The Islanders continued the second game of their short, three-game homestand tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. The same teams battled just a week ago in Chicago, with the Islanders falling 5-4 in a shootout. Tonight, Al Montoya faced Ray Emery in an intense, back-and-forth game where the Islanders showed some guts and resiliency.
To start, Al Montoya did a great job keeping the Islanders in the game during the first 30-35 minutes. The Blackhawks were generating more pressure with a lot of puck possession, and despite the soft first goal Montoya stood tall to keep the Islanders in the game. Some of his saves were huge and allowed the Islanders to go and tie the game, thus getting a point.
We all knew that John Tavares is the best player on the Islanders, and despite the fact he didn't put a point on the board tonight, he was outstanding. Tavares was all over the ice in all three zones, and especially impressed on his transition game. A few times he got caught trying to stickhandle between too many people, but that will happen to young players.
Most of the lines for the Islanders clicked tonight, especially the second line. Hard work by Kyle Okposo led to a forecheck that resulted in the Islanders second goal - originally given to Steve Staios but later awarded to Michael Grabner.
That said, all was not positive in Isles Country tonight. The powerplay had an extended 5-on-3 where they could not put one home. The powerplay also failed to score on a gift wrapped opportunity with less than give minutes left in the game. You could say the special teams really robbed the Isles of a second point tonight, as the lack of powerplay was compounded by a soft goal on the penalty kill. In a one goal game, that difference means a lot.
The crowd was good tonight. A lot of late arrivers, but the 10,000 fans were really into the game late. It was hard not to be. With all the action from one end to another, the Isles and Blackhawks but on a good show tonight. This was certainly one of those games where the two teams both deserved a point, no matter what you think of the three-point rule.
The Islanders next face off on Saturday night as the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins come to town after suffering a defeat to the Flyers tonight. It's a real shame what is happening to Crosby right now. Certainly hope he gets better soon as he truly is a fantastic talent and the game is better with him than without him. Concussions are obviously a very scary injury, so it's in Crosby's best interest to be as precautionary as possible going forward.
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