The Islanders looked to bounce back in a big way against the Arizona Coyotes at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night. New York was coming off of a horrid 4-0 shut out loss against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. The Yotes were on an east coast road trip and were coming off of their own 3-0 shut out loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. Arizona came into the game not having a banner year with a record of 20-33-7.
Head Coach Jack Capuano stayed with the same lineup as Sunday but switched goalies, giving Chad Johnson the start over Jaroslav Halak. Johnson had earned it with his confident yet stellar play the last couple of weeks. Johnson would be facing Mike Smith in net for Arizona which left us with the very un-Canadian like matchup of Johnson vs. Smith. The only thing that could have made it better is if their first names were Bob and John, respectively.
Before the game, the Islanders announced that they signed defenseman Nick Leddy to a seven year extension which keeps him in the fold through the 21-22 season. So far this year Leddy has accumulated 25 points (8 goals and 17 assists) and has been a steady contributor night in and night out paired with Johnny Boychuk. It was great that Leddy committed to the team long term and is certainly a good sign for the future. Perhaps Johnny Rocket is up next.
The first period was rather fast paced without a whistle for almost six minutes after the drop of the puck. Both teams had some jump from the start, most likely because both teams were coming off of shut out losses. Bob Johnson looked very sharp during the period. He looked so much different than he did just a couple of weeks ago. It is amazing what confidence can do for a professional hockey player. Capuano shook up his lines early in the game as he must of not been very happy with what he was seeing. The first period ended without any scoring and without any penalties. The Islanders out shot the Yotes 12-6, but outhit them 27-13.
The Islanders got on the board early in the second period after Capuano reunited the Kid line of Lee-Strome-Nelson. Right off of the face-off Travis Hamonic rushed into the Arizonazone and found Anders Lee all alone in front of the net. Lee backhanded the puck past Smith for a 1-0 lead only 37 seconds in. After the goal Lee looked at his teammates and had a weird "That's how you do it" look on his face. It was Lee's 20th goal of the year with helpers from Hamonic and Nelson.
The Yotes' Ekman-Larsson drove Brock Nelson into the boards after he was already falling towards the ice in the corner and got two minutes in the sin bin. Nelson skated away without injury, but it was a dirty play nonetheless. The Islanders had some pressure on the ensuing power play but could not convert. Immediately thereafter, the Yotes had a number of great scoring chances including one puck that straddled the goal line that was whisked away by Thomas Hickey.
Arizona was eventually rewarded for their effort. John Tavares turned the puck over in the Arizonazone and that led to a three on two break. Mark Arcobello (sounds like a group of islands...oh that would be archipelago) received a drop pass and wristed one past Johnson to tie the game at one apiece. The Islanders won on the shot clock 13-12 for the period, however most of Arizona's shots came in the last ten minutes of the period.
The third period was not pretty...in a good way. Between the three and ten minute mark it got Coyote Ugly very quickly. Matt Martin collected a rebound off a Josh Bailey shot and a mini scrum to roof one over the shoulder of Smith to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead. It was MattyMarts 8th goal of the year and first in fifteen games. Then just a minute later the Islanders got a four on two break and Tavares found Johnny Rocket who wristed one by Smith for a quick 3-1 lead. It was Boychuk's 7th goal of the year. But there was more to come.
Three minutes later, Colin McDonald and Nikolay Kulemin worked the puck off the end boards to Kael Mouillierat, and Mole Rat roofed one like Martin for his first NHL goal of his career to make it 4-1. But hold on...two minutes later, Brock Nelson got his 17th of the year when he batted a puck past Smith to make the final score 5-1. The Islanders were able to cruise for the remaining ten minutes of the game knowing they had two points in the bag. The Islanders out shot the Yotes in the third 14-8. Lost in the shuffle of the goal outburst was another strong effort from Chad Johnson who had 27 saves and was solid throughout.
The Islanders remained in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 82 points, and if the St. Louis Blues won at home against the Montreal Canadiens overnight, then the Islanders could wake up in the morning on top of the Eastern Conference. All of the teams are grouped very tightly at the top and the Rags are matching the Islanders win for win. It will be close all the way to the end of the season. Next up this weekend are back to back home games against the Calgary Flames and the Carolina Hurricanes.
New York did not play all too well for the first two periods, but turned it on during the final twenty minutes, Actually, all they needed was a strong seven minute stretch to put the game away. For Arizona the game ended up Coyote Ugly, but thanks to four third period goals the game for the Islanders ended up Coyote Beautiful
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