Game Recap

Who would have thunk it. 121 games….where have you been Mark Eaton? His first goal in since 2010 gave the Islanders the extra point in a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Kanata last night. In a time where scoring comes from the first line, the Islanders got their contributions for people not names Tavares, Moulson or Okposo. Matt Martin got a great pass from PA Parenteau and snapped a shot passed Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, giving the Isles the 1-1 deadlock in the third period.  For Martin, that was his sixth goal of the season, establishing a team [...]

I guess John Tavares did not need the All-Star break.  As a matter of fact, he picked up right where he left off. The Islanders lone representative to the All-Star Game continued his January dominance with a four point night (two goals and two assists), as New York defeated the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Tavares first point of the night was the result of an assist on PA Parenteau’s 11th of the season, as the Isles took advantage of their first power play attempt in three games.  They quickly took advantage as Tavares at the left [...]

Well, Mike Myers (aka Austin Powers) was a happy man tonight. I definitely was not. The 2-0 lead of the Islanders was slowly eradicated with much assistance to the lack of calls by the officiating, which not only brought the Maple Leafs back into the game, and in the end, giving the visitors the winning goal in overtime, for a 4-3 victory at the Nassau Coliseum. I am prefacing the next few paragraphs by simply stating that I, for the most part, am quite objective when it comes to giving the officiating the benefit of the doubt.  I know that [...]

This was a Big Game for the New York Islanders. Make no mistakes about that fact. Whether it was game #46 and being played in January or not, in order for the Isles to give themselves a shot at playing meaningful games in February and March, they had to skate away with the 2 points. No, it wasn’t the sort of “statement” game I would have liked to see. In fact, the Islanders came out rather sluggish and slow, as the Hurricanes carried the play and out shot the Isles. They also got the only goal in the period from [...]

OK, so I was sick of hearing how many million games it’s been since the Islanders last defeated the Flyers in Philadelphia and overall. For the record, the streak has ended at 13 (going back to April 7, 2007) in the city of brotherly love, and 9 straight overall since their last win over Philly. To me, 41 shots against was a bit too much and being out shot 41-27 was not “positive”, yet the Flyers only really pressed hard in the third period more than anything else. Overall, it was a pretty dominating game for the Isles, and Evgeni [...]

The Islanders have over the past month been a strong road team, and it has showed, as they were able to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 4-1 at the Wells Fargo Center. Matt Moulson notched his 22nd goal of the season late in the first period.  He had scored earlier in the frame, but the goal was denied due to a distinct kicking motion.  John Tavares assisted on the goal, giving him points in 11 straight games, which is tied for the NHL lead this season. Josh Bailey scored on the penalty kill on the fourth breakaway [...]

Congratulations to Evgeni Nabokov for earning his first shutout as an Islander. The New York Islanders 3-0 win last night was also the first shutout the Isles have gotten this season. Unlike the game against the Predators Monday afternoon, in which the Islanders did not often play well defensively, they were all over the Caps. The Capitals, in fact, only got 17 shots on net and Alex Ovechkin was really not a factor, except for taking a penalty that led to PA Parenteau’s second goal of the game in the 3rd period. It was an impressive rebound and one of [...]

** NOTE – this Nabokov piece was written before the game against the Sabres –> CONGRATULATIONS TO EVGENI NABOKOV FOR GETTING HIS 300th CAREER VICTORY TONIGHT ** RECAP OF GAME Michael Grabner, minutes after hitting the post, scored the game winner with just under four minutes remaining in the game, giving the Islanders a 3-2 lead.  Grabner would score his 13th goal, and second in 2 minutes, to propel the home team to a 4-2 victory over Buffalo. Just before Grabner’s second goal, Mark Streit loosened the post, causing a Delay of Game penalty, which resulted in a penalty shot. [...]