Monday October 13

To counter the unlucky effects of the #13 the NHL decided to schedule the very lucky #7 as in 7 games were on the schedule on Monday. And while the Isles were surrending 7 goals to the Buffalo Sabres while getting a lone goal from #7 himself, Trent Hunter, the rest of the league was abuzz with excitement. Yet again, Former Islanders were there to make impacts and inroads in the icy fray. FIs took major roles in 3 of those competitions. Here is a look at their efforts:

Toronto winger Jason Blake recorded his first assist of the season as the Maple Leafs fell to the visiting St. Louis Blues 5-4 in SO. It was a wild one up north as the Leafs built a 3-0 lead, blew it, took a 4-3 lead, blew it and eventual lost in the SO frame. Blake is locked in a 5 way tie for Toronto points lead with 2 (1 goal, 1 assist) on only 3 games.



The Hammer, Montreal defenseman Roman Hamrlik, had another good night as the Canadiens eased past the host Philadelphia Flyers for a 5-3 win. Hamrlik netted Montreal's 2nd goal and then added an assist on the game winer midway through the final period. Hamrlik has had 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) over the last 2 games and is currently playing at a point per game pace. For the last time Hamrlik has had goals in consecutive games you would have to go way back, before the lockout, to April 12-14, 2002 while he was still playing with the Isles!

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo did not have such a good night. The goalie played only 2 periods surrendering 5 goals on 25 shots as the Washington Capitals thumped the visiting Canucks 5-1. The shot differential was ridiculous (35 for the Caps, 10 for the Canucks) and the whole game looked like one giant Washington attack. Luongo's record fell to 2-1-0 on the season while his goals against average bloated to 3.29 and his save percentage dropped precipitously to .886. Yet, the season is early and time is there to resurrect those numbers. Also of note, Washington forward Viktor Kozlov left the game early with an undisclosed injury. He is currently listed as day-to-day. With the NHL's non-dislosure policy on injuries we cannot be certain the extent but we wish Viktor a speedy recovery. Update: It appears Kozzer has some kind of leg injury.

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