9:34 pm: Well, that was a historic game, and none of it for the Isles. But hey, looks like I won ten bucks from hubby.
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MY THEORY!
The Isles didn't play horribly, but Price played better. Pacioretty scored on the first shot that Nabby saw and that set the pace for the game. It wasn't the best goal, but it counted and put the Isles into that place they have a hard time getting out of.
According to Eric Hornick, it's the ninth game they've given up a goal on the first shot. According to Art Staple, it's the tenth. It doesn't matter who is right, it blows.
Matt Martin did some hitting, as usual, as did Kyle Okposo. Both had four hits but it wasn't enough to stop the Habs who were cheered on by a large contingent of their fans.
The Isles had so many good chances. For the first time I knew how many just by the sound of the crowd. They had 33 on net and 19 that were blocked. Poor Nino Niederreiter couldn't believe one of the shots that didn't go in.
Scott Gomez couldn't believe it either -- as he scored a power play goal, his first in more than a year. Leave it to the Isles to help some one reach a historic mark in their career.
The Isles managed to kill off the shut out during the last two minutes as Matt Moulson batted a puck into the net behind Price and Mark Streit blasted one past him 48 seconds later. It just wasn't enough.
Gomez wasn't the only Hab to reach a milestone. With an emptynetter just before the buzzer, Pacioretty gets his first NHL career hat trick. Lovely.
The MSG cameras caught Doug Weight leaving the ice "effing" up a storm as he was angry as hell that the zebras missed an icing call that would have given the Isles a little more time. I don't think it would have made a difference.
Well, as I was asked on twitter, "so are they mathematically eliminated now?"
Uh... well... in my mind? Yeppers.
10:17 am: Well, Jack has indeed decided to go with the hot hand and Evgeni Nabokov will be the man between the pipes while Al Montoya sits and waits. Good News/Bad News Dept: Milan Jurcina has been cleared to play. I guess no one gets the call today from BPort. Sorry boys.
8 am: Any time the Montreal Canadiens play a game any where there is passion. I don‘t expect tonight to be any different. The Habs are riding high after a shootout win over the Penguins. They have confidence. But so do the Isles who have earned 16 points out of the last 22.
There is a single point separating these two teams. This will be a battle for sure. But who will be playing for the Isles? With Jurcina only a possibility for tonight and both Reese and Hamonic out for weeks, will it be Ty Wishart donning an Isles sweater or will Matt Donovan make his NHL debut?
This is an important question considering how desperate the defense is. Captain Mark Streit (the ex-Hab) is a -20 and Milan Jurcina is a -21. Yikes. No wonder the people in this house have been yelling at the TV a lot. So who will it be?
Hmmm… tough call. It would be great for Donovan to get a taste of the NHL while his other Sound Tiger team mates, Aaron Ness and Rhett Rakhshani, are also called up, but Wishart has the NHL experience. Who gets the nod?
Also, does Jack ride the hot hand in Nabokov or test the ice with Al Montoya -- their equally talented goaltender? Al hasn‘t seen much ice lately since his concussion and Nabby‘s hot streak. But we know goalies can‘t sit too long or they turn into the tin man looking for an oil can.
The Isles have been called a one line team, something we really can‘t dispute. Of all the goals the Isles have scored so far this season, John Tavares and Matt Moulson have had something to do with at least half of them.
Even though, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo have been playing very well lately and are sure to contribute to the Isles totals. It‘s really Michael Grabner who needs to start hitting the back of the net more often. He hasn‘t been able to convert on those trademark breakaways. Fix that.
Now, while reading Lighthousehockey.com’s preview (you find the most interesting things there.) They posted a link to Stu Hackel’s preview. I found this paragraph interesting:
One of the more interesting stats concerning the Islanders is that while they rank 10th (tied with the Habs) in the league in the number first period goals they’ve scored, they are next to last in goals scored in the second period and tied for 26th in goals scored during the third. Wonder if that means they are not a well-conditioned team.
http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/isles-winning-despite-injuries
Stu Hackel Hockey inside/out
Conditioning? They changed their staff. Conditioning shouldn’t be a problem. Is it?
The Injury report from NHL.com preview by Pete Jensen:
Injury Report:Andrei Markov (knee), Ryan White (lower body), Brian Gionta (bicep surgery), Petteri Nokelainen (upper body) and Mike Blunden (lower body) are on IR for Montreal. Yannick Weber (lower body) is questionable. … Reese (MCL sprain) is out four to six weeks. Hamonic (broken nose/facial surgery) is expected to miss two weeks, while Jurcina is day-to-day with a lacerated elbow. Marty Reasoner (broken hand), Mike Mottau (concussion-like symptoms) and Rick DiPietro (sports hernia surgery) are on IR.
More as it comes over Twitter.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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