9:34 pm: JT makes it 5-3 for the Isles with almost a minute left and then Colin McDonald makes it 6 - 3 with the empty netter.
A regulation home win.
What a special thing!
9:27 pm: Montreal is called for the same too-many-men penalty with 4:22 remaining in the third eperiod which puts the Isles back on the power play.
Jack decised to go with Martin and Okposo and Bailey for the power play. a little odd, but okay. Hamonic and MacDonald out there with them.
Isles are being outshot 32 - 21.
Power play ends with Habs skating into the Isles zone.
Well, so much for that idea.
9:13 pm: Well, well, well. Radek Martinek found the back of the net on his second attempt all the way from the the point, but he did it to put the Isles ahead 4 - 3. Kyle Okposo and thomas Hickey get the assists on that one.
And here I was ready to count them out.
9:06 pm: Isles caught with too many men on the ice and Jack is pissed. Habs have chance to tie it on the power play and do with 24 seconds left of the penalty. Gionta on a Suban rebound. All tied at 3 and a very unhappy coach Capuano.
8:37 pm: John Tavares takes a very unusual penalty for goal tender interference late in the second period. Okay, yes, he did knock Price down.
With the click ticking down the seconds, the Habs are looking to even the score at 3 before heading into the locker room.
8:26 pm: The Habs have a chance to get closer as MacDonald sits in the box. He is soon joined by Mark streit for cross checking. Well, that's a five on three and the best chance the Habs will score on Nabokov.
Good pad save, and then gives it up to PK Suban who takes one hard shot that goes over Nabby, clanks the cross bar and behind Nabokov and in.
8:20 pm: Matt Martin standing alone in front of Carey Price is in the right place at the right time for a pass by Boyes that gets right past Price. A Power Play goal for Matt Martin.
Only a few seconds later almost the same spot, Michael Grabner makes the same move with the same results with assists from Hickey an McDonald to give the Isles a two goal lead.
8:05 pm: After John Tavares takes a big hit along the boards with no call from the res, he slams the bench door yelling. But the guys have his back and they spend the next shift just "banging bodies around' as Brad Kurtzberg said.
8 pm: 49 seconds into the second period and Emelin is called for slashing. Can the Isles power play get one by? Luckily yes, as Matt Moulson grabs a pass from Mark Streit that was meant for Boyes and neatly gets it behind Price.
Matt's eleventh of the season.
As I said, Moulson's line can score when JT isn't on it. Johnny must be pretty sick since his ice time is being closely monitored.
7:36 pm: Travis Hamonic in the box for for tripping puts the Canadiens on the Power Play for -- two seconds. Montreal #14 takes the same tripping penalty and is off to the box. Four on four for now.
7:23 pm: Jack always called Casey Cizikas high energy, and he was as he basically tossed a Galchenyuk into the Islanders bench. And it was a good hit too! No penalty. Unusual for Zeeker!
7:16 pm: it should have been Kevin Poulin in net tonight, but of course, that makes sense.
It only took a few minutes before Nabokov left a wide open net, and Matt Martin did nothing to stop Plekanec in the crease. 1 - 0 Montreal as the mostly red jersey wearing fans chant "Go Habs Go."
10:43 am: Art Staple has confirmed Nabokov in goal, but also confirmed that Visnovsky will miss tonight and Thursday night's games for personal reasons. (I hope his family is okay** Personal family tragedy, not his son though.) Martinek will take his place on D.
7 am: Matt Moulson is the New York Islanders reining "Iron Man," having played every game since he first made the roster. He has had to play on a line with other team mates while John Tavares was kept out of the line up for minor injuries from time to time.
So while John is 'under the weather' and the cold has 'traveled to his kidneys' yesterday as was reported by Newsday's Art Staple, I say again -- "GIVE HIM A NIGHT OFF!"
JT91 may have scored in the shoot-out to help the Isles beat the Sens, but by his own admission, he wasn't himself and didn't have those 'extra gears.' Being sick isn't pleasant, but if his abilities and judgement are compromised, I think they are just opening him up to potential injury which could in turn mean a longer span out of the line-up. It's not worth it.
Good teams step up when their star players are out of the line-up. It happens all the time. While the Islanders have not won many (if any) games if John Tavares isn't contributing on the scoresheet.
I say give the man a night off and let others step up their game. How long can JT91 carry this team on his back and not be worn down so far, he is no longer effective?
I don't think Kevin Poulin will get tonight's start since yesterday was not a game day, so it will probably be Nabokov in net. Many times goalies play better when they play more often, so if he can continue to make brilliant saves, let him.
Art Staple's article on the bad-luck twins, Travis Hamonic and Andy MacDonald, was a good one and very sympathetic of the pair who are playing well but seeing their stats get ugly. Again, this is a TEAM effort.
As a team, the Islanders have to step up their game every night.
Jack Capuano has said every day, he knows how this team has to play. They need to 'grind out' wins. Without their most skilled player in the line-up, that grind may be as coarse as gravel. But it has to work.
MSGPlus2 tonight at 7 pm. That is unless there's a basketball game or something... just kidding.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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