Islanders 6, Thrashers 3: Off-the-schneid goals overfloweth
Let us pause now and admire the 2009-10 Islanders' commitment to a balanced record.
If 5-5-5 was pretty, then 6-6-5 begs for an OT loss Wednesday against the Capitals, who have a history of handing OTLs to the Isles.
You knew something was up when scoring opened with Andy Sutton down low, making like John Tavares by slipping Tavares's pass to his backhand and going top shelf on Ondrej Pavelec.
Game Summary | Event Summary | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles
Dwayne Roloson let Thrashers phenom Zach Bogosian tie it on a weak stick-side goal (a favor Pavelec would return early in the 2nd for Blake Comeau, one of three Islanders who got off the schneid). Both Sutton's and Bogosian's goals were results of their young coaches encouraging their defensemen to jump up in the play, which makes things a little more entertaining than, say, Islanders-Devils.
Thankfully, 1-1 was as close as it got.
Because then: Sean Bergenheim with his 1st goal of the season, knocking in a rebound by driving to the net. Jack Hillen with his 1st goal (4-on-4), on a nicely placed screen slap shot. Comeau with his 1st goal (also 4-on-4), for the aforementioned Pavelec wave. Matt Moulson (on another sweet Tavares pass) with his team-leading 7th, and then to complete scoring in the 3rd, Josh Bailey with his newly assertive shot from the slot on the powerplay.
At home, on a Saturday, for the last home game before the Thanksgiving holiday, that's just what the doctor ordered.
Despite the loss of Radek Martinek for the year and Doug Weight for at least a week, I expected a good effort. But I didn't expect an explosion like that, even against rather free-wheeling Atlanta.
Freddy Meyer Steps In
Solid game from Freddy Meyer, who stepped in for Martinek with his first game since Oct. 22. We know what we get in Meyer: Never stellar but often a nice fill-in (truthfully, a good 7th man in that way), he deceives you with his size and can deliver hits like this:
I don't expect that all the time -- consistency is hard at this level -- but with Meyer it's nice to know you'll get the occasional unforgiving check to keep the opposition honest.
Meanwhile, with the scoring spread out evenly, you know who had the prettiest night on the scoresheet? Nate Thompson, with two assists and a +2 (Tavares, with his two assists, was only +1). Ha.
Turning Points
The Islanders won this game -- or the Thrashers lost it -- in the first period, with the Isles outshooting Atlanta 21-11. Bogosian's tying goal turned out to hardly be deflating, and the Islanders answered right back to close out the period 3-1. Said Atlanta coach John Anderson:
"We just didn't come ready to play," Anderson said. "Our first three or four shifts were good, but after that, we were nonexistent out there. I have to give them a lot of credit for the way they played after a hard loss last night. They came back and played very, very hard."
Comeau opened the 2nd to make it 4-1, and the Isles were on their way. Final shots were 45-34 for the Isles. This year's first meeting of the NHL's aggressive young coaches goes to Scott Gordon.
Up Next
Before a November-defining seven-game road trip, the Islanders get a rest before their next game in Washington Wednesday. But don't go away; we'll have some more wonky posts, as well as an epic tome about the RBK effect in the days ahead.
And of course -- as always -- if there are ideas ruminating in your head, have at it with a FanPost to keep the rest of us warm.
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Comments
Good win for you guys. You out worked the Thrashers all night long and deserved the victory. Very disappointed to see my team get beat to so many loose pucks.
All things Thrashers + stats: www.birdwatchersanonymous.com
by The Falconer on Nov 8, 2009 4:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Very disappointed to see my team get beat to so many loose pucks.
Yeah, that was a little surprising. I didn’t expect it to be so “easy,” for lack of a better word, but with the previous two (pretty uninspiring) losses, the Isles really needed to come out winning 50/50 pucks.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
This is what you need from the Isles to believe. A Strong game against a lower team in the East. Not only that, but after being -100 (I believe, without checking) in goal differential last year the Islanders are only -6 as a team right now. We continue to desperately cling to the 8th seed in the east.
BTW, anyone happy about Stamkos? He’s been impressive in TB this year, and possibly is giving us a look into what we might expect next season from JT.
by WebBard on Nov 8, 2009 4:07 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
In fairness, he also plays with two of the NHL’s premier offensive talents.
by BCISLEMAN on Nov 8, 2009 5:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
And they are both having an off year. I don’t know TBs lines, but aren’t LeCaviller and St Martin on a different line then Stamkos?
by WebBard on Nov 8, 2009 5:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
maybe this year but
last year they were not.
by BCISLEMAN on Nov 8, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He’s been with St. Louis some, but not with Vinny at all. Part of the Vinny drama has been that Vinny misses playing with St. Louis.
But Stamkos has definitely had some stellar moments in his own right.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It was my impression that he was on a line with both of them last year
by BCISLEMAN on Nov 8, 2009 1:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I was just referring to this year. Not sure who he was playing with when he finally started producing last year, but I know at the beginning Melrose was easing him in with something like 12 minutes a night.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Stamkos started producing after Melrose got fired and Tocchet realized that when ownership runs a huge campaign called “Seen Stamkos?” they are going to actually want Stamkos on the Ice.
by WebBard on Nov 8, 2009 3:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Malone/Stamkos/St. Louis
This place is a good resource for this. Last year it was all over the map, but the highest (12%) was Malone and St. Louis.
This year the combo is again Malone and St. Louis, 33% of the time. (This is % of all his ice time, but you can break it out by ES/PP/PK etc.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Park
Said it a few times in these blog comments, give Park someone to play with. Moved onto a line with Moulson-Tavares and they produced two goals. Allows some depth with Okposo-Bailey-Tamb as a second line. Not bad at all. Thats all I’ve got time for this morning.
by Moneybag on Nov 8, 2009 5:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
It’s funny, the biggest block to him getting such minutes is that he’s so darn useful in any role!
But when I heard Okposo was moved to the Nielsen line, I thought, “Hmm, okay who among the movable parts has the talent to get by with Tavares/Moulson? … Gotta be Park.”
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Bergy scores!!!
Finally!!! Great to see him get one…I ddin’t see the game but watched the highlights above…was he skating with Okposo all night? I like that pairing with Nielsen between them.
also nice to see Comeau and Thompson have good games as well and show up on the score sheet
by mdelbags on Nov 8, 2009 10:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I was at this game.
Love the balanced offensive attack, seems like everyone is making something happen. They handily beat a bad team at home, which is exactly what they should do. Great to see Bergy finally get on the board. Comeau was great too, he should get some more playing time than he has been. Roli was a little off again though, he has to make that save on Bogosian. Let’s hope they keep this level of play up on this road trip. They are not really playing anyone that good on this trip, winning four of seven isn’t unreasonable. Also, former Giants WR Amani Toomer was there. In his interview during the game, he said his son’s favorite player was “the Danish guy”, and then after the interview they showed Frans Nielsen on the jumbotron with The Danish Guy wriiten under him.
by johnmac7512 on Nov 8, 2009 1:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
former Giants WR Amani Toomer was there. In his interview during the game, he said his son’s favorite player was "the Danish guy", and then after the interview they showed Frans Nielsen on the jumbotron with The Danish Guy wriiten under him.
Priceless! Thanks for sharing that. Toomer’s son must be a smart kid. :)
As for the road trip, there are some very beatable opponents coming up. I’m just nervous because it’s a long road, and you just don’t know what you’re going to get. But I guess it’s my role to kvetch and worry.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Nov 8, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
LOL!!! “The Danish Guy”- thas great lmao
Lets go Islanders...
by TheMetalChick on Nov 9, 2009 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

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