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Hall Scores 2 in 8 Seconds But Isles Prevail |
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I don’t like seeing Matt Moulson on another line. But that’s just me.
Ryan Smyth was booed every time he touched the puck. Cheers rained down on him when he was knocked off it. This was his 1205 game in the NHL. That’s quite a career.
First goal came at 9:59 of the first period when Travis Hamonic behind the net found Josh Bailey waiting to the right of the Dubnyk’s net.
It was a short lived lead as Taylor Hall scored into a wide open net with 4:08 left of the first. Hamonic and McDonald were on Nabokov’s left side with him. Hall had all the room in the world to score. Only eight seconds later -- Hall did it again. That took the wind out of their sails for sure and left us questioning whether it’s finally time to separate Hamonic and MacDonald.
The game was physical with no fighting, but there was some pushing and shoving in front of the net with Casey Cizikas in the middle of it on occasion. Matt Donovan dumped Ryan Smyth in a corner. It was like beating up on grandpa.
After the first period, Josh was with Peter Ruttgaizer of MSG. They discussed how unsteady the Oilers goalie looked during the first 20 minutes. “Anytime someone is going through struggles, you want to pepper him with shots.”
When asked about his ex-team mate Taylor Hall, he told Peter “I played with him when he was a rookie. He was my left winger, he’s fearless out there. We have to give him some respect, but not too much.”
Second period and another Okposo giveaway. It’s amazing how Kyle can make a mistake and then a brilliant play. The Isles second on the power play as Gazdic was in the box for tripping. Visnovsky kept the puck in the Oilers zone and passed to Moulson, (who was back on the ice with JT) who passed to JT, back to Moulson in the slot who passed it to Okposo to bang it in. It wasn’t exactly a reprieve, but he’ll take it. They were all tied at two.
Josh Bailey impressed making some fancy moves through traffic and got off a shot, but Dubnyk was getting better as time went on.
Kyle Okposo was called for a tripping penalty at the blue line and the Oilers managed three shots on net during the power play. Then Hamonic was called for holding only a few seconds after Okposo was sprung. It was back to the PK for the Isles. Nabby kept coming up big during the second power play. Frustration seemed to be setting in as Matt Moulson went to the box for slashing.
Nabokov had to work some magic with the Isles a man down. Luckily with only 1:07 left of the second, John Tavares gave the Isles the go-ahead goal with not one, not two but three efforts with the puck.
Period three began with a 1:56 power play for the Isles, but they were not successful this time. At even strength, Michael Grabner had an excellent chance, but you could hear the puck smack into Dubnyk’s pads. Grabner was clearly frustrated staring up at the ceiling.
One of those terrible calls for delay of game with the puck over the glass put the Isles back on the power play. Dubnyk kept getting better and made each save the Isles could throw at him.
Matt Martin had his own break-away and shot from a sharp angle deep in the Oilers zone. Nice moves from Matty Marts who had five hits and five shots on net.
It’s clear that Kyle Okposo has developed a bit of a nasty streak after working out all summer. He is quick to get into it a little and challenged Smid against the boards while play continued.
With 4:15 left of the third, Ryan Smyth almost tied the game. Casey Cizikas skated the puck all the way out and deep into the Oilers zone. I think he just wanted it away from Nabokov. He’s having flashbacks. Casey made several smart plays in the last few minutes of the period.
Perhaps if the Isles could manage a few insurance goals, we wouldn’t all have heart attacks in the last five minutes of the third period -- every game.
Amazingly enough, Schultz was called for a penalty with only 1:48 left of the third period. Taylor Hall had a short handed chance as he blew past Visnovsky and really wasn’t tied up much by MacDonald. Nabokov was very high in the paint -- but made the save anyway.
The Oilers pulled their goalie for the last minute to even things up and Tavares missed the empty net. It didn’t matter though as the Isles got the two points at home.
Taylor Hall was the third star, Bailey was second and John Tavares was the first star of the game with a goal and an assist. It was another multi-point game for Captain Tavares. “We were the ones who wanted the next goal. We didn’t sit on our heels. We got over 40 shots again. We stayed aggressive.”
During Jack Capuano’s post game he said the guys deserved to win the game. “We did a lot of good things. It was huge to kill those penalties. We executed pretty well tonight. The Buffalo game and this game, this is how we have to play to be successful.”
He was very happy with the team’s decision making tonight and the speed of the game. “ Our system is to play on our toes.”
Jack said he wasn’t happy with his first line after the first period and they got a talking to. But he was very happy with the play of Casey Cizikas when he was asked. “He knows exactly who he is. He gives you everything he’s got.”
During the post game talk with Butch Goring, there was much talk about Josh Bailey and his poise. “Josh Bailey is just around the corner from being a star.” He is truly coming into his own. “ We didn’t see those things from Josh two or three years ago. It just took him a little longer than we wanted. These guys can score 30 goals and I believe that.” It is al about the chemistry that the lines are developing. “Overall a really strong game for the Islanders.”
Bailey himself said that it was just a good 60 minute game where they kept their composure even after the two quick goals. John Tavares felt the key tonight was that for most of the game they dictated the play and kept the momentum. Of course, if not for Nabokov’s stellar play during the penalty kills, things may have been different. But all lines did contribute and sacrifice.
And that is the only way the Isles will continue to put points on the board. Jack knows what they have to do -- so do they.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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