Sunday April 29

On Sunday two games were battle, both with close finishes. In both Former Islanders played major roles. Let us take a look:

• With the host New York Rangers facing the possibility of a 3 win deficit against the Buffalo Sabres the Blueshirts pulled out a 2-1 double OT win. But for FIs the story was the first goal of the game 33 seconds into the 2nd period when Martin Straka fed Jaromir Jagr for a goal as a Buffalo penalty expired. The point was Straka's fourth in as many games as he is on a 4 game scoring streak. In his 7 games thusfar this postseason Straka has 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points.
• Tim Connolly provided a little powerplay help with an assist on the Sabres' lone goal. In 8 postseason games Connolly has 5 points, all assists. Three of those assists have come with the man advantage. The point was his second in as many games.
• The Anaheim Ducks do not want to lose to the offensively impotent Vancouver Canucks and they made that point clear, barely, on Sunday with a 3-2 road win to grab a 2 games to 1 series lead. Since Anaheim has no FIs we turn to Vancouver for some stories. Taylor Pyatt assisted on the Canucks' second goal of the night which evened the score for about 13 minutes. Pyatt is having a respectable postseason managing 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 10 games currently tying him for team lead with fellow FI Trevor Linden.
• Roberto Luongo dropped back to .500 with the loss evening his playoff record at 5-5 despite managing a 1.70 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. On Sunday, he stopped 21 of 24 shots but it was the continued scoring ineptitude of his teammates that let him down yet again.

Two more games are on tap for Monday night. Come back soon for all your playoff highlights on FIW.

Saturday April 28

Both Saturday games ended with their respective series being even. Former Islanders were only privy to game defining action in one of those games. In the other, the New Jersey Devils upended the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime to even things out at 1 win a piece. Here is a look at the other game:

• Todd Bertuzzi assisted on the Redwings' first goal of the game in Detroit's 3-2 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks. The win knotted the series up at 1 game each. In 6 games this postseason Bertuzzi has 4 points on a goal and 3 assists.

On Sunday the other two series face off for their respective Game 3s. Stay tuned to Former Islander Watch for all the playoff and FI action.

Friday April 27

Both games on Friday night were eventful for Former Islanders. Let us a take a look:

• Martin Straka opened the scoring in the New York Rangers' 3-2 road loss against the Buffalo Sabres. The powerplay tally, at 10:08 of the first period, was Straka's first goal of the playoffs and 5th point in 6 games. The score ended a 9 game postseason goalless dating to May 22, 2001 when his then Pittsburgh Penguins fell in 5 games to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Tim Connolly was credited with a powerplay assist on Buffalo's first goal. The assist was his fourth of the playoffs in 7 games but only his second on the man advantage. With the win the Sabres grabbed a 2-0 series lead.
• Roberto Luongo bounced back from his poor outing in Game 1 to steer his team to a 2-1 double overtime thriller in Anaheim. The Vancouver Canucks evened the series against the Ducks at one game a piece. Luongo stopped 43 of the 44 shots thrown at him including 13 in OT to pick up his 5th win in 9 playoff games. His goals against average is an impressive 1.58 while his save percentage is an spectacular .946. If Vancouver hopes to upset Anaheim it is on his shoulders to get them there.
• Trevor Linden was, yet again, involved in a game winning play for Vancouver. He assisted on Jeff Cowan's goal 7:49 into the second overtime. Linden is a playoff performer and this postseason is no exception. Linden has 2 goals and 4 assists in 9 games but it is the timeliness of his play that has been most impressive. He has either scored or assisted on 4 of Vancouver's 5 game winning goals in this push towards the Cup.

In no time we will recap the Saturday night games. Thank you for clicking onto FIW and stay tuned as the playoff action keeps getting more and more intense.

Thursday April 26

Former Islanders were impossible to find on Thursday night as the other two series began. In New Jersey the Devils lost 5-4 after the Ottawa Senators busted out with 4 goals in the first 16:39. Ottawa leads the series 1-0. The San Jose Sharks pulled off the upset over Detroit Redwings at Joe Louis Arena, 2-0. San Jose's 2 goals 24 seconds apart in the first period were all they needed to grab a 1-0 series lead.

Friday recaps are coming soon.

Wednesday April 25

The first night of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs started out with loud statements from two highly favored teams. In the first game the Buffalo Sabres, at home for Game 1, trounced upon the New York Rangers 5-2 to take a 1 to nothing series lead. There was no Former Islander noteworthy performance. We will now take a look at the other game:

• Roberto Luongo was pulled late in the third period after surrendering 4 goals on 31 shots in the Anaheim Ducks' 5-1 romp over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. After a career defining season Luongo has continued to struggle going 4-4 in his first 8 decisions. He has dropped 3 of his previous 4 overall. The Ducks lead the series 1-0.

Check back soon for the Thursday night highlights.

Monday April 23: First Round Done

The opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs ended with a bang as the low scoring Dallas Stars fell to the even lower scoring Canucks, 4-1, in Vancouver on Monday night. Vancouver took the series 4 games to 3 despite scoring only 13 goals in the 7 contests. There is so much to recap in this game and series let us begin:

• Trevor Linden, playing in his 9th game 7, scored the game winner with 13 minutes remaining in the third period. The tally was his 6th game 7 winning goal tying him for 2nd all time. The goal was also his 2nd of the current playoffs. In the series, Linden's play was possibly the most crucial to Canuck success as he accounted for 2 goals, both game winners, and 3 assists for 5 points. Linden also received the primary assist on the second empty netter that capped the score at 4-1.
• Taylor Pyatt iced the game by netting one on the open goal with 1:03 remaining. The goal was Pyatt's second of the postseason. Pyatt had 2 goals and 3 assists in the series with one game winner.
• Bryan Smolinski, whose first 20 games with Vancouver were modest at best, accounted for 2 goals and 2 assists in the series. He added an empty netter with 47 second remaining to put an already out of reach contest even further away for the Stars.
• Roberto Luongo stopped 19 of 20 shots for his 4th win in the 7 games. The 20 shots were the least he faced in the entire series. His numbers were spectacular in those games. In 509 minutes of ice time (almost 8 1/2 games of real time) he stopped 228 of 240 shots. He finished with a .950 save percentage and a 1.41 goals against average. For goalies with a minimum of 4 starts in the playoffs only 1 had a lower gaa (rival Marty Turco).
• In other briefs, Former Islanders were really the star of the show in this first round matchup. FIs accounted for 6 of 13 Canucks goals and 14 of the 35 scoresheet points. They also accounted for 3 of Vancouver's 4 game winning goals. All FI points came off the sticks of 3 skaters even though Vancouver's current roster has 6 such players. Those players were the aforementioned veterans Linden, Pyatt and Smolinski.

Tuesday is an off night as second round play commences Wednesday night with 2 matchups. The Buffalo Sabres will defend their elite status against the upstart New York Rangers while the FI Canucks will take on the defensively solid Anaheim Ducks. Keep posted to FIW for all your postseason news.

Sunday April 22

In the two Sunday games we saw a replay of what the entire weekend looked like for Former Islanders, 1 assist. In the other game the New Jersey Devils wrapped up their series on the road as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. The series took a confidence-building turn for the Devils as they took control of the series after dropping 2 of their first 3. Here is a look at the other game:

• Todd Bertuzzi is alive and he assisted on the goal that tied the game with 16:53 gone in the second period of Detroit's massive 2-1 double OT win over the Flames in Calgary. The win vaulted the Redwings into the second round fresh off the heals of a 4-2 series victory. In the four games he played "Hurt"uzzi tallied a goal and 2 assists for 3 points. Only time will tell if he will continue to play a vital role in Detroit's playoff run.

Only one series is still up for grabs. On Monday Dallas will face off in Vancouver. If Vancouver can actually find the net they will pull off the series victory. If Dallas goaltending continues to dominate they will pull off the unthinkable, a recovery from a 3-1 series deficit. Until next time.