Islanders 5: Stars 4
Someone fed Matt Moulson a giant bowl of Wheaties this morning.
The winger scored four goals, including the game-winner, to lift the Islanders over the Stars 5-4, in a game in which the team in general had a 3-0 lead evaporate in fewer than five minutes, but kept pushing over the top to get the two points. Dylan Reese also scored, while Tomas Vincour, Eric Nystrom (yes, Bobby's son), Jake Dowell and Tom Wandell kept Dallas in it. Vincour, Nystrom and Dowell's goals all came within two minutes in the second period, snipping away the Isles' lead like a loose string on a sweater. But thanks to some serious focus and grit by the top line of Moulson-Tavares-Parenteau, the Islanders were able to hang on.
Rick DiPietro got the win for New York thanks to Al Montoya- let's face it, that's what happened. Tonight's starting goalie, DP, had allowed four goals on 21 shots and sat on the bench with a groin injury (?) to begin the third, as Montoya stopped all 13 shots he faced in the final twenty minutes of play. And again, though I love DP, it still baffles me that there's any question of the #1 goalie on Long Island. Granted, DiPietro is not the only one to blame, at least on the first two Stars goal- Vincour's shot was deflected, and Nystrom outmuscled a poorly-positioned Reese right in front of DP. But it's safe to say there was a lack of intensity on Rick's end, and a bit of discomfort too (hence the benching, at least according to the Isles). The only thing to be grateful for, from an Islander standpoint, is that Andrew Raycroft was slightly worse.
At any rate, other than Moulson, John Tavares was second on the scoresheet with three points, all assists. The top-line center has had nine points in thirteen games since his last goal scored (Nov. 5 in Washington), and while I'd love to see more goals out of him, there's no denying he's still had an impact. He's a great playmaker, incredibly strong on the puck, and with his improved skating and solid two-way play, it's easy to see why he's tied with linemate PA Parenteau for the team lead in points.
However, though this was a game full of goalie fails and goals scored, it was also full of injuries, particularly two key ones- Nino Niederreiter and Michael Grabner. Niederreiter was the recipient of an awful hit by Mark Fistric in the first period, and was taken off the ice and diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms. No doubt it's a hit that will be reviewed by Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan. Michael Grabner also left late in the second with an apparent groin injury and, according to the Islanders, will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Milan Jurcina also left for a brief period of time, and returned in the third (and with Andrew MacDonald already out from an injury sustained while blocking a shot in the final seconds of the Sabres game... yeah, let's not go there).
Strangely absent from the ice for most of the third period was captain and minute-muncher Mark Streit, who would return for the closing minute. And even more strange was the fact that no one asked Jack Capuano in the postgame presser why Streit didn't play. He's the captain. Why wasn't he on the ice? No one knows. Though Mark has been struggling lately, he's been able to push his plus-minus out of the double digits, and he's even generated two points (assists) in three games, which isn't much, but it's something. There has to be some sort of explanation for it, but it wasn't one Capuano was willing to give on his own, and certainly not interesting enough for the media. *sigh*
Well, at the very least, the Isles walked away from this road trip with seven of a possible eight points. It couldn't have gone better, and with a three-game homestand coming up this week (Tampa Bay, Chicago, Pittsburgh), it's the best possible scenario: the Islanders coming home full of confidence in a good road trip, even if one of the wins could have gone a bit smoother. We'll see how they react after a couple of days off and Tuesday night's game against the Lightning.
Until next time!
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