Flyers show their muscle in beating the Isles

It was real nice seeing Josh Bailey score in the first 90 seconds of the game against the Flyers last night.  The folks at the Islanders viewing party at Buffalo Wild Wings in Deer Park.  The noise level was high, the optimism was up, and with that great move to get the puck past Ilya Bryzgalov, you could say that the Isles were looking to get their 3rd win of the season against the Flyers.  Something that I could not have thought possible.

Of course, that optimism was extremely short lived.

With the Isles commanding the momentum of the game, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette called a time out.  I remember when he was coaching the Isles, he was great in calling time outs in out-of-the-ordinary times, and the shift in said momentum would change dramatically.

Once again, Laviolette is a genius.

The Flyers completely took over the game, and before you knew it, the Flyers were in the lead before the first period was concluded.  The final result, a 6-3 victory over the Islanders, is another critical blow to the fate of New York’s chances for a continuation of their season.

Josh Bailey scored twice for the Islanders, and Kyle Okposo got his fourteenth of the season in the third period.  Casey Cisikzas got his first two assists, helping of the first Bailey goal, and on Okposo’s goal.

Evgeni Nabokov was in net, and did not have the type of performance that kept the Isles in the playoff hunt.  Many times he looked lost going side-to-side in the nets.  His counterpart on the other side of the rink was not much better; but at the end of the day, got the job done.

Tomorrow – the Isles take on Boston, with old friend Brian Rolston.  Many Islander faithful did not like Rolston, in fact, many thought he was just here to keep the team above the cap floor.  I know that they guys liked him in the room.  He was the one that the young players looked up to, and the one that gave advice.  That type of a player is worth a lot more than the dollars on a contract.  I know that people that do not like Rolston will think my statements are frivolous, but you are not in the room.  You do not see what happens at practices.  He was very important to these guys when it means the most.  Now they have to learn from his experience and move on.

Tomorrow begins that test.

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