|
|
ISLES INFO |
 |
|
|
ISLES INFO |
|
|
Menu NYI Database Transactions
//// //// //// //// |
IslesInfo Comments: The Islanders totally out shot the Panthers tonight 41-28 but it would be Florida that jumped all over the Isles with the opening score of the game. Just 1:01 into the opening stanza, former red hot Islander Olli Jokinen would pot his 17th of the season to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Florida put on some pressure deep in the Isles zone and the puck would be jarred in the corner by tough guy Peter Worrell. Recent newcomer Jaroslav Bednar would get the puck into the slot where Jokinen was waiting to take the shot. For Worrell, the assist was only his second point of the season. His lone goal on the year also came against the Islanders the last time they visited the Home Depot Center in November. Osgood was either beaten clean or seemed unready for the shot and was fighting the puck in the very early going. Midway through the period the Isles almost though they scored when on a delayed penalty call to Jokinen, Brad Isbister slid the puck from the slot over to Kenny Jonsson who was parked on the side of the net. It looked as though Jonsson got a piece of it but the puck hit the post and ended up underneath Roberto Luongo's back. Despite being down 1-0, the Isles came on in the period offensively and out shot the Panthers 15-7. - In the second period the Isles would continue to keep the offensive pressure going and it eventually paid off. Bednar would take his second penalty of the game early on and Jonsson would score this time to tie the game at 1-1. The Isles dominated on their powerplay attempts with possession of the puck. Adrian Aucoin ripped a shot from the high mid point and the puck hit Isbister square in the groin( OUCH! ). Before crumpling in obvious pain, Isbister made a gutsy move and shifted the puck over to his left where Jonsson was waiting down low. With Luongo sprawled out on his stomach, Jonsson slammed it up high into the empty net for his 4th of the season. After a fight between Eric Godard and Andreas Lilja, the Isles were hit with a full 2 minutes 5 on 3 powerplay advantage against when Godard got a charging penalty and Steve Webb took an interference call as they both attempted to take the body. The Islanders, who have been fantastic as of late on the PK, were excellent once again on the kill. They managed to keep the Panthers to the perimeters and never allowed the puck to an open man in the slot. The Isles got a boost after killing the 5 on 3 and almost scored later on when Dave Scatchard had a backhand open net shot thwarted by Niklas Hagman. Webb got called for another charging call at 16:43 and the Isles went back to the PK. This time the Islanders were buzzing offensively as the team that led the NHL in shorthanded goals last season with 17, has been due to get one after a long drought. Jason Blake would break in on a two on one and missed the net with the shot. Seconds later, the Isles would feed Claude Lapointe up the middle for a breakaway chance on Luongo. Lapointe made a nice deke move but Luongo made a spectacular kick save when Lapointe failed to lift the puck. Then, only seconds after Lapointe's try, Shawn Bates, who hadn't scored in 13 games, gained the puck after it bounced over rookie Jay Bouwmeester's stick at the Isles blueline. Reminiscent of many Bates breakaway attempts that we've seen before, the Isles forward skated down on Luongo and made a shoulder fake before shooting it through the 5 hole to give the Isles a 2-1 lead. The goal was Bates' 5th of the season and 3rd shorthanded. He has not scored at even strength this season as both of his other goals have come on the powerplay. The Isles have 4 shorthanded goals on the season. They out shot Florida in the period 12-7 and led 27-14 in the game going into the third. - Coming into the third period with the lead this season, the Islanders were a perfect 9-0-0-0. Only Minnesota has been perfect as well throughout the NHL when coming into the third with a lead. But the Islanders would once again give up an early goal to an unlikely source. Ryan Johnson would tally his 1st goal of the season and first in his last 36 games to tie the score at 2-2 at 1:56 of the third. He received a pass from Lilja in the slot and Johnson went unguarded by both Blake and Scatchard. But the Isles would show some fortitude and take back their lead at 10:49 when speedster Blake would take matters into his own hands and wrap the puck from around the Panther net, into the open side for his 7th of the season to make it 3-2 Isles. Bates, playing in 100th game as an Islander tonight, would get an assist as the mighty mites would see some ice time together sporadically in the third. Alexei Yashin would record his 100th point as an Islander( the 57th Islander player all-time to do so and 4th this season: Scatchard, Mark Parrish & Roman Hamrlik ) with an assist on the play as well. Blake, who noticed Luongo had no chance to beat him around the net, is just one goal shy of last seasons career high of 8. The Isles kept that lead until there was 4:08 remaining in the game when it seemed as though coach Peter Laviolette made a possible blunder. He showed a lot of confidence in rookie Godard by having him out on the ice late in a crucial game, but Godard failed to make a clearing play along the boards in the Isles end. Kristian Huselius, who was questionable for the game since suffering from strep throat, fanned on a blast from the slot but managed to get the puck into Osgood's crease. With a bunch of Panther sticks wacking away at it, Huselius would end up getting the game tying goal into an open net. It was his 13th of the season and first in 6 games. The Islanders once again out shot Florida in the third 11-9. - The overtime saw both teams with chances to end it and gain the extra point. Osgood came up huge in the extra stanza, especially on a blind toe save on a couple of in close doorstep shots by Bouwmeester, who had rushed in. Back at the other end, Jason Wiemer had an excellent chance when he skated down the right side and snapped a hard shot off the right goal post. Florida this time out shot the Isles 5-3. The Islanders were disappointed to have lost 2 third period leads, and have made a habit of it as of late as they most recently lost a 3rd period lead against Chicago Tuesday night. But they took solace that they gained a point on the road and played well, moving to within 4 points of Toronto and Montreal for 7th in the East with 26 points. The last time the Isles were in Florida on 11/20 the teams skated to a 3-3 tie as well. The Islanders are now 1-0-2 this season against Florida with another match up coming in a couple of weeks at the Nassau Coliseum. - The Islanders are still
in 13th place in the East after a win tonight by Washington in Phoenix.
Washington, just two points ahead of the Isles are in San Jose tonight.
The Isles could leap frog Pittsburgh, also with 28 points and dropping
quickly, with a win in Tampa and a Penguin loss in LA. As far as Toronto
and Montreal, the Maple Leafs will host the injury riddled Rangers, also
in between the pack with 29 points, and Montreal will host the conference
leading Bruins. The only Eastern teams not in action tonight are Carolina
and Florida. The Isles head into Tampa tonight, a team they
defeated 7-2 their last meeting there about 3 weeks ago. Fight Card: Eric Godard vs. Andreas Lilja. Godard grabbed Lilja after getting the call for charging seconds before. The big European defenseman held his own, getting in a few shots just when it seemed like Godard was going to punch away on his opponent. But Godard regained the upper hand and almost took the Panther down. Win, but not by much: Godard. Commentary: Alright, we'll take the point. But the Islanders definitely should have had two against this very young and inexperienced Panther squad. But it's hard to fault them because they did gain a point on the road, did not lose any HUGE leads( thought they did lose two one goal leads ), and Mike Keenan has the Panthers scratching and clawing out every single point they can get. So we gained a point on the playoff race and hopefully tonight against Tampa we will be able to weather any storm the Lightning may have with memories of the last match up when the Isles came in and blasted them 7-2 with Garth Snow in net.
Report Card: Brad Isbister: Another solid game. It really seems like there is a new Brad Isbister out there on the ice. There is definitely a better attitude and confidence going on there. Alexei Yashin: Besides getting his 100th point as an Islander after aissting on Blake's third period goal, Yashin was pretty quiet, though he did have 4 shots on goal. Blake led the team with 5. Shawn Bates: After going 13 games without a goal Bates finally got off the schneid. Bates on a breakaway has to be one of the most exciting things to watch in Islander history. He's been a specialty teams specialist, especially shorthanded this season after notching his third on the PK. Mark Parrish: Is always good for a goal or two in Florida but only skated away with 2 shots tonight. Maybe tomorrow night in Tampa. Dave Scatchard: Had a couple of good hard shots. Missed a defensive play along with Bates on the Johnson goal by Florida. Scatch almost scored in the second period but couldn't get the backhand off fast enough before it was stolen away. Jason Wiemer: Had a really quiet game until the OT session when he almost ended it with a win for the Islanders. Jason Blake: Scored the go ahead 3-2 goal, his 7th. Was named the third star of the game. Bates was the first star with a goal and an assist. Claude Lapointe: Did not get much ice time except on the PK. He almost scored on a pretty play after a shorthanded breakaway late in the second. That play eventually led to Bates' breakaway score. Steve Webb: Was throwing cannonball hits all night at guys like Peter Worrell, Andreas Lilja and Igor Ulanov. Was called twice in the game for charging and interference following big hits. Arron Asham: Was the most quiet tonight of the Asham-Peca-Isbister line. Oleg Kvasha: Scratched. What is going to happen with Kvasha? Good question. He's only effective playing on one of the top two lines, and when he does he's not effective then either. With him seemingly not fitting in will the Isles look to include him in a deal? Michael Peca: Played well. At times he plays better than others. He's either really on or so so. But his presence and skill are still invaluable to the teams success. Mattias Weinhandl: Sprained shoulder. Should return sometime next week. Eric Godard: Solid fight against Lilja that he won. You can't jump all over him for not getting that last puck out of the zone that led to the game tying goal by Huselius. That could have been Laviolette's fault as much as his for having a little too much confidence in the kid. It will be interesting to see if he's back in the lineup tomorrow night in Tampa Bay and if Kvasha sits again. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Out with separated shoulder. Adrian Aucoin: Notched an assist and was solid defensively. Eric Cairns: Also notched an assist on the Bates shorthanded goal. Sound defensively. Kenny Jonsson: This was an outstanding performance tonight by Kenny Jonsson,. He could have had two goals tonight. With the absence of Roman Hamrlik, Jonsson knows he needs to step up and tonight he took the initiative. Very good to see. Radek Martinek: Was pretty good defensively all night. He almost had a quality scoring chance in the OT session when he circled in place to lose a man for an open shot, but didn't get it on net. Mattias Timander: Was awarded an assist on the Bates short hander along with Cairns was may have had it taken away. Overall was solid on D. Goal: Chris Osgood: At first you had to think 'oh no, another Osgood( bad ) night when he let in that early goal. But he got better as the game went on. He didn't steal the extra point for the Islanders tonight but he preserved the point gained by making two unbelievable blind saves in the OT. It will be interesting to see if he starts the game against Tampa Bay in the second of back to back. Garth Snow usually plays those games and did last time in Tampa Bay. But Osgood was pretty strong last night and as of late and has an all-time 9-0 record ( roughly ) against the Lightning.
Coaches Well, it's obvious. Eric Godard out on the ice with 4 minutes left in a 3-2 hockey game? What was Laviolette thinking? That was showing just a little TOO much confidence in the kid playing in only his 3rd NHL game. But the lost point should not be blamed on Godard. Special Teams The 21st ranked PP went 1-6 tonight. The PK continues to be outstanding as the Isles have not allowed a powerplay goal in 5 games. They went a perfect 4-4.
Islanders 3, Panthers 3
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS FLORIDA PANTHERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
NYI - 1 of 6, FLA - 0 of 4.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview With Hammer Down, D Needs to Step Up Dec 13: The Islanders head out for another trip into the sun belt tonight with back to back games against the Panthers and Lightning. With top scoring defenseman Roman Hamrlik out for possibly over a month, the D needs to pick up the slack. Isles vs. Florida Preview: The Islanders recent 3 game winning streak may have been snapped with Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, but the Isles have plenty to look forward to this weekend. Thanks to losses Thursday night by both Toronto and Montreal the Isles remain 5 points behind 7th in the East, with a game at hand on both squads. It's time for the Islanders to take advantage of these opportunities, but it won't be easy with Hamrlik out of the lineup. Coach Peter Laviolette mentioned that the Isles may be able to compensate 5 on 5, but it will be on the powerplay that the Isles will miss him the most. Not only will the defense have to step up, but the entire Islander roster will have to pick up their games. They were able to continue playing well after the loss of Radek Martinek last season, and were able to hang in the race, all be it just barely, early this season with Michael Peca out. So this will be just another challenge. Some more good news is the Islanders recent success when visiting the state of Florida. They are 3-0-2 in their last 5 visits to Florida's home arena. The Isles are now 6-4-2 since Peca's return. Where Peca has been most noticeable has been on the penalty kill. He has helped the PK unit improve from 77.4% to 81.5% in the last 12 games. That's good for 23rd in the league, up from 29th. So the Islanders look to rebound from their disappointing loss Tuesday night and start a new winning streak. Laviolette stated not to expect any certain players, like Adrian Aucoin for instance, to get increased ice time because of Hamrlik's absence. But you never know how things will turn out. - The Isles are 1-0-1 this season against Florida. The Isles won 5-3 back on 10/24 and skated to a 3-3 tie here in Florida back on 11/20. The Islanders will be wearing their orange third jerseys both tonight and tomorrow night in Tampa. The Isles find themselves one point behind Washington for 12 in the East and 3 points behind Florida. Washington is in Phoenix tonight. The Isles are 4-1-1 in their last six on the road and 5-5-2 overall. - The Islanders have called up defenseman Sven Butenschon to take up a large chunk of Hamrlik's minutes. They also recalled RW Eric Godard, who the Islanders coaching staff were very impressed with in the game last Friday night against Toronto. He will most likely see action this weekend, which could mean that struggling winger Oleg Kvasha may get sat out of the lineup once again. RW Mattias Weinhandl is reportedly making progress. He is to accompany the team on the Florida road trip, but won't play. Laviolette wants to get him into a couple practices upon returning to Long Island next week before inserting him back into the lineup. Tidbits: You may remember in the last meeting between these two teams, Dave Scatchard broke Florida defenseman Lance Ward's nose with a single right hand punch....Chris Osgood is 9-1-4 all-time against the Panthers....Tonight will be Shawn Bates 100th game as a member of the New York Islanders....Alexei Yashin needs one point for 100 in his New York Islander career.
Panthers Hanging in There Under the tutelage of coach Mike Keenan, the Florida Panthers are a surprise team in the East. The youthful Panthers battle hard and find ways to gain points in the standing. But this time around they are struggling and come into tonight banged up.
Notes: Florida has just won 3 of their last 10 games. They recently endured an 8 game winless streak before winning a home and home battle against the Carolina Hurricanes. With Hurme out, Keenan will likely go with Luongo for a while. But as we all know Keenan has a quick trigger finger with regard to his goaltenders. They don't have much choice now. Florida lossed to Philadelphia 5-2 Tuesday night on home ice. They have the worst record on home ice in the East at 4-6-3-1. They are 1-4-2 in their last seven home games overall. They lost more than just the game Tuesday night, as they also lost the services of Valeri Bure after he fractured his wrist. Kristian Huselius( pictured above ) did not practice yesterday as he suffers from strep throat. He may not play tonight. Florida enters the game with a record of 9-10-6-4, 28 points. Good for 11th in the East. They are the youngest team in the league. Recently, they traded disgruntled defenseman Dmitri Yuskevich to LA in exchange for youth in winger Jaroslav Bednar and defenseman Andreas Lilja.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Lets Go Isles! |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
