Isles' Fort Breaks Down in Final Minutes

Islanders 0: Penguins 1

If the 4-0 shutout against the Devils was perhaps the Isles' best game of the season, maybe we can consider this game to be a lesson in immense frustration.

Yann Danis did all he could to keep the Islanders competitive, but unfortunately it was one rush too many that the defense allowed. With only a minute and a half left in the game, Petr Sykora finally put the puck past him as a oair of bodies- Ruslan Fedotenko and Brendan Witt- took him off balance. It was a bittersweet ending to what had been a solid game for Danis, as pressure mounted in the third, but from sources other than the lone superstar on the ice, Evgeni Malkin.

Neither team was incredibly offensive, which made for a rather boring game until the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't tested that severely- he only made four saves in the third- while Danis stayed alert and on his game as the Isles had trouble with clearing the puck and with generating offense. They had some good chances, including a couple of two-one-ones and some nice setups, and Fleury wasn't that sharp on rebound control, but nothing was finished. They also stayed disciplined, only going to the box twice, but that didn't help either. It seemed as though both teams were focused on defense- but the difference was, the Penguins were that much better at bailing out Fleury. And so the Isles head back to face off against Toronto at the Coliseum tonight, 7 pm start.