New York Islanders VS Columbus Blue Jackets 3-4 OT
Stats
Goals
NYI- Trent Hunter (1), Michael Grabner (5), John Tavares (8)
CBJ- Antoine Vermette PPG (4), Chris Clark (4), R.J. Umberger (7), Jakub Voracek (5)
Assists
NYI- Frans Nielsen (8, 9), Michael Grabner (2), Trent Hunter (3), Bruno Gervais (2), PA Parenteau (7)
CBJ- Derick Brassard (12), Kris Russell (2, 3), Antoine Vermette (5), R.J. Umberger (8), Jan Hejda (1), Derek Dorsett (5)
Points
NYI- Trent Hunter (4), Michael Grabner (7), John Tavares (12), Frans Nielsen (11), Bruno Gervais (2), PA Parenteau (11)
CBJ- Antoine Vermette (8, 9), Chris Clark (11), R.J. Umberger (14, 15), Jakub Voracek (14), Derick Brassard (17), Kris Russell (2, 3), Jan Hejda (2), Derek Dorsett (7)
Goalies
NYI- Rick DiPietro
GAA- 3.84
SV%- .895%
GA- 4
SA- 38
SV- 34
CBJ- Mathieu Garon
GAA- 2.89
SV%- .875%
GA- 3
SA- 24
SV- 21
Comments
This game was just one of those games where the Islanders, for the most part, did pretty much everything right but still couldn’t come away with the win. The offense produced, Trent Hunter showed signs of life several people doubted would ever come, the defense was sharp, except for Reese’s mishap during the second goal, Rick DiPietro had another sharp game where he gave the Islanders a chance to win, DiPietro stopped Rick Nash, one of the best snipers in the league on a breakaway, and Travis Hamonic had his NHL debut which was a real sight to see, he had a great performance showing almost no nerves whatsoever. When DiPietro was asked about the reason why the Islanders lost this game he said that “When you make a couple more mistakes than the other team, you lose, and that’s what has been happening to us lately…we’re playing hard and competing and trying to prove to everyone we care as much as they do.”.During a post-game interview PA Parenteau was asked about how the team feels about being in a 14 game losing streak, Parenteau said “It’s getting frustrating, no doubt about it…guys have not been part of a situation like this in their hockey careers. We’re doing some good things. The way we’ve played the last couple of games shows we’re not giving up. We have the guys to turn it around in this locker room.” The Islander power play has been a major reason behind why the Islanders have been failing to get out of this losing streak, when interim head coach Jack Capuano was asked about what the Islanders are doing wrong he said “There are some high-end teams in this league that are going through the same thing. You just have to get pucks to the net and have traffic…they outworked us. We didn’t have much time in (our) zone.” For those who don’t believe that DiPietro has been sharp in net Rick Nash had this to say about facing the Islander goaltender “Tonight was a bit of a tough one. This was only the third time I’ve played against DiPietro in the NHL. He’s a good goalie.”
Columbus walked into yesterday’s game expecting a somewhat easy win. They were on a winning streak, the Islanders on a long losing streak. Their offense was producing offensively with several players in point streaks, and the defense was among the best in the league, mostly thanks to the efforts of goaltender Mathieu Garon. Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel said it all during the post-game interview “We weren’t as crisp and clean as we have been…we won against a desperate team. Garon has been really good for us. Our road game is simpler. We’re not out to entertain, just play hard and solid and win.” Antoine Vermette, who produced 1 goal and 1 assist in the game, said that the Blue Jackets were somewhat lucky to come out of the game with the 2 points, “We had some good chances on the five-on-three, and were able to cash in,” Vermette said. “The Islanders are a dangerous team.” When goaltender, Mathieu Garon, was asked about the game he said that a timeout that their head coach took during the game was a major contribution to the win. “The most nervous we were was when they scored those two quick goals in the second period,” Garon said. “Fortunately, Coach called a timeout, and we played better after that.” The Blue Jackets might think themselves lucky walking out of the Coliseum with a win but Rick Nash had it right when he said “The most important thing was we got the two points”.
PS: Happy Thanksgiving to everybody