After being faced with the Islanders' third straight loss in regulation, head coach Jack Capuano knew he had to do something, and fast. He didn't demote anyone or sit anyone down. Instead, he made a couple of adjustments to his lines. And wouldn't you know it, they worked.
Kyle Okposo started on the top line with John Tavares and Matt Moulson tonight, and the impact he made was certainly noticed, as the Islanders rallied back to win against the Calgary Flames, 3-1, at Nassau Coliseum. The new top line combined for eleven shots and the game-winning goal, and everyone noticed the immediate chemistry between Okposo and Tavares.
At first, it looked as though this game was going to go horribly wrong. 1:11 into the first, Tom Kostopoulos threw one toward the net that deflected off of former Islander Tim Jackman and past Evgeni Nabokov for the 1-0 lead. Then later on, Lee Stempniak blasted Kyle Okposo with a shoulder-to-head hit, and in the ensuing line brawl, Chris Butler seemed to commit a "third man in" penalty on Matt Moulson, yet somehow, the Flames emerged with a power play thanks to a four-minute call on Moulson. Screwy stuff, and I don't know how in the world to explain it, so don't ask me. Thankfully, Okposo only had a cut on the nose and nothing worse, but with a player who has a concussion history (even a short one), you don't want to take your chances. Then again, the refs were just awful in this game when they chose to blow their whistles (which wasn't often, save for one more call on Michael Grabner for "high-sticking"). Nabokov also had to come up with some bailout saves after Andrew MacDonald and Milan Jurcina made some questionable moves that led to odd-man rushes for the Flames.
In the second period, though, the Islanders tied it up. PA Parenteau fed a wide-open MacDonald from behind the net for the tying goal at 3:04 of the second period, giving A-Mac his third goal of the season (all against Western Conference teams, go figure). From there on out, the Islanders were rolling, throwing all that they could at Miikka Kiprusoff (who, to his credit, handled the pressure admirably). Kipper would stop 31 of 33 before the night ended.
Of course, no one can blame him for the game winner. John Tavares came through with a beautiful individual effort, driving around Chris Butler and across the slot, tucking it around the right pad of a sprawling Kiprusoff for the tiebreaker. It was a combination of JT's incredible work and some not-great choices by the Calgary defense that led to that goal, and some key shut-down defense by the Islanders to ensure that the Flames never got close no matter how hard they tried. Brian Rolston gave the Islanders the insurance goal with 43 seconds to go, sealing a much-needed win for the Islanders (who are now 13-1-7 in their last 21 games against Western Conference teams, a stat that I would love to transfer to the Eastern Conference). Overall, this was a solid 60-minute effort by a team that has gone through some tough losses and tougher practices lately, and is still attempting to find some sort of groove. They haven't gotten many breaks, what with injuries and phantom calls, but they're not focusing on that, instead electing to work hard with what they have, and to try and build momentum.
Don't have much more to say, other than that I loved this win and I hope to see more just like it.
Until next time.
Notes: Give some credit to PA Parenteau, also- he had two assists today, and now leads the team in points with 30... Nabokov made 29 saves on 30 shots, shaking off his early gaffe admirably... Attendance was just under 15,000, but I had the pleasure of hearing some loud cheering as the game went on, including one guy all by himself screaming "LET'S GO, ISLANDERS!" You're incredible, guy. ... Travis Hamonic also had a solid game, finishing with 21:39 TOI, 2 shots and a +3 rating... Islanders prospect alert! Ryan Strome is on fire for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships. He leads the tournament in scoring with three goals and four assists in two games so far. Of course, he was tearing up the ice with the Niagara IceDogs as well before the WJC started... can't wait to see him on the ice for the Islanders.
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