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IslesInfo Comments: The game opened up with the Islanders on the immediate defensive. Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk broke in off the right boards for a partial breakaway attempt. The Thrashers were able to follow up with three shots on Chris Osgood, but the Islanders goalie was able to close the door on them all. Atlanta built up a 5-0 shots advantage early. That advantage eventually built up to 9-1 in Atlanta's favor but Osgood was spectacular as he faced a virtual Atlanta shooting gallery. Midway through the period, Roman Hamrlik was sent off for charging. It probably was a penalty for checking from behind and not charging, but wither way Hamrlik was in the box along with Shawn Bates who earlier took a tripping penalty. The calls were not going in the Islanders favor as just a little bit earlier Atlanta went unpenalized after pushing Dave Scatchard into the crossbar of the net, hitting his head. So Atlanta went up on the 2 man powerplay advantage and fired some more point blank shots at Ozzie. Some more incredible saves followed with Osgood diving to make some that would have you wondering "how did he ever stop that?" Eventually Dany Heatley would one time a shot from high above the right circle and it would find it's way past Osgood. Heatley's goal was his 16th at 10:46 to put Atlanta up 1-0. The Islanders were still getting out shot badly, at one point 14-2. But they weren't without their chances. Bates would have a partial breakaway of his own later in the period. He tried to make a move on Atlanta goaltender Passi Nurminen and shift to his backhand, but instead he lost the puck. Bates was successful in making this flashy play just the day before in practice against Radek Martinek. Keep this in mind for later. Also with a good chance was Alexei Yashin, as he once hit the post to the right of Nurminen late in the period. Later he set up Arron Asham with a beautiful pass on a 2 on 1 but Nurminen made a great save on the shot. The Islanders had a powerplay chance of their own at 17:47 but failed to score. It helped to set up a much important goal for the Islanders because with 5 seconds remaining in the first, Scatchard forced in a shot taken on Nurminen that found it's way through to the net to tie the game 1-1 going into the intermission. The Islanders were highly outplayed in the first period, out shot 17-7, but were excited about the fact that it was tied after one. Islanders color commentator Joe Michelletti remarked that the first period was the best he ever saw Atlanta play. - The Islanders came out in the second period and were a totally different team. They turned the tide around and began to totally dominate play. The Isles only out shot Atlanta 6-4, but they had a lot more chances offensively and they got stronger defensively. At 5:01, Yashin continued to look like he's shaking out of his funk by scoring a highlight goal. While on the tail end of a powerplay, Yashin grabbed the puck in the neutral zone and skated it in over the blue line. He made a move to get by two Atlanta players, one including his good buddy Shawn McEachern. As Yashin got into the high slot he created an instant 2 on 1 but instead rifled a low shot past Nurminen's feet for the go ahead goal. It was Yashin's 12th of the season to put the Isles up 2-1. The Islanders dominance created about 5 odd man rushed in their favor throughout the entire period. Claude Lapointe got mildly hurt in the period blocking a shot, but returned soon after. Eric Cairns had an up and down period, making some good plays on defense, but later was caught behind the net trying to hit Heatley. The young Thrasher sidestepped the big Cairns and almost wound around the net for a shot. It went wide. - The Islanders would out shoot the Thrashers 14-5 in the third period, meaning the Isles only allowed 9 shots on goal throughout the second and third periods, after allowing 17 in the first. At 4:40 the Islanders would gain the back breaking goal when Bates would score another highlight goal. Bates, who does nothing that isn't dramatic, made an unbelievable play to throw the puck up and get around Atlanta defensemen Mike Weaver. As Bates got in close on Nurminen, he contorted his body awkwardly and once again tried for the backhand. Nurminen made the initial save, but Bates, falling down, managed to slap at the rebound and force it into the net for his 8th of the season, putting the Isles up 3-1. It was an unassisted goal. At 15:13 of the third, Yashin would make a nice play on the powerplay. He cut into the slot with open ice and fooled Nurminen into thinking he would take the shot, something most goaltenders wouldn't be so wrong is assuming with Yashin. But Alexei dropped the puck down low to the side of the net for Michael Peca. The Isles captain wielded around and softly feathered it 5 hole into the net for the 4-1 lead. The Islanders finished with the convincing win and finished their road trip at 2-1-0-1, gaining 5 out of a possible 8 points on the trip. It moves them back ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for 7th place in the East with a record of 21-18-5-2, 49 points.
More stats: The Islanders are 9-2-0-2 in their last 13 games. The Isles are 5-2-0-2 in the month of January. They imrpove to 3-0-0 against Atlanta this season. Atlanta's 3 game winning streak was snapped as they were looking to win 4 in a row for the first time in franchise history. Bob Hartley received his first loss as coach of the Thrashers. The Islanders are undefeated against Atlanta in 5. The Islanders road record improves to 9-7-3-2. This is the first time all season they are 3 games over .500. Next Up: The Islanders head home for part two of the battle of New York. The Islanders are currently 4 points ahead of the Rangers, with 3 games at hand. The four point swing makes this game huge for the Islanders. They win and they move 6 points ahead of the Rangers and really set some distance. With a loss the Rangers can move to within 2 points of the Islanders. The Islanders won the first battle back on November 23rd in MSG when the BAM line of Brad Isbister, Mattias Weinhandl and Alexei Yashin exploded in the third period to lead the Isles to a 3-1 victory. The game will be at Nassau Coliseum, and will mark the return of Bryan Trottier to Long Island as not only an NHL head coach, but the head coach of the Islanders most heated and hated rival. The Standings: The Islanders with 49 points moved back into 7th place in the East ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins(48 points). TV Stuff: Howie
Rose returned behind the broadcast booth after suffering from the flu.
John Wiedemann did a good job in Howie's absence. Fight Card: Jason Wiemer vs. Jeff Cowan. NO contest! After the Thrashers drove Dave Scatchard into the crossbar in the first period that went undetected for a penalty, Wiemer took retribution into his own hand and absolutely destroyed Cowan down in the corner. It was actually Cowan who initiated the scrum, while Wiemer ultimately finished it. Cowan tried to throw punches Wiemer's way, but Jason corked once flush on Cowan's face that just dropped him to the ice. Wiemer showed some class after and stopped throwing. But Cowan was clearly dazed and had to be helped off the ice by teammates. Win: Wiemer. Commentary: This was a great win. I'm glad to see that the Islanders did not take Atlanta lightly and show that they might have been thinking ahead to Tuesday nights game against the Rangers. Yes, it started off not too well, but the Islanders turned the game around and showed that they are the better team. They got the winning record on the road trip which is important when you are trying to move up the standings and stay there. With this win, the Islanders are on the verge of moving into the top echelon of teams in the NHL if they can move ahead of that 3 games over .500 mark. Now it is off to return home and hopefully we will trounce the Rangers at the Coliseum. That traitor Trottier will return and I just know that my fellow Islander fans will make him wish that he hadn't. TRAITORRRR!!! TRAITORRRRR!!!! I can hear it now. :)
Report Card: Brad Isbister: Sat out seventh straight game with sore ankle. After recent reports of the ankle feeling better, it has now been reported that the ankle is supposedly not getting better and is still bothering him. It doesn't seem like he'll be ready for the Rangers Tuesday night, a team he helped beat back in November at MSG when he notched two third period goals. Alexei Yashin: Was named the first star of the game with a goal and an assist for 2 points. Yashin's goal was a highlight reel goal and it seems like perhaps he is coming out of his funk. It would be great if he could start getting hot and potting in some goals. With the goal he scored against St. Louis, this is the first time he has scored in back to back games since game's 2 and 3 of the season. He also showed some unselfishness on the powerplay in the third when instead of taking the shot he dropped it down low to Peca for the goal. Shawn Bates: Everything Bates does is in dramatic fashion. You gotta love it! The goal he scored just about one upped Yashin's in the highlight category. Bates made a spectacular move on Mike Weaver and then moved in with a move on Nurminen. The second effort as he was falling was the key to the puck crossing the line. His goal broke Atlanta's backs tonight. His play also showed that the groin is feeling a lot better. We should see him back on the PK pretty soon. Mark Parrish: Recorded an assist on Yashin's goal, but didn't have any shots on goal himself. Parrish looked a little better after receiving a lot of abuse as of late parking himself in front of the net. Even when he doesn't score he makes other teams worry about his presence there which opens up the ice for other players. Dave Scatchard: Got the big tying goal with 5 seconds remaining in the first to salvage the first period and lead the Islanders on their way to turning the game around. Jason Wiemer: Wow. Can you win a fight more convincingly than the one he won over Jeff Cowan? This is why the Islanders got this guy. Jason Blake: Led the Islanders with a +2 on the night. Claude Lapointe: Hurt his foot blocking a shot in the second period, but returned before the period was over. Steve Webb: Sat out his eleventh game with chronic back spasms. Isles could use him back in the lineup. But as I said previously, a crop of other forwards have filled in nicely for him on the fourth line. He reportedly is not healing very fast either. Arron Asham: Tied for the team lead with 4 shots on the night. Had a couple of good chances to score including on a 2 on 1 with Alexei Yashin late in the first period. Oleg Kvasha: Was a bit quiet offensively in this game but played well on the top line. The Islanders still need him to contribute offensively with consistency. Michael Peca: Got the goal on the powerplay to seal the game at 4-1. Peca feathered the pass into the net through the goaltenders legs. Mattias Weinhandl: Has assisted on the Islanders opening goal in each of the last two games. Raffi Torres: Even though he notched an assist in one shift against St. Louis, this was a much better game for Torres. He got a lot more ice time. And he was making things happen physically. Right now, Torres could probably be a great replacement for Steve Webb on the 4th line because he almost hits just as hard. Though Webb does it with unbelievable flare and precision. Almost an art form. But Torres is scrappy and does have some offensive upside, something Webb doesn't have. Raffi drew a 4 minute highsticking penalty in the third period that led to the Islanders 4th goal. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Also assisted on the Peca goal. Adrian Aucoin: Missed third game with a groin strain. Is listed as day to day. Sven Butenschon was called up to take his place. Even though Aucoin is listed as day to day, it could be a while that he is out. Shawn Bates recently missed 8 games with the same injury, and still shows signs at times that it is bothering him skating wise. Eric Cairns: Had some good defensive moments, and some bad defensive moments all in the second period. Miscalculated Heatley's move behind the net with a hit and allowed the Atlanta forward to move in for a shot that went wide. Kenny Jonsson: He abosultely dominated this game on defense and if there was a fourth star of the game he would have been it. He has picked up the slack with Adrian Aucoin out of the lineup. Radek Martinek: Played well. Was a +1 on the night. Mattias Timander: Assisted on Yashin's powerplay goal, which turned out to be the game winner. Sven Butenschon: Was a +1 on the night and played well defensively. Goal: Chris Osgood: Was named the 2nd star of the game. Osgood was just unbelievable in the first period and he single handedly kept the Islanders in the game. He gave them a chance to win tonight. So in essence he won the game for the Isles with some of the point blank stops he made in the first. It was his 17th win of the season.
Coaches The Islanders have been taking a few more too many men bench minors as of late, something which needs to be addressed. Though the call tonight was a bit cheesey. The Islanders was right about to step on the bench when an Islander jumped off the bench and touched the puck. It wasn't like the too many men call the Thrashers received in the game where they clearly had 6 skaters out there and nobody even near the bench. Special Teams The Islanders PP, ranked 24th in the NHL, went 2-6, scoring 2 powerplay goals in the game. The 14th ranked PK went 2-3, allowing one goal on a 5 on 3 man advantage. The Islanders have cut down on the penalties as of late which is something they'll have to continue in their climb up the Eastern standings.
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS ATLANTA THRASHERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 2 of 6, ATL - 1 of 3.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Isles Finish Road Trip Jan 19: The Isles head into Atlanta for an afternoon tilt as they finish up their 4 game road trip. The Isles have cimpiled a 1-1-0-1 record on the trip and look to end on a positive note with a winning record. But Atlanta is playing much better under a new coach. Isles vs. Thrashers Preview: The Islanders rebounded from an ugly 5-0 loss at New Jersey on Wednesday with a 3-2 win in overtime against the St. Louis Blues the following night. Oleg Kvasha scored 1:59 into the extra period and Garth Snow made 27 saves in a rare start, helping New York improve to 8-2-0-2 in the last 12 games. "It's nice that we've raised the expectation level and our mentality has changed a little bit,'' Snow said. "The magic question is why can't we play the way we did tonight, every night?'' Most encouraging for the Islanders was the first-period goal scored by Alexei Yashin. The star center, who had just one assist in his previous six games, is a minus-19 this season. What's at Stake?: With a win over Atlanta the Islanders can move back into the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. They currently have 47 points and trail Pittsburgh by one point in the division. Tidbits: Chris Osgood is 5-2-0 all-time against Atlanta. Osgood has lost only two in his last 12 games. The two losses came in his last two starts. Garth Snow of course won the Islanders last game in St. Louis....The Islanders are 2-0-0 this season against Atlanta. The Isles won 5-4 back on October 19th in Atlanta and 7-3 eight days ago, January 11th at the Nassau Coliseum....Jason Blake has gone 3-3-6 in 2 games against Atlanta this season. He has 15 points in 11 career games against the Thrashers....Oleg Kvasha is 4-2-6 in his last 6 games including the game winning OT goal in St. Louis Thursday night....The Islanders are hoping to not look ahead to their match up against the Rangers at home Tuesday night....The Isles are 8-5-1 all-time against Atlanta.
Atlanta 2 Wins Under Hartley Newly named Atlanta head coach Bob Hartley has the young Thrashers playing much better as of late. He is trying to enforce a new attitude for the team as they face the Isles for the third time this season on a current hot streak.
Notes: Apparently, Bob Hartley still knows something about winning hockey games. Perfect in his first two games as Thrashers' coach, Hartley looks to lead Atlanta to a franchise-record fourth straight victory when the New York Islanders visit Philips Arena. Since taking over the job from interim coach Don Waddell, Hartley has guided the Thrashers to a 1-0 victory over Montreal on Wednesday, and a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Friday. Atlanta, which beat Philadelphia in its final game under Waddell, has matched the team record for consecutive wins, accomplished most recently from Nov. 9-13. "We're finding ways to win,'' Hartley said. "I'm impressed.'' Ilya Kovalchuk scored his team-leading 25th goal late in the second period Friday and Pasi Nurminen stopped 26 shots for the Thrashers. One of Hartley's first moves was to abandon the team's rotating captaincy and award the job to forward Shawn McEachern on a permanent basis. "It's a reward, but you really don't have to have a letter to be a leader,'' Hartley said. "We want to share the sense of responsibility throughout the locker room.'' The Thrashers actually started to show improvement once original coach Curt Fraser was fired and replaced by general manager Waddell. Atlanta is 6-5-1-0 since Fraser was fired Dec. 26. Nurminen, playing in place of the injured Byron Dafoe, is making a strong case for keeping the starting job. Nurminen has stopped 62 of 64 shots in his last three appearances. For the Thrashers to remain perfect under Hartley, they'll have to break a streak of futility against the Islanders. Atlanta has been outscored 22-9 in four straight losses to New York.
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
