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Not Too Wild About a Matinee Win |
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Yes, the Islanders managed to hold the visiting Minnesota Wild to a single goal. But it was not easy.
With almost a minute and a half left in the third, the Wild pulled Niklas Backstrom for the extra skater. While the ice was crowded you would think the Islanders could have scored the insurance goal with an empty net at the other end of the ice for almost 90 seconds.
They could not. The Wild came within a hair of tying the game and bringing it to overtime. Luckily for the home town crowd of 11,278, Al Montoya and company kept the puck out of the net.
The effort was vastly improved from the Saturday night disaster but still the shot totals were exceptionally low. With the exception of the 1st period, the Wild out shot the Isles. The final totals were 21 - 14 on net and 17 - 15 blocked.
Kyle Okposo had five shots - all blocked while Travis Hamonic had four shots on net to Mark Streit's ONE. Hamonic also blocked three Wild shots and one almost took him out of the game.
In the locker room he sat pouring over the Event Summary final. On the other side of the room, Matt Martin did the same.
The room was filled with reporters and cameras as usual. The difference after this win was you could hear yourself think. No music blasting, no high decibel laughter. Smiles, sweat and thinking about what they could have done better.
Stan Fischler's camera man's strobe was blinding Jay Pandolfo. I don't think he minded though. After all, it was the Maven interviewing him and calling him a "hero."
Mark Streit gave interviews in various languages, but I didn't listen. I was too busy watching a little boy in a DiPietro jersey with sleeves hanging over his fingers talking to Matt Martin as he sat in his stall listening intently and asking as many questions as he was answering.
When the young man was done with Martin, he crossed the room to Travis Hamonic and started over again. I wondered if I should have given him my recorder. He was doing a far better job than I was.
I left the room and stood in the tunnel trying to finalize rendezvous plans for me and a can of Tim Horton's coffee. I opted to skip Jack's post game to get home a little earlier (which I didn't).
By doing so, I witnessed something else that touched me, yet disturbed me all at once. The soldiers that were invited guests of the Islanders were waiting in the tunnel to meet the players.
I couldn't help but overhear and watch as one of the soldiers lifted the sleeve of his black tee shirt to reveal the bullet hole in his arm explaining the entry and exit and his painful therapy process afterward.
While we all stand up and applaud the brave men and women who serve this country, they return with scars both visible and invisible that we can never comprehend.
The players stayed with their guests, listening, signing, taking photos and trying to make the day as memorable as possible for them.
For me, it's something I certainly will never forget.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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