tweet

224

Who are these New York Islanders???? Off to their best start in a decade, The Blue, White and Orange won an impressive OT thriller which was determined by video review in Toronto. Matt Moulsons shot, which bounced off goaltender Dan Ellis, proved to be the game-winner, the Isles 2nd Overtime WIN in consecutive road games. 

1st Period: When Kyle Okposo was ruled out with a shoulder injury, Garth Snow needed to make a move. That move was picking up Michael Grabner on the wire from the Vancouver Canucks. I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Michael Grabner is the fastest Islander since Pat Lafontaine." Grabner, each game has been electric when he gets the puck. When he doesn't have the puck or isn't near the puck, he's like a deer in headlines. In the first, Grabner was Johnny on the Spot, his burst led to the Islanders first goal, beating Ning goaltender Dan Ellis. El Nino picked up the assist along with the Doug Weight. It's always nice when a guy does damage on his old team and tonight Sean Bergenheim did the torturing with a nifty goal towards the end of the 1st. I always enjoyed Bergenheims style of play but now in the Ning jersey I bid him farewell. The period ended 1-1, both Ellis and DiPietro worked the pipes well for the most part.

2nd Period: The Ning clearly didn't know what hit them in the first period. Is this the same NY Islanders we've dominated for years in this building? Or is this a new team? Stamkos and company came out with a sense of urgency. Martin St. Louis got the scoring going 4:44 when he beat Dipietro, assists coming from Stamkos and Lundin. The Islanders didn't panic. It looked like maybe Tampa would get their game going but it didn't last long. Stamkos took a cross-checking penalty giving the Blue, White an Orange a 5-3 man advantage. You knew John Tavares would be on the ice as Scott Gordon is projecting him to lead the charge. Tavares and Wisniewski worked the puck quickly and fed P. A. Parrenteau, who wristed it past Ellis to tie the score at 2. Parrenteau has been quite the surprise this year as he leads the Islanders in points. The Rangers clearly made a horrible move as Garth picked him up on the wire. Later on, Dipietro got his revenge on Bergenheim when he stopped him on a breakway to keep the game tied. The Ning Failed to score on a 5 on 3 as Gillies and Sim sat in the box which really gave Gordon and company confidence.

3rd period: Stellar goaltending from Rick Dipietro. I really wasn't happy when I heard he was getting the nod after that performance Roloson displayed in Toronto, but Scott Gordon gave him the call. Z Konopka took a tripping penalty in the first half of the period and Rickie was there to deny Lecavalier. This was the 4th and final powerplay the Ning would get and would finish the game 0 for 4, including a 5 on 3 which then couldn't capitalize on in the 2nd. Pavel Kubina took a late penalty in the third that could have been a penalty shot and the Islanders would start the OT on the powerplay. Before the powerplay Blake Comeau appeared to have did some damage on his knee crashing the net. He needed assistance off the ice. Wasn't a good replay and I thought Blake would be in some trouble. Luckily I was wrong. 

OT: Isles were working the puck around the Ning end with John Tavares leading the charge. To my surprise, Blake Comeau was back on the ice. With the penalty expiring Matt Moulson chipped a puck that Ellis got a piece of which then bounced his arm which he turned around and swatted out of the air leading to a Ning rush. The play happened so fast that I would have to guess the viewers and crowd at the game had no idea what really happened. What had happened, was when Ellis has swatted the puck, it had already crossed the goal line. It took 10 minutes for Toronto to look at it every which way but ended with the ref saying Islanders goal! The Islanders for the 2nd straight game outplay their opponents on the road in overtime to steal a win. The final score was 3-2.

Grades: Trent Hunter looked absolutely horrible and I'm starting to wonder if his time with the Blue, White and Orange is expiring. Flat D for Trent tonight. Rick Dipietro, who played 13 games in 2 yrs prior to this season gets a B+. He doesn't get the A because he really put the team at risk tonight with this stick handling and roaming outside the net.  The Wiz gets a B-, Moulson a B and Grabner a B. Grabner has really elevated his play the past 5 games and hope Garth will find room to keep him when Okposo comes back.

tweet

224