Thursday January 29

With things back in full swing following the All-Star festivities the intensity in ramping up around the NHL. There were 9 games up for grabs on Thursday night and Former Islanders continue to provide support en masse. FIs tried to help in 4 of those tilts. Let us take a quick peek at the action:

Atlanta defenseman received the primary assist on the Thrashers' first goal only 26 seconds in to the 3rd Period as the home team nearly mounted a comeback from a 4-0 deficit before falling to the Isles 5-4. The Blue & Orange built a 4-0 lead after 1 but the Thrashers pulled the score within 1 midway through the 3rd Period before the Isles regrouped for the rare road win. The assist gives Schneids 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points on 37 games. The helper snapped a 3 game point-less streak and Schneider has managed 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) over the last 6 outings.

Florida winger Richard Zednik got in on the scoring fun recording the first insurance goal as the Panthers jacked the visiting Montreal Canadiens 5-1. The tally snapped a 3 game goal-less streak and Zed was honored with the second star of the game. He now has 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points on 37 games. Zednik has a respectable 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) over the last 5 games.


Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood did not have a solid start being pulled after the 1st Period as he surrendered 3 goals on 12 shots. Ozzie took the loss as the Red Wings fell to the visiting Dallas Stars 4-2. His record is now 15-4-6 on the season while his save percentage is a meager .880 and his goals against average is a bloated 3.29. It would appear that a goalie with only 4 regulation losses on 25 games is doing great but Ozzie seems to be puttering by riding on the shoulders of the normally superior Wings' offense.

It was a rare face off between 2 of the league's best FI wingers as Ryan Smyth and the Colorado Avalanche hosted Jason Blake and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs walked away with an impressive 7-4 victory. Red hot Jason Blake scored the game winning goal and added 2 assists. He was honored as the game's first star. Blake now has 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points on 45 games. He has goals in 3 straight games and over the last 3 games he has 6 points on 3 goals and 3 assists. Over the last 6 outings he has an impressive 11 points on 6 goals and 5 assists. His recently improved play puts him within 1 point of Nik Antropov for team lead in points scoring. Blake currently leads all Leafs in goals scored. Smyth did good himself assisting on a pair of goals. He snapped a 2 game mini-point-less streak and now has 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points on 49 games. Over the last 4 games he has 5 points on 1 goal and 4 assists. Over the last 10 games he has better than a point per game with 12 (4 goals, 8 assists).

Check back soon for more updates and highlights.

Wednesday January 28

There were 4 games on the Wednesday night schedule. Former Islanders continue to contribute in at least half of the posted games, it seems, and this night was no exception as FIs tipped in their help in 2 of those contests. Here is a quick look:

A trio of FIs were involved in the scoring as the Calgary Flames dispensed of the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-2. Calgary winger Todd Bertuzzi netted the game winning goal just over 7 minutes in to the 3rd Period to seal the victory. The second star of the night, Bert now has 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points on 42 games. The game winner was his 4th of the season and the 34th of his career. The 4 game winners is the 2nd most Bertuzzi's has ever had in a single season and his most since he had 7 during the 2002-03 campaign while still with the Vancouver Canucks. Assisting on the game winner was defenseman Adrian Aucoin. Aucoin has 6 goals and 16 assists for 22 points on 47 games. He is riding a 5 game consecutive assist streak in which he has notched 6 helpers. The point scoring streak is his longest since December 13-21, 2007 when he scored 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) over 5 games. Interestingly enough, the last Aucoin had assists in 5 straight was April 23-30, 2002 - Games 3-7 of the Isles' infamous 1st Round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Picking up most of the scoring load for the Sabres was center Tim Connolly who has been a man on fire as of late. TimCo scored a powerplay tally and added an assist to lead the Buffalo offensive attack. Connolly now has 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points on 15 games. Over the last 5 games Connolly has notched an impressive 8 points (6 goals, 2 assists).

All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo is flaming out really fast and is winless in his last 4 starts (0-2-2) thanks to another poor performance. Luongo stopped 33 of 37 shots as the Canucks were downed by the Nashville Predators 5-3 in Vancouver. Luongo's goals against average has swelled to 2.45 while his save percentage has nose-dived to .919. In many ways it appears that Luongo is not quite fully back to the 100% mark he claims to be. There is a lesson in all this to Current and Former Islander goaltenders alike: Do not claim to be in better shape than you really are because for all you know you will just end up shelved for the rest of the 2008-09 season after playing only 5 games... Ooh sorry, said too much!

Check back soon for more updates and recaps at FIW.

Tuesday January 27

With the All-Star festivities over it is now grind time in the NHL for the 27 or so teams still in contention for a playoff spot. Very few teams are looking at riding out the season (i.e. the Islanders) but the next couple of weeks will either make many teams strong contenders or playoff wannabes. With the push to the postseason at hand Former Islanders are contributing and if Tuesday night was a sign of events to come, it could be good. FIs aided in 7 of 11 games making major impacts in most of those games. Let us take a look:

Boston captain and defenseman Zdeno Chara notched the secondary assist on the game winning powerplay goal in OT as the Bruins edged the visiting Washington Capitals 3-2. Chara is riding a 4 game point-scoring streak in which he has compiled 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). Chara has 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points on 48 games and is 1 point shy of #300 on his career. For the 6th consecutive season Chara has reached the 30+ point plateau.

Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood gave a fairly strong effort but the Columbus Blue Jackets got the better of the visiting Red Wings as they eked by them 3-2 in OT. Ozzie stopped 20 of 23 shots faced including 2 of 3 in OT but it was the third one that capped a hat trick for Jackets' forward Rick Nash. Osgood lost for the 3rd time in his last 4 games (1-1-2) and is now 15-3-6 on the season. His save percentage continues to hover in the subpar and is currently .883 while his goals against average dropped slightly to 3.21. The 6 OT losses equals his previous career high from 2006-07 season.

New York Rangers' backup backstopper Stephen Valiquette stopped 33 of 35 shots as the Blueshirts skipped past the visiting Carolina Hurricanes for a 3-2 victory. Vali recorded his first win of 2009 in 3 starts (1-1-1). The win broke a month and a half long winless streak dating back to December 17. Valiquette is now 5-3-1 on the season with a .929 save percentage and a 2.17 goals against average. Somewhat surprisingly, both of those statistics are head and shoulders above Rangers' starter Henrik Lundqvist.

Florida d-man scored a goal with just over 5 minutes remaining in the opening frame as the Panthers skittered by the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 (popular score on Tuesday, eh?). The tally snapped a 3 game point-less streak. McCabe has 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points on 37 games. He is 2nd only to Jay Bouwmeester on the Panthers for defensive scoring leader in goals and points.


Minnesota d-man Marc-Andre Bergeron netted his first goal since January 13 snapping a 4 game point-less streak as the Wild thumped the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1. The tally was the deciding goal and came exactly a minute after the Leafs had tied the score at 1 a piece. MAB has 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points on 37 games. The game winner was Bergeron's first of the season and his first since January 13, 2008 while still with the Isles. MAB has 7 game winning goals on his career and has managed at least 1 winner in each of the last 5 seasons. Bergeron has also managed 5+ goals for 6 straight seasons. Scoring that lone goal for the Leafs was winger Jason Blake. He has 5 goals in the last 5 games and has notched 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points on 44 games. Blakey has already equaled his goal output from last season. For the 6th consecutive year Blake has reached the 15+ goal mark.

Phoenix center Olli Jokinen was credited with the secondary assist on the opening goal as the visiting Anaheim Ducks crushed the Coyotes 7-3. Jokinen is riding a 4 game point streak in which he has notched 2 goals and 2 assists. He has 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) on 43 games. Jokinen is rapidly approaching 500 career points and should reach that mark in the next week or so. The helper came on the powerplay and was O-Jok's 14th point (5 goals, 9 assists) on the man advantage this season. Jokinen has 175 powerplay points (74 goals, 101 assists) on his career.

Buffalo center Tim Connolly joined in on the fun as the Sabres disemboweled the host Edmonton Oilers 10-2. Connolly scored 2 goals (1 powerplay, 1 shorthanded) and added an assist as 10 different Sabres recorded 2 or more points. TimCo now has 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points on 14 games. Over the last 4 games Connolly has been on fire with 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points. The powerplay and shorthanded tallies were Connolly's first of the season. He last scored an extra man goal on February 29, 2008 while his last shortie was December 8, 2007. TimCo now has 3 shorthanded goals on his career. A pair of Oilers also got in on the "fun". Winger Robert Nilsson scored a goal and added a powerplay helper. The multi-point effort was only the 2nd of the season for Nily who has 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points on 37 games. The the 2nd straight season and 3rd time on his career Nilsson has reached the 15+ point mark. Adding the secondary assist on the Oilers' powerplay goal was d-man Denis Grebeshkov. He has managed a point every other game with 22 points (4 goals, 18 assists) on 44 games. Greb is tied for 8th on Edmonton in points scoring currently tied with big offseason acquisition Erik Cole.

Check back soon for more updates and highlights at FIW!

Update: Wade Dubielewicz

In a bizarre move the Columbus Blue Jackets actually claimed goaltender Wade Dubielewicz off of waivers before the Islanders could get to him two Saturdays ago. Former Islander Watch regrets to inform readers that our announcement of his returning to the Isles was at worst pre-emptive. It appears that someone in the Coliseum was asleep at the wheel since it should have been priority #1 to grab the dependable former backup before somebody else did. We can add Wade back to the FI file and we wish him luck with the Blue Jackets.

Mid-Season FI Awards

If the 2008-09 NHL season were to end today these Former Islanders stand as the award winners. These awards credit both the excellent and regrettable. Enjoy:

Top Forward: Ryan Smyth (COL) Colorado winger Smyth, who played only 55 games last season due to injury, has managed perfect attendance so far this year and has been among the team's leaders. With injuries to staple players such as Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic it has become necessary for some players to step up and much of that credit is due to Smyth, Wojtek Wolski and Milan Hejduk. Smyth leads all players with 16 goals and is 2nd with 20 assists. He current leads all Avs with 36 points on 47 games. This season he has 4 point scoring streaks of 4+ games, a feat considering he had no streaks like this last season. Heading into the final stretch Smyth has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) over the last 8 games and is helping the Avs at least stay in contention. Smyth is also the leading point scoring among FIs league-wide.

Top Defenseman: Zdeno Chara (BOS) The choice for top d-man was so easy that a look down the FI roster yielded no competitor to Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara. With 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points on 47 games Chara has been an offensive force for Boston and he is not even the defensive scoring leader on the team! Chara is an impressive +22 and has racked up only a gentlemanly 56 penalty minutes. He is tied for the team lead in powerplay scores with 7 and has over half his points (17) on the man advantage. Surprisingly, Chara is also 2nd on the team in shots with 128 only 16 behind forward Phil Kessel who is sidelined with mononucleosis. Overall, Chara is a major reason why the Bruins have been so dominating so far this season.

Biggest Surprise: Denis Grebeshkov (EDM) While the Oilers have struggled to find consistency young d-man Grebeshkov has started to hit his stride. Greb is a surprise for a couple of reasons including his severely improved offensive play, his importance to the blueline and his overall maturity and dedication to conditioning. Grebeshkov has 4 goals and 17 assists for 21 points on 43 games blowing away his career point highs from last season. While he is by no means an defensive offensive leader on the powerful Oil blueline he has clearly found a place. As predicted earlier, Grebeshkov could garner some offer sheet interest this offseason since he becomes a Restricted Free Agent starting July 1.

Top Goaltender: None There are 4 FI goalies in the league right now (Osgood, Luongo, Valiquette and Weekes) and none of them deserve to receive this honor as of now. Two of those tenders (Vali and Weekes) are backups while the two starters (Ozzie and Luongo) have not had seasons to write home about. Luongo only recently returned from a groin injury suffered in mid-November and despite his All-Star status did not really play enough to give us a full picture. Ozzie, on the other hand, has split starting time with supposed backup Ty Conklin who has severely outplayed him. If the season did end today Ozzie would end with the worst single season save percentage and goals against average of his career and yet would be 12 games over .500! It is hard to reward success despite futility.

Biggest Disappointment: Mathieu Schneider (ATL) Thrashers' d-man Schneider has been a huge bust this season. Due to nagging injuries Schneids has suited up for only 35 of Atlanta's 48 games and has managed a meager 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points. His -10 is slightly improved from early season numbers but for a player on the verge of career assist #500 he is struggling. Now, we must credit some of this to the players around him, but Schneider is not off the hook for the downturn in his play. Schneider is in danger of not scoring 30+ for the first time in 11 seasons and that is the most disappointing part.

Come Back Player: Todd Bertuzzi (CGY) This choice might be controversial but a look at the stats says that Bertuzzi is probably the most improved FI on any roster. Brought into the Flames' fold to join and invigorate friend Jarome Iginla, Calgary currently leads the Northwest Division and looks like a team that is clicking. Though Bert's hot goal-scoring streak tailed off severely after October his assists have shot way up. Bertuzzi has 11 goals and 20 assists for 30 points on 41 games missing only 5 games this season due to illness. Bertuzzi has been especially helpful on the powerplay with 13 points on 5 goals and 8 assists. This could change but right now Bert has made his case as the biggest turnaround.

Most Likely to Not Have a Hot Second Half: Jason Blake (TOR) Word has it that Maple Leafs' winger Blake has not had a good working relationship with head coach Ron Wilson. Trade rumors seem to swirl around Blake like dust devils and it is unclear what the future holds for the diminutive scorer but as of late he has performed much better with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) leading into the All-Star break including a recent hat trick/5 point night. Blakey has 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points on 43 games. Over the last 22 outings Blake has nearly a point per game with 11 goals and 10 assists. Blake has been a healthy scratch 4 times this season and if his play tails off at all in the coming weeks that time might be even further reduced. All told, Blake is not lined up to have a hot end to the season as the Leafs continue to putter well out of playoff contention.

Thank you and check back Wednesday for our next set of game recaps and highlights.

All-Star Game

With a pair of Former Islanders in the NHL All-Star Game it is worth taking a look at the happenings from Montreal:

Eastern Conference FI and defenseman Zdeno Chara coughed up a big fat nothing in his 23:16 of play time. Chara managed 1 shot and received a -2 rating but all was not lost as the East pulled off a 12-11 SO victory over the "hated" Western Conference. Taking the OT loss for the West goaltenders was FI Roberto Luongo who stopped 13 of 16 3rd period shots but only 1 of 3 in the SO. Luongo let 3 one goal leads evaporate as the East came back from 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10 deficits.

Check back soon as real hockey resumes Tuesday night.

Wednesday January 21

Wednesday night was the final evening before the interminably long (5 days of no real hockey!) All-Star break. With 9 games on tap it was bound to be a Former Islander kind of night... well not exactly. FIs only made impacts in 2 of those tilts. Here is a look:

Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara tied the game up with less than 6 minutes remaining in play to force OT and an eventual SO which the Bruins won 4-3 over the host Toronto Maple Leafs. The tally came on the powerplay and was Chara's 4th goal in the last 5 games. Heading in to the All-Star Game Chara has an impressive 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points on 47 games. He sits only 2 points away from career #300 and 4 goals away from #100, feats he should be able to accomplish soon after the cavalcade of stars is over. Toronto winger Jason Blake had a good night posting the opening goal, adding a powerplay helper and scoring on his attempt in the SO (round 3 of 4). Blake heads to this midpoint in much better shape than he started having really picked up his offensive play. Blake has 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points on 43 games. Over the last 4 games he has lit it up with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists).

Calgary winger Todd Bertuzzi was lights out in the 3rd round of the SO sealing the victory as the Flames edged the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4. A lack of a game time point, however, means that Bert's recent 3 game point streak was snapped. He has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points on 41 games. Proving some help on the charge was d-man Adrian Aucoin he tallied to assists including one on the man advantage. Aucoin enters the break on a high note with 5 assists over the last 4 consecutive games. He has 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points on 46 games. For the 2nd straight season and 8th time on his career Aucoin has reached the 15+ helper mark.

Check back for more soon as we take a breather during the All-Star festivities.

Tuesday January 20

Now presenting your new leader, President Barack Hussein Obama! Woo! Enough politicizing, let us move to the ice. There were 8 games on tap Tuesday night around the NHL. Former Islanders have visibly ramped up their contributions. FIs tipped in their help in 4 of those contests. Here is the happenings:

Los Angeles center Derek Armstrong scored his 2nd goal in the last 4 games netting the first insurance tally as the Kings downed the host Minnesota Wild 5-2. Army has 3 goals and 1 assist for 4 points on 22 games. He has managed to net 3 goals on only 17 shots giving him an impressive 17.6 shooting percentage.



Edmonton defenseman Denis Grebeshkov scored the goal that knotted the score, briefly, at 3 a piece. Greb now has 4 goals and 17 assists for 21 points on 43 games. Over the last 4 games he has set new single season highs in assists, points and goals. Grebeshkov seems to have found a new level of play this season and even appears to be physically more dominant than the past. It is just speculation but astute teams might send an offer sheet Grebeshkov's way this summer in light of his recent play. Greb is a Restricted Free Agent come July 1. Just something to keep a lookout for.

Phoenix center Olli Jokinen netted the Coyotes' 3rd goal as they effectively dispensed of the visiting Detroit Red Wings 6-3. O-Jok has 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points on 42 games. Jokinen has 6 goals in his last 11 games after scoring only 4 in the previous 18 matches. He is second only to team leader Shane Doan is goals scored with only 1 less score than the captain.



Three games, three losses. The return to play for Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo has not been a good one so far. Luongo stopped 27 of 29 shots but it was the 4th one he faced in OT that bested him as the San Jose Sharks edged the visiting Canucks 2-1. The Sharks kept the 'Nucks to a manageable 14 shots outshooting them over 2 to 1. The OT loss dropped Luongo to 11-6-4 on the season with a .921 save percentage and a 2.37 goals against average. Since returning from his groin injury Luongo has gone 0-1-2. Scoring the lone Canucks' goal was winger Taylor Pyatt. He has 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points on 40 games. After going 12 games without a goal or point T-Py has notched 2 goals in the last 2 outings. The last time Pyatt had goals in consecutive games was March 17-20, 2008.

Check back soon for more updates at FIW.

Monday January 19

There were 7 games up for grabs Monday as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day brought kids out to daytime games around the United States. Former Islanders made it a point to help their teams kicking in their support in 4 of those outings. Let us take a look:

Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara notched a goal and added a powerplay assist but the St. Louis Blues stunned the Eastern Conference leaders pulling off a 5-4 SO victory over the hosts. The Blues scored 2 goals in the last 80 seconds including a tying tally with 1 second remaining in regulation to pull of the comeback. Chara has 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points on 46 games. For the 5th straight season and 6th in the last 7 Chara has scored 10+ goals.

Dallas winger Mark Parrish assisted on the 1st of only 2 Stars' goals as they fell to the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. The helper snapped a 19 game assist-less streak dating to November 28. Parrish now has 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points on 30 games. Parrish now has 10+ points in each of his 10 seasons. The assist, which came on the powerplay, was his first extra man helper since February 19, 2008 while still with the Minnesota Wild.

Buffalo center Tim Connolly kept up his good play with another goal as the Sabres edged the host Florida Panthers 3-2 in the SO. With 3 goals over the last 2 games Connolly now has 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points on 12 games. The goal was the 75th of TimCo's 450 games career. For the 2nd straight season and 7th time on his 8 season career Connolly has notched 10+ points. Receiving the primary assist on the tying Panthers' goal was winger Richard Zednik. Zed now has 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points on 34 games. He has notched a point-per-game over the last 5 contests with 1 goal and 4 assists. The helper made it Zednik's 9th straight season with 10+ assists.

Chicago d-man Aaron Johnson snapped an 8 game assist-less and point-less streak helping out on the lone Blackhawks' goal as they fell to the visiting Minnesota Wild 4-1. Johnson has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) on 26 games. For the 4th time in his 5 seasons, and his first since 2006-07, Johnson has reached the 5+ assist mark. He is currently only 2 assists away from tying his single season high of 7 from the 2006-07 season while still with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Check in soon for more updates, recaps, highlights, etcetera at FIW!

Sunday January 18

It was a clean sweep on Sunday as Former Islanders made contributions in all 4 games. Let us take a quick look at the action:

Pittsburgh winger Miroslav Satan notched the primary assist on the first insurance goal as the Penguins blanked the visiting New York Rangers 3-0. Satan has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) over the last 4 games and now has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points on 47 games. Satan now has 30+ points in each of his 13 seasons.




Colorado winger Ryan Smyth kept up his inspired play netting the game winning shorthanded tally and adding 2 assists (1 powerplay) to receive the first star honor as the Avalanche thumped the visiting Calgary Flames 6-2. The shorthanded goal was a huge one for Smyth as it was career #300 coming in his game #889. Smyth has 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points on 46 games this season. Over the last 7 games he has racked up an impressive 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists). The shortie was Smyth's first since November 13, 2006 while still with the Edmonton Oilers - a span of 123 games (5 playoff) without such a score. Calgary defenseman Adrian Aucoin assisted on the 2nd Flames' goal. Aucoin has assists in 3 straight games and 5 helpers over the last 5 outings. He has 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points on 45 games. Aucoin is 1st among Flames' d-men in goals and 2nd in points.

It was a busy night in Vancouver as 4 FIs made it to the boxscore as the Columbus Blue Jackets downed the Canucks 6-5 in the SO. Jackets' winger Raffi Torres netted his team's 5th goal early in the 3rd before the team blew the 5-3 advantage. The goal was his first since November 29, one game before being injured for a month and a half. Torres now has 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points on 16 games. For the 6th straight season Torres has managed 5+ points. Assisting on Columbus' 3rd goal was center Michael Peca. He has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) over the last 4 and 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points on 40 games. Opening the scoring was Canucks' winger Taylor Pyatt back in only his 3rd game after suffering a foot injury in late December. Pyatt received the 3rd star honor for his effort. He has 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points on 39 games. T-Py has managed at least 5 goals in each of the last 7 seasons. 'Nucks goaltender Roberto Luongo did not have a good game for the 2nd straight time since returning from a November injury. Luongo stopped only 23 of 28 shots and was bested in both SO attempts in receiving the OT loss. The defeat dropped Luongo to 11-6-3 on the season with a .920 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average. Luongo has given up 9 goals over the last 2 games.

Phoenix center Olli Jokinen notched the primary assist on his team's 3rd and final goal as they were bounced by the host Edmonton Oilers 6-3. O-Jok is having a surprisingly balanced albeit under-performing year with only 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) on 41 games. He has been spotty at best with only 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) over the last 9 games.


Check back soon for more at FIW.

Saturday January 17

There were an impressive 11 games up for grabs on Saturday. As teams battle for positioning we are witnessing the push for points before the All-Star break. Former Islanders are definitely upping the ante with their help. FIs made waves in 6 of those contests. Here is a peek:

Boston defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara had a powerplay helper on the lone Bruins' goal as they fell 2-1 to the host Washington Capitals. Chara has 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points on 45 games. Over the last 4 games he has registered 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points. He has 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) on the powerplay this season. Add to that a shorthanded helper and 17 of Chara's 26 points have come on the special teams.

Buffalo center Tim Connolly had a big night scoring 2 goals and receiving the first star honor as the Sabres downed the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. The oft-injured Connolly scored his first goal since November 12 and now has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points on 11 games. The 2 goal effort was his TimCo's first since May 5, 2006 - Game 2 of the Sabres' 2nd round series against the Ottawa Senators during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 2nd goal was also a big one as it was career point #250 for Connolly who has 74 goals and 176 assists on 449 games.

Florida forward Richard Zednik notched the Panthers' 3rd goal as they pulled out a 4-3 win over the host Tampa Bay Lightning. Zed now has 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points on 33 games. Over the last 4 games Zednik has racked up 4 points on 1 goal and 3 assists. For the 11th straight season Zed has reached the 15+ point plateau. The netter snapped a 5 game goal-less run.



Atlanta defenseman Mathieu Schneider rocketed home of Thrashers' 5th goal as they trounced on the host Nashville Predators for a 7-2 win. The score snapped an 11 game goal-less stretch. Schneids now has 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points on 33 games. Over the last 2 games he has registered 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist). For the 19th straight season Schneider has reached the 10+ point mark.


Phoenix center Olli Jokinen netted the Coyotes' 3rd goal as they edged the host Calgary Flames 4-3. Jokinen has 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points on 40 games. Assisting on the Flames' 1st goal was d-man Adrian Aucoin. He has 6 goals and 12 assists for 18 points on 44 games. Aucoin has assists in consecutive games and has recorded 4 helpers over the last 4 outings.



Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood looked unsteady as the San Jose Sharks downed the visiting Red Wings in a shoot-a-thon 6-5. Ozzie stopped 35 of 41 shots in surrendering all 6 goals. It was the 5th time this season that Osgood has let in 5 or more goals. The loss dropped him to 15-3-5 on the season while dropping his save percentage to .883 and bloating his goals against average to 3.23.


Check back soon for more updates.

Friday January 16

There were a half dozen games on the NHL tap Friday night. Former Islanders are revving up the contributions and tipped in their help in 4 of those tilts. Here is a look at the FI workload:

New Jersey backup goaltender Kevin Weekes outplayed one of the best goalies in the game to lead the Devils to a 2-1 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Weekes stopped 26 of 27 shots faced versus the 26 of 28 stopped by rookie goaltending phenom Steve Mason. The win was Weekes' 2nd in a row, the second straight in which he has surrendered only 1 goal. The victory lifted him to 4-4-0 on the season with a .914 save percentage and a 2.58 goals against average. The back-to-back wins were a first for Weekes since December 10-12, 2006 while still a member of the New York Rangers.

Atlanta defenseman Mathieu Schneider has received a lot of flak recently for his lack of production. He did something to fix that as the Thrashers edged the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in OT for a home win. Schneids assisted on the Thrashers' 2nd goal as they came back from a 3-0 deficit to pull off the win. The helper snapped a 10 game point-less streak and a 15 game assist-less stretch. He now has 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points on 32 games.

Florida d-man Bryan McCabe netted a powerplay goal, the Panthers' first of the game, as they fell to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in the SO. McCabe now has 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points on 35 games. Five of his 8 goals have goals have come with the man advantage. For the 13th consecutive year in his 13 year career McCabe has reached the 20+ point mark.


Edmonton d-man Denis Grebeshkov was credited with the primary assist on the game winning goal as the Oilers edged the host Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Greb now has 3 goals and 17 assists for 20 points on 41 games. He has had assists in 3 straight contests and has reached the 20 point mark for the first time in his young career. Grebeshkov is currently 4th among Edmonton defensemen in all major offensive categories.


Check back soon for more updates, recaps and highlights at FIW.

Thursday January 15

There were 20 teams scrambling for points in 10 games around the NHL on Thursday night. Former Islanders tipped in their help in 6 of those contests. Here is a look:

It was a record night for Toronto winger Jason Blake who tallied a hat trick and added 2 assists for his first 5 point night. The Maple Leafs survived a collapse from 4-0 to eke out a 6-4 victory over the host Carolina Hurricanes. Blake had a powerplay helper on the opening goal, netted the Leafs 2nd and 4th goals, had another powerplay assist on the winning goal and capped teh scoring with the empty netter with 11 seconds remaining. All-in-all it was the most impressive outing of Blake's career and marked his first hat trick since February 27, 2007 while still with the Isles which also happened to be his last 4 point night, his previous best. The hat trick was the 6th of Blakey's career. He now has 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points on 40 games and is only 2 goals behind his shockingly low output of 15 from last season.

Edmonton defenseman Denis Grebeshkov assist on his team's lone goal as the Oilers were smacked down by the host Minnesota Wild 5-1. Greb has 2 assists over the last 2 games and 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) on the last 4. He has set a new single season high in assists with 16 and added to his 3 goals means he has a new single season high in points with 19, all in 40 games.



Colorado winger Ryan Smyth kept up his current point scoring streak recording the primary assist on the Avalanche's 2nd goal as they fell to the host St. Louis Blues 5-2. Smyth has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points over the last 5 games. Add that to the 2 goals and 5 assists he recorded in late December and Smyth is flying with 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in only his last 11 games. On the season Smyth has 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points on 44 contests.

Mark Parrish was stuffed on his attempt in the 6th and final round of the SO as the Dallas Stars were edged by the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-4. The Sabres scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to the Stars' one to overcome a 3-1 deficit after 40 minutes. The Sabres' Tim Connolly also was stopped on his attempt in the 3rd round. A successfully shot by TimCo would have won the game for the Sabres but alas the matchup extended 3 more frames before Jason Pominville pounced on Parrish' miss to notch the winner.

Roberto Luongo is back baby! And he lost. The Vancouver goaltender played in his first game since November 22, 2008 after straining his groin. He played only 5 minutes of that game before missing the next month and a half in recovery. Luongo did not get of the gate the way he expected stopping only 28 of 32 shots as the Canucks fell to the visiting Phoenix Coyotes 4-1. Luongo is now 11-6-2 on the season with a .925 save percentage and a 2.27 goals against average.

Calgary d-man Adrian Aucoin had an assist on the Flames' 1st goal as they edged the host San Jose Sharks 3-2. The regulation loss was the Sharks' first at home this season. Aucoin has 3 assists over the last 3 games and has racked up 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points on 43 games. Despite grumblings from Flames' fans about ditching Aucoin, he is currently 2nd on the team in defensive points and actually has 2 more goals than leader Dion Phaneuf. He averages about 25 minutes a night, too! An he is 35!

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