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: #9 Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner skates for Islanders (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the top twenty list is quite possibly one of the fastest men to put on a pair of skates for the Isles.  He was an NHL all-star last year, and he has put up his second consecutive solid season this year.  The number nine player on the Isles, is right winger, Michael Grabner.
          Grabner was drafted in the first round (14th overall), by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.   He played for the Canucks in the 2009-2010 season.  While there he played in twenty games, getting five goals and six assists, for eleven points.  He then left Vancouver for the Florida Panthers, where he never made it on their NHL squad.  Subsequently, Florida put Grabner on waivers, where he was then picked up by the Islanders on October 5th, 2010.
          Since being claimed, Grabner has been a big part of the Islanders.  Last year, Grabner put together an all-star year compiling thirty-four goals and eighteen assists, for forty-two points.  He has slowed down a little bit, but has still had a good second year as an Islanders.  So gar this year, Grabner has sixteen goals and eleven assists.  
          If Grabner can improve on one part of his game, he could become a star.  That part is scoring on his many breakaways.  If you watch the Isles consistently, you will notice that in most of them, Grabner gets at least one breakaway.  This is because he is one of the fastest players in the league this year.  If he could find a way to bury more of his chances in the back of the net, he could become a big time goal scorer. 
          Grabner is already a solid player for the Islanders.  With a few more breakaways going his way, he can become an elite player with the Isles.    

Islanders late rally not enough. Lose 3-2 to rival Flyers.

#91 John Tavares tries to squeeze through Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          The New York Islanders made a furious push in the final six minutes of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but fell short, losing 3-2, Thursday night.
          With the loss the Islanders fell into last place in the conference, holding a record of 28-32-11.  Their sixty-seven points is eleven behind the eighth place Washington Capitals.  
          The first forty minutes of the game belonged fully to the Flyers.  They took their first lead of the game at the 8:41 mark of the first.  Center Zac Rinaldo raced to the puck in the corner and flung one towards Isles goalie, Evgeni Nabokov.  The puck bounced off the back of Nabokov's right pad and in, to give the Flyers the early 1-0 lead.  The goal was Rinaldo's second of the season.  About five minutes later, at the 13:26 mark, right winger Claude Giroux was able to bury a one timer over the right leg of Nabokov, to give the Flyers the 2-0 advantage.  The goal was Giroux's twenty-sixth of the year.  
          The second period did not go much better for the Isles.  The Flyers would expand their lead at the 7:02 mark of the frame.  Left winger Scott Hartnell was led on a breakaway by his teammate, defenseman Kimmo Timonen.  Hartnell would capitalize on his opportunity and bury a wrist shot over the glove of Nabokov, to make it 3-0.  The goal was Hartnell's thirty-third of the year.  
          The Islanders would come out looking like a different team in the third.  They got more shots towards the net, and prevented the Flyers from getting anything difficult shots through to Nabokov.  The Isles would finally break through at the 13:30 mark, when defenseman Mark Streit fired a hard slap pass to right winger, Michael Grabner, who tipped it by Bryzgalov, to make it 3-1.  The goal was Grabner's sixteenth of the year.  Under a minute later, at the 14:05 mark, the Islanders would strike again.  Mark Streit would hold onto the puck and make a bevy of moves to get by three Flyer players, before putting the puck in front of the net, where center John Tavares would bang it home, to make it 3-2.  The goal was Tavares' team leading thirty-first of the year.  However, the Isles' final push in the last minute was not enough as the Flyers would hang onto the lead and get the win.  
          The Isles have only eleven games left this year, and will do everything they can to get as many of the twenty-two remaining points they can.
          Their journey starts in Montreal, against the Canadiens, Saturday night.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM.                  

Islanders Dethrone Kings

Islanders celebrate after Streit's overtime winner (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

          On a day where former defenseman, Kenny Jonsson was inducted into the Islanders hall of fame is was a current defenseman, Mark Striet, whose goal in overtime lifted the Islanders to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, at the Nassau Coliseum, Saturday afternoon.
          From the start the game was a very physical one.  The teams combined for a total of 89 hits with the Islanders finishing with a season high 48 while the Kings finished with 41.

          The first period saw a lot of the play happening in the Islanders zone, where the Kings were able to keep with their forecheck and get pucks toward Nabokov, who stopped all 12 he saw that first frame.  However is was the Islanders who left with the 1-0 lead, as Michael Grabner was able to get one by the Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, after the puck ping-ponged through traffic, for his 15th of season. 

          The second period saw much of the same with the Kings out shooting the Isles 12-4.  However this period saw Andrei Loktionov score as he deflected a Dustin Brown shot past Nabokov to even the score 1-1.

          When the Islanders came out in the third they played a much more physical game.  They also blocked a lot of shots, making Nabokov's job a little easier.  The Isles finished with 22 blocked shots in the contest.  The period ended with the Islanders out shooting the Kings 12-11, however none of those 23 shots went in.   

          With both teams now securing a point they played a crucial overtime for a pivotal extra point.  The Isles are trying to stay within firing range for that 8th and final playoff spot, while the Kings are right above that playoff dividing line just 4 points ahead of both the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.  

          The overtime didn't last all that long as just 1:36 into the frame the Isles set up a beautiful goal by Mark Streit, his 5th of the season.  Andrew MacDonald threw a pass from his own zone up to Matt Moulson at center ice, who tapped one to Streit who cut through 3 Kings defenders and shot one 5-hole on Quick to end the contest.

          The win ups the Islanders record to 23-23-8, while the Kings drop to 26-19-11.  Next up for the Islanders is yet another matinee game against the Florida Panthers tomorrow afternoon, puck drop at 3:00