I enjoyed reading the quotes from the Vancouver players in the NY Post today. (On line of course, not the actual newspaper.) But it was evident the NY Islanders should not be taken lightly by any team. Even the league’s point leader. No.
"We had a tough time the whole game," Daniel Sedin said. "They had a lot of energy."
And
"They played well," Luongo said. "It was a tougher game than it looked to be."
I am pretty sure these quotes made Jack Capuano and Garth Snow very happy. I said from the beginning, as long as they compete, the fans should be happy. Not only did they compete, they ended the game with one point and could have taken two had it not been for some impressive shoot-out moves.
Kevin Poulin has not seen a shoot out this season in the AHL and this was his first in the NHL. He did not expect a spin-o-rama move. Goalies throughout the league should begin to expect it. It is now becoming more prevalent because -- it works. It takes the goalie out of position and as long as there is forward motion, the league can’t say too much about it.
Poulin was disappointed, but
“…that’s hockey.” he told Stan Fischler in the post game. Stan asked Poulin, who was visibly upset during the shoot-out, if he was mad at himself for giving up the goal.
“I was mad at him. You wait, wait, wait and he got me glove side.” But the quote that caused the biggest stir on the net was
“It was a show-off move.” Fischler asked if he felt the league shouldn’t allow it -- unless it was Rob Schremp performing it. Trying a little levity with a 20-year-old kid who came within a hair of winning his first NHL game on the Coliseum ice.
Andy MacDonald and Travis Hamonic proved (again) why letting veteran defenseman James Wisniewski go so early wasn’t a problem.
“They played exceptionally well.” was the sentiment expressed by Howie and Butch during the post game. But of course, it was due to so many injuries on defense that the two had to “grow up in a hurry.” Now if A-mac could just put on a little more bulk, he’d be scary. Maybe then he’d also get the calls the refs miss. (Like getting hit in the face with a high stick in overtime that everyone turned a blind eye to. Nice going.)
Michael Grabner tweeted out early in the day that it was nice to see some of his old team mates on the Canucks. But that
“there are no friends on the ice.” Grabner managed seven shots on goal, but could not get any past Roberto. The new line of Grabner, Schremp and Blake Comeau created a lot of energy and gave both Comeau (goal and an assist) and Schremp (two assists) two point nights. Grabner, with all his great speed, was held off the score sheet.
John Tavares continues his point streak with a power play goal in the third that evened it up at two, but JT couldn’t play the hero in the shoot-out to win it for the Isles. But oh, how he tried. You could see the disappointment as he went back to the bench.
PA Parenteau couldn’t do it either, but had Frans Nielsen been there on the ice last night, Kevin Poulin would have been the winning goalie of record for the game played on 1/11/11 at the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. And wouldn’t that have been grand.
Morning Notes: Once again, Rick DiPietro, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen are practicing at the Coliseum. Good for them, they made it to the barn after the snow storm that has hit the Island once again. Personally there is 15” of white fluffy stuff surrounding me here on the east end and the snow blowers have been going full steam for HOURS.
While there is no official word when Kyle will be able to return to game action, let’s hope that both Rick and Frans are available for Thursday’s game. And if you are in town, take advantage of the extension of the $20.11 ticket promotion. Check the Islanders main website for details.
And just as I hit the submit button, the NY Islanders announce that Rhett Rakshani has a concussion and will be evaluated. (oh, just great!)
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