The Islanders clinched an Eastern Conference playoff spot despite a 4-3 shootout loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. With the point they received by reaching overtime, coupled with a loss by the Winnipeg Jets at Washington, the Islanders secured a place in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

“We got the point, and we secured our spot,” defenseman Andrew MacDonald said, “so we couldn’t be happier.”

John Tavares scored the goal that effectively sent them to the postseason, tying it with 1:01 left in regulation.

“We got our game going, and we got contributions from everybody and started to figure out what it takes to win,” Tavares said, reflecting on the season. “And you know we’re happy to be there and give ourselves an opportunity to compete in the playoffs. A lot of us haven’t had that experience.”

Josh Bailey and Brad Boyes also scored, and Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves for the Islanders.

Riley Nash and Jeff Skinner scored in the shootout to give the Hurricanes the victory. Nash’s score came on his first career shootout attempt and only came about because coach Kirk Muller caught him showing off some moves during the morning skate.

“We just winged it, to be honest with you,” Muller said. “He had a couple good moves and, you know what, let’s see if he can do it in the game. … If I didn’t see him do it this morning, we probably wouldn’t have opted to do it.”

Carolina’s Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist, Patrick Dwyer and Alexander Semin added goals, and Dan Ellis made 36 saves before stopping Frans Nielsen and Boyes in the shootout.

Nash and Skinner beat Nabokov with wrist shots in the shootout to help the Hurricanes sweep the soon-to-be division rival Islanders and earn their first consecutive wins since March 9-12.

“We’re starting to find our identity, and that’s important going into next year,” Ellis said. “For us to come up with big games against teams that are going to be in our division next year, it was a great effort. We really started to get our work boots on, play a smarter brand of hockey and we did really well tonight and got a big win.”

In earning a point for the 11th straight game, the Islanders (8-0-3 in April) wiped out three one-goal deficits — and the last came in dramatic fashion.

“It wasn’t our best game, but we found a way to get a big one late and get the point that we needed,” Bailey said.

Tavares made it 3-3 when his shot clicked off Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk’s skate and past Ellis. The goal originally was awarded to Kyle Okposo, but a review determined that he never touched the puck. Okposo finished with two assists.

Before that, the Hurricanes thought their third victory over the Islanders was firmly in hand.

Carolina went up 3-2 with 2:15 left in the second when Dwyer snapped a loose puck past Nabokov — the third in a series of short-lived leads for the Hurricanes.

Staal and Semin also put them up briefly, only to have the Islanders respond with tying goals. Staal made it 2-1 by scoring on a redirection with 3:40 left in the first, and Semin scored the first goal off a pretty give-and-go-feed from Eric Staal.

But Bailey and Boyes each erased those deficits. Bailey’s goal came on a rebound and made it 2-2 at 7:34 of the second. Boyes forged the first tie at 6:04 of the first when Mark Streit’s cross-ice pass clicked off his skate and past Ellis.

Game notes

New York C Keith Aucoin hit the crossbar on a breakaway about 4 1/2 minutes in. Michael Grabner struck the right post with about 3 minutes left in overtime. … Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu drilled the right post against an open net with about 12 1/2 minutes left. … Hurricanes C Jiri Tlusty, who assisted on Staal’s goal, has points in six straight games.

The post Islanders in playoffs for first time since 2007 appeared first on IdealCapper.

Tavares scored three goals and assisted on another Saturday night to lead the Islanders to a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

“I think any great player puts a lot of responsibility on (themselves) because they want to lead (their) team,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. “To me, an elite player is someone you watch night in and night out, and your coaches prepare for in your pre-scout. You’re looking at 91 (Tavares).

“I’m sure teams are doing the same thing as we do with (Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven) Stamkos and some of the other players in the league.”

Matt Moulson had a goal and three assists, Michael Grabner scored with 35 seconds left, and Evgeni Nabokov made 30 saves for the Islanders, who beat the Rangers 4-3 in a shootout Thursday night.

“Just two games. Don’t want to blow it out of proportion,” Josh Bailey said. “Want to keep it rolling.”

Tavares, who notched his fourth career hat trick, has 20 points in 14 games. Moulson finished with four points, and Brad Boyes had two assists. Tavares is tied with Buffalo Sabres left wing Thomas Vanek and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal for the league lead with 11 goals.

“I think ever since I was a kid, my main attribute (has been to) be a goal scorer,” Tavares said. “Not that I go out there and think about leading the league in goals, but when I get my opportunities, I want to contribute. And I know offensively, that’s where I contribute the most. Just trying to, when I get my chances, put the puck in.”

The Devils’ lone goal was Marek Zidlicky’s power-play slap shot 8:47 into the third. Johan Hedberg made 28 saves for New Jersey, which has lost two of its last three.

“What, first place (in the Eastern Conference)?” New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer said sarcastically when he was asked if he was worried about the losses. “No one likes to lose, but you’re going to lose some games. There (are) no easy stretches this season and we’re going to bounce back Monday afternoon (at home against the Ottawa Senators).”

Tavares’ tap-in of Boyes’ rebound opened the scoring 16:46 into the second. Hedberg couldn’t control Boyes’ wrister and Tavares slammed the loose puck into the half-empty net.

Tavares doubled the lead to 2-0 1:23 later with his second of the game and 10th of the season. With New York on a power play, Tavares and Moulson played give-and-go, and the sequence ended with Tavares jamming a loose puck under Hedberg.

Moulson pushed the Islanders’ advantage to 3-0 57 seconds later with his seventh of the season. Tavares finished off his hat trick by zipping a power-play laser over Hedberg with 5:15 left in regulation.

It was a tightly contested goaltending showdown early. Hedberg robbed Boyes 1:06 into the game with a diving snare of an off-wing wrister. He also benefited from a bit of good fortune as Ullstrom’s backhand penalty shot attempt with 3:15 left in the first hit the crossbar.

“Heddy (played) an unbelievable game,” Devils captain Bryce Salvador said. “He comes out and does what he does. He gave us a chance to win. He made some big saves and we just kind of let down in front of him.”

Nabokov was every bit Hedberg’s counterpart’s equal. His most difficult save was a doorstep stuff attempt off the stick of Ryan Carter in the first period.

“I thought we had some breakdowns in the first period (and) he was there to close the door,” Capuano said of Nabakov. “He played extremely well. I don’t know a lot about that position, but I know he was aggressive tonight and his angles were good. He was square to the puck.”

New York went 3 for 6 on the power play, while New Jersey was 1 for 4 on the man advantage.

“Bottom line, our (penalty kill) wasn’t good enough. That’s the difference in the game,” Salvador said. “Our PK wasn’t sharp. Usually, PKs are our strength. They got a couple big power-play goals, bottom line. If our PK does the job, it’s a different game. The Islanders thrive on the special teams and our PK just wasn’t up to it tonight.

“In a game like tonight, our PK has to come out and do the job and we didn’t get it done.”

Game notes

The announced attendance was 15,488. … The teams have split the first four games of the regular-season series. They will meet once more this season, at the Prudential Center on April 1. … Tavares’ first goal ended Hedberg’s shutout streak against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum this season at 96:46. … New Jersey scratched Mark Fayne, Peter Harrold and Stefan Matteau. Eric Boulton, Thomas Hickey and Marty Reasoner were New York’s scratches.

The post John Tavares keys Isles’ rout of Devils with hat trick appeared first on IdealCapper.

Matt Moulson scored a goal and assisted on another, Evgeni Nabokov stopped 37 shots, and the Islanders dominated listless Pittsburgh 4-1 on Tuesday night.

John Tavares scored for the second straight game for New York while Michael Grabner collected his fourth goal of the season and Casey Cizikas found the net for the first time in his career.

“I don’t consider any win easy but we came out and played the game we wanted to play, and I think we didn’t make the game easy for them,” Tavares said.

The Islanders have won three straight against the Penguins dating back to last season, their longest winning streak in the series in more than five years.

Two of those victories have come on the road, something New York hadn’t done in Pittsburgh since 2002.

While the Islanders aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves just six games into the season, the way they dominated a team considered a Stanley Cup favorite is a welcome confidence boost following a late collapse in a loss to Winnipeg on Sunday.

“I’m sure nobody gave us much of a chance against a really good hockey team, but you know what I thought systematically we were a little more structured, over the last game for sure,” coach Jack Capuano said. “We were a little more sound in a lot of areas tonight.”

Pascal Dupuis scored with just more than a minute remaining to avoid the shutout but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Penguins from losing for the third time in their past four games.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 13 shots before being pulled after the second period. Fleury and backup Tomas Vokoun received little help from Pittsburgh’s defense. The Penguins gave it away 11 times, with two of the turnovers leading to New York goals.

“I’m not sure if we’re pressing early, and then it doesn’t happen and you get away from things,” Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby said. “As you see tonight, we get a couple bad bounces, ended up down early and seems like we let that frustration kind of get to us.”

The Penguins had scored first in each of their five games this season, but Cizikas gave the Islanders a well-earned early lead by stealing the puck from Paul Martin deep in Pittsburgh’s zone, then swooping behind the net and wrapping it around an outstretched Fleury.

The goal served as an exclamation point on a period the Islanders dominated in a place where they rarely win. New York went in a loser in 13 of its previous 14 visits to Pittsburgh, the victory a 5-3 triumph last March that derailed any hopes the Penguins had of catching the New York Rangers for the Atlantic Division title.

Pittsburgh expects to be in the mix again during this truncated 48-game season but has hit an early rough patch that left the largest crowd in the brief history of Consol Energy Center voicing its displeasure following another disjointed effort.

The Penguins were drummed 5-2 by Toronto in the home opener last Wednesday and appeared no sharper six days later against another young, quick team that flustered Pittsburgh with its forechecking.

“We want to be a team that plays with pace and (is) tough to play against, and make teams come out of their own end and play a full 200-foot game,” Tavares said. “When we’re skating and getting on the forecheck, that’s when we’re most successful and that’s what we’ve been doing, and I think that was evident tonight.”

Not that the Penguins needed any help giving it away.

The Islanders went up 2-0 at 6:46 of the second period when Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Engelland misplayed a New York clearing attempt at the blue line.

The puck bounced off Engelland’s stick and the speedy Grabner pounced, beating two Penguins up the ice, then flicking a wrist shot that deflected off Fleury’s glove and into the net.

The goal seemed to briefly energize Pittsburgh, which spent the next five minutes buzzing Nabokov. All the pressure failed to produce a goal, and a pair of power-play tallies by the Islanders late in the period put New York firmly in control.

Tavares wristed a pretty cross-ice pass from Moulson by Fleury to make it 3-0, and Moulson scored less than two minutes later, collecting a long shot off the end boards and stuffing it by a foundering Fleury.

The goaltender actually fell on his rear after the initial shot and failed to get up before Moulson stuffed it by him, a fitting ending to a maddening night.

Nabokov had no such problems. He improved to 10-2 lifetime against Pittsburgh, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, including a fruitless 5 minutes spanning the second and third periods after New York’s Colin McDonald was hit with a boarding penalty and a game misconduct for his hit on Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy.

“We definitely deflated ourselves with the power play,” Pittsburgh’s James Neal said. “But we’ve just got to have a better effort all over the ice, 5-on-5 and we just didn’t have it tonight.”

Game notes

Islanders F Jesse Joensuu is out five to seven weeks after having sports hernia surgery. Joensuu sustained the injury while playing in Europe during the NHL lockout … Pittsburgh D Matt Niskanen is day to day with a right foot injury … The Penguins announced earlier Tuesday that Consol Energy Center will host the second USA Hockey All-American Prospects game Sept. 26, 2013. … The Islanders play at New Jersey on Thursday while the Penguins play in New York against the Rangers.

The post Islanders send Penguins to third loss in four games appeared first on IdealCapper.

New York Islanders vs. Winnipeg Jets
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 27, 2013
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New York), TSN (Winnipeg)
Prediction: Islanders 3, Jets 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Jets listed as 142-moneyline favorites versus the Islanders, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

Although former franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro fared well in his season debut versus the Bruins, New York will likely turn to Evgeni Nabokov on Sunday. The veteran Russian netminder has dominated the Jets’ franchise, posting a 7-1-2 career mark with a 1.87 goals-against average. Keith Aucoin has three goals in his last two games to match Michael Grabner for the team lead.

In their last action, New York was a 4-2 loser on the road against the Bruins. Bettors on Boston at -190 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (6) sent OVER bettors home happy as well.

Team record: 2-1-1 SU, ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 6 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 11 of last 15 games
When playing on Sunday are 8-2
Before playing NY Rangers are 1-9
After playing Pittsburgh are 5-5
After a win are 3-7

Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien netted his second power-play goal this season in Friday’s victory. Winnipeg’s play with the man advantage has come alive after a 1-for-10 start to the season. The Jets have converted three of their seven opportunities on the power play during their modest win streak. Byfuglien’s five points are matched for the team lead with defenseman Tobias Enstrom, who has recorded four of his five assists in the last two games.

In their last action, Winnipeg was a 4-2 winner at home against the Penguins. Bettors on Winnipeg at +120 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (6) sent OVER bettors home happy as well.

Team record: 2-2-0 SU, ATS
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 6 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 6 games when playing on the road against Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Islanders last 5 games on the road
When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing New Jersey are 3-7
After playing Boston are 2-8
After a loss are 4-6

The post New York Islanders vs. Winnipeg Jets Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.