Isles Go 0-4 on Road Trip

Islanders 2: Flames 5

West Coast road trips can really be hard on players.

Not only on them, but the fans as well. I spent the past week staying up late watching as much of the games as I could before collapsing, then waking up at 5:40 the next morning to get ready for school. Last night, it finally put me under. I went to sleep at around 10:30, with the Flames holding the lead, and woke up to find they'd kept it once more. Imagine my reaction.

Three unanswered goals put the Islanders down for the count last night, as they lost at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, 5-2. A second-period rally by the Isles couldn't help them steal the two points, as Calgary proved to be too fast, too aggressive, and too good.

The scoring started at 6:55 of the first period, as Mike Cammalleri scored on a power-play all alone in front of Joey MacDonald. The first ended somewhat uneventfully- unless you count an incredible play by MacDonald shortly after the goal, in which he stopped a breakway by dashing all the way out of the crease and practically halfway down the ice to slide into the puck. Thankfully, it worked largely without a hitch, and the Isles escaped the first only down by one.

Early in the second, Rene Bourque made the score 2-0, off a pass from Daymond Langkow from the blueline and shooting through Brendan Witt's legs past MacDonald. 4:39 later, though, Mark Streit got the offense going, sending Tim Jackman into the offensive zone. Jackman shot from the boards to Miikka Kiprusoff, who saved it but couldn't hold onto the rebound, and a driving Trevor Smith put it past Kipper for his first career NHL goal. After three straight penalty kills by the Isles, Jeff Tambellini and Josh Bailey streaked down the ice on a 2-on-1, and Tambellini wristed a terrific shot for his second of the year and the tying goal. That tie didn't last long; Langkow, who'd already had two assists, put the Flames back up with a goal as well.

That closed out the scoring for the second period, and in the third, the Isles apparently could get nothing going against the tight defense and careful puck tracking of Kiprusoff. Curtis Glencross and Adam Pardy (who also scored his first career goal) padded the lead for the Flames, and Kipper made 24 saves. On the other end, MacDonald made 36 saves, but the Isles couldn't get back the brief momentum they'd gained battling back from 2-0 in the second.

Notes: Radek Martinek is back! He skated for the first time in 17 games with Freddy Meyer out (groin)... Doug Weight was still out with his groin injury, and Rick DiPietro reportedly has swelling around his surgically repaired knee and didn't dress. Danis was the backup.