Boxscore
BOS 1:0 - Spooner (1); Randell (1)
NYI 1:1 - Niederreiter (1); Strome (1), de Haan (1)
BOS 2:1 - Hood (1); Spooner (1), Cantin (1)
NYI 2:2 - Persson (1); Kabanov (1)
NYI 2:3 - Kabanov (1); Ness (1), Cizikas (1)
BOS 3:3 - Spooner (2); Warsofsky (1), Riendeau (1)
BOS 4:3 - Knight (1); Cunningham (1)
BOS 5:3 - Warsofsky (1); Hood (1), Cunningham (1)
BOS 6:3 - Riendeau (1); Spooner (2)
NYI 6:4 - de Haan (1); Cizikas (2), Theoret (1)
NYI 6:5 - Niederreiter (2); McNeely (1), de Haan (2)
BOS 7:5 - Camper (1)
BOS 8:5 - Knight (2) EN
The Good
- Nino Niederreiter was engaged physically and mentally, and had an outstanding game with and without the puck. His two goals are absolutely indicative of his play.
- Ryan Strome played the best of any draft year first rounder as an Islander that I have seen. He is fast, smart, and skillful - the complete package. His dish to Niederreiter on the first Islander goal was a thing of beauty. On a side note, Tyler McNeely was a nice complement on that line. Do not count McNeely out as a darkhorse to do some damage at Bridgeport this season.
- Speaking of darkhorses, Casey Cizikas was outstanding on the PK tonight. But we knew that already. What we may not have known is how skilled he is with the pick. Two assists tonight, including a couple of beautiful passes to John Persson.
- Kirill Kabanov showed the immense amount of skill that he has, but I would like to see him acclimate himself more physically. That said, he stood his ground in front of the net and in the corners, which led to a very nice deflection goal. Going into those dirty areas is what will get him into the NHL.
- On the defensive side, Calvin de Haan played a magnificent game. He was a tad rusty without the puck, especially in odd-man rushes, but with the puck he is smart, quick, decisive, and a perfect candidate to lead the team to transition up the ice. There is no question the talent is there, but he definitely needs to start the season in the AHL.
- Finally, Justin DiBenedetto was a sparkplug tonight. The guy was all over the ice forechecking and backchecking. In fact, the team took on that type of personality as a whole. They play very hard for each other, which is what you want to see from a group of guys who are growing up together.
- I should mention on the Bruins side - Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Spooner were incredibly impressive tonight.
The Bad
- Let's start with the defense where Aaron Ness and Mark Katic had some issues back there tonight. Katic was a little better, but was caught out of position a few times and did not make great decisions on the powerplay. Ness, on the other hand, looked more nervous than anything. I'm interested to see how Ness responds tomorrow in front of a bigger crowd, especially since he was able to get that first shift out of the way.
- David Ullstrom was very inconsistent tonight. He had some good shifts, including a beautiful rush to the net. But then he had some not so good shifts. Turnovers, trying to do too much, bad passes etc. He was very physical tonight, which is a good sign and what he needs to do to make a difference. No question he has potential, so he's another one I am looking to watch tomorrow night.
- Brett Gallant and Tony Romano two-thirds of the fourth line just did not cut it tonight. Romano looked slow and tentative, where he should be making quick decisions at this point of his career. Gallant took some really dumb penalties and played like the tryout that he is on.
The Ugly
- Tough moment in the first period when Rhett Rakhshani was hit up high along the boards. Turns out that Rakhshani suffered a concussion on the hit, which means he will be out until his symptoms subside. You hate to see his happen in the first period of the season. We should find out more info on Rakhshani's condition going forward sometime tomorrow, but do not expect him to be anywhere near the lineup for the game tomorrow.
- As a whole, the defense coverage in the slot needs to be a lot better. Sure, some of the goals that went in could (or even should) have been saved, but overall the Isles were sloppy in the D zone. While they had good transition, there were sequences where it bit them in the behind. That needs to be corrected going forward - tomorrow would be a good start.
The Very Ugly
- Few words can describe how shaky Mikko Koskinen was tonight. His positioning was off, his rebound control was worse, and the results were the worst. I realize this is the first game back after a long summer, so in a sense it is only fair to cut Koskinen some slack - but the numbers do not lie. Koskinen gave up 7 goals against on 14 shots against. A 50% save percentage. Maybe Koskinen will get another shot, but as it stands he is certainly number six out of six on the depth cart.
Next Game
The Islander Rookies and Bruin Rookies will face off again tomorrow night in the second half of this mini-series. Game time is 7:00 PM at the Nassau Coliseum. This game IS open to the public.
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