Lighthouse Hockey - Recap: Poulin's Pads, Vanek's Vroom Lead Islanders Past BruinsLighthouse Hockey: Try to fixate on something else.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50729/lhh-fav.png2013-11-03T01:06:54-04:00http://www.lighthousehockey.com/rss/stream/48240772013-11-03T01:06:54-04:002013-11-03T01:06:54-04:00Isles-Bruins Post Game Video: Hamonic Hears All
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<img alt="Knock off all the pumpernickle" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bdKFIgSf_YRmaWo26BSKk5B0seI=/0x75:4000x2742/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/22343509/186656954.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Knock off all the pumpernickle | Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>Jack Capuano was happy with his team's execution and Travis Hamonic was happy to shut everyone up for now.</p> <p>After playing with the style and speed the they were so successful with last year, Jack Capuano didn't have too many interesting or off-color things to say in his post game press conference following the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com/">Islanders</a> 3-1 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/">Bruins</a>. He praised the Islanders execution and "battle," but didn't offer much more than how pleased he was with his team bringing exactly what they're supposed to for sixty minutes.</p>
<p>Of his goalie of choice, Capuano praised <span>Kevin Poulin</span> for again "battling." When asked by Stan Fischler if it was a statement game for Poulin, Capuano smirked slyly and agreed:</p>
<blockquote><p>He played with a lot of confidence tonight - well, he always plays with confidence. But again, tonight he knew he had to be good against that team and he stepped up.</p></blockquote>
<h4>Hamonic is Listening:</h4>
<p>But the most provocative post-game comments came from <span>Travis Hamonic</span> and were included in Rob McGowan's <a href="http://islanders.thecheckingline.com/blog/rob-mcgowan/new-york-islanders/full-sixty-minute-effort-allows-isles-defeat-bruins-3-1-home">recap post at The Checking Line</a>. Hamonic took up the flag for his teammates on defense who have struggled as of late.</p>
<p>Hamonic's message: you better watch your ass, jack, because he hears you doggin' his bros and he's tellin' you to backthehellup.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being that the Isles defense has been criticized as one of the team's weaker points of play, Hamonic was asked if this was a game that can help build confidence going forward. But just like he does on the ice, Hamonic was very quick to defend his teammates.</p>
<p>"You guys are going to write that our d-core is this and our d-core is that but honestly I think that it's kind of bullshit," said Hamonic.</p>
<p>"But you guys are going to write what you're going to write and I thought our d-core had a pretty good game tonight. We're happy with who we have back there as a group. We're not stupid, we see what things are written about us as a d-core but we're going to go out and we're going to play hard and I think we did a really good job tonight as a six-man unit, as we did last night to be quite honest with you. I think we're a young group out there but we're starting to play better. We demand a lot of each other and all of that outside pressure is what it is, and that's all it is."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, um, Travis... did you read anything else lately? Like the <a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/10/31/5032674/zeitgeist-rick-dipietro-owners-manual-islanders-hurricanes-charlotte-checkers-ahl-satire">Rick DiPietro Owner's Manual</a>? Because if that pissed you off, um... Dom wrote it and I can tell you where he lives.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>More from Lighthouse Hockey:</h4>
<ul> <li><a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5056312/new-york-islanders-vs-boston-bruins-recap?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Recap: Poulin's Pads, Vanek's Vroom Lead Islanders Past Bruins</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5058834/new-york-islanders-vs-boston-bruins-preview-kevin-poulin-chad-johnson?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins Preview: Backups goalies, activate</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5056914/11-2-13-islanders-bits-crazy-games-and-crazier-goalies-senators-flyers-caps-brawl?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">[Gameday Bits] Crazy Games and Crazier Goalies</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/1/5057062/game-recap-islanders-5-senators-4-so-isles-drive-fans-to-drink-in?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Game Recap: Islanders 5, Senators 4 (SO)- Isles Drive Fans to Drink in Victory</a></li> </ul>
https://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/3/5060220/islanders-bruins-post-game-video-capuanos-pleased-and-hamonic-hearsDan Saraceni2013-11-02T23:08:42-04:002013-11-02T23:08:42-04:00Recap: Poulin, Vanek lead Isles Past Bruins, 3-1
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<img alt="Vanek leaves 'em in the dust" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YtSiF6xGPYD3TzvEbw2BXF8UigI=/0x85:4000x2752/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/22335715/186653585.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Vanek leaves 'em in the dust | Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>Thomas Vanek gets on the board and Kevin Poulin keeps Boston off of it, as the Islanders show no fatigue in beating the Bruins one night after winning in Ottawa.</p> <p>Don't call it a winning streak. It's back-to-back wins. And it's a nice way for the <a href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Islanders</a> to end the week before taking off on a four-game road trip through some inhospitable locales.</p>
<p><span class="sbn-auto-link">The Islanders beat the Bruins 3-1 on Saturday, with <span>Thomas Vanek</span></span> scoring his first goal as an Islander and showing those flashes of brilliance that Garth Snow was trading for throughout a good team performance against a tough opponent. Although their 34 shots were much less than the 50 they hit in Ottawa on Friday, the Islanders had possession and put long stretches of pressure on <a href="https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Bruins</a> back-up goalie Chad "Treinta Cinco" Johnson.</p>
<p>Playing their own back-up, the Islanders clogged the shooting lanes in front of <span>Kevin Poulin</span>, who made several quick pad saves when he had to. The Bruins' lone goal resulted from a bad deflection off his own teammate and with a line's worth of guys landing on him. But aside from that single blemish, Poulin (26 saves) came up huge for a team that may have forgotten what that feels like.</p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20132014/GS020204.HTM">Game Sum</a> | <a href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20132014/ES020204.HTM" target="_blank">Event Sum</a> | <a href="http://www.extraskater.com/game/2013-11-02-bruins-islanders#team-stats" target="_blank">Corsi (fancy stats)</a> | <a href="http://shiftchart.com/" target="_blank">Shift Charts</a> | <a href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20132014/PL020204.HTM" target="_blank">PBP</a> | <a href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20132014/TV020204.HTM" target="_blank">TOI</a> | <a href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20132014/FC020204.HTM" target="_blank">Faceoffs</a> | Recaps: <a href="http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020204&navid=sb:recap" target="_blank">NHL</a> | <a href="http://islanders.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020204&navid=DL%7CNYI%7Chome" target="_blank">Isles</a> |<a target="_blank" href="http://islanderspointblank.com/islanders/islanders-3-bruins-1-vanek-gets-his-first-as-an-isle-in-most-complete-game-of-the-season/"> IPB (KQ)</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2013/11/2/5057774/bruins-vs-islanders-complete-coverage">SCC</a></p>
<h5>Game Highlights</h5>
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<p align="center"><iframe src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=2013020204-X-h" frameborder="0" height="395" width="640"></iframe> <br id="1381037524425"></p>
<p> </p>
<h4>First Period: Shhhh... keep it down, man.</h4>
<p>The opening period ended scoreless and with the Islanders ahead on shots 9-6. They maintained possession through most of it, although the best scoring chance belonged to the Bruins. A goalmouth scramble found Poulin out of position to the right of the crease. Matt Donovan's stick disrupted Boston's Reilly Smith, who whiffed on the puck with an open net staring right at him.</p>
<p>The Islanders had a few chances on Johnson, the most dangerous of which was a slapshot by <span>Andrew MacDonald</span> that went wide of the net, took a 75 degree carom off the boards and flew right back towards Johnson. Had he had his pads closed, the puck might have bounced off his calves and into the net. Instead, it shot out into the slot through the rarely-seen "Reverse Five Hole."</p>
<h4>Second Period: ALL TEH GOLES!!</h4>
<p>Things opened up considerably in the second, starting with the Islanders first goal. Vanek's backhand hack towards the net bounced up on Johnson and was knocked out of the air by John Tavares. Not pretty, but it switched the game's tenor out of neutral.</p>
<p>The period featured about approximately six dozen odd man rushes, including Tavares and Okposo soon after the first goal, a breakaway just out of Vanek's reach a minute later and, at the other end, a partial <span>Brad Marchand</span> breakaway that was stopped by Poulin. A quick touch pass from <span>Pierre-Marc Bouchard</span> sprung <span>Thomas Hickey</span> and <span>Josh Bailey</span> for another 2-on-1, and Hickey shot wide trying to paint the top corner.</p>
<p>MacDonald made it 2-0 Islanders with a point shot through a light screen.</p>
<p>With <span>Brock Nelson</span> sitting for the game's first penalty, the Islanders had yet another breakaway, courtesy of, who else, Michael Grabner. Grabner held on too long, never got a shot off, and the Bruins scored their first goal the next time down the ice. A shot by Dougie Doug Hamilton bounced off <span>Frans Nielsen</span> and slid in as no less than four players fell on Poulin.</p>
<p>It wasn't 2-1 for long as Vanek scored his first as an Islander on a 2-on-1 break with Okposo. A soft pass right to his stick teed Vanek up for a straight forward wrist shot past Johnson. And the 800-pound gorilla was escorted out of the building after hanging around for the last week.</p>
<p>The Islanders got their first power play at the end of the period, with Hamilton off for holding. An Okposo shot with milliseconds left was the only real threat across the periods.</p>
<h4>Third Period: Not Holding On</h4>
<p>Jack Capuano has talked about the Islanders' strategy of pushing play even when they have the lead and not "holding on." They certainly did tonight, with 12 shots in the third for both teams and no change in the score.</p>
<p>The Bruins best chance came during a double minor to unlikely suspect John Tavares. After letting nearly everything go for over two periods, the refs called Tavares on the lightest of hooks on Brad Marchand. Tavares let the refs know that he didn't agree with their suddenly watchful eyes and picked up an extra two minutes. The kill was a wild one, with Poulin making some good saves and the puck bouncing off more than one Bruin's stick. Another Grabner breakaway killed more time, but he couldn't pot a fourth goal.</p>
<p>The Bruins had a few chances with Johnson pulled, but the Islanders did a good job of staying in the lanes and keeping the pucks from Poulin. MacDonald sent a shot from deep in the Islanders' zone that didn't miss the net by much and Grabner tried to set up Regin for empty netter but Regin couldn't control it.</p>
<p>Not a dominating performance but a solid one, especially considering the back-to-back nights and the opponent.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Notes:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Vanek earned his 500th career point and Okposo earned his 200th.</li>
<li>Fancy Stats Noob Corner: If I'm wrong please correct me, but Matt Carkner's corsi was 67%, Regin's was 72%, Cal Clutterbuck's was 66.7% and Grabner's was 68.8%. Um, those are damn good, right?</li>
<li>On the flipside, the fourth line of <span>Matt Martin</span>, <span>Casey Cizikas</span> and Brock Nelson seemed to get killed in the corsi department. Not sure if it's because they're missing Colin McDonald. I'm pretty sure they weren't good with him, either.</li>
<li>In case you can't tell from the recap, I also don't know jack about goalies. But it seems as if a big difference between Poulin and <span>Evgeni Nabokov</span> (besides their birthdays), is that Poulin is quicker at getting back into position. He had a slight case of the scrambles and certainly had his share of lucky bounces, but this was easily Poulin's best performance in a long time. I'm not alone in hoping we see some more of these.</li>
<li>No disrespect to the Bruins - who are unarguably a strata above the Islanders - but it was tough to tell at times which team had played last night in Canada. The Islanders got to pucks faster, had a ton of odd man rushes, put on pressure for more time and generally had more jump than Boston. But hey, if the Bruins (and maybe the <a href="https://www.silversevensens.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Senators</a> on Friday) were maybe looking past the Islanders a little bit, I'll take it.</li>
</ul>
<h4>More from Lighthouse Hockey:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5058834/new-york-islanders-vs-boston-bruins-preview-kevin-poulin-chad-johnson?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins Preview: Backups goalies, activate</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5056914/11-2-13-islanders-bits-crazy-games-and-crazier-goalies-senators-flyers-caps-brawl?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">[Gameday Bits] Crazy Games and Crazier Goalies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/1/5057062/game-recap-islanders-5-senators-4-so-isles-drive-fans-to-drink-in?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Game Recap: Islanders 5, Senators 4 (SO)- Isles Drive Fans to Drink in Victory</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/1/5055566/new-york-islanders-vs-ottawa-senators-preview-slumps?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">New York Islanders vs. Ottawa Senators Preview: Somebody's busting a slump</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/1/5053126/11-1-13-bits-tavares-vanek-flyers-talbot-downey-trade-moulson-returns-sadness?utm_source=lighthousehockey&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">[Gameday Bits] Fitting In, Fighting, Flyers, Forlorn Friends & the Frozen Four</a></li>
</ul>
https://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5056312/new-york-islanders-vs-boston-bruins-recapDan Saraceni2013-11-02T15:45:46-04:002013-11-02T15:45:46-04:00Preview: Isles-Bruins in battle of backups
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<img alt="BLAME YOURSELVES." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I4z1kEVlfraEGgmq8y2x_0rsz6E=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/22308921/201304011_gav_ad7_112.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>BLAME YOURSELVES. | Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What do you say we make it more even and start our backups eh?</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Islanders</a> had little time to enjoy their shootout <a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/1/5057062/game-recap-islanders-5-senators-4-so-isles-drive-fans-to-drink-in" target="_blank">win after multiple comebacks from two-goal deficits</a> Friday night. They hopped the plane home to prepare to host the <a href="https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Boston Bruins</a> tonight.</p>
<p>The Bruins were off Friday but were coming off a back-to-back against the <a href="https://www.pensburgh.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Penguins</a> (regulation loss) and <a href="https://www.anaheimcalling.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Ducks</a> (shootout win). <span>Tuukka Rask</span> carried the load in both games; it's possible we see a battle of backups tonight with <span>Chad Johnson</span> expected to start for the Bruins.</p>
<p>That could be significant, because the Bruins have one of the<a href="http://www.extraskater.com/teams/2013/?sort=save_pct" target="_blank"> best save percentages at 5-on-5</a> (.951), while the Islanders rank 29th with a .889. Johnson only has one start this season, where he played the full game conceding two goals on 16 shots.</p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/585906/Bos-slim.jpg"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/585906/Bos-slim_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="Bos-slim_medium"></a> <a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/765260/NYI-landthin.jpg"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/765260/NYI-landthin_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="Nyi-landthin_medium" height="50" width="122"></a><br> Bruins (8-4-0) @ Islanders (5-5-3)<br>7 p.m. EDT | MSG+ | <a href="http://islanders.nhl.com/club/RadioPlayer.htm?id=2013020204" target="_blank">WHRU-WRCN</a><br>Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>Blahggin' smaht n hahd: <a href="http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/">Stanley Cup of Chowdah</a></p>
<p>Kind of funny how those two records are just a point apart in the standings, eh? Ah, the NHL and it's "The People Demand A Winner" regime.</p>
<p>The Bruins had to come back after a bad start and get a late equalizer before beating the Ducks in the eventual-death breakaway drill, but Claude Julien isn't want to analyze too much. Or <a href="http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/look-faster-start-against-islanders" target="_blank">maybe he is</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I think our starts could be better. But sometimes I feel we analyze the game way too much from one thing to another," said Julien. "I try to stay away from that stuff. The one thing I would like to see is that we do get off to better starts. There’s no doubt there."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I think he's saying we analyze too much but sometimes it has merit. Or maybe he's just talking about the violence inherent in the system.</p>
<p>He went on to touch upon the theme we can't avoid in these situations: How much a back-to-back should matter. We know that on aggregate it does matter; the odds favor the fresher team. But results often vary. Still:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I know if I was sitting in the other team’s building and I knew the other was playing a back-to-back, I’d want to make sure my team got off to a good start. Which will probably be the case for us when we’re in New York [on Saturday] when we want to get off to a good start."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Anyway, the Bruins are still good. They still appear to have <a href="http://www.extraskater.com/teams/2013/" target="_blank">the better of play more often</a> than not. (Note that the Isles have climbed up that "Fenwick close" table some over the past week. We'll see where they've settled in by the end of the first quarter.)</p>
<h5>Lineup/Thematic Notes</h5>
<ul>
<li> <span>Thomas Vanek</span> is seen<a href="http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2013/11/2/5057756/bruins-vs-islanders-preview-pile-on-the-isle" target="_blank"> as a "Bruins killer" by their fans</a> -- and just as well, since he his 57 points (29 goals) against them in 50 career games is <a href="http://twitter.com/NYIslanders/status/396702138610753536" target="_blank">more than he has against any other</a> team.</li>
<li>With the back-to-back and travel, coach's declarations are yet to come. But NHL.com's Brian Compton was like most in <a href="https://twitter.com/BComptonNHL/status/396671095148797952" target="_blank">betting on the same</a> lineup and a start for <span>Kevin Poulin</span>.</li>
<li>Tale of two lockout half-seasons: The Isles lost 4-1 the last time the Bruins were at the Coliseum, but they beat the Bruins 2-1 (<span>Josh Bailey</span>: two goals!) in their last meeting, part of the Islanders' resurgence on their way to the playoffs last spring. Which version of the team shows up tonight?</li>
<li>In good news for the Bruins, <span>Loui Eriksson</span> is back skating but is not ready to return after <span>John Scott</span> "I don't know how to check"d his head off.<br>
</li>
<li>Boston.com describes the Bruins lines this way, since Johnny "I was born with a hockey name" Boychuk<a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/extras/bruins_blog/2013/11/game_13_bruins_at_islanders.html" target="_blank"> is out injured</a>:</li>
</ul>
<p align="center">Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jarome Iginla<br> Reilly Smith-Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand<br> Chris Kelly-Ryan Spooner-Carl Soderberg<br> Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton</p>
<p align="center">Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton<br> Matt Bartkowski-Dennis Seidenberg<br> Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid</p>
<p align="center">Chad Johnson<br> Tuukka Rask</p>
<h5>FIG Picks</h5>
<p>Leave your <a href="http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5057298/fig-picks-nov-2-vs-bruins" target="_blank">First Islanders Goal picks for this game over here</a>. Be the closest on the time, get a bonus point (and not a silly Bettman one either!).</p>
<h5>P.S. GIF For You</h5>
<p>Here is Cory Conacher kicking Travis Hamonic last night. The league typically frowns upon any attempt to kick another player. Slashing, crosschecking, hooking, tripping, all part of the deal -- but kicking is supposed to be over the line. Right?</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3499221/conacherkickshamonic.gif"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3499221/conacherkickshamonic_medium.gif" class="photo" alt="Conacherkickshamonic_medium"></a> <br id="1383427726825"></p>
https://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013/11/2/5058834/new-york-islanders-vs-boston-bruins-preview-kevin-poulin-chad-johnsonDominik