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IslesInfo Comments: Jason Blake continued where he left off in Buffalo and just 1:22 into the game scored a gift goal thanks to Boston goaltender John Grahame. As Grahame intercepted an Islander dump in, he tried to take matters into his own hands and clear the puck out of the zone up the middle. Blake took the clearing attempt on his stick blade and, not getting all of his shot, wielded around and slid the puck into the open net for the 1-0 lead and his career high 10th goal of the season, unassisted. Just 1:33 later at 2:55 the Islanders would gain a 2-0 lead thanks to strong forechecking. Brad Isbister, who was a gametime decision because of his sore ankle, caused the initial turn over in front of Grahame. Michael Peca stopped the puck from being cleared out of the zone and relayed a pass up to Mark Parrish. First trying to make a pass across the slot to Isbister, Parrish fanned on the pass. After quickly realizing what he did, Parrish just backhanded at the loose puck and it found it's way underneath Grahame's pads and into the net for Parrish's team leading 14th. At the other end Chris Osgood had to make some stellar saves, including a blistering shot by Mike Knuble that stung Ozzie in the shoulder. Boston, looking for something to turn the tides, may have gotten a tiny boost after a fight between Eric Godard and P.J. Stock. They would manage to cut the Isles lead in half to 2-1 when off a faceoff won by Joe Thornton in the Isles end, Glen Murray would fire a quick shot underneath Osgood for his 19th of the season at 11:04. The Islanders would soon go up on the powerplay after Roman Hamrlik was hooked deep in the Isles end by Thornton. As the puck was sent in deep into the Bruins zone around the boards, Mattias Weinhandl made an unbelievable redirect pass that sent the puck sliding right out in front of the Boston net to an all alone Alexei Yashin. As he stepped around Grahame, Yashin would bang the puck off the post along the ice, but standing right there ready to pounce on the rebound was Parrish who netted his second of the game and 15th of the season to give the Islanders their two goal lead back at 3-1. The goal was scored at 12:48. But Boston, still getting a lot of quality chances, would close to within 3-2 at 16:49. Rookie Ivan Huml, who missed the last two games for the Bruins, crashed the Isles net along with Jozef Stumpel. When the puck dropped alongside Osgood as he was down, Stumpel backhanded it into the net for his 8th of the season. But the Islanders would not be denied their two goal lead and neither would Blake be denied. He continued the Islanders torrid forecheck and caused yet another turnover in the Bruins zone as he pressured the defensemen with his speed. Hamrlik would end up intercepting a pass at the blueline and fired the puck down low across the slot. Blake was crosschecked down on the ice from behind, but the pass was made perfectly on the stick of Dave Scatchard, who only had to redirect it in for his 10th of the season to make it 4-2 Islanders at 19:08. Wow, Phew! :)

- The Islanders, early in the second period would kill off two powerplay opportunities for the Bruins including a 4 on 3. When the Islanders got another chance of their own on the extra man, they would make it 5-2. At 6:32 the Islanders defense would get the puck in front of the Bruin's net where all three of Yashin, Parrish and Weinhandl awaited. As Parrish and Weinhandl took wacks at the puck, it came just out enough for Yashin to grab it and smack the puck into the net over Grahame for his 10th of the season. The goal was only his second in the last 13 games. The Islanders 1:08 later would go up 6-2 after more spectacular magic by rookie Weinhandl. He relayed a pass over to Yashin on the left side as the two entered the Bruin's zone only to get into position to receive it back in the slot. When Weinhandl corralled the the return pass, he ripped a beautiful wrister by Grahame for his 3rd goal of the season at 7:40. Boston didn't give up and at 11:27 made it 6-3 when Murray would put it through Osgood's 5 hole from within the slot after receiving a pass from Thornton. Murray would get his 2nd of the game and 20th of the season. At 12:19 the Isles were given more chances to score when Thornton took a frustration penalty for charging Blake from behind and smashing the Islander's head into the glass with both hands, popping off Blake's helmet. Unfortunately the Islanders were unable to capitalize on the 5 minute major as they registered 7 shots. But with 31 seconds remaining in the period, the Islanders would break in on a 3 on 1. Peca tried to feed Parrish for the hat trick in the slot but a Bruin player thwarted the pass from behind. Peca, dejected behind the net that his pass didn't connect, would receive the ensuing dump in behind the net by Parrish. As Peca rounded the back of the net he sent the puck back into the slot where Parrish was there to put it in the open side before Grahame could react. It was Parrish's 3rd goal of the game for his 4th career hat trick, 3rd with the Islanders, and his 16th of the season at 19:29. With this being cap night, the fans celebrated Mark's hat trick by littering the ice with the orange hats, and even a Sombrero!( often seen during the Mike Bossy days ). The ice was so littered that the officials decided to continue the rest of the second period after the second intermission before the start of the third. 

- The Isles had a scary moment when the second period was played out following the intermission. With about 3 seconds remaining Nick Boynton skated down the right side and smacked one off the post, almost giving Boston renewed life going into the third. Early in the third Blake was involved again, prompting Islander fans to chant JA-SON BLAKE every time he touched the puck. Peca would lob the puck high out of the Islanders zone and retrieve his own puck in the neutral zone. He passed it over to Blake who dished it back to Peca who had an open net but could not handle the pass. Peca was called for slashing on the play putting Boston on the powerplay. But that didn't stop the Islanders from taking a 7-3 lead thanks to a shorthanded goal by Blake. He would break in on a 2 on 1 with Oleg Kvasha, the same tandem that was on the ice for Blake's game winning overtime goal against Buffalo. Blake tried to get the puck over the Kvasha for the shot but a Boston defenseman stopped it. Blake took the rebound and without thought fired it behind Grahame for his 11th of the season at 3:27 to make it 8-3. Amazingly, this was only Blake's 2nd career shorthander as an Islander. He didn't have one all of last season. Blake leads the Islanders in even strength points this season. The Bruins made it 8-4 at 4:23 when Michal Grosek banked in his 2nd of the year from behind the net off of Osgood's stick. The Islanders goaltender helped redirect it into his own net. Parrish had a chance for his 4th of the game later on the powerplay when he hit the post. Yashin hit the post on the follow up shot. The Isles got the win and improved to 17-16-5-0 in the East, 39 points. Even though the Bruins had plenty of quality chances, the Islanders were always in control of the game. With the win the Islanders move to within one point of the 8th and final playoff position.

More stats: The Islanders are 6-1-1 in their last 7 games, including 5 straight wins. Chris Osgood moves to 4 games over .500 with his 14th win of the season. The season series against Boston stands at 1-1-0. The Isles lost 4-1 in Boston on November 14 on Michael Peca's official return. The Islanders went on a 5 game unbeaten streak following that loss. This was the first time the Islanders scored 8 goals in a game since March 29, 1997 when the Islanders defeated Boston 8-2 at the Nassau Coliseum. Zigmund Palffy had a hat trick in that game. It was also a couple weeks shy of the 30th anniversary of the Islanders most exciting win of the 1972-73 season when they defeated the Bruins 9-7 in Boston on January 18th, 1973. This was the Islanders first 5 game winning streak since they won 6 straight back in 1993. The most they won consecutive last season was 4 on two occasions. They are over .500 for the first time this season.

Next Up: The Isles travel to Pittsburgh tonight to begin a crucial home and home with the Penguins. Pittsburgh, after defeating Atlanta 4-1 last night, remain one point ahead of the Islanders in the Atlantic Division. Amazingly this will be the Isles third straight visit to Pittsburgh, a place they have had some success as of late. The Islanders won there this season 3-2 on November 16th and 6-3 back on December 7th. The next two will be at the Nassau Coliseum.

The Standings: The Islanders moved into 11th in the Eastern Conference with 39 points, one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes who lost last night 6-3 to Buffalo. The Sabres ended a 7 game losing streak. The Islanders are one point out of a playoff position now, and one point behind Florida, Pittsburgh and Montreal who all have 40 points. Washington is just 3 points ahead of the Islanders after a 2-2 tie last night with Columbus. The Islanders move to within 4 points of Toronto, who lost last night in New Jersey 2-0, for 6th in the East.   

Funny Moment: Mark Parrish remarked during a second period interview that he was given a temporary filler after losing a couple teeth Tuesday night in the OT win over Buffalo. But he lost it down the drain after brushing his teeth too hard the other morning. He then had it permanently fixed before getting back out on the ice. 

Fight Card #1: Eric Godard vs. P.J. Stock. Godard, the stronger of the two, had his hands full against the diminutive Stock, who never gives up. Both players flailed away at each other with Godard hitting Stock with harder punches. Eventually Stock's persistence wore out Godard a bit and Stock landed on top of the Islander. It was a bit of a tie, but perhaps you could give the slight edge to Godard. It definitely was a good scrap. Decision: Godard.

Fight Card #2: Eric Cairns vs. Sean Brown. This fight happened late in the game with the Isles already up 8-4. Cairns did not seem all that too interested in fighting Brown, but wanted to stick up for his players. Cairns got in the majority of the big blows and managed to discombobulate Brown's helmet and shoulder pads. Cairns is good at pulling the sweater of opposing fighters head's, where he got a few shots in. Win: Cairns.    

Commentary: How focused is this team?? Wow! They are taking care of business and taking matters into their own hands, moving right up the standings in the East. They just spanked the Boston Bruins who had 47 points coming into the game, second most in the conference. Parrish just keeps on getting better and better at scoring goals and could possibly get even more than 30 this season. Blake is unbelievable. The determination, speed and 100% effort every night has been appreciated by us Islander fans as we rightfully chant his name during the third period tonight. It was just awesome. Hopefully they will continue to move up the standings by taking care of Pittsburgh in the next two games.

Report Card:

Brad Isbister: Played well, especially on the Islanders second goal that he played a huge part in, even though he did not touch the puck. His ankle is still bothering him and Trent Hunter was called up from Bridgeport before the game just in case Isbister could not go. Even though he is ailing, the Islanders still need his offense and are winning right now despite his lack of production. At least he is still using his size effectively.

Alexei Yashin: Scored a goal and 2 assists for three points in the game, including the game winning goal. It was only his second goal in the last 13, but he's still getting his points. And his defense has improved drastically in the last week. 

Shawn Bates: Scratched seventh straight with groin strain. Is listed as day to day but Isles are unsure when he will return.

Mark Parrish: Parrish registered his 4th career hat trick, 3rd as an Islander. He had two hat tricks last season and a four goal game back with the Florida Panthers. He also notched an assist for 4 points. Parrish is a shoo in for the All-Star game for the second straight year. He has been clutch as of late and dominating in front of the net. He has gotten even better at deflection shots and now has become a very deadly goal scorer. 

Dave Scatchard: Nice goal to make it 4-2 Isles and keep the momentum going late in the first period. He notched his 10th of the season.

Jason Wiemer: Doesn't have as many goals as Blake and Scatchard but his shear strength on the third line gives the other two space to roam the ice and create offensive chances. 

Jason Blake: What a game. The fans were chanting his name in the third period. Blake scored two more goals tonight for 11 on the season. His previous career high was 8. He scored shorthanded, only the second time since joining the Islanders, even though he has been a stalwart on the PK since arriving on Long Island. His speed, tenacity and scoring touch have made a name for himself in the NHL this season.

Claude Lapointe: Assisted on Mark Parrish's hat trick goal. Played well on the PK as the Isles went perfect once again. 

Steve Webb: Sat out his third game with chronic back spasms and was replaced in the lineup by Eric Godard.

Arron Asham: Played well playing for the most part with Parrish and Peca. Would be nice if he could get going and contribute more offensively though but his high tempo game is noticed.

Oleg Kvasha: Had a good shot in the third off the faceoff. You can't expect him to score much on the fourth line, but we still are waiting and hoping for Kvasha to contribute offensively. He does get into some key situations though as he kills penalties when the Isles need him, like when Peca was penalized in the third period. He also gets some quality ice time on 4 on 4 situations. He did not see much ice time in the first and second periods when the game was still on the line.

Michael Peca: Notched 2 assists and was a force on the ice once again. His leadership is immeasurable when he is out on the ice and on the bench. He and Mark Parrish have chemistry that just can't be replaced.

Mattias Weinhandl: Woweeee!! What a game by the rook. A goal and 2 assists tonight for 3 points. His goal was beautiful as he just ripped it by Grahame. The first assist he grabbed on Parrish's second goal was just out of this world. He just redirected it off the board behind the net and the puck just floated out in front to Yashin who was all alone. What vision. It was like he knew Yashin was there all along.

Eric Godard: Played well physically on the fourth line. Sometimes you son't realize how big he is. He got into his 5th fight in 7 games as an Islander when he went at it with P.J. Stock.

Defense:

Roman Hamrlik: Was a +3 for the Islanders and made a beautiful feed to Scatchard for the Isles fourth goal.

Adrian Aucoin: Great defensively and took no guff from some of the Bruin players.

Eric Cairns: Was good and handled Sean Brown nicely in his fight.

Kenny Jonsson: Did not factor into the scoring but didn't have to stand out tonight.

Radek Martinek: Assisted on Weinhandl's goal. Got a lot of quality ice time.

Mattias Timander: Didn't seem to get much ice time, but could have been because his game is so solid he sometimes goes unnoticed.

Goal:

Chris Osgood: Came into the game having won 4 straight and allowed only 2 goals in that span. He did give up 4 goals tonight but luckily the Islanders doubled up the Bruins. The last goal i'm sure he'd like to have back as he put it in his own net. He will probably get a rest in the first game against Pittsburgh. Garth Snow need a win badly as well as a start.

Coaches

The coaching staff didn't have to do much in this game. But i'm sure they didn't particularly like the game, but had to love the outcome. As long as it's the Islanders scoring the goals in a shootout, as Jacques Lapperriere remarked during the post radio interview.

Special Teams

The Islanders powerplay, ranked 24th in the league, went 2-6 scoring 2 goals on the powerplay for the first time in over a month. The penalty kill has just been out of this world, now ranked 11th. They were a perfect 4-4 and have now killed 24 straight, including some other long incredible streaks that I can't even recall right now because the numbers aren't in front of me. ;)

N.Y. Islanders Defeat Boston Bruins, 8-4

By IRA PODELL
.c The Associated Press 

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Mark Parrish scored two of New York's four first-period goals and then added a third as the Islanders stretched their winning streak to five with a 8-4 victory over the Boston Bruins on Friday night.

Parrish completed his fourth career hat trick to make it 7-3 with 30.9 seconds left in the middle period, causing a cascade of orange hats - given out to fans. The second period ended prematurely so the ice could be cleaned, and the remaining time was added to the third.

New York (17-16-5) is over .500 for the first time this season, while enjoying its longest winning run this season. The Islanders, who scored six times on their first 12 shots, needed overtime in their last two wins, but they started putting the Bruins away in the first 20 minutes.

Jason Blake had two goals, Dave Scatchard, Alexei Yashin and Mattias Weinhandl also scored for the Islanders, who got a season-high in goals and 39 saves from Chris Osgood.

Glen Murray scored twice to reach 20 goals for the fourth time, and Jozef Stumpel and Michal Grosek also scored for the Bruins, who lost for the third time in four games and are 2-8-1 in their last 11.

The Islanders, outshot 43-35, scored three times on their first four shots and built a 4-2 lead. They stretched the advantage to 6-2 early in the second, scoring twice on their first three shots in that period.

Murray's second goal cut it to 6-3 at 11:27 of the second. Blake's second goal, scored short-handed, made it 8-3 at 3:27 of the third. Grosek closed the scoring 56 seconds later.

Boston goalie John Grahame had only himself to blame on New York's first goal. He sent a clearing attempt right onto the stick of Blake, who fired a shot into the vacated net at 1:22.

Just 1:33 later, Parrish made it 2-0 on New York's third shot - leading Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek to use his timeout.

Boston cut it to 2-1 when Joe Thornton was a faceoff to Murray, who ripped in a shot at 11:04. Thornton, who slipped into a second-place tie in the NHL scoring race, earned his first point in four games - matching his worst slump this season.

The Islanders got that one back 1:44 later when Yashin hit the post, but Parrish popped the rebound in for a power-play goal on New York's fourth shot.

Stumpel scored his first in 13 games to make it 3-2 at 16:49.

But the Islanders needed just 2:19 to build the lead back to two goals as Scatchard tipped in Roman Hamrlik's pass with 52 seconds left in the first.

Notes:@ Ivan Huml, who assisted on Stumpel's goal, returned after missing two games because of bruised ribs. ... Thornton, who received a major for charging in the second period, also went without a point for three games from Oct. 19-24. It is the third time this season he has gone four games without a goal. ... Boston fell to 19-2-2 when scoring at least three goals.

Islanders recall Hunter

.c The Associated Press 

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - The New York Islanders recalled forward Trent Hunter from Bridgeport of the AHL on Friday.

Hunter leads Bridgeport with 15 goals and 18 assists in 34 games and was selected as an AHL All-Star on Friday. The right wing was up earlier this season with New York and had no points and two penalty minutes in three games.

Friday's move was made shortly before the Islanders' home game against the Boston Bruins. Hunter was scratched from the New York lineup.

Last season, Hunter led Bridgeport with 30 goals and 35 assists. He was recalled by the Islanders for their first-round playoff series against Toronto, and had one goal and one assist in four games of the seven-game series.

Hunter scored his goal in New York's Game 5 loss.

Lineups:

ISLANDERS
FORWARDS
(45) Arron Asham-(79) Alexei Yashin-(11) Mattias Weinhandl
(21) Trent Hunter-(27) Michael Peca-(37) Mark Parrish
(28) Jason Wiemer-(38) Dave Scatchard-(55) Jason Blake
(13) Claude Lapointe-(12) Oleg Kvasha-(49) Eric Godard

DEFENSEMEN
(29) Kenny Jonsson-(24) Radek Martinek
(4) Roman Hamrlik-(3) Adrian Aucoin
(2) Mattias Timander-(33) Eric Cairns

GOALTENDERS
(35) Chris Osgood
(30) Garth Snow

BOSTON BRUINS
FORWARDS
(26) Mike Knuble-(19) Joe Thornton-(27) Glen Murray
(17) Rob Zamuner-(12) Brian Rolston-(10) Marty McInnis
(36) Ivan Huml-(16) Josef Stumpel-(20) Martin Lapointe
(23) Sean Brown-(42) PJ Stock-(22) Michal Grosek

DEFENSEMEN
(25) Hal Gill-(44) Nick Boynton
(34) Bryan Berard-(21) Sean O'Donnell
(32) Don Sweeney-(46) Jon Girard

GOALTENDERS
(47) John Grahame
(31) Steve Shields

 

Period Summary
Shots on Goal	1	2	3	Total
Boston Bruins	17	13	13	43
New York Islanders	9	13	13	35
First Period
Scoring: 1, Ny Islanders, Jason Blake 10 (Unassisted), 1:22. 2, Ny Islanders, Mark Parrish 14 (Michael Peca), 2:55. 3, Boston, Glen Murray 19 (Joe Thornton), 11:04. 4, Ny Islanders, Mark Parrish 15 (power play) (Alexei Yashin, Mattias Weinhandl), 12:48. 5, Boston, Jozef Stumpel 8 (Ivan Huml, Nick Boynton), 16:49. 6, Ny Islanders, Dave Scatchard 10 (Roman Hamrlik), 19:08. Penalties: E Godard, Nyi (major fighting), 10:03; P Stock, Bos (major fighting), 10:03; J Thornton, Bos (hooking), 12:08.
Second Period
Scoring: 7, Ny Islanders, Alexei Yashin 10 (power play) (Mark Parrish, Mattias Weinhandl), 6:32. 8, Ny Islanders, Mattias Weinhandl 3 (Alexei Yashin, Radek Martinek), 7:40. 9, Boston, Glen Murray 20 (Joe Thornton, Bryan Berard), 11:27. 10, Ny Islanders, Mark Parrish 16 (Michael Peca, Claude Lapointe), 19:29. Penalties: S O'Donnell, Bos (roughing), 1:12; J Wiemer, Nyi (unsportsmanlike cond), 1:12; M Peca, Nyi (obstr hooking), 1:31; A Aucoin, Nyi (roughing), 3:33; G Murray, Bos (interference), 5:24; J Thornton, Bos (slashing), 9:20; J Thornton, Bos (major charging), 12:19.
Third Period
Scoring: 11, Ny Islanders, Jason Blake 11 (shorthanded) (Unassisted), 3:27. 12, Boston, Michal Grosek 2 (Brian Rolston, Nick Boynton), 4:23. Penalties: A Yashin, Nyi (holding stick), 0:19; M Peca, Nyi (slashing), 2:03; M Grosek, Bos (roughing), 4:37; B Berard, Bos (holding), 10:04; S Brown, Bos (major fighting), 15:34; E Cairns, Nyi (major fighting), 15:34.

Power-play Conversions: BOS - 0 of 4, NYI - 2 of 6.
Goalies : Boston, John Grahame (35 shots, 27 saves; record: 11-8-2). Ny Islanders, Chris Osgood (43 shots, 39 saves; record: 14-10-4).
A: 15,032.
Referees: Kerry Fraser, Rob Martell.
Linesmen: Jean Morin, Scott Driscoll.

 

Boston Bruins
G A + / - SHOTS M McInnis 0 0 -1 1 B Rolston 0 1 -2 3 J Stumpel 1 0 -1 2 R Zamuner 0 0 -1 2 J Thornton 0 2 even 3 M Lapointe 0 0 -1 1 S O'Donnell 0 0 -3 2 M Grosek 1 0 even 1 S Brown 0 0 even 2 H Gill 0 0 +1 1 M Knuble 0 0 even 2 G Murray 2 0 even 5 D Sweeney 0 0 -1 2 B Berard 0 1 even 7 I Huml 0 1 -1 2 P Stock 0 0 even 2 N Boynton 0 2 even 3 J Girard 0 0 even 2 Totals 4 7   43
Did not Play:   • S Morrisonn -- Coach's Decision   • P Axelsson -- Coach's Decision   - S Samsonov -- WRIST SURGERY

 

New York Islanders
G A + / - SHOTS M Weinhandl 1 2 +1 3 O Kvasha 0 0 -2 2 C Lapointe 0 1 -1 1 B Isbister 0 0 +1 1 M Timander 0 0 +1 0 R Martinek 0 1 even 3 M Peca 0 2 +1 0 J Wiemer 0 0 +1 2 K Jonsson 0 0 -1 2 A Aucoin 0 0 +1 1 E Cairns 0 0 even 1 M Parrish 3 1 +2 5 D Scatchard 1 0 +1 3 R Hamrlik 0 1 +3 2 A Asham 0 0 even 3 E Godard 0 0 -1 0 J Blake 2 0 +2 2 A Yashin 1 2 even 4 Totals 8 10   35
Did not Play:   • S Bates -- GROIN   • T Hunter -- Coach's Decision   • S Webb -- BACK INJURY

IslesInfo Pregame Preview

Preview

Isles Lookin Up

 Jan 3: The Islanders have wiped the slate clean and now ready to make their move as 2003 gets underway tonight against the Boston Bruins. In order to improve on their 16-16-5-0 record, the Isles will need to carry over their hot play from December.

Isles vs. Bruins Preview: The New York Islanders have used a simple formula to get back into the playoff race: Strong goaltending and outstanding penalty killing. Red hot Chris Osgood and the surging Islanders look to extend a season best four game win streak when the Boston Bruins visit Nassau Coliseum for the first time this season. Playing without injured captain Michael Peca, Osgood and the Islanders got off to a slow start in 2002-03, spending most of the season in last place in the Atlantic Division. Peca's return and Osgood's strong play helped the Islanders go 8-3-2 in December. The surge has moved them out of last place and within striking distance of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference. Osgood stopped 38 shots for his second shutout in three games and Jason Blake scored 96 seconds into overtime Tuesday in New York's 1-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The win was the second straight in overtime for the Islanders, who need a victory Friday to move above .500 for the first time this season. New York is 11-5-4 in its past 20 games. Osgood has stopped 151 of 158 shots during a personal six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2). He also has been helped by a penalty-killing unit that has killed 20 straight opposing power plays and 56 of the last 57. "Penalty kill is important for us,'' Osgood said. "Early in the year, it was struggling and part of the reason we were losing some games. Now our penalty kill has really kept us in some games.'' Islanders coach Peter Laviolette believes the return of the team captain has complemented Osgood's goaltending. "Peca has a lot to do with it,'' Laviolette said. "Our best penalty killer is Osgood and he's been great. With Michael back in the lineup we're back in a two-unit rotation, which I think we find some comfort in and some sync.''

- The last time the Isles and Bruins met, the Isles were beginning a five game road trip and were defeated 4-1. John Grahame stopped 30 of 31 shots for the win while Joe Thornton picked up the game winner on the powerplay, but the Isles followed up the loss with a five game unbeaten streak. The teams get together next on Long Island at the end of February.

What's at Stake?: The Islanders enter tonight's game 12th in the Eastern Conference with 37 points, one point ahead of the Rangers. They are just one point behind both Pittsburgh and slumping Carolina. Pittsburgh will be in Atlanta tonight and Carolina will travel to Buffalo. Again, can the Islanders opposition get any easier games?? Just unbelievable as of late. Though Atlanta has played well at times as of late and Buffalo may be due for a win after losing a tough one in OT to the Isles on New Years Eve. If both Pittsburgh and Carolina should lose and the Isles win, the Islanders will move into 10th in the East. The Florida Panthers have surprisingly won their last two games on Wednesday night 2-1 over New Jersey and Thursday night 4-1 over Colorado. With those four points they move back to over .500 since the Islanders put them under last Monday night. Florida jumps 3 points ahead of the Isles with 40 points. Montreal lost last night to Vancouver 3-2 and with 40 points as well remain 3 points ahead of the Isles for the 8th and final playoff spot. So with a win the Islanders can move to within 1 point of a playoff position since Montreal is idle tonight. The Islanders are 4 points behind Washington for 7th, who host the respectable Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The Isles are 6 points behind Toronto for 6th, who travel to New Jersey tonight.

Higher Ground?: At this time last year, the Islanders had only three more wins than they do now and trailed the Atlantic-leading Flyers by as many as 10 points - before nearly winning the division in the last week of the season. Right now the Islanders trail both New Jersey and Philadelphia by 8 points....Jason Blake's winner in Buffalo gave him a career-high nine goals and 20 points for the year, tops on the team in even strength scoring....Osgood was considered for NHL player of the month after going 6-1-2 with a 1.41 GAA and .946 save percentage in December. He's 4-0-2 in his last six. Expect Garth Snow to get the start Saturday night in Pittsburgh unless Osgood stands on his head again....With Shawn Bates( groin ) and Steve Webb( back ) expected not to play, Eric Godard remained with the team and is expected to see ice time once again on the fourth line with Claude Lapointe and Oleg Kvasha.

Lavvy Extended: While not announcing it, the Isles quietly have picked up Peter Laviolette's $500,000 option for next season, which gives him a $75,000 raise. Laviolette's meetings with GM Mike Milbury about his contract status were first reported Dec. 17 in the Daily News. "I'm excited and grateful because there's no place I'd rather be and I know with this job there are never guarantees," said Laviolette.

Thornton Powers B's

When most people are asked who they would like to start a franchise with if they had the choice of one player, most today would say Joe Thornton. Arguably the best all around player in the game, Thornton keeps getting better and better each season.

Notes: While the Islanders enjoyed an excellent December, the Bruins slumped to a 5-8-1 mark for the month following a 16-3-3-1 record in October and November. Boston's struggling offense couldn't get any of its 33 shots past Martin Brodeur in a 1-0 loss to the visiting New Jersey Devils on Monday. John Grahame made 26 saves for the Bruins, who have managed three goals in three games. "We are definitely feeling more pressure to score,'' forward Brian Rolston said. "Not just because Sergei (Samsonov) is out, but also because we don't want to depend on Joe (Thornton) and Glen (Murray) every night.'' Thornton is tied for second in the NHL with 48 points, but has no points in three consecutive games - matching his longest drought of the season. The Bruins have won just two of their last 10 games (2-7-1) and endured a five-game losing streak from Dec. 10 to 19. They sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with 47 points, behind Ottawa's 53.

Lets Go Isles!