Well, last night was fun, then tense, then fun again after the skills competition. I'm gonna suggest we just put a bullet in 'em early to keep the drama level low.
Same lineup for the Islanders with Halak in net. Pens looking to be doing the same, with Greiss in net instead of the wilted flower.
Tonight is Billy Smith mini-locker night, and old 31 will be on hand. Cappy had Battlin' Billy address the team at the morning skate and showed the team a highlight video so they could appreciate Smith’s play. Capuano said Smith’s address to his players really “enlightened” the team. Let's see if it has any effect.
A couple of Staple tweets relating to Grabner:
Grabner did not skate today. Capuano says they'll know more on Monday. Not looking like he'll be ready before Thanksgiving.
Don't believe Grabner not skating today meant a setback. Just a guy who missed all of training camp. No need to rush him back. |
Some stats to tide you over:
- Ryan Strome is 1st in NHL in points-per-60 at 5v5 (minimum 100 minutes) after his 3-pt night vs. PIT. Next closest is Voracek at 3.78. Noteworthy on the D, Nick Leddy at 1.97 is second in the NHL for d-men.
- Leddy scored his 5th goal, just two shy of his career high. The Isles’ defense already has 11 goals this season after tallying only 23 last season.
- Big change from last season: Isles are 7-0-0 when leading after 2 periods.
- The Isles have now outscored the opposition 8-2 in second periods over the last five games. The Isles have allowed only 2 second period goals in the last seven games.
- The Isles are 7-5-0 when they score first and are 6-1-0 when they allow the opening goal.
- Last night's win was the fourth of 11 consecutive games against the Eastern Conference. The Isles are 3-1-0 in this stretch, which includes upcoming home/home series with Washington and Ottawa.
- Other than the St. Louis Blues, the Islanders are the only NHL team with two goalies possessing 5 or more wins.
- Last night was the first time since the playoff-clinching win on April 23, 2013 (at Carolina) that the Isles did not allow an opposition power play. It’s the first time in at least 25 years that Pittsburgh has not had a power play vs. the Isles.
- The Isles have killed 22 of 24 penalties over the last seven games after they allowed 6 power play goals in 14 times short over the previous five games.
- Phil Bourque on Penguins radio, describing the Kulemin goal: “Holy, Moly. Those were two good defensemen that (Kulemin) just abused.”
It's the power and the glory
It's a war in paradise
It's a cinderella story
On a tumble of the dice 
Downie is one of the five biggest pieces of shit in the NHL.
Of course, I'd take Tavares over both, but just saying...
They were physical and forechecked the living crappie out of Pittsburgh. A big f*ck you to November slumps. This team is pretty good.
Now I understand this win comes with an asterisk since they beat a back up goalie because no way would the Isles score four again Fleury. Oh wait.
Also getting Leddy for Pokka was a shrewd move as Pokka was at best our third best D prospect (behind Reinhart and Pulock) without many openings in the near future plus the Islanders have taken a number of Defensemen in recent drafts or signed as UDFA. Of our forwards Casey Cizikas is probably playing the worst (which says a lot for our forward play) but the only way you can really take him out is making Bailey our 4th line C but Bailey has been playing well in a shutdown role with Nielsen and Grabovski and looks better at W than he did as a C
Looking forward to watching this team continue to jell. They are getting more attention by the national hockey media.
Heck, even Rick DiPietro is riding the Isles coattails. He was a guest analyst on Hockey Night Live on MSG network.
Bailey still has room to improve or perhaps this is his ceiling. He has lapses here and there.