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IslesInfo Comments: Perhaps calling them a disgrace is a bit harsh. After all, the Islanders were facing the President's Trophy winning Ottawa Senators, who finished with 30 more points during the Isles in an 82 game regular season. But the Senators in the series were not the impressive dominating team some would believe a true Stanley Cup contender should be. They could have been beaten. But the Islanders could not get it done when they had the Senators down. At times they even disappointed by not showing up. And in the end the Islanders were made quick work by the Senators as they advance to the next round. Game 5 saw both teams trade a power play opportunity in the first 10 minutes of the first period with neither side capitalizing. So the Islanders were happy to escape that crucial first 10 minutes without falling back. But the Senators would get a second chance on the extra man when Eric Cairns, who took two penalties in Game 4, was sent off for crosschecking at 12:43. At 13:53 the Senators would strike first when they would once again get the bounce that has gone their way the entire series. The Senators were trying to execute the backdoor play by sending the puck down low to Martin Havlat at the right of the net and have him send the puck across for an easy tap in. The first time it failed. But they immediately tried again. The second time Havlat tried to send the puck across to Marian Hossa but instead the Islanders received another unfortunate play when Shawn Bates, trying to stop the pass, inadvertently redirected the puck into his own net. The Senators took the 1-0 lead on Havlat's 1st goal of the series. Assists were credited to Radek Bonk and Wade Redden. As Ottawa recorded their 10th goal of the series, you can honestly count 7 of them as weird or fluky type goals, whether they were redirected in by an Islander or aided in some fashion by an odd bounce or linesman/referee interference. The situation was not looking good for the Islanders at the periods end. But like in any road game, being down by only one goal at the end of the first period is not all that bad. The Islanders managed to out shoot the Senators 9-7 in the first and for the first time since Game 1, dominated on the faceoffs going 18-8. - In the second period, the Islanders came out a little bit harder as desperation and the thought of playing their last game of the season crept in. Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov was called off for hooking at 5:18 to put the Isles up on the power play. At 5:51 Magnus Arvedson tripped up Dave Scatchard as the Isles set up on the power play and that put the Isles two men up. Alexei Yashin, stationed in the left corner got possession of the puck from Adrian Aucoin. Yashin turned in and fired a sharp angle shot on Lalime. Mark Parrish, standing in front of the net quickly backhanded the rebound through Lalime's pads and tied the game up 1-1 for the Islanders, giving them renewed hope. Finally Parrish scored his first goal at 6:48. But the lead was short lived. As soon as the Islanders scored, instead of them gaining the momentum, the Senators turned their game up a notch. At 11:05 Redden feathered a soft shot in from the left point in on Snow. Garth made the save but kicked the puck back out to Todd White in front of the net. Before the Islanders could tie him up White walked to the right of the net and backhanded it top shelf into the empty net. The goal gave the Senators a 2-1 lead on White's 3rd goal of the series. At 18:13 the final nail in the Islanders coffin was delivered. Havlat, who is possibly more dynamic a player than Hossa and is only 21 years old, darted off the right boards across the Isles defensive zone. With about 3 or 4 Islanders chasing him Havlat whipped the puck back behind him directly towards the net. Waiting for it was a weakly covered Bonk who only needed to tap in the pass for a commanding 3-1 lead. The Islanders once again out shot the Senators 10-8 and led overall 28-16. But by the end of the second period, the death knell for the Islanders was just about chiming. - The third period got under way with the Islanders having one final chance to keep their season going. But they would have to do it without Shawn Bates as suffered some kind of leg injury after receiving a stick check along the boards towards the latter half of the second period. The Islanders couldn't get anything going in the third and it ended up being a slow death to the final buzzer. Following an early penalty by captain Michael Peca, who went without a point in the entire series, the Senators gave the Isles two last chances in the second half of the third on the power play. But the Islanders got nothing going. With Snow pulled in a last ditch effort the Senators wasted no time in notching the empty netter, the second goal of the game by Bonk. Vaclav Varada was credited with the lone assist. Jason Blake, another top Islanders during the regular season who did nothing in the series, got into one last matching roughing minor with Chris Neil. And so went the Islanders season. A very disappointing finish at best, getting handled easily by the Ottawa Senators in 5 games.
More stats: The Islanders record when winning the first game of a series is now 22-3 all-time....The Islanders record when splitting the first two games is now 7-5 all-time....The Islanders series record when trailing in a series 2-1 is now 6-8 all-time....The Islanders series record when trailing in a series 3-1 is now 2-9 all-time....The Islanders ended the season winless in their last 8 games at Nassau Coliseum going 0-7-1-0. Their last win at home was March 1st when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in OT....The Islanders went 14-29-4 when allowing the first goal this season, including the playoffs. Next Up: The 2002-03 season is over for the New York Islanders. It's been 20 years and 21 seasons since they last won the Stanley Cup in 1983. The next game with be in September when training camp opens for the 2003-04 season. The next event up for the Islanders will be the 2003 NHL Entry Draft scheduled for June 21st in Nashville. The draft this year is being billed as a deep one and the Isles have stock piled a few picks in the second round. Stay tuned for more on the draft in the upcoming months. Fight Card: No fights. Jason Blake and Chris Neil got into one final stick swinging minor infraction with 5 seconds left in the game. They both received roughing minors. Commentary:
I don't know what to say. I'm extremely upset by the way this series went.
How in the hell do you dominate the Senators in Game 1, in their building
on their home ice, and then come back and lose 4 straight??? How do you
talk about how great the fans will be when they return back home and the
home ice advantage the Coliseum would generate, and then lose both games??
How in the hell do you come out for Game 4 and stink out the joint, IN A
PLAYOFF GAME???? The Islanders lost this series, because of what they did
on home ice. It's sickening. 8 games without a win since March 1st at
home? I really don't know who should be blamed for this. But I will try my
best in subsequent days. Does the blame go to the players where so many on
the team just disappeared since the beginning of May? What about Peter
Laviolette? He obviously couldn't motivate these guys to come out for Game
4 and try to tie the series up. That was the series right there! Is Mike
Milbury to blame? Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar? I don't know what to say.
I got to tell you guys, last year it literally took me a month to get over
the Game 7 loss to the Leafs in the first round. I really don't know how
to react to this. On one side we struggled through the season at the
beginning and at the end and unfortunately had to squeak into the 8th spot
and take on the league champs. So there was the mindset that we had
nothing to lose. But at the same time, we could have won this series!
Ottawa did nothing to impress. We made them look good at times. I don't
know if this hurts as much as the loss to the Leafs hurt. But the fact of
the matter is we regressed, or at least just stayed status quo, while many
other teams got better. But since the season is always based on what you
did the year before, and it does not constitute a success unless you
better yourself, a second straight first round exit cannot be viewed as
anything but a disappointing season. The Islanders felt they made the
moves to make themselves a better team than last years. But they were
missing the hunger of that team. And the moves they made in reaction of
how they lost to the Leafs became a non-factor in the series against
Ottawa. At least it was because the Islanders did not use their toughness
to their advantage in this series. So in closing I admit that the loss
stings. To see some of the blank faces and confused looks following that
final loss hurts the fan just as much. I guess it's back to the drawing
board again for the Islanders.
Report Card: Alexei Yashin: Assisted on the lone Islander goal. On a 5 on 3 advantage he received a pass from Aucoin down in the left corner, turned on net and took a wide angle shot. Mark Parrish pushed in the rebound. Yashin was a -1 and led the team with 4 shots on goal along with 2 other players. Randy Robitaille: Was a -1 with 3 shots. Shawn Bates: Had 2 shots on goal. Hurt his leg on an odd stick check play late in the second period. He sat on the bench for the entire third period. Mark Parrish: Finally showed up, on the score sheet anyway. Parrish scored the lone Islander goal on a 5 on 3 power play advantage. Parked in front of the net probably for the first time all series, he backhanded in a rebound of a Yashin wide angle shot from the left corner. Mark was a -1 and had 2 shots on goal. Parrish ended the season with about 3 goals in his final 33 games. Dave Scatchard: The Islanders leading goal scorer during the regular season with 27, Scatch was held without a shot in Game 5. Jason Wiemer: Was a -2 with 2 shots on goal. The Islanders got him to provide toughness and grit. Both Wiemer and the team as a whole failed to live up to that supposed strength throughout the series. Jason Blake: Had 2 shots on goal and 12 shots in the entire series. The 25 goal scorer during the regular season did not score one in the series. Steve Webb: Was a -1. Arron Asham: Was also a -1. Asham had a breakthrough season for the Islanders. Unfortunately he did nothing in the series. Oleg Kvasha: Was a -1 and led the team with 4 shots on goal. Kvasha, a potential game breaker, or at least the Islanders have been waiting for him to be, did not score a goal in the series and really only recorded an assist in Game 3. Michael Peca: Was a -2 with 2 shots on goal. Was he hurt? Did he hit the wall after all the surgeries? After having a big game in February coach Laviolette touted Peca as a Hart Trophy candidate. Ever since then he hadn't scored a goal. He went 25 games without one. Whether it was his knee, his shoulder or his wrist, Peca was not the same player down the stretch that made such a difference for the team when he came back in November. As Peca goes, so does the team. Unfortunately this reflects badly on the Islanders captain, but Peca has shown resolve before and battled back from adversities. With the summer being one in which he can just rest for the first time in a while, he should be back with something to prove in 2003-04. Justin Papineau: Was a healthy scratch last night. Look for him to get sent back to Bridgeport and be a factor there in their run for the Calder Cup. Mattias Weinhandl: Well, a lot of Islander fans at the beginning of the series felt that his loss was not a major factor, and wouldn't be the reason why the Islanders would win or lose. But wouldn't it have been nice to have found out? The Islanders struggled with depth in the series and for some reason looked like a tired bunch as the series grew on and in the double OT Game 3. Weinhandl unfortunately broke his toe on the last Saturday of the season in a meaningless game against the Atlanta Thrashers. He played on it in the final game the next day in Carolina. Weinhandl was the one Islander who had Patrick Lalime's number this season. He scored 3 of his 6 goals against Lalime including his first NHL goal. The other 2 came in a March 15th 5-2 win up in Ottawa. If Bridgeport goes far into the AHL playoffs and his toe heals, perhaps Weinhandl sees some action. Though he did play 46 games for the Islanders this year and may not be eligible to return. Eric Godard: Was a healthy scratch for the 2nd straight game. Godard will be returned to Bridgeport and help them by providing some toughness in their run for the Calder Cup. Justin Mapletoft: Had 1 shot on
goal playing fourth line center. Mapletoft will also be returned to
Bridgeport and provide them with his two way defensive game as they make a
run in the AHL playoffs. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Played almost 30 minutes, was a -1 and had 1 shot on goal. Adrian Aucoin: Played over 25 minutes, was a -1 and had 3 shots on goal. He assisted on Mark Parrish's lone Islander goal when he dished the puck into the left corner to Yashin. Alexei turned and fired a wide angle shot and Parrish followed up with a rebound goal on a 5 on 3 advantage. Janne Niinimaa: Played over 25 minutes, was a -1 and had 2 shots on goal. Ever since he came to the Islanders since the trade deadline, he has been playing hurt with a sore knee. 2 of his shots came in the third period. Niinimaa in this series took some really bad penalties, including 5 in the Islanders two home games, 4 coming in Game 3. Eric Cairns: Played almost 6 minutes. Before the season started the word was that Cairns was working on his offense over the summer and in camp. People have lauded him for becoming a better player over the years and improving. But in this series he took some really bad penalties, in some crucial moments. There were a couple of instances like in Game 4 when the Isles cut the Senators lead in half to 2-1 and Cairns takes a penalty minutes later which led to an Ottawa goal. The coaching staff does not have confidence in him in big situations and honestly, he has to be the slowest skating defenseman in the entire NHL. Ottawa exploited that. I wouldn't be shocked if Cairns is not with the Islanders in 2003-04. Kenny Jonsson: Played 26 minutes, was a -2 and led the team with 4 shots on goal. 2 of those shots came in the third period. KJ was solid defensively for the Islanders, but he epitomizes their problems offensively, he doesn't like to shoot the puck. He thinks pass first, shoot later. Radek Martinek: Played over 6 minutes and was a -1. It was an up and down shaky season at times for Martinek. I can see him being back in training camp and given another chance. He, like Peca, blew out his knee last season and may be back stronger in 2003-04. With the Islanders needing more depth on the blue line, he will be given a good look once again. Mattias Timander:
Was a healthy scratch for the 2nd straight game and only played Game 3 of
the series. He was horrible in that game and sat on the bench for most of
it, only getting 4 minutes of ice time. Timander was brought in this
season to provide depth on the blue line and for a while at the beginning
of the year he provided it. But at times he was too shaky and couldn't be
depended on. I wouldn't be surprised if he was not brought back in
2003-04. Goal: Garth Snow: Faced only 18 shots and made 15 saves. Snow did what he could. For the most part, he was perhaps the Islanders best player in the series. He made some spectacular saves and if it wasn't for him the 4 losses would have been a lot worse than they were. He was the lone Islander to make a difference in the Game 3 OT. But the knock on Snow his entire career since he left Philadelphia is that he is just a career backup and he didn't really prove that to be untrue in the playoff. Now is that fair? Probably not. He was facing the best team in the NHL. So will he be back next season? Good question. The Islanders hold an option for a third year on his contract. If they do decide to bring him back, Snow will most likely be a backup once again to Rick DiPietro who is sure to get the reigns in the majority of the games in 2003-04. Is Snow willing to do that is another question. But for the most part, Snow was the Islanders MVP from the beginning of February on as he carried the team with outstanding goaltending when Chris Osgood went down with injury in late January. Snow carried a save percentage in the series against Ottawa of well over .900.
Coaches Kelly Miller may be the first coach to get axed this summer as he is in charge of running the power play. The players this season looked confused all year long on the power play. Now did the power play falter because of the players and the fact that they did not have enough finishers? Or can you blame the power play coach, who surely is not the only man to have input on the matter? The Islanders two years ago hired Miller, who was known as a defensive specialist in his days in Washington as a player, without any prior coaching experience. And what about Laviolette? Should he be to blame for the reported problems that ran throughout the locker room this season? Should he be to blame for the team coming out on too many nights flat and not ready to play? It happened many times this season and it happened in Game 4 of the playoffs. Unacceptable. Especially on home ice. Jacques Laperierre has been the only constant to be untouched on the bench without much criticism. He is in charge of the defesneive unit. He can't be blamed for the lack of depth on the blue line and the decisions to ride 4 d-men during the playoffs. That's all a Laviolette decision. Special Teams The Islanders went 1-5 on the power play. In the series they went 3-31. Not the greatest. A few more on the power play, particularly at home and especially in Game 3 and the Islanders make more of a run in this series. The lone power play goal last night was scored on a 5 on 3 advantage early in the second period by Mark Parrish. Ottawa went 1-3. They took the lead 1-0 midway through the first period on the power play when Martin Havlat banked in another cross slot pass off the stick of an Islander, this time Shawn Bates. In the series Ottawa went 4-28. Enough to get it done.
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS OTTAWA SENATORS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 1 of 5, OTT - 1 of 3.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Game 5: One Shift at a Time Apr 17: The Islanders get no time to rest and neither do the Senators as the two prepare to meet for the third time in four nights Thursday at the Corel Centre. For the Isles, they hope to put in a good effort and send the series back home for a Game 6. Isles vs. Senators Game 5 Preview: New York ended the season with just one win over its last six games (1-4-1) and has been unable to get anything going since winning Game 1 3-0.
Adrian Aucoin scored Wednesday for the Islanders, who are on the verge of getting eliminated in the first round for the second straight season.
New York snapped a seven-year playoff drought last season but was bounced in a grueling seven-game series by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I'm very disappointed and a little frustrated because honestly, I didn't think we had our best effort,'' Aucoin said.
"They're a fast team, but we knew that and we expected it. We just have to have a good attitude. Obviously, you have to feel confident and know that you can win three games in a row.''
New York has scored just three goals since winning the opening game. Other than Alexei Yashin's three points, the Islanders haven't gotten any help from their leading scorers.
Mark Parrish (48 points) and Michael Peca (42) haven't notched a point in the series, and Jason Blake (55), Shawn Bates (42) and Dave Scatchard (45) have just one point apiece.
"We just weren't able to generate any offense through their defense - any substantial offense,'' Islanders coach Peter Laviolette said.
Compounding the Islanders' offensive woes is their continuing struggles on special teams. New York is just 1-for-21 on the power play since Game 1, including a dismal 1-for-10 effort in Game 3.
Isles Battle to Stay Alive The Nassau Coliseum could not live up to it's "Fort Neverlose" nickname over the past two games. Now it's time for the "Never Say Die" Isles to turn this thing around. It won't be easy. They will have to throw everything they got Ottawa's way. It's truly do or die. Notes: The Ottawa Senators are on the brink of taking another step toward winning the first Stanley Cup in their history. The Senators look to close out their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the New York Islanders when the teams meet at the Corel Centre. Ottawa won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top team for the first time in its 11-year history, finishing with 113 points. After dropping the opening game of this best-of-seven series, the Senators gained complete control with Wednesday's 3-1 win. Mike Fisher scored just 28 seconds into the first period, and Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist as Ottawa took a 3-1 series lead. "This puts us in a good position going home,'' Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We know they won't give up, though.'' Hossa, who finished fifth in the NHL this season with 45 goals, has all three of his goals in the playoffs over the last two games. Anton Volchenkov also scored, and Patrick Lalime made 21 saves for the Senators, who are looking to advance to the conference semifinals for the second straight season following years of playoff frustration. Before beating the Philadelphia Flyers in the quarterfinals last season, the Senators had lost a first-round playoff series three straight years, including two series when they were the higher seed.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2005 Tom Mascioli
