ISLANDERS 4 COLORADO 3 (OT) – Tavares OT goal, Colliton’s two, Poulin’s 34 saves highlight win
Point Blank Archive: April 19, 2010:
Kevin Poulin – A Goalie Prospect Rises in Quebec
At 3:52 of overtime, John Tavares gave the Islanders a 4-3 win with the kind of goal that prompted Garth Snow to take him first overall in the 2009 draft. Behind the goal, dancing along the goal line, powering his way to the front of the Avalanche net, Tavares scored – with some help from a Colorado defenseman – past Craig Anderson. The Islanders allowed the game-tying goal with four seconds left, but Tavares’ heroics made that hiccup a memory. Tavares, 20, scored the game-winner. Kevin Poulin, 20, had his first NHL win.
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Having lost his spot as the Islanders’ fourth line center to Nate Thompson, Jeremy Colliton’s prospects for an NHL career with the Islanders did not look good. At one point during the 2008-09 season, when Colliton was in Bridgeport and was regularly being passed up for promotions, I asked him if he was looking to test the waters when he was a free agent in the summer.
“My hope is to make it work with the Islanders,” said Colliton. “But just so you know, I will be a restricted free agent.” Oh, yeah. Nothing’s more restrictive than being an RFA in the NHL. Knowing his style did not mesh with Scott Gordon’s, the former second round pick from 2003 bolted to play in the Swedish Elite League with Rogle. Colliton had a good year, scoring 11 goals in 46 games and improving his skating and conditioning.
Still, his options were slim when he looked to returned to the pros in North America. Colliton signed a professional tryout contract on Oct. 20 with his old team in Bridgeport. Forty days later, the Islanders signed him to a two-way deal. He made his return to the NHL today as the Islanders played in Colorado.
Not only did Jack Capuano – his biggest booster – give him a regular shift in the absence of Frans Nielsen, Colliton was given a spot on the power play. Taking advantage of his 6-2, 200-pound frame with such a small lineup, Capuano’s move paid off. Colliton, who turns 26 on Thursday, scored two power play goals. In 42 previous games in the NHL, Colliton scored one goal. His parents had never seen him play in the NHL before. They came down from Alberta today. That’s pro hockey.
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After allowing two goals in the opening 1:47, Poulin – making his first start in the NHL – closed the door util there were four seconds remaining in regulation. For his first NHL win, the Poulin Wall made 34 saves. For the second straight game, the Islanders got off to a slow start, but it didn’t cost them in Colorado. The Islanders won, led by Tavares, Poulin and prodigal farmhand forward, Jeremy Colliton. Nice story.
97 Responses to ISLANDERS 4 COLORADO 3 (OT) – Tavares OT goal, Colliton’s two, Poulin’s 34 saves highlight win
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Loaf says:
Wow Poulin looked great, I’m pretty excited about this guy. My favorite part of the game was when shcremp and then amac lost their buckets about 10 seconds apart. Its always fun watching guys play without their helmets.
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John says:
Absolutely love the determination from these guys. They go down 2-0 less than two minutes into the game and they just kept answering the call. Great job by the Isles love what I’m seeing from Tavares, Poulin, and Hamonic!!
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isles14 says:
nice win.
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Tom D. says:
For the first time this year, I will say that something right is going on with this team. Poulin looks like he has “it”.
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James says:
Great win, I really like some of the players on this team
Poulin in goal was solid
Grabner, Bailey, Comeau, Schremp, Neilsen, Okposo, Tavares, Martin, Hamonic, Hillen, MacDonald and hopefully Moulson are all guys on the team NOW that have the ability to be a part of something special in the next few years. If I forgot anyone, please feel free to smack me lol
Add to that guys like Neiderreiter, Petrov, Ullstrom, De Haan and Koskinen to that and there is no reason why this team cannot be a contender.
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Jim Clark says: They came close to blowing it but came away with two points. Onwards and upwards!
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Dave says:
Very fun win. I may be wrong, but I have watched the GWG on my dvr in slow-mo a number of times now and it seems as though the Av d-man in front of the net took a backhand swing at the puck and hit it in. Still, great move by JT and if he did shoot it…DAMN! Reagrdless, this team is moving in the right direction. Fun…stressful, but fun.
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slsangus says: What’s this? An Islander goalie who can make a save without going on IR for 2 weeks. Strange, indeed.
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mike says:
I really like the core of this team:
Hamonic Macdonald
Okposo Bailey Nielsen
Schremp Grabner Martin
Moulson Tavaras Comeau
Poulin
The rest of the guys are only average players and many can be traded and should be traded.The players not part of core but players I do want to keep:
Konokpa Jurcina
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purify says:
A MAC is really becoming a solid anchor on the back end. Seriously the guy make so many little plays that go unnoticed. Getting better and better and his partner is not to bad either Hamonic (lol). Reaaly good future pairing on d.
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Islanders Hopeful says:
This team is becoming fun to watch again. Poulin appears to be the real deal. Still feel the organization should not over extend him and get a vet netminder. Glad to see JT’s play picking up. Thats what a leader does when his team needs it.
I think the isles should pick-up Commodore for defense, release Bruno, sign Vet netminder to end of season.
Sprinkle in a few class A vets next year and maybe we have a true shot at the playoffs. Right now…Lets just learn how to win.
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Oncesince1940 says:
Thanks Chris for the interesting Colliton read. Streaks aside, the team have looked very good the past two games. I like their trap and their D is looking better and better because of it.
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With the young guys playing well, wouldnt it be nice if Wang and Snow give this team some kind of PR lift,for starters, giving CB full access.
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Jason C says:
Nice to see Colliton get another chance with the team and have a great game. example of working hard to achieve!!
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Schultz39 says:
Great win….CB, don’t sound too excited….
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Quagmire says:
Poulin looks better in an Isles uniform at age 20 than Luongo did…….just sayin’
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Oye Comeau Va says:
well done. Great move by Tavares. Guess the ‘bust’ talk can take another night off. Poulin and Hamonic looking strong, great to see. Ryan Jankowski is smiling somewhere.
Even with the team not moving for at least a few years can we petition for a move to the western conference? 10-6-2 last year, 5-4-4 so far this year. Just saying.
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PN says:
It was good to see that Hillen played almost 27 minutes and got two assists.
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Exactly Oyo. Tavares is getting comfortable in the same part of the ice dominated by the person whose junior records he broke. Interesting.
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joe says:
Another game with lots of energy, nice to see Colliton take advantage of an opportunity, I like the direction of the team, they could have folded after going down on the road 2-0 but they battled back. 8-2-1 in their last 11 games with the majority of those wins on the road and against good solid teams. Do we really need to look for another coach, I like Jack!! Poulin made some excellent saves.
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Joe says:
So this team puts a few wins together and all of a sudden 16-17 players on the team must be part of the core rebuilding group (like post 9 suggests)? Way to keep wins and losses in perspective– does half this board still want to trade Tavares for prospects like it did right after the last Isles-Rangers game?
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Hoser14 says:
A homegrown win, Bailey, Colliton, MacDonaold, Hamonic, Martin, Poulin and Tavares and the rest played great for all but first minutes and the last 4 seconds of the 3rd, but a win a win! This game was almost a carbon copy of the Oiler game, but without the 0-7 power play.
Great story Chris on Colliton’s road to the NHL.
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Lorne says:
We did not mail it in after being down 2-0 so quickly into the game. However, I did not like the fact that the Avs tied it with 4 seconds left, but it happens. We really need a shutdown d-man to clear the crease.
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Matt says:
Poulin is the real deal, let the kid play.
Isles playing pretty well under Capuano.
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Isles01 says:
Awesome !!!
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NYI FAN says:
Nice win, baby steps along the way to respectability. That last minute (second) goal was predictable, but it was nice to see them get the OT win, Go Isles, Go Jets!!
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claude says:
A year ago this team would have lost this game.WOW! Capuano has alot to do with it. Team has confidence and embraced his 1-1-3 system. Love the way Poulin refocused and fought back after poor start. You can’t teach that!
Ten games ago JT would have never made that power move for the win. Basically saying I’m going to end this game and you can’t effing stop me. What losing streak? Vancouver is going to be”the” test. GO ISLES -
German Islesfan says:
Awesome game
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Onesinceforty says:
This is the first game I have seen Hamonic have trouble containing along the boards. He struggled against the Avs team speed which is impressive. I wonder if signing a vet goalie is the right thing. Poulin looked really comfortable for most of the game and he was fun to watch. All in all, a very nice afternoon on the couch.
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rookie92 says:
After watching the last few games, I don’t know what will happen when and if this team gets healthy(Okposo, Hunter, Weight) but in one game I already liked what I saw more from Colliton then from Joensuu or Hunter. I would much rather keep him in then those two. Joensuu has done nothing to impress me.
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Orange&Blue says:
I know it is one game but I think Colliton’s size and grittiness should keep him here. He is definitely better than Joensuu. Only 25 years old. Yet another good young role player. We need another star to join Tavares and Okposo. Bailey, Colliton, and Comeau line clicked. That could be a solid 2nd line after the Tavares line.
Wonder what the lines will be when Okposo returns?
Poulin looks good. Has good poise and is quick across the crease. Now I know why Patrick Roy said he was the best goalie in CHL last year. A year later and he is winning NHL games.
Very encouraging win! Falling behind like that early and coming back to take the lead. Give up a demoralizing goal to tie the game and still rebound to win on the road. Very impressive!
I can you tell you this about Capuano, he is so much better with creating and keeping lines than Gordon. Not even close!
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Perry Card says:
Poulin reminded me of DP today , allowing 2 cheesy goals early while allowing the tying goal with 4 seconds left while flopping around.
The difference however is that DP is still doing it after 10 years. -
TimQ says:
A couple of weeks ago I made a comment on this site about Tavares not showing enough glimpses of being a difference-maker. I’m happy to admit that he has been proving me wrong lately. I was pretty frustrated when he didn’t show any speed going after a puck in the Av zone with an empty net for a goal that would have put it away, but the move in OT more than compensated. Nice win! Now a Jet victory would make this a stellar day.
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peter debenedetto says:
DP…DP…KP…KP…KP…
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Candyman says:
#8 is correct. Tavares did not shoot the puck. He lost the puck and the Avs dman smacked it in. Funny only b/c Howie Rose went on a 10 min rant about JT’s hands. Still a great effort by JT. Things happen when you drive to the net.
Poulin looks like the real deal. Keep playing him.
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bayduvinislander says:
Poulin oozes awesomeness. It looked like his eyeballs were going to pop out of his head. He’s French and slightly neurotic, exactly what a goalie is supposed to be. Finally.
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IsleFan73 says:
To be honest, if I had the chance to post before the game, I was going to rip the Islanders for the Colliton call up. Too early to judge, but he sure did help get us two points. JT really stepping up.
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Ethan K says:
It looks like Jack Hillen’s head is finally getting back on straight from that Ovechkin slapshot. He’s been playing very well the past few games. The defense looks a lot better when he’s on his game, as well as when Jurcina uses his body. Hamonic will certainly get a goal one of these days. Macdonald is finally chipping in more offensively and it makes a big difference. I hope Grabner and Schremp stick around for next year too!
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shlo says:
Like Poulin, has a future.Hope DP retires and move on. Nice to see Colliton play hard and score goals. There is improvement.
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junior093 says:
Anybody that doesnt see the promise in this team isnt paying attention. For a team to continue battling after dropping 20 straight games is an achievment in itself. With the financial restraints Snow has had, he has built a good young core. If Snow didnt have to worry about being at the cap floor, he would probably get rid of the dead wood (Hunter, Sim Gervais)and roll more youngsters who have fire in their veins. Be patient and enjoy watching this team grow.
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LES says:
Mr dipietro, please collect your personal belongings and leave the nvmc immediatly. thank you for your service.
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BIGSAVE77 says:
Love the way they are playing. They are playing determined hockey and aren’t giving up after being down 2 goals early on. That is a good sign of the character of this team. Poulin is playing great and I don’t see the need to sign a veteran goalie. Congrats to Colliton for not giving up on his NHL career and helping the Islanders get 2 points.
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Cold Spring Harbor says:
We should just play the west. If the comeback continues this may be the NHL’s version of the movie Major League. I thought HBO didn’t give us major minutes but at least Ricky made the credits.
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AFIsle says:
they are gonna make it all the way this year. it will be called “The miracle on ice 2″
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PotvinRocks says:
Amazing power move by Tavares to the front of the net. He made a similar move to the front of the net in Calgary. Looks like he is going to be that 40-50 goal scorer in the NHL. Wonderful.
Poulin was great. I was worried that he was going to get pulled like Nate was in Edmonton, I guess Coach Campy knew to have confidence in Poulin. -
19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
It is a nice story … What I find most pleasing of this “road trip” story is that the kids are really coming together… They aren’t just kids along for the ride, taking cues and learning from vets. They are making this their team … taking the reins for themselves.
JT’s goal … was just sick … He willed himself, getting into position to lift that puck into the net.
Comeau … Snipe … That is something he’s gotta keep doing … he has the guns.
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doublem in bowling green says:
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports JT’s OT winner as an own goal off Avs Dman Matt Hunwick’s stick. Who cares? It’s a win and about time the Isles get a bounce in their favor. And credit JT for going strong to the net. Even greasy goals are the result of hard work. If they had only won some games in November…but there’s hope. There is hope.
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Yes! Poulin…way to go! What I like most is his demeanor. He will be a leader and a huge presence. He seems stone cold with his approach to thing. I don’t think there’s any doubt this guy will be successful. He better stay on this team.
Food stuff Colliton, I hope he keeps it up. Glad JT got a big goal, now I need KO back!
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hopeful says:
@doublem #47
the denver media is just insecure about comparing tavares-duchene. altho they have nothing to be ashamed about thus far…and thats not taking a shot at tavares, both players have been great
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Staten Islander says:
Great job today, now please, please PLEASE, pick up a vet goalie for the rest of the year and let KP develop PROPERLY. Love the move by JT
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Nyichamp39 says:
Retire Rick, become assistant GM. Poulin Wall is the future.
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Islander Fan in NJ says:
Tavares sometimes reminds me of Turgeon, the way he picks the pocket of other players and his craftiness with the puck. He is looking so confident these last few weeks.
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Pritchett54 says:
Love that the msg highlights were on here. Didn’t catch the game but was happy to see the game winner posted on site. I don’t know if you are permitted but I would love to watch highlights from every game on here.
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Lean Cugine says:
I have more confidence in Poulin now than I ever had in in Dipietro-sorry but it’s the truth.
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Numbers65 in Ohio says:
What a story. Poulin wall, and Tavares goal in OT! What a game from Collition, AMac, and Hamonic! Let’s go Islanders!
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4theisles says:
Size matters. Colly reminds me of Moulson. He is big and plays that way.
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Cary says:
Went to the game – Poulin looked absolutely sick after giving up the 2 earlies.
The team played with jam and was incredible considering AMac, Jurcina, and MM wore the As and Jurcina and Sim were the only real vets on the team.
Love Hamonic’s passion and energy; Hillen looked confident and slick as did AMac. Need some more big bodies clearing the crease in front of KP, but all in all very encouraging and a lot of fun to see live.
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Now the dilemma is who to start in Chitown???? I guess there is a case to be made for Lawson as this could be seen as protecting KP a little if it is thought necessary to ease him into things.
As long as a certain writer does not reprise the phrase “Those Gritty Gutties”. That always makes me extremely nauseous.
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Railbait says:
Was at Iceworks today for a game. Okposo and Martinek were skating and shooting wearing full gear. Hunter was in warmups shooting.
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The New Isles GM says:
The Islanders have played Colorado 3 times since drafting John Tavares. The Islanders Have not only won all three but kept Duchene from scoring a single goal while Tavares has buried two. It’s statistics like this that make me feel good about drafting Tavares over Duchene. It seems as if he plays against Duchene with a similar swagger as Crosby does against Ovechkin. Whether that’s true or not is up for discussion but I feel good about the kids. Now let’s get them some help instead of focusing on a new building right now…
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NYIFAN says:
I like Poulin’s side-to-side game. Very agile.
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bonzowasframed says:
Oui, c’est beau, le gros!
(Yes, beautiful game, big one/big guy)
That’s Quebec slang for our French-Canadian rookie goalie…
Groooooooooh is original and sounds smuch better than Pooooo anyways!
Thoughts, CB?
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Phil says:
Great stuff Botta! JT looks like he is taking control of the team! Poulin looks VERY good so far.
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Blizzard says: JT is a different type of player than Duchene. I still take JT over Duchene any day. Tavares will be a 50 goal scorer I am convinced. He will have a more prolific career.
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Can we please trade Comeau now. He’s hot- wei might actaully get somethign for him. We all know he’s not keeping this up
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rpchief2 says:
Nice job boys, keep working hard.
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Can anyone else seriously see Weight and Hunter on this team again and take us seriously? I cant picture it
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Check this out…..After this season DP has 10 years left on his contract at $4.5 million/yr, which totals $45 million. If the Isles buy him out after the season they would owe him 66.7% of what’s remaining, amounting to $30 million. This gets spread over twice the remaining years of his contract, which would be 20 years (10 yrs * 2). The cap hit would only be $1.5 million/yr (Not bad for a kid who graduated a city college…LOL).
I know this would NEVER happen but you can see that it would be very cap frinedly especially since the cap continues to go up a few million annually.
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The Pork Chop Express says:
Keep on skating and staying out of the box and the wins will continue. We need offense from all the lines at once. Imagine that. Poulin looks good but need to work on his rebound control. he is very young so he should improve.
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Chris Mc says:
I’m tired of the Blake Comeau bashing. Comeau has been in the top 3 in scoring on our team allllllll season. From Day 1. The only time he went a long stretch without points was the losing streak when the whole team went a long stretch without points. The guy is on pace for 20 goals and 50 points. I guarantee any one of you would have taken that from him before the season started.
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the Real JD says:
Poulin has similar cat like quickness like DiPi had pre injuries. What Poulin does BETTER that DiPi is he doesn’t over handle the puck nor does he waste movement over reacting to shots.
Before we get too ga ga let’s see the kid play at least 20 NHL games. The future is there for this team its about 3 to 4 years away when the boys get man strong and the core of the team reaches their mid 20′s.
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Steven says:
Good…freaking…times. I can deal with this for the rest of the season. Tavares is a beast.
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Sir William says:
When Neilsen comes back, move Colliton to the wing and kiss Jon Sim goodbye.
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i give a lot of credit to cappy. he didnt panic when he took over as the isles still played awfull, but he did say he noticed improvment after each game. the team has adapted very well to his system as the isles are gaining confidence with each game. if wang wasnt so cheap, and gave this team a little help, the future would look very bright. lets see as the trade deadline approaches who stays and who goes. what course of action wang and snow take with moulson will show me what the forseeable future holds.
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Yes!!! Poulin looks awesome! Colliton looks like a different player–for the better. I love that they came back from two goals down, but just one complaint: you can’t protect a 1 goal lead with a whole period to play. They need to have a bit more of a killer instinct and this game would never have gone into O.T.! They found a way to win. Very proud of the boys!
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KaiserVanIslander says:
Hunter and Weight coming back is interesting, see a lot of you are putting them down. Also is a lot of you liking jacks new system. Maybe they will fit this system better. I’ve been saying it all year Gordo’s system sucked it was not right for us. If this current system was in place all year we be in the playoffs. Bet you’ll see a better Hunter!
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Mikamakela says:
I hope snow is smart enough to build a stanly cup winner n have the lowest payroll in NHL. Thats all he will ever have to work with.
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Eric says:
Hey anymore Tavares is a bust posts on here? Yea I think that was premature since the kid is not even 20 and a half. He would probably have 10-15 more points on another team since the Islanders were only scoring a goal a game for 15-20 game stretch.
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Islebethere4u says:
I like what cap has done for this team so far. Gordon had them too tightly wound. This change in systems ( or tweaks as some of the players put it) has definitely been for the better. Stability in linemates, Carrying the puck into the Offensive zone much more instead of time wasted dumping in and trying to use “overspeed” to fore check (whatever that is), a safer, simpler 1-1-3 system which has been providing more offense on the transition than before as well as better Defense overall. They are starting to believe in themselves again. Give then time to get to their potential and watch out. Good games by Poulin, but as good as he has shown, its still too early to tell yet. get striet, okposo, El Nino, Petrov, Kabonov, wishart Dehann on this team and in a few years, this team could be downright scary.
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Tony says:
In my eyes, this game was as much of a loss as a win. There’s nothing worse than the Isles giving up a goal with less than 2 minutes in the game, much less under ten seconds left.
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David from Sweden says:
Would like to get a glimpse of Wishart.
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sean says:
Dp don’t come back, Bruno and hunter have to be moved and weight should retire the injuries are telling you to.
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Colliton channelling Mark Parrish with that #37
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Chazdg says:
Anybody see the Poulin interview after the game? I was impressed with his maturity level. Reminds me of how immature DP was at a similar age.
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msolo says:
AGREE WITH #74
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Mike P says:
JT coming into his own, you can see his confidence to take control grow with each shift. Poulin looks really great so far, dont want to get ahead of ourselves but I’d rather see him and Lawson than DP at this pint. Will you guy’s stop all the Comeau bashing. He’s streaky like half the players in the NHL but he’s still got potential. I love what I’m seeing and would like to see Wishart as well when the team gets home.
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Jim says:
Jack has done a nice job with this team. He never seemed to panic even when he came and they were playing awful. Maybe Gordan’s system was just too complex for them or he didn’t have the right fit of players. Anyway Jack seems much calmer, the players seem much calmer. How many teams come back from 2-0 after first 2 minutes on the road. Granted they gave up goal in last 4 seconds but they recovered to win. Could it be Jack is the right coach at the right time? Players seem to respond and play well for him. I actually now look forward to the games at least they are competing every night.
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Blizzard says:
this Poulin kid can play. The DP era is quickly coming to a close. Great heart but body just not up to the task. Shame really. Nice to see JT take some of the spotlight away from Duchene in his own building.
GO ISLANDERS!!!!!
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Jim says:
THIS HAS TO STOP AND NOW !!!!
They are blowing the first pick with this winning crap and playing like an actual pro hockey team, this has to stop! -
Rombough says:
One thing we all lose sight of with these 18 year old first round picks is that they’re just kids, who in addition to learning how to play the game have to mature physically.
JT (last night) and Bailey have made a number of moves this year that they probably couldn’t have made last year because they are stronger.
Colliton is a good example. He’s 15 lbs. heavier than in his previous stint.
Add Nino, Rakshani, CDH and a few others (Schremp, Grabner) to the weight room and see what you get when they’re mid-20′s, not the equivalent of college sophomores.
Patience, mes amis!
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KB says:
Look back over the last month and look what Snow and Capuano have done with this team. It seems to be all coming together…unfortunately and realistically too late to make the playoffs. This is the most fun and the most confidence I have had with the Isles in a long time. As frustrating as it has been, the patience during the ‘rebuild’seems to be paying off. The injuries killed us this year. Looking back, trading Wiz and Rollie were not such bad moves after all and THAT payoff will be complete until the draft. What happens with DP remains to be seen. In the meantime…it is great to watch these games and the young talent.
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Adam B says:
Thank god J.T. scored in overtime because he’s the one who lost the game for Isles in regulation. He beat out a Col. defencemen and tried to score an empty net goal from an impossible angle. It was a selfish play. If he wanted THE TEAM to win, and not JT to win, he would’ve held onto the puck behind the net and made a safe pass when the Isles came into the zone.
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D in BIG D says:
A win is a win BUT……to all lets keep this in perspective.Poulin will be good but if this game ends up going the other way(blowing lead w/ 4sec left!!)what would that have done to his mindset.JT played OK.Yeah thats right,OK.He blew the empty net goal that would’ve sealed the win in regulation and didn’t even shoot the puck to score the winning goal.I will however give him credit(lately)for playing w/ more desire and going to the net.After all if JT doesn’t go to the net Isles don’t score there.Amac and Hamonic on the ice during the tying goal,NOT GOOD!No one laying a hit on the AVS player that just skated end to end to set up tying goal,NOT GOOD.But like I said before a win is a win.
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Steve says:
Beautiful OT goal by JT and a great game by Poulin, especially in the 3rd.
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Tony #81. Cheer up, we’re not exactly the Isles of the early 80′s. 2pts is 2pts and we’ll take ‘em !
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isles72 says:
playoffs are a long shot but it would be a really nice goal for the team to chip away at finishing at or slightly above .500
johnny keeps this up he’ll also be close to a point per game -whens the last time we had a forward put up over 80 points ?
lets go isles
Outstanding!