2-for-1 Night! (7:00 PM) Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Islanders (FSNY, ESPN 1050 AM)
(Nov. 13) The Islanders and WBAB have teamed up to present an unbeatable offer for area hockey fans. For tonight's game against Montreal, all available tickets can be purchased 2-for-the-price-of-1 beginning at noon at the Nassau Coliseum box office.
The Isles and Habs meet for the second time in this young season Thursday, as the Islanders seek some revenge for their October defeat at Montreal's hands. Jose Theodore pitched a 3-0 shutout at the Bell Centre last month that ended a two-game Isles win streak. Since that win, the Canadiens have gone 2-6-0-0 as they've fallen to .500.
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The Insider Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Islanders 7:00 PM, November 13 @ Nassau Coliseum
(Nov. 13) The Book on the Canadiens
The first 60 minutes of the Canadiens' games have been a problem lately, as they've managed just one regulation win in their past nine games. Between a pair of 3-0 shutouts, Montreal lost six games and won one in overtime. In that seven-game span, the Habs managed just seven goals, getting shut-out twice in a row by Philadelphia and Boston.
Between the Pipes
Expect to see Jose Theodore in net Thursday, following Mathieu Garon's tie Tuesday night in Montreal. Garon hasn't been the relief Theodore needs to keep him fresh over the long season, going 0-3-1-0 over his past four appearances. Theodore has pitched three shutouts while allowing five or more goals four times. In his past two games, he's allowed two goals while facing just 33 shots.
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The Scoop on the Montreal Canadiens
(Nov. 13) After a solid start to the 2003-04 season, the Montreal Canadiens have struggled in the last two and a half weeks. For the Habs, Long Island is the first stop in a five-game road trip, which takes them across their native Canada after tonight's contest.
Where They Stand:
Since the last time these two squads met, Montreal has taken a slight turn for the worse in the standings. They have only won twice in their last nine games and have dipped below .500 mark with a record of 7-8-1 in their 15 games this season. The Habs currently sit in fifth place of the Northeast Division, six points behind the first place Boston Bruins.
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With all the Weimer controversy I totally forgot that there was a game tonight! :p Remember, it's 2-for-1 at the Coliseum Box Office going on right now for tonight's game. Although the Habs are struggling, the Isles cannot take this game lightly, as they need to get back on the winning track. I'll be back with all of the intermission reports and scorecards. Take care everyone
Does DiPietro get the nod tonight because Snow played against Philly or does Snow's decent preformance against the Flyers earn him another start?
Any "official" word? or will it be a game time decision?
Peace
I thought Snow played pretty well against the Flyers and has earned another start.
Still waiting for Peca,Parrish to start contributing offensively.
and what are the isles going to do with the unproductive Papineau when Weinhandl's ready to return?Papineau's got skills and I wouldn't like losing him off waivers,but if he's not producing when Weinhandl's healthy,I don't see how the isles can keep him on the roster.
Chow was quite in the first Isles-Hab matchup.He should be a little more comfortable playing at home.
This was a smart period by the Isles. They were excellent defensively, and they seemed like they figured out how to break out of the evil Montreal trap that they had such a hard time with in Montreal. In my opinion, the best player out on the ice would have to be Oleg Kvasha. The man has been everywhere. Credit him for four out of the Islanders eight shots in the period. The Bates-Hunter-Blake line is looking marvelous as usual, and Blake looks like he's showing no after-effects from the knee sprain. They keep this up and it will be a good night for them. Onto the socrecard...
END OF PERIOD 1 MONTREAL CANADIENS - 0 NEW YORK ISLANDERS - 1
SCORING First Period: NYI, Kvasha 5 (Yashin, Martinek), 11:10
In a period that was basically dominated by the Montreal Canadiens, the Islanders still managed to find themselves ahead as Mark Parrish decided to take himself off the missing persons list and get his fifth of the year. Montreal changed their style a bit and got more aggresive in the Isles own end and it showed. A costly giveaway by Asham behind the net led to Dackell's goal for Montreal. It looked like Asham had a lane to dump it, but he turned back and found a Hab at each side of him which forced the turnover. The Hunter-Bates-Blake line looked excellent yet again. It seems when that line is out there, good things will happen. And for me, I find that a very good thing. One more period to go, let's see if the Isles will smarten up a bit....
END OF PERIOD 2 MONTREAL CANADIENS - 1 NEW YORK ISLANDERS - 2
Definitely not their best game but a big win after a two game losing skid.
The Blake,Bates,Hunter line was by far their best line buzzing around hitting,getting scoring chances and playing great defensively.Is Blake are best player?
The Peca line finally came through and scored the game winner by Parrish.Peca looked a little more lively tonight.
The Yashin line was more quiet than usual but still came up with a goal by Kvasha.
The defense as was the forwards were very good defensively in what looked like your typical NJ Devils game.
Garth"Pillow"Snow was great again looking confident and coming up with many quality stops in traffic.
Excellent third period by the Isles here. It looked like they shut down the Habs in their end and it showed. Only five shots in the third period compared to the previous 17 shots in the second for the Habs. Blake had a superb game, playing physical and pesky all around. Peca looked good defensively, winning all the key defensive draws, even adding an assist on the Parrish goal. Everyone seemed to contribute in this win and that is a really good thing. Big props to the defensive corp for a strong game, and even bigger props to what seems like a minute stat, but Adrian Aucoin was a +3, being on the ice for all three goals. Great game all around and here is the final scorecard....
FINAL SCORE MONTREAL CANADIENS - 1 NEW YORK ISLANDERS - 3
SCORING First Period: NYI, Kvasha 5 (Yashin, Martinek), 11:10 Second Period: MTL, Dackell 3 (Ribeiro), 2:36; NYI, Parrish 5 (Peca, Asham), 17:20 Third Period: NYI, Blake 5 (Bates, Aucoin), 19:19 - EN
PENALTIES First Period: MTL, Zednik (High Sticking), 7:12; NYI, Bates (Roughing), 12:52; MTL, Koivu (Obstruction Holding), 13:33 Second Period: NYI, Bates (Slashing)18:26 Third Period: NYI, Hamrlik (Tripping), 5:03
Thanx! How about that huh? I nailed it. I never make score predictions before a game but I had a feeling with 2 defensive teams and the Isles needing it a little more they'd be up 2 -1 and I even foresaw the empty net goal for it to be 3 -1 thus my prediction. No lie.
Now if I could just use this power to hit the lottery numbers then I'll really be doing something.
As for the game saw Snow miss the early shot from the point that hit the crossbar and how pucks were popping out of his glove and thought it was a matter of when before he gave up a softie. A few times early pucks hit him and he was slow to react.
Turns out he steadied down late in the second, only Montreal goal was off an Asham turnover. Bergenheim and Mapletoft looked close to getting some great chances and the Bates line with Hunter seemed to get the best pressure.
Good tough game on both sides that the Isles needed to win and did.
Blake, Hunter and the defense had excellent games. Peca got another rebound to the net for Parrish to finish and even beat a play for icing on offense, still not much jump.
