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No Shut-Out, but a 4-1 Isles Win |
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With the clock winding down in the first period, Mikhail Grabovski scored the Isles first goal of the evening at the 1:55 mark. His first game back with assists by Bailey and Boychuk on a dizzying tic-tac-toe play.
The Isles outshot the Rangers 17 – 10 in the first period. They out-hit them too, but only by one.
“All five players play good.” - Grabovski.
The crowd was heavy with Ranger jerseys, but the Isles fans were loud and proud – and brave. For the first time, Nassau County did right by travelers after Blizzard Juno and the roads were clear enough for fans to get to the barn after digging themselves out.
Matt Martin made it 2-0 at the 15:40 mark of the second when he shot from behind the net to Zeeker, then Clutterbuck gave it a try and Martin came in and batted it past Lundqvist. A goal celebration ensued.
Kulemin ended up in the box for a tripping penalty against Hayes (according to NHL.com, but Staal according to everyone else). For two minutes, the Rangers play hot potato in front of Halak. The one that got to him, he stopped.
Everyone thought the Isles were up 3 – 0 – everyone but the refs and play continued as we were left scratching our heads asking “How was that not in the net?” It was a long time before the next whistle and a video replay showed Ryan Strome hit the crossbar. Damn.
Casey Cizikas was getting under the skin of a few blue shirts, but it was Cal Clutterbuck who pushed a Ranger defender into Lundqvist. That was the last straw. So Clutterbuck sat, and the third period would end with 1:14 of Ranger power play.
Gary Bettman was in the house and spoke with Shannon Hogan before the third period. He was very casual for a change and discussed how much fun a game between two teams that “don’t like each other very much.”
Third period started with Rangers controlling the puck and Halak made a great save until the puck was cleared from the zone. And breathe.
With 14 minutes left of the third, emotions were running high and Strait and Kreider had to be separated.
Ryan Strome scored the Isles third goal while Ed Mangano was talking to Shannon about how the Isles will play an exhibition game during the renovation period of the Coliseum and would stay connected with the community through events. Good to hear, but talk is cheap.
Matt Martin had a breakaway opportunity, but Lundqvist came out six feet from the net to play the puck. Denied. With about seven minutes left, the Islanders fans n in the building began chanting “You can’t beat us.” It was a little early for that. There was still enough hockey to be played that would turn the tide.
Michael Grabner hit the boards skates first when Tanner Glass tripped him up. I gasped, but Grabner was angry as he went back to the bench. Isles went to the power play and with 1:20 remaining on the power play, Rick Nash, the Ranger All-Star, slashed Nielsen and then took him down to the ice resulting in an Islander 5 on 3 advantage. John Tavares scored a power play goal making it 4-0 and there was still power play time for the Isles. The “Yes, Yes, Yes!” chant filled the arena
Capuano put his fourth line out for the last of the power play, but it seemed the Rangers didn’t care much for that. Matt Martin threw a legal hit on Staal and Staal didn’t like it much. MattyMarts17 was ready to discuss the matter, but Klein and Glass jumped into the fray. The refs tried to break things up but whatever it was that Glass was yapping at Matty, it made his blood boil. He wasn’t going to back down. He threw down his gloves, but the refs wouldn’t let them fight.
It took a little to sort out how the officials wanted to hand out discipline. Capuano wasn’t happy with their decisions and John Tavares ended up sitting in the box for Martin who was giving a Misconduct along with Glass.
The clock wound down and with .08.1 remaining the Rangers scored to ruin Halak’s shut-out. He whacked his stick against the cage. He wasn’t happy. They also put a second back on the clock. Isles 3-0 against the Rangers this season.
Martin had to come back out to the ice to accept being the third star of the game. Halak who made 40 saves on 41 shots was the second and JT was the first star. The disgruntled Ranger fans didn’t stick around for the celebration.
It’ll be a long drive home for them.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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