First period looked great for the Isles and Kyle Okposo who scored twice within three minutes. I’m thinking he really, REALLY wants in on that Olympic squad. Marc Andre Fleury looked a little shaky at first and the first 20 made it seem that this was going to be all Islanders. But things aren’t always as the seem for the Islanders.
While the officiating was spotty at best, I will not blame the OT loss on their inability to make appropriate calls for blatant disregard of rules or safety (I‘m looking at you Letang!) The loss hangs squarely on the PK. Something has to be done, and quickly.
Andrew MacDonald is almost as good a goalie as he is a defenseman. Which I’m not sure is saying a whole lot. Another player who has his moments of brilliance or error.
Anders Nilsson had a great game for his second NHL start and had good rebound control for the most part. He also had a bit of an edge and doesn’t like being crowded in his crease. Good. Be aggressive. You’ll need to be in an Isles jersey.
Frans Nielsen had the game on his stick during a penalty shot chance, but Fleury made the save and Nielsen wasn’t the hero.
With Tavares in the box for cross checking, James Neal scored a power play goal that put the Pens on the board. Aaron Ness was in the box for high sticking in the third when Crosby scored his own power play goal to even the score at two.
Late in the third period, Malkin showed his true colors when he took a few shots at John Tavares before finally being called on it. It was his second trip to the box within minutes. He’s certainly no candidate for the Lady Byng.
Malkin isn’t the only player on the Penguins who likes to take liberties. Kris Letang tripped up Thomas Vanek in front of Fluery’s net not once, but twice. Some may say they thought that Vanek embellished a little, but I feel the first time he ended up flat on the ice after taking a stick to the legs was genuine.
The Isles came away with a single point for the second game in a row. According to Jack Capuano, it certainly wasn’t the reward they deserved for the way the team played.
“We played them now how many times and there’s been a lot of one goal games?” Three Jack. Three. “I’m not a stat guy, but we needed a third goal.” Yep, that penalty shot would have done it.
Capuano has always told the press with the amount of elite players in this league, “…you’re not going to stop them, you’re going to have to contain them. I thought we did a good job.” It just fell short as Sydney Crosby beat just about everyone go get to Nilsson.
“Once the turnover happened on the blue line they gave up space and you got 87 coming up on you with good speed.” Jack actually said some nice things about Nilsson and the way he played. Usually he doesn’t like to talk about his goaltenders, but I guess now he’s making an exception.
When asked about the morale of the room, Jack defended his players. “These guys work, and to me people can say what they want to say, but at the end of the day you want to get the most out of your players -- and they work.”
He admitted he felt the same frustrations as the players. “They’re giving it to you off the ice, in the video meetings, in practice and in their work ethic. We didn’t get it done. The only way to get out of this is to continue to work and stay focused and stay committed.”
While the Isles didn’t get the breaks they needed, Jack did try to match up as best he could. Some players didn’t get the minutes they normally would, although that also means that maybe some were over worked.
Kyle Okposo‘s post game comments were reserved as the loss had tempered his two goal game and being named second star of the night. “…the third period we didn’t have the same pizzazz, same jam, we kinda chipped pucks in. We have to do a better job of closing out games.”
When Okposo was asked what he thought of the evening’s officiating, he chose his words carefully. “I have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do, I wouldn’t want to have to do it, but I thought they missed some calls tonight.” Ya think?
Kyle was just sorry they couldn’t get the win for Anders who played a game worthy of winning.
Sideboard: Tonight a portion of the proceeds is being donated to the Smile Train. A crowd of 13,915 was announced. Not bad for #GivingTuesday.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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