With a near 20 year age gap between the two goaltenders, Martin Brodeur and Anders Nilsson both looked as if they were in their prime today.
Nilsson out dueled Brodeur and the Isles put up some great defense today as the Islanders downed the Devils by a final score of 1-0 at the Nassau Coliseum in front of a sellout crowd today. Kyle Okposo hit the back of the net in the 2nd period to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead, and the game remained that way throughout. Cizikas picked up the lone assist on the goal, giving him 3 assists in 6 games with the Isles. John Tavares was all over the place, getting 5 shots on goal and playing out of his mind for the most of the day, unfortunately to no avail on the scoresheet.
Nilsson wasn't tested too much, but looked great in the times he was. He is truly a gigantic goaltender - even when he goes down to stop a shot, his upper body covers the top of the net. I know some have disagreed with me on this on Twitter, but I truly believe he's made his way slightly above Kevin Poulin on the depth chart. Not NHL ready just yet, but slightly more so than Poulin at this point based on his play in the AHL and his potential alone. Poulin's injury history is still very scary for a goaltender, and Poulin hasn't looked nearly as good this year in both the AHL and the NHL as he did last year. I had the chance of seeing the Sound Tigers play the Albany Devils at the Times Union Center on Friday night, and Poulin simply did not look like the player he did last year. We shall see, as one would have to assume at least one of them will be starting next year in the AHL.
The Isles are now 5 points out of a playoff spot. How is this possible? For lack of a better phrase, the teams they're fighting for have been just as bad as the Islanders have been recently. Winnipeg has shown some light recently, but nothing major, Washington is falling apart, and Toronto is a case of their own. Is it possible? Absolutely. Should anyone get their hopes up? Absolutely not. Cizikas and Ullstrom have provided a nice spark to the team and the removal of Rolston and Mottau have removed major problems, but this team is not complete by a wide margin. But man, how awesome would a NYI-NYR playoff series be, and how insane would an NYI victory be in restoring this franchise's face? One can only hope, of course... but it's completely unlikely.
Brodeur was nearly unstoppable, but the Isles offense was passing fluidly and did an efficient job. Overall, a great job by the O and D to completely neutralize the Devils. The Islanders will face off against the Devils on Thursday at The Rock. Puck drops at 7, game is on MSG+.
- AT
Side notes:
- Isles prospect Ryan Strome had 5 goals and 1 assist in a 13-4 romp of the Erie Otters today. Erie was forced to dress a forward as a goaltender after their #1 went down in the first period with no backup.
- A 9 year old fan in the stands won a $100 gift certificate today at the Coliseum. The gift certificate was for Tattoo Lou's. Well done, Islanders PR/management. Well done.
