Two words come to mind to describe the current state of the New York Islanders: feeling good. After defeating Edmonton 3-1 on Monday (11/2) night, the Islanders have a winning record on the season and have won four games in a row. They've also taken points in six straight games. Suddenly the team can't do anything wrong, a thoroughly unfamiliar feeling in seasons past.
Brendan Witt, of all people, contributed two goals to the effort and John Tavares notched his 5th career goal. Doug Weight, who added two assists to his already impressive career ledger, said that the team now comes on to the ice with "thoughts that we're going to win every game." This would have been an unfathomable statement just 8 or 10 games ago. Now it seems to be more than just optimistic talk.
Coach Scott Gordon, speaking after the victory, said "It feels good. It's something that as a group we're not used to." Gordon praised the team's work ethic and felt that their attitude had remained positive and upbeat despite sputtering through the first few weeks of the season.
Dwayne Roloson made 22 saves to defeat the team he played with over the previous four seasons. He notched his fourth win of the year and lowered his Goals Against Average to 2.70.
The scene shifts to Buffalo on Wednesday (11/4) night where the Isles will try to keep their momentum going, while the Sabres look to avenge their previous 5-0 loss to the suddenly hot Isles.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Kyle File
In order to bring you a complete picture of the season and the events surrounding the New York Islanders, our coverage of Kyle sometimes suffers. To correct this trend, we recently caught up with this website's namesake in order to bring you some information that you might not know about the emerging star. In a perfect world, this would have been 21 questions (for #21) instead of twenty. Nevertheless we present Kyle Okposo in his own words:
Q: Let's begin. Your favorite team or teams in another sport?
Kyle: The Vikings and Twins.
Q: Your favorite junk food, if you have one?
Kyle: Pizza.
Q: We know that you're a gamer...you like your video games. What are you playing right now?
Kyle: Tiger Woods (PGA Tour).
Q: That leads right into the next question. The best round of golf you've ever played was what score?
Kyle: 73. On several different courses in Minnesota.
Q: What kind of music are you listening to right now?
Kyle: Rap. Eminem's new stuff, Lil Wayne. I like some R&B too. Dr. Dre has some good stuff out.
Q: Okay, are you an athlete that likes to use Twitter, read blogs, and see what people are saying online?
Kyle: No.
Q: Favorite movie or television show right now?
Kyle: Since Entourage ended, it's Californication.
Q: Good choices. When you were in school, what was your favorite subject?
Kyle: Math.
Q: Do you speak any other languages?
Kyle: A little bit of Spanish, not much.
Q: What's the best comfort food made by a member of your family?
Kyle: Crab legs. It's just a childhood favorite.
Q: Interesting. So how did you celebrate your big 21st birthday?
Kyle: I had two beers in my room and then I got ready for the game the next day.
Q: Is there any significance to wearing the #21 uniform?
Kyle: No...well I loved (Peter) Forsberg growing up.
Q: You've mentioned that in the past. How about your dream car?
Kyle: When I was growing up it was a Range Rover.
Q: Please name a place you've always wanted to visit, but never had the chance to.
Kyle: St. Andrew's golf course in Scotland.
Q: Your favorite road city?
Kyle: Probably Tampa. It's just fun. It's always warm there and everyone always seems to be having a good time.
Q: Player past or present you'd like to spend a day with?
Kyle: Joe Sakic.
Q: If not for hockey what profession would you be doing? Or one you'd like to get into after your hockey career?
Kyle: Golf. Or being a movie critic.
Q: One sentence to describe Kyle the hockey player?
Kyle: I try to work hard all the time.
Q: And one sentence to describe Kyle the person?
Kyle: I'm pretty easy going, laid back, and I like to have a good time.
Q: And to conclude, would you like to send a message to your fans?
A: I want to say thanks to our fans. They've been great. They've been very patient with us and we're starting to click here a little bit. It's gonna be good.
Q: Let's begin. Your favorite team or teams in another sport?
Kyle: The Vikings and Twins.
Q: Your favorite junk food, if you have one?
Kyle: Pizza.
Q: We know that you're a gamer...you like your video games. What are you playing right now?
Kyle: Tiger Woods (PGA Tour).
Q: That leads right into the next question. The best round of golf you've ever played was what score?
Kyle: 73. On several different courses in Minnesota.
Q: What kind of music are you listening to right now?
Kyle: Rap. Eminem's new stuff, Lil Wayne. I like some R&B too. Dr. Dre has some good stuff out.
Q: Okay, are you an athlete that likes to use Twitter, read blogs, and see what people are saying online?
Kyle: No.
Q: Favorite movie or television show right now?
Kyle: Since Entourage ended, it's Californication.
Q: Good choices. When you were in school, what was your favorite subject?
Kyle: Math.
Q: Do you speak any other languages?
Kyle: A little bit of Spanish, not much.
Q: What's the best comfort food made by a member of your family?
Kyle: Crab legs. It's just a childhood favorite.
Q: Interesting. So how did you celebrate your big 21st birthday?
Kyle: I had two beers in my room and then I got ready for the game the next day.
Q: Is there any significance to wearing the #21 uniform?
Kyle: No...well I loved (Peter) Forsberg growing up.
Q: You've mentioned that in the past. How about your dream car?
Kyle: When I was growing up it was a Range Rover.
Q: Please name a place you've always wanted to visit, but never had the chance to.
Kyle: St. Andrew's golf course in Scotland.
Q: Your favorite road city?
Kyle: Probably Tampa. It's just fun. It's always warm there and everyone always seems to be having a good time.
Q: Player past or present you'd like to spend a day with?
Kyle: Joe Sakic.
Q: If not for hockey what profession would you be doing? Or one you'd like to get into after your hockey career?
Kyle: Golf. Or being a movie critic.
Q: One sentence to describe Kyle the hockey player?
Kyle: I try to work hard all the time.
Q: And one sentence to describe Kyle the person?
Kyle: I'm pretty easy going, laid back, and I like to have a good time.
Q: And to conclude, would you like to send a message to your fans?
A: I want to say thanks to our fans. They've been great. They've been very patient with us and we're starting to click here a little bit. It's gonna be good.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Okie Scores Winner as Isles Top Rangers
The Islanders clashed with the Rangers for the first time this season on Wednesday (10/28) night. With lots of New York sports fans focused on the start of baseball's World Series, we wondered if the heated hockey tilt would take a back seat this time around.
We are happy to report it did not. We are even happier to report that the Islanders emerged victorious, giving those fans aligned with both the Yankees and Rangers a double dose of depression to deal with in the morning.
While we were scrambling to find parking and get into the building, Matt Moulson had already struck. He was slipped a beautiful breakaway pass by scrappy Jack Hillen just 55 seconds into the contest, and beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist stick side. It was 1-0 Islanders before we had even found our seat. Moulson is still leading the team in scoring, with 6 goals and 4 assists, in case you had forgotten.
Scoring first was a relief, but too many times this season (and others) we've seen an early lead evaporate. And unfortunately this lead went by the boards too, as the Rangers tied the game on P.A. Parenteau's first NHL goal at 8:30 of the period.
The Isles could have easily fallen behind in this one, but on this night the posts were Dwayne Roloson's friends. The cage saved two potential goals for the home netminder before Kyle Okposo struck on the power play in the 2nd to recapture the lead for the Isles. Nifty passing by Doug Weight and a Jack Hillen shot rebound allowed Okie to beat Lundquist with 1:46 left in the stanza.
John Tavares, feeling left out as the only non-scorer on the "Moulson Golden" line, sealed the game for the Isles with about 6 minutes left to play. JT's 4th goal overall and first against his team's arch rivals sent the Rangers fans who had attended packing and the Isles boosters into a frenzy. 3-1 was the final in Uniondale.
It was a relatively clean game on the ice infraction-wise (compared to some we've witnessed in the past), and certainly the Isles' best performance of the season.
Coach Scott Gordon singled out players like Richard Park and Josh Bailey during his post-game conference, stating that while their names didn't hit the stat sheet they certainly aided in the win. Defensive mistakes were not made, and he lauded his team for playing a "full 60 minutes."
We will add this: if the Isles can play this way every night they can be a playoff team. Consistent effort is the only thing holding them back.
Dwayne Roloson confirmed this for us in a corner of the dressing room. "We blocked shots [on the penalty kill], we put sticks in the lane." He continued, "That was K.I.S.S. hockey. Keep it simple, stupid. We played our game plan to a tee." Roloson made 34 saves and recorded the win, the team's first this year in regulation.
The mood was jublilant among the other players too. Tavares was seen wearing a celebratory hardhat, and Kyle was laughing and smiling with his mates. Curiously, nobody approached KO for a sound bite this time. We'll try to remedy that later this week when we sit down with him for a fun Q&A to try to learn a little more about the emerging star.
***Fun Fact: With Kyle's point tonight, his 52nd with the team, he passes Viktor Kozlov on the all-time Islanders scoring list! But you already knew that.
We are happy to report it did not. We are even happier to report that the Islanders emerged victorious, giving those fans aligned with both the Yankees and Rangers a double dose of depression to deal with in the morning.
While we were scrambling to find parking and get into the building, Matt Moulson had already struck. He was slipped a beautiful breakaway pass by scrappy Jack Hillen just 55 seconds into the contest, and beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist stick side. It was 1-0 Islanders before we had even found our seat. Moulson is still leading the team in scoring, with 6 goals and 4 assists, in case you had forgotten.
Scoring first was a relief, but too many times this season (and others) we've seen an early lead evaporate. And unfortunately this lead went by the boards too, as the Rangers tied the game on P.A. Parenteau's first NHL goal at 8:30 of the period.
The Isles could have easily fallen behind in this one, but on this night the posts were Dwayne Roloson's friends. The cage saved two potential goals for the home netminder before Kyle Okposo struck on the power play in the 2nd to recapture the lead for the Isles. Nifty passing by Doug Weight and a Jack Hillen shot rebound allowed Okie to beat Lundquist with 1:46 left in the stanza.
John Tavares, feeling left out as the only non-scorer on the "Moulson Golden" line, sealed the game for the Isles with about 6 minutes left to play. JT's 4th goal overall and first against his team's arch rivals sent the Rangers fans who had attended packing and the Isles boosters into a frenzy. 3-1 was the final in Uniondale.
It was a relatively clean game on the ice infraction-wise (compared to some we've witnessed in the past), and certainly the Isles' best performance of the season.
Coach Scott Gordon singled out players like Richard Park and Josh Bailey during his post-game conference, stating that while their names didn't hit the stat sheet they certainly aided in the win. Defensive mistakes were not made, and he lauded his team for playing a "full 60 minutes."
We will add this: if the Isles can play this way every night they can be a playoff team. Consistent effort is the only thing holding them back.
Dwayne Roloson confirmed this for us in a corner of the dressing room. "We blocked shots [on the penalty kill], we put sticks in the lane." He continued, "That was K.I.S.S. hockey. Keep it simple, stupid. We played our game plan to a tee." Roloson made 34 saves and recorded the win, the team's first this year in regulation.
The mood was jublilant among the other players too. Tavares was seen wearing a celebratory hardhat, and Kyle was laughing and smiling with his mates. Curiously, nobody approached KO for a sound bite this time. We'll try to remedy that later this week when we sit down with him for a fun Q&A to try to learn a little more about the emerging star.
***Fun Fact: With Kyle's point tonight, his 52nd with the team, he passes Viktor Kozlov on the all-time Islanders scoring list! But you already knew that.
Monday, October 26, 2009
More OT Losses
A quick post after another game that didn't quite go the Islanders' way. They followed up Saturday (10/14) night's 3-2 overtime loss with, yes, a 3-2 overtime loss this evening (10/26).
While this time it was the Canadiens that blew a third period lead, the Islanders again could not bank home the extra point. Though they have worked hard and gone to 6 overtimes in 10 games, their play has been inconsistent. There's no getting around that and the fact that the defense has not been up to scratch. Even Mark Streit, a bedrock blue liner last season, hasn't been immune to the mistake bug this year.
Special congratulations to Jeff Tambellini for the first two goal game of his career. Hopefully he can get on track and become the player many fans know he is capable of being. Kyle had an assist on one of the goals, raising his season point total to 7.
The Islanders host a hot Rangers team on Wednesday (10/28) night. If the Isles don't show more consistent play over a full 60 minutes, that one could get ugly.
While this time it was the Canadiens that blew a third period lead, the Islanders again could not bank home the extra point. Though they have worked hard and gone to 6 overtimes in 10 games, their play has been inconsistent. There's no getting around that and the fact that the defense has not been up to scratch. Even Mark Streit, a bedrock blue liner last season, hasn't been immune to the mistake bug this year.
Special congratulations to Jeff Tambellini for the first two goal game of his career. Hopefully he can get on track and become the player many fans know he is capable of being. Kyle had an assist on one of the goals, raising his season point total to 7.
The Islanders host a hot Rangers team on Wednesday (10/28) night. If the Isles don't show more consistent play over a full 60 minutes, that one could get ugly.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
W-I-N Spells Relief
On Wednesday (10/21) night, the Islanders were in danger of tying a franchise record for the worst opening to a season. They hadn't won in their first 6 tries, and the Carolina Hurricanes were coming to town. While disaster nearly befell the Isles in another 3rd period collapse, the New York side recovered in the shootout and recorded their first victory of 2009.
With a disappointing crowd of 9,122 in the seats to see it, the red hot Matt Moulson notched his team leading fifth goal of the season in the first period to get the scoring started. The surprise assist came from the stick of Andy Sutton, who played a very nice game and eventually earned the first star.
Carolina would tie the game in the second period on a Matt Cullen power play score, but scrappy Tim Jackman sent a goal past Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward to recapture the lead. Andy Sutton did the same under a minute later, and it seemed as if the Isles were on their way to a 'W'.
It wouldn't be that easy, though, as Carolina had some rapid fire scoring in them too. With just about 6 minutes remaining, Eric Staal scored to draw the 'Canes within one and Jussi Jokinen tied it 1:02 later.
The home crowd was dismayed, angered, and felt as if they'd seen this horror show before. But on this night the crowd was treated to a happy ending.
Though both teams had good chances to win in the 5 minute overtime, the squads sent the game to a shootout. And wouldn't you know for the first time all season each of the 3 Islanders shooters scored. First Jeff Tambellini, the shootout specialist. Then newly healed Frans Nielsen. And finally, the marquis attraction, young John Tavares. It added up to a 4-3 win for the home team.
After the game Coach Scott Gordon hoped that this would be the start of getting the season turned in the right direction, while the players we spoke with were relieved and nearly elated to have broken the dry spell. The upbeat music was blaring as the players shuffled in and out of the locker room. Goalie Dwanye Roloson even went as far as to compare his first Islanders win to a kid attending his first pro sporting event.
While we're happy for Dwayne, Andy, the coach, and the rest of the team, let's hope they can carry some of this momentum into tomorrow night's game in Montreal. It will be John Tavares' first game in the building where he became an Islander.
With a disappointing crowd of 9,122 in the seats to see it, the red hot Matt Moulson notched his team leading fifth goal of the season in the first period to get the scoring started. The surprise assist came from the stick of Andy Sutton, who played a very nice game and eventually earned the first star.
Carolina would tie the game in the second period on a Matt Cullen power play score, but scrappy Tim Jackman sent a goal past Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward to recapture the lead. Andy Sutton did the same under a minute later, and it seemed as if the Isles were on their way to a 'W'.
It wouldn't be that easy, though, as Carolina had some rapid fire scoring in them too. With just about 6 minutes remaining, Eric Staal scored to draw the 'Canes within one and Jussi Jokinen tied it 1:02 later.
The home crowd was dismayed, angered, and felt as if they'd seen this horror show before. But on this night the crowd was treated to a happy ending.
Though both teams had good chances to win in the 5 minute overtime, the squads sent the game to a shootout. And wouldn't you know for the first time all season each of the 3 Islanders shooters scored. First Jeff Tambellini, the shootout specialist. Then newly healed Frans Nielsen. And finally, the marquis attraction, young John Tavares. It added up to a 4-3 win for the home team.
After the game Coach Scott Gordon hoped that this would be the start of getting the season turned in the right direction, while the players we spoke with were relieved and nearly elated to have broken the dry spell. The upbeat music was blaring as the players shuffled in and out of the locker room. Goalie Dwanye Roloson even went as far as to compare his first Islanders win to a kid attending his first pro sporting event.
While we're happy for Dwayne, Andy, the coach, and the rest of the team, let's hope they can carry some of this momentum into tomorrow night's game in Montreal. It will be John Tavares' first game in the building where he became an Islander.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Focusing on the Positives
We've returned from Minnesota, however during our absence the Islanders still did not break into the win column. While their record is 0-3-3, we've always fashioned ourselves as optimists, and prefer to highlight the good things about this team that we see rather than dwelling on the negatives, as some fans are doing.
First off, let us just say that the rumors of Coach Scott Gordon's possible dismissal are absurd. Everyone knew back in September that the Islanders were going to have another tough season ahead of them. What good would changing coaches possibly do right now other than appease a few fans with excessively high expectations? Does anyone think a new voice would suddenly increase the team's scoring or shore up their shaky defense? Preposterous.
Without further ado, here a a few early things we've been pleased with so far (in no particular order):
- The Islanders, while winless, have outplayed their opponents in the majority of their games. Opening night's effort was strong enough to garner a victory over Pittsburgh, for example. The Isles should have had a win in Boston. In fact, in every game other than the afternoon tilt against Los Angeles the Isles have been the better team on the ice for at least one period, and in many cases much longer.
- The production of John Tavares. At 4 goals and 3 assists in his first 6 games, fears of a slow start or a tough transition to the NHL have been assuaged.
- Kyle Okposo's steady production. You can't knock a point-per-game pace.
- The nice find that is Matt Moulson. He has matched Tavares' point total so far. Keeping up the pace will be a challenge, but if he keeps getting to the net, screening goalies, and knocking in rebounds he'll be just fine. Kudos to management for taking a chance on him.
- Mark Streit. The steadiest of the defensemen. A wonderful addition to any team's power play. He's always firing shots from the point. His production remains constant. We loved this signing before last season. We like it even more now.
- The return of Frans Nielsen. While he's not quite back yet, when he comes back from his knee injury he'll likely be paired with Kyle on the second line because the two work well together. Plus, after last season, anyone returning from an injury is good news!
- Marty Biron's play. While an 0-2 record with a 3.16 Goals Against Average is normally nothing to gush about, it was unclear exactly what his role would be when he signed, and what it will be in the future. But paired right now in goal with Dwayne Roloson, Biron has clearly been the better of the two netminders to this point. Plus, on a selfish level, Marty always provides a great quote. His next win will be his 200th in the NHL, FYI.
- Charles Wang's Lighthouse Project is not quite dead. Despite a published report stating the contrary, Mr. Wang issued a Monty Python-esque "we're not dead yet" statement regarding the Isles' arena development project. As far as we know, the town and the project leaders are still talking.
- Honorable mention to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. We know we're stepping on The Tiger Track's toes a bit here, but the AHL squad opened their season with 4 wins. While they have lost their two most recent games, we are looking for any and all positives right now. We'll be watching (and perhaps reporting on) some of their promising players this year, including 2009 draft pick Mikko Koskinen.
While we're hoping that the underperforming Isles not on this list step up their play soon, we have realistic expectations about what this season means. We hope you do too, and aren't so quick to heap criticism on this team in transition.
First off, let us just say that the rumors of Coach Scott Gordon's possible dismissal are absurd. Everyone knew back in September that the Islanders were going to have another tough season ahead of them. What good would changing coaches possibly do right now other than appease a few fans with excessively high expectations? Does anyone think a new voice would suddenly increase the team's scoring or shore up their shaky defense? Preposterous.
Without further ado, here a a few early things we've been pleased with so far (in no particular order):
- The Islanders, while winless, have outplayed their opponents in the majority of their games. Opening night's effort was strong enough to garner a victory over Pittsburgh, for example. The Isles should have had a win in Boston. In fact, in every game other than the afternoon tilt against Los Angeles the Isles have been the better team on the ice for at least one period, and in many cases much longer.
- The production of John Tavares. At 4 goals and 3 assists in his first 6 games, fears of a slow start or a tough transition to the NHL have been assuaged.
- Kyle Okposo's steady production. You can't knock a point-per-game pace.
- The nice find that is Matt Moulson. He has matched Tavares' point total so far. Keeping up the pace will be a challenge, but if he keeps getting to the net, screening goalies, and knocking in rebounds he'll be just fine. Kudos to management for taking a chance on him.
- Mark Streit. The steadiest of the defensemen. A wonderful addition to any team's power play. He's always firing shots from the point. His production remains constant. We loved this signing before last season. We like it even more now.
- The return of Frans Nielsen. While he's not quite back yet, when he comes back from his knee injury he'll likely be paired with Kyle on the second line because the two work well together. Plus, after last season, anyone returning from an injury is good news!
- Marty Biron's play. While an 0-2 record with a 3.16 Goals Against Average is normally nothing to gush about, it was unclear exactly what his role would be when he signed, and what it will be in the future. But paired right now in goal with Dwayne Roloson, Biron has clearly been the better of the two netminders to this point. Plus, on a selfish level, Marty always provides a great quote. His next win will be his 200th in the NHL, FYI.
- Charles Wang's Lighthouse Project is not quite dead. Despite a published report stating the contrary, Mr. Wang issued a Monty Python-esque "we're not dead yet" statement regarding the Isles' arena development project. As far as we know, the town and the project leaders are still talking.
- Honorable mention to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. We know we're stepping on The Tiger Track's toes a bit here, but the AHL squad opened their season with 4 wins. While they have lost their two most recent games, we are looking for any and all positives right now. We'll be watching (and perhaps reporting on) some of their promising players this year, including 2009 draft pick Mikko Koskinen.
While we're hoping that the underperforming Isles not on this list step up their play soon, we have realistic expectations about what this season means. We hope you do too, and aren't so quick to heap criticism on this team in transition.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Day Game Doldrums
The Islanders came into Monday's (10/12) holiday afternoon tilt (a.k.a. Kids' Opening Day) looking to rebound after a dispiriting overtime loss in Boston over the weekend. While the Isles seem to historically have trouble performing in day games (according to charts kept by Dee Karl, the 7th Woman), the media guide indicates that the team has trended more towards mediocrity of late, going 5-7-1 last season when the sun was up.
Regardless of the past, Kyle told us that his preparation is the same regardless of the time of day, while Doug Weight chimed in on the subject by saying that sometimes a team doesn't have its legs "for the first 5 or 6 minutes," but after that they soon get going. He was sure to remind us that it's the same for both teams though, and added that for him a day game is sometimes a nice change of pace. It certainly frees up a player's evenings for family time, which is nice for an established veteran like Mr. Weight.
With all that said, it seemed as if the Isles came out on this day with plenty of steam, outshooting the visiting Los Angeles Kings 11-4 in the 1st period and with Finnish forward Sean Bergenheim creating several good scoring opportunities for himself. L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick was up to the task, though, and the teams went into the first break unable to break through with a goal.
The most noticeable thing that happened in the second period was the arena scoreboard malfunctioning for several minutes about 6 minutes into play. The Isles couldn't sustain any kind of momentum and took the game's first penalty at the 7:48 mark. While nothing came of it for the Kings, a second power play late in the frame provided the Kings with a nice looking goal from their young star Anze Kopitar. Islanders goaltender Marty Biron was helplessly screened on the shot, and with only 6 seconds left on the kill, the goal really seemed to take the air out of the Islanders' balloon. It also set the tone for a mostly moribund third period.
The Kings made it 2-0 at 5:31 of the third period, as another one of their young stars, Drew Doughty, blasted a shot past Biron. As improved as the Isles' play has been on the young season, third period comebacks have not been their hallmark. They did pump some life back into the game when Matt Moulson finally beat Quick with 1:55 left to play. Kyle and Mark Streit recorded assists on the goal.
The Islanders scrambled for an equalizer with a last-ditch empty net tactic, but it never came. The final was 2-1 Los Angeles, and we'd have to say it was their least entertaining game of the year so far.
The Isles have taken 3 points over the first 4 games, but you get the sense from the players and coaches that it should be more. While we like the heightened expectations of this team, the coach reminded everyone once again that he is focused on how the team plays and the effort they provide each time out. "There are no shortcuts" on the path to success was and is the message he wants to instill to his corps.
Weight, the captain, thought the team just needed to play "hungrier" at times, and that while moral victories are nice, "this league is all about winning."
Lastly, a quick look at the stat sheet shows that members of the "Moulson Golden" line were the only forwards to record points in the game (Moulson 1 G, Okposo 1 A). As you can see on the right hand side of this page, Kyle is still maintaining his point-per-game pace. Hopefully the Isles can get Tavares and others involved and capture their first win when they travel to Buffalo on Friday (10/16).
Regardless of the past, Kyle told us that his preparation is the same regardless of the time of day, while Doug Weight chimed in on the subject by saying that sometimes a team doesn't have its legs "for the first 5 or 6 minutes," but after that they soon get going. He was sure to remind us that it's the same for both teams though, and added that for him a day game is sometimes a nice change of pace. It certainly frees up a player's evenings for family time, which is nice for an established veteran like Mr. Weight.
With all that said, it seemed as if the Isles came out on this day with plenty of steam, outshooting the visiting Los Angeles Kings 11-4 in the 1st period and with Finnish forward Sean Bergenheim creating several good scoring opportunities for himself. L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick was up to the task, though, and the teams went into the first break unable to break through with a goal.
The most noticeable thing that happened in the second period was the arena scoreboard malfunctioning for several minutes about 6 minutes into play. The Isles couldn't sustain any kind of momentum and took the game's first penalty at the 7:48 mark. While nothing came of it for the Kings, a second power play late in the frame provided the Kings with a nice looking goal from their young star Anze Kopitar. Islanders goaltender Marty Biron was helplessly screened on the shot, and with only 6 seconds left on the kill, the goal really seemed to take the air out of the Islanders' balloon. It also set the tone for a mostly moribund third period.
The Kings made it 2-0 at 5:31 of the third period, as another one of their young stars, Drew Doughty, blasted a shot past Biron. As improved as the Isles' play has been on the young season, third period comebacks have not been their hallmark. They did pump some life back into the game when Matt Moulson finally beat Quick with 1:55 left to play. Kyle and Mark Streit recorded assists on the goal.
The Islanders scrambled for an equalizer with a last-ditch empty net tactic, but it never came. The final was 2-1 Los Angeles, and we'd have to say it was their least entertaining game of the year so far.
The Isles have taken 3 points over the first 4 games, but you get the sense from the players and coaches that it should be more. While we like the heightened expectations of this team, the coach reminded everyone once again that he is focused on how the team plays and the effort they provide each time out. "There are no shortcuts" on the path to success was and is the message he wants to instill to his corps.
Weight, the captain, thought the team just needed to play "hungrier" at times, and that while moral victories are nice, "this league is all about winning."
Lastly, a quick look at the stat sheet shows that members of the "Moulson Golden" line were the only forwards to record points in the game (Moulson 1 G, Okposo 1 A). As you can see on the right hand side of this page, Kyle is still maintaining his point-per-game pace. Hopefully the Isles can get Tavares and others involved and capture their first win when they travel to Buffalo on Friday (10/16).
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