Feisty Islanders Faultier Late, Lose in Shootout

The Islanders made drastic changes to their line-up tonight, and it looked as if it was going to pay off until late in the third period.  Leading 3-2 with just under 2:05 to play the Islanders failed to clear the zone and the Sabers scored a soft goal on Nabokov to tie the game. The Islanders would go up in the shootout 1-0 thanks to Matt Moulson but Nabokov allowed the next two Sabre players to score and the Islanders lost the shootout 2-1. The good news is the Islanders did pick up a point, but they handed the Buffalo Sabres their first win of the season.

The Important Things:

The Islanders completely changed their line up tonight and the lines look something like this:

Grabner-Tavares-Okposo

Bouchard-Nielsen-Bailey

Moulson-Regin-Clutterbuck

Martin-Cizikas-Boulton

Eric Boulton made his first start of the season and notched an assist on a goal scored by Matt Martin. Boulton also got into “fight” during the game.

The new line-up produced a lot of hitting and scoring opportunities but Evgeni Nabokov once again allowed soft goals to be scored on him. The Islanders might want to look at back-up Kevin Poulin for the next game, who looked pretty good in the final period of the game against the Blackhawks.

John Tavares was a little extra chippy in tonight’s game, as it seemed he wasn’t getting any of the calls. After being the focal point of a scrum he picked up an assist on the PP after banking a shot off of Matt Moulson’s leg. Tavares now has a point in the Islanders last 5 games.

Frans Nielsen put the Islanders on the board with a nice wrist shot after a toe drag move. Frans now has 3 goals in the short year. Pierre Marc Bouchard pick up an assist on that goal, it was his first point on the year. Hopefully this can be a turning point for him. Bouchard was also involved in some scoring chances as he hit the crossbar after a big rebound.

Can’t Miss Player:

John Tavares did everything tonight. Creating scoring chances, getting into scrums and even notching the assist. Nothing really more to say about Tavares except he is an elite player playing at the top of his game.

Missing Players:

Colin McDonald missed tonight’s game with a hip injury. No information was given on if he will be available for the Islanders next game. Rookie Brock Nelson was a healthy scratch again tonight. Going into opening night, Nelson seemed to be very liked by the coaching and front office. It seems as if he might have fallen out of favor.

What’s Next:

The Islanders are home once again Thursday night, when they will take on the Edmonton Oilers. Game time will be 7pm.