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Michael Peca: "I truly believe, that once the playoffs start...you will see a different hockey team.".....April 3rd, 2003. IslesInfo Comments: The Islanders entered this series as a huge underdog. But as many of the Islanders have been commenting as of late, all the pressure is on Ottawa. Peter Laviolette commented that the Islanders are the better team. Tonight, at least in Game 1, the Islanders set a huge tone and proved that perhaps their coach was correct. The Islanders gave Ottawa fans nothing to cheer about and in the end exploited their weakness overall: toughness, or lack thereof. On the very first shift of the game, in fact 2 seconds after the opening faceoff, coach Laviolette pulled Oleg Kvasha off the ice and put Eric Godard up on the top line with Alexei Yashin. Zdeno Chara tried to rough Yashin up, but Godard made his presence known at the end of the shift. The Isles were looking good early on but just after the 6 minute mark Steve Webb was whistled off for tripping Patrick Lalime. The first of a few bad calls on the night against the Islanders. The first minute plus of the penalty was killed off before Wade Redden evened up the side at 4 men a piece by taking an interference penalty. That was when the Islanders struck first which was exactly what they needed to do. At 7:59 Janne Niinimaa relayed the puck up to Roman Hamrlik who sent the puck into the Senators zone on a pass to Dave Scatchard. After the puck redirected into the corner off of Scatchard, he skated into the corner to retrieve it. As Scatch turned he fired the puck in on Ottawa goaltender Patrick Lalime, who was hugging the post, from behind the red line. The puck squeaked through and landed in the net for a 1-0 Islander lead on Scatchard's 1st goal of the postseason. The Isles began to take Ottawa out of their game at 9:24. As they crashed the goalmouth Peter Schaefer got frustrated and punched Yashin right in the face. Mark Parrish and Karel Rachunek got into a wrestling match that saw them both get matching penalties. Schaefer received a roughing call and the Isles went up on the power play. They didn't score as the penalty ended at 11:24. But the Islanders kept up the pressure and at 11:35 they made it 2-0 when Yashin tallied to make the Corel Centre go quiet in a state of shock. The play generated when Hamrlik sent the puck in on net. Randy Robitaille, who mostly played just on the power play tonight, scooped back the puck from in front of Lalime with a defender all over him. Robitaille made a great pass over to Yashin, freezing Lalime in place. With a wide open net Yashin buried his first of the playoffs and raised his arms in triumph as he celebrated with his teammates. Yashin almost contributed to helping the Islanders to a 3-0 first period lead when late on another power play he passed the puck across the slot to Robitaille. Randy stopped the pass and his subsequent shot banged off the side of the netting. At the end of the first period the Islanders held a 15-6 shots advantage and managed to hold the Senators to very few scoring chances if any at all. - The Islanders came out in the second period and killed off an early hooking penalty to Scatchard. At 7:36 Ottawa's Magnus Arvedson took a bad retaliatory penalty when he hit Jason Wiemer from behind along the boards. On the power play the Islanders would take a commanding 3-0 lead at 9:04 of the second period. Jason Blake held the puck along the right wing boards and dished off a pass to Adrian Aucoin in the high slot. Aucoin let a blast go that hit the stick of Bryan Smolinski and bounced down into the right slot area. Shawn Bates stuck out his stick and redirected the puck up into the top right hand corner of the net for his 1st of the playoffs in front of a dejected Lalime and Senators club. With a three goal lead the Islanders in the second half of the period got into some penalty troubles including roughing to Parrish and crosschecking to Hamrlik. But the Islanders defense was extremely stingy tonight and the penalty kill was as good as can be. Aucoin, Hamrlik, Niinimaa and Kenny Jonsson would not allow any shots to get through and tied up the Senators every time they got in front of Garth Snow. At the same time Blake, Kvasha, Bates and Michael Peca were fantastic up front on the PK as well. In the period the Isles out shot Ottawa 8-6 and led overall 23-12. And the Islanders dominated in faceoffs as all of their centermen out dueled the opponents. - The Ottawa Senators had their best period in the third, but the Islanders were up to the challenge. Especially Snow as he had to make some of his best saves of the game. He made some spectacular saves particularly one where the Senators skated down on a 4 on 2. Snow made stretching pad stops on Smolinski and Marian Hossa. The Isles were forced into a few giveaways including one where Snow scrambled out of his net and the Islanders had to get back to contain Daniel Alfredsson. Once again the Isles can credit the defense for a great performance as they blocked plenty of shots and kept Ottawa's quality scoring chances down to a minimal amount. The Islanders best scoring chance came when Blake, flying down the left side fired the puck off the far post as Lalime stood far back in his net. Late in the period Ottawa tried to counter the tough hard nosed play of the Islanders by once again targeting Yashin when fourth liner Chris Neil took a run and got away with an elbow on the Islanders star. Afterwards, down 3-0, Neil very brashly motioned his hand at the Islanders bench as if they were yapping. Yashin got back up with only a cut lip. But the Islanders in subsequent shift worn out the Senators with tough play as Arron Asham, Steve Webb and Godard all saw time on Yashin's line. In the last minute of the game, the Islanders had no problem with putting Godard out as the Senators had sent Neil out once again. Neil tried to goad Godard into making a move by using his stick on the Islander's legs. Godard, seemingly unbalanced, swung his stick up and grazed the forehead of Neil. The Senator went down and drew a penalty on Godard. But with only 30 seconds left the Islanders felt that was a topper on a series of messages to the Senators that they do not match up physically. On the night the Islanders kept the #2 ranked power play off the board and killed off 7 penalties total. Ottawa out shot the Isles in the third 13-11 but were out shot overall by the Isles 34-25. Garth Snow posted his first career playoff shutout and the Islanders take Game 1 and lead the best of seven series 1-0.
More stats: The Islanders with the win broke a 9 game playoff road losing streak that dated back to Game 7 of the 1993 Patrick Division Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders defeated the defending Stanley Cup champs on an OT goal by David Volek on May 14th, 1993....The last time the Islanders held a lead in a series was when they defeated Pittsburgh in Game 1 of that same series by a 3-2 score on May 2nd, 1993...Garth Snow's shutout was the first Islander shutout posted by a goaltender since Billy Smith posted a 2-0 shutout over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals on May 10th, 1983....When the Islanders win the first game of a playoff series they are an outstanding 22-2 all-time....Some interesting stats: Billy Smith posted the most previous shoutout over Edmonton in 1983. Ten years later the Islanders pull off one of the biggest upsets in NHL playoff history against Pittsburgh in 1993. Ten years later the Islanders take a 1-0 lead over the heavily favored Ottawa Senators....Some more interesting stats: The Isles are 22-2 all-time when they win the first game of a series. The two losses came in 1978 against Toronto and 1988 against New Jersey. The Islanders did not make the playoffs in 1998, so there is no need to worry about any jinx there....The Ottawa Senators have been shutout in the opening game of the playoffs for the fourth straight year. In 2000 they lost game one 2-0 in Toronto and lost the series 4-2. In 2001 they lost game one 1-0 and game two 2-0 at home to Toronto and got swept 4-0. In 2002 they lost Game 1 in OT 1-0 in Philadelphia but came back to win the series 4-1. In the second round they lost in 7 to Toronto. Next Up: Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night. Tonight besides the Islanders-Ottawa series getting underway, three other series got going. All of the other three series will play their game 2 on Friday night. The Islanders-Ottawa Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night because Canada wants to broadcast it to a bigger audience. Probably on Hockey Night in Canada or something. Ottawa will surely come out much more determined in Game 2 as they will most definitely receive some heavy slack in the next couple of days. But if the Islanders can continue to play their game and Ottawa continues to focus their attention on Alexei Yashin, then the Islanders will be just fine. Now that the Islanders have won a game on the road, something they couldn't do in 2002 against Toronto, coach Laviolette will emphasize trying to win both games on the road and bring the series back to the Nassau Coliseum up 2-0. But there will be plenty of debate as to who the extra day off will benefit. Some will say it will benefit the Senators because having to listen to an extra day of how badly they got beat may fire them up. On the flip side, when a team gets beaten badly they normally would like to get back out there as soon as possible. That may benefit the Islanders that they can't. Fight Card: None. But there were plenty of situations to talk about. The whole concentration and infatuation that Ottawa seemingly has with Yashin. They tried to play him physical but the Islanders countered by flanking him with Arron Asham, Steve Webb and Eric Godard for select shifts. Chris Neil, a fourth line player for Ottawa, blindsided Yashin in the third period and got away with an elbow. Later Godard sent a message to Neil by "accidentally" highsticking the Senator. Commentary: What a fantastic win and start to the playoffs for the Islanders! This really has to give Islanders fans even stronger hope now that this series is very winnable. And I can't believe the mentality of the Ottawa fans. All I have to say about that is: Hey Ottawa fans! You can boo Alexei Yashin every time he handles the puck. You can cheer every time Yashin gets hit. But hey Ottawa, Yashin scored a GOAL!! We led 2-0, 3-0!! So keep up your infatuation. I'm hoping that the Islanders can just continue to play their game. If they can dominate in taking Game 1 then why shouldn't we believe we can't continue to take the series? Ottawa's supposed trade deadline toughness in phony toughness. Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray cannot stand up to the Godard's, the Webb's, the Asham's, the Cairns', etc. I tell ya, I heard a radio call in show tonight where a Ottawa fan called in and said "I hate Yashin." And the host said "yeah, but if you keep having that game plan, you're gonna lose this series." The caller replied with: "yeah, but don't you think he(Yashin) needs to get beat?" No care about winning. And that's just what the Islanders want. Keep playing into our hands Ottawa. For the next game, you can set up TWO cars with Alexei Yashin's number on it. Heck, go ahead and put his face on it if you like. Bash it up with sledgehammers. But when this series is over and it's the Isles holding the final sledgehammer, how long will it take you to realize your obsession with Yashin is just ridiculous? The Isles Saturday night need to keep playing loose. Remember, all the pressure is on Ottawa. And continue to play the same way. Even if Ottawa takes their head out of their asses and go back to playing their finesse game, the Isles have proven that Patrick Lalime and the Ottawa defense isn't all it's cracked up to be. They will be ready. Now the focus changes. Don't just be satisfied with taking a game out of Ottawa and gaining home ice advantage. Now take two out of Ottawa. That would be crushing.
Report Card: Alexei Yashin: Scored midway through the first period to make it 2-0 and really silenced the Ottawa fans in the Corel Centre. The goal game about 10 seconds after an Ottawa penalty had expired. Roman Hamrlik sent the puck towards the net where Randy Robitaille made a great play to pull the puck back and feed Yashin for an empty net tap in. Lalime was frozen on the play. Yashin was a +1 in the game and had 4 shots on goal. As much of a target Yashin was, he was the best player on the ice in the game. And I said in the preview, if the best player in the series plays like the best player on the ice, the Islanders will win. And that's what happened last night. Yashin drew rave support from his teammates when he took some big hits during the game. He received a cut lip when he was elbowed by Chris Neil in the third period. He also played some excellent defense in this game. Randy Robitaille: Assisted on Yashin's goal that put the Isles up 2-0. Robitaille made just a fantastic pass over to find Yashin all alone. The goal made him a +1. He was not credited with a shot on goal, but he had a glorious chance to put the Isles up 3-0 on a late first period power play when Yashin passed the puck to him across the slot. Robitaille though hit the side of the netting with his shot. Coach Laviolette really only utilized Robitaille on the power play. Shawn Bates: Always steps it up in the playoffs. Bates scored his first goal of the playoffs last night in the second period, on the power play to put the Isles up 3-0. Adrian Aucoin got a shot through on a deflection and Bates redirected the shot up over the shoulder of Lalime and into the top right corner. Mark Parrish: Parrish only had one shot on goal. And that will have to improve. But he played very well with the puck last night and possession is a huge part of the battle. He did take a bad retaliatory penalty in the second period that coach Laviolette showed displeasure on. Dave Scatchard: On March 15th Scatchard scored the first goal of the game at the Corel Centre to lead the Isles to an eventual 5-2 win. Last night he did it again. In the first period the Islanders were just winding up and sending everything including the kitchen sink on Lalime. Scatch managed to bank the puck in from behind the red line in the right corner. Former Islander great Billy Smith spent much of the month of March scouting Lalime and the Senators and he may have uncovered a weakness. Lalime tends to stay too far in the net and likes to hug the posts. The Islanders tried to exploit that last night. Scatchard on the play was a +1. Jason Wiemer: Had one shot on goal. Laviolette used Wiemer on the second line with Peca and Parrish. He also used Wiemer in front of the Ottawa net to screen the goaltender. Jason Blake: Led all skaters in the game with 8 shots on goal. If he can keep up that pace then sooner or later he's going to knock a few in. Blake was excellent all night on the PK and utilized his speed very well. He made some good offensive plays and for the most part never showed any signs of selfishness. Steve Webb: Played over 7 minutes and had 1 shot on goal. Webb tried to take some good runs at some of the Ottawa players. There was one instance where he chased down Radek Bonk. But there really was no good match ups with Ottawa until Neil tried to make his presence felt in the third. But perhaps this time it's the Islanders who will play the roles of the Darcy Tucker's and Shayne Corson's and over power the Senators. Webb played at times with Yashin to help keep the peace. Arron Asham: Was a +1 with 2 shots on goal. Asham had a pretty good game. When his line is out there you feel confident that something good is going to happen. He should get some more offensive chances in future games. Look for him to notch a couple if the Islanders are going to win the series. Asham is one of those momentum building guys that can really pump a team up. Oleg Kvasha: Had one shot on goal and played well, particularly on the PK. Kvasha needs to keep using his size and it is imperative that he contributes offensively down the line. He could really be a game breaker for the Islanders. Michael Peca: Had 1 shot on goal, and played well defensively and on the PK. There were a couple of instances though where he wasn't mentally sharp. Peca could have crossed the center ice red line once with a clear path but instead iced the puck one stride away. Like Bates did, Peca needs to find his scoring touch soon. Justin Papineau: Was a healthy scratch. Papineau may get some ice time in this series at some point. But right now Laviolette wanted a physical presence in the lineup, thus dressing Eric Godard. Mattias Weinhandl: Unfortunately broke his toe in the game Saturday against Atlanta in the Isles 3-2 loss. He played Sunday in the 2-1 win in Carolina. But now he is out indefinitely. Weinhandl scored 6 goals this season in his rookie year. 3 of the goals came against Ottawa and Patrick Lalime. Eric Godard: Played only a little over 1 minute. But he made his presence known when he was out there. Two seconds after the drop of the first puck, Laviolette pulled Kvasha off the ice and threw Godard out there on Yashin's wing. After a shift in which Zdeno Chara tried to intimidate Yashin and knocked his helmet off, Godard approached Chara and warned him the consequences. In the final minute of the game, Godard got retribution for the Islanders on Chris Neil when he "accidentally" highsticked the Senators fourth liner. Godard received a double minor with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Justin Mapletoft: Was a healthy
scratch but just like Papineau could receive some ice time in this series.
While Papineau is used more predominantly for his offense, Mapletoft's
strength are his defense and two way game. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Played over 26 minutes, had 3 shots on goal and was a team leading +2. Hamrlik assisted on both of the Islanders first two goals. The Islanders defense was just superior tonight defensively and offensively. If they can keep it up they will be in good shape. Adrian Aucoin: Played almost 33 minutes which was the most of any player. Adrian recorded 5 shots on goal and assisted on Shawn Bates second period goal that put the Isles up 3-0 on the power play. Aucoin was excellent in blocking shots all night and holding up the blue line. Janne Niinimaa: Played over 22 minutes, had 2 shots on goal and was a +1. Niinimaa assisted on Scatchard's first period goal that put the Isles up 1-0. Total, the Isles defense recorded 4 assists in Game 1. Niinimaa was all over the Islanders zone in the third period blocking everything and playing solid defense. Eric Cairns: Played a little under 3 minutes. Did not get much ice time. The Islanders rode the big four for pretty much most of the night. There was some question if we would have seen more of Cairns if Ottawa had decided to get chippy late in the game. But it didn't happen and Cairns spent some time on the bench. But if they need him Cairns will be ready. Kenny Jonsson: Played over 28 minutes and recorded 3 shots. Jonsson was awesome all night on defense. He cleared the zone well, and carried it out of the Islanders end well. He was especially strong in the third period, as was most of the Isles defense, when Ottawa put up a little more of an attack. Radek Martinek: Played almost 8 minutes and was a +1. Martinek was not bad and could get more ice time as the series goes on if the top 4 should need some rest. Martinek is very good and smooth at carrying the puck out of the Islanders end when he does it successfully. Mattias Timander: Was a healthy scratch for Game 1. Just doesn't give you as much confidence compared to Martinek. Tomi Pettinen: Was returned to Bridgeport
Monday. Goal: Garth Snow: Was fantastic in goal for the Islanders particularly in the third period. Snow made 25 saves on the night and amazingly posted only his first career playoff shutout. His all-time playoff record improves to 9-4. Snow out dueled Lalime for one game so far. Now he has to do it three more times.
Coaches Laviolette has to receive some big time credit for this win. Yes, in the end it's the players that have to go out and play. But there is something to stretegy. And perhpas Jacques Martin has underestimated his counterpart. Laviolette had to create a game plan when going up against the number one team in the league. And so far he has been successful. He created some good lines and I liked the use of Wiemer in front of the Ottawa net screening the goaltender. I also liked how he rotated mostly Webb and sometimes Godard up on the line with Yashin to not only protect him and keep Ottawa honest, but to rotate three lines throughout the entire game. Laviolette has the Islanders believing in themselves when they can execute a game plan to perfection. Special Teams Before the series started, many critics said that specialty teams would be the main factor in who wins the series. Well, the Islanders power play, ranked 13th overall in the regular season, tallied in the second period thanks to Shawn Bates to take a 3-0 lead. On the night they went 1-5 and could have had a second power play goal. Yashin's goal came 11 seconds after a power play had ended. Randy Robitaille hit the side of the net late in the first period on the power play as well. On the penalty kill the Islanders, ranked 16th in the regular season, were a perfect 7-7 and shut down the #2 ranked power play in the regular season. They still need to cut down on the chances given in future games. Seven is just a little too much. Though some of the calls were really bad and borderline calls made by the officials.
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS OTTAWA SENATORS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 1 of 5, OTT - 0 of 7.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Game 1: Isles Need to Get Ahead Apr 9: It's imperative tonight that the Isles open up their series with Ottawa on a good note. Too many times they have played from behind in the past during the season. If the Isles are going to win, they need to get the lead and keep it. They need Game 1. Isles vs. Senators, Game 1 Preview: Or at least one of the first two games....No player will be under more of a spotlight in this series than Alexei Yashin, the Isles' best player who spent eight seasons in Ottawa after he was the franchise's first draft pick in 1992. Yashin sat out the 1999-00 season in a contract dispute and was traded to the Islanders on June 23, 2001, for defenseman Zdeno Chara, the second overall pick in the 2001 draft and forward Bill Muckalt. Because of his contract problems, Yashin is still a hated player in Ottawa and the fans let him know every time he touches the puck. "I'm sure things could have gone much smoother in Ottawa, but I have no regrets,'' Yashin said. "I guess it was my destiny. I'm very happy and I'm with a team I want to play for.'' After totaling 32 goals and 75 points in his first season with New York, Yashin dropped to 26 goals and 39 assists this year. At one point, the star center was dropped to the fourth line as he struggled to produce, but a late-season flourish produced 12 goals and 20 points in the final 14 games. "He's been awesome,'' goalie Garth Snow said. ``Everyone goes through slumps and he's really worked hard to get out of it. I think he's coming at the right time.'' Unlike the Senators, the Islanders finished the season badly, winning just six of their final 22 games and clinching a playoff berth only because the teams behind them played even worse. The Isles will need outstanding series from both Yashin and Snow if they are to have any chance at an upset. Snow, who began this season as Chris Osgood's backup, hasn't made a postseason start since Game 2 of the 1997 Stanley Cup finals with Philadelphia. Yashin hopes to see history repeat itself. He was a member of the eighth-seeded Senators in 1998 that beat the top-seeded New Jersey Devils. "We had no chance to beat them in the first round, but we did,'' Yashin said. "That was a big upset. So a lot of things can happen in the playoffs.'' GAME: New York Islanders (35-34-11-2) at Ottawa Senators (52-21-8-1). PLAYOFF SERIES: Eastern Conference quarterfinal; Game 1. HOW THEY GOT HERE: Islanders - 83 points; 8th seed. Senators - 113 points; 1st seed. Snow Job The Isles traded Chris Osgood because of Garth Snow's play during the month of February when he carried the team. In 1997 he backstopped the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals. 6 years later Snow will be leaned on again against Ottawa. Notes: The Ottawa Senators proved to be the best team in the NHL during an 82-game season. Now their greatest challenge will be responding to the expectations that come with being the league's top seed in the playoffs. The Senators, who have endured their share of postseason disappointments, begin their quest for hockey's biggest prize when they open the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Alexei Yashin and the eighth-seeded New York Islanders. For the first time in their 11-year history, the Senators won the Presidents' Trophy and set franchise records with 52 wins and 113 points - a 19-point improvement from 2001-02. Ottawa is guaranteed home ice throughout the playoffs. Captain Daniel Alfredsson knows his team is facing more pressure than in any previous season. "Yeah, the expectations are great,'' Alfredsson said. "Everybody knows that if we lose again people will be asking, 'What happened? What's going on with this team?' But that's OK. That's the way it is.'' Clearly, this is the best team the Senators have had, and one that is equally strong offensively, defensively and in goal. Ottawa scored a conference-leading 263 goals, including six players with 20 or more goals and five players with 50 or more points. Right wing Marian Hossa cemented himself as one of the league's elite players this season, finishing among the NHL leaders with 45 goals. Alfredsson led the team with 52 assists and was just one point behind Hossa's team-leading 80. Todd White, who had a career season with 60 points, Martin Havlat and Radek Bonk all topped the 20-goal mark. Bryan Smolinski, a former Islander, was brought in from Los Angeles at the trade deadline to add scoring depth. Even if Ottawa's offense struggles, the Senators can rely on the goaltending of Patrick Lalime, much the way they did last season in a first-round victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Lalime, a strong contender for the Vezina Trophy this season, allowed just two goals during that five-game series. He is 7-9 with a 1.63 goals-against average in 16 career playoff games. One area where the Senators had been lacking in past postseasons was toughness - an element that takes on added meaning in tightly contested playoff games. The Senators hope they addressed that need by acquiring the abrasive duo of Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline. Before beating the Flyers in the quarterfinals last season, the Senators had lost a first-round playoff series in three straight years. Ottawa has lost both series in which it was the higher-seeded team. The Senators seem to have a good chance to end that trend, considering they have gone 21-2-7 in their last 30 regular season meetings with the Islanders.
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1998-2005 Tom Mascioli
