Tuesday February 19

It was an unusually busy Tuesday as 18 teams took the ice in 9 highly contended competitions. As we near both the trade deadline and the postseason things are getting really intense including the contributions from Former Islanders league-wide. Let us take a gander at the FI haps:

* Boston captain Zdeno Chara opened the scoring with a powerplay tally as the Bruins overcame a comeback from the host Carolina Hurricanes for a 3-2 SO win. Chara has 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points on 59 games. Six of his goals and 13 assists, 19 points total, have come on the man advantage. For the 4th consecutive season Chara has notched 40+ points and with over 20 games left he is on pace for his best single season offensive effort.

* Martin Straka assisted on the New York Rangers' 5th goal before the host Montreal Canadiens mounted the biggest comeback in team history to pull off a 6-5 SO win. The Habs had never recovered from a 5-0 deficit in their 91 year history but made the Rangers the whipping boy for their historic turnaround. The last 31 and a half minutes of regulation play was dominated by the Canadiens who forced OT on the tying goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd period. Now back to Straka: He has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points on 45 games this season. He currently holds a 4 game point scoring streak in which he has notched 5 helpers.

* D-man Bryan McCabe, rumored to be on the trading block, assisted on the powerplay game winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1. McCabe has 4 goals and 10 assists for 14 points on an injury-shortened 33 games. He has recorded an impressive 11 of those points (3 goals, 8 assists) with the man advantage. Michael Peca assisted on the lone Jackets' goal which came only 30 seconds after the Toronto game winner. Peca has 4 goals and 24 assists for 28 points on 47 games.

* Journeyman Philadelphia forward Jim Dowd assisted on the game tying goal 3:09 into the 3rd period but the Ottawa Senators still got the best of the host Flyers 3-2 in the SO. Dowd snapped a 15 game point-less streak with the helper and now has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) on 52 games equalling his offensive output from his 66 games last season while playing with the New Jersey Devils.

* Mark Parrish had a pair of powerplay assists but the Vancouver Canucks got the better of the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in OT at the Xcel Center. Parrish has 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points on 52 games. He has notched 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) on the man advantage. Roberto Luongo stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced for the Canucks including 2 in OT to seal the win. Luongo improved to 26-18-7 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against average.

* Edmonton defenseman Denis Grebeshkov had a powerplay goal and an even strength assist but the Oilers were edged 5-4 by the host Nashville Predators. Grebeshkov has 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points on 50 games. He topped double digits in points on a season for the first time in his young career. As well, it was the first powerplay tally of his career and he now has 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) on the man advantage this season. Teammate Robert Nilsson also recorded an assist for Edmonton. Nilsson, who is quickly shaping up to be a solid grinder if not a future star, has 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists) on 50 games. He has managed 25 points on a season for the first time in his young career.

* Adrian Aucoin had an assist on the opening goal of the game as the visiting Calgary Flames thrashed the Phoenix Coyotes for a 4-1 win. Aucoin has 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points on 55 games.

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