Islanders Fall to Pens in OT

Last night the Islanders hosted the much hated Penguins. Kyle Okposo scored 2 goals for the team both in the first period, but that wasn't enough as the Islanders ended up losing in overtime on a game winning goal from Sidney Crosby. The game was not an entire failure for the Islanders, because they did come out of it with a point. Their record is now 8-15-5.

Islanders Penguins history at the Coliseum

The Islanders and the Penguins have had many noteworthy games throughout the years. A lot of these games have had a lot of fighting in them. Below are a couple links to brawls at the Coliseum between the two teams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irKvQgEVPHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA-oOLjhwqE

Islanders to host Pittsburgh tonight

The Islanders are coming off a couple nights off, but they are set to host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight on the Island. They are looking to get out of the funk that they are in right now. This is the first game the Islanders have hosted the Penguins since the playoffs last season, so maybe that will spark something in them for tonight.

Islanders are now 3rd to last in the East

The Islanders are currently riding a 2-7-1 slide in the past 10 games. Because of this they are now the third worst team in the Eastern Conference. It's been a rough slide, but there still is a lot of season left and they can still recover. With that said there are a lot of negatives of this current down streak for the team. They are 8-15-4 overall with 20 points, so it hasn't been a very good season yet. They need to step it up if they want to make the playoffs this year.

Rough week for the Islanders.

In the past week the New York Islanders have taken 2 of the possible 6 points. Wasn't a very good weekend with loses to the Kings and Maple leaves. The only 2 points of the week came from Saturday in a 5-4 shootout win against The Red Wings. In the shootout Franz Neilsen was the only one to score giving the Islanders the w. The Rookie Brock Nelsen scored in the second period and goals also came from John Tavares, Casey Cizikis and Cal Clutterbuck. But The Islanders record dropped to 8-10-3.

Islanders finally get the "W"

It's been a rough week for the Islanders. They lost all of their last 4 games getting outscored 16-6 by The Capitals, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets and Canadiens. Last night was a different story though as The Islanders came ready to play when the Predators traveled to Long Island. In the First period The Islanders out skated the Predators and in a 0-0 game Matt Martin and Rich Clune dropped the gloves and had a nice scrap. Later in the Period John Tavares netted one on the power play to take the lead. A few minutes later in the period Pierre-Marc Bouchard wrist-ed one in making it 2-0. Kyle Okposo scored as well in the second period and then Predators got a late goal in the third period to make the final score 3-1 Islanders. The big story of the game though is how well Kevin Poulin played. He only allowed 1 goal, while making 33 saves. Playing like that I'd be surprised if he doesn't start in net Thursday against the Kings. Below is a link to Matt Martin's fight and all of the Highlights from the game.

  http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/119473
http://islanders.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020264

Weekend of winning

This past weekend the Islanders took 4 points. On Friday night against the Ottawa Senators. Frans Nielsen tied the game at 4 in the third period and then went on to score in the shootout to win for the Islanders. The team had a solid performance. Tavares and Vanek played well together, Vanek assisted him on a goal and had a few chances of his own. On Saturday night the Isles hosted the Boston Bruins. Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist on Tavares' goal as well. The Islanders won the game 3-1 and look to take their momentum into DC to battle the Capitals tonight. Since the addition of Thomas Vanek to the squad he has 2 assists, a goal and the team is 2-1.

First Islanders Rangers game of the season

This past Tuesday The Islanders hosted the state rival New York Rangers. On top of that it was newly acquired winger Thomas Vanek's debut with the team. The first period had a lone goal scored by Chris Kreider for the Rangers. The second period however was all Islanders. Cal Clutterbuck tied it up for the Isles and then later in the period defense-man Travis Hamonick put the Islanders ahead 2-1. In the second period Matt Martin also had his first fight of the season, taking Derek Dorsett down with ease. The Rangers came out strong in the third period though, netting 2 goals while shutting the Islanders out to win the game 3-2. Thomas Vanek had no points in the game, but he skated well and just needs a few more practices to adjust to playing with John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and the rest of the squad. Below is a link to Matt Martins fight. 

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/118988

Thomas Vanek now an Islander

Over the last week the Islanders lost in overtime to the Canucks, came back in the third period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, and suffered a 5-2 loss to the flyers. The Islanders record is now 4-4-3. None of that though is as important as what happened on Sunday night. Thomas Vanek formally of the Buffalo Sabres was traded to the Islanders for Matt Moulsen and a couple future draft picks. Matt Moulsen was having a solid season for the Islanders with 9 points in 11 games, but the addition of Vanek will definitely be beneficial to the team. Vanek has 9 points as well this season so far and he is going to attempt to get that total up this season with the Islanders. He is a seasoned veteran and he has 497 career points in the NHL in 9 seasons. Below is a link with a report of the transaction from the team website.

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=688764

Islanders take 3 points in first 3 games of home stand

The Islanders started a 4 game home stand on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres. With goals from Franz Nielsen, Matt Martin and Matt Moulsen the Islanders and the Sabres were tied at 3 at the end of overtime. In the following shootout Matt Moulsen scored, but the Sabres scored twice and took 2 points. The Islanders earned 1 point.
On Thursday the Islanders played the Edmonton Oilers. Much like the Islanders, the Oilers are a good young team. The first period had a goal from Josh Bailey for the Islanders, followed by 2 unanswered goals from Trevor Hall of the Oilers. Both goals happened to come within 8 seconds of each other. As incredible as that is, the Islanders were able to hold them to just those 2 goals. In the Second period Kyle Okposo scored, on the power play and then with a minute left in the period John Tavares netted what turned out to be the game winning goal for the Isles. 3-2 was the final score of the game and the Islanders got 2 more points.
On Saturday the Islanders hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. The first period was scoreless, but the Islanders played a lot harder than the Hurricanes did. One minute into the second period though the Islanders gave up a goal. The Hurricanes then Scored 2 more unanswered goals to take a 3-0 lead. The Islanders never stopped fighting though, because Matt Moulsen scored on the power play at the End of the second period. Even after the Hurricanes took a 4-1 lead in the 3rd period the Islanders still didn't give up. Franz Nielsen scored to make it 4-2 and then with a minute left Kyle Okposo made it 4-3  with a snap shot. They played hard, but the Islanders still came up short losing the game 4-3. They took 3 points in those games bringing their record to 3-3-2. They look forward to taking on the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night at home. It should be a very physical game.

Close weekend for the Islanders

The Islanders were in Chicago Friday to play the Blackhawks. They started badly being down 2-0 with 1 minute left in the first period. They ended the period tied at two though, because Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo both scored goals in the last minute for the Islanders. They ended up losing 3-2 after the Blackhawks scored in the third period again. The Islanders had a similar fate on Saturday night when they played the Nashville Predators. John Tavares and Franz Nielsen both scored during the second period. Those goals weren't enough though as they lost the game 3-2 again. Their record dropped to 2-2-1 over the weekend, but it's a long season and the team is going to shake it off and go back to New York and battle the Buffalo Sabres Tomorrow night to start a 4 game homestand. Islanders Alternate captain Kyle Okposo is shown below along with Franz Nielsen.

Islanders win big against the Phoenix Coyotes, Improve record to 2-0-1

The Islanders had a 6-1 victory against Phoenix last night. They scored early and often and didn't hold back at all. The Captain John Tavares netted 2 goals and was inches away from making it his 5th career hat trick. Evgeni Nabokov played great in goal last night for the Islanders allowing only 1 goal while saving 33 shots. Last nights game was The Islanders first Western Conference game since April of 2012. They came out strong and dominated the game giving the rest of the league a reason to pay close attention to what is happening over on Long Island. The Islanders are really going to shock some people this season if they keep playing like they did against Phoenix last night.

Player to watch for Matt Martin

Matt Martin is a Left winger for The New York Islanders who rarely scores goals, but what he lacks in scoring he makes up for with his physical play and hustle. There isn't a shift on the ice where he isn't hitting someone or skating as fast he can. Last season alone he recorded 234 hits in the shortened 48 game season. He hustles, he finishes checks and he fights when necessary. Every team needs a player like him to protect the skill players. Martin does a great job protecting his teammates, especially the Captain John Tavares. Look for number 17 this season he's going to have a great year. Below is a link to one of his best fights from last season.

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/117209

Islanders start season off 1-0-1

The New York Islanders left the weekend with a shootout victory as well as a shootout loss. They took the W over the Devils on Friday with a Matt Moulson goal in the shootout. He was the only player to score in the shootout for either team. Even though they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday they still earned a point which put their season total at 3.Not a bad first weekend for the Islanders as they are looking forward taking on the Coyotes on Tuesday at home. Below is a link to the shootout from the Friday night win.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf3GcuxL7HU

Season Opener Friday, October 4th

The New York Islanders start the season off with a game against The New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark on Friday. The Islanders finished ahead of the Devils last season and they are looking to stay on top to start off the season led by the Captain John Tavares who scored 28 goals last season.