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ISLES INFO |
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IslesInfo Comments: Or perhaps they just don't have the horses to compete in the Eastern Conference. That was even more evident against what is currently the best team in the East, the Boston Bruins. With Peca's return tonight the Islanders should have been a upbeat bunch, raring to go. But instead they came out with the same sluggish, unmotivated bunch they've been all season long. The Isles need a lot more than Michael Peca to get back into the playoff race. Like Mark Parrish said before the game: one player cannot turn this thing around, but that's a pretty good player to be getting back. Things looked bad right off the bat as the Islanders could not capitalize on two early powerplay opportunities, therefore just begging to give the Bruins a chance to take the lead. The Islanders failed to get any shots on Bruin goaltender John Grahame, even during a brief 5 on 3. Roman Hamrlik was particularly horrible controlling the puck on both advantages. At 8:31 of the first period the Islanders once again shot themselves in the foot when Shawn Bates tried a short but ill advised pass high in his own zone. Like Jason Wiemer and Radek Martinek earlier in the season, Bates was burned as the pass was picked off by P.J. Axelsson. Axelsson took the puck right to the net and pumped it high over Chris Osgood, an area many players are scoring on the goalie lately. The Bruins pretty much dominated the first period, leading in shots 10-7. The B's went up 2-0 on a beautiful powerplay goal at 18:34. Before the game coach Laviolette remarked his usual line of not knowing how much ice time Peca would get, but the game plan was to insert him for regular duty on the Lucky 7's line. Peca tried to contain Thornton high in the zone but lost his check falling down. The Isles made a good play forcing Glen Murray away from a scoring chance, but Murray found a way to chip the puck back to a charging Thornton. The big power forward undressed Osgood in front of the net with a few moves and backhanded it in for a 2-0 lead on the powerplay. - The Islanders came out in the second period and still played lackluster and without any purpose. They got three more chances on the powerplay, failing on them all. Boston had two chances and capitalized early to take a 3-0 lead. Murray would end up with the puck directly in front of Osgood. He turned to his backhand and even with a man all over him scored high once again on a sprawling Osgood. The Islanders defensively, can't seem to check. They can't stop taking offensive zone penalties, taking three in this game. And they can't score, especially on the road. With a 3 goal deficit, it doesn't matter how many powerplay opportunities the Islanders were going to possibly get in the third period, they were not going to come back as they have not proved they are capable of it all season long. Not long before the Bruins third goal, Peca would unbelievably get hurt in his comeback game. As he tried to make a move behind the Boston net, Axelsson would get his stick blade caught in Peca's skate. With Peca trying to go one way, the stick was keeping his right foot in place, almost bending it back a full 180 degrees which put pressure on his right knee. The only good news out of it is that Peca's left knee is the one that was surgically repaired. Peca skated back to the bench flexing his right knee and slammed his stick breaking it on the boards in frustrating. Doing knee bends and whatever else he could do to shake off the pain, Peca thought he could get back out there after taking a skate during a play stoppage. But he soon went to the locker room. After a few minutes he returned and tried to take another skate during a stop in play. When he returned to the bench he shook his head no to Laviolette and slammed the bench door in disgust. His night was over. Shortly after the medical staff announced it was a mild right knee sprain and Peca is listed as day to day. After the game he said it was a strained muscle behind his right knee. Garth Snow replaced Osgood, who can't be faulted for the 3 goals he gave up, at 4:44 of the second. - The Islanders tried to get things going in the third. Boston didn't seem to have to do very much to keep the Islanders out of their own end. The Isles got some hope at 4:19 from the attacking line of Alexei Yashin, Oleg Kvasha and Brad Isbister. Kvasha gained the puck by the left circle after heavy fore-check and sent a hard pass over to Isbister in the slot. Isbister managed to redirect the shot past Grahame for his 4th of the season making it 3-1. This was the first Islander goal on the road in practically two games. The last came 157:16 of game time ago against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 30th which was a goal by Justin Mapletoft. Following the goal the Bruins went back to pretty much dominating the game and possession of the puck. The Islanders out shot the Bruins in the third 14-7 but couldn't get anymore behind Grahame. The Isles pulled Snow in the last minute of play. With the Isles attacking, the puck slid back to Kenny Jonsson, who returned after missing three games with a virus. He missed the easy grab and the puck drifted back into the neutral zone. Speed demon Brian Rolston challenged Jonsson and reached the puck first. He got the shot by two Islander defenders for the empty netter to finish the Isles off 4-1. The Isles are back to six games under .500 at 5-11-1-0. They have lost a league leading 11 games. This was the first game of the season where the Isles were at 100% with every regular in the lineup.
Fight Card: None. Commentary: What is going to get this team on the right track??? Do they need a game against the Rangers or Toronto to liven them up? My biggest worry is that they will repeat last years performance, but in the opposite direction. In 2001-02 the Isles jumped out to 10 games over the .500 level. They teetered between 6 and 10 games over until a late season run that put them to 14 games over. So far this season they have dropped to six games under .500 and don't seem to be able to climb back. So many players seem to be playing without any passion. The chemistry doesn't seem to be there. New additions have not provided anything with exception to maybe Arron Asham. The system the Islanders are utilizing does not seem to be working. I will cover that later.
Report Card: Brad Isbister: Thought he was the Isles best player on the top line tonight. But they still need more out of the entire line. They are just not getting it done for a top line. Alexei Yashin: Where is he?? 11 points in 17 games? This is turning out to be the worst season of his career. He's playing sluggish and may have proved tonight that the absence of Michael Peca, and the extra coverage he receives because of it, may not be the reason is is doing nothing as of late to help the Islanders win. Shawn Bates: Even though he is the Isles leading scorer, and who would have ever predicted that, he joins Wiemer and Martinek by making the biggest boneheaded play a player can possibly make. Cross ice, bad passes, will burn you every time. Look before you pass! Mark Parrish: Where has he been also? Only 4 goals in 17 games. The Isles need more from a goal scorer. He's not going to score if he's not taking shots. I would like to see him getting 5 to 6 shots a game instead of just 2. He needs to wind up more and blast the puck. Dave Scatchard: Had a pretty quiet game. Scatch either has a very good game or a very quiet one. Jason Wiemer: Replaced Isbister on the Scatchard, Asham line and did more of what he's done all season: NOTHING. Some want to see him up on a line with Yashin. How would he keep up? This guy skates like he's in mud. Jason Blake: Didn't get as much ice time as he did in the two games the Islanders won last week. Tried to throw a huge hit on former Islander Bryan Berard in the third. His helmet went flying off the hit and both players fell to the ice. Claude Lapointe: Hit the post on a backhand shot early in the first period after he found himself all alone. Once a defender jumped all over him Lapointe failed to tuck it in on a chance that if he scored on, may have turned the momentum around. Steve Webb: scratched. Eric Manlow: Centered the fourth line with Michael Peca's return. Didn't get much ice time because of it and unlike the previous two games was hardly noticeable. Mattias Weinhandl: sent down to Bridgeport. Arron Asham: Put in another 100% game. Oleg Kvasha: Does this guy just seem like he plays each game like he would play a practice scrimmage? Some say it's his style of game, but it makes you wonder. He had an ok game. I wouldn't say it was his best of the season as Isles radio color commentator Kris King remarked. But he did get another assist in back to back games. Look out now, Kvasha has 2 points on the season. Michael Peca: Can you believe this? He comes back and gets hurt again??? Thank God it wasn't the bad knee. But he is very lucky it was only a sprain after seeing his leg contort the way it did. Now we'll just have to wait for the return of Peca part III if he can't go Saturday night. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Has been good as of late on the powerplay, but not tonight. He was horrible especially in the first period. Opposing teams are concentrating on he and Aucoin and that has neutralized their effectiveness on the extra man. Adrian Aucoin: Not getting the shots off on the powerplay because of pressure. When he does get it off, he misses the net. Eric Cairns: Got a lot of ice time in the third period surprisingly. Almost scored on a shot that Grahame totally did not see and miraculously was in the right place at the right time. Kenny Jonsson: Came back and got his usual ice time, which is odd after supposedly being debilitated by a virus. He got beat badly on the Rolston empty net goal and seemed out of gas. Radek Martinek: scratched. And it's about time. Will he end up in Bridgeport? He may not have to clear waivers. Though Laviolette may re-insert him back into the lineup. Mattias Timander: Plays a boring game. And is not the greatest checker. Sven Butenschon: Played ok is brief amount of time. Goal: Chris Osgood: Like I said, cannot be faulted for the goals he gave up. The Isles are terrible at defense and checking, losing their assignments left and right. Garth Snow: This is amazing. Snow comes in at 4:44 of the second and doesn't give up a goal the rest of the way. He always seems to do that. Then he starts the next game and gives up 5 goals. Go figure. You have to worry if he starts against the high flying Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night. Coaches Laviolette is a good coach, and obviously would probably get a pass no matter what happens this year. Unless the season gets so bad and the team drops to 10 games under .500. But at some point you have to forget about the success of 2001-02 and question the coaching staff here. The Isles system does not seem to be working this year. Milbury drastically changed the team from a more high flying offensive style team, to a tougher(I question that too), more grinding style team that is still trying to play the same style it did last year. Opposing teams seem to be totally on to the Islanders every move and can predict what to expect. The Isles coaching staff has not adjusted, especially on the powerplay where opposing teams are targeting the Isles defense and succeeding. Kelly Miller, in charge of the powerplay, may have had a good year last season as a rookie, but possibly hasn't changed anything up for 2002-03 as the Isles are not adjusting to the attack on the defense and rely on Yashin in the left circle way too often. GM: Milbury may look to make a move if the Isles drop to 0-2, and 7 games under, on this road trip.
Bruins 4, Islanders 1
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 0 of 5, BOS - 2 of 4.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Peca Back For Good?! Nov 14: TSN.ca is reporting that Michael Peca will be activated once again off the injured reserve list to play tonight against the Boston Bruins at the Fleet Center. The good news is Peca will apparently play a regular shift. Is he back for good? Isles vs. Boston Preview: With him possibly playing tonight, and if he stays in the lineup, that would mean that Peca's return would be just about 3 weeks ahead of the scheduled December 4th date set by the Islanders medical staff. Consensus opinion is that Peca, the Islanders captain and leader, should not return unless he is absolutely 100%. But it's doubtful the Islanders medical doctors would allow Peca to play if he wasn't ready to do so. So it will be interesting to see how coach Laviolette will utilize Peca and how often. Obviously, as TSN has reported, it supposedly will be longer than the November 2nd debacle in which Peca started the first 27 seconds against St. Louis and then proceeded to sit on the bench for the rest of the game while his team got pasted by the Blues 6-1. During the Islander game against Ottawa Tuesday night, Isles color commentator Joe Micheletti commented that he wouldn't be surprised to see Peca return during the next week sometime on the road trip. Well we all know how hard it is to keep Peca out of the lineup and sometime next week has turned into tonight against first place Boston as the Isles begin a 5 game road trip. The Isles will visit Pittsburgh, Florida, Tampa Bay and close out with a big battle against the Rangers on November 23rd. You wonder who will be sat out tonight with Peca's return. Doubtful it would be Arron Asham this time as he is starting to find his niche on the team. As good as ex-Bruin Eric Manlow has been the last few games for the Isles, he plays a similar defensive style as Peca, all be it not as good of course, and could be the odd man out tonight. Though Steve Webb has not gotten much ice time as of late and is not quite the impact on the road as he is at home. But still, do you take out his physical presence? - But as far as Peca's possible official return, this could be a huge boost to the team when they realize that their leader is officially back in the lineup. Unlike his brief comeback against St. Louis which backfired, the team should rally around their captain as his return could not do anything but make this team much better at all aspects of the game, ESPECIALLY on the penalty kill if Peca returns to PK duty soon. The Isles come into this game 13th in the East, one point behind the Leafs and two behind Ottawa. The Islanders are now 6 points behind 3 different teams for 6th in the Conference and cannot afford to lose any more ground. This will be a tough test against the surprise Bruins, but the Islanders have a history of playing well in Boston. Last year the Isles won both games at the Fleet Center. More News: The Islanders returned forward Mattias Weinhandl to Bridgeport yesterday. Which was about time since Bridgeport had a big slate of games this past weekend and coming up and they could have used him if he wasn't going to play for the Isles. Though the Islanders were unsure if Dave Scatchard would play against Ottawa after bruising his heel against Dallas. Whatever happens you want the kid to be playing as much as possible.
Surprise Bruins Host Isles So the Bruins lose Byron Dafoe in net and goal scorer Bill Guerin to free agency and suddenly you got a team that should struggle to make the playoffs in 2003, right? Wrong. Or at least, that's what good young talent and some key acquisitions have to say. - Each and every season the Boston Bruins seem to get more and more out of young star Joe Thornton. This season has been none the exception as Thornton has even added the role of captain for the proud franchise. The 23 year old is already in his 6th season in the NHL. Right now he is third in the league in scoring and leading Boston in just about every offensive category going 8-13-21 in 15 games played. Thornton also has a good supporting cast. Glen Murray has returned to Boston a much better player than he was when they drafted him. He has gone 6-10-16 in 15 games. The other Boston returnee, Jozef Stumpel has gotten off to a good start himself this season as he has gone 5-9-14 in 15 games. Speedy Brian Rolston rounds out a solid trio down the middle and is second on the team with 7 goals. A nice surprise for the B's to this point has been the offensive contribution from winger Mike Knuble who has gone 2-8-10 in 13 games. P.J. Axelsson is always ready to kill a penalty and can chip in offensively whenever the Bruins need it. Not to be left out is flashy but diminutive winger Sergei Samsonov, but he has been out with a wrist injury. He posted 2-4-6 in only 4 games played. Now to the defense, where the Bruins have a big and very nice surprise going. All summer it was a question as to what would happen to former Islander Bryan Berard after being released from the Rangers. Berard, after scoring only 2 goals in 82 games last season, already has 5 for the Bruins, who took a chance on the offensive minded defenseman. Berard has gone 5-4-9 in 15 games as he continues to battle back from the near career ending eye injury he suffered some years ago. - As far as in goal, the Bruins have seemingly not missed a beat with the loss of Dafoe. Steve Shields and John Grahame have proven to be more than a capable tandem, with Shields getting the brunt of the work. Shields always seems to prove people wrong and shows every year that he is a good NHL goaltender. He has posted a 6-1-2 record for the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins, who have accumulated 23 points.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
