Tonight was a special night. It was the last night of Hanukkah, the eve of Christmas eve and coincidentally enough the celebration of Festivus. That meant breaking out the aluminum Festivus pole, "Airing our Grievances" and performing "Feats of Strength", with the hope that at the end of the evening that there would be a "Festivus miracle." Oh and by the way the New York Islanders were hosting the Montreal Canadiens at the Nassau Coliseum. I could not wait to dance around the Festivus Pole in my John Tavares hockey sweater.
Tonight also represented the start of my staycation. I am definitely looking forward to relaxing the next couple of weeks, getting some writing in, and watching some winning hockey. However, there are only three more hockey games the rest of the year so that means that there will be a lot of time to fill. Hopefully the Islanders can finish strong and head into the new year a bit more healthy and with some momentum.
This afternoon there was a surprise from Head Coach Jack Capuano as he chose to start Chad Johnson in net instead of Jaroslav Halak. Jaro had a maintenance day yesterday (as well as today) and from what I have read on social media, Johnson had looked better in practice. There is no doubt that Cappy needs to play his backup on a more regular basis so it will be critical to find the right spots to play him. The Canadiens countered with their number one, Carey Price. As for the forwards and defensemen the line-up was the same as the past two games. There was no need to tinker with something that is working.
Late in the day and before the game the Islanders recalled Kevin Poulin from Bridgeport on an "emergency basis." I am sure there were many fans out in the twittersphere (and I was one of them) that started to panic when they heard the news. However, it looks like that the Islanders just wanted to give Halak a complete day off. After the game Poulin was returned to Bridgeport. Also by calling up Poulin, who has played well for the Sound Tigers, to dress as a backup it sent a clear message to Johnson that he needed to pick his game up and soon.
As the game started New York took over where they left off on Saturday night against the Lightning and had another dominating period. Montreal moved the puck into the offensive zone, but could not get a shot on Johnson in the first fourteen minutes of the period. The Islanders had a number of chances, including a failed power play. Then at around the twelve minute mark Josh Bailey started a rush with a stick check and Lubomir Visnovsky got the puck ahead to Tavares for a quick two on one rush. The captain slid a pass to Kyle Okposo who netted his 8th goal of the year.
The Islanders continued to force the action and cycled the puck right up until the end of the period. However, time ran out with the Islanders peppering Price and having all the momentum. New York ended up out shooting Montreal 14-3 in the period. Overall, it was a very easy first twenty minutes for Johnson who was not really tested at all.
So much for world domination. In the second period, the Islanders came out strong, but a turnover and a broken stick by Travis Hamonic in the Islanders own end led to a goal by Andrei Markov, who was playing in his 800th game of his career. That tied the game a one apiece. Johnson seemed to be screened on the shot, but he still needed to find a way to fight through it. That goal seemed to energize the Canadiens as they decided to start playing. They took it to the Islanders and spent extended time in Islanders zone.
Montreal then grabbed the lead with a goal by Brandon Gallagher. To be fair, on the play Johnson had no chance as Gallagher got a rebound right in front of the net. It was a bang bang play. However, it could not have been very good goal for Johnson's confidence. Shots were even at nine for the period, but the momentum had clearly swung to the visitor's side going into the last period.
The Islanders had come from behind in their last four games to win. However, against the Canadiens it was not to be. Once again the Islanders had a few good chances in the third period, but could not put anything past Cary Price. David Desharnais gave Montreal a 3-1 advantage with a little over a minute left as he cut right in front of Johnson and redirected a shot into the net. It was another great crowd in the ole barn, but on this night they could not will the Islanders to make another comeback.
New York led the shot parade in the third period 13-9 and had a healthy 38-21 advantage for the entire game. It was the fourth straight game that they out shot the opposition by at least ten shots. However, this was one game where the shot total did not tell the story. The Islanders dominated in the first period, regressed in the middle frame, and gave it the ole college try in the third. It was not good enough.
New York might be able to turn it on and off against most teams, but when they play the better teams in the league they need to be more consistent throughout the entire game. After the game, Capuano cited the lack of a power play and an eight minute stretch in the middle period that were the keys to the game. There were hints that some of the personnel on the power play will change before the next game. Also, there were some players that were not playing up to their capabilities. But then again, he says that almost after every game.
The Islanders fell to 23-11 and are off until Saturday when they travel up to Buffalo to play an improving Sabres squad. It will be interesting to see if Halak is in net. Johnson did not play poorly, but the sense was is that he still does not have all of his confidence back. It is tough for a back-up goalie to stay sharp, but that is what he is being paid to do.
It was probably a coincidence that it was the last night of Hanukkah and the eve of Christmas eve, but at the same time it was very appropriate that it was also Festivus. There certainly were no "Feats of Strength" during the game and I am sure that in the locker room that Capuano and the coaching staff "Aired Their Grievances." However, unlike the game last Saturday night when the Islanders scored three goals in the last three minutes to win in exciting fashion, there was no "Festivus Miracle" this evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment