Once again the Isles came out with an early lead with Thomas Vanek scoring at 4:01 of the first period. At 15:11, Kyle Okposo would score his 22nd goal of the season. Would it be the dreaded Isles early lead leads to Isles loss? Ultimately, yes.
I don’t know why it happens, but it does. The Isles do much better when they’re trailing in the first and have to make a comeback. It’s an odd statistic.
At 17:17 of the first, the Blues cut the Isles lead in half, but they still went to the dressing rooms with a lead. It was Vladimir Tarasanko’s 16th goal of the season. Before you could blink in the second period, he scored his 17th. Once again, the Isles couldn’t hold a two goal lead. It was Ground Hog day.
The fourth line no longer looks like the fourth line and Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Colin McDonald put the Isles back on top at 3:58 out of the second with a perfect tic-tac-toe move.
Poulin received some lucky assistance from the posts a few times during the third and the Isles held the lead until the Blues went for the extra skater and Kevin Poulin had to make three huge saves within 13 seconds. But at 19:33 T.J. Oshie’s shot got through and this game was going to head to overtime.
I asked the incomparable Eric Hornick how many goals the Isles have given up this season in the last three minutes of a game. His answer was “16 (5 tied, 2 GWG, 7 ENG, 2 others). He added that the Islanders have SCORED in the last three minutes of the third “12 (3 for lead, 3 tied, 2 cut opp lead to 1, 4 EN)…
It was still deflating for everyone, but not as deflating as what would happen about three minutes into the overtime period.
This is where the rant begins. Kyle Okposo’s slap shot was stopped by Halak. That was legitimate. But a few ticks later, with the puck loose in front of Halak’s paint, there was a scramble and the puck soon was in the back of the net. Vanek celebrated, Halak removed his helmet and was leaving the crease and referee Rob Martell called it a goal. Isles win!
Not so fast. The play was being reviewed in Toronto where many eyes view every NHL game. Well, while we waited to hear what they had to say, the MSG truck played the goal over and over from different angles. What were they looking at? Surely that was a good goal. No matter what camera angle they showed, it all looked the same. Good goal.
Nope. Somehow the Toronto Hockey Gods said it was a “kicking motion.… Considering that Vanek’s blades never left the ice as he was turned around by a Blues player. According to Toronto if you’re sliding on ice in any direction, it’s a ’kicking motion.’
Funny, I always thought a ‘kick’ meant picking up your foot, even just a little and directing something in a direction. Toronto has decided to change the definition of kick to suit themselves.
Now, I am not normally a conspiracy theorist, and just tonight I was said to “tow the company line,… but you have to be FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME NHL! How the hell do you get this one wrong? Is there actually some sort of secret memo in the NHL that says “Screw the NY Islanders as often as possible…?
Just like Chris Christie knew nothing of BridgeGate, I’m sure Gary Bettman himself is not responsible for the Islander bias. No, this bias comes from years of being treated as the red-headed step-child of NY and the fact that the NHL is such a small business where grudges will carry over from year to year.
Maybe it is imagined, but it certainly looks real today.
The Hockey Gods in Toronto have checked goals like this one repeatedly and repeatedly let the call on the ice stand. On Twitter, Isles fan @4StraightCups posted numerous clips of goals that were reviewed for “a kicking motion… that looked far more like a kick, but those goals stood.
So how could this be?
Thomas Vanek himself had his own theory that was relayed from the locker room by Newsday’s Art Staple
Arthur Staple …@StapeNewsday 5h Vanek: "I thought it was a terrible call... I don't know if it's who we are. If that's Pitt or a top team, that's maybe a goal." #Isles
The Maven also thinks there was a problem here,
Stan Fischler …@StanFischler 40m Inexplicable. That's the only way to explain the NHL Toronto office disallowing #Vanek's OT goal at Nassau. Unless you have a better idea
And since I can’t get fined, I can also say the NHL robbed the Islanders today of two points. But the biggest offense is that there is no consistency in this game and try as they may to “get it right,… someone keeps getting it WRONG.
I thought that’s why there is video review? If the video clearly shows something, then it’s that’s what it is. And if the video is non-conclusive, then the call on the ice, the one that Rob Martell made, should have stood.
But it was screw the Islanders day in Uniondale, or as many fans call it -- just another game.
Oh... so yeah... they lost in the shoot-out.