There was some doubt in Isles fans heads after Monday's mess on Long Island versus the Sabres. The 7-1 trouncing reverberated in the Isles faithful. So it was important for the next game to be a steady affair, win or loss.
It was.
They met a team who made bold strokes all summer. They changed coaches, players, might have even went from Coke to Pepsi. The Tampa Bay Lightning, however, for all their sweeping change, have still stuttered upon the doorway on the NHL season.
Despite their tying up of matters at the end, it was the Isles who were the steady force, dictating action. The Isles defense forced Tampa to take less quality shots. Joey MacDonald channeled his earlier appearances by leaving no real dangerous rebounds.
On offense,
Jeff Tambellini seemed to find speedy legs. It also helped that nobody on Tampa's blueline made him pay.
Trent Hunter was an almost shark-like presence in and around the net. The man clearly smell blood in the water: his two goals lead the team with 4 for the season.
Kyle Okposo was a presence on the ice also, using his bruising power forward form. The picture of him bopping Stamkos into the wall in Newsday does the heart good this Friday.
Freddy Meyer has a solid outing. His defensive play was noticed by Howie "Is it baseball season still?" Rose and Billy "Where's the freakin pregame!" Jaffe. His growth last year and now this year will be key for the Isles success, especially now that Radek Martinek is on his seasonal injury. Martinek, Meyer, Sutton and of course, Witt, have made the blueline somewhat steadier. The issue is having all four actually healthy at the same time.
Mark Streit, as
Greg "King of Beat Writers" Logan wrote yesterday in his article, accruing #1 dman minutes. Streit has been used in all sorts of scenarios now that Campoli is out. As he gets more used to Gordon's system and familiar on PK work, he should get even better.
The Isles made a strong commitment on Streit, taking a risk but might reap the reward that even with his boffo PP work on Montreal last year, he has sound defense instinct that can be developed and still not near his prime. So far, he has played well and really shown his value.
Let's also give credit where it is due. Joey Mac made people worry when he was on the one way contract that allowed Dubie to head overseas. He had a pretty solid preseason and has, out of 4 starts been solid in 3. This is what the doctor ordered.
Speaking of the good doctor, Isles #1 goalie
Rick DiPietro, seems to be the starter on Saturday against the Panthers. Does that mean this is a sure thing? Hell no.
One has to wonder though, especially after DP hid an injury last season, if the Isles, Snow and Gordon this season have made a statement to him as they have not let him start yet.
Have the Isles taken a more encompassing and careful approach to their 15 year investment and last year's all-star?
One hopes so.
Stats from last night
Mark Streit topped dmen with 25:07
On the lighter side, Jack Hillen had 10:59
Doug Weight led forwards with a robust 21:20
Bergie got even less minutes than Nate Thompson with only 7:24
What gives there?
Meaningful Stat: Isles had 7 penalties as Tampa had 10. After Monday's fiasco, this is a good sign. Isles must remain poised, win or loss. This needs to be a mantra this season. A poised team is ALWAYS in a position to win. Not poised: will always find a way to lose.
SPECIAL LIVE BLOG LAST NIGHT
Our own
Jon Jordan and
B.D. Gallof attempted a live blog that kind of turned into a LIVE CHAT. Special props to Jon who was doing this from the Tampa Press Box. Props to my wife who patiently watched me frantically type while watching the game from my living room. And props to Ek who plugged it in his main blog!
I might start doing more of these down the line as a pre-game only "show" of sorts with special guest and also opposing team bloggers. Stay tuned.
NEXT
Isles take on the Panthers.
Mitch "Banging Heads" Fritz will likely be plugged into that lineup. It will be interesting to see who sits. Nate or Bergie?
Sponsor My Blog
Readers of this blog seem to come out of the woodwork. Friends of friends. Fellow teachers of my wife's school. In fact, many of the emails I get from blog fans are from working professionals. Many from VERY interesting places.
This blog is doing mucho stats, and I appreciate the loyal following we've built here. These blogs are accruing thousands of readers. Some of them have beat Tampa's own attendance last night.
So this season, I am offering a sponsorship from those whose companies are interested in a widely read Islanders blog. They can sponsor the regular blogs, Live Blogs, and even my Blog Box live commentary in-game. Those interested, drop me a line and we can discuss.
Email: B.D. Gallof and put SPONSORSHIP in the subject.
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