Tuesday May 5 and Wednesday May 6

We are way behind on the times here at Former Islander Watch. We will try to catch up by doubling the days. Here is a look at Tuesday May 5 and Wednesday May 6. FIs were involved in both games on Tuesday and 1 of the 2 games on Wednesday. Here is a peek:

Tuesday

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo stopped 23 of 24 shots as the Canucks downed the host Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 to take a 2-1 series lead. Lu has been an impressive 6-1 in his first 7 games in the playoffs surrendering only 14 goals in that span.





Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood looked good but the offense failed him as the Red Wings fell 2-1 to the host Anaheim Ducks. With the victory the Ducks grabbed a 2-1 series lead. Ozzie stopped 21 of 23 shots faced but lost for the 2nd straight games as Anaheim is stunning the defending champions in a lackluster offensive performance all around. After winning 5 straight to start the playoffs Osgood is now 5-2 with only 13 goals finding their way past him.

Wednesday

Pittsburgh winger Ruslan Fedotenko scored his team's first goal as the Penguins pulled out a 3-2 OT win over the visiting Washington Capitals. The win cut the Caps' series lead to 2-1. Fedo now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the first 9 games of the playoffs. A Stanley Cup ring wearer, Fedotenko can be an immense help to his teams. When Fedo has notched a point in this playoff the Pens have a 2-1 record.

Check back soon with FIW for more updates and recaps.

Monday May 4

Oh, it was a classic in Washington as the Capitals edged the Penguins 4-3 and the two top superstars, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, each netted their first career playoff hat tricks. Add to that the fact that 2 Former Islanders helped out and right there you have a beautiful picture. Here is a look at the contest:

With the victory the Caps now lead Pittsburgh 2-0 as the squads head to Steel City for Game 3. Washington center Viktor Kozlov assisted on Ovie's 1st and 3rd goals, the final one the game winner, to help support the winger. With 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) over the last 4 games Koz now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) on 9 games this postseason. Pittsburgh winger Bill Guerin assisted on Crosby's 2nd goal midway through the 2nd Period. Guerin has one assist in each of the last 3 games and now has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) on 8 games. The last time Billy G had points in 3 or more consecutive postseason games was between April 18-25, 2002 when he had 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 4 games while with the Boston Bruins as they faced off against the Montreal Canadiens.

Check in soon with FIW for more updates and highlights.

Sunday May 3

There were 2 more games on Sunday as the playoffs chug along. With every second round series now started it is now time for the meat of the competition. There was only 1 Former Islander happening of note. Here is a look:

Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood's win streak came to end over 101 minutes into the game as the Anaheim Ducks edged the host Red Wings in 3OT 4-3 to even their series at 1-1. Ozzie stopped 42 of 46 shots including 16 of the 17 he faced in the 3 overtimes but it was the one off of the stick of Todd Marchant only 1:15 into OT #3 that got past him. Ozzie never even saw the puck. He is now 5-1 on the playoffs with a 1.95 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. This is definitely a different Osgood than the one who struggled with consistency throughout the regular season. This is Playoff Osgood-Man.

Check back with us soon for more updates at FIW.

p.s. Paging Zdeno Chara. Looking for Zdeno Chara.

Saturday May 2

There were a pair of games on Saturday and a pair of Former Islander happenings. Lovely how that works. Here is a look at the (mis)deeds of the FIs:

Pittsburgh winger Bill Guerin assisted on his team's first goal only 4:09 into play as the Penguins were edged by the host Washington Capitals 3-2. The Caps quickly grabbed a 1-0 series lead with the victory. Billy G has had assists in back-to-back games after going scoreless in his last 3 games and now has 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points on 7 contests.



Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo got torn up for 5 goals on 31 shots as the Chicago Blackhawks crushed the host Canucks 6-3 to even the series at a win apiece. Lu had his worst performance in exactly a month previously surrendering 5 goals in a game on April 2. Due to the performance Lu's numbers fell off a little bit with his goals against average rising to 2.06 and his save percentage dropping to .933.

Check in soon for more recaps and playoff antics at FIW.

Friday May 1

There were 2 games on tap on Friday night as the second round series continue to kickoff. There was 1 Former Islander accomplishment of note. Let us take a look:

Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood stopped 22 of 24 shots faced to improve to 5-0 on the postseason as the Red Wings edged the visiting Anaheim Ducks 3-2. The Wings grabbed a quick 1-0 series lead with the victory. Detroit walked away with this one having scored with only 50 seconds remaining in regulation in what was a tight tilt. Over those 5 games Ozzie has let in only 9 goals for a 1.80 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. In other news, Osgood received the secondary assist on Detroit's first goal, a powerplay tally. The helper was the 4th of Osgood's playoff career coming in his 110th postseason game. During the regular season Ozzie averages one assist per every 39.44 games but in the playoffs that number drops to one helper per every 27.50 games.

Check in soon for more playoff highlights at FIW.

Thursday April 30

The second round of the 2009 NHL playoffs kicked off with a battle between the well-rested Canucks and the spry Blackhawks. Here is a look at the Former Islander effort in that game:

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo stopped 28 of 31 shots to improve to 5-0 on the playoffs as the host Canucks overcame a 3 goal collapse to pull off a 5-3 win. Vancouver now leads Chicago 1-0 in their series. The 3 goals were the most Lu has surrendered so far this postseason. The goalie has managed to surrender only 8 goals over this 5 game span. To go along with the 5 straight playoff wins Luongo has won 8 overall dating back to April 7 of the regular season.

Check back soon for more updates and recaps at FIW.

FI News: Zednik and Odjick(!)

Well Thursday brought a pair of interesting Former Islander stories including 3 terms you thought you would never read in the same article: Vatican City, sorrow and Gino Odjick. Let us take a look:

It has been reported that Florida Panthers' winger Richard Zednik has signed a 2 year deal with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League on the same day he was nominated for the Bill Masterson Trophy for the most perseverence of any NHL player in 2008-09. The 12 year veteran just wrapped up his comeback season in which he netted 17 goals and added 16 assists for 33 points on 70 games. Midway through the 2007-08 campaign Zed nearly lost his life after taking a skate blade to his neck in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. Zed's return, and 70 games, was a literally triumph for a player whose life was on the brink. If Zednik really leaves for Russia he ends his NHL career with 745 games played, 200 goals scored and 179 assists for 379 points. In his mini-stint with the Isles at the end of the 2006-07 season Zed scored 1 goal and 2 assists in 10 games and managed 0 points in 5 playoff games. We wish Richard the best in Russian.

If you want those 3 terms from the header to make sense read this story about Algonquin chief and former NHL tough guy Gino Odjick joining his fellow tribal leaders on a trip to the Vatican City where those Canadian Indians received a semi-apology from the Pope about the poor living conditions and awful treatment in the now defunct residential schools. Odjick, a 605 game veteran, retired following 2001-02 season after spending most of his career with the Vancouver Canucks. Odjick played parts of 3 seasons with the Isles racking up 82 games, 9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points and 254 penalty minutes.

Check back soon for more with FIW as the 2nd Round of the playoffs kicks off on Thursday night.