Bruins roar by Islanders

Bruins celebrate one of their six goals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

          The Islanders three game winning streak, and hopes for the playoffs, were broken after a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.
          The Islanders were keeping up with the powerful Bruins through the first two periods.  However, the third period saw the offense explode for the Bruins and stall for the Isles.
          The first period stayed scoreless until the last two minutes.  The Bruins broke through first, at the 18:11 mark, when center David Krejci scored the first of his two goals.  Krejci took a pass from his linemate, left winger Milan Lucic, and blasted a one-timer over the pads of Isles goaltender, Al Montoya, to make it 1-0.  The Isles would strike back under a minute later, at the 18:40 mark, when right winger Kyle Okposo fired a wrist shot over the glove of the Bruins goaltender, Marty Turco, to tie the game.   The goal was Okposo's twenty-first of the year.  Okposo has been on a tear recently as this was his sixth goal in the last five games. 
          The second period would be much of the same, with the Bruins taking the lead and the Isles fighting back.  It started at the 4:58 mark, when center Chris Kelly fired a wrist shot over the glove of Montoya to give the Bruins the 2-1 lead.  The goal was Kelly's twentieth of the year.  About ten minutes later, at the 14:26 mark, the Isles would claw their way back.  Center John Tavares would place a beautiful cross ice pass on the stick of right winger, P.A. Parenteau, who would easily tap the puck into the empty net left by Turco.      
          With the game tied to start the third, once again, the Bruins would fire the opening salvo.  At the 3:13 mark, left winger Brad Marchand would dance his way through the Islander defense, then bury a wrist shot under the pads of Montoya to give the Bruins their third one-goal lead.  The goal was Marchand's twenty-seventh of the year.  About seven minutes later, at the 10:37 mark, center Tyler Seguin would bury his own wrist shot, from the left wing boards, by Montoya to give the Bruins the 4-2 lead.  The goal was Seguin's twenty-seventh of the year.  The Islanders would inch closer about four minutes later, at the 14:53 mark.  Left winger Matt Moulson would pass one in front of the net to Parenteau, who would bury his second goal under the glove of Turco.  The goals were Parenteau's seventeenth and eighteenth of the season.  After that the Bruins would run away with the game in the final five minutes.  Starting at the 16:19 mark of the period, when center Patrice Bergeron would gather up a rebound left by Montoya and bury into the empty net.  The goal was Bergeron's twenty-first of the year.  Just twenty-four seconds later, at the 16:43 mark, Lucic and Krejci would hook up again, as Krejci would nab his second goal of the game, taking a Lucic pass and burying it by Montoya to make it 6-3.  The goals were Krejci's twenty-second and twenty-third. 
          With the loss the Islanders have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  
          They will look to finish the season strong as they next take on the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, puck drop is 3 PM. 

Bailey, Islanders keep rolling against Penguins

Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo celebrate one of five goals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

          When center Josh Bailey entered the Nassau Coliseum last night, he entered with a purpose.  And then he left the Coliseum with a bang.  Bailey posted five points, having a part in all the Islanders' goals, in a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
          It was the second consecutive game the two teams played against each other, with the Islanders winning both.  Ironically or not both games the Islanders outplayed one of the elite teams, and won both by the same score of 5-3.
          One player in particular came ready to play this Penguin team.  Josh Bailey was having a good season before these two games, having eleven goals and twelve assists, for twenty points.  In these last two games against Pittsburgh, Bailey posted two goals and six assists, for eight points.
          The Islanders are red-hot, coming off a five-game road-trip in which they won four of them, the Islanders continued their stellar play.  Now the Islanders have won five of their last six games, and have only five more left to play.  Though the Islanders have a very slim, and unlikely chance of making the playoffs, sitting nine points out, they are doing their best to fight their way in. 
          The first period saw the Islanders take their first lead eleven minutes into the game.  At the 11:07 mark, center Marty Reasoner finally broke through and scored his first goal as an Islander, putting a wrist shot through the pads of the Pittsburgh goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury.  That lead would hold into the start of the second period.
          Pittsburgh would tie it up at the 8:37 mark of the period, when right winger Pascal Dupuis scored a short-handed goal with a wrist shot past the glove of Isles goaltender, Al Montoya.  The goal was Dupuis' twenty-fourth of the year.  After that the period belonged to the Islanders.  Starting at the 16:36 mark, when right winger Kyle Okposo would take a shot that would ricochet off the skate of Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Englland, and past Fleury to make it 2-1.  Exactly two minutes later, at the 18:36 mark, Josh Bailey would get his first goal of the game, burying a breakaway backhand, while the Isles were shorthanded.  
          The Isles would extend their lead at the 5:52 mark of the third period, when Okposo finished off a one-timer pass from Bailey, to make it 4-1 Isles.  The goals were Okposo's nineteenth and twentieth of the year.  Pittsburgh would claw their way back with two goals in ten minutes.  It started at the 8:20 mark, when center Jordan Stall would split two Islanders defenders and bury a backhander past Montoya, to cut the Isles' lead to 4-2.  The goal was Stall's twenty-fourth of the year.  Ten minutes later, at the 18:29 mark, center Evgeni Malkin would bury his own wrist shot, to cut the Isles lead to one at 4-3.  The goal was Malkin's team leading forty-seventh of the year.  The Islanders would halt the comeback and pad their lead at the 19:55 mark, when Bailey buried the puck into the empty Pittsburgh net, to seal the game at 5-3.  
          The Isles have five games left to play, and the first of the five will be on Saturday.  The Islanders will play their first of their last three home games, against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, puck drop is 1 PM.
         

Islanders Ice Penguins

Islanders celebrate Kyle Okposo's goal (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Facing one of the elite hockey teams of the Eastern Conference, the Islanders offense erupted with five goals, as the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3.
          Center Frans Nielsen scored two goals, and Center Josh Bailey got three assists, in the big win for the Isles. 
          With the win the Islanders concluded an extremely successful five-game road-trip, in which they won four out of the five games.
          It started early for the Islanders, just over three minutes into the game they took their first lead.  At the 3:12 mark, center Frans Nielsen put a rebound, that came off the boards behind the net, past Penguins goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, to make it 1-0 Isles.  It would stay that score until with only five seconds left in the first, the Isles would increase their lead.  At the 19:55 mark of the period, right winger Michael Grabner would fire a wrist shot that glanced off Fleury's glove and in.  The goal was Grabner's seventeenth of the year.
          Pittsburgh would answer back in the second period.  It started at the 1:42 mark when center Tyler Kennedy would tip the puck by Isles goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov, to trim the lead to 2-1.  The goal was Kennedy's tenth of the year.  Just over two minutes later the Penguins would strike again, and tie the game.  At the 4:10 mark, left winger James Neal would fire a one-timer over the glove of Nabokov, and it seemed the momentum was shifting.  However, the Islanders would regain the momentum (and then some), in the final six minutes of the period.  
          Starting at the 12:48 mark, right winger Kyle Okposo would outskate Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik and beat him to the puck.  Okposo then fired a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle and buried it over the glove of Fleury, and off the crossbar, to make it 3-2 Isles.  The goal was Okposo's eighteenth of the year, and it was third straight game that Okposo has scored.  Just over two minutes later, at the 15:20 mark, left winger David Ullstrom would bury a powerplay goal past the blocker of Fleury, to make it 4-2 Isles.  The goal was Ullstrom's fourth of the year.  Finally, about three minutes later, at the 18:08 mark, Nielsen would bury his second of the game.  He was led on a breakaway by Bailey, and was challenged by a sprawling Fleury.  Nielsen would stickhandle away from the goalie and bury a wrist shot into the empty net to make it 5-2 Isles.  The goals were Nielsen's sixteenth and seventeenth of the year.  
          When the third period started both teams switched goalies, but for very different reasons.  Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled from the game after giving up five goals on on eighteen shots.  He was replaced by Brad Thiessen.  On the other hand, Evgeni Nabokov was injured in the second period when he got his skate caught in the ice and fell.  He left with a lower-body injury and did not return.  Al Montoya replaced him and stopped all but one shot.  
          Neal was only man to put one by Montoya, at the 15:42 mark.  While on the powerplay, Neal fired a snap shot by the pads of Montoya to make it 5-3, and that's how the game ended.
          With only six games left, the Islanders will now return home and face these same Penguins.  Puck drop is scheduled for Thursday at 7 PM.          

Top 20 on the Islanders: #6 Kyle Okposo

Kyle Okposo celebrates a goal (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

          Next up on the top twenty list is a young player who has been one of the more consistent Islanders the last three years.  He is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and was named an assistant captain of the team this year.  The number six player is right winger, Kyle Okposo.
          Okposo was drafted in the first round (seventh overall), by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.  Okposo was touted for his big body and great stickhandling.  Okposo has proved these scouts right.  
          Okposo started his hockey career at the age of seventeen playing in the USHL (United States Hockey League).  He played on a team called the Des Moines Buccaneers.  He played there for one year, playing in sixty-one games, getting thirty-two goals and forty-two assists, for a total of seventy four points.  
          Okposo then moved on to play in the WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), for the University of Minnesota.  He played there for two years totaling fifty-eight games.  He scored twenty-six goals and got twenty-five assists, for a total of fifty-one points.  
          Okposo then got drafted and played for the Islanders affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  There Okposo played in thirty-seven games, getting ten goals and nineteen assists, for a total of twenty nine points.  
          Okposo was then called up to the Islanders, at the age of twenty, and hasn't looked back since.  In his NHL career so far Okposo has played in two-hundred sixty-four games, compiling sixty-one goals and ninety-two assists, for a total of one-hundred fifty-three points.
          Okposo is an integral part to this young teams future.  He will continue to grow, and has already become a fan favorite on the Island.  With Okposo continuing to improve his game, Islander fans can see the skies the limit for this young star.  

Islanders tame Panthers

Islander Frans Nielsen scores in shootout against Jose Theodore (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

          The Islanders battled back twice against the Florida Panthers, and eventually ousted them in a shootout, to win 3-2.
          The win was the Isles' third in four chances, on this current five-game road trip.  They will end the road trip in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
          The Islanders fell behind early, when the Panthers scored just six minutes into the game.  At the 5:55 mark center Stephen Weiss took a pass from behind the net and buried a wrist shot over the glove of Islander goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov, to make it 1-0.  The goal was Weiss' nineteenth of the year.  
          The Islanders would bounce back, and tie the game, late in the second period.  At the 18:57 mark, while on the powerplay, left winger Matt Moulson took a pass from linemate, center John Tavares, and buried a wrist shot past the Florida goaltender, Jose Theodore, to tie the game at one.  The goal was Moulson's team leading thirty-fourth of the season.  
          The two teams would match each other in goals in the third.  Florida scored first at the 9:51 mark, when left winger Tomas Fleischmann would take a weird bounce off the boards and fired a wrist shot under the right pad of Nabokov, to make it 2-1.  The goal was Fleischmann's twenty-fourth of the year.  Just over two minutes later, at the 12:22 mark the Isles would tie the game once again.  Right winger Kyle Okposo would throw the puck towards the net and it would deflect off the stick of Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, and past Theodore, to tie the game.  The goal was Okposo's seventeenth of the year, and his second in two games.  Regulation time would end with the game tied at two, and it was time for overtime.
          Neither team would score in the overtime period, sending this game to a shootout.  Florida shot first, and it was center John Madden against Nabokov.  Madden would try to go over the glove of Nabokov, but was not able to put it past him, giving the Isles the early advantage.  The Islanders would send out one of the best lead-off hitters in the game, center Frans Nielsen.  Prior to this shot Nielsen had been 6-10 (60%) in shootouts this year.  Nielsen would go in on Theodore and bury his famous backhand over him and give the Isles the 1-0 advantage.  Nielsen continued his amazing showing in shootouts, and is now 7-11 (63.6) this year.  That would be all the Islanders would need as Nabokov would stop the following two Florida shots, and the Islanders would skate away with the shootout victory.
          Unfortunately for the Isles, the eighth place Washington Capitals also won, and their hopes for the playoffs are almost gone.  With only seven games left, the Islanders sit eleven points out of a playoff spot.  
          The Islanders will conclude, what has been a successful road trip so far, when they visit the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, for a tilt against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.  Puck Drop is scheduled for 7PM.            

Islanders struck by Lightning

Tim Wallace celebrates after giving the lightning the late lead (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

          After falling behind early, the Islanders bounced back from a 2-0 deficit, but were left heartbroken, as the Lightning beat the Isles, 4-3.
          It was the former Islander, Tim Wallace, who delivered the final dagger in the Isles' heart, with his goal late in the third.
          With the loss the Islanders fell to 30-33-11 on the season, to give them 71 points.  With eight games left to play the Islanders sit thirteen points out of a playoff spot, and their hopes of making a run are quickly slipping away.  
          The first period saw the Lightning score the only goal.  The Lightning's star center, Steven Stamkos, scored his first of two goals at the 15:49 mark of the first.  Stamkos would find the puck in a crowd of players and was able to slip a backhander through the five-hole of Isles' goaltender, Al Montoya.  
          The Isles would fall further behind at the start of the second period.  At the 1:46 mark, Stamkos would fire a one-timer over the right pad of Montoya for his second of the game.  The scores were Stamkos' league leading fifty-first and fifty-second goals of the year.  He now sits seven goals ahead of Evgeni Malkin.  The Isles would cut the Lightning lead down, at the 8:15 mark of the period.  
While on the powerplay center Frans Nielsen picked up a loose puck and buried a backhander over the glove of the Lightning goalie, Dwayne Roloson.  The goal was Nielsen's fifteenth of the year.  The Isles would then tie the game late in the period.  At the 19:24 mark, right winger Kyle Okposo took a pass from behind the net by his linemate, center Josh Bailey, and buried his own backhander past Roloson, to tie the game at two.  The goal was Okposo's sixteenth of the year.
          The Isles would take their first lead of the game at the beginning of the third.  Just forty-six seconds into the frame left winger, Matt Moulson would bury his team leading thirty-third goal of the year, knocking in a rebound left by Roloson.  The Islanders would hold the lead until the 9:08 mark, when center Tom Pyatt would tip the puck into the upper right corner of the net, to tie the game at 3.  The goal was Pyatt's eleventh of the year.  The Lightning would get the final goal of the game at the 12:10 mark of the third.  Former Islander, right winger Tim Wallace, would take a Stamkos drop pass and bury a wrist shot over the right pad of Montoya, to give the Lightning the 4-3 win.  The goal was Wallace's third of the year.  
          The Islanders will try to right their ship when they travel a bit more south, to take on the Florida Panthers.  Puck drop is scheduled for 5 PM. 

Islanders Defeat The Devils

Teammates congratulate Nilsson after his shutout (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          The Islanders won the first of three straight meetings with the New Jersey Devils, beating them 1-0, Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum. 
          Right-winger Kyle Okposo scored the only goal and goaltender Anders Nilsson stopped all twenty-four Devils shots for his first career NHL victory.
          It was the first time ever that an Islanders rookie goaltender got his first win while posting a shutout.  In fact it was the first time since the '08-'09 season that a goalie has accomplished such a feat.  Current Islander goalie, Al Montoya, was the last one to do it while he was on the Phoenix Coyotes.  
          With the win the Islanders now have 65 points, which puts them 5 points behind the eighth place Winnipeg Jets.  
         From the start the physicality of the game was out in full force.  The teams were trading hits with each other.  At the end of the game the Devils had twenty-three hits, while the Islanders had twenty.  
          The first period saw no scoring but many scoring chances.  A few of the Islanders chances clanked off the posts and crossbar.  The period ended with the Islanders outshooting the Devils 10-6.
          The second period saw the lone goal of the game.  Okposo was able to out work three Devils before burying a wrist shot under the pads of Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur.  It was Okposo's fifteenth of the year.  The teams would continue to exchange chances none of which got by either goalie.  The Islanders outshot the Devils again, 8-6.
          The Devils would control more of the play in the third getting more pucks toward the rookie Nilsson.  However, Nilsson was up to challenge and stopped every shot the Devils threw at him to win the game.  
          After the game Nilsson acknowledged his teammates for the help they gave him. “I thank all the guys,” Nilsson said. “They blocked a lot of shots and when a shot got through, it was from the boards. They made it really easy for me to play out there today.”  The game ended with the Islanders having twenty-seven blocked shots, while the Devils only had eighteen.
          The trilogy now heads south to Newark, where the two teams will meet again on Thursday night.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM.       

Flyers Soar by Islanders

Flyers celebrate one of six goals (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

          The Islanders could not hold onto an early lead for the third consecutive game, losing in Philadelphia 6-3.
          With the loss the Isles now sit nine points behind the eighth place Winnipeg Jets.  The Isles have eighteen games left to play and Winnipeg has sixteen.  
          The Isles opened the scoring quickly when at the 1:35 mark; center Josh Bailey was able to bury a wrist shot by the Philadelphia goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov.  The lead would only last about eight minutes when Philadelphia's right winger Matt Reed was able to deflect a shot by defenseman Andrej Meszaros, that got by Isles goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Meszaros would get a goal of his own at the 19:10 mark when he blasted a slap shot by Nabokov, for his seventh of the year.  
          The second period would see the Islanders score yet another quick goal.  Just fifty seconds into the frame Bailey would net his second goal of the game and tie it 2-2.  The two goals were Bailey's eighth and ninth of the year.  That would be all the Islanders would have to cheer about in the second.  Philadelphia would take over with two goals.  First, at the 8:58 mark, right winger Jaromir Jagr would find the back of the net, lifting a backhander over the pads of Nabokov.  It was Jagr's seventeenth of the year.  Under a minute later Reed would score his second of the game, with a wrist shot by Nabokov.  The goals were Reed's seventeenth and eighteenth of the year.  
          Philadelphia would extend their lead just over a minute into the frame when left winger Scott Hartnell would snap one by Nabokov's blocker to make it 5-2.  It was Hartnell's thirty-first goal of the year.  The Islanders would close the gap when right winger Kyle Okposo buried a one-timer to make it 5-3.  The goal was Okposo's fourteenth.  The Islanders would pull Nabokov with a minute left in the game.  Though they pressed a little, it wasn't enough as with twenty seven seconds left in the game, Philadelphia center Sean Couturier would hit the empty net and ice the game.  
          The Islanders now have a record of 26-29-9 and have 61 points, which places them fourteenth in the Eastern Conference.   
          The Islanders continue their four game road trip, when they travel to Boston on Saturday.  It will be the last game on the road before coming home and playing a home and home series against the rival Devils.  Puck drop in against the Bruins is scheduled for 1 PM       

Islanders Weather the Storm, Defeat Hurricanes

Islanders celebrate after #21 Kyle Okposo's goal (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

          John Tavares seems to like playing the Carolina Hurricanes.  In the three previous games against them, Tavares has tallied 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists).  He added three more points, with 2 goals and an assist, in the Islanders 4-3 win Saturday night at the Coliseum.
          The Islanders now have a record of 25-25-8 and have 58 points.  They currently sit 6 points behind the 8th place Toronto Maple Leafs.  
          Recent call up Kevin Poulin started in net for the Islanders, while Evgeni Nabokov recovers from the flu.  He finished with 33 saves on 36 shots for his 2nd win in 4 starts.  
          The Islanders got off to a quick start when just 2:07 into the game Kyle Okposo took a Michael Grabner pass and buried a wrist shot over the glove of Carolina goalie, Cam Ward.  It was Okposo's 13th of the season.  The lead would last until 13:47 of the period, when Brandon Sutter took advantage of a mini breakaway to bury a backhand past Poulin for his 13th of the year.
          Carolina didn't waste much time in the second period to take their first lead.  Just 15 seconds into the frame James Tlusty took a Jerome Samson pass and buried the puck in the empty net for his 14th goal.  The Islanders would bounce back when at 4:10 of the frame John Tavares skated right by the Carolina defensemen and drove straight to the net and got one by Ward, his 23rd goal.  The Islanders would take their second lead of the game on the power play, at the 8:01 mark, when Frans Nielsen and Tavares played catch with the puck until Nielsen buried a one timer for his 12th of the campaign.  The lead didn't last long when just 2:57 after the Nielsen goal, Jaroslav Spacek took a shot right off the faceoff that surprised Poulin and tied the game, Spacek's 3rd goal.
          With the game going back and forth the third was set to be all but explosive.  How it ended up was with only one goal being scored; by the Islanders.  Just 38 seconds into the frame Matt Moulson took a hard slap-shot that squeaked through the pads of Ward just enough for Tavares to bang it in and give the Islanders the win, his 24th goal.  Kevin Poulin was a rock in net when the Islanders needed him to be stopping all 12 shots his way in the third.  Including a miraculous last second blocker save on a Jussi Jokinen wrist shot.    
          Tavares now has 58 points, which is an average of a point per game.  He currently sits in 10th place among the top point getters, 13 points behind leader Evgeni Malkin.  
          The Islanders continue their quest for the 8th seed against the Ottawa Senators on Presidents Day.  Puck drop is at 1:00 pm.