Game Recap: Pittsburgh Penguins 6, New York Islanders 3

What started off as a great back and forth hockey game between the Islanders and Penguins was unfortunately turned into a debacle following a terrible call by the referees, and the Islanders lost big at the Coliseum by a final score of 6-3.

Going 1-1-1 on a homestand is unacceptable following such great play on the road. Pittsburgh was without several key players tonight and the Islanders looked dominant for about 15 minutes, and that was about it. David Ullstrom got the scoring started in the first after a nice setup by Bailey, and Milan Jurcina had an insane slapper from the blue line that got the Isles up 2-0. The team was buzzing at this point, but things didn't last very long. Some subpar defense from Mark Streit (that lasted all night long) led to a Steve Sullivan goal and James Neal netted the game tying goal shortly afterwards. Shortly after the 3rd period began, a nice setup by Travis Hamonic and Michael Grabner led to Kyle Okposo with a spot on snipe right over Fleury's glove side to put the game at 3-2 Islanders.

It was shortly after this that an absolutely terrible call occurred which, in my opinion, cost the Islanders the game. The Islanders defense was already thin as it was, but Travis Hamonic was called for elbowing Brooks Orpik, and not only received a 5 minute major on top of a penalty that had already existed, but received a game misconduct, leaving the Islanders with a scary rotation of Mark Streit, Milan Jurcina, Steve Staios, Mike Mottau and Dylan Reese as their defense. Upon replay, it was clear that the hit was directly to the chest of Orpik, and that the blood that came about on Orpik's face was as a result of Orpik's own stick coming up and hitting him in the face. Pittsburgh, as one would assume, scored to tie the game on a rebound, although besides that the Islanders PKers were able to kill off the rest of the major. At that point, the game turned totally in favor of the Penguins, and they began to pile it on.

There is no doubt that Al Montoya was off his game tonight, but when you have such a thin and abysmal defense in front of you, there's only so much you can do. The Dupuis goal was undoubtedly a soft one, and the 5th and 6th goals were also saveable. This just wasn't Montoya's night, and I would assume he knows that.

It was just a bad game on all ends for the Islanders. A thin defense that was made into paper once Hamonic was forced out, a powerplay that looked like it couldn't score on an empty net, and a coach who looked as lifeless as ever.

The Islanders face off against the Montreal Canadiens on the road on Tuesday night at 7:30. Montreal has been less than stellar this year, and this is a game that almost absolutely must be won if the Islanders want to stay in the playoff race.

Game Recap: Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Islanders 0

Until this team starts looking like a professional hockey team, there seems to be very little point to showing how many points the other team scored. We pride ourselves on being a professional blog with our own opinions interjected into it as most bloggers try to do, and that's exactly what I'm going to do here.

Another pitiful, disgusting loss once again. I knew when Nilsson was announced as the starter, he was going to be the one who was going to have to take this beating. Sidney Crosby was announced as active for this game for the first time in almost a year, so suddenly every sports outlet decided to pick up and watch this game. And oh boy, did Crosby show he was back all right. He made our defense look silly and the Penguins, being faster, tougher and actually having a structure, danced around the Islanders the entire night. The only player who looked to me like he gave it all tonight was David Ullstrom, who clearly went out knowing he had to prove himself. I would keep him up for the foreseeable future, but at the same time I wouldn't want him part of this charade.

This team is just not good. Every aspect of the game they are outplayed in. I place a key part of that on the coaching, as for yet another game the Islanders looked like they had the structure equivalent to peewee hockey. It's becoming embarrassing to watch as a fan. We had somewhat of an excuse last year when we lost Streit and Okposo, 2/3 of our best players. Now it's inexcusable. On the players parts, on the coach's part, and on the owner and GM's parts. How do you explain this to a fanbase that has been dying to see the 2nd round since 1993? How?

You have to congratulate Sidney Crosby on a heck of a comeback, though. Say what you want about Pittsburgh and hate the team all you want, but he showed once again why he is a generational talent that nears, and may very well surpass Gretzky in terms of level of skill. He is one of the most exciting players you can possibly watch in any sport.

What do you do at this point? What can you even hope Snow would do besides trade our upcoming UFAs for draft picks?

As for the next game, the Islanders play the just as tough Flyers at home. I expect a dismal crowd except for the huge influx of Flyers fans. And rightfully so. I wouldn't, nor would I get mad at anyone for not paying to see this product on ice.

- AT

Game Recap: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, New York Islanders 0

The Pittsburgh Penguins (7-2-2) defeated the New York Islanders (3-4-0) by a score of 3 to 0 at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Boxscore:

(G, A)

1st Period: 

PIT: 1, NYI: 0 - Pascal Dupuis (3); Brooks Orpik (1)

2nd Period:

PIT: 2, NYI: 0 - Richard Park (2); Arron Asham (2)

3rd Period:

PIT: 3, NYI: 2 - Jordan Staal (EN - 6); Pascal Dupuis (5)

Goaltending: 

Marc-Andre Fleury - 33 saves on 33 shots, 1.000 SV PCT

Evgeni Nabokov - 26 saves on 28 shots, .929 SV PCT

Final Score: 3-0 Pittsburgh

Attendance: 10,681

Notables:

After a very strong yet even start to the first period, the Islanders began to taper off about halfway into the period. They continued their lethargic play until a defensive breakdown by Steve Staios and Blake Comeau losing their men led to a Pascal Dupuis breakaway and goal. After that, even though the Islanders had their chances, none of them were solid enough to really even come close to being a goal. Lots of shots from the point and a few shots in the slot right to Fleury were about it. The Islanders played another game with absolutely no urgency.

The only player who really looked great tonight was Evgeni Nabokov, who on a 4 minute double minor to Reasoner really stood on his head and kept the game at a 2 goal difference. He was solid all night and made some saves he probably shouldn't have. 

Josh Bailey had a very up and down game tonight. His defensive work was as usual pretty good, but he had some times where he had great chances and completely fanned on them. After a pass from Brian Rolston as he was set up right in the slot, Bailey hesitated for a good 2-3 seconds and didn't even get a shot on what was pretty much a wide open net. It was almost as if he'd choked up and forgot the point of the game was to shoot the puck into the net. He did however have a nice drive to the net with Rolston which he backhanded into Fleury. Although not a goal, a good drive by Bailey to get to the inside. A better game, but still pretty lackluster for his 4th year in the league.

PA Parenteau had an off game compared to what we had season earlier in the year. He was undressed on a 2 on 2 late in the 3rd which could have resulted in a fantastic chance and was just not playing with the offensive instincts we have seen. His vision in the passing lanes was not something to be desired.

Steve Staios both lost his man on the first goal and let Richard Park dwindle around the net for way too long on the first goal. He had an overall OK game and also had some nice shots on goal (and led the team in shots), but those two gaffes were unacceptable by any standard.

Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen are the lowest 2/3rds of the 2nd line right now. They are not doing a good job to create chances and generally are unseen on the ice. 

John Tavares was not playing the greatest defense tonight. Most notably was when he fanned on the pass early in the 2nd that led to Park grabbing hold of the puck and firing it on Nabokov.

Thoughts:

AT: Just another lousy performance from the Islanders right now. I'm not a "sky is falling" kind of person, but falling behind this early in the season is the last thing we want to do. It doesn't create a positive mentality going forward and begins to remind the team (and the fans) of last season's 20+ game losing debacle. This team needs a swift kick in the behind and needs to realize that they ARE a team that can win games as evidenced by the first few games of the season. They are capable of putting up offense and capable of playing solid defense. What they're showing right now is a reflection of laziness. 

Next game: The Islanders will face off against the Penguins once again at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 27th, 2011. Gametime is 7:00 on MSG+.

Report: Islanders Viewing Party Switches Games

According to Stu Hackel of SI.com, the Islanders have decided to replace the game shown at Friday's Isles MeetUp at Champions from the brawl filled 9-3 domination of the Pittsburgh Penguins to the "very good but not as great" 7-6 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres.

In a statement, the team said, “The New York Islanders have requested that MSG Network change the originally scheduled game to be viewed at the Friday, Aug. 19 meetup. As a part of MSG Plus’ Summer Ice programming, the schedule had the Islanders game from Friday, Feb. 11 against the Pittsburgh Penguins set to air at 7 p.m. Instead MSG Plus will air the Islanders 7-6 overtime victory on Sunday, Feb. 13 over the Buffalo Sabres.”

This came after a media/fan outrage when the Islanders announced they would be showing the controversial Penguins game at the meetup earlier this week.

CH: This is likely the last time we reference this Penguins game unless it is in passing. There is little question the NHL pressured the Islanders into taking the Pens game off, to which the Isles responded by asking MSG to change the game. We can argue for hours if it is hypocritical (it is, given the NHL shows plenty of brawl filled games on NHL Network), or a bad PR stunt or whatever. What's sad is the Islanders seem to be more worried about their competitors customers than their own, but one would have to imagine their hand was forced. Either way, the debate is pointless.

Both fanbases have made themselves out to be martyrs during this week, which is wrong. The Islanders, highlighted by Trevor Gillies' inexplicable hit and taunt of Eric Tangradi, did plenty wrong during the game. The Penguins, highlighted by Eric Godard jumping the bench to "save" Brent Johnson, did some questionable things as well. The fact is this game is now going on six months old, and everyone needs to get over it.

But by get over it, I don't mean forget about it. This game meant so much to Islander fans, including myself, and no one can ever take that away from us.  Some quick final points:

• The Islanders played a potential defining game in their rebuild, one in which their fans are certainly treating it as such. That cannot be taken away from the Islanders or their fans, no matter how much other parties try.
• The Pens, right or wrong, did not like the events that went down in this game. It seems the organization is over it. Their fans and the media - not so much. That's what propelled this to levels of ridiculousness.
• I still do not understand why a fan gathering of 150 fans on Long Island affects a single person in Pittsburgh
• A renewed rivalry between the Islanders and Penguins is great for the league. The Atlantic Division is filled top to bottom with rivalries, which increases the passion and quality of play.

AT: At this point, I'm not sure if there's going to be any matchups with Atlantic division teams where the fans of each team don't absolutely despise each other. The fact that the media and the league have blown this completely out of proportion is disgusting, slightly infuriating and somewhat amusing. If this is how bored fans get during the offseason, man, I really can't wait for the season to start just so we can start arguing over actual hockey, not viewing parties. That's all I can say on this. Grow up, Pittsburgh fans. You have a star player who is the face of the NHL - one who may never play again. Methinks you have better things to worry about.

Opinion: Isles Viewing Party-Gate

The Islanders announced last week their next Meetup will be Friday, August 19 at Champions to watch a replay of the Islanders 9-3 dominating win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 11. The game was considered somewhat controversial due to an indefensible hit by Trevor Gillies. Not to mention a multitude of brawls that resulted in suspensions given to Gillies, Matt Martin, and Eric Godard. Micheal Haley got into three fights, including one against goalie Brent Johnson. Lost in all of this was the fact the Islanders scored nine goals in a game that many fans consider a franchise turning point that brought the Isles together with them primed to take the next step.

After this announcement, the media took it upon themselves to call it another instance of the Islanders, well, being the Islanders - aka being a classless, joke of an organization with no respect for the league, its fans, and its players. Some links (hat tip to Islandermania):

CBS Sports
Pro Hockey Talk
The Pens Blog
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Deadspin

And the one positive article:

Puck Daddy

Of course, we all know the Islanders have done some, well, loony things over the years. Does that mean this is one of them? Absolutely not. First of all, the Islanders have had quite a few meet-ups over the course of the summer, including one a few weeks ago joined by Matt Moulson to rewatch Game 4 from the 2002 playoffs against Toronto. They are not just having a one-time event to celebrate their biggest and most gratifying win of the season.

This is a game that MSG+, not the Islanders, is re-airing. Every summer, MSG/MSG+ shows the top games of the season for the Islanders, Rangers, Knicks, and Devils. Can one person argue that this is not one of the Islanders games of the season? Remember, they scored nine goals. This exact game would be a highlight for every single team in the league if they played it. Yes, even the Penguins.

Let's take a look at the game itself. Other than the Trevor Gillies/Eric Tangradi incident, which is completely and utterly indefensible, what exactly was so wrong? One could argue the Matt Martin on Max Talbot sequence. I have seen this compared to Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, Martin has the ability to completely suckerpunch Talbot in the back of his head, but when he saw Talbot turtle, he held up. Still, his suspension was warranted and that should have closed the book on that.

One could argue the Micheal Haley trio of fights, including the one against goalie Brent Johnson. Except for the fact that Johnson was out at the blueline challenging Haley. And while that was happening, former Islander Eric Godard jumped off the bench to interfere. Yet the Islanders were the ones fined for losing control of their players - completely justifiable, but it goes both ways.

In fact, it was not even the game itself - which from start to finish was a complete annihilation by the Islanders, but it was the post-game reaction from fans and players alike. Without taking a time machine back to February 12 - we all know about Mario Lemieux's statement, the media commentary, and fan commentary, we can honestly say the fact that this game is being branded as the worst thing to happen to the NHL last season is absolutely ridiculous.

It has been six months since that game. It is time for everybody - Islander fans, Penguin fans, the media - to get over it. For one night, the Islanders were the better team. For one night, they beat the Penguins with their hockey sticks and with their fists. The next game, in April, the Isles and Pens battled to a 65-minute draw before a Penguins victory in the skills competition. Now, all we want to do is look forward for the teams' first meeting of the season in October.

The whining by Pittsburgh, especially The Pensblog, needs to stop. The Islanders are not celebrating this game like they won the Stanley Cup. They are trying to establish a connection to their fans through social media, by replaying a game shown by MSG+ as one of the highlights of the season. They have done it for other games. And after this, they will do it for more. This is not an anti-Penguins event - it is to get fans excited for the 2011-12 season. Because let's face it, there is nothing the Islanders have done transaction wise to get the casual fan excited.

We completely defend the organization here. And we would do so even if it was a one-time event. If the rest of the league wants to call the Isles pathetic and classless and a waste of the team, then the fans and team should embrace that identity. No, they should not goon it up - that is not what I am saying. But they should wear that chip on their shoulder, play hard and drive to get better so that in the end - they can be the ones that said "We told you so." So on that note, because well, we loved that game, here are the highlights:

AT: Just to add in a quick comment, I completely agree with Carey here. Penguin fans need to grow up. We've had a terrible past few seasons and this game (along with the other games MSG replays) was one of the few moments last season that Islander fans really had something to celebrate. No, not the Gillies or Martin cheapshots, but standing up to a team in general that has completely disrespected us - even after being in our situation not too long ago with both their arena and on ice problems. Totally pathetic showing by the once again hypocritical Pittsburgh fans and media who still have Matt Cooke on their roster, one of the most renowned cheap shot artists in the game. In the past few months, this is the only major mention of the game, and in itself it isn't really that major. Just a simple meetup for Isles fans through social media. Yet, it seems as if we've left a stinger embedded deep within the city of Pittsburgh that not even the best pair of pliers could possibly pull out.

It's pretty funny as well how the general media has completely misunderstood everything about the game to this day, even with the information out there. Such as Deadspin inferring that the DiPietro-Johnson fight took place on the same night that the 9-3 game occurred. Stick to making jabs at Brett Favre's endowment, Deadspin.

I think the uproar over this is hilarious and I hope the Islanders do more things similar to this in the future as long as it aggravates Penguins fans and the uneducated media. We already have no sympathy around the league, it's time to put up our guns - and not just on the ice. As fans.

News: Islanders Sign F Tim Wallace

As reported earlier by Katie Strang, the Islanders have signed AHL F Tim Wallace to a one year, two-way contract for the 2011-12 season. Wallace, 26, is an Anchorage, Alaska native who has spent his entire 5-year professional career in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. 

He finished with 20 goals and 37 points in 62 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.

CH: Obviously this is a depth signing for the Sound Tigers, and it's one they needed. I know that a lot of people will take the cynical view to these types of signings, especially with the NHL team needing work in itself, but when you look at the move in a bubble, this helps a Bridgeport team in need of an influx of talent. Wallace will replace Jesse Joensuu in a top-6 role down on the farm with the option for a call-up. He does have 24 games in the NHL under his belt, with only 2 assists. That said, good depth signing and Bridgeport's looks a little brighter today.

Former Islanders: Pittsburgh Hires Bill Guerin as Player Development Coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today they have hired former Islanders captain Bill Guerin to be their new Player Development Coach. Guerin will assist Penguins prospects at both the junior hockey, college, and professional levels. He last played in the NHL for the Penguins in the 2009-10 season, and played for the Islanders from 2007-2009.

CH: To start, I'm very happy for Billy. He was a great American player and I'm happy to see that he's still involved in the game. This will be a great opportunity working for a good organization with some solid prospects coming through the ranks. In a way I'm kind of surprised, however, that Doug Weight didn't recruit him for a similar role with the Islanders. Guerin still lives on Long Island full-time (near Weight), and the two have a very close relationship. That said, this is a great position for Guerin and hope that he does very well with the Penguins.

AT: Just awesome for Guerin. Very happy for him and I knew he'd catch on somewhere. I did hope he would come to Long Island as well, but he won the Stanley Cup recently with the Penguins. I guess he feels he "owes" it to them, so to speak. Good luck, Bill!

Blog Note: We are planning on recording our first podcast tonight. If all goes well, it should be up and ready to go by tomorrow.