being to prove that he is capable of playing in the NHL.
In the end, the Isles made the right move here with Nabokov. I was on the fence about whether or not it was worth it, but the guy left his team in the KHL and expected to fly through waivers unclaimed. The Isles need a goalie.
I will be a little annoyed if the next few weeks come and go and the Isles don't attempt to add another goalie, because essentially what this whole fiasco tells us is that they are admitting that they jumped the gun on dealing Dwayne Roloson and that they still need another solid option for the remainder of this year and possibly next season.
Either way, it remains to be seen how long this saga will go on. With sources claiming the Isles are likely to "toll" the contract into next season, the Isles have all the leverage here. The All-Star break will begin after tonight's game, but it appears as though there will be no more calls from Garth Snow based on his comments from last night. Any change of heart will have to come from Nabokov and his agent.
The moral of this story? Don't think you can't find greener pastures in the KHL, have a poor showing, and expect to be able to easily just join a contender because it's convenient for you, and don't say you will report wherever you are claimed because you want "visibility for next season" and then refuse to report to the team that claimed you. While the league and the NHLPA are looking at the situation, something tells me the NHL is in support of the Isles because this sends a message to those who are willing to turn down decent offers from contenders in order to sign contracts in the KHL and expect to re-appear.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For those wondering what Kevin Poulin may have thought about the Evgeni Nabokov claim, the 20 year old let his play do the talking Tuesday night against the Penguins.
Poulin looked sharp all game, particularly early on. That was a big plus considering he has had slow starts every time he has been in a game as a starter. A lot of debate has been going on about Poulin the last couple of days, with many wanting him to go back to the AHL to get the playing and development time he needs. That was the number one motive behind the Nabokov claim.
With Nabokov refusing to report and Nathan Lawson out a week or two with a knee injury, Poulin will get some extra chances to prove that his time is now. Tuesday he certainly made a statement as he had what I would have to day was his most solid effort.
The rest of the Islanders weren't to shabby either, but unfortunately their effort wasn't enough to topple the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin-less Pens.
It took all of 49 minutes for the Penguins to finally solve Poulin as Craig Adams would put a rebound past Poulin.
For the Isles, it was their 10th straight loss to the Penguins on the road.
Unfortunately, we had yet another game with some pretty poor officiating on both sides of the puck. Some could say that they were letting the boys play, and it certainly appeared like it at times. However, the few calls that were made were very questionable. Fortunately, it didn't seem to cost anyone.
In all honesty, aside from Poulin there was no one in particular who really stood out to me. Michael Grabner played pretty well and made some nice plays there, but it's the stuff he's been doing for the last month or so. It's great to see him keep that up and get the puck towards the net any way that he can.
The defense looks shaky at times. I'm a big fan of Travis Hamonic, but lately he has looked a bit weak to me. He had a nice fight 26 seconds into the game with Tyler Kennedy. But defensively, you can tell that he is very young. He'll get there though.
Overall, the team has a hard time shooting off of a pass. I notice quite frequently that the Islanders will pass the puck around at the point, and they will hesitate to shoot. Despite the fact that it wasn't very accurate, this is one thing I miss that James Wisniewski provided. He had his fare share of hesitations, but sometimes was not afraid to just rip a hard slap shot. A lot of the guys are hesitant to do that, and often have weak attempts or just have the shots easily blocked as they allow the defense to get set for the shot. The urgency is something that they need to continue to work on.
The Islanders return home for a Wednesday night match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have been playing some decent hockey of late, and have been one of those up and down bubble teams looking for a playoff birth. They are 9th right now, just one point behind the Atlanta Thrashers. I'm looking forward to seeing them live as I will be in the press box for the game (weather permitting).
NABOKOV SUSPENDED: As expected, the Islanders suspended Nabokov after failing to report on the 2nd flight that the team set-up for him this weekend. It appears that he will not have a change of heart. So, as I mentioned earlier, Poulin has the chance for the time being to prove that he is capable of playing in the NHL.
In the end, the Isles made the right move here with Nabokov. I was on the fence about whether or not it was worth it, but the guy left his team in the KHL and expected to fly through waivers unclaimed. The Isles need a goalie.
I will be a little annoyed if the next few weeks come and go and the Isles don't attempt to add another goalie, because essentially what this whole fiasco tells us is that they are admitting that they jumped the gun on dealing Dwayne Roloson and that they still need another solid option for the remainder of this year and possibly next season.
Either way, it remains to be seen how long this saga will go on. With sources claiming the Isles are likely to "toll" the contract into next season, the Isles have all the leverage here. The All-Star break will begin after tonight's game, but it appears as though there will be no more calls from Garth Snow based on his comments from last night. Any change of heart will have to come from Nabokov and his agent.
The moral of this story? Don't think you can't find greener pastures in the KHL, have a poor showing, and expect to be able to easily just join a contender because it's convenient for you, and don't say you will report wherever you are claimed because you want "visibility for next season" and then refuse to report to the team that claimed you. While the league and the NHLPA are looking at the situation, something tells me the NHL is in support of the Isles because this sends a message to those who are willing to turn down decent offers from contenders in order to sign contracts in the KHL and expect to re-appear.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
December 29, 2010
Isles Snap Crosby's Streak, Defeat Pens in Process
The Islanders were able to do the unthinkable on Wednesday night at the Coliseum as they defeated the Penguins 2-1 in the shootout and stopped Sidney Crosby's 25 game point too.
Obviously, the Islanders knew what was riding on this game aside from the point streak. When the media walked in, defenseman Mark Eaton exclaimed "HBO first!" The Islanders may have gotten themselves more than just your usual mention, especially considering the fact that NBC was really banking on the point streak extending up until at least the winter classic.
The Islanders had a very good effort. The Penguins didn't play poorly, but did have some lapses on their own. As a whole, their defense was solid which was a key question going into the game after the subtraction of James Wisniewski.
It wasn't until the 2nd period when a goal was scored, which came from Josh Bailey. Travis Hamonic took a shot that was stopped, but Bailey was standing in front of the net to put home the rebound. Since he has come back, it seems as though he has been going towards the net more often than not. I was curious if that was an aspect of his game that he worked on, but he downplayed that, telling me "It's just a part of the game. It's not something I focused on (down in Bridgeport)."
Fair enough, but I definitely notice a difference in the way that Bailey is playing. He's had some nice rushes, some nice takeaways and has been playing with as much confidence as he was during the first couple of games of the season.
Michael Grabner had a very active game, using his speed a lot to get some chances that he was unable to bury. His hands still need a little work, but he is slowly getting there. He just needs to keep using that speed of his.
Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout too, using his patented forehand to backhand move he has become so very well known for. He also had a very important block in overtime to keep the score tied and help the Islanders clear the puck.
"It was a good win for us. Hopefully we can build some confidence going on the long road trip," Nielsen told us after the game.
Rick DiPietro was solid and really made some huge saves. His movements were quick again. I never truly thought that he was seriously injured, but many feared the worst when he went on IR for a few days. That's understandable, and even Sean and I had our disagreement about how serious the injury was.
But he was stellar tonight and earned the right to be the game's 1st star.
"There's still a lot of work to be done but you're seeing some guys step-up into big roles here," DiPietro said.
When asked about stopping Crosby's streak, DiPietro downplayed the impact he had. "Anytime you're facing a team with that much skill, it's a team effort."
A team effort it certainly was. The Islanders can truly hang their head high after this one - defeating a good team in front of a good crowd (still a very loud Isles contingent among the Penguins fans) and ending streak of the NHL's best player.
Now, the attention for the Islanders turns to their 11 day roadtrip. They kick that off Friday on New Years Eve in Detroit against yet another hot team. The Islanders have won only three games on the road this season.
Thursday, 11 PM: Here is a video filmed by Johnny Z of Yes Islanders of myself, Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey and Timo Seppa of Hockey Prospectus giving our thoughts on the game.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Obviously, the Islanders knew what was riding on this game aside from the point streak. When the media walked in, defenseman Mark Eaton exclaimed "HBO first!" The Islanders may have gotten themselves more than just your usual mention, especially considering the fact that NBC was really banking on the point streak extending up until at least the winter classic.
The Islanders had a very good effort. The Penguins didn't play poorly, but did have some lapses on their own. As a whole, their defense was solid which was a key question going into the game after the subtraction of James Wisniewski.
It wasn't until the 2nd period when a goal was scored, which came from Josh Bailey. Travis Hamonic took a shot that was stopped, but Bailey was standing in front of the net to put home the rebound. Since he has come back, it seems as though he has been going towards the net more often than not. I was curious if that was an aspect of his game that he worked on, but he downplayed that, telling me "It's just a part of the game. It's not something I focused on (down in Bridgeport)."
Fair enough, but I definitely notice a difference in the way that Bailey is playing. He's had some nice rushes, some nice takeaways and has been playing with as much confidence as he was during the first couple of games of the season.
Michael Grabner had a very active game, using his speed a lot to get some chances that he was unable to bury. His hands still need a little work, but he is slowly getting there. He just needs to keep using that speed of his.
Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout too, using his patented forehand to backhand move he has become so very well known for. He also had a very important block in overtime to keep the score tied and help the Islanders clear the puck.
"It was a good win for us. Hopefully we can build some confidence going on the long road trip," Nielsen told us after the game.
Rick DiPietro was solid and really made some huge saves. His movements were quick again. I never truly thought that he was seriously injured, but many feared the worst when he went on IR for a few days. That's understandable, and even Sean and I had our disagreement about how serious the injury was.
But he was stellar tonight and earned the right to be the game's 1st star.
"There's still a lot of work to be done but you're seeing some guys step-up into big roles here," DiPietro said.
When asked about stopping Crosby's streak, DiPietro downplayed the impact he had. "Anytime you're facing a team with that much skill, it's a team effort."
A team effort it certainly was. The Islanders can truly hang their head high after this one - defeating a good team in front of a good crowd (still a very loud Isles contingent among the Penguins fans) and ending streak of the NHL's best player.
Now, the attention for the Islanders turns to their 11 day roadtrip. They kick that off Friday on New Years Eve in Detroit against yet another hot team. The Islanders have won only three games on the road this season.
Thursday, 11 PM: Here is a video filmed by Johnny Z of Yes Islanders of myself, Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey and Timo Seppa of Hockey Prospectus giving our thoughts on the game.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
November 4, 2007
Isles Come From Behind to win for Arbour
Down 2-0 going into the 3rd, it seemed unthinkable to me that the team would lose on Al Arbour night. However, it did seem possible against one of the most talented teams in the Eastern Conference. But just like the slogan said in the old days when Arbour used to coach, the outcome was never in doubt.The Islanders fought back hard, and ultimately Miro Satan scored the winner with two and a half minutes to go in the 3rd. The Islanders had scored 3 unanswered goals against the Penguins in the 3rd to win the game. It was a vintage Al Arbour game as well- a strong come from behind effort, and handing a loss to the Penguins as they were very familiar with back in Al's prime days.
The ceremony after was outstanding. being in the stands, I can easily say it was the greatest thing I have ever witnessed in the NVMC yet. As a 20 year old fan, I haven't been able to witness very much yet. But this was one of the best times I ever had at a sporting event. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life.
I know many fans were hoping for a 740 banner to be raised, but the isles raised a 1500 one instead. Rumor has it there are plans to raise a 740 banner later in the year, maybe on an upcoming alumni night.
Other than all the festivities for Arbour is the fact that the team went down 2-0 to one of the powerhouses in the east and still managed to fight back to win. The team did an excellent job containing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Satan played the hero part, getting the tying and winning goals. The GTG was on a vintage Miro wrister off of a very nice pass from Josef Vasicek, something that he hadn't found in the first month of the season. The second and GWG was a second effort off of a rebound by Marc-Andre Fleury and Miro was there to bang it home.
The crowd was very loud, the atmosphere intense. It felt like a playoff game in there. The players wanted it for Al, as did the fans. A great job all around for the Isles.
Enough can't be said about Ted Nolan in all of this. It was ultimately his decision, and he ran it by Garth Snow and Charles Wang. After approval, they invited Arbour to come back and coach for one game. It really shows how much Nolan respects the Isles for giving him his second chance in the NHL, and also speaks volumes to how much he respects the Islanders roots. Nolan had a very tough job ahead of him at the beginning of last season, and that was to begin a culture change on Long Island. After seeing Ted as coach for 1 season and 1 month, I can honestly say I have seen more amazing things that I have seen in any of the previous seasons as an Islander fan. Things like this get recognition around the league, as can be seen from the many positive articles being published about the team today. Great job all around, especially by Ted Nolan. He is a keeper.
Here is a video of some of the main points of last nights game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55H9idRz4vk
Oh, and by the way, the Islanders are second in the division with a record of 7-4-0. Not to shabby for a team the was predicted by "experts" to be at the bottom of the league, don't ya think?
On a more serious note, Rick DiPietro took a Crosby stick to the eye in the 2nd period and did not return. His eye is OK though, and he will get looked at again on Monday. Right now his status for Tuesdays game against the Rangers is unknown. We'll keep you updated as always.
NYI FYI ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Sean and I will be on the air tonight at 10 PM on http://www.mywcwp.com/. We'll be taking calls and IM's and are asking fans who listen to call in or IM to share their favorite Arbour Memories from over the years. We have a nice show planned tonight, and the 2-0 week makes it much easier. After the show we will be putting up the podcast which will be available at the link on the side of this page titled "NYI FYI Podcasts." Enjoy!
Chris
November 3, 2007
Isles beat Lightning 4-0; Al Arbour Night Tonight!
On Thursday, the Islanders defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0. Bill Guerin, Josef Vasicek, Ruslan Fedotenko and Trent Hunter all scored for the Isles. Rick DiPietro came up huge and bailed the team out on a couple of occasions to get the shut out.
The team played a much better game then they did the previous Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. They came out a bit slow in the first period, but by the end of the period they began to play like we all know they can. That carried over into the 2nd and 3rd periods.
Team defense overall was very good. Chris Campoli had 4 blocked shots. he has really come around this year and looks like he has improved on his rookie form of 2 years ago. Very excited to see him develop even more over the next few years.
All 4 Islander goals were scored at even strength, which is good to see being that the team had struggled with 5 on 5 play so far this year. The absence of Bryan Berard has been noticeable, especially on the power play. But he has been skating in practice and could return on another week or two.
Tonight is a very special night in Islanders country as Al Arbour returns to coach the team for 1 game. Radar will be coaching in his 1500th game for the team when the puck drops at 7 PM against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. I am going to the game and cannot wait! Hopefully the team helps Arbour get his 740th win as a coach. With big events like this, the team has played well over the last few seasons. Being that this is a big event, I would expect your typical blue collar Islander effort. The Penguins are a very tough team to beat, but the team could very well pull it off. We shall see.
Absent tonight from the lineup is Sean Bergenheim. Ted Nolan said Bergie is sore, and now reports say it's his shoulder that is giving him some problems. Right now it looks like it's a day-to-day thing, but at least for tonight, Bergie is out and Ben Walter is in. The team called him up from Bridgeport this morning and it looks like he will make his Islander debut tonight. Good luck to him on that, I'll try and take notice of him while at the game.
Sean will also be at the game. We could be more excited for this one. Should be a packed house and a playoff atmosphere!
Chris
The team played a much better game then they did the previous Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. They came out a bit slow in the first period, but by the end of the period they began to play like we all know they can. That carried over into the 2nd and 3rd periods.
Team defense overall was very good. Chris Campoli had 4 blocked shots. he has really come around this year and looks like he has improved on his rookie form of 2 years ago. Very excited to see him develop even more over the next few years.
All 4 Islander goals were scored at even strength, which is good to see being that the team had struggled with 5 on 5 play so far this year. The absence of Bryan Berard has been noticeable, especially on the power play. But he has been skating in practice and could return on another week or two.
Tonight is a very special night in Islanders country as Al Arbour returns to coach the team for 1 game. Radar will be coaching in his 1500th game for the team when the puck drops at 7 PM against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. I am going to the game and cannot wait! Hopefully the team helps Arbour get his 740th win as a coach. With big events like this, the team has played well over the last few seasons. Being that this is a big event, I would expect your typical blue collar Islander effort. The Penguins are a very tough team to beat, but the team could very well pull it off. We shall see.
Absent tonight from the lineup is Sean Bergenheim. Ted Nolan said Bergie is sore, and now reports say it's his shoulder that is giving him some problems. Right now it looks like it's a day-to-day thing, but at least for tonight, Bergie is out and Ben Walter is in. The team called him up from Bridgeport this morning and it looks like he will make his Islander debut tonight. Good luck to him on that, I'll try and take notice of him while at the game.
Sean will also be at the game. We could be more excited for this one. Should be a packed house and a playoff atmosphere!
Chris
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