by Danny Migliorisi on Nov 24, 2009 6:53 PM in Game Recaps | Top News
It’s been a while since I’ve had time to post something on here, but this game was too much to not yap my lips about. In what turned out to be a delightful overtime finish in an otherwise nail-biting, horrible performance by almost the entire team.
Dwayne Roloson, overtaken by Partick Roy’s retired spirit, stopped 58 of 61 shots, including 11 of sniper, Phil Kessel’s 12 tries. Roli’s 58 stops has been the most by a single goalie since 1991, when Ron Tugnutt of the Quebec Nordiques, turned away 70 Boston Bruin shots, however, Tugnutt settled for a 3-3 tie, only because he didn’t have a superior setup and finish similar to the Bergenheim-Baily connection.
Although not being designated as one, Jack Hillen was a star of the game. He was by far the best position player on the ice for the Islanders as they surrendered 61 shots against, which happens to be the most given up by any NHL team this season.
Other Notes:
Islanders leading scorer, Matt Moulson, added another goal, and Josh Bailey finally found his way back on the scoresheet with an overtime game winner. Tambellini got his first goal since his hot streak where he had 5 goals in 2 games. Sean Bergenheim displayed his speed and power with a shorthanded goal.
The Islanders killed off 6 powerplays with conceding a goal.
Next game:
Wednesday vs. Philadelphia
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by Robert Wulff on Nov 20, 2009 1:31 PM in Game Recaps | Team News
I noticed something very unfamiliar when I took my Newsday out of its plastic bag this morning….there was a picture of John Tavares and Matt Moulson on the BACK PAGE! There was something strange on the radio as I tuned in to WFAN, Evan Roberts was talking about….the Islanders!
What?
It’s true. Last night, the Islanders faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was Friday the 13th, the Hurricances had a 13 game winless streak and the Islanders record was 6-6-6. Less than 15 minutes into the game the Islanders were looking at a 3-0 lead. The Hurricanes battled back to force overtime, the Islanders 9th overtime game in 19 affairs. The Islanders, though, improved there overtime record to 3-6 as Kyle Okposo, back from suffering from the H1N1 virus (or as I like to call it, the HINEY virus), picked off a pass and sent the winning goal home.
The Islanders (7-6-6) are now over .500 for the first time this season, and have climbed temporarily to seventh place in the conference. I will be keeping an eye on ESPN’s power rankings that have the Islanders listed as the fifth worst team in hockey, in spite of being in the middle of the pack record-wise.
The Islanders are starting to make some noise, and if you tune in to talk-radio, or look at the back page of the paper, others are noticing too.
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by Robert Wulff on Nov 12, 2009 1:34 PM in Team News
The best part of the New York Islanders season? The preseason. Laugh if you will but for the most part there is a lot of truth to that statement. This year, though, maybe the best part of the Islanders season has yet to reach us. There are good things happening; beating the Rangers, having John Tavares score in his first game, and although their record in overtime is 2-6 (counting last night’s loss to the Capitals), they are earning points.
Maybe this team, with a little time to grow, can have a special season. After all, many of their top players are under the age of 27 (Josh Bailey, Frans Neilsen, Tavares, Sean Bergenheim, Matt Moulson, and Kyle Okposo to name a few). The Islanders, strangely enough, go into tomorrow night’s game, on Friday the 13th, against the Panthers with a record of 6-6-6. However, eight of the 12 losses have been by one goal.
A little time?…….a little chemistry?…….maybe.
The Islanders are still a last-place team, but out of all of the last-place teams in the National Hockey League, the Islanders are the best.
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by Danny Migliorisi on Oct 27, 2009 2:01 PM in Lighthouse Project | Previews | Rivalry
It is now 24 days after the deadline that Charles Wang set for the TOH to make a decision on the Lighthouse Project, and we still don’t know what is going to happen with the future of the Islanders, but for now, the Islanders are making sure you get more ‘bang for your buck’ with every dollar you spend on a ticket to a game. How are they doing this, you ask? By ensuring that you get to see 60+ minutes of good hockey. After last nights overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, that makes a total of 6 extra time games in the Isles short lived 10 game season so far. Unfortunately, of those 10 games, they only have 1 win, which consequently came in an overtime shootout.
The Isles also have 6 one-goal losses on the season, the most of any team in the league, which makes you think, are they really as bad as their 27th overall league ranking makes them look? I’d say no. So far the Islanders have shown me exactly what I expected, albeit with less total points than I’d have liked, they show heart, dedication, and some potential skill.
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by Spence Capotosto on Oct 22, 2009 12:03 PM in Uncategorized
After a very minimal effort on home ice Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks which resulted in a 4-1 loss, it was very important for the Islanders to start stong in tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was the Isles who started strong yet again getting a 1st period goal by Matt Moulson who continues to contribute during this early season. Tonight the Islanders welcomed back a few faces who had been injured or scratched in previous games including Jeff Tabellini, Frans Nielsen, and Nate Thompson. Thompson was placed on the 4th line win along with Richard Park and Tim Jackman.
It was that same line who put the Isles up 2-0 on a goal by Tim Jackman on a rebound in frontof the net that beat Cam Ward. The Hurricanes would get a goal back to cut the lead in half but then just a few seconds later it was big Andy Sutton who scored on a perfect deflection off a Jack Hillen Shot to extend the lead to 3-1. Going into the last period i’m sure every Islanders fan was thinking please just play smart and do not let up but…. they did let up and in the blink of an eye the Hurricanes had tied up the game 3-3 and things were looking the same way they did the previous 6 games.
The 3rd period would end tied at 3-3 and as the teams headed into overtime with both teams getting at least 1 point and the Islanders searching for their first win of the season while the Hurricanes were looking for their first road win of the 2009 season. Up to this point both goaltenders had been challenged numerous times and both Ward and Roloson were up to the task but after a scoreless overtime period we were heading to a shootout yet again. The Islanders would turn to Tambellini, Nielsen and Tavares while the Canes sent Jokinen, Samsonov and Ruutu. After 4 shooters the Islanders had a 2-1 advantage with the last shooter John Tavares set to try to give the Isles a win and send the Nassau Coliseum into a frenzy. He took the puck slowly and weaved his way into the zone going forehand backhand and back forehand putting the puck past Cam Ward on the low blocker side to seal the deal and give the Islanders their first win of the season. It was a good move to shake things up and change the lines from Scott Gordon who needed to get goals from guys besides Moulson and Tavares and finally they did. As an Islander fan for many years now it was a great feeling to see the team finally put a 1 in the win column and hopefully the team can build off of this going into a road game tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens. All I’m going to say is Woooo Woooo Woooo …. Yeah Baby !
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by Spence Capotosto on Oct 17, 2009 9:05 PM in Game Recaps
Another game and another loss as the Islanders dropped their 5th straight game up in Buffalo to the Sabres 6-3. The only bright spots of this game were the Isles getting goals from Matt Moulson and John Tavares which seems to be the only 2 players who are consistently getting points. Dwayne Roloson started the game for the Islanders along with Ryan Miller for the Sabres. After allowing 4 goals including one on a penalty shot Roloson was replaced by former Buffalo goaltender Martin Biron who entered to a standing ovation.
The road doesn’t get any easier as the Islanders head back to Nassau to take on the Western Conference powerhouse San Jose Sharks which includes forwards Joe Thorton and Danny Heatley. So far it seems like this team is just missing something but their is chemistry there. My advise is to stop scratching Jeff Tambellini in favor of forwards Joel Reichlicz and Blake Comeau. The speed factor is what helped the Isles hang with defending Stanley Cup Champs the Pittsburgh Penguins in the home opener.
Scott Gordon needs to shake things up a bit even if that means sitting some players in favor of trying to improve chemistry. The extra speed would help get the puck in and also would improve the fore check in the offensive zone. Especially if Reichlicz isn’t going to play or even fight then having that lack of skill in an already offensively challenged lineup makes no sense. Hopefully the team can break through and get a win on home ice tomorrow night, Game-time is at 7pm against San Jose.
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by Spence Capotosto on Oct 15, 2009 4:50 PM in Team News | Uncategorized
After 3 decent efforts against Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Boston, the New York Islanders returned home to play the Los Angeles Kings at the Nassau Coliseum. While it had been present in the previous games, effort was defiantly not there for the Islanders during Monday’s Matinee.
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by Spence Capotosto on Oct 14, 2009 12:04 AM in Game Recaps | Team News
Coming off the high of their home opener on Saturday night the Islanders took on the Ottawa Senators at Scociabank Place in Canada’s capital city. A couple Islanders made their season debuts including captain Doug Weight, wingers Blake Comeau and Rob Schremp, and goalie Martin Biron, who got the start in net. Pascal Leclaire was playing his 3rd consecutive game for the Sens with a record of 1-1 to start the new season.
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by Spence Capotosto on Oct 6, 2009 11:06 PM in Game Recaps | Team News
On Saturday night the Islanders opened their season with a match up against the defending Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Nassau Coliseum was full to capacity as a sea of #91 shirts and jerseys waited for the regular season debut of John Tavares, who who skate across from Sidney Crosby. Even before the Isles took the ice the crowd was chanting “Lets go Islanders”, bringing an electricity to the building from the player introductions straight through to the time the puck was dropped on the 2009-2010 hockey season.
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by Danny Migliorisi on Oct 1, 2009 9:59 PM in Top News
Katie Strang has reported that the New York Islanders have selected Doug Weight as the new captain of the team. The Islanders held a team vote earlier tonight and unanimously the result was Dougie. When asked about taken over the captaincy and his past captaincies, Weight had this to say:
I loved the responsibility, I thrived on it and I felt I played some of my best hockey with that, so it was really fun.
Brendan Witt, Kyle Okposo, Mark Streit, and Richard Park were all awarded with A’s also.
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