Top Shelf : Islanders Daily : 5/4/2013

May 3, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Islanders right wing

(21) is greeted by the Islanders bench after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. The New York Islanders won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Middletown, N. J. – After successfully being resuscitated last night many times in the last five minutes of game two of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal between the Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins, I awoke this morning to see it was not a dream : New York IS in the playoffs, we DID beat the Pens in Consol Energy Center and we ARE going back to Long Island with the series all knotted at one and confidence ready to blow the rafters off.

This was a team that looked so out of sorts in game one and during the first ten minutes of game two, that you wondered if the NHL would ever INVITE the Isles back to the playoffs. Then the first intermission happened. The old cliché of being a fly on a wall certainly applies here as I would love to hear just what might have been said during that 15 minute break that separates two totally different periods for the Islanders, two totally different hockey teams.

Taking a page out of the Philadelphia Flyer handbook for taking down the Pens, the Isles chipped and chirped their way to frustrating the superstars in black and gold and in turn, were rewarded for their efforts when Kyle Okposo, primarily responsible and the game’s clear first star, rifled a puck off the backboards and off Marc-Andre Fleury with just under 8 minutes to play in the final frame.

You are not going to have to listen very hard around the Nassau Coliseum tomorrow to hear a lot of commotion coming from the old barn. Led by the outstanding seventh man, section 329, the fans are going to be absolutely ecstatic and they should be. This team deserves our praise, our respect and our fandom. They are certainly repaying us no matter what transpires the rest of these NHL playoffs. Let them know how much we appreciate them. Let them know how much we are behind them. And let them know how much we BELIEVE.

Coming a little later in my rants and rumblings, my pluses and minuses from game two of the series.

Links

Post game recaps : EOI | LHH | NHL.com | ESPN | WFAN

Video from John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Dan Bylsma.

Evgeni Nabokov calls Isles win a ‘statement game‘.

Bleacher Report says questions arise in Pens game two performance.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette hails Okposo for turnaround.

Quiet recap from ‘City of Pittsburgh’ on Fansided.

Might want to check yourself before you wreck yourself ESPN….Ughhh….

Around The Twitter-Sphere

• We love our history and adore Butch Goring, but we miss ya Billy… Vilified for being objective and honest, which is something we strive to be here at EyesOnIsles. Keep up the great work on hockey night live.

• Any tie-in to the space continuum, which is a real thing by the way (it must be, it was in Dude, where’s my car?’) is a must post here at EOI.

• Biggest thing WE can do for our team is support and be as loud as possible. Your voice WILL come back, I promise. No time to hold back now. 

• The Isles are setting all kinds of trends through the first two games of this series, also becoming the first team in 10+ years to lose the first game of series by 5 goals only to win game two.

•  Great quote here by Greg Logan, who astutely points out Okposo has been very unlucky to not have the stats to back up the fact he is the hardest worker on this team. Could it be a dual face of the franchise performance?

Around The NHL

• Montreal came back with a very workmanlike performance in knotting their series with the Ottawa Senators last night, beating the Sens 3-1. There was no retribution for the hit on Lars Eller from game one as the Habs decided to get even on the series ledger. Brendan Gallagher is going to be very nice player for Montreal for years to come. Love the way this kid plays the game. Below is Carey Price skating his tooth over to the Habs bench…ouch…..

• Ho-hum, the Blackhawks won…Hammering the Minnesota Wild last night in Chicago 5-2, the Hawks take a two nothing lead in the best of seven series. No way back at this point for Minnesota, who look totally outclassed. They will be lucky to grab a game off the NHL’s top team. Chicago outshot the wild 47-28 and were led by a deuce by Patrick Sharp. By the way, is Patrick Kane serious????? Holy smokes..

• San Jose clamped down on Vancouver to take a second straight from the whiny Canucks. Patrick Marleau scored with just a minute to play to tie it, then Raffi Tores netted the OT winner 5 minutes into the extra frame.

Thanks for spending part of your Saturday morning with us at EyesOnIsles. We truly appreciate it. 

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook as we get ready for rock the Coliseum tomorrow afternoon!