Boxscore:
(G, A)
1st Period:
SJS: 1, NYI: 0 - Joe Pavelski (7 - PP); Patrick Marleau (6), Dan Boyle (4)
2nd Period:
SJS: 1, NYI: 1 - John Tavares (7 - PP); P.A. Parenteau (8), Matt Moulson (3)
SJS: 1, NYI: 2 - Michael Grabner (3 - PP); Kyle Okposo (3), Frans Nielsen
SJS: 2, NYI: 2 - Logan Couture (3); Brent Burns (2), M.E. Vlasic (2)
3rd Period:
None
Goaltending:
Thomas Greiss - 35 saves on 37 shots, .946 SV PCT
Rick DiPietro - 27 saves on 30 shots, .900 SV PCT
Final Score: 3-2 San Jose, F/OT
Attendance: 11,742
Notables:
- Matt Martin was ferocious once again tonight. He finished the game with 7 hits, 2 SOG and a blocked shot. All in 12 minutes of ice time. For this season he will almost certainly stay on the 4th line, but the work ethic he showed tonight and has shown all season will almost definitely move him up to the third line next season. He's beginning to turn into a Steve Webb who can score and do almost everything right to the highest level his abilities will allow him. Well done, Matt.
- Another 4th liner who had a great game tonight was Marty Reasoner, who had an outstanding .824 faceoff percentage, winning 14 faceoffs and losing only 3. He also had some nice chances on Greiss and was generally very efficient in the offensive zone tonight. After some wishy-washy games, he's really turning into a major key to this team even being competitive.
- We're probably going to mention John Tavares at least once every single recap considering. He's one again showing the strength he's added over the season, really fighting off defenders to help develop plays and push forward past the neutral zone. He scored his 7th goal of the season tonight on one of many rebounds on a powerplay, but in general helped keep the momentum in the Islanders hands for most of the night.
- Rick DiPietro was efficient tonight. Not spectacular, but efficient. He was out of position on the first early goal but could not help the 2nd or 3rd, and really helped keep the score tied for most of the game. His quickness seems to have somewhat returned and he wasn't making any plays that would remind of you of the boneheaded moves he used to pull, even as late as last season. I understand most people were upset he was starting, but he was very serviceable tonight and did a good job. It would have been nice for him to get the win.
- Michael Grabner is coming right back into the player he was for the last half of last season. There was one point on the PK where he had two takeaways in 5 seconds and helped kill off some major time from the penalty. He and Frans Nielsen also helped generate some really solid offensive chances while shorthanded, proving their worth to the PK. Great job by the 2nd line.
- Kyle Okposo had a generally efficient game. After a nice pass from Nielsen, Okposo read a streaking Grabner in the slot perfectly, fed him the pass and got his 3rd assist of the season. However, late in the third, he took a very careless penalty and elbowed a Sharks player in the head, eliminating any chance of an offensive surge for the Isles in the last few minutes of regulation.
- Blake Comeau had his best game of the season, bar none. 4 shots on goal, some nice takeaways and finishing his checks all game. Still not a 100% game from him, but far improved.
- The most obvious one here is the absolutely poor officiating tonight. This isn't even a homer-esque "we lost so clearly the refs were awful" sort of comment, it is pretty unanimous in the NHL world right now that the Islanders were on the wrong end of some very terrible officiating tonight. In the 3rd period alone, there were 3 non-calls for interference against San Jose players that went completely unnoticed. Then, the most notable was the delay of game penalty in the overtime period. Travis Hamonic lifted a shot over the left side of the boards, which clearly hit the glass and then went out of bounds. If it had not hit the glass, it would most certainly be a delay of game penalty, but all replays clearly showed that the puck had touched it before going out of play. Even though the initial linesman had called the play correctly, all 4 officials gathered together and discussed whether to give a penalty or not - and still gave the wrong call. This led to an Islander PK where almost everyone knew the Sharks would score, and Brent Burns fulfilled that destiny. Doug Weight was infuriated on the bench and Islander fans and players alike let the referees have it. Just a very poor job by the officials.
Thoughts:
AT: Whether or not the Islanders would have actually won or lost this game if that bad call was called off is something entirely. The fact that they lost based on that poor call is infuriating, and hopefully will be addressed. However, putting almost 40 shots on goal against a backup and only scoring twice is once again showing that this offense is pretty much stagnant. You are not going to win games like that, and 5 games later you'd think Jack Capuano would wake up and shake things up a bit.
Next game: The Islanders will face off against the Winnipeg Jets at home at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011. Game time is 7 PM on MSG+2.
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