The Isles improved to 4-1-0 in the pre-season with a 5-3 win in Boston. With just over three minutes to play, Cal Clutterbuck broke a 3-3 tie with a blast that Jeremy Smith couldn't handle. Scott Mayfield added an empty net from 172 feet away to seal the win.
For the second straight game, the Isles allowed a 2 goal lead get away, but came back to win the game.
It's the third time this pre-season a two goal lead has been erased in a game the Isles won. They trailed Ottawa 2-0 before winning 3-2 in a shootout and led New Jersey 2-0 before wining 3-2 in a shootout. Tonight, the Isles led 3-1 with two goals late in the second and then allowed two goals 43 seconds apart early in the third before Clutterbuck's winning tally.
The Scoring: (from NHL.com)
| 1st Period | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:45 | BOS | Patrice Bergeron (1) Wrist shot - ASST: Brad Marchand (1) | 1 - 0 BOS | |
| 2nd Period | ||||
| 08:20 | NYI | PPG - TJ Brennan (1) Slapshot - ASST: Frans Nielsen (1), Kyle Okposo (1) | 1 - 1 Tie | |
| 17:20 | NYI | Kyle Okposo (1) Wrist shot - ASST: Thomas Hickey (1), Ryan Strome (1) | 2 - 1 NYI | |
| 18:24 | NYI | Cory Conacher (1) Snap shot - ASST: John Tavares (1), Cal Clutterbuck (1) | 3 - 1 NYI | |
| 3rd Period | ||||
| 02:47 | BOS | SHG - Matt Bartkowski (1) Snap shot - ASST: Patrice Bergeron (1), Adam McQuaid (1) | 3 - 2 NYI | |
| 03:30 | BOS | Brad Marchand (1) Wrist shot - ASST: Loui Eriksson (1) | 3 - 3 Tie | |
| 16:51 | NYI | Cal Clutterbuck (1) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE | 4 - 3 NYI | |
| 18:49 | NYI | EN - Scott Mayfield (1) Slapshot - ASST: NONE | 5 - 3 NYI | |
The Skinny --- Isles were outshot 29-27 despite outshooting Boston 16-6. The Isles outhit the Bruins, IN BOSTON, by a 35-21 margin. Mayfield and Clutterbuck were both +3 but the the Tavares line du jour (Okposo and Conacher) were all -2.
The Isles would certainly like to duplicate the 4-1-0 start to the pre-season when the regular campaign opens; however only once since Denis Potvin retired have they earned at least 8 points in the first five games -- that came in 2001-02, when they opened 4-0-0-1 (and eventually 9-0-1-1).
Line of the Night: NESN's Jack Edwards, noting the Tom Caron will call the play-by-play of the rematch on Friday night in Bridgeport: "I have a family obligation that is nearly 6,000 years old". Friday's game will be played at the beginning of Yom Kippur.
The Isles will be in New Jersey on Thursday (WRHU) before playing in Bridgeport Friday (WRHU, Islanders TV) to close out the pre-season.
The complete Skinny will return on Opening Night.
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
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