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NFT: Oilers vs. Islanders @7pm @ The Barclay’s. Must See TV!

The 12th Man : 2/16/2019 1:43 pm
The Islanders are coming off their best performance since
The All Star Break. Casey netted 2 breakaways the D played solid after the 1st period. Griess our up another shutout which he passed his teammate Robin Lehner for best save percentage in the NHL. Think about that our goalies are #1 and #2 in the League. Tell the truth who thought that would be possible last year? Tell the truth.. none of us. We get to see 2 of the NHL’s best youngest talents in the NHL when the Islanders finally meet the Oilers for the 1st time this year. Barzal right now is going through a little bit of a rut over the last 4 games. He has taken some reactionary penalties lately that shows me he his getting frustrated in how the are playing and hitting him, where is Clark Gillies when you need him? After this game tonight. We head out west for 3. Going west is never fun so tonight is one of those games where you really need. I am expecting to see more of the team that played Thursday night and not the one that got off the pane in Buffalo.

On Saturday March 9th wear your bow tie to the Flyers vs Islanders game at the Barn as the Islanders Organization will honor Hall if Fame GM Bill Torrey. Something that is long overdue. I hope we continue to honor some of the greats from the past especially those who were involved with the dynasty.

SEASON SERIES: 0-0-0

This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season, both coming in the span of less than a week. The teams will meet again on Thursday, February 21 in Edmonton.

The Oilers took both meetings last season by 2-1 margins. Connor McDavid scored the OT winner in Brooklyn and the shootout winner in Edmonton last season.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

- The Islanders (74 points) lead the Metropolitan Division with 74 points, three points up on the Washington Capitals (71 points) and seven points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins (67 points).

Click here for the full NHL standings.

- Saturday's game will be the 143rd regular season game in Brooklyn and the final regular-season game this season. After Saturday, the Isles' final 12 home games will all be at NYCB Live - Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders are 77-47-18 all-time at Barclays, including an 11-6-2 record in Brooklyn this season.

Saturday may not be the final game at Barclays Center this season, as the team announced its arena plans for the playoffs on Friday. Should the team qualify for the postseason, first round games will be played at NYCB Live, while any further rounds would be played in Brooklyn.

Click here for more details and the full announcement.

- Casey Cizikas has three goals in his last two games. Cizikas netted two goals - including the game-winner - in the Isles 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Islanders forward has career-high 15 goals this season.

- Thomas Greiss recorded a 31-save shutout on Thursday night, his third shutout in his last five starts. Greiss is 5-0-1 in his last six games and has stopped 185-of-188 shots over that span. The Islanders goalie has the NHL's best save percentage (.930) while Robin Lehner is second with a .929 SV%. Lehner leads the NHL with a 2.08 GAA, while Greiss is second with a 2.20 GAA.

After beating a Metro Division rival on Thursday, the Islanders next five games will all be against Western Canadian opponents (vs Edmonton, at Calgary, at Edmonton, at Vancouver, vs Calgary).

- The Islanders have won four of their last five games, most recently beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0. The Isles are 6-2-2 in their last 10 and 20-5-2 in their last 27 games.

- With a win, the Islanders (34-17-6) can match their win total from all of last season (35-37-10).

- Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey both participated in the Islanders practice on Friday. Barry Trotz did not offer any updates regarding their respective returns, but said both players are getting closer.

"It's the first time I've seen them not look really rusty," Trotz said. "They're getting real close and confident they're getting close. We'll see where we go from here."

UPDATE: Ladd and Hickey were loaned to Bridgeport on a conditioning stint on Saturday morning, as well as placed on long term injured reserve (LTIR). The Sound Tigers host Hartford at 7 p.m. on Saturday and host Charlotte at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

OILERS NOTES:

- With 53 points, the Oilers are sixth in the Pacific Division and are seven points back of the second wild card in the Western Conference. It's a crowded field, with eight teams separated by eight points vying for the final playoff spots, so the Islanders should expect a desperate Oilers team on Saturday.

- So far, it's been a tumultuous season in Edmonton, as the Oilers fired both Head Coach Todd McLellan on Nov. 20 and General Manager Peter Chiarelli on Jan. 23. Ken Hitchcock replaced McLellan as Head Coach and is 15-18-4 behind the bench with the Oilers. The Oilers are 1-4-2 since Chiarelli's dismissal. Keith Gretzky is serving as interim GM.

- The Oilers made a late-night trade on Friday, sending goalie Cam Talbot to Philadelphia for goalie Anthony Stolarz. Stolarz, 25, was 4-3-3 record, a 3.33 GAA and a .902 SV% for the Flyers this season. Talbot was 10-15-3 this season for Edmonton with a 3.36 GAA and a .893 SV%

- As a result of the trade, Mikko Koskinen gets the start for the Oilers, one night after playing in Carolina. Koskinen is 14-13-2 for the Oilers this season with a 2.86 GAA and a .907 SV%. The Finnish goalie is also a former Islander, drafted by the team in 2009 (R2, P31) and played four games with the team in the 2010-11 season, going 2-1-0.

- The Oilers are playing the second half of a back-to-back set - with travel - on Saturday after losing 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh. Edmonton has lost three straight games.

- Connor McDavid leads the Oilers with 82 points (31G, 51A) in 56 games this season. McDavid is the two-time, defending Art Ross Trophy winner, but his reign as the NHL's scoring leader is being threatened by Tampa's Nikita Kucherov, who leads the league with 92 points.

The Isles have been relatively good at keeping McDavid in check, as the Oilers superstar has four points (3G, 1A) in six career games against the Islanders - his fewest points against any team, albeit a team he does not play as frequently.

- Leon Draisaitl is also having a strong statistical season for Edmonton, with a career-high - and team-leading - 34 goals this season. Draisaitl is tied with Patrick Kane for the third-most goals in the NHL this season.

UPDATE: The Oilers acquired forward Sam Gagner from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday morning for Ryan Spooner. Gagner previously spent seven seasons in Edmonton, recording 295 points (101G, 194A) in 481 games. The veteran center had three points (1G, 2A) in seven games with the Canucks this season. Spooner had three points (2G, 1A) in 25 games with the Oilers after being acquired from the New York Rangers for Ryan Strome on Nov. 16.

The Edmonton Oilers are still alive in the playoff race, but they need to start putting up wins or they won’t be in it much longer. The Oilers enter this game off a 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes on the road and they have now lost their last three games in a row and nine of their last 10. Despite their struggles of late and the fact that they have a 24-33 record on the year overall, the Oilers are still just seven points out of the 8th spot in the Western Conference. It is amazing that they are still in the race, but the feeling here is that they do not have enough to make up the ground needed to get in. Scoring their lone goal against the Hurricanes was Leon Draisaitl, which was his 34th of the year. Three of the four goals scored in the game came in the first 2:16 of the contest. The scoring settled down after that.

"You have this many scoring chances & you work this hard, you expect a better reward for it." #Oilers outshoot Carolina 41-27 but can't find the next one as the Hurricanes hold on for a 3-1 victory. https://t.co/Eaic6FCvHY

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 16, 2019

Absorbing the loss was Mikko Koskinen, who allowed three goals on 27 shot attempts to fall to 14-15 with a 2.86 GAA on the year, including 6-9 with a 3.19 GAA on the road. He has never faced the Islanders. The Oilers traded Cam Talbot to the Flyers, so Koskinen may get the nod in this one as well. The Oilers have gone 12-16 on the road and they have averaged 2.61 gpg and have allowed 3.36 gpg in those games. Edmonton enters this game ranked 9th in the league in power play conversions at 22.6% and 30th in penalty kill at 75.4%.

Greiss Blanks The Jackets on the road
The New York Islanders continue to play well and they have been led by a couple of goalies that have been hot. On Thursday night, the Islanders went into Nationwide Arena and walked out with a 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets. The Isles have now pitched three shutouts in their last 11 games and they have allowed 1.33 gpg over their last 15 games. Yikes. Thomas Greiss got the start on Thursday and he stopped all 31 shots for his 4th shutout of the year and the 12th of his career. He is now 17-10 with a 2.20 GAA on the year. Robin Lehner is slated to get the start in this one and he has gone 17-13 with a 2.08 GAA on the year, including 8-4 with a 1.72 GAA here at home. In his career, he has gone 4-2 with a 1.49 GAA.

“They play sort of that relentless style…they get on the right side of pucks and they have good success.”

The Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck line has been on & #128293;fire& #128293;

The Islanders continue to play well as they have now won four of their last five games to build a three-point lead over the Capitals in the Metro Division. It should be a good finish in the metro down the stretch. Scoring in the win over the Blue Jackets was Casey Cizikas, who scored twice and now has 15 goals on the year and Josh Bailey, which was his 13th of the year. New York has gone 17-11 here at home for the year and they have averaged 2.96 gpg and have allowed 2.21 gpg in those games. The Islanders check in ranked 26th in power play conversions at 16.1% and 16th in penalty kill at 80.1%.

Go Isles!!!!









Great job  
theold5j : 2/16/2019 1:51 pm : link
12th man. Thanks
Thanks  
The 12th Man : 2/16/2019 3:17 pm : link
So I live in Northern NJ my daughter and I both have on our Islander jerseys running errands. As I am driving through town there is a guy at the bus stop wife his wife both wearing Barzal jerseys. I turn the car around and my daughter was dying and I said it is so great to start seeing people wearing Islander stuff again. I asked if he was going to the game and he told me yes. We talk about a team and have a great day doing and how Barzal is in a little bit of a funk. We both feel tonight is the night he breaks out. Absolutely so awesome to start seeing people all over again wearing the blue and orange. Loving it! Go Isles!
I'm in NJ too.  
theold5j : 2/16/2019 4:05 pm : link
Morris County. I dont necessarily see a lot people wearing islanders but whenever I wear mine I always get someone saying something to me. Its great.
12th Man  
steviej : 2/16/2019 4:24 pm : link
You’re the man Appreciate the thread !! With a win lifes good & wait till Weds a lose weekend sux & weds can’t come fast enough !!
Pulock is turning into an  
The 12th Man : 2/16/2019 8:58 pm : link
All Star before our eyes. Tough goal to give up and the end of the 2nd period.
McDavid  
KDubbs : 2/16/2019 10:30 pm : link
Seemed like he was on the ice all night. Bad 3rd period but did enough to win. Barclays was a morgue most of the game. Just keep winning games by anyway possible.
Way to really slam the door  
theold5j : 2/16/2019 10:56 pm : link
In the final 5 min. Some huge games next week.
Winning pretty in this league does not always happen  
The 12th Man : 2/17/2019 12:26 am : link
Just winning no matter how you do it is the most important thing. Our boys have been doing just that, Winning. I was impressed after giving up a power play goal that when they gave up another PP we slammed the door on the kill. That kill seemed to energize us to close the game very strongly. We now have 3 very interesting games coming up. Hate the late games but I will be watching all of the Must See TV games. We seem to be playing a little tighter than we did before the break. Being in 1st the pressure of staying there might be getting into their heads. We keep winning though which is great. Loved what I saw outnof our Captain tonight, he showed real passion, got himself into a scrap and then had the dagger goal which he enjoyed immensely. Nice to see Marty B. Get back in the scoring sheet. Really felt good he would do something tonight.

Toronto, Canadians and Cindy all lost tonight. Hurricanes won and are starting to make the Pens sweat. Love it! Go Isles!
As of now Cindy is l  
The 12th Man : 2/17/2019 6:48 am : link
Not in the playoffs as of now
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