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ISLES INFO |
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ISLES INFO |
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Menu NYI Database Transactions
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IslesInfo Comments: Remember the IslesInfo preview for this game?(See page bottom). The last meeting between these two teams was in Columbus on March 8th, 2002. The Isles had one of their worst performances of 2001-02 when they gave up three early first period goals and eventually lost the game 4-2. Well, take that game and fast forward to November 29, 2002, change the venue to the Nassau Coliseum, and you got a carbon copy. Yes, their were a few differences. Columbus is a bit better, but horrible on the road having won only one of their 9 road games this season. They added a few free agent defensemen during the offseason via free agency and made Rick Nash the first pick overall via trade. The Isles made a few changes as well over the offseason but tonight the only thing different for them as compared to that game last season was that they were wearing their new orange third jerseys. A jersey in which the Isles have now gained 1 out of a possible 4 points in. - On Kenny Jonnson Celebriduck night the Isles came out looking like they had eaten too much turkey over Thanksgiving. The Isles jumped on a powerplay just 9 seconds in thanks to an interference call by former Islander Scott Lachance. Problems began right off the bat as the Isles failed to generate a shot on goal on the advantage. Columbus seemed to get an immediate boost from killing the penalty. Off a play in the Columbus end where Kenny Jonsson tried to pinch, an Islander missed the puck off the boards where it was retrieved by Grant Marshall. As he turned, Marshall relayed the puck to center ice where Ray Whitney was streaking up ice for a breakaway. Whitney caught ex Blue Jacket Mattias Timander in too deep. As he closed in on Chris Osgood, Whitney faked and tucked it through Osgood's pads. Ozzie tried to make the save but the puck rebounded off the post behind him, came back out and just trickled over the goal line after hitting the back of the goaltenders pads. Whitney's goal was his 8th at 2:54 to make it 1-0 Columbus. The top players for Columbus came out to play tonight and were finding open ice on the Islanders at will. 1:37 after Whitney scored, Columbus would gain a 2-0 lead. Geoff Sanderson broke around the defense using his speed and was stopped all alone in front by Osgood. With the Isles on a delayed penalty call, Sanderson sent it back out in front to Andrew Cassels. Cassels 's first shot was blocked but he stepped into the goal mouth unchecked and banged home his 6th of the season. A couple of fights ensued later on as the Islanders tried to get back into the game. But the Isles just continued to look like the Islanders of three weeks ago as compared to how they've played recently. On a line change, there was a mix up at the Isles bench between Radek Martinek and Adrian Aucoin which led to a 2 on 0 breakaway for Columbus. Whitney charged in and took the shot on Osgood. The puck managed to find it's way through, once again without hitting the back of the net. Whitney's second of the game and 9th on the season at 13:29 put Columbus up 3-0, all on even strength. The Isles then pulled Osgood and inserted Garth Snow into the game. Osgood was noticeably pissed big time as he tossed his stick over the players head, cursed at the rest of the players that let him down and slammed his water bottle. Snow would later stop a 2 on 0 himself late in the first. - It wasn't until 8:17 of the second period that the Islanders finally got on the board. Dave Scatchard relayed the puck up to Martinek from behind the net. Martinek just cleared the zone. That was when speedy Jason Blake wheeled into the Columbus end past the slow footed Lachance and blasted a shot in on Columbus goaltender Marc Denis. The puck blew by Denis into the right side of the net to make it 3-1. Blake's goal was his 5th of the season and 3rd in the last four games. At 8:43 Marshall got called for elbowing Jason Wiemer. Jamie Allison got called for tripping at 9:45 setting up the Isles for a 5 on 3 advantage. The Isles tried to change the powerplay up by placing Alexei Yashin on the point. Kenny Jonsson was on the other side. The problem with that is Jonsson never shoots. Roman Hamrlik, who leads the Isles in powerplay assists and points, was not on the first unit. Plus, Aucoin either had something wrong that wasn't let known or perhaps the coaching staff was benching him for the bad play in the first. Luckily, the Isles connected at 10:39 when Hamrlik finally got on and passed it over to Yashin at the top of the slot. After missing on two previous shots, Yashin fired it in for his team leading 7th of the season, making it 3-2. Now the Isles had a little momentum, cutting down the deficit to just one. Aucoin and Jonsson continued to struggle defensively. Just after Aucoin was released from the box after serving a penalty, Rick Nash would put Columbus up 4-2. With the Jackets crowding around the net, Nash received a pass behind the net from Sanderson. Nash managed to bank the puck in off of Snow's foot between the pipe at 17:06 for his 5th of the season. Between periods, Blake mentioned in an interview that there was no excuse for coming out the way they did and that if you can't get up to play a game in the NHL you should be playing another sport. The coaching staff did not enter the locker room during the intermission and nothing was said. - The third period began with a question about Jonsson, who had hurt his leg late in the second after hitting a rutt in the ice. The Islanders looked as if they were going to charge Columbus early on, as they needed to come out like gangbusters. But Columbus began to sit on the lead and play trap hockey and the Islanders struggled to break it. The Isles got Claude Lapointe back from a sore ankle and Mark Parrish returned from the flu but was not 100% and looked it. The Islanders 5 game unbeaten streak ended with a stinker against a team they should have beat. Columbus is off to their best start in their history(3 years) with 22 points, but the Isles should have beat them. They always seem to lose to teams with less talent. The Isles drop to 0-3-1 all-time to Columbus. Now they travel to Ottawa Saturday to face a team that is unbeaten in their last 9 games, as well as 20-1-6 in their last 27 against the Islanders. No
BAM Tonight: With the loss of Mattias Weinhandl, the Isles inserted
Oleg Kvasha on the top line with Brad Isbister and Alexei Yashin tonight.
Unfortunately it had no effect as the line was basically a nonfactor.
Plus, it seemed like Michael Peca did not play that much tonight with the
Lucky 7's line. Fight Card #1: Eric Cairns vs. Jody Shelley. Cairns tried to get something going for his team, but it didn't really have much of an effect. Shelley is a tough guy who broke Krzysztof Oliwa's nose a couple of weeks ago. Cairns likes to take his time on fights, but Shelley was throwing a lot of jabs as he clenched onto Cairns jersey. Cairns said two can play that game and jabbed Shelley's nose bloody. Cairns was eventually sent to the box while Shelley was sent to the locker room to get fixed up. Win: Cairns. Fight Card #2: Jason Wiemer vs. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Wiemer almost got into it with Luke Richardson earlier. He likes to grapple in his fights. Grand-Pierre was getting some punches in and Wiemer was trying to return, getting a couple in himself. Slight Decision goes to: Grand-Pierre. Commentary: Very frustrating. You can't win them all. But you should always come out ready to play. And the Isles didn't tonight and haven't on too many occasions this year. Even though the Isles went 3-0-2, with this loss they are still 4 games under the .500 mark. That's better than 6, but it's still way out of where they should be and they are hanging in there in the playoff race. It's good that they get right back at it tomorrow night. But it doesn't help that they have to face Ottawa again. Yet again, that's a good team, so maybe the Isles will show up this time.
Report Card: Brad Isbister: After scoring 3 goals in the last two games, Izzy was quit tonight with only 1 shot on goal. Hopefully it won't take the return of Weinhandl to get him going again. Alexei Yashin: Scored the powerplay goal to make it 3-2 and draw the Isles to within one. But wasn't stealing the puck and skating like he had when....well, Weinhandl was on his wing. Shawn Bates: Assisted on Yashin's powerplay goal. Did not seem to get much ice time with Michael Peca tonight. Mark Parrish: Played after missing Wednesday nights game with the flu. Said he felt better but didn't look 100% and did not get usual ice time. Dave Scatchard: Has been playing well as of late but hasn't been putting any in the net. Assited on Blake's goal tonight. Jason Wiemer: Has played a whole lot better as of late and needs to do so to help the Islanders win. 3 goals and 3 assists are not enough yet. Jason Blake: Led the team with 6 shots and seems to be the only guy putting out 100% every shift, every night. Scored the big goal to get the Isles on the board and almost fired up a comeback. Claude Lapointe: Returned to action after missing two games and about a week with a sore ankle. Lapointe played on the fourth line with Webb and Asham and seems to be the only line without much cohesion, despite Lappy and Webb being two of the longest tenured Islanders. Steve Webb: Threw a couple of big hits as always. Eric Manlow: Was called back up with the injury to Weinhandl but did not dress with the return of Parrish and Lapointe. Arron Asham: Does whatever he can. Only wish he could finish more. Oleg Kvasha: Had the chance to get back on the top line with Weinhandl's injury. Not sure how much he has recovered from his ankle injury this time. Was a shame he had to miss time because he was looking really good for a change. But if it wasn't for that then Weinhandl wouldn't have gotten the chance he did, when he did. If Kvasha keeps playing like he did last night, giving up the puck left and right, then Weinhandl won't have to try so hard to get back on the top line when he returns. Michael Peca: Seemed like he didn't get much ice time tonight. At times it was like he was only playing special teams, predominantly PK. Mattias Weinhandl: Suffered a shoulder sprain in practice Thursday moring. Very unfortunate for the Isles after how good the kid looked and all the hype. Now, before you go questioning the coaching staff because of practicing on Thanksgiving, i'm sure the Isles weren't the only ones. When should they have practiced? They played Wednesday night and had a game tonight, Friday. Morning skates have grown rare in the NHL. Hey, if 4 NFL teams can play on Thanksgiving, and two NHL games can be played, then the Islanders can practice on Thanksgiving too. Blame the schedule makers. Oh, and another thing....I can't tell you how peeved it was making me listening to the broadcasters still mispronounce Weinhandl's name. How do these guys get their jobs? Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Is quietly having a steady season. He's been exceptionally good on the powerplay and hits the net with his shots way more than Jonsson and even Aucoin. Amazing he only has one goal this year. Adrian Aucoin: Was he benched? 15 minutes into the second period he had only 22 seconds of ice. At times it seemed like he was grimacing on the bench. I don't know whose mistake it was on the bench mix up that led to the third goal by Columbus. It seemed like a miscommunication between Martinek and Aucoin, or perhaps with the coaches. As both went off the ice it may have been that Aucoin was suppose to stay out. Anyway, you can't fault Aucoin for one bad play. The guy has been a warrior for this team since he got here. Eric Cairns: Got more ice time tonight and faired well against Jody Shelley in a fight. Kenny Jonsson: Missed the net in the third period from point blank range. Hurt his foot in a rutt on the ice and seemed like he wasn't going to come back for the third period. But he eventually shook it off on Kenny Jonsson Celebriduck night. Radek Martinek: Came back from his conditioning stint and looked a little better. He also managed an assist on the Blake goal when he cleared the puck out of the Islanders zone off the boards. Wasn't out there a whole lot. Mattias Timander: A very quiet game against his old team. Sometimes his shot selection on net is poor. Sven Butenschon: Sent back down with the return of Martinek. Was playing well before he left. Goal: Garth Snow: Came in for relief of Osgood with about 5 minutes remaining in the first period. Played well and only gave up 1 goal the rest of the way. Unfortunately the one goal deflated the Islanders a little bit as they were working on mounting a comeback. Chris Osgood: Was left out to dry by the defense tonight and he really let his teammates have it on the bench. And deservedly so. Though he still wasn't on his game like he had been over the unbeaten streak. But if you constantly let up breakaways on your goaltender you can't expect him to stop them all. The first three goals were going in kinda comically, reminiscent of earlier in the season. Will be interesting to see if he comes back tomorrow night against Ottawa. Most probably he will. Rick DiPietro: Returned to Bridgeport where he is unbeaten in his last 11 games.
Coaches Laviolette has been a great coach for the Isles, but what is with not being ready for games? They suffered this at times last year, and they are suffering it even more so this season. Special Teams Isles went 1 for 6 on the powerplay and are tied for 20th in the league. The PK unit went 4-4 and is moving up steadily in the rankings as well.
Blue Jackets 4, Islanders 2
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS BLUE JACKETS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
COB - 0 of 4, NYI - 1 of 6.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Keep it Going Nov 29: The Islanders will be looking to keep a streak alive tonight, but at the same time end another one. The Isles are enjoying their current 3-0-2 mark, their best of the season. But they will need to be strong to end an 0-2-1 mark against Columbus. Isles vs. Columbus Preview: The Islanders have never beaten Columbus since the expansion team entered the NHL two years ago. You may remember their last meeting last season on March 8th when a shaky Chris Osgood and the Isles went into Columbus only to give up 3 early first period goals and eventually lost the game 4-2. It was one of the low light games of the season. Tonight, the game will be played at the Nassau Coliseum, where the Isles are 4-7-1. This may be a good opponent for the Islanders to keep their unbeaten streak alive as the Blue Jackets are 1-6-1-1 on the road, winning only once in 9 games. The Islanders hope to get some people back in the lineup tonight, which could make for some interesting decisions by coach Peter Laviolette. Though they did play with a forward down against the Senators Wednesday night. Discipline will play a huge factor for the Isles as Columbus has some very good young players and a few decent veterans as well. The orange jerseys will once again be in full bright color once again and hopefully the team can start to build a winning tradition behind them as well. Osgood could get the start tonight. He is 2-0-2 in his last four, only allowing 8 goals over that span. Though he may be rested for Saturday night in Ottawa. - The Isles enter the game 5 points back of New Jersey, 24 points, for 7th in the East. Tonight is a busy night in the Eastern Conference as 13 teams are active, all except Atlanta(who beat the Rangers last night 7-4, yay!) and Florida, who also have 24 points, as does Montreal. The Isles are 4 points behind the Rangers for 4th in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers are in Dallas tonight. Montreal is in Boston for an afternoon game. Toronto, with 20 points, one ahead of the Isles, are in Philadelphia for an afternoon match up. The Flyers are struggling as of late and just lost John Leclair to a dislocated shoulder. Notes: Mattias Timander faces his former team for the first time since being acquired by the Isles this summer at the draft for a 4th round pick....Garth Snow returns tonight from his two game suspension and could get the start since the Isles play Ottawa Saturday night. If he does it will be his first career start against Columbus....The Isles PK is slowly improving as they have killed off 25 of the last 30 advantages against.
Jackets Off on the Road The Blue Jackets come into the Coliseum after losing their 3rd straight Wednesday night 3-1 in Edmonton. Besides being 1-6-1-1 on the road, they are 0-2-1-1 in their last 4 road games. But that won't stop Rick Nash and crew from playing hard.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
