October 4
It was a nail biter but the Islanders finished off the
Devils in a shootout, thanks to Matt Moulson, to get their first win and first
two points of the season. Nabokov started for the Islanders and allowed 3 goals
on 29 shots, but stopped all 6 shootout attempts. Michael Grabner tallied 2
goals on breakaways, one in the first period and the other in the second, and
then added an assist on Frans Nielsen’s goal in the third period. Hamonic,
Bailey and Donovan each had one assist on the night.
The Important Things:
Michael Grabner
was the player to watch for the Islanders tonight. He played a factor in all
three goals and could have had another as he had 2 other chances on breakaways,
both which Devils Marty Brodeur stopped. Grabner looked he was ready to prove
that his 34 goal season 3 years ago was no fluke.
Evgeni Nabokov managed
to get the win but allowed a soft goal by Devils forward Damien Brunner in the
first and then as the game progressed Nabokov allowed a lot of big rebounds to
happen after initial shots. He looked like a fish out of water a few times as
he could be seen flopping around trying to make saves off rebounds. On the
other hand, he wasn’t getting any help from the referees as late in the third
period the Devils were in the his crease making contact with him a few times
though no penalties were called.
Special Teams
Officially the Islanders were 2/2 on the penalty kill but
the Devils scored seconds after one had just ended. The power play, which was
10th last year in the shorted season was 0-2 on the night and only
managed one or two good chances. With Nabokov as shaky as he was tonight the
Islanders will need to capitalize on every PP they get if they intend to make a
deep playoff run this year.
Rising Stock:
Grabner is the obvious choice for this selection so lets go
in a different direction. Matt Donovan
is tonight’s selection. As a rookie he played close to 20 minutes on the ice.
He saw some power play minutes, so late game regulation minutes and even some
overtime minutes. He picked up an assist, a blocked shot and was a +1 on the
night.
Falling Stock:
It is early in the season to say one individuals stock is
falling as it has only been one game, so here are just a few points that the
Islanders need to work on for tomorrow. Kyle
Okposo needs to capitalize on his
opportunities. Okposo was only credited with one shot but missed the net and
hit the post one two other possible scoring chances. John Tavares looked completely invisible and the announcers only
called his name a few times during the game, showing he was kind of a
non-factor.
What’s Next:
The Islanders come home for their first game home game of
the season tomorrow night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are 0-1 on the
young season. Puck drops at 7pm.
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