Top 20 on the Islanders: #16 Anders Nilsson

Anders Nilsson in the Islander locker room after his first NHL win (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the Islanders top 20 list is a man who just recently got his first NHL win of his career.  He has been up and down with the Islanders the last two years.  The number sixteen player on the list is goaltender, Anders Nilsson.
          Nilsson was drafted by the Islanders in the third round (sixty-second overall), in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.  He is very tall for a goaltender, as he stands at 6' 5". 
          Nilsson was playing with Lulea HF, of the Swedish Elite League, before being drafted.  He was also selected to play for the Swedish team in the World Junior Championships.  He played in one game and got the win, giving up three goals.  
          This year Nilsson started the season playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  While there he compiled a record of 15-6-2 and had a goals against average of 2.32.  In the month of February Nilsson was named the Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month. In seven games, Nilsson went 6-0-1 with a 1.26 goals-against average, a .955 save percentage and one shutout as he helped the Sound Tigers remain the hottest team in the American Hockey League.
          Due to his efforts, Nilsson was called up to the big club on March third.  It was his second go around with the Islanders as he was called up in mid-November also.  However, it was in March that Nilsson showed how great he could be.  In a game against the Devils on March fourth, Nilsson turned away all twenty-four shots he faced and earned his first NHL shutout, in the same game he got his first NHL win.
          Nilsson is only twenty-one years old, and still has a lot to prove.  However, I believe he is ready to, and I also believe he is going to get his shot sooner rather than later.  With the injury history of Rick DiPietro, and the aging of Evgeni Nabokov and Al Montoya, Nilsson may become the Isles new number one goaltender in the next couple of years.                

Top 20 on the Islanders: #17 Casey Cizikas

#53 Casey Cizikas works against #26 of the Flyers Eric Gustafsson (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the top 20 list is a player who has been with the Islanders, since being called up February twenty-fourth.  He has shown he is a solid two way player with good hands.  The number seventeen player on the Islanders is, center Casey Cizikas.
          Cizikas was drafted in the fourth round (ninety-second overall), by the Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.  He was playing for the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League, where he had a great career.  In four seasons, Cizikas had 88 goals and one hundred and sixteen assists, for two hundred and four points.  
          This year Cizikas has spent most of his time playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  He has compiled fifteen goals, along with twenty-nine assists, for a total of forty-four points.
          He was called up to the Islanders in February, due to the fact that there were just so many injuries to the roster.  In his nine games with the Isles, Cizikas has no goals and three assists.  
          Though his stat line may not show it, Cizikas has been a very valuable player.  He is aggressive with the puck, and does not shy away from dishing out some big hits.  
          It's this style of aggressiveness and his smarts with the puck, that should have Cizikas playing on the Island on a more regular basis for the rest of this season, and into the next.  

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.                  

Top 20 on the Islanders: #18 Aaron Ness

#55 Aaron Ness holds of a Florida Panther while skating with the puck (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the list is another player who has only played a small amount of games with the big club.  However, he has shown great decision making with the puck, and is a very good defensive defenseman.  My number eighteen player on this list is defenseman, Aaron Ness.
          So far this year Ness has spent a bulk of his time playing for the Islanders minor league team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The head coach of the Sound Tigers, Brent Thompson, has said nothing but good things about Ness.  And why should he?  Ness' work ethic and will to become a great defenseman, has people on Long Island talking.
          With Bridgeport so far this year Ness has four goals and eighteen assists, to give him a total of twenty-two points.  But where Ness excels is his defensive play.  
          Ness is very smart with the puck has quick hands, and he knocks the puck off his opponent's stick often.  He's a very pesky player who, for a defenseman, is very quick.
          Fans of the Islanders got a look at Ness' potential when he was called up to the big club on February seventh this year.  He showed that he could be a great defenseman for a young team.  Islander coach, Jack Capuano, loved Ness' play but believed he needed one more season in the AHL (American Hockey League) to get ready for the NHL.
          Ness has the potential to grow into a first line defenseman and be a solid player for the future.  People have a lot to look forward to with Aaron Ness.   

Top 20 on the Islanders: #19 Micheal Haley

Marty Reasoner and Micheal Haley celebrate after a goal (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

          Next up on the Islanders top twenty list is a man who has only played nine games as an Islander this year.  He's been playing most of this season at Bridgeport, but could be playing much more on the island in the near future.  My number nineteen player on the list is left winger, Micheal Haley.

          Haley signed on with the Islanders in 2009, after going undrafted the previous year.  He's been known as a very gritty player who well get his share of goals.  

          So far Haley has had a productive season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  In forty-four games, Haley has fourteen goals and eight assists, giving him a total of twenty-two points.  But where he excels is being a grinder on the ice, a man who has all his teammates back, and won't take kindly to cheap shots by his opponent.  Haley leads his team, and sits within the top fifty in the league, in penalty minutes.  He currently has one hundred and one penalty minutes this year.  

          Haley was called up to the big club just before Christmas, on December twenty-first.  He stayed up until he was sent back down on January second.  He was then recalled back to the island on March tenth, for two games, and was sent back to Bridgeport on March twelfth.  

          During his time with the Islanders, Haley played in nine games and had no points.  However, in that small amount of games, Haley lived up to his gritty style of play and compiled thirty-three penalty minutes.

          Though he only played in nine games, Haley has shown his potential to be a solid checking line player.  Islanders fans should get used to his name, because he's probably a player the big club will lean on more in the future.  

                       

Islanders Lose Heartbreaker to Capitals....agian

Alexander Ovechkin celebrates after his game-tying goal (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

          On a night where everything seemed to be going the Islanders way, the Capitals emerged as the victor, beating the Isles 5-4.
          The Isles had friendly bounces going their way, a working power play, a pair of three-goal leads and even a shootout, but came out of the game with a single point.  
          The loss is the Islanders fourth one in a row, as their chance for making the playoffs, seems to slipping out of their grasp.  The Islanders now sit at 28-31-11 with sixty-seven points.  That's now eleven points behind the eighth place Capitals.  Each team has twelve games left to play.
          The first period was all Islanders.  They outshot the Capitals 10-4, and outscored them 2-0.  It started at the 8:54 mark of the period when left winger Matt Moulson scored one of the wackiest goals, in all of hockey, this year.  Moulson took a hard slap shot that went high off the glass behind the net.  Washington goalie, Michal Neuvirth, turned around and looked behind the net, but had no idea where it was.  Suddenly the puck bounced off his stomach and into the net, to give the Isles an early 1-0 lead.  The goal was Moulson's thirtieth of the year.  The Islanders would add to their lead near the end of the period.  While on the powerplay, at the 19:39 mark, defenseman Travis Hamonic took the puck down low and threw towards the front of the net.  The puck then ricocheted off a Capitals player's skate and in.  The goal was Hamonic's second of the year.  
          The second period would see the Islanders extend their lead even more.  On the powerplay again, at the 9:05 mark, center John Tavares would get a rebound, kick it to his stick, and bang it home, to give the Islanders a 3-0 lead.  Just under thirty seconds later, at the 9:33 mark, right winger Mike Knuble would tip a shot past, Isles goalie, Evgeni Nabokov, to trim the Isles' lead to 3-1.  The Islanders would get their momentum back at the 11:44 mark, when Tavares would bury a wrist shot over the glove of Neuvirth, for his second of the game, which gave the Isles a 4-1 lead.  The goals were Tavares' twenty-ninth and thirtieth.  He is now tied with his line mate, Matt Moulson, as the team leader in goals.  With under a minute left in the period, at the 19:07 mark, left winger Alexander Ovechkin would bury a rebound left by Nabokov, to make it 4-2 going into the third.  
          Under two minutes into the third the Capitals would trim the lead again.  At the 1:51 mark, defenseman Dmitry Orlov would bury a wrist shot over the blocker of Nabokov, to make it 4-3 Isles.  Then at the 10:51 mark the Capitals' comeback would be complete.  Ovechkin would be stopped on a one-timer by Nabokov, but he couldn't hold onto the puck and Ovechkin would bury his own rebound to tie the game at 4, and send this one into overtime.  
         With both teams securing a point, the overtime saw nobody score and the game went to a shootout.  The Islanders sent out center Frans Nielsen, Tavares, and Moulson.  The Capitals countered with left winger Alexander Semin, Ovechkin, and Orlov.  Nielsen was first to shoot, and he clanked his famous backhander off the post.  Trying to give the Capitals the advantage Semin came in fast, but had the puck poked away from him by the stick of Nabokov.  Tavares would give the Isles the advantage as he was able to bury his wrist shot under the glove of Neuvirth, to give the Isles a 1-0 lead.  Ovechkin would tie the shootout, burying a backhander by Nabokov, to make it 1-1.  Next up was Moulson, who tried to go over the blocker of Neuvirth, but he was up to the challenge, stopping him and giving the Capitals a chance to win it.  With a chance to win it, Orlov skated towards Nabokov, but he lost control of the puck and never got a shot off.  With the shootout going into sudden death, Islander coach Jack Capuano sent out his captain, defenseman Mark Streit.  Streit tried to go five hole, but Neuvirth closed his pads in time and stopped him.  The Capitals then sent out center Matt Hendricks to face Nabokov.  Hendricks put on a ton of moves and fooled Nabokov enough to get one by him and give the Capitals the win.  
          With their playoff hopes slipping a way, the Islanders will try to end their losing streak on Thursday night, when they play host to the Philadelphia Flyers.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM.             

Top 20 on the Islanders: #20 Jay Pandolfo

Islanders #29 Jay Pandolfo defends against Montreal #76 PK Subban (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the Islanders top 20 list is a player who we signed this offseason on a try-out basis.  He has proven to be a critical part of the Islanders penalty killing this year.  I introduce you to the number twenty player on the list, left winger Jay Pandolfo. 
          Pandolfo signed on with the Islanders this year, after spending the last 13 seasons with the New Jersey Devils.  Isles GM Garth Snow saw him as a player who could be a valuable mentor to the young Islanders.  
          In his career so far, Pandolfo has played in 871 games.  In those games Pandolfo has compiled 100 goals and 125 assists, for a total of 225 points.  
          Even though that is not a bad stat line by any means, what Pandolfo really excels in is the penalty kill.  Isles coach Jack Capuano has put Pandolfo out there almost every time their opponent has the man advantage.  
          Pandolfo has shown why the coaches have so much faith in him.  He currently leads all Islanders forwards with 58 blocked shots.  That also places him just out of the top ten, at number eleven, in the league for blocked shots by a forward.  He has shown that he is not going to shy away from anything, and put his body on the line in order to prevent a goal.  
          It is this reason that Pandolfo has ended up on this list.  Not only does he block plenty of shots, which helps prevent goals, but his hockey wisdom as well.  Pandolfo is a key factor in teaching these young kids how to play hockey well.  
          With his insight and his play, Jay Pandolfo could be a major factor in helping this team become contenders, for years to come.