Isles Beat Canucks in SO

There are two questions on the minds of Islander fans these days:  Who the heck are these guys wearing Islander uniforms and where have they been?

New York won it’s third straight game last night, beating the heavily favored (at least according to the Canadian media) Vancouver Canucks 2-1.  The well fought contest had to be decided by the shoot-out format, where the Islanders’ Frans Nielsen recorded the only goal, dekeing All Star goaltender Roberto Luongo to the ice before depositing the puck in the net.

My observations from the game:

-  Joey MacDonald gains more confidence by the day.  He made several impressive saves and held the fort admirably in the waning seconds of overtime while Vancouver buzzed around his net.

- The impact that Radek Martinek has on the Islander defense cannot be overstated.  Not only does he provide a strong shutdown presence, but his smooth skating is a big asset in breaking out of the zone and starting the rush.  There’s not too many New York defensemen who would be in the top four of the depth chart of many NHL clubs, but Martinek is undeniably one of them.

- There has been quite a bit of credit given to Mark Streit for revitalizing what was once a moribund power play unit.  However, while I feel that Streit has definitely been a positive addition, Doug Weight has had, in my opinion, a bigger influence.  His patience and experience allow more movement to develop and he has proven adept at finding the open man on a consistent basis.

- Relax, Islander fans:  To quote The Who, “The kids are alright”.  Nielsen played an outstanding game and his prowess with the puck is becoming more evident.  Josh Bailey may be in for a longer stay than originally planned as he has exhibited major flashes of talent in terms of playmaking.  There are even promising developments on defense.  Brett Skinner still has much to learn, but he’s definitely off on the right foot.

The Islanders face the Devils on Friday and will go for their fourth straight victory.  Though still in the basement of their own highly competitive division, New York has exceeded expectations to this point and are far from the bottom dwelling team many “experts” predicted they would be.

Perhaps folks ought to hold off on ordering that Islander jersey with the name John Tavares or Victor Hedman for a little bit.

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Last post (s) by Frank Mazzola

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