Boxscore:
(G, A)
1st Period:
NYI: 1, BUF: 0 - Matt Moulson (PP - 8), Mark Streit (10), P.A. Parenteau (13)
2nd Period:
None
3rd Period:
NYI: 1, BUF: 1 - Jochen Hecht (2), Jason Pominville (17), Thomas Vanek (15)
NYI: 2, BUF: 1 - Brian Rolston (3), David Ullstrom (1), Joshua Bailey (4)
Goaltending:
Al Montoya - 30 saves on 31 shots, .968 SV PCT
Jhonas Enroth - 28 saves on 30 shots, .933 SV PCT
Final Score: 2-1 NYI
Attendance: 18,690
Notables:
Al Montoya has once again solidified himself as the #1 goaltender on this team. Neither Nabokov or DiPietro can come close to matching the positional awareness, the quickness or the general efficiency of Montoya. He has now only allowed 4 goals in the past 3 games and is simply stealing games for the Isles in games they might not have necessarily been able to win with another goaltender in net. He was most notably efficient on a 5 on 3 after two bad penalties by Streit and Bailey, blocking a bunch of shots in succession and helping to lead to some very important clears. Goalies coming into their own at age 25 or later isn't a new thing, and it's clearly happening with Montoya. As soon as the new year hits, Snow needs to be on the phone with his agent.
After a couple of shaky games, it looks like Travis Hamonic is back to his old self. He was blocking shots all night, and there were several times where he took one that looked like he was in a bit of pain. He left for the locker room after one but didn't even miss a shift. He is without a doubt our future #1 defenseman and showed himself as that tonight once again. He's sound positionally was very physical all night. Great job. He and Andrew MacDonald were fantastic tonight, with MacDonald also taking a painful shot at the end of the 3rd with Enroth pulled that might have saved the game.
John Tavares is just itching for a goal after not having one in 10 games. He had 6 shots on goal and had one drive to the net in the 3rd period that went just off the post after beating Enroth. He's such a dynamic player that we know the goals and points will come, but obviously seeing him consistently denied is unfortunate. Would have been nice for him to pot one in front of Mom and Dad who were in attendance tonight, but he played such a well rounded game once again that they should be proud regardless.
Mark Streit had a terrible game. Although his shot on the first goal was what led to the Isles first goal, he was terrible defensively tonight, making some really pisspoor decisions on defense. Even on the PP, most notably the second one, he was not exactly the most efficient we've seen him. After being set up right in the slot, he elected to attempt to pass it to the right point and was intercepted in what should have been a nice shot on goal for him. He also took a very, very poor penalty that, combined with Bailey's, created a very scary moment for the Islanders. Just not a very good game.
The third line of David Ullstrom, Josh Bailey and Brian Rolston was outstanding tonight. While Rolston needs to learn to finish his checks, Ullstrom and Bailey were clicking well once again and really putting a lot of pressure on Enroth. Right before the 2nd goal, there was yet another opportunity between Ullstrom and Rolston where the puck just trickled short of the goal line. Consistent pressure finally led to the game winning goal, but it was great to see such great chemistry going on between the three. Perhaps, just perhaps, Bailey and Ullstrom are benefiting from Rolston's veteran prescence.
Matt Martin had a hell of a fight with Zach Kassian. You couldn't count the amount of punches thrown if you tried. Great job by Martin to pull Kassian's jersey off revealing the lack of the jersey being tied down as well, getting him a 10 minute misconduct penalty.
In his 9 minutes of ice time, Nino Niederreiter somehow was able to land 5 hits. Great job, but he's touted as a goalscorer, and can not continue to play on the 4th line where he goes out, checks someone, then goes back to the bench. I truly believe his right role his rookie season is on the 3rd line with Bailey and Ullstrom.
It was great to hear such an intelligent hockey mind in former Islanders captain Pat Flatley between the benches and as commentary between the periods. I would love to see him replace Butch Goring after this season if possible. Really adds insightful comments and knows the game well.
Thoughts:
AT: Still need to score more, but a great game defensively all around complete with some stellar goaltending. The Isles are playing hard again and are on the right track. We have some big tests coming up, and we're still 4 games under .500, so it's now or never to begin a comeback.
Next game: The Islanders face the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday, December 2nd at 8:30 local time. The game will be broadcasted on MSG+.
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