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Islanders 6, Sabres 0 Oct 11, 2003 BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Saturday was a night of firsts for the New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro made 13 saves for his first career shutout and Mark Parrish and Alexei Yashin each scored twice as the New York Islanders defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-0 Saturday night. The win gave Islanders coach Steve Stirling his first NHL victory. He replaced Peter Laviolette in June. "It's not a big deal," Stirling said. "I've had a lot of firsts in my life, not just in hockey but in everything. I'm happier for them because coming off the other night was a humbling experience and they were able to bounce back." The Islanders lost 6-1 to the Washington Capitals in their first game of the season Thursday. DiPietro held the Capitals scoreless for 33 minutes in that game after relieving starter Garth Snow. "I think this was a huge game for us mentally," said DiPietro, who was the first pick in the 2000 draft. "For a young group of guys to shake off the game in Washington and to come out and have a game like this, it was really fun to watch." For the first two periods that's exactly what DiPietro did - watch. The Sabres registered just five shots, and just three when the teams were at even strength. Buffalo was shut out for the second consecutive game, the first time in franchise history they have started the season with two blankings. "That was probably the most embarrassing game I've been a part of," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "The more we tried to do things the worse it got." According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only three other teams since 1967-68 have been shut out in consecutive games to open the year. The Islanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead almost six minutes into the first period on Parrish's first goal of the season. After Michael Peca won the draw at the left circle, defenseman Kenny Jonsson let go of a quick wrist shot that Parrish deflected past Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller. "(Peca) wanted me to go to the net right away," Parrish said. "Kenny got the shot on and I was right there. I wished it worked that way on every face-off." New York made it 2-0 in the second when Alexei Yashin pushed the puck past Miller after the goalie had made a pad save on Oleg Kvasha. Parrish notched his second goal of the game on a power play in the third period. Arron Asham and Mariusz Czerkawski followed with tallies before Yashin scored his second of the game with 4:59 remaining. But the night belonged to DiPietro, who spoiled the Sabres' home opener and first home game under new owner Tom Golisano. "Shutouts don't mean much to me," said DiPietro. "As long as we get the win that's the most important thing. But tonight was the icing on the cake to get the shutout." NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance and sat with Golisano in Golisano's suite. The NHL had control of the Sabres last year before Golisano finalized the purchase of the team in April. "I'm thrilled for all the Buffalo Sabre fans who hung in there with us to reach this point and it's only going to get better," Bettman said. Bettman also spoke briefly about the current negotiations between the league and the players, saying that there is nothing new to report. For Buffalo, things need to get better in a hurry if the team wants to improve on last season's franchise-low 190 goals. Buffalo's only good scoring chance came in the third period when Curtis Brown rang a shot off the post. "This is one of the worst losses I can remember," Brown said. "They shot everything and we were hesitant to get it to the net. Buffalo dropped to 16-13-5 in home openers. NotesThe last time the Sabres lost by six goals was against Quebec in March 1989, losing to the Nordiques 8-2. ... It was the worst loss for the Sabres since moving to HSBC Arena in 1996. ... The Islanders scratched forwards Trent Hunter and Sean Bergenheim as well as defenseman Radek Martinek. ... Buffalo's scratches were defensemen Rory Fitzpatrick and Henrik Tallinder and goaltender Mika Noronen. ... The Sabres had a goal waved off in the first period when it was ruled that forward Chris Taylor kicked the puck past DiPietro while skating towards the net.
islesinfo Plus: Rick DiPietro posts his first career shutout in what should hopefully be many of his young NHL career....Mariusz Czerkawski has continued his hot hands, scoring in both of the Isles first two contests. islesinfo comments: Now THAT'S more like it! This was a fantastic win. It was good to draw back to even, .500 record. But more important to win in Buffalo as you may remember the Islanders lost badly 5-1 in the season opener last year in Buffalo. The Sabres were not a very good team then and it looks as though the same could be true for them this year. To see the Islanders embarrass a team on their home ice is very satisfying as it is tough to win on any teams home rink. The goal by Asham was the highlight goal of the game as he broke down the middle past two defensemen after receiving the pass off the boards. Asham put the puck through Ryan Miller's 5-hole to put the game way out of reach at 4-0 in the 3rd period. The Islanders have always been good at responding after a bad loss going back to Peter Laviolette's tenure the past 2 years. Hopefully that will continue under Steve Stirling. Fight Night: This was a fight filled game as it got underway with a
brawl between Eric Godard and Andrew Peters. These two have a history
going back to the AHL, where Godard mentioned that he easily handled
Peters before. He would again tonight(see above picture). Late in the
period, Dave Scatchard got into it with Adam Mair, and this really showed
character on the Islanders part. Mair had laid a big hit along the boards
on Jason Blake and Scatchard jumped right in to defend his teammate.
Scatch won this fight hands down as he landed a punch flush on the nose of
Mair and floored him. Later in the game Eric Cairns would go at it with
Peters as well when Buffalo was feeling their frustration trailing by a
big margin in front of their home fans. Isles Scratches: RW Trent Hunter, LW Sean Bergenheim,
D Radek Martinek
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS BUFFALO SABRES DEFENSE GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 1 of 6, BUF - 0 of 3.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Islanders Hope to Rebound in Game 2 at Buffalo Oct 11: The Islanders head into Buffalo to take on the scrappy Sabres. Both team's come in having dropped their opening games on the road. Isles vs. Buffalo Preview: The Islanders will play the second game of their opening three game road trip. The next two games will both be home openers for the Isles opponents. The Isles, coming off another lackluster loss in the Nation's Capital, hope to rebound in a building where they struggled to open the 2002-03 season. You may remember the Isles dropped a 5-1 decision last year that was the catalyst to a very slow start on the season. They look to avoid that tonight. With Garth Snow dropping the first contest against the Caps, expect young Rick DiPietro to get the start after a solid third period Thursday night in relief. Ryan Miller was in net for Buffalo's season opener, a loss. Expect either him or Martin Biron in net for the Sabres. Other players to watch for Buffalo are Miroslav Satan and second year man Ales Kotalik. Satan signed with the Sabres midway through training camp to avoid a prolonged holdout. Ex-Islander Taylor Pyatt has been improving with the Sabres over the last year. J.P. Dumont is always a threat to score. While those two are doing fairly well, former Islander first round pick Tim Connolly is expected to miss an unknown amount of time after sustaining a concussion. His career has seemingly been on the decline since joining the Sabres as he continues to play a soft, perimeter style of game.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
