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ISLES INFO |
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ISLES INFO |
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April 23rd: The Islanders felt they did not play all too bad in the first two games in Toronto. Well, perhaps not all that great in Game 1. But Game 2 was a much better effort, and Curtis Joseph was the difference. But the Islanders would not let Cujo get into their heads. They were determined to come out and crash the net with shots. Surprisingly the Isles did not fet off to the better start. Just over 7 and a half minutes in Toronto would grab the 1-0 lead of a passing play that would lead to a goal by Alexander Mogilny. But after that the Islanders took it to the Leafs all night and Toronto was unable to withstand the attack. A big focus of this series has been the referees and penalties. Once again the calls on the night were kind of wacky. Fortunately this time it was more even. The Islanders would tie it at 14:34 on a powerplay after Mark Parrish would pound in a rebound in front of Joseph. The score would stay tied going into the second period with the Isles having outshot Toronto 19-6. - The Islanders kept up the pressure in the second period and it would pay off. Once again on the powerplay, the Islanders would get a similar goal to the first. Adrian Aucoin would sail the puck in towards Joseph who once again couldn't handle it and left a rebound in front. With two Leaf defenders close, Brad Isbister would score his first goal of the series at 6:01 putting the Isles up 2-1. It would turn out to be the eventual gamewinner. At 13:33 after the Islanders were finished killing off a penalty, Steve Webb would cause a distraction coming out of the penalty box. Jason Blake managed to bounce the puck up the ice to captain Michael Peca. Peca skated in all alone off the left wing side, reminiscent of a goal he scored off Dallas early in the season. He buried a wrister by Joseph for the 3-1 lead. The Islanders were not done as Parrish would make it 4-1 with his second goal of the game with 41 seconds left in the period. It was another powerplay goal. There were some weird calls in this period by the refs, including a delayed call for calling a play where the Islanders knocked off the Leafs net. - Going into the third period, the atmosphere in the Nassau Coliseum was that the Islanders were headed towards their first playoff win in 9 years, since Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 Conference Finals. But as we all know the Islanders have come close to blowing some third period leads this year. In the third period, the Islanders were really frustrating many of the Leaf players with their speed, offense and physical play. Jason Blake was annoying players with his stick and yapping and Steve Webb was hitting absolutely everything in site. He was so affective taking the body tonight. Stats show he had 11 hits tonight which led both teams. Darcy Tucker got in a fight with Blake. Claude Lapointe took down Travis Green. Tucker was called earlier in the period for closing his hand on the puck. The Islanders added to their lead when Shawn Bates scored the Islanders 4th powerplay goal of the game at 4:07. The Isles were crashing the net and caused Joseph to lose his stick and glove. He was able to retirieve his glove but before he would regroup Bates chipped the puck by him. Just 14 seconds later, Dave Scatchard got in on the scoring, thanks to a great pass from the corner by Isbister. The Leafs would then pull Joseph and send in Cory Schwab to finish the game. At the end of the game, the Leafs showed how frustrated they were. Gary Roberts practically attacked Mariusz Czerkawski and Tie Domi was up to his regular act of being a goon, holding Scatchard down on the ice for nearly 5 minutes. Isbister even threw a few punches, one after the other on a Maple Leaf head. - I was at the game tonight and it was UNBELIEVABLE! The crowd was louder than I can ever remember. At times you couldn't hear yourself talk. Fans were screaming at the top of their lungs, waving towels, wearing white, chanting like crazy...etc, etc. My throat is sore from screaming so much. The atmosphere of the old Nassau Coliseum was incredible and the fans were truly a seventh man tonight. It was reported that fans were there chanting Lets Go Islanders 45 minutes before the game even started outside and inside the Coliseum. The players were able to hear them inside the locker rooms. Expect more of the same tonight. Parrish, who criticized the fans during a tough season early last year, said last night that he never saw anything like what he saw with the fans last night. - Preview(April 24th Game 4): The Islanders now have to put Game 3 behind them, as great as it was, and focus on repeating tonight. The crowd was like a seventh man tonight and hopefully they can motivate the Isles to get the series tied up. The Leafs are clearly frustrated now after Curtis Joseph gave up 6 goals and they have gone 0 for 18 on the powerplay. Now it is Osgood who is outplaying Joseph as he has only given up 4 goals in 3 games, not including 2 empty net goals, while Joseph has given up 7. Alexei Yashin now has 3 assists in the series, but still no goals. The rest of his teammates came through in Game 3 and that has to continue. But Yashin has to put the puck in the net. The Isles need to show their scoring depth. Steve "Train Wreck" Webb has to once again hit everything in site and piss the Leafs off even more so they take penalties. Czerkawski and Kvasha have to get on the scoreboard as well. Isbister has to keep contributing and Mark Parrish has to keep chipping them in from in front of the net. Finally, the Isles defense has to get involved more offensively, and that means shooting the puck more on the powerplay. Scratches: Jim Cummins, Mats Lindgren, Evgeny Korolev Playoff Injury Update
New York Islanders: 42-28-8-4,
96 points, 5th seed in Eastern Conference Season Series: Islanders won the season series going 3-0-0-1 Schedule:
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1998-2005 Tom Mascioli
