Tonight was a very bittersweet as the New York Islanders (my favorite team) hosted the Nashville Predators (my second favorite team) at the Nassau Coliseum. Of course I have been an Islanders fan my whole life, however a brief five year stint in Knoxville, Tennessee led me to become a Predators fan. Starved for live hockey, Kellie and I would trek from Knoxville to Nashville to go to Preds games. In fact, we went to the first ever hockey game in Nashville when the Predators took on the Florida Panthers (also playing in their first ever game) in 1996.
The Predators made it very fun to go to hockey games in the city that is arguably the home of country music. Back then the Preds always had competitive teams under the tutelage of Barry Trotz. Nowadays, the Predators lead the entire NHL with 84 points (39-12-6) and have Peter Laviolette behind the bench (former Islanders head coach). It is potentially a preview of Stanley Cup Final that would make this Islanders fan very happy.
The Islanders came into the game off of a gritty road win in Carolina and in first place in the Metropolitan Division. Casey Czikas was placed on injured reserve with a lover-body injury, which meant that Head Coach Jack Capuano did not need to make any tough decisions on his forwards for the game.
On defense, Lubomir Visnovsky was back in for Calvin deHaan (it was supposed to be Brian Strait sitting out but there was a last minute change) and Jaroslav Halak was back in net after Chad Johnson’s impressive 37 save performance against the Hurricanes on Tuesday evening. This one was going to be a good test for the Islanders and would be a good measuring stick to see how they would fare against the best in the west.
Exactly one minute into the first period the Islanders took the lead when Brian Strait activated from the blue line and took a neat pass from Frans Nielsen to make it 1-0. It was Strait's 2nd goal of the year. Frans Nielsen and Michael Grabner got the assists. It was a bit ironic that Strait was the one that scored so quickly because he was a last minute substitution for deHaan. Also, it was the fifth straight game that the Islanders got the first goal of the game and the fourth time inside of 71 seconds. The Islanders dictated the play for the entire period and had numerous opportunities. Colin MacDonald had a point blank chance and John Tavares hit a post.
In the Islanders zone, Mikhail Grabovski took a clean shoulder hit from of all people Eric Nystrom, however when he fell to the ice he hit his head hard. At first, Grabovski did not move and his limbs were stretched out on the ice. They brought out a stretcher but Grabovski was able to get to his feet and skate off under his own power. It was interesting that the fans were booing Eric Nystrom, who is the son of Mr. Islander Bobby Nystrom. I guess even a Nystrom does not get a pass when it comes to these Islanders.
New York continued the pressure. Nielsen won a face-off in the Nashville zone, Nick Leddy drove the net and snuck a pass back out to Johnny Boychuk who took a slapshot around a screen from Michael Grabner. The puck got by Pekka Rinne for Boychuk's 6th goal of the year. Leddy and Graber got the helpers, the later with his second assist of the period.
The two teams traded unsuccessful power plays. Then the Islanders got another chance when McDonald hit Gaustad hard. Gaustad wanted to fight but McDonald showed restraint and was rewarded by getting his team a power play. On the man advantage, Boychuk took a slapper that took a weird bounce to the right of Rinne. Unfortunately for Rinne, John Tavares was waiting and he put it in the net for a 3-0 lead. It was Tavares' 29th goal of the year from Leddy and Boychuk.
Just when it looked like the Islanders would escape the period with a three goal lead, Forsberg scored for Nashville. After a blocked shot the puck found him in the high slot to make it 3-1 with 17 seconds left in the first period. Overall the Islanders had a strong period even though they were out shot 17-15.
The second period did not have too much action. Both teams traded a power play opportunity and that was about it. The only goal came after Thomas Hickey blocked a shot from Weber. The Predators worked the puck around the Islanders zone and the former Penguin Neal scored from from the wing to make it 3-2. The Islanders picked up the pace on shots 14-8 during the period.
In the final frame, the Predators tried to get back into it but could not pull the trigger. The Islanders took advantage and extended their lead. After Martin chipped out the puck from the Islanders zone, McDonald threaded the pick to Leddy who hit iron and then net to make it 4-2 with about thirteen minutes remaining. It was Leddy's 8th goal of the year which was in addition to the two assists he had in the first period. That gave the Islanders a comfortable lead. However, that lead would get a lot more comfortable a couple of minutes later.
After a Strait check on Jarnkrok, the Islanders broke out and got the puck to Bailey who drove towards the goal and tried to jam it in the side of the net. Rinne stopped it at first, but his momentum carried the puck in the net to stretch the lead to 5-2. Tavares and Lee got the assists and that was the ball game. The Islanders out shot the Predators 11-7 for the third period and 40-32 for the game. New York was only 1-5 on the power play, but killed off three penalties in the process. Their overall effort was evidenced by 28 takeaways vs. the 12 that the Preds had.
The Islanders moved to 39-19-1 which was good for 79 points and a five point lead on the Rangers and Capitals. The Penguins fell to fourth place and six points behind the Islanders. Next up are back to back games on the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, the Islanders go to Washington to play the surging Capitals and then it is a quick turnaround for a later Sunday afternoon back home against the Vancouver Canucks.
This game was a great test against the best team in the NHL. It was hard to root against Nashville, because they still have a place in the corner of my heart. It would be great if these two teams met in the Stanley Cup for a number of reasons. First, it would be a great series that I think would give the Islanders a good chance to win the cup. Secondly, The proximity of Nashville would enable me to go to multiple games in Nashville and New York. Lastly, it would be a fitting end to the season to see my original home play against my adopted home to close out a very memorable and special season. Hopefully the dream will become reality.
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