Philadelphia 4, New York 3 Shootout

New York Islander Fan Central | 3/28/2009 10:31:00 PM |
Associated Press: Recaps New York's 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia Saturday.


NYI Fan Central Comments:

Better team tonight lost the skills competition or decided to turn the shootout into an exhibition, if not for 0.02 at the end of the first the game is likely out of reach for Philadelphia earlier.

Someone is going to have to explain to me why we see calls like the one against McAmmond decide a game but tonight night when all we hear is you are responsible for your stick Jackman takes a high stick in his face right in front of the official, blood is drawn and no call is made nor do the officials even consult with one another?

That turns a tie game with three minutes left into one the Isles take into overtime with a powerplay.

It's huge.

Overall I'm very happy with the Islanders effort.

For a team rested and waiting with all those twenty goal scorers the Flyers were very passive, sat back early and did not try and take it at the Islanders who not only generated good chances but took the early lead and simply were the better team that were standing up for one another beginning with Doug Weight who jumped right in and defended a teammate.

You would be hard pressed to know who was competing for a playoff spot tonight.

Goals? Nice shot by Martinek, good hand-eye by Tambellini but again for me the shifts these young players are having between Bailey-Okposo-Nielsen-Comeau-Tambellini are the story where they create quality chances and it's not one thing but just the body or work as it's obvious they are more and more comfortable at this level.

They are consistently the teams best players game in and out.

Defense for Islanders was solid across the board, Flyers did not get many quality chances until the third.

Veterans created their chances too with McAmmond and Weight getting breakaways, the officials made a terrible call against Philadelphia when a player dove and got the puck with his stick but gave the Isles a powerplay.

Also loved how they stood in and fought when it was needed combined with some big hits. Comeau buried a Flyer at the end of regulation. Rule of thumb is you don't wake up Aaron Asham, Jackman found that out the hard way.

What can I write about Yann Danis? He seemed composed and in control for two periods but he cannot allow that first Flyer goal which changes the momentum. It's obvious he's fighting the puck but the third goal he had no chance on as Streit got beat before he almost immediately crashed the net to tie to score.

Down the stretch seemed both teams wanted to get the game to overtime as the Flyers went back into first period mode. In overtime seemed both teams were looking toward a shootout.

Why is Brendan Witt opening a shootout and Mark Streit closing it? No idea but whether they score or not what was the point of that when there are a lot of forwards with better hands who he has used previously?

That one I simply do not get.

Flyer skilled players got the best of a struggling goalie in the skills competition.

Islanders did not skate like a tired team, had more energy and worked to create better chances, after last night's that's about all that can be asked.

All in all, it should have been a regulation win, Islanders were better in most areas.



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