Showing posts with label New York Islanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Islanders. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

(Video) Brian Boyle Check and Game-Winning Goal



This is the game-winning that gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a 5-4 O.T. win against the New York Islanders. First, the hit by former Boston College Eagle Brian Boyle on Thomas Hickey, it is what it is. Then the great effort by Boyle to get to the blue paint and score the game-winning goal. Thoughts on the hit? Some don't like it. I don't think the league will review it.



Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Developing: Islanders Sign Brock Nelson





The New York Islanders have signed Brock Nelson to a three-year contract.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

(Video) Anders Lee vs. Tom Wilson



In game four, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson ran over New York Islanders d-man Lubomir Visnovsky. Wilson was given a two-minute minor penalty for charging. Visnovsky left the game and didn't return.

Fast forward to tonight, that hit didn't sit well with the Islanders. So, you could say that this fight is a direct result of that hit. If I was the Islanders coach, I would rather have my goon, Matt Martin fighting the Capitals goon Wilson.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Capitals Tom Wilson Smokes Islanders D-Man Lubomir Visnovsky



Last night, at the 05:54 mark of the second period, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson ran over New York Islanders d-man Lubomir Visnovsky. Wilson was given a two-minute minor penalty for charging. Visnovsky left the game and didn't return. That hit didn't sit well with the Islanders.

Islanders forward Kyle Okposo wasn't very impressed with Wilson's charge.

"He's an idiot," Okposo said of Wilson. "The guy runs around, hits reckless, leaves his feet. There's no place for that."


Wilson will not be suspended for his hit on Visnovsky.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Brock Nelson Scores the First Goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs



Former Fighting Sioux forward Brock Nelson scored the first goal of the 2015 NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's the first Stanley Cup Playoffs goals of Nelson's career.


Sunday, April 12, 2015

Redwing77's Bracket

by Redwing77

Redwing77's Stanley Cup Bracket

Goon posted his Bracket Challenge and I'm going to post mine.  I admit to being a bit homer with my Wings and I did post a major upset in the first round.  Sorry Habs fans.  Carey Price seems to actually be a good goaltender and he has chilled from his early career chumpiness.  However, the Habs have had abysmal luck against Ottawa this year.  And, quite honestly, I'd like to throw out a small bone to former Bowling Green State University goaltender, Andrew Hammond.

All in all, however, I think the entire bracket is irrelevant because I truly believe the Rangers are simply going to steamroll anyone they meet and take it all.  I put Chicago in the Finals because Crawford seems to actually play like an elite goaltender when he gets into the playoffs....sometimes anyways.  I believe Dubnyk's insane run ends vs. Oshie and the Blues.  Halak's stumbling continues in the playoffs.  Fleury sieves hardcore before the buzzsaw known as the Rangers.  Honestly, whoever wins the Detroit vs. Tampa series will face the Rangers in the EC Finals.

If my bracket holds together (which any betting man would bet against it), the series to watch will be the Blues vs. Wild, Chicago vs. Nashville (goaltending vs. offense really), and ALL of the Rangers games.  I think the entire Anaheim subbracket is the most boring bracket.

Original Six wins again.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

(Video) Andrew Shaw Headbutts Brock Nelson



Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw headbutts Islander forward Brock Nelson. Shaw received a Game Misconduct for his efforts. I would imagine that the NHL's Department of Player Safety will look at this, but I don't think he will get suspended for this.

Saturday, February 07, 2015

Cal Clutterbuck check on Torey Krug (video)



This is the hit that New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck put on Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. If you watch the video, Krug never had possession of the puck at anytime. The hit stunned Krug, but he was able to return to the game.

Should this have been an interference penalty? What do you think?

Friday, December 26, 2014

New York Islanders Transition from Long Island to Barclays

For the last several seasons, the New York Islanders have been somewhat forgotten by casual hockey fans. Of course the fans of the franchise are going to live and die by the team, but everyone else has viewed them as a squad looking for some type of identity. All of a sudden, they now look like one of the hottest franchises in the NHL with a move to Brooklyn on the horizon and a young and talented team. It certainly will be an exciting time after years of mediocrity.

Most teams who have change on the horizon seem to focus on making the roster as good as possible when that change happens. A lot of new excitement is going to be surrounding Brooklyn when the Islanders (or maybe another name) start playing there. However, it is nice to see that those loyal fans out on Long Island are getting an opportunity to see a legitimate Stanley Cup contender fight every single night before they are gone.

This team really looks like they are something special, as people in fantasy hockey like the way standouts such as John Tavares, Jaro Halak and Travis Hamonic are playing. It seems like an entire team effort, and in a pretty mediocre Eastern conference, anything can happen as long as they get into the playoffs while things are going well.

Eventually, the Islanders are going to move to a fancy, state of the art arena, and new fans are going to adopt them as their NHL team. However, there is something to be said for this final run with a pretty talented core group of players. They might not be as talented as that dynasty three decades ago that really helped to build this franchise, but a memorable playoff run could make the move a little bit more tolerable.

Friday, December 05, 2014

UND vs. LSSU Game One - With Links



Scratches for UND: 5- Nick Mattson, 10- Johnny Simonson, 22 - Andrew Panzarella, 29- Bryn Chyzyk (Injury).






Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Boston Bruins: Seth Griffith's amazing goal (Video)



What an amazing goal by Boston Bruins forward Seth Griffith. This goal gave the Boston Bruins a 2-1 lead. In seven games with the Bruins, Griffith has (3g-1a-4pts).

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Johnny Boychuk Returns to Boston



One of my favorite former Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk makes his return to Boston. Boychuk is now a teammate of former Fighting Sioux defenseman Brock Nelson. Boychuk is famously known for his deadly, heavy, accurate slap shot, which is known as a Johnny Rocket.
Joe Haggerty, CSNNE.COM – Johnny Boychuk texted every member of the Bruins team after learning he’d been traded to the New York Islanders. It was the affable B’s defenseman’s way of saying goodbye to his teammates knowing they’d be hopping on the runaway train known as the NHL regular season and Boychuk would be spending the next day packing his equipment and heading to Long Island.

It’s not at all surprising to know that the goodbye texts were about having a few last laughs, still friends but no longer teammates. Some of his old B’s teammates were thinking about those conversations on Wednesday as they ready to host Boychuk and his new-look Islanders on Thursday night at TD Garden.

"He actually texted me after the trade and told me I should give him a goal,” said a smirking Tuukka Rask, who needed a few moments to realize the media was talking about Boychuk rather than Chad Johnson when asked about facing “Johnny” on Thursday. “If its 9-1 or something for us...accidents happen. What can I tell you?

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

From Warroad, Minnesota, Number 29 Brock Nelson

As if UND fans needed an introduction to Brock Nelson, the rest of the NHL world is getting a taste, finally, of what UND fans saw in his two seasons representing, the then Fighting Sioux, colors and that is the ability to score goals and help produce them. Tonight was no different, scoring his fourth goal of the season for the Islanders, and the game winning goal in tonight's contest against the Rangers as well.

Playing on the Islander's top line with John Tavares, Nelson has found his niche to find the net in this young season. He has tallied a four point night, and is tied for top scoring in the NHL with 7 points with the likes of Rick Nash and John Tavares. Now I do understand that the season is very young, but I see him playing as well, if not even better than, when he played with Danny Kristo and Corban Knight in his 30 goal sophomore campaign at UND.

Brock has put the NHL on notice that he is one to keep a sharp eye on in the near, and probably the distant future. Look for Nelson to impress on the ice for many seasons to come. UND fans knew what the Islanders were getting, now everyone knows what they have, a future superstar.

Brock Nelson - ESPN story

I found this little article on Brock Nelson over on ESPN.  If you don't remember Brock played for UND in the 2010-11 and 2011-2012 seasons.

Sometimes in hockey it appears there's just a "poof" moment when it all falls magically into place.

At least that's how it must appear to fans when it comes to a guy such as Brock Nelson.

Brock who?

Exactly.

New York Islanders fans certainly know Nelson now, and if the early returns from the 2014-15 season are any indication, it won't be long before lots of hockey fans hear the name and nod their heads appreciatively.

Two games into the season, Nelson has six points on three goals and three assists and is tied with a guy named Sidney Crosby for the league lead in point production.

It's not like head coach Jack Capuano rubbed an old lamp he found in his office at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and a big, talented center appeared out of the smoke, though frankly, that's a better -- or at least more evocative -- story.

Capuano knows the path out of obscurity isn't nearly that neat and tidy.

The Isles coach knew Nelson as a rail-thin, 180-pound rookie at the Islanders' development camp a few years back, after they made him the 30th overall pick in the 2010 entry draft.

He has seen him evolve from a solid American Hockey League prospect -- he scored 25 goals and collected 52 points in just 66 games two years ago -- into a young man learning the NHL game the past season and occasionally finding his way onto the power play or penalty kill.

Now Nelson is well over 200 pounds, having focused on getting bigger and stronger with a more explosive skating stride, and Capuano decided the Warroad, Minnesota, native, whose uncle Dave Christian was part of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic gold medal team, can handle the pressure of being the team's No. 2 center.
[+] EnlargeBrock Nelson
James Guillory/USA TODAY SportsIslanders forward Brock Nelson had 14 goals and 12 assists in 72 games the past season.


"When I think of Brock Nelson, I think of a guy that has a very high hockey IQ. Tremendous intelligence of the game," Capuano told ESPN.com before the Islanders (2-0) prepared for what promises to be an emotional home tilt against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

The Isles coach said he has always been impressed by Nelson's ability to play on both sides of the puck, but when he came to the NHL, Capuano wanted Nelson to use his skill more and not play it safe, as many young players do in simply trying to stay in an NHL lineup.

Now that is happening with Nelson, who has been playing with Ryan Strome and newcomer Mikhail Grabovski, as well as getting top power-play minutes.

"So far, I've been able to be on the fortunate end of a couple of nice plays," Nelson told ESPN.com.

With a significant change in personnel in the offseason, Nelson said he knew there would be opportunities for a different or expanded role.

"If you go out there and execute, you're going to build trust with the coaching staff," he said. "Whenever you get that opportunity, you want to take advantage of it. I want to grab this by the horns."

The past season, when he played 72 games for the Islanders, Nelson stayed first in a local hotel and then roomed with defenseman Thomas Hickey. The two are continuing to share a place, though Nelson insists they aren't thinking ahead to the team's move to Brooklyn next season.

"I know everybody has the move in the back of their mind, stored away," he said.

But the focus has been on a solid start to this season.

He said the atmosphere for Saturday's home opener, a win over Carolina, reminded him of the team's playoff series against Pittsburgh two springs ago.

"I think guys are pretty dialed in and want to make a splash," Nelson said.
If Nelson predictably downplays his early success, one person who doesn't is longtime Islander and broadcast analyst Butch Goring. He said Nelson was the best player in the Islanders training camp, including higher profile veterans.

"You have to have those guys down the middle," Goring said. "This guy has enough ability to bring some offense. His game has just evolved so much so quickly."
And there's the intriguing future landscape of the Brock Nelson story.
Sure, his mini point explosion out of the gate has created some nice buzz for a team desperate to get back to the postseason after missing out this past year. But it's the long-term impact that will be interesting to follow.

Nelson has played some wing, and there were some who thought he might start the season playing on the Isles' top line with captain John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. But Capuano opted to use Cory Conacher on the top line and Nelson as the second line anchor.

If Nelson grows into that role, the Isles will look like this down the middle: Tavares, Nelson, Frans Nielsen and Casey Cizikas, with a number of other wingers who have some experience at center.

"It's as strong as we've ever been [down the middle]," Capuano said.

Goring, for one, believes the Isles will find their way into the top eight in the conference, but after that, a lot will depend on how the rest of the season goes for the team's currently unheralded scoring star.

"How far they go, a lot will depend on how much more Brock continues to develop," Goring said.
"Poof" moment indeed.  (Link to Story)

Monday, June 16, 2014

Islander Mussings: Vanek and Moulson

Here's something that might be of interest from the Globe and Mail. When the Minnesota Wild picked up Matt Moulson at the trade deadline, I was really excited, but after his play during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, I won't be too upset if the Wild don't resign him.
Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail -- Okay, let’s play Islanders general manager for a while because, hey, everybody else is doing it too right? They have huge amounts of salary-cap space, so anything is possible, as long as you’re prepared to cajole players into coming. Even the guys they’ve got signed – such as John Tavares – are on reasonable deals ($5.5-million through 2017-18 – tip of the cap to Garth Snow for that one). They also have two more years of Kyle Okposo at $2.8-million. So after Thomas Vanek played so badly in Montreal and Minnesota’s interest in him is waning, why wouldn’t the Islanders circle back to Vanek and make him an offer on July 1? Bet they could outbid anybody for his services – and they might not even have to offer that seven-year, $50-million deal that he turned down. The Islanders could sign Vanek, bid for Matt Moulson (who liked it there and might consider a return, because his options might be limited as well) and bring back them both back.


Sunday, June 01, 2014

Is Thomas Vanek the new whipping boy?



Holy Cow, poor Thomas Vanek has become the whipping boy, and the reason for the demise of two teams, if not three. That might be an exaggeration, just a bit.
Josh Elliot, the Hockey News -- First, he was the sacrificial lamb (one of them) for the rebuilding Sabres. Then, he was expected to help John Tavares put the New York Islanders over top and get them into the playoffs. Next, after the losses and the contract offers piled up on Long Island, he was the guy they just couldn’t pay to stay. And off he went to Montreal, where he would help them to the playoffs before earning the goat horns in the Habs’ third-round elimination.

Vanek wasn’t terrible in Montreal. He wasn’t the reason they lost. But he didn’t help much when it mattered, either. The Austrian put up five goals and 10 points in 17 games. That’s OK, but nowhere near his 27-goal, 68-point regular season pace. And with just two points in his final seven playoff games, there’s no denying he pulled a disappearing act. Maybe his mind was in Minnesota, but more likely (he’s a professional, after all) he suffered an injury that we’ll hear about in the coming weeks.

But injury or not, just look at the carnage in his wake. The perennially-rebuilding Islanders are down a first-round pick in the Connor McDavid draft next year. They also lost a second-rounder in the Buffalo trade, and while they recouped it when they sent Vanek to Montreal, the Habs’ pick won’t be as high as the Islanders’ one would have been. And what else do they have? Only 2012 second-round pick Sebastian Collberg, and a fifth-round pick.

Oh, and the Islanders have another gaffe to hang on Garth Snow – one that nears Mike Milbury-esque levels of catastrophe.
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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Brock Nelson scores for the USA against the Czech Republic



Former Fighting Sioux forward Brock Nelson has had an incredible World Championships for team USA. Nelson leads team USA in goals and has scored (5g-2a—7pts) and if my math is correct is tied for third on the team in points.

The team USA roster is loaded with good, young talent and looks like an former NCAA All-Star reunion tour.
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Thomas Vanek question



Eric Duatschek asks some very good questions. Personally, I hope that Thomas Vanek still has a chance to make it to Minnesota. I think he could be the final piece for the Minnesota Wild. Well... that and a solid starting goaltender that can stop the puck and play a majority of the games. I think the Wild have that with Karcy Kuemper. Time will tell.
Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail -- THE THOMAS VANEK CONUNDRUM: When times were good in Montreal, there was some talk that the Canadiens might actually consider bidding for Vanek in free agency. Now, it seems highly unlikely, given what a negligible impact he’s had on their run to the semi-finals. But will Minnesota welcome him now, after making inquiries at the deadline, but ultimately settling for Matt Moulson, because the acquisition cost and the dollars out were more affordable? Moulson wasn’t a great fit in Minnesota and the New York Islanders would do well to try and kiss and make up, after dealing him for Vanek in the first place. Minnesota has the great good fortune of having Dany Heatley’s $7-million cap hit disappear after this season, but committing that money to Vanek, a player of questionable playoff pedigree, seems ill-advised at this stage. The Wild seem to have a good thing going, with the group they’ve assembled now. Sitting out free agency this summer makes the most sense for them.
One problem for Vanek is that he's been less than impressive during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vanek has scored  (5g-3a-8pts) in 13 games. He's also a (-3). That's not going to make teams want to sign him for 7+ million a season.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Erik Johnson suspended two games by the NHL



Former Gopher and current Colorado Avalanche Eric Johnson has been suspended two games by the NHL for his dirty slash on New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen. Personally, I think it should be longer.

NEW YORK - Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson has been suspended for two games, without pay, for slashing New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen during NHL Game No. 878 in New York on Saturday, Feb. 8, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today. The incident occurred at 12:09 of the third period. Johnson was assessed a minor penalty for slashing. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and based on his average annual salary, Johnson will forfeit $38,461.54. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
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(Video) Former Gopher defenseman Erik Johnson looking at a Shanaban



Former Golden Gophers and current Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is facing supplemental discipline for this dirty/brutal slash on Islander New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen. It will be interesting to see what kind of punishment is given to Johnson. (Shanaban)
NHL.COM --- Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson will have a phone hearing Tuesday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for a third-period slash on New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen on Saturday night.

Nielsen was skating for a loose puck in the Avalanche's zone when Johnson slashed him on the wrists with 7:54 left in the third period. Johnson was given a two-minute penalty on the play.

The following grounds for the proposed supplemental discipline are being considered: slashing. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to these infractions accordingly upon further review
Thoughts on the slash? How many games will he be facing?
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