The 14-2-0 Islanders (is that what they are?) put a pin in the hopes of the Ottawa Senators of staying in that Wild Card spot. The desperate Senators played parts of this game “lazy,” as Islanders’ Lucky Charm Jiggs McDonald said. Other parts of the game, their desperation showed. But Anders Nilsson and the rookie laden Isles stuck with them.
“There’s no quit.” said Josh Bailey post game. Another two point night for Josh with another goal and assist point and again he seemed somewhat reluctant to speak to the media. He waits for the question “Why are you scoring NOW Josh? When it doesn’t matter.” He has no answer. But perhaps Butch Goring has the answer when he said “Josh Bailey is accepting the responsibility of the first line.” He clarified that he didn’t feel that is where he belonged long term, but that he understood what needed to be done.
As a fan, I’m not sure how I feel about these “no quit” Islanders. They are making me wonder why the Isles record was so poor with the main pieces in place. Do they not have the chemistry they supposedly have? Are they really not as good as we think they are? What gives?
Chris McNally (@thechrismcnally) tweeted at me:
@7thWoman Maddening. I make myself feel better by remembering that their last 5 wins have come vs teams with a combined 162-161-58 record
Ahh… okay, so they’re playing teams that have just as many issues as the Isles. Okay. That makes me feel better.
Les Mavus (@HockeyGoalieEh ) tweeted at me that the Isle are 5-0-1 since Brian Strait broke his hand.
What about Boulton? He broke his hand too. Ugh.
Anders Nilsson received praises from his coach and the broadcast team for last night’s play. He faced 36 shots and made 35 saves. He battled. There was a lot of play in his crease and the one power play goal the Sens did manage on him, I didn’t feel was right. I wondered where the whistle was. Butch Goring also praised Anders saying he was different. He was quieter and let the puck come to him and controlled it better. He also mentioned that Mike Dunham had been working with him and perhaps that’s the reason for the improvement.
Casey Cizikas scored the game winning goal from a Josh Bailey pass behind the net. He literally dove over Calvin deHaan to bat the puck in the net behind Anderson. Casey Cizikas would take a bullet for this team. He shows it every night and the smile on his face was telling when he went back to the bench.
Zeeker told Newsday’s Art Staple "Right now we're doing a good job, holding leads, playing smart. That we've figured it out now is disappointing in a sense, but we've got such a young group here now, it can only help us going forward.”
Ben Amodeo @IslesFan_Ben
I have to admit. I'm having a blast watching half of the Bridgeport team playing with the #Isles. #BST
Yes, while the Isles are doing a good job right now, according to Eric Hornick’s “The Skinny” for last night the Sound Tigers are 1-10-1-1 in their last 13 games and 27-34-2-5 on the season. OUCH!! He has a boatload of other interesting stats too if you haven’t checked out last night’s edition. http://www.nyiskinny.com/2014/04/the-skinny-isles-2-ottawa-1.html
“We did some good things. The way it started, I thought we were going to give up 40 shots. Our young kids got mentally where they needed to be: focused.”
“Anders Nilsson did well especially on the penalty kill.”
“It’s how we play away from the puck. It’s all the intangibles that make you win a hockey game. When you look at our record, our home record hurts. It shouldn’t change at home.”
“I’m pretty happy with the way we’re moving the puck on the power play.”
“Guys are learning as they go. Guys are just playing the way we need them to play. You have to play within the team concept and they’re doing that right now.”
And THAT is all I could get to make sense out of Jack Capuano’s post game with MSG’s Peter Ruttgaizer. Jack talks in half sentences which is bad enough, but he also talks at 90 mph with a Boston accent. It’s a crap shoot trying to get quotes right.
The Isles are off until Saturday when the face the Washington Capitals at home for a 5 pm afternoon game. Maybe they’ll give the home town crowd something to cheer for and find a way to play the same way at home as they do on the road.
What do you think Jack? Can they?
Sideboards: And gates. Travis Hamonic took the bench gate to the lower extremities last night pretty hard. That's gonna leave a mark. Not sure why it wasn't closed properly. Brock Nelson also hit the bench in agony for a bit as well. Hopefully the Isles haven't lost either of them to "lower body injury" for the few remaining games.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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