Lightning 1: Islanders 5
The hockey gods seem to have blessed Bridgeport.
I'm not talking about the Sound Tigers' success- well, not exactly (though they're not in horrible shape, either). I'm talking about the influx of AHLers that has boosted the Islanders' roster, answering their call with a resounding blast of the goal horn.
David Ullstrom tallied his first NHL goal and Tim Wallace his first NHL point, as the Islanders rolled over the Lightning last night by a final score of 5-1. The two Sound Tigers came to fill holes left by Michael Grabner (groin, DTD) and Andrew MacDonald (lower-body injury, 2-4 weeks). Twelve different Islanders, including the aforementioned callups, recorded points in last night's rout. Heading the scoresheet were top liners John Tavares (1G, 1A) and Matt Moulson (1G, 1A) and captain Mark Streit (2A).
The Islanders may have gotten their second win in a row since losing in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks (next up again on their schedule tomorrow night), but what strikes me most about this game is the fact that over half the roster factored into the scoring. It was a beautifully balanced effort. Josh Bailey had a wonderful game, setting up Ullstrom for his milestone goal with a nifty little drop pass. (And that's a shock, seeing as he'd been pretty sub-par for a good part of this season so far.) Milan Jurcina stepped up into the play, sneaking in from the point and benefiting from a beautiful tic-tac-toe play headed by Streit and Frans Nielsen. Wallace recorded his first point, an assist, feeding Matt Martin from behind the net. Matt Moulson continued his hot streak with his 14th on the season, assisted by (who else?) Tavares, and Tavares broke his 13-game goalless drought, as well as the 0 on the Jumbotron, early in the first for the Isles.
And to think Tampa Bay had been leading before all of this happened.
The defense was also very sound in this game, giving the Lightning few chances either to get settled in the zone or to score once they gained possession. When they faltered, however, Al Montoya was equal to the task after his small hiccup in the first. He made 23 saves to preserve the win, and for his efforts he earned the third star of the game. With Rick DiPietro out indefinitely with a groin pull (and Kevin Poulin called up from the A), expect Monty to shoulder most of the workload from now until DP is healthy again.
Give Mathieu Garon credit, though- the guys in front of him didn't do much to help him out, admittedly. When not serving penalties, they were executing poor puck protection and not doing much to help even the scoring. More than once it looked like they were just standing still out there, and with as much offensive firepower as the Lightning have, that can't really happen. Now on a five-game losing streak after last night, they have to get their feet moving again, and not to the sin bin. Garon did all he could to try and keep his team in it- now the onus falls to the skaters.
I'll end tonight's recap with a little anecdote I neglected to mention from Monday. I have a friend who talks hockey with me a lot, and though he's a Sabres fan, he even has a few Islanders on his fantasy teams. As I passed him to go talk to my professor Monday, he whispered to me, "Mouuuulson," and grinned. I smiled the rest of the way down the stairs. Moulson is indeed tearing it up with a five-game goal streak (eight goals tallied in those five games) and is on pace for yet another 30-goal season, we hope. Way to go, Matty.
Until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment