Well, things couldn't have gone smoother on the day the Islanders inducted Ken Morrow into their Hall of Fame.
The legendary Team USA and Isles blueliner was given a spot on the Hall of Fame banner just before puck drop, and the current Isles team responded in spectacular fashion, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at the Coliseum.
The Isles jumped out to an early lead in the first, taking advantage of a roughing call on Ben Eager and scoring on the power play. John Tavares was able to grab a dribbling puck after PA Parenteau lost control of it, putting it past an already-committed Devan Dubnyk. After that came two reviewed goals- one a call in the Oilers' favor, one against the Isles. The first was a goal by Sam Gagner ruled good after video showed that Evgeni Nabokov's own man, Mark Streit, had initiated contact with the goalie. The other was a no-goal call on Matt Moulson, ruled down because of a "distinct kicking motion" (Moulson had angled his skate just prior to the puck striking it).
Moulson would find justice, however, and on an incredible play by his linemate. With two Oilers drawn to him, Tavares executed a beautiful spin-o-rama move and passed right to Moulson, who put it past Dubnyk. The goal was Matt's 17th of the year, keeping him firmly on pace to score 30 or more by the end of this season. After calling Moulson to score the next one on my personal Twitter, I couldn't believe I was right- most of the time, I'm not. ;)
The rest of the scoring happened in the first five minutes of the second period. Eager was bound and determined to have Martin fight with him, and once more he got a roughing penalty- and for the second time, the Isles' power play capitalized, this time on the hands of PA Parenteau. Shortly after that, Martin himself scored to make it 4-1, giving himself some "poetic justice", in the words of Howie Rose. After that, Eager would get an unsportsmanlike and a 10-minute misconduct, putting him away for much of the rest of that period. I'm sure he didn't mind, though- the look on his face after Martin's goal said it all.
Don't be misled, though- the Oilers put up a very good fight. They outshot the Islanders for much of the game, giving Nabokov plenty of work to do until the third period, when they just seemed to lose steam. Meanwhile, the Isles did good work on defense, and while Nabokov didn't need to be a huge hero, he did make some excellent saves to keep the Oilers from getting back into the game. Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were all held point-less despite Hall's four shots, Eberle's two, and Nugent-Hopkins's four. Hall and RNH also hit at least one post apiece. If not for the posts, it would have been a much closer score.
But it is what it is, and overall the Islanders did extremely well, both to gain a lead and to hold off the big three scorers. They also had a slight scare when Andy Sutton blindsided Tavares with a late hit in the second period (not uncommon for the Oilers' blueliner, who's been suspended twice already this season); however, JT would return to the game and earn the Isles' first star. Moulson and Martin rounded out the top three, making this New Year's Eve an enjoyable one for them and for the rest of the team.
Happy New Year to them and to everyone else, Isles fan or no!
Until next time.
Notes: Travis Hamonic continues his development as a top defenseman, leading all Isles with 22:12 of TOI...Mark Streit, in contrast, got considerably less than he is used to, finishing with 19:55... Tim Wallace was extremely physical throughout, with at least three big hits... October 10 and 13 are the last times that the Isles have held the opposition to a goal or fewer in two straight games, but they've done it in their last two now, outscoring their opponents 7-2.
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