The Islanders started a four game home stand against the Edmonton Oilers at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night. When I think of Edmonton I always think about how their team history is somewhat tied with the Islanders. In the 1980s the Islanders started out the decade winning four straight Stanley Cups, the last one coming as a result of beating a young Edmonton Oiler team that had some player named Wayne Gretzky (I hear he had a good career). The following year, the Oilers returned the favor and beat the Islanders during their "drive for five" The Oilers would then go on to win five Stanley Cups in the next seven seasons. The two teams together dominated the 1980s.
Since then, both teams have struggled for the most part and in particular over the past ten years. Both teams also have stockpiled a number of young prospects, many of which have been top five picks in the draft. However, the Islanders have seem to have done a better job at developing their talent and picking up players on the waiver wire mixed in with some timely trades. Edmonton, which has showed some promise is just not as far down the rebuilding path as the Islanders. The evidence being that the Oilers came into the game with a 15-30-9 record vs. the Islanders 34-18-1. Still, seeing the Oilers one last time in the Nassau Coliseum brought back great memories of the Stanley Cup runs 35 years ago (I cannot believe it has been that long).
Head Coach Jack Capuano went with the same lineup from the Buffalo win on Sunday. That meant that Colin McDonald and Harry "don't call me Ziggy" Zolniercyk were in for Cal Clutterbuck and Michael Grabner (both day to day with upper body injuries), respectively. Calvin deHaan was still out after getting ten stitches in his noggin after a scary play which saw a skate blade crack his visor. Brian Strait got another start on the blue line. Halak was back in net after his weekend vacation between the pipes in Buffalo.
The first ten minutes of the game were pretty boring. The crowd seemed quiet. It was probably partly due to the fact that the Islanders were playing the Edmonton Oilers but also because it was a Tuesday evening in February. The Oilers got on the board first on a power play goal after Anders Lee got called for hooking. It only took about 30 seconds to put one past Halak. It was Ryan Hamilton's first goal of the year, a Slapshot off of a rebound that trickled through Halak's five hole. Its funny because as far as the terminology goes there are no other "holes" other than the five hole. If there were, I am sure that the Islanders penalty kill would let more goals in. The goal was kind of surprising, because it looked more like one that Chad Johnson would have given up a couple of weeks ago.
With about six minutes left in the first period the Islanders finally woke up. It was the fourth line that did it once again. After some pressure around the net, Colin McDonald got his second goal in two games. Travis Hamonic sent the puck down low to McDonald who fed Matt Martin in front of the net. Viktor Fasth made the save on Martin point blank, but McDonald remained right next to the net and was able to knock it in. After being a grinder on the fourth line the last couple years, McDonald has had to play in the American hockey league this year because there has been no room for him with the big team. His time at Bridgeport has paid dividends as he has been able to add a little bit more offense to his game.
The second period was very similar to the first in that the first ten minutes were pretty boring. However, the Islanders were able to snatch the lead with about eight minutes left, when Thomas "Fish Oils" Hickey let go an innocent slap shot from the blue line. Somehow it found its way through a maze of players which included Josh Bailey and it got by Viktor "So" Fasth he did not even have a chance to see the puck. The goal was original given to Fish Oils, but it was changed to Josh Bailey who apparently tipped it in. It was Bailey's 3rd goal of the year. Hickey got the assist along with Lee.
With about five minutes left in the period, John Tavares got bordered by Matt Hendricks and Josh Bailey took exception and stuck up for the captain. It was the right thing to do. There really wasn't much of a fight, but Bailey did get an extra two minutes for a crosscheck in the back. The Oilers made the Islanders pay with another power-play goal in the slot from Anton Lander. The Islanders continued to struggle on the penalty kill. Through two periods the shots were almost even with the Islanders having a slight 23-21 lead.
The Islanders finished up a power-play at the start of the third period but could not convert. Afterwards, the pace of play slowly picked up as the period wore on. With about seven minutes left the Oilers started to apply tremendous pressure in the Islanders defensive zone. They were passing around the puck and the Islanders could not do anything to clear the zone. It almost looked like a five on three power-play. It seemed that the Oilers were going to score at any moment. However, the Islanders were able to eventually clear the puck and get a line change.
When the Islanders finally had a chance to compose themselves, the fourth line struck again. This time they came across the blue line and Colin McDonald fell down but still was able to get the puck over to Casey Czikas in the slot to give the Islanders the 3-2 lead with just under five minutes to play. It was Czikas' 5th goal of the year from McDonald and Hickey. The Islanders were able to buckle down and close it out for the win. Islanders dominated the shot clock in the final period 15-5 and were able to escape with a win against an inferior opponent.
The Islanders stretched their Metropolitan lead of the Penguins to three points and remained four points up on the Rangers. Next up on the homestand are the Toronto Mapleleafs at the Coliseum on Thursday night. Another game that the Islanders are supposed to win. They cannot take the Leafs lightly just because they are struggling. If they want to get another two points they will need a better effort. If players want to see what that looks like, all they need to do is look at the fourth line. They bring it every night.
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