Saturday, October 20, 2007

Game recap: Isles 4, Devils 3 (OT)

That was one heck of an entertaining overtime, and that was before Bill Guerin scored the game-winner in the final seconds. Of course, the game shouldn't have gone to overtime in the first place had the Islanders not let down in the third period, but overall another solid win -- and a division win at that -- for the Isles, who now get six days off. Enjoy it, fellas!

The Islanders absolutely dominated the second period, outshooting the Devils, 16-7, getting tremendous work again from Vasicek, Satan and Bergenheim. And what was up with Satan's dance moves after scoring the go-ahead goal in the second? He looked like he was channeling Tony Manero there.

Islanders were again productive on the power play, with Comrie making it 3-1 later in the second, pouncing on a loose puck after Bruno Gervais rang a shot off the crossbar. And how impressive have Campoli and Gervais been? Marc-Andre Bergeron was scratched again. Something to ponder with such defensive depth.

But you could sense the letdown coming after a fluky / bad goal by Pandolfo cut the Isles' lead to one early in the third, and when the Devils tied it 10 minutes later, you thought back to the play of the second period and wondered where it all went.

But give the Isles credit for hanging on, with DiPietro making some nice stops. The overtime was wide-open with chances for both sides, and then Andy Greene was whistled for tripping with 32 seconds left in the OT. Brent Sutter was livid and let's face it, if a call like that went against the Islanders that late, you'd be just as ripped. But that's the new NHL and they're calling it tight, and that allowed the Islanders vaunted -- yes, I called it vaunted -- power play to work its magic. Nice pass from Campoli down low to Comrie, who threw it out front, where Guerin found it for the winner. Sweet.

And to cap off the night, we learn that the Rangers -- who lost to winless Atlanta this week -- got shut out by the Bruins to remain in last place in the division. Now if only the Jets could win tomorrow ...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice blog, love the title. I was at the game last night and this looks like a better, deeper Islander team than we've had in years. Should be a great season!

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work.