By Eric Hornick
Game 5
Islanders 5, Colorado 2
Milan Jurcina scored his first two goals as an Islander in a 4:55 span of the
second period to break a scoreless tie and the Islanders rolled from there,
defeating Colorado 5-2 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Jurcina, who
scored only once all last season, recorded the third two-goal game of his
career, but his first since January 10, 2006.
A Fighting Start
Zenon Konopka and Cam Stewart engaged in a fight just five seconds into the
game. It's the fourth straight game that the Isles have had a fight, with
Kenopka and Trevor Gillies each being involved in two. The first period ended
scoreless.
One Each Way
Jurcina scored the game's first two goals. The first goal was scored
shorthanded – it was the Isles' first shorty of the season. After Jurcina
scored his second goal at even strength, Josh Bailey made it a 3-goal period
with a power play tally. It was the third goal of the season for Bailey.
Two each in the Third
Stewart broke Dwayne Roloson's shutout at 2:19 of the third, but Michael Grabner
responded two minutes later with his first goal as an Islander. TJ Galiardi
scored midway through the third to cut the Islanders' advantage to 4-2, but John
Tavares hit the empty-net at 19:40 of the third for the first goal of his
sophomore season, and the final margin of victory. 5-2 Final.
Record Night for Milan
Jurcina assisted on the empty-netter to give him a three-point night. It is the
first time in his career that he has managed three points in a game and the
first time in his career hat he has ever scored shorthanded.
11 for the Defense
James Wisniewski added an assist to Juricna's three point game. The Isles now
have 11 points (4 goals and 7 assists) from their defense this season.
New Scoring Leader
Bailey assisted on Jurcina's first goal to give him a 2-point night. He now
leads the team in scoring with seven points.
Roli's First Win
Dwayne Roloson evened his record at 1-1, making 28 saves for the victory. Craig
Anderson made 20 saves for the Avalanche.
Who's Number 1?
With the win, the Isles improve to 2-0-1 at home and 2-1-2 overall. Their six
points in five games gives them the only winning record in the Atlantic Division
and a share of the division lead with the Penguins. The Isles have scored an
empty net goal to cement both of their victories.
Perfect on the PK
In addition to Jurcina's goal, the Isles killed all four Avalanche power plays.
It's the first time this season that they have been perfect on the penalty
kill.
The Isles finished 1-7 on the power play.
In the Circle
The Isles won 38 of 64 draws (59%), led as per usual in the early season by
Konopka, who won 13 of 20. Frans Nielsen (11/17) and Tavares (8/12) also had
strong games in the circle.
The Long Road Ahead
This is the third game in a 15 game stretch that will find the Islanders playing
12 on the road and only three at home. They are now 1-1-1 in the first three
games, with a 4-game road trip upcoming. The Isles will not be back at the
Coliseum until October 29th; their only other home game in this stretch is on
November 6.
Missing Men
John Tavares played for the first time since the first period of Opening Night
and James Wisniewski returned from his suspension. The Isles, still without Mark
Streit, Kyle Okposo and Rob Schremp for extended periods, played without Trent
Hunter (foot)
The Goals Keep Coming
The Isles have scored 18 goals in the first five games; it's the most that
they've scored in the first five games since they opened the 2001-02 season by
scoring 22 goals in the first five games.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 1 game to none. The teams will play again in
Denver on January 8th. The Isles have now won six straight over the Avs at
home; Colorado hasn't earned as much as a point at the Coliseum since a 2-1 win
on December 8, 1998. How long ago was that? Patrick Roy was in goal and Peter
Forsberg had the winning goal. In the last eight games overall between the
teams, the Isles own six wins, one overtime loss and one tie.
Hometown Heroes
The Isles are now 2-0-1 at home, earning five points in their first three home
games. It's their best home start since winning their first three at home seven
years ago (2003-04).
Up Next
Monday, October 18- Islanders @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Isles begin a four-game road trip on Monday when they head to the center of
the hockey universe to face the surprising Maple Leafs. Toronto is off to a
4-0-0 start so this will be a battle of two first-place teams at the Air Canada
Center.
The Isles took three out of four games last season, including the memorable 58
save performance by Dwayne Roloson last November. Toronto-area native Josh
Bailey scored in overtime to win that game.
The Islanders' penalty-kill excelled against Toronto last season, killing 19 of
20 and scoring two shorthanded goals.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home
telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on
Twitter @ehornick
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