Top Shelf : Islanders Daily 1/26/14

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Islanders grab a point but deserved much, much better…..the war room in Toronto obviously didn’t think so.

The New York Islanders fell to the St.Louis Blues yesterday afternoon at the Nassau Coliseum and dropped an important point in their race to climb back into the Eastern conference playoff picture.

Now, we could point all we want to the dubious decision that went against the club in overtime, when Thomas Vanek won the game for New York but the war room in Toronto, upon video review, somehow saw a ‘distinct kicking motion’ that nullified the goal and allowed the Blues to win in a shootout.

But at the end of the day, that just comes across as whining to a certain degree. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Islanders once again allowed the opposition to come back and tie the game, failing to seize the momentum they had worked so hard to obtain. Then, with under a minute to play, they absorbed tremendous pressure in the defensive zone and Peter Regin, mysteriously on the ice in the final minute, grabbed a puck in the middle of the ice with about 2 years to decide on the proper play.

Instead he iced the puck and Casey Cizikas proceeded to lose the ensuing faceoff before completely losing TJ Oshie in the high slot allowing the Blues ‘Olympian’ to tie the game with a twisted wrister through a screen. The clock showed 27 seconds. Something the Islanders and their fans are all too familiar with.

The overtime ‘goal’ scored by Vanek highlighted a dubious decision to say the least, but is still not the normal in a league that gets 95% of their calls correct. There is no conspiracy against the Islanders or any other team in the league. If you recall and rewind your mind just one game prior when New York lost to Pittsburgh on Thursday night, they were the beneficiary of a questionable call as well on a goal by Kyle Okposo.

If New York fails to make the post-season this year, it will not be because of one, two or even more bad calls that have occurred this season. It will be because of their 3-14-3 stretch from November to December and the lack of experience in maintaining control and holding onto late third period leads.

That should be the story……let’s see how many get it right on their end.

In Case You Missed It

• Have we seen the end of the black jerseys? (icethetics)
• Art Staple in his post-game gives his thoughts on many things (Newsday)
• And here he focuses on the Islanders getting healthy by the minute (Newsday)
• Cam Tucker highlights the post-game comments by Thomas Vanek (Pro Hockey Talk)
• Martin Brodeur will be in goal at Yankee Stadium today (ESPN)

Around The NHL

• Hurricanes 6, Senators 3
• Bruins 6, Flyers 1
• Capitals 5, Canadiens 0
• Lightning 5, Avalanche 2
• Sabres 5, Blue Jackets 2
• Jets 5, Maple Leafs 4
• Stars 3, Penguins 0
• Ducks 3, Kings 0
• Sharks 3, Wild 2

Across The Sound

Kenny Reiter led the Sound Tigers to a 3-1 victory yesterday over the Falcons, the baby Islanders third consecutive victory. You can find the official recap right here.

The Sound Tigers return home to face the Syracuse Crunch Sunday evening at 5:00.   (c/o soundtigers.com)