Isles out-defense Devils, Anders Nilsson gets his first NHL win

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.

Recap: Islanders 6, Devils 2

The New York Islanders (1-1-0) defeated the New Jersey Devils (0-2-0) 6-2 in their 2nd preseason game and first and only game at home tonight at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Islanders captain Mark Streit played his first game in 17 months.

Boxscore:

(G, A)

1st Period
NYI 1: NJD 0 - Kyle Okposo (1), Michael Grabner (1)
NYI 2: NJD 0 - Mark Streit (1 - PP), Matt Moulson (1), Frans Niselsen (1)
NYI 2: NJD 1 - Nick Palmieri (1), Matthew Corrente (1), Matt Taormina (1)
2nd Period
NYI 3: NJD 1 - Frans Nielsen (1- PP), John Tavares (1), Mark Streit (1)
NYI 4: NJD 1 - Steve Staios (1), Mark Streit (2)
NYI 5: NJD 1 - Matt Moulson (1) - Unassisted
NYI 5: NJD 2 - Mattias Tedenby (1), David Clarkson (1), Patrik Elias (1)
3rd Period
NYI 6: NJD 2 - Matt Moulson (2 - PP), Travis Hamonic (1), Frans Nielsen (2)

Goaltending

Al Montoya - 8 saves on 9 shots, .888 SV PCT
Kevin Poulin - 16 saves on 17 shots, .940 SV PCT
Johan Hedberg - 20 saves on 26 shots, .769 SV PCT

Final Score: 6-2
Attendance: 7,107

Recap:

1st period - The game started off with the Islanders roaring out of the gate, clearly outplaying the Devils. As a whole the defense was performing to a much higher level, most likely due to the reinsertion of a #1 D-man in Streit returning to the lineup. Michael Grabner sent a beautiful pass over to Kyle Okposo at 10:35 in to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead, and 5 minutes later on a powerplay, Mark Streit showed he was back and better than ever by ripping a shot home to increase the Isles' lead by 2. A few minutes later, Nick Palmieri sent a shot past Al Montoya to help the Devils catch up, keeping the score at 2-1 as the 1st period ending.

2nd period - After a David Clarkson penalty, the Isles went back to the PP. After a nice setup by John Tavares, Frans Nielsen hammered home a goal to increase the lead to 3-1. Tryout veteran d-man Steve Staios ripped home a slapshot at 12:47 that was assisted by Mark Streit, giving Streit a 3 point night. Matt Moulson came in on the wing on a 2 on one and sniped one over the right shoulder of Johan Hedberg, giving the Isles a 5-1 lead. Trevor Gillies and Cam Janssen also had a nice scrap in the 2nd that was on all accounts a draw, and came about when Janssen landed a hit on Martin that sent him to the lockerroom. Towards the end of the period, Mattias Tedenby hit Kevin Poulin over his shoulder for his first goal of the preseason.

3rd period - The Islanders continued their overwhelming dominance in this game, both in scoring and with a little help by Trevor Gillies in his second fight with Cam Janssen of the night, which lasted upwards of a minute and left Cam Janssen bloodied. Shortly after on a powerplay, Matt Moulson put his second tally on the scoresheet with an assist from Nielsen, giving the Dane a 3 point night. The Devils gave Kevin Poulin a good run for his money in this period, but Poulin stayed solid and kept the Devils scoreless in the 3rd.

Notables:

- What can you possibly say about Islanders captain Mark Streit, playing his first game in 17 months? He played a very solid defensive game as he's always known for and showed that his shoulder had literally no rust on it from the time off. He was all over the ice and showed why we missed him so dearly last season, keeping the Isles powerplay very efficient, with the PP unit going 3 for 8 on the night. If you had no idea Streit had missed last season, there would be no way you would have known he hadn't played in such a long time. We welcome - and thank the hockey gods for - his return and hope to see more of this in the regular season. It was also notable that Streit played 23 minutes, more than any other Islander.

- A contract may just be being written up by Garth Snow right now for Steve Staios, who also had a fantastic defensive game. He was clearly playing his heart out to prove himself, and prove himself he did. His defensive work was on par with a top 4 d-man (I'm not insinuating anything...) and his goal tonight was fantastic. Staios clearly has taken this tryout contract very seriously and was playing like someone who truly deserves to make the team. If anything, even if he becomes the 7th d-man, he'd be a much better player for that position than Mike Mottau who was wholly unimpressive last night. Staios tonight proved exactly what hard work will get you.

- Beautiful assist to Kyle Okposo aside, Michael Grabner was absolutely on fire tonight. It still seems as if he needs to work on his hands as he had a few breakaways and missed one entirely wide of the net, but his defensive work with Okposo was fantastic. Everything that we saw from Grabner last season clearly carried over to this season, and if he keeps getting these chances I would not be surprised to see a 40 goal season out of Grabner this year. He's becoming an all around great player and has the potential to be... anything, really.

- After scaring the living daylights out of everyone with his second major knee injury last year, Kevin Poulin was lights out for most of the night. He made the saves he should've, and some he probably shouldn't have. His athleticism and lateral movement were still top notch, and his smart play continued. While every ounce of worry isn't completely gone, it's good to see him come back strong.

- Ryan Strome was playing with Jay Pandolfo and Tim Wallace, yet still was able to make himself noticed. His work ethic continues to be top notch and his time on the PP provided some great opportunities for the team. While his line assignment pretty much guaranteed he'll be sent back to Niagara, it was good just to see once again the type of player we have.

- Matt Moulson's snipe on his first goal proving - again - that he's no fluke. The skill is there and will remain. 30 goals again this season? I think that's a safe bet.

- John Tavares was setting up plays like it was his job tonight. Well, it is, but you get the point. He had one great attempt to Matt Moulson that was denied, and even though he only ended up with 1 assist, he could've easily had a 3-4 point night based on his play. He looked stronger and much bigger as well, as he's clearly been doing some heavy training in the offseason. Just makes you all the more excited for the regular season.

- Travis Hamonic continued his outstanding defensive work and had an absolute howitzer of a shot tipped in by Matt Moulson. While he's traditionally known for his defensive work which is outstanding, I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of his offensive side as well this year if he keeps it up.

- Frans Nielsen showed why he's such a great all around player, potting a beauty on the power play in the 2nd period and helping to dish out another in the 1st. He ended up with a 3 point night and had an overall great game.

- For such a small kid, Aaron Ness did a pretty good job at blocking shots and was generally very efficient defensively tonight. Very on par with what's to be expected of him this year at Bridgeport.

- Josh Bailey had an okay game. Certainly better than yesterday and playing with a bit more passion, but his play in general is worrisome for the season. He had some nice play set ups in the 2nd and played decently defensively, but in general he needs to become more aggressive to ensure he stays on the puck.

- Nino Niederreiter was not overly impressive, but that may very well be due to the fact that he was playing on the first line while not really ready for it. He could and may very well be slotted into the 3rd line right now. At the moment, I would go with PAP over him on the 1st line, and put Nino with some combination of him, Comeau, Rolston or Bailey on the 3rd line. It wouldn't even be the worst idea to send him back to the WHL for another year.

Thoughts:

AT: Overall, the team played a great game and really brought a lot of passion to the table that the Devils were clearly lacking. Very few players stood out in an ugly way, so that's always a general positive in my book. We see once again the kind of offensive power that this team has ready to go, and the defensive capability the team has, even without Andrew MacDonald on the roster. A game like this definitely made me even more excited for the regular season, and at this point the only thing you can hope for is a healthy team for the rest of the preseason.

CH: Just an all-around great game from the Isles tonight. They played well in all three zones - especially in the offensive zone. Their best players played like best players, which will be so important for this team going forward. On a night when the Isles played without MacDonald, Brian Rolston, Blake Comeau, P.A. Parenteau, and Marty Reasoner, they showed the potential is there to be a surprise team in the East.

Next game: The Islanders will face off against the Calgary Flames at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada at 9 PM Eastern Time on the NHL Network. The majority of the NHL roster should be playing for this one.

Around the NHL: Weber/Parise To Arbitration; Rights Held Through 2012

The Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils will hold onto the rights of defenseman Shea Weber and forward Zach Parise through the 2011-12 season, respectively, according to TSN. The teams did this by filing for arbitration today, which also means the players cannot be offered offer sheets as RFAs. However, a contract can be struck between the team and player before their scheduled arbitration hearing.

CH: Obviously, Shea Weber and Zach Parise are the two most wanted restricted free agents on the market this year. There was some question on if both teams would be able to re-sign their best players, but it's clear now they have taken first steps to accomplishing that. As far as the Islanders are tied into this, it was a long shot at best. First they would have had to get Weber/Parise to agree to come to Long Island long-term for a lot of money. Then, the teams have the option to match the contract offered to the players. Both teams are clearly going to go out of their way to accommodate these players, so the only way they will let them go is through trade. Unless the Islanders offer Nashville or New Jersey a player like John Tavares, it would never happen. And even if they did offer up Tavares, the probability is still extremely low.

AT: Nashville losing Weber would be huge. With a low payroll to begin with, they need to hold on to these major factors in their game like Rinne, Suter and Weber. As for the Devils, they should be back into playoff contention with a healthy Parise and Kovalchuk at the helm of the offense. Good for NJ and Nashville for holding on.

CH: For the sake of the league, however, it is very good to have homegrown players staying right where they are - especially for Weber, who is an outstanding defenseman in a smaller market (but a good one) like Nashville. The last thing the NHL should want is players joining forces and forming a "Big 3" type situation, which is apparently all the rage in the NBA these days. Parity is a good thing because it keeps the cyclical nature of the league going. No one wants to see Shea Weber and Zach Parise join forces in Toronto, so this is good for the Predators and Devils, and it's good for the NHL. Now all the Devils have to do is get Parise under the cap, which they will. And now it's time for the Islanders to turn to more realistic options.

AT: Absolutely. Being faithful is huge in sports and gets you respect. Speaking of the NBA, look at Dirk Nowitzski. He never left Dallas even when there'd been rumors of him being traded at times. The only place he took his talents to was to the damn gym, and he's gained no enemies and a ring in the process. Glad to see that carry over to the NHL, and let's hope we see a long term deal with John Tavares coming sooner than expected.

External Link: Islandermania