The New York Islanders swept the floor with the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, defeating them by a score of 5-1 in a game that the Islanders dominated in all but about a few minutes in the first period. This was the second time the Islanders have blown out the Lightning while playing at the Coliseum.
Boxscore:
(G, A)
1st Period:
NYI: 0, TB: 1 - Martin St. Louis (9); Brett Clark (4), Steven Stamkos (14)
NYI: 1, TB: 1 - John Tavares (9); Matt Moulson (7), Kyle Okposo (5)
NYI: 2, TB: 1 - Matt Martin (3); Tim Wallace (1), Marty Reasoner (4)
NYI: 3, TB: 1 - Milan Jurcina (1 - PP); Frans Nielsen (7), Mark Streit (12)
2nd Period:
None
3rd Period:
NYI: 4, TB: 1 - David Ullstrom (1); Josh Bailey (5), Steve Staios (4)
NYI: 5, TB: 1 - Matt Moulson (14), John Tavares (14), Mark Streit (13)
Goaltending:
Mathieu Garon - 29 saves on 29 shots, .853 SV PCT
Al Montoya - 23 saves on 24 shots, .958 SV PCT
Final Score: 5-1 NYI
Attendance: 9,458
Notables:
- Even though he wasn't one of the 3 stars tonight, a round of applause - hell, a standing ovation - for Josh Bailey's game tonight. Hard work on the PK and a big reason the Isles were so successful on the PK tonight, setting up some beautiful passes all night long and taking shots when he knew he had to, and an absolutely outstanding drop pass to David Ullstrom without even looking. That was a pure display of the hockey sense we all knew he had. Could he break out from here on out? I don't think more than 40 points is reasonable, but a ceiling of 40 is pretty good from here on out. Any way you look at it, Josh Bailey was easily one of the top 3 forwards on the ice tonight.
- It looks like John Tavares has finally gotten his groove back. An absolute snipe following fantastic work along the boards from Kyle Okposo and a dish from Matt Moulson and a great setup right back to Moulson for the 5th goal of the night for the Isles. He's now back on track and among the best players in the league in terms of points. That's 23 through 25 for Tavares, and we can only expect many more. Tonight was his first goal in 13 games.
- Matt Moulson continues to roll. 8 shots on goal and a beauty to finally get one in on the Isles 5th goal. He's becoming a truly legitimate sniper in this league and with Tavares is making up for a dominant duo.
- Tim Wallace, coming in with something to prove, exceeded all expectations tonight. 7 hits, hard work all night and a great behind the net pass to a perfectly positioned Matt Martin right in front. Brent Thompson is clearly doing a great job in Bridgeport, because every player that has come up, as Butch Goring noted, seems to fit right in. I don't think we'll see Wallace once Niederreiter comes back, but it's nice to have true depth in the system for once.
- As mentioned, congrats to David Ullstrom on his first NHL goal, and it was a beauty. I think at this point he's considered "graduated" from the Sound Tigers and will, for the rest of this season, take the role Blake Comeau had with us previously. The only difference being that Ullstrom will do it successfully.
- Al Montoya wasn't tested very often, but it just goes to show what having a real #1 in net who can stay healthy can do for the team. They look infinitely more poised, productive and confident when Montoya is in net, knowing that it'll be very rare for a soft goal to be let in. If Montoya doesn't start at least 80% of the remaining games, it should be considered a crime against humanity. It is a shame that for the 7th time this season the first shot on goal has beaten the Islanders' goaltender, but besides that he was as confident as always.
Thoughts:
AT: Yes, Tampa looked awful tonight. But the Islanders have looked phenomenal in the past 5 games and they did exactly what they should have tonight. They beat a team that was simply not as good as they are. This is the type of game that a good team looks at as a "no reason to lose" game, and the Islanders in succeeded in taking that to heart. All out domination tonight, and it's great to see.
Next game: The Islanders get a rematch against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, December 8th at the Nassau Coliseum. Game time is 7 PM and will be shown on MSG+.
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