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Reinhart,Kabanov and an Isles 6-1 win over Phoenix

October 9, 2013, 11:49 AM ET [379 Comments]
Dan Petriw
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Before we look back at last night’s 6-1 win over the Coyotes; the Islanders announced this morning that they are returning defenseman Griffin Reinhart to Edmonton of the Western Hockey League. This means that Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck will be activated off injured reserve and will likely see action this upcoming weekend. It will be interesting to see which forward sits as a result of Clutterbuck’s return to the lineup.

As for last night, the Islanders were able to take advantage of their chances and some fortunate bounces which led to a 6-1 drumming of the Phoenix Coyotes. The Islanders did not play their A game per say, however they cashed in on the power play and took advantage of some bounces that were the result of hard work in the attacking zone.

Islanders captain John Tavares potted two goals, while Josh Bailey added a goal and two assists. Peter Regin and Colin McDonald also found the back of the net and Michael Grabner and Frans Nielsen also added three assists each. There were two first in last night’s game as well as Brock Nelson recorded his first NHL point assisting on Peter Regin’s goal and rookie Matt Donovan added his first career NHL goal scoring on the power play.

Once again the Islanders weren’t perfect especially in the first period as they were pushed around a bit by the Coyotes but they took advantage of their chances to build a lead. This time they added upon it and were able to play a solid team defense the second half of this game crushing any hopes for a Phoenix comeback.

All four lines were clicking last night and some players who had been quiet during the first two games were far more noticeable. The Islanders will now travel to Chicago for a game against the Blackhawks on Friday and then go to Nashville for a contest against the Predators on Saturday. I would expect to see Kevin Poulin in net on Saturday as goalie Evgeni Nabokov will be due a game off soon.

A quick follow up on the Kirill Kabanov story. I reached out to a source in the organization who confirmed that Kabanov was sent to the ECHL to get more ice time in a top six role. The team felt that he was not performing well enough to merit top six minutes in Bridgeport. I was reminded that this has worked in the past as both Andrew MacDonald and Trevor Smith were sent to Utah in the ECHL years ago and came back new players. Time will only tell to see if they will have the same success with Kabanov. For more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.
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