Nevertheless, the Bruin's loss was the Islander’s gain as Johnny Rockets has brought a lot of leadership and confidence along with his Stanley Cup ring to the Nassau Coliseum. Another interesting side note to this game was that Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara was returning to the scene of the crime where he scored his first NHL goal as an Islander 16 years hence. It is hard to believe it has been that long. Seems like yesterday that "Big Z" was playing on the island with Ziggy Palffy.
It also happened to be Mike Bossy mini-locker night so a sell-out was in order. Before the ceremonial puck drop the public address announcer went through the long list of #22's accomplishments and it is mind boggling to think what could have been. In his short ten year career as an Islander, Bossy had 573 goals and 1,126 points and still holds or is tied with someone else for following records:
- Most consecutive 50+ goal seasons: 9
- Most 60+ goal seasons: 5
- Highest goals-per-game average, career: .762 gpg
- Most power-play goals, one playoff season: 9
- Most consecutive hat tricks: 3
However, as impressive as that is, Bossy is probably best known for something he did in the 1980–81 NHL season, when he scored 50 goals in the first 50 games of the season - only the second player, and the first in almost 40 years, to achieve that feat. I could go on and on for days. There were many other awards that were won and records that were broken in addition to the four straight Stanley Cups that he took part of as a member of the Islanders in the early 1980s.
Mike Bossy was one of the best, if not the best, natural goal scorers in NHL history. If he did not hurt his back, which forced an early retirement, he certainly would have shattered many more records in his career. Before each game John Tavares stops by Mike Bossy's honorary plaque outside the Islanders dressing room just to have a quiet conversation with the legacy of #22. Its just one great goal scorer of today channeling another great goal scorer of yesteryear. It is just a matter of time before #91 joins the other Islander legends in the rafters.
The Islanders went into the game with the same line-up that beat the Rags on Tuesday, which meant that Halak was once again in net. I know that I am sounding like a broken record, but you have to wonder when Chad Johnson will get a start. The game against the Bruins was an opportunity to have him face his old team as well. I guess head coach Jack Capuano did not think there was a distinct advantage. Tuukka Rask was in the nets for the Bruins. Bahston had played well leading up to the all-star break so this game was all set up to be a wicked pissa.
The first ten minutes of the game was a stalemate with few whistles to stop play. One player that clearly stood out was Mikhail Grabovski as he had a couple of really good chances in front of Rask. The Islanders got the first break and power play of the game, however for the initial minute New York could not even get the puck in the Bahston zone because their playahs lined up on the blue line like a bunch of unused carriages at the Stah Mahket. The Islanders tried to bang through but ended up getting only one real good chance during the back half of the man advantage. Even though the Islanders had power play goals in their previous four games, their special teams remains a work in progress.
In the second half of the period the Islanders started to get sloppy and turned the puck over. A poor back check by Anders Lee gave Reilly Smith the puck in the Islanders zone where he faked Halak out of his bobos for a 1-0 lead. It was only two minutes later that the Islanders would make yet another mistake as Calvin deHaan went off got hooking ovah in the cawnah which led to a quick powah play goal by Patrice Bergeron to make it 2-0. Even though the Islanders outshot the Bruins 15-11 in the period they did not look very good. Capuano ended up juggling his lines and spent most of the period looking for the right combination to no avail.
As bad as the Islanders looked in the first period, they looked that much better in the second. Capuano must have lit into his team because they came out with a much better effort. At one point Michael Grabner had the puck right on the Bruins goal line but Rask used a lobstah claw to keep the puck out of the net. The Islanders were very active around the goal crease, but could not push one through. But the Islanders did not get discouraged and they kept coming. They just needed to be patient and keep the pressure on.
The Islanders finally got on the board at a little past the eight minute mark on a fantastic effort from John Tavares. The captain had four Bruins in front of him at the blue line and chipped in the puck on purpose right to Rask who left a juicy rebound. JT saw an opportunity and raced by the human billboards just in time to get to the bouncing puck and in one motion backhanded it into the net. It was a beautifully planned play by the captain. It was Tavares' 23rd goal of the season from Clutterbuck and Hamonic to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Tavares' goal woke the home crowd up and the Islanders responded by continuing to press forward. With five minutes left in the period another great play by the captain tied the game at two apiece. While Zdeno Chara was behind the Bruins net trying to figure out how to get his cah out of the rotary, the fearless Tavares jumped in and used his body to create some space. He stole the puck and somehow found Johnny Boychuk at the blue line who batted the puck towards Rask. Grabner tipped it in for his 5th goal of the year. The crowd noise was deafening. At this point it seemed that the momentum had swung to the Islanders favor.
It looked like the two teams would go into the intermission tied at two, but a misplay by Halak would change that. With seconds left in the period, Jaro went behind the net and launched the puck around the boards to the blue line. However, Kevean Miller was right there and he launched some harmless gahbidge towards Halak who took a dudley and let the puck get by him for a 3-2 Bruins lead. The goal was scored with four seconds left in the period and put a significant damper on the Islanders comeback. Shots were even at 16 for the period for both squads.
To start the third, the Islanders came out hard once again. But bad luck also struck once again. Just two minutes in, Torey Krug threw a rawregg right at the goal where Josh Bailey was fighting for position with a Bruins defenseman. That turned out to be a perfect screen that enabled the puck to float in to re-establish Bruin's two goal lead at 4-2. Halak was hanging out with a frappe and then, all of a sudden here you go, the puck is in the net.
That seemed to deflate the Islanders like a Tom Brady football. The Islanders could not muster anything after that point. Capuano took a risk and pulled his goalie with three minutes left to try to cut the lead in half. But Milan Lucic got an empty net goal to ice the game for Bruins and Tuuka Rask. The Islanders outshot the Bruin's for the game 45-33, but a couple of misplays and a power play goal did them in.
You know it is a good season for your team when it has been so long between losses that you cannot even recall the last one. The Islanders fell to 32-25-1 and remained at 65 points which still left them three points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and seven points clear of the Rangers, who got shut out at Madison Square Garden 1-0 by the Montreal Canadiens. Next up is a Saturday matinee in Detroit against the Red Wings.
In the end the Islanders wer sloppy and whenever they had an opportunity to cut into the Bahston lead, Rask was there to stop the puck from going over the line. The Islanders could have scored a few with a bit of puck luck. However,, based on the way that they played, they deserved to lose this one. The Islanders could very well face the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. If that happens the Islanders better be prepared to take on Rask to get the Reward.
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