Islanders snap winless skid with victory
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Eric Daze scored the lone goal in the third to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
It's a familiar storyline that the Islanders probably don't have a problem with, but on Wednesday night Eric Daze once again rose his play when it counted, this time putting the game-winning goal behind Bruins' goalie Mike Dunham at 15:04 of the third period to give the Islanders a much-needed two points, snapping a 4-game winless skid.
The unassisted goal, which came in the midst of an 0 for 8 Islanders run at the man-advantage saw Daze do all the work himself, stripping the puck from Bruins' defender Sergei Zubov at the Islanders' blueline on a nice poke-check, and eventually skating in all alone on Bruins' goalie Mike Dunham, finishing off the play with a pretty forehand-backhand deke, depositing the puck under the crossbar.
"It was a tight game," he said after the affair. "We're happy with the two points, but it's behind us now. We've got a game tomorrow night in Phoenix to worry about."
Since being acquired from the Calgary Flames at the end of November, the young winger has scored an amazing 7 goals in his first 9 games played, and has been on a point-per-game pace with 10 points in total and an impressive +5 rating. Of those 7 goals, 2 have been game-winners.
"I'm just happy to be here honestly," Daze smiled. "This is a great team to be on with a great bunch of guys in the locker room. I'm learning a hell of a lot from Vinnie (Damphousse)."
The Bruins opened the scoring with a wicked slap shot courtesy of defenceman Ken Klee only 57 seconds in to the opening frame, which ended with a seemingly dejected New York team, firing only 4 shots in the first 20 minutes.
Recently acquired winger Martin Rucinsky answered back with his 9th of the season in the second, with Mike Comrie and Filip Kuba who was acquired along with Rucinsky, getting the helpers.
The fans at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum then saw the teams exchange two goals in a span of less than 2 minutes with Demitra with his 15th for the Bruins, followed by Islanders' rookie Alexander Semin with his 3rd.
Islanders' goalie Dwayne Roloson was once again a pillar of consistency in his net, backstopping 25 of 27 shots for the win earning him the honour of being the 2nd star of the game. Eric Daze was given the 1st star with his 2 point performance and defenceman Adam Foote, who made his return to the lineup after a brief stint in the pressbox with a charlie horse was named the 3rd star finishing the game with one assist and a +2 rating.
The Islanders will now fly to Phoenix for a game against the Coyotes tomorrow evening.
Notes: The baby Islanders of Bridgeport also won on Wednesday night, obliterating the Providence Bruins by a score of 12-0. The team however was not all smiles after the game as 18 year old goaltender Eero Kilpelainen had to be helped off the ice by teammates after a collision with his own defenceman Tuukka Mantyla in the 1st period. Reports indicate that Kilpelainen will be sidelined for 2-4 months with a hip injury.