Sat 9:20 am:
After the game last night, and Matt's 29th goal, he tried to gather his things for today's game in New Jersey. Stan Fischler and the MSG cameras came in and immediately wanted to talk to Moulson. Of course. He scored the pivotal goal that turned the momentum of the game. Also, he's always good for an interview.
But the PR director shuffled everyone towards Jack Hillen at the back wall, and the crush of recorders and cameras turned their attention to Jack and left Matt to go over his hockey bag.
Until I came over. Besides Matt's 29th goal of the season (and another $500 for charity I might add!!) I noticed something else in that game. Hits. BIG hits from Matt Moulson who is usually the one GETTING hit. So I asked him about them. When I told him he was credited with two hits, he was disappointed.
"That's it?" He looked up at me. "I thought I had more than that."
Nope. NHL stat machine says two. Along with the four shots, two blocked shots, one missed shot, three take-aways and one turn-over. Hey, they are very detailed. "I'll take two I guess. I'll take two."
Obviously they stood out in his mind as much as they did in mine.
The first hit was at 3:07 of the first and it was on that building called Chara. My eyes almost fell out of my head.
The second was a hit on Adam Quaid at 18:55 of the first that rattled the glass. I turned to my blog box buddies and asked them. "Hey, since when does Matt Moulson hit?"
@IslesRM Rob looked up from his computer at me, "You mean Matt MARTIN."
"No! No. Matty! He threw two hits." Both Rob and OkposoNet.com Ken Dick looked at me like I was hallucinating.
But, the Iron Man of the Islanders who has managed to play every game this season so far should back off on hitting and just keep scoring.
I asked Matt if the booing that Chara received all night effected the Islanders at all. "I don't think it effected us much. But, they're entitled to boo, I guess."
And then MSG's Stan Fischler was back, microphone in hand and I became trapped in the crush. One more inch and I would have fallen on Moulson. I had already tripped over a garbage can and a hockey bag. It's an obstacle course in there when they're about to travel.
11:30 pm: Yep, the Islanders won this one in regulation and wild style. With an empty net at the other end of the ice, Grabner missed his opportunity to add another goal to his stat sheet, but PA Parenteau was given one because he missed his opportunity to do it on his own.
And that's how the Isles ended with a 4 - 2 win. "That's what happens when they call it by the rules." That's what I heard up in the press box. It was something I had never seen before.
Jack Capuano thinks there is more confidence and belief in one another in the locker room which is leading to their success. He admitted they are having fun. Hey, winning is ALWAYS fun. But there is something else there too. Something that they hadn't always managed to find: A way to pull themselves out of a loss.
They came out in the third period like someone had lit them on fire. Michael Grabner tied the score at two within the first two minutes of the third and that was all it took to push them forward.
But it was Jack Hillen that was the surprise of the night. At about 8:30 pm, I tweeted out "hmmmmm.... I'm thinking Jack Hillen scores tonight." It was one of those feelings that I had gotten before when I would blurt out "Rob Schremp will score." on Twitter.
So I asked Jack if he felt anything different tonight. He smiled "No, but I did say to (someone, I can't make out who, it sounds like "Cara.") between the second and third, somethings gotta go in for me. I've been shooting. It seemed like I got a lot of shots there. So..." Jack had seven shots on net tonight. "He said 'law of averages, something will go in.'" And it did. It bounced off a leg, but that doesn't matter. It went in the net. It counts.
I asked Jack if anything was said in the room to light the fire that took over. "No. That goal was a big goal for us." I am guessing he's talking about the goal that Matt Moulson scored with only two seconds left of the second period. (The goal I didn't see because I wanted them to score so I made sure they would -- I went to the bathroom. Those horns REALLY echo in there.) "It turned the tide." Jack continued. "And I thought we played really well. Guys just said keep sticking with what we're doing. Kick it up a notch if you can. But keep doing what we're doing and good things are going to happen."
And they certainly did. Now they need the same things to happen tomorrow night at the Rock.
In game report with photos at http://www.7thwoman.blogspot.com
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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