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ISLES INFO |
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ISLES INFO |
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Eastern Conference
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April 30th: The Islanders jumped out to an early lead in Game 7 when they were able to capitalize on a power play early in the game. At 3:41 of the first period the Islanders got a goal from the player they needed it from the most, Alexei Yashin. He would receive a pass down low all alone in fron of Toronto goaltender Curtis Joseph. As Joseph went down, Yashin stepped to the side and buried the puck into the net before getting checked. Things were looking good for the Islanders at that point. Unfortunately they were unable to get what could have been a much needed 2 goal lead. The best player on the ice for Toronto was Gary Roberts, who probably shouldn't have even been playing in this series from Game 5 on after his cheap shot slamming into the glass of Islanders defenseman Kenny Jonsson. About 10 minutes after the Isles took the 1-0 lead Roberts would power through into the Islanders zone after Mariusz Czerkawski lost possession of the puck in the neutral zone. Roberts would take advantage of Roman Hamrlik losing his stick and take the puck right to Chris Osgood. He worked the puck around Osgood and tied the game at 1-1. In doing so Roberts also smashed into Osgood's leg with his momentum and Ozzie was down on the ice for quite a few minutes. Osgood would remain in the game for for pretty much the rest of the night he was clearly uncomfortable and hurting. At time it seemed like he couldn't even get up after routine saves. The first period would end tied and now Game 7 would become a 40 minute game. - The second period was crucial because the Islanders could not afford to slipped behind. Osgood showed incredible courage by staying in. And even tough he was hurt coach Peter Laviolette never thought about putting Garth Snow in the net. A little over 2 minutes into the second period the Islanders were about to be called for a penalty. Before gaining possession of the puck Toronto would get an important goal from Alexander Mogilny on a three on two. Toronto was passing the puck around without any problems and once Mogilny got the puck wide open in the slot he fired it by Osgood, who was having trouble moving and showing any reflexes. The Islanders, now down 2-1, were not helping the cause when Jason Blake took a double minor for highsticking at the 4 minute mark. But the Isles got great penalty killing during the four minutes and should have gotten a jump from the kill. But they couldn't answer. And at 13:48 a back breaking goal was scored by ex-Islander Travis Green, who besides throwing a big hit on Jason Blake in Game 6, had done nothing up to this point. He wristed a high shot that Osgood, lacking in mobility at this point, really didn't even move on. The Islanders were unable to score on two power play opportunites in the second period, including a too many men on the ice penalty by Toronto. Now the Islanders backs were against the ultimate wall. Down 3-1 going into the third, it was either put some pucks behind Joseph in the third or it would be the end to a great season. - At one point in the second period, Roman Hamrlik tried to stop a Leaf from crashing the net and took a hit that wrenched his shoulder. Unknown to this point, Hamrlik had been suffering from some sort of shoulder injury already. Roman left the ice and was in pain on the bench. He even went to the to the Islanders dressing room for a short period, but returned. Now both Hamrlik and Osgood were hurting, and the Islanders are already without Brad Isbister, Michael Peca and Kenny Jonsson. Adrian Aucoin, who has played bigtime minutes all season long, was the only healthy one of the Islanders 3 studs. Yet he possibly could have been exhausted at the end though he never shows it. Now down 3-1 and possibly looking at the last period of their season resurgence, and just when you thought that perhaps the Islanders had run out of gas with injuries and loss of players, the team came out in the third period and threw out everything they had. The Isles got just what they needed too, an early goal from none other than Kip Miller. Miller once again roofed the puck up over Curtis Joseph to draw the Islanders to within 3-2. Now the Islanders really turned it on. One bright spot on the third period was the play of rookie Trent Hunter, who emerged as a possible impact player for the Islanders in the future. He had two spectacular chances to tie the game, both times taking the puck to the net showing poise and the ability to hold onto the puck. On both chances Cujo just got lucky in somehow letting the puck hit him. Yashin, who finally can shake all the negative criticism after having a great playoffs, wanted the puck. He wanted to somehow get the game tied. He had a chance earlier when following a power play the Islanders caught Toronto on a bad change. Yashin received a pass and skated in down the right side. His shot, ticketed for high left corner, rocketed off the top of Joseph's right shoulder. On another play, Yashin tried to bank the puck off of Joseph's back from behind the net. Then, in the closing three minutes of the game, Yashin had yet another chance in front of Joseph, but for some reason thought he had a better play when he passed the puck over to Shawn Bates. But it was a poor decision as a Maple Leaf defenseman got in the way and Bates had no chance. The Islanders finally had to pull Osgood for the extra man with one minute left. They had once chance when Hamrlik had a couple shots. But he could not get it down low and on another opportunity decided to hold the puck because of a sprawling defender. With 40 seconds left Mogilny scored into the Islanders empty net to solidify the 4-2 win and unfortunately bring the Islanders 2001-02 season to an end. - Some thoughts from me. A lot was initially made about the question of whether the Islanders would shake some of the Toronto players hands after the game. Obviously no one wants to show that they are a sore loser. You can just say "good luck" or whatever and skate away, which is what most Islanders did. I heard some people criticizing Kip Miller for sort of hugging, or tapping the head of Darcy Tucker. At first I thought this was no big deal. But later on I felt that I wished at least one Islander would have said 'I'm an Islander'. You took down one of my guys with intent. I'm not shaking your hand. And just skate right by the guy. Again, no guy at the end wants to show he is a sore loser. But if any one of the Islanders had refused I probably would have gained a huge amount of pride in that player just because of it. Kip Miller was fantastic in this series for the Islanders. So you can't really get on him. And with his 4 goals in this series, the Islanders have to seriously consider re-signing the unrestricted free agent to a new deal this summer before he is snatched up by another team. - I'd like to address this whole National Anthem thing that the Canadian press, particularly in Toronto, has chosen to magnify beyond no end. I guess it's a story for them, and any reporter has the right to think he/she is reporting something for a good cause. But if you ask me, the Canadian newspaper reporters will go to unbelievable lengths to vilify Americans every chance they get. And as soon as whatever Damian Cox or whoever heard a spatter of boos during the Canadian Anthem at Nassau Coliseum he writes a story about how horrible the Long Island fans are. Give me a break. As if the American National Anthem is treated with respect at every Canadian based rink on hockey night? It was a few wrong doers. I always say, it's wrong to blame the many for the actions of a few. And for those people that reportedly burned a Canadian flag that was draped around a car in the Islanders parking lot, that was totally wrong. There was no excuse for that. But I guarantee you one thing. If the Islanders had made it to the second round against Ottawa, the Islander fans would have openly and very loudly cheered the Canadian National Anthem in Game 1 at the Nassau Coliseum. Unfortunately we won't get that chance. Because as everyone knows, we are at war now. And also, many of the Islanders players are Canadian themselves. - Sorry I did not update right after Game 7. To tell you the truth, I was pretty down. As well as other responsibilities I had. But in the coming days I plan to maybe recap the season and talk about what specifically the Islanders need to do to improve and go further in the playoffs next season. And of course the Draft is coming up in late June and some of my regulars know that I like to give good coverage where that is concerned. To finish off, it was a great season. The Islanders returned to the NHL after 8 years of non-playoffs, bad ownership, frustration and turmoil. The only thing to do now is try to view this as a positive, as much as we might feel that our chances to go far were ripped away from us by Toronto goonery, and use this as a building block, a learning experience for the 2003 playoffs. - As much as he came up huge and almost saved his jobbed in Game 6, Mariusz Czerkawski was horrible in Game 7. Of all the Islanders, Mariusz probably had the most disappointing season. Especially when we expected more from him with the acquisition of Alexei Yashin. Mariusz could possibly have played his last game as an Islander. Look for him to possible be included in a trade during the Summer. The day following Game 7, Czerkawski was called by Polish officials to play in the World Championships. Chow excepted, stating he felt he was obligated to play for his country. He left that day. - Personally, I feel the Islanders didn't lose this series in Game 7. They lost it in Game 5. Their identity, their leader, the player they acquired over the summer that the Isles so sorely needed, was taken away from them in Game 5. Even if they had won the series. You would have to question just how far they could have gotten after that without Michael Peca. For this, I feel that the 2002 playoffs are tainted. I'm seriously disappointed at the NHL. Colin Campbell has proven to be inept as the disciplinarian of the NHL and should lose his job. I don't care about NHL rules and how they say hip checks are legal. Tucker's hit on Peca was an unnecessary cheap shot and I can't believe Campbell could not see or take intent into account. Also, for Campbell to say that it was Kenny Jonsson's fault for getting hit is totally assinine. He stated recently on a show with Stan Fischler that players in the league just don't understand that they are going to get hit. Jonsson was skating back to retrieve the puck. How could he have avoided or have been ready for a hit like that? You are a joke Campbell. Scratches: Mats Lindgren, Dick Tarnstrom Injury Update Isles defeat Leafs: Well, the baby Isles did anyway. Tuesday night the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the St. John's Maple Leafs 7-2 in Game 4 of the AHL second round series to lead the Sound Tigers to a 4 games to 0 series sweep. Jason Krog had the hat trick in the game. Also scoring goals were Juraj Kolnik, Justin Mapletoft, Raffi Torres and Pat Leahy. Leahy is not an Islander prospect. They will now face the Hamilton Bulldogs in the third round. Hamilton in the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. Note: I recently realized that the links I was listing for past articles from the Toronto Sun were not being archived by the Sun's website, unlike Newsday usually does with theirs. When clicked as much as a day later most of the pages no longer existed. I apologize for not realizing this sooner.
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
