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IslesInfo Comments: The Islanders carried over their sluggish play from DC into the game tonight against Buffalo. With the Sabres having played last night as well in their 4-2 loss to Vancouver, both teams had to travel for this game on neither had an advantage. Roman Hamrlik was called off early for hooking at 2:57 and it seemed like the Isles were going to continue their early parade to the penalty box as of late. Things did not get any better when some pathetic irony began to befall the Islanders. About a minute into the Buffalo powerplay, at 3:45, former Islander Tim Connolly one timed a shot from high in the slot and the puck found it's way along the ice and through Garth Snow's 5 hole. Screening Snow was former Islander Taylor Pyatt and Connolly scored his first goal in over 30 games without one. It was only his 6th of the season. The Islanders would go on to have two powerplay opportunities themselves, but were so sluggish that they were out shot in the period 11-5 by the Sabres. Buffalo continued to get good chances on Snow, including two good shots by Pyatt and a near missed open goal mouth shot by rookie Ales Kotalik. At one point the Isles were being out shot 6-1 and the 6th straight period without an Islander goal would go by the wayside. - Very early in the second period, it seemed as though the Isles would have a 2 goal deficit when Pyatt knocked one out of the air while standing in front of Snow. The officials decided to go to video review. Eventually they ruled it a no goal because Pyatt clearly batted the shot in with his stick above the crossbar. But there was some question as to if Snow or Pyatt has touched the puck last and if it was Snow who put the puck in his own net. Snow did touch the last and seemingly push the puck along into the net, but the fact that Pyatt touched it first made it a no goal. The only reason I go into this is because i've seen before where they have allowed a goal like this to stand. But luckily for the Islanders they made the right call. Though the Islanders would end up taking two penalties in a row, including a close call by Aucoin where he could have gotten an extra two for face washing a Sabre player. It wasn't until 10 or 15 minutes into the second that the Islanders started to turn things around and create some more offensive chances. Henrik Tallinder took his second penalty of the game and Hamrlik blasted a shot in on Ryan Miller forcing the goalie to make a tough stop. Michael Peca tried to put a rebound through the legs of Miller but was unsuccessful. Mattias Weinhandl set up Dave Scatchard for a point blank shot that was stopped. Jason Blake tried to carry the puck into the crease and just nearly squeaked on wide of the net. Oleg Kvasha had a tough shot diverted after coming down on a two on one with Alexei Yashin. And finally Arron Asham had another chance that was very similar to Blake's in close shot. Before you know it the Islanders had taken 10 shots in a row and closed the Sabres gap from 19-7 to 19-17. Both Snow and Miller made some spectacular saves with Buffalo still leading 1-0 going into the third.. - Down by only one, the Isles were hoping for a third period surge. And that's ecaxtly what they got as they finally turned on the motors. At 1:35 of the third Adrian Aucoin threw a shot in on net. Mark Parrish smacked the rebound past Miller and the puck slowly trickled towards the open net along the goal line. Miller and defensemen James Patrick dived for the loose puck. As Patrick got his stick on it and started to pull it off the line, Asham stuck his stick in front and the puck directed into the net. The game was finally tied 1-1 as Asham recorded his 8th of the season, sliding along the ice pumping his fists. Now the Islander faithful were behind their team once again after booing throughout the first two periods. The Islanders kept up the pressure and at 8:42 Yashin fed Kvasha the puck as they both broke down the left boards.Oleg cut into the net and got off a bit of a weak shot. But Miller made a very bad play by playing the rebound right back out onto Kvasha's stick. Oleg leaned in around the Buffalo defender and shot the puck around Miller and into the top right corner of the net for a 2-1 Islander lead. Kvasha recorded his 8th of the season as well. With the game winding down, the Islanders went up on the powerplay when Alexei Zhitnik was called for the first penalty of the third period at 16:55 after tripping up Asham. On that ensuing powerplay, Asham angered some of the Sabre players when he literally plastered Buffalo defenseman Tallinder into the glass on a clean hit. Tallinder came down awkwardly on one skate. When he tried to skate he started to wail his stick around and couldn't put any pressure on his leg. Seconds later Rhett Warrener challenged Asham to a fight and Arron obliged. Curtis Brown of the Sabres also hurt his arm on the play on the other end of the ice. Kvasha even got involved physically as he got away with smacking J.P. Dumont. Things got a little bit hairy when Parrish got called off for crosschecking at 18:47, with 8 second remaining on Zhitnik's penalty. Buffalo soon pulled their goaltender and pressured inside the Islanders zone on a 6 on 4. Snow made a few good saves, and the Isles were close to getting tired. In the final 20 seconds Shawn Bates pressured Zhitnik at the point causing the d-man to fall down. Bates was off all alone and iced it with 8 seconds remaining in the game, 3-1. For Bates it was his 9th of the season and his NHL leading 5th shorthanded goal. The win improved the Isles to 25-22-5-2, 57 points. Good for 7th in the East.
More stats: The Islanders are 13-6-0-2 in their last 21 games....The Isles are 1-2-0-0 in the month of February....The Isles improve to 15-13-2-0 at home....The Isles are an outstanding 22-13-4-2 since beginning the season 3-9-1-0....The Isles are 2-1-0-0 vs. Buffalo this season. Previous results: 5-1 loss opening night in Buffalo Oct. 10th and a 1-0 OT win(Jason Blake scored) in Buffalo December 31st. The fourth and final match up will be March 1st, 10 days before the trade deadline....The Islanders have been shutout 5 times this season, and all 5 times they bounced back and won the following game....The Islanders won their 5th game of the season when trailing after two periods. That ties them for the team lead with St. Louis and Dallas....Before Asham scored 1:35 into the third period, the Islanders went 153:49 without a goal, over 7 periods, without a goal dating back to Roman Hamrlik's first period goal in the Islanders 3-1 loss Feb. 4th to Philadelphia....Buffalo with the loss dropped their 6th straight and their 4th straight on the road. Next Up: Probably the most meaningful Islander-Tampa Bay game ever, Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Both teams come in tied for 7th place in the East with 57 points. The Isles hold the tie breaker with more wins, 25-22. The Isles will then head out on a crucial 4 game road trip with the back three all on the west coast. The trip begins with a very winnable game in Nashville, followed by games against two teams in similar situations, LA and San Jose. The toughest game will probably be against Anaheim who are 6 games over .500. The Standings:
The Islanders moved into 7th in the East with their win over Buffalo.
Their 57 points is tied with Tampa Bay who lost a 4-2 lead in Florida to
skate to a 4-4 tie. The Isles hold the tie breaker in wins. The Isles
gained a couple points on 6th place Boston. The Bruins with 61 points lost
at home to Pittsburgh 5-2. That win gave the 10th place Penguins 53
points. The 9th place Canadiens lost in Toronto 3-1. 11th place NY Rangers
lost in Philadelphia 2-1 and remain at 51 points. 12th place Florida tied
the Rangers at 51 points with their tie. Fight Card: none. Commentary: What a win! It was a tough win though but we got a much needed 2 points and didn't let the 2 straight losses turn into a skid. I am very pleased with the effort they put up in the third period, where they basically man handled a weaker team. They may have struggled through the first two periods but in the third they flexed some muscle. It was a good sign. And the play of Oleg Kvasha was once again outstanding. He is scoring some clutch goals for the Islanders as of late. Some thoughts on the Sabres. I was shocked when Zhitnik fell the way he did late in the game with 20 seconds to go. I guess when you are a bad team you find ways to lose. Yes, Bates was putting pressure on Zhitnik, who is normally a pretty good defenseman. But how could he turn his skate the way he did with all his momentum going the other way? I'm glad he did. But that was a really odd play. Also, how was the irony of Connolly and Pyatt having such good games? Connolly scoes for the first time in over 30 games, prompting a huge smile on coach Lindy Ruff's face because he decided to put Connolly up on the first line for his return to Long Island. I tell ya, I feel bad for Buffalo's current financial situation, but I don't feel bad seeing them lose. For about three years when the Isles were missing the playoffs, all I remember is seeing Ruff's face snickering at the Islanders and walking out of the Coliseum with a win. It's is their turn to suffer a little bit. Now the Islanders have to put a top effort against the Lightning Tuesday night. This should be an exciting game with both teams coming in with the same amount of points, 57. A win would be HUGE for the Isles.
Report Card: Brad Isbister: Sat out for the 12th time in the last 15 games. When is this injury going to heal? After the trade deadline??? Alexei Yashin: Assisted on Kvasha's game winning goal. Was a +1 but only had 1 shot on goal the entire game. Shawn Bates: Had a goal and an assist, was a +2 and registered 2 shots on net. Wasn't named one of the 3 stars of the game, so IslesInfo gives him an honorary 4th star of the game. Notched his NHL leading 5th shorthanded goal with 8 seconds remaining. An empty net goal after he pressured Alexei Zhitnik into falling down on a 6 on 4 and icing it at 3-1. Mark Parrish: Assisted on Asham's game tying goal. He was a +1 and was second on the team with 4 shots on goal. Dave Scatchard: Had one point blank shot on Miller late in the second period after a nice pass from Mattias Weinhandl. Jason Wiemer: Was demoted to the fourth line last night and essentially did nothing all night. Al Morganti has said in a couple of forums lately that the Isles are possibly shopping him to Ottawa. Jason Blake: Had 2 shots on goal, including the in close chance that just missed the net late in the second period. Claude Lapointe: Played well on the fourth line and of course killed penalties well on the night. Steve Webb: Sat out his 19th game with chronic back spasms. Good news as Webb reportedly skated lightly for 30 minutes in practice Thursday. The Islanders need him back badly as they have no antagonists in the lineup as he and Cairns serve that role well in getting the opposing team off their games. Arron Asham: Scored the huge game tying goal to end the Isles long scoring drought and spark a great third period. He scored his goal by being in the right place at the right time, thwarting James Patrick attempt at clearing the puck out of the goal mouth. Was named the third star of the game. Oleg Kvasha: Was named the second star of the game. Scored a huge game winning goal on a second effort, putting the puck top right corner of the net around Miller. Kvasha has scored some clutch goals for the Islanders in the last month and a half. He scored 1 goal all of the first half of the season. Since January 1st he has 7 goals. He led all Islanders last night with 6 shots on goal and is playing with a lot more confidence now. Michael Peca: Was a +2 with 1 shot on goal against his former team. Mattias Weinhandl: Didn't register a shot on goal but made some nice passes, most notably the point blank shot that Scatchard had on Miller late in the second period. Raffi Torres: Was sent down to Bridgeport before the game. Eric
Godard: Dressed for the game but did not see any ice time. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Was a +1 with 1 shot on goal. Adrian Aucoin: Assisted on the tying goal by Asham. Got the play started with a shot from the point that set up the rebound for Mark Parrish. Aucoin was a +2 and had 3 shots on goal. Eric Cairns: Missed seventh game with dislocated shoulder. Will miss the next 4-6 weeks, as of January 22nd. Kenny Jonsson: Was a +1 with 2 shots on goal. Radek Martinek: Played well but hasn't been getting as much ice time of late. Remember when he socred that goal early last season in OT against Carolina and had us all excited about his potential? He doesn't seem to be playing like that defenseman this year. Mattias Timander: Was a +1 with 2 shots on goal. Sven
Butenschon: Was a +1 with 1 shot on goal. Goal: Garth Snow: Was named the first star of the game as he was spectacular in net for the Islanders. The goal to Connolly was a bit weak through the 5 hole as he was screened by Pyatt. But Snow kept the Islanders in the game the rest of the way and gave them the opportunity to come back in the third. At first it was a bit surprising that Snow got the start after the loss the night before in Washington. But the Islanders coaching staff along with goaltending coach Billy Smith felt like Snow is the veteran and since he played well against the Caps he deserved another shot. Rick DiPietro may have to wait another game now as it's a good bet Snow will start the big game Tuesday night against Tampa Bay.
Coaches Good to see Laviolette is showing a little more confidence in Kvasha, and has him playing regularly on Yashin's line. Kvasha, if he ever really puts his mind to it, has the offensive ability inside that big frame of his to one day be a star in the NHL if he decides he wants it. The problem is will he? Special Teams The Islanders PP, having dropped to 21st in the NHL, went 0-4 on the night. The PK, ranked 17th went 3-4, allowing the only Buffalo goal to Tim Connolly on the powerplay early in the game.
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS INJURIES: LW Brad Isbister (ankle, day-to-day), D Eric Cairns (dislocated shoulder, 4 to 6 weeks as of Jan. 22), G Chris Osgood (ankle sprain, 3 to 4 weeks as of Jan. 22) and RW Steve Webb (back, day-to-day). BUFFALO SABRES DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions: Buf
- 1 of 4, NYI 0 of 4
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Must Regroup, Must Win Tonight Jan 8: The Islanders get right back into action as the Sabres are in town tonight. Both teams lost last night and had to travel to Long Island. The Isles hope to have a little of the magic they had December 31st when Jason Blake's OT goal pulled them to .500. Isles vs. Sabres Preview: The Islanders have also been slumping of late, scoring just one goal in a pair of losses since the All-Star break. Currently occupying the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Islanders were smothered during their 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday. The Islanders, who had only two shots for the first 19 minutes of the opening period and needed nearly 13 minutes to get their first shot in the second, have been shut out five times this season. "They did a good job defensively,'' center Alexei Yashin said of the Capitals. "We just couldn't put the puck in the net.'' New York has won three straight against Buffalo, dating to last season. What's at Stake?: The Islanders hold the 8th spot in the East and could move back into 7th with a win tonight and a loss by Tampa Bay in Florida, 12th place with 50 points. With 55 points the Isles trail the Lightning by one. 9th place Montreal, 54 points and one behind the Isles, will be in Toronto tonight. 10th place Pittsburgh, 51 points, will be in Boston tonight who are 6 points ahead of the Isles in 6th place with 61 points. 11th place NY Rangers, 51 points, are in Philadelphia this afternoon. Tidbits: The Isles are 1-1-0-0 this season after two games in Buffalo. They lost opening night 5-1 and won December 31st 1-0 in OT on a Jason Blake goal. The two teams meet for the final time this season March 1st on Long Island, 10 days before the trade deadline....Daily News writer Peter Botte has reported that NHL sources have confirmed that Isles GM Mike Milbury has shown interest in re-acquiring Zigmund Palffy. A year and half later: The Trade
Struggling Sabres Visit Island Two teams that have been going in totally different directions get together tonight when the Sabres visit the Island. Since the Isles acquired Michael Peca in the summer of 2001, the Sabres have been mired in losing and financial troubles.
Notes: The cash-strapped Buffalo Sabres look to snap their five-game losing streak when they visit the New York Islanders. The slumping Sabres received a $15 million line of credit on Friday to pay four players more than $500,000 worth of bonuses. Buffalo, which is in jeopardy of folding or moving after the end of this season, owes its 40 largest creditors more than $206 million. The Sabres' future has been in limbo since the NHL took control of the team last June. The team's sale hit a major setback this week when prospective owner Mark Hamister suspended his bid after his majority partner Todd Berman withdrew his $27 million share. On the ice, all the positive thoughts that surrounded the Sabres following their 7-1-2 start to 2003 have disappeared. Buffalo, which trailed throughout Friday's 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, has not won since beating Toronto 4-0 on Jan. 24. The Sabres were overmatched by the Canucks' line of Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison, which finished with two goals and two assists. "That is probably the best line I've seen all year,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We gave them opportunities to win the game and they did.'' Buffalo's Rhett Warrener was back in the lineup on Friday after missing 10 games with a broken hand. Warrener's return did not last long, however, as he was ejected in the second period for being the third man in a fight....D Rhett Warriner was ejected from the Canucks game for being the third man in a fight. He recently returned from missing 10 games with a broken hand. Both he and Jay McKee have struggled this season, been in and out of the lineup, and could be trade bait as well come the trade deadline.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
