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ISLES INFO |
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ISLES INFO |
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IslesInfo Comments: The game started off with a bang as two early fights had you believing that a heated division rivalry was about to unfold. Unfortunately for the Islanders, they failed to take advantage of any momentum thanks in large part to the stingy defensive style of the Flyers. At 2:13 of the first, Eric Cairns went at it with Flyer tough guy Donald Brashear. Just three seconds later Eric Godard, inserted into the lineup over Trent Hunter, got into a heavyweight bout with Todd Fedoruk. Godard proceeded to just about whoop Fedoruk's ass literally, leaving the Flyer with a nice welt underneath the left eye. With that, you would expect the Islanders to use that as momentum to jump all over the Flyers. But Philly seemed un-phased by Fedoruk's loss and right about shutting down the Islanders. The Flyers just about controlled possession of the puck for the entire first period, thwarting any plays the Islanders tried to make. Philadelphia's play forced the Islanders into making some mistakes, the first coming at 7:16 by an unfamiliar source. Adrian Aucoin would attempt to make a horrible pass just above the blueline, which was blocked by the once promising Pavel Brendl. Keith Primeau would grab the loose puck and skate in on a two on one with Brendl against Aucoin. Primeau sent the puck across the slot where Brendl shot it home for the 1-0 Flyer lead. Brendl, who is not even half the player Mattias Weinhandl is as a rookie, notched his 4th of the season and only his 9th point. The Isles would go on the powerplay late at 15:04, only to allow a shorthanded goal to Jeremy Roenick at 15:53. Simon Gagne intercepted a pass in the Flyer end and carried the puck out. Upon reaching the Islanders zone he dropped the puck to Roenick who blasted in his 14th of the season of Garth Snow's blocker. Kenny Jonsson may have screened Snow on the shot. The goal was Roenick's 4th in 3 games against the Isles this season and his first shorthanded goal in over 3 years. The Flyers out shot the Islanders in the first period 9-6 and took a 2-0 lead into the second. - The second period was more of the first, with the Islander faithful getting a bit frustrated with their team. Some boos started to rain down on the Islanders as they failed to score on 3 more powerplay opportunities in the period. A few of the boos seemed to be directed towards Alexei Yashin, who struggled once again in the game and seems to be half the player we've come to know since last season. Only seconds after the Islanders 24th ranked powerplay failed to get the Islanders on the board, the Flyers made it 3-0 on a goal by Marty Murray at 10:05. Snow would make a save, followed by a silly golf swing clearing attempt by Roman Hamrlik right up the middle onto the stick of Murray. He fired it into the right side of the net before Snow could dive over and make the stop for his 5th goal of the season, unassisted if you don't count Hamrlik as an assist. The Isles took two penalties of their own in the period, including a bench penalty for too many men late in the period. But the PK killed them off. Both team's had 6 shots on goal in the second with the Islanders hardly testing Flyer goaltender Roman Cechmanek. - The Islanders had one final chance to get back into the game in the third on the powerplay, a 4 on 3 opportunity. All they could muster up was about 3 shots off the same old play to Yashin at the high left circle and either shoot it or wrist it in for an easy stop by Cechmanek or whatever other goaltender you want to insert here. Right after the Islanders powerplay ended, they allowed another goal for the second time in the game. This time to Eric Desjardins as he would notch his 5th after finding basically an empty net upon receiving a drop pass from Michal Handzus to make it 4-0 Flyers. Both Yashin and Jason Wiemer hit iron in the third but that was about the closest they came to scoring in the game. The Islanders reach the halfway mark and are now 18-17-5-1 after 41 games. Their 7 game streak of gaining at least a point comes to an end.
More stats: The Islanders are 7-2-1-1 in their last 11 games. Garth Snow lost his 7th game of the season and drops to 5 games under .500, possibly a concern for the Isles backup situation. The season series against Philadelphia stands at 0-2-1 for the Isles. The Islanders tied the first game in Philly 3-3 on October 17th after needing a third period comeback. They have lost the last two at Nassau Coliseum against the Flyers, 6-2 October 26th and tonight's 4-0 loss....The Islanders with 14 goals in their previous two home games, along with hat tricks by Mark Parrish and Dave Scatchard, could not score once tonight....The Islanders 5 game home winning streak came to an end....Philadelphia has won 5 straight and 4 straight on the road. Next Up: The Isles play the third of a three game homestand against the Atlanta Thrashers Saturday night. Even though Atlanta is playing better as of late and the Islanders cannot take them for granted, it's time they pad their point total with some wins against Atlanta just as the rest of the conference has been doing. Plus after tonight they really need to come back with a better performance. The Standings:
The Islanders dropped into 9th in the Eastern Conference with 42 points,
tied in points with Pittsburgh but ahead on the virtue of one more win.
The Penguins lost at home tonight 4-2 to the Toronto Maple
Leafs(49-points). The Islanders slipped back thanks to a win by
Montreal(43-points) over the Rangers(39-points) at home 3-2. The Islanders
remain one point ahead of Carolina and Florida who both have 41 points.
Both team's were idle tonight. The Isles remain one point behind
Washington(43-points) for 7th, 5 points behind Boston(47-points) for 6th
and 7 points behind Toronto and New Jersey(49-points). Atlanta defeated
Tampa Bay tonight 3-2 in OT, giving Tampa Bay 45 points, 3rd in the East
by virtue of leading the Southeast division. Fight Card #1: Eric Cairns vs. Donald Brashear. These are two heavyweights, but they both sure could learn from the fight that took place after theirs. But first things first. Cairns managed to keep Brashear from throwing any punches. He once again made a good move by getting Brashear's jersey up over his head, then throwing a couple of big punches. The linemen jumped in early once they saw Brashear's jersey up over his head, ending the fight a bit prematurely. Decision: Cairns. Fight Card #2: Eric Godard vs. Todd Fedoruk. Fedoruk is normally known as a tough customer. That being said, this had to be Godard's best fight so far of his NHL career. He handled Fedoruk with virtual ease and put a beating on the Flyer. Godard got in some heavy shots on Fedoruk's face, giving him a nice bloddy welt underneath his right eye. Fedoruk looked like he was in pain in the penalty box after the fight as both his face and hand were bruised up. Win: Godard. Commentary: Most people, including Chris Osgood during the post game radio show, would agree that this was just an aberration, a game for the Islanders to forget and move on. They just didn't have it. I totally agree. But I am also tired of seeing the Flyers come into our home territory and beat us so badly. How can we talk about contending for the division title and then laying a big egg against the one team we have to beat? The one team we have been competing with since last season in the division? Plus I am sick of hearing Ken Hitchcock talk us up before each meeting only for the Islanders to come out and do nothing. It's embarrassing. The Islanders did nothing tonight to resemble the team that went 7 games with gaining at least a point. There wasn't one point of the game where they played THEIR game. Their chance to do something in this game was immediately after Godard whipped Fedoruk, but it was the Flyers who responded and not the Islanders. They have to get back to their game Saturday night while not taking Atlanta lightly. The Islanders HAVE to find a way to improve this powerplay. They HAVE to find a way to compete with the Flyers. The Isles looked at this as a test to see where the team was against the Flyers. Coach Peter Laviolette said they couldn't have picked a better opponent. They failed the test. But hopefully they will get a remake, and this really was just a bad game.
Report Card: Brad Isbister: Sat out second game with sore ankle. Alexei Yashin: Had 6 shots on goal last night, which was three more than Jason Blake and Jason Wiemer. But the shots mostly came from the powerplay where the shot selection was extremely poor. Three of the shots must have been wrist shots from the high left circle with nobody in front. A move most goaltenders will stop as of late because they are all waiting for Yashin to do it. Yashin was a -3 in the game which means he is now -19 on the season, among the worst in the league among players and forwards overall. Shawn Bates: Was not as much of a factor in this game as he was in is return against Pittsburgh. Mark Parrish: Has been the hot Islander hand scoring goals left and right. But last night nobody was scoring for the Isles. I doubt he chipped one shot in close on the goaltender all night. Like I said the Islanders did not look anything like the Islanders last night. Dave Scatchard: After netting the hat trick against Pittsburgh, Scatchard had 0 shots last night and was a -2. Jason Wiemer: Was one of the best Islander forwards last night. He hit the post once in the third period. Wiemer was able to use his strength a couple of times to get through to the net, but wasn't able to finish. Jason Blake: Wasn't allowed to use his strength, speed. Did not have much of a Jason Blake kinda game. Claude Lapointe: Played well on the PK. Is NOT the answer up front on a line with Yashin. Steve Webb: Sat out his sixth game with chronic back spasms. Isles could use him back in the lineup. Arron Asham: Tried to go at it with Jeremy Roenick in the third period, dropping his gloves after the linesman had already stepped in between them. Luckily he wasn't given an extra penalty because he and JR were given coincidental minors. Good to see him standing up to a star player though and going after Roenick. Oleg Kvasha: Got a lot of ice time last night following his great game against Pittsburgh. But he along with everyone else didn't do too much offensively last night. Michael Peca: Not one big hit in the game. His presence and leadership is usually felt but last night there was nothing there by the entire team. Mattias Weinhandl: Was probably the best Islander last night. He was the only one creating any plays and offensive chances. Eric Godard: He just whooped Todd Fedoruk early one, and the Islanders did not capitalize on the momentum. That was their chance right there to take the game and they failed to do so. Trent Hunter: Scratched in favor of the toughness Godard brings against the Flyers. At first, after the great game he had on the fourth line against Pittsburgh you had to question this move. But then Godard had that great fight against Todd Fedoruk and you may have changed your mind. Now you kinda have to wonder. Defense: Roman Hamrlik: Was a -3 with 2 shots on goal. Was pretty bad last night and gift wrapped the third goal onto the stick of Marty Murray. Adrian Aucoin: Was also a -3 with 2 shots on goal. His blunder was the first and led to the Flyers taking the lead in the game. Eric Cairns: Tried to get things going for his team early by fighting Donald Brashear. The fight that followed was much better. Has recently recorded his 600th PIM for the Islanders. Kenny Jonsson: Was a -2 in the game. Played well in his own end. Blocked a shot in the goal mouth that would have been another goal for Philly. Tried to jump up into the play and create some offense in the third period but wasn't able to generate anything. Radek Martinek: Was pretty quiet, even in plus/minus. Mattias Timander: Same as Martinek. Goal: Garth Snow: Dropped his 7th game this season and is now 5 games under .500. One of those game was the recent game in Pittsburgh in which he gave up only the game winner in OT, a game in which Osgood started and gave up two goals before being pulled in favor of Snow. But you have to be concerned with the play of Snow this season. He hasn't been getting it done bottom line, like last season. Right now you have to be wishing that Rick DiPietro could at least be the backup on this team, if it wasn't for that contract situation with him and Osgood making the same amount at the NHL level. Perhaps if this continues the Islanders will make that move as it gets later in the season and the monetary issue becomes less of a factor. There has been some interest out of Vancouver for Snow, since they need a backup for Dan Cloutier. Again, it's hindsight, because Snow notoriously gets the starts vs. Philly and plays well against his former team. But maybe Osgood should have been given the chance to avenge that October 26th 6-2 loss. Then again it may not have made a difference with the way the team played in front of the goaltender last night.
Coaches Nothing to say about the coaches last night. Though the powerplay has been awful and we all know Kelly Miller is in charge of running the PP. But it's doubtful to lay any blame on him. The Isles just don't finish on the extra man. Hitchcock took a surprising timeout during an Islander powerplay to rest his men and the coaching staff tried to get the Islanders into the right frame of mind to score. But all they kept doing was dishing the puck off to Yashin at the high left circle where he unwisely put it on net with nobody out in front. Special Teams The PK was good once again, going 3-3 as it is still ranked #11 in the league. The powerplay was horrible once again, going 0-5 and probably costing the Islanders the game. The PP is ranked #24 in the league and needs to get better fast to help the Islanders win some games.
Lineups: ISLANDERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS DEFENSEMEN GOALTENDERS
Power-play Conversions:
PHI - 0 of 3, NYI - 0 of 5.
IslesInfo Pregame Preview Preview Fort Neverlose Is Back! Oct 9: The Isles have not been concerned with what other teams are doing, only what they can do to climb up the standings in the East. They will look to extend their winning ways at the home tonight when the Atlantic Division leading Flyers come to town. The Isles remember what happened on Oct. 26, and have sights set on the division title. Isles vs. Flyers Preview: A pair of surging teams face off when the Atlantic Division leading Philadelphia Flyers visit the New York Islanders. Philadelphia has won four in a row to take a two-point lead over the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic, while New York has won six of seven to move into a tie for third place in the division. The Isles have outscored opponents 22-9 in winning five straight home games. The Islanders continued that run Tuesday night, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 behind forward Dave Scatchard's first career three-goal game. "This is our best game of the year,'' Scatchard said. "The first hat is a fun thing, but the playoffs are more fun.'' The Islanders set a goal in December to reach .500 by the new year. They won their final four games to finish 2002 at 16-16-5. "The last two months, every game has been intense,'' Scatchard said. What's at Stake?: With a win tonight, the Islanders can pull themselves within sight of the division leading Flyers with 44 points. They also could move into 7th place in the Eastern Conference and jump over the idle Washington Capitals. They can also set some distance between them and the pack just below them. Banged up Pittsburgh (42-points), 9th place, will host 6th place Toronto(47-points). 10th place Montreal (41-points) will host the 13th place Rangers(39-points), who defeated the 11th place Carolina Hurricanes(41-points) last night 5-1. 12th place Florida (40-points) have the night off. 3rd place Tampa Bay will host Atlanta. Tidbits: Still unknown who will start the game for the Islanders. It could be Garth Snow, who often gets the starts against his former team. Chris Osgood, who has been on a hot streak, could get a chance to avenge the October 26th 6-2 embarrassment he started early in the season....Michael Peca has 9 points in his last 7 games....The Isles are 0-1-1 against Philly this season. Besides the 6-2 defeat back on October 26th at home, the Isles came back to tie them 3-3 on October 17th in Philly....A win would vault the Isles into 7th place, which meant if the season ended after the game the Isles would face Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.... "We couldn't have hand-picked a better opponent," Islander coach Peter Laviolette said.
Isles Set Sights On Division Leaders The Flyers don't have any players among the scoring leaders in the NHL, but they are extremely deep up front. The Isles do not have a win against them this season, which has to change if the they are going to catch the Flyers like they almost did last year.
Notes: The Flyers returned from a 4-2-1 road trip Tuesday, and extended their winning streak with a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Justin Williams scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, and backup goalie Robert Esche made 21 saves to improve to 8-2-3 on the season. "I've been coaching eight years and this is the first win I've had after a long road trip,'' Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "When you are on the road, you have camaraderie and plain focus. You come home and there are family issues and other things and it is hard to bring it back in so quickly. It is hard to completely change your routine.'' Philadelphia has the second-best road record in the NHL at 12-6-3-0, and is facing a New York club that has outscored opponents 22-9 in winning five straight home games. The trip to Long Island is Philadelphia's eighth away game in their last nine contests, and their last on the road before a four-game homestand. The winning streak followed a five-game span without a regulation win.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
