It Happened at the Coliseum … on MAY 7th

It Happened at the Coliseum … on MAY 7th

2 years ago tonight (2013) - Islander Captain Mark Streit became the first Islander defenseman to score two goals in a playoff game in 30 years to tie the game early in the third period, and John Tavares scored the winning goal just past the midway point of the third as the Islanders went on to a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins to even the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series at two games each.

 Streit became the first Islander to have two goals in a playoff game since Jason Blake (4/10/04 at Tampa), the first to do so at the Coliseum since Mariusz Czerkawski (4/28/02 vs. Toronto) and first Islander defenseman to score twice in a playoff game since Denis Potvin (5/3/1983 vs. Boston). Streit and Brian Strait combined for three goals for the Islander defense; it was the first time that has happened in a playoff game since May 14, 1981 (Denis Potvin-twice and Ken Morrow) It was Strait's first NHL goal (regular season/playoffs).

Casey Cizikas became the first Islander to go +4 in a playoff game since Steve Konroyd did so against Washington on April 16, 1987. Cizikas (22 years, 2 months) became the youngest player to have at least one goal, at least two assists, and go at least +4 in a playoff game since Patrice Brisebois (21 years, 3 months) did so for Montreal on April 27, 1992 against Hartford.

Kyle Okposo scored for the third straight game while Brad Boyes became the first Islander with three assists in a playoff game since John Tonelli had three helpers on April 25, 1985 vs. Philadelphia.

For the first 30 years, the Coliseum was "Fort Never Lose" in the playoffs as the Islanders went 77-32 on home ice. However, this was the Islanders' first playoff win at the Coliseum since winning all three of their home games against the Maple Leafs in 2002.  The win ends a seven-game home playoff losing streak, which ties the NHL record for consecutive home losses (with five other teams).

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 27 Pittsburgh shots to improve his career playoff record to 42-40.

The Scoring:

1st Period

14:05    NYI   B. Strait (1) Wrist - ASST: L. Visnovsky (2) AND C. Cizikas (1)  1 - 0 NYI        

14:50    PIT    J. Neal (1) Wrist - ASST: E. Malkin (6) AND J. Iginla (5)   1 - 1 TIE          

2nd Period

06:19    NYI   PPG - M. Streit (1) Wrist - ASST: T. Hamonic (1) AND B. Boyes (1)  2 - 1 NYI         

07:17    PIT    E. Malkin (2) Wrist - ASST: J. Iginla (6) AND M. Fleury (1)     2 - 2 TIE          

11:03    PIT    B. Sutter (1) Wrist - ASST: B. Morrow (1) AND M. Cooke (1)   3 - 2 PIT          

18:36    NYI    K. Okposo (3) Wrist - ASST: T. Hamonic (2) AND M. Streit (3)  3 - 3 TIE          

3rd Period

00:41    PIT    P. Dupuis (4) Deflected - ASST: C. Kunitz (2) AND S. Crosby (4) 4 - 3 PIT          

04:30    NYI    M. Streit (2) Slap - ASST: C. Cizikas (2) AND B. Boyes (2)  4 - 4 TIE          

10:11    NYI    J. Tavares (2) Wrist - ASST: B. Boyes (3)  5 - 4 NYI         

18:44    NYI    C. Cizikas (2) Backhand - ASST: M. Grabner (2) AND C. McDonald (1) 6 - 4 NYI     


Here are the highlights, with Howie and Butch:

Celebrate Tavares' winning goal from inside the Coliseum  (Warning: part of the video feels a bit like a roller coaster ride)

Also on this date: (1983) Mike Bossy scored four times for his second hat trick of the series as the Islanders eliminated the Boston Bruins with an 8-4 win in game 6 at the Coliseum. 

Here are some highlights from the SportsChannel broadcast and then the full-game broadcast, from Hockey Night in Canada:

Finally, here's how Channel 4 and Channel 7 covered it.



Also on this date: (1975) Jude Drouin scored the first overtime goal in Coliseum history at the 1:53 mark as the Isles cut Philadelphia's lead to 3 games to 1 with a 4-3 victory.  It was the earliest overtime goal ever scored in a playoff game at the Coliseum, until John Tavares broke the record last month, scoring 15 seconds into overtime of game three vs. Washington.

This is one of the earliest full-game Islander videos that I have seen -- it is from the Flyers broadcast with Gene Hart and Don Earle on the call. So grab a case of Tastykakes and enjoy!  Overtime almost didn't happen -- go to 1:53:00 into the video to see how close the Flyers came from eliminating the Isles. Check out the winning goal -- Don Earle immediately says that Parise was two feet offside -- he was!



All-time, the Isles played three playoff games on May 7th at the Coliseum; they compiled a 3-0 playoff record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.