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Isles vs. Sabres after Nemo 3-2 Final

February 9, 2013, 4:38 PM ET [259 Comments]
Dee Karl
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Update

9:24 pm: Somehow John Tavares hit two posts. The second far more important on a penalty shot. This team is doing everything Jack Capuano told them to do. They are throwing pucks at the net. They are doing everything they can and still losing.


9:06 pm: An unfortunate goal for the Sabres as the puck bounces off Nabby's shoulder and behind him into the net.

9 pm: Matt Moulson is getting robbed at every turn, but not as badly as John Tavares just did by hitting the post in very uncharacteristic fashion. He never does that.

8:33 pm: With the power play going now 0-22, there was a bit of a 'Happy Meal' as Colin McDonald ties the score with his first Islander goal at 17:35 of the second.

8:30 pm: Frustrated power play for the Isles and the fans.

7:44 pm: John Tavares doing what he does -- working to make a difference as the Isles were outshooting the Sabres 14 - 4. Assists to Streit and Boyes.

Interesting that the crowd booed Erhoff. Isles fans don't forget! Visnovsky takes his first penalty for -- kneeing? Shouldn't he know better.

6:38 pm: So it seems Jack Capuano changed his mind. Streit has played too many minutes and he's putting STRAIT on the line with Visnovsky and Streit with Hickey. Okay then.

Moulson - tavares- Okposo, Grabner - Nielsen - Boyes, Ullstrom - Aucoin- McDonald, Bailey - Cizikas-Martin. There you go. There are tonight's lines curtesy of Art Staple.

5 pm: Hope all my Long Island friends are safe and sound and doing well after the Nemo snow event. What a sweet name to give the blizzard of 2013. Brookhaven Township is still under a state of emergency and has called residents of all surrounding towns to stay off the roads. If you have seen the reports of 347 being blocked by abandoned cards since last night at 10:30 pm, you'll understand why.

But... the show and the hockey game must go on. (Unless you're in Conn. as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers game has been postponed for the same reason. Roads are closed to all non-emergency personnel.)

I found this on Twitter, but haven’t seen it confirmed, but supposedly the Islanders will scratch former Sabres Eric Boulton and Joe Finley for tonight's game against Buffalo. Just confirmed and add to the list Reasoner.

During this morning’s optional skate, Tyler Myers told the media he was embarrassed on being a healthy scratch and added “…and I should be". Ice time is the biggest thing coaches can use as a motivational tool.


With Myers taking a seat, Andrej Sekera will return to the ice after being out for the past three games with a deep bone bruise on his foot. The 26-year-old Slovakian had three points (1+2) in eight games prior to the injury.

On the other side, a 36-year-old Slovakian will make his Islanders debut as Lubomir Visnovsky will skate for the first time in an Isles sweater. He will be paired with Mark Streit whom it is said has immediate chemistry with the veteran. We’ll see. Lubo has played 771 NHL games during his career and feels he is still an NHL caliber player. Let’s see what he can do for the Isles.

Sabres Patrick Kaleta will be back after missing five games with a neck injury he sustained in Toronto and Josh Bailey will be back on the ice for the Isles after suffering a knee injury in Germany.

Will Rick DiPietro make his second appearance in net against the Sabres? Good question considering the Sabres have Thomas Vanek who is the 9th player in Sabres history to reach 20 points in 10 or fewer games played. How many could he add to his stats? But it's okay, Nabokov gets the start.

Ryan Miller will probably be at the other end of the ice for the Sabres.

The Islanders are 63-70-22 under Head Coach Jack Capuano. Jack needs to win. And he needs to win tonight.

We found Nemo, now let's find two points.








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