Taking Out the Garbage – Isles Weather the Storm

After looking lost in an 8-3 rout to the Canes last weekend, Rick DiPietro and the Isles put in just enough to pull away with a 4-0 victory on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In what seemed like complete domination on the score sheet, Ted Nolan should be the first to tell you that the score did not necessarily depict how the game progressed. The Isles ran around like headless chickens throughout the entire first period and only heroics by DP kept the Lightning from jumping out to a two or three goal lead. The Lightning players were swarming around the Isles’ crease, yet insisted on attempting the perfect play which led to many missed opportunities. When a member of the Lightning decided to actually shoot, DP was there making a number of key saves including a tremendous glove save on Jan Hlavac’s breakaway. DP seemed confident in his puck handling decisions including one play where he paddled the puck out of the Isles’ zone before smashing Andy Hilbert across the face. (Come on who didn’t laugh at that?!) On that same play Bill Guerin was able to slap a rolling puck that knuckled through Marc Denis’ pads. I wouldn’t exactly call it a blast as did some other local paper, ahemmm Newsday ahemmm.

So the very fortunate Isles were able to escape the first period with a one goal lead instead of a two or three goal deficit. The Isles were able to tighten their play around DP for most of the second period and finally collected a garbage goal, the type of goal we expected the Isles to be cashing in on all season long. Josef Vasicek failed on his attempt to swat home a lose puck into an empty net, but the wind created by Vasicek’s wiff seemed to provide the puck with enough momentum to ricochet off the skate of a Lightning defenseman and into the net. But the Isles were at that dangerous point in the game holding onto a fragile two-goal lead, the same lead that they managed to squander the two previous times they had one. But not this time. Not on Mike Silinger’s 1000th game night. Seven minutes later, Mike Comrie made a nice play toward the net and Ruslan Fedotenko used some nice stick work to put home the rebound. What Isles’ fan wasn’t happy for Tank after seeing him stick it to his former team? DP continued to come up big for the Isles while notching his first shutout of the season.

This game was the epitome of a team going only as far as its goaltender will take them. If DP’s play had been spotty last night, the box score in the paper would have read something like Lightning 5 Isles 2. Heck, if DP would have been average last night the score probably would have read Lightning 3 Isles 1. But DP kept his team in the game long enough so that his teammates could get their legs going after another lengthy lapse between games. Now the Isles can maintain a positive atmosphere heading into Saturday night’s battle against Pittsburgh.

Some might say you have to be lucky to be good and you have to be good to be lucky. The former surely applied to the Isles' effort last night. Sorry NYISLES, I’m with Bill on this one. This probably has more to do with the fact that you hadn’t seen the game footage at the time of your post.

GAME NOTES:

Hilbert still looks perplexed when given any opportunity to score. (Grenade line best line of the month!) Watching Andy send his breakaway attempt 8 feet over the net was surely comical, especially with a four goal lead in the third. I was hoping DP’s smack across his face would knock some feeling back into his hands, but it didn’t work out. Maybe Chris Simon should take a whack.

Silinger seemed to get his legs back last night, probably because he was playing in front of his family and friends. Nolan might consider chaining Mrs. Sil to a Coliseum seat if it means her hub will show up on a nightly basis.

I agree that Campoli and Gervais really are beginning to look like a top-4 defense pairing, something I don’t think any one of us would have predicted at the beginning of the season based on last year’s performance.

MAB seemed poised and under control for most of the game. He made good decisions with the puck and rarely found himself too deep in the offensive zone. However, last night he couldn’t hit the ocean if he were standing on a beach.

I have seen enough of Hunter on the first line. He’s too slow and he clogs up the speedy duo of Comrie and Tank. That line did score twice last night, but I’d still rather see Guerin back with Comrie and Tank.