As you probably know, the New York Islanders just evened their playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins with a gutsy, gritty 6-4 win on Tuesday night. If you don't know, or just want to see again, here are the highlights from the game that tied the series at 2.
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
Yes, Marc-Andre Fleury has been pretty bad in the Penguins net. However, that should not take anything away from the Islanders and what they have done to give the Penguins a test they never would have expected going into this series.
After the first period of game two, the Islanders have done a great job of getting to Crosby and Malkin, as well as many other Penguins, keeping off their game and making them stay on high alert whenever they are on the ice. Travis Hamonic has been instrumental in doing that, as he has been the Islanders best physical defenseman.
Credit: Getty Images
Another key is the Islanders have been getting secondary scoring, especially from the defensemen. Through the first four games of the series, Mark Streit is the Isles leading scorer with five points, including three in the game four win. Lubomir Visnovsky and Travis Hamonic have each added two assists. An unlikely source, former Penguin Brian Strait, opened game four's scoring with a seeing-eye wrist shot from just inside the blue line. The goal was Strait's first NHL goal, playoffs or regular season. Casey Cizikas, who barely made the team out of training camp in January, has more points in the first four games than John Tavares and Matt Moulson. Don't forget about Tavares though, as he scored the tying goal in game three and got the winner in game four.Evgeni Nabokov has been a little shaky in net, but he has made the saves he has needed to with the game on the line.
Right now, the series is heading back to Pittsburgh for a pivotal game five in what has turned into a best two out of three series. The madhouse off the Meadowbrook has been rocking, and the old barn will be rocking again for Saturday's game 6. Are the Islanders for real? Can they knock off the mighty Penguins? We'll see soon.
We all know what happened between the Islanders and Penguins on Friday night at Nassau Coliseum.
The 3 stars of the game were listed as:
1. John Tavares
2. Matt Moulson
3. Michael Grabner
These three players are deserving of the three stars. If I had my picks, they would be a little different.
Third Star: Mikko Koskinen
A day after going through an emotional up and down and earning his first NHL victory, Mikko Koskinen was thrown back into the fire against the Penguins. He stepped up big time and made 35 saves on 38 shots for his second NHL win in 2 days. One of those 35 saves is this one, which may possibly be the save of the year.
Second Star: Travis Hamonic
Kudos to Travis. The rookie d-man showed that he could compete with the best of them on Friday night when he got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. (For those of you that don't know, that is when a player gets a goal, assist, and gets in a fight in the same game.) He started off with a blast of a shot for the first Isles goal. An assist on a great pass to PA Parenteau, who simply redirected it home for the Islanders 3rd goal. To cap off the Gordie Howe trick, Hamonic got into a nice tussle with Michael Rupp during the second period. Congrats Travis, you deserve second star of the game.
First Star: Micheal Haley
Micheal Haley, what is there to say about him? Friday night's was his first game of the season, and to leave with the fans chanting your name, that is something. In the first period, Haleygot into a fightwith Craig Adams, one of Pittsburgh's better fighters, and he clearly won that fight no contest. In the second period, he scored his first NHL goal, and it was a beauty, as you can see below.
Then, to finish off his day, he got into a fight with Islander enemy Maxime Talbot, won, and then skated down to the other endof the ice and took punches at Islanders enemy #1, Brent Johnson. And, he wanted to take on the whole Penguins team, or what was left of it, as he was being escorted out by the referee.
Micheal Haley, great statement in your first game of the season. You are the First star.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, because I can't seem to get enough of it. A Hockey Game. Friday Night Fights Featuring The Isles and Penguins.
Lets Go Islanders!
