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Top Shelf : Islanders Daily 6/4/2013

By Andy Graziano |

Jun 3, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center

Evgeni Malkin

(71) and Boston Bruins right wing

Nathan Horton

(18) battle for a loose puck during the second period in game two of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Middletown, N. J. – From the looks of the result last night at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins were much more frustrated than we thought after their game one shutout loss.

Falling apart defensively and having to reinsert Marc-Andre Fleury was not a good omen for the Pens, who were thrashed by the visitors from Beantown 6-1 to fall behind 2 games to none in the best of seven series.

In Islander county, what is left to ponder heading into the draft are trade and free agent signing scenarios as well as who New York will select with their 15th pick in Newark on June 30.

Report cards have begun with Brad Boyes up next. Please don’t forget to vote in the poll that is at the bottom of each and let us know how you feel regarding that players performance this season.

Also on the way is off-season Q & As with other editors from around the Fansided network. We pride ourselves on a commitment to cover the Islanders and feel we do an excellent job at it, but at the same time, we are all passionate fans of the entire league and want to spread that knowledge and news around to our readers as well.

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Around The Twitter-Sphere

  • Now this is funny, I don’t care who you are! The king would look VERY good in Islanders colors, as proven by Pat in this photo. Now it is up to Garth to get it done. No pressure though Mr.Snow. I kid, will never happen but extremely amusing to think about and get under Ranger fans skin.
  • You would have to take this history lesson very seriously. The Isles might just be on the same path as previous playoff successes. And if Edmonton just so happens to make the playoffs this year, I will never doubt karma or destiny again! 
  • Coaches use old footage and prior series all the time so this is as good a bet as any to be right on the money. The Islanders clearly gave the Pens a lot of trouble in round one and exposed some holes that the Senators were not good enough to exploit. Now that the Pens have run into solid goaltending we are seeing the results.
  • I love a good hockey joke….Always seems to lighten the mood, although I am sure the Penguins fanbase are none too amused this morning.


Around The NHL

  • It’s going to be very interesting to see if there is a way back for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who look outmatched and outclassed by the Boston Bruins in dropping the first two games of their Eastern conference finals series at home. Clearly frustrated and lacking answers defensively to the Bruins balanced attack, the Pens actually were forced to go back to Fleury last night in relief of Tomas Vokoun. Brad Marchand scored twice for the Bruins, who never looked challenged at all in their own zone. Meanwhile, the Pens defensive mistakes and turnovers that plagued them against the Islanders showed up again. The only thing that Dan Blysma can look to is that a series is not won in two games, it still takes four to move on, but the Bruins are looking really tough to beat at the present moment.
  • Chicago travels to Staples Center tonight for game three of the Western conference finals starting at 9pm EST. The Kings have put themselves in a must-win situation as falling behind 3 games to none to Chicago would almost certainly spell doom for the Kings defending their Stanley Cup championship. If the Kings rely on two things, it could be their experience at both winning the cup and being down 2 in a series, as they came back from a similar deficit in the first round against the Blues. Also worth noting is they are undefeated at home in the 2013 postseason.

-AG

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