Comrie gets 3 points in Islanders' victory
SUNRISE, Fla. - Mike Comrie was named first star of the game with 3 assists to lead the Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the Panthers.
Fresh off of a flight from New York, former Penguins Valerie Bure and Pavel Datsyuk didn't seem to be tired at all Saturday evening as Bure opened the scoring for his first as an Islander while Datsyuk set up Hull's marker in the second to put the Islanders up 3-1.
Mike Comrie was ultra-dangerous all night long getting helpers on goals from Bure and Daze in the first, as well as Kuba's 8th of the season in the third.
New-comer Pavel Datsyuk found himself centering the top line with Samsonov and Hull on his wings.
"The kid has amazing speed," Hull smiled. "It's a little tiring for a guy like me to try and keep up with him and Sammie (Samsonov) out there, but I'll manage."
Much of the focus prior to the game was centered on Datsyuk's arrival, with his teammate Valerie Bure's acquisition understandably in the background, but the most dangerous line of the night was in fact the Islanders' second line of Daze-Comrie-Bure. Each of the players finished the game with a +2 rating.
"Comrie's line looked fantastic out there," Islanders' coach said afterwards. "They've got some good chemistry going already."
The Islanders' victory snaps the Panthers' 3-game winning streak and extends their own winning streak to 4 games. Monday night is the next time the Islanders will play, when they'll face off against the Senators of Ottawa at home.
Notes: Dwayne Roloson made his third start in as many nights making 28 stops on 30 shots. With player of the week announcements to be made soon, Roloson is expected to get serious consideration for goalie of the week. Over his five games this week Roloson has stopped 128 of 137 shots for an amazing 0.934 save percentage. His record in the five games is 4-0-1.