Unfortunautely, Canada rallied back on goals from John Tavares and Jeff Skinner to tie it. The third period saw a goal by Evander Kane . Kari Lehtonen was pulled in the final minute of regulation and Jordan Eberle scored an empty netter to seal the victory.

“The first period was great, even the second, but when they got the lead in the third, we just couldn’t get back,” said Valtteri Filppula. “We couldn’t play full 60 minutes the way we wanted, but I don’t want to take anything away from Canada.” (Quote Source: IIHF Website)

Tomorrow Finland will meet the United States, another team having a strong tournament with only one loss on their record.

Mr. Insurance Goal, Ryan Getzlaf. (photo:screenshot/TSN.ca)

Another early goal let in by Cam Ward was the downfall for Team Canada during the first period; that and not being able to capitalize on their power play opportunities. While unfortunate, the first period was motivation to Canada get their behinds in gear and get the rest of the game done.

» Continue reading “Another For the Canadians”

Evgeni Nabokov is no longer a Shark, but he's playing with a ton of bite. (Photo: Dinur Blum/flickr)

Evgeni Nabokov made 45 saves and stopped Daniel Briere and Wayne Simmonds in the shootout to steal a win for the Islanders, 1-0, in a game that saw virtually no offense from the white jerseys.

I professed my dislike for the Russian goalie earlier this evening, just after puck drop. Call me sensitive or crazy or just plain dumb, but a (big) part of me can’t help but be bitter over earlier events. Yeah, I know. Still, he seems to have swallowed his pride and donned the orange and blue (for the time being, anyway). Garth Snow seems to think Nabokov will stay here longer, and after his performance tonight I can definitely see a couple more years being offered on the table. It’s only up to the netminder whether he will take it or not.

Let’s set up the story, shall we? Over three periods, the Islanders amassed a grand total of 18 shots on goal. Eighteen. Meanwhile, the Flyers were all over the offense AND the defense, throwing everything they could and more at Nabokov, who flashed pads and glove with ease. Not to be outdone, Andrew MacDonald and call-up Aaron Ness also had strong showings, picking up the slack after Dylan Reese went down with a left knee injury. The Isles announced via Twitter that Reese will be re-evaluated tomorrow. I’m sure the team is hoping and praying that it’s nothing serious, as the blueline’s already been thinned enough and Reese had been playing very well since his call-up from Bridgeport.

There were some close calls- Scott Hartnell, Max Talbot, Jaromir Jagr and top scorer Claude Giroux each tried their hand, as well as Briere in regulation, but there was absolutely no room given by either the D or Nabokov. And when the D started to scramble, their last line of defense proved to be the cooler head, keeping calm and getting at least a piece of every shot. It came down to the shootout, which Frans Nielsen (he of the Royal Backhand) and John Tavares each made good on, finally giving their goalie some support.

I wish the offense could have stepped up more, especially considering- surprise!- Ilya Bryzgalov was in net. He was barely tested in this one (though he did make a few good saves to keep the game scoreless), and benefited immensely from the Isles’s lack of offensive aggression. (Seriously. The best play of the night was with a few seconds left in OT. Josh Bailey charged through the neutral zone, all but ran over the Flyer defending him (I believe it was Matt Carle), made a beautiful move to cut in front of the net and tried to stuff it past Bryzgalov. I would LOVE to see more of that, but I also have to give credit- the Bailey line has been the most energetic line for the Isles as of late, and it’s great to see that kind of persistence from a kid I’d given up for dead not too long ago. Still, this game could have been a lot different had Nabokov been solved in regulation. The offense cannot bank on their depleted D and goaltender to steal points in every game. We were lucky “Nabby” had the kind of night he did to begin with.

Shootouts are honestly the bane of my existence when it comes to winning a game, but I can be happy for the two points. With this win,  New York has 52 points, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference (still nine points out of a playoff spot). There’s a ways to go, but… hey, we can still dream. On to a three-game homestand, starting with Montreal on Thursday night. Let’s go, Isles!

Isles' leading scorer John Tavares. (Photo: Robert Kowal/Flickr)

Isles center John Tavares has been named the NHL’s First Star of the Month for January.

The 21-year-old has cracked 50 points for the third consecutive season, with 53 so far this year. Last night, he scored two goals and had another two assists, rounding out the month of January with 22 points total. He currently leads his team and is fourth in the league in scoring. Of course, it does help that Alex Ovechkin had a tough start and that other superstar captain, Sidney Crosby, has been out of the game for most of the season.

Still, there’s no denying that JT has significantly picked up his game since his rookie season. He spent last summer working on his skating, and up to this point, the difference has been clearly visible. He is much stronger on the puck, he battles hard along the boards, and he’s even made some great plays defensively as well. Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo, his linemates, have benefited much from having him as a linemate, but don’t be fooled; Okposo’s speed and Moulson’s grit have complemented Tavares’s playmaking as well, making this line one of the hottest top trios in the NHL. All of that has earned JT the first All-Star nod of his career, and the best thing is that he’s still developing.

He has also gone through a maturing process, enjoying his NHL career so far under the wing of current Isles assistant coach and former NHLer Doug Weight. When asked about it, he said the process is ongoing:

“I’ve felt I’ve been getting better every year, every game,” Tavares said. “I feel like I’m just getting to know the league a lot better. I feel my game is evolving, just me as a person and I think it’s all translating and coming together every year, every day.”

Congrats to JT, and here’s hoping the good times keep rolling for him and for the Isles.

(Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

More than one head was scratched when Jack Capuano decided to go with rookie goalie Kevin Poulin instead of either Evgeni Nabokov or Al Montoya tonight. After the final buzzer, however, all doubts were vanquished

Yes, the kid was more than all right.

Poulin ended with 21 saves on the night,  and when the Canes managed to get on the board, All-Star John Tavares came through with a four-point effort to help preserve the win, 5-2. The two 21-year-olds were excellent in their respective roles, Poulin showing some awesome flexibility and JT displaying his skill and work ethic as usual.

The Isles jumped out to a 2-0 lead over two periods on two power-play goals- one by PA Parenteau, the other by Matt Moulson. The ‘Canes got some great looks in these two periods, but Poulin made sure to shut them down, making spectacular saves on Brandon Sutter and Eric Staal in particular. This certainly was not the nervous-looking goalie we saw hung out to dry against the Predators; no, KP was in complete control, flashing the pads and glove like quicksilver.

Unfortunately, it couldn’t stay that way forever. The Hurricanes broke through at 3:15 of the first period, as Sutter backhanded one past Poulin. Then, in a crazy sequence on a Carolina PP, Poulin made an initial save and got caught completely out of position, with Tim Brent eventually sweeping one into the open net as the Isles D tried to keep the puck out. The ‘Canes didn’t have much time to celebrate, however; 41 seconds after Brent’s goal, Tavares got behind the defense and capitalized on a huge mistake by goalie Cam Ward. Unfortunately for Ward, who was otherwise very good, that would be all it took.

Kyle Okposo and Tavares then added empty-netters late in the game to seal the deal for the Islanders, who earned a huge two points tonight after dropping their home-and-home against the Toronto Maple Leafs just before the All-Star break.  Looking at the boxscore also doesn’t tell the entire story; though the top line did the bulk of the scoring, the bottom two lines, particularly the Josh Bailey line which included newly-called-up Rhett Rakhshani, established a great forecheck from start to finish. Rakhshani looked very comfortable in his first game of the season alongside Bailey and Matt Martin, and had some nice chances in front of Cam Ward.

Overall, this was a solid effort by the orange and blue, and two points they do need, as they are now eight points out of a playoff spot and don’t play again until Friday night against the Ottawa Senators. (Look at that: just when Johnny thought he’d left Ottawa, he’s back a week later. Ha.)

Let’s go, Isles!

Not to be outdone by the Islanders, who today finally inked center John Tavares to a six-year deal worth $33 million, the nearby Buffalo Sabres announced that they too were making it a blockbuster Thursday.

Twenty-one year old phenom defenceman Tyler Myers was signed to a seven-year extension to his rookie deal worth a whopping $38.5 million.

What does all of this mean?

Well, for one thing, New York is still going strong on their apparent statewide policy of giving ridiculously long deals to anyone that seems even remotely deserving of one (see: well, the whole of free agency, basically).

It also means that the deal Luke Schenn will be “signing” tomorrow with the Leafs will have to be created through the lens of an off season that has almost single-handedly set up the next NHL lockout to occur in a few years.

It’s important to lock up young talent, this is very true. And to find and keep the “faces” of your franchise. But it’s still a matter of speculation whether or not all the long term, front heavy deals we’ve been seeing in recent months are helpful or harmful to the game we all love. I guess all we can do is sit back and wait.