Newsmakers in the NHL: Islanders Are the Worst 3rd Period Team Ever

Okay, so maybe the title is a bit of an overreaction. Still, that doesn't change the fact the New York Islanders are a terrible, terrible third period hockey team, and they proved it once again on Tuesday, giving up four goals in the final 20 minutes on their way to a 5-4 loss to the Rangers.

The Islanders actually entered the third with a 2-1 lead, only to watch the Rangers beat Joey MacDonald -- starting in place of Rick Dipietro -- four times on their final 12 shots. Petr Prucha, playing for the first time in eight games, tied the game just 49 seconds into the third period, while Michal Rozsival gave the Rangers their first lead of the night two minutes later. Markus Naslund and Nigel Dawes also tallied late goals for the Rangers, while Scott Gomez tapped in a tic-tac-toe pass from Nikolai Zherdev and Brandon Dubinsky in the second period, opening the scoring for the Rangers.

Mike Sillinger, Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau and Mike Comrie scored for the Islanders.

Physical game between the crosstown rivals, resulting in a pair of fights in the first 10 minutes, and capped off with a crushing hit by Ryan Callahan on Trent Hunter early in the third. Callahan smashed the Islanders forward into the penalty box door, forcing it open, resulting in Hunter's midsection smashing off the boards. He was down for quite a while, and appeared to be in severe pain, resulting in a stretcher being brought on the ice. Hunter, however, managed to bring himself to his feet and skate off because, you know, he's a hockey player.

The Rest of the Action

...Montreal's Maxim Lapierre recorded his first career hat trick on Monday, as the Canadiens rolled to a 5-2 win in Florida. Tomas Plekanec and Alexei Kovalev also scored for Montreal, while Michael Frolik and David Booth scored for the Panthers. Craig Anderson received the start in goal for Florida, only to be be lifted early in the third period after giving up four goals on just 20 shots. Carey Price turned aside 26 of 28 shots in the win for Montreal. Also of note: the win was the 3,000th victory in Canadiens franchise history. Go Crazy, Montreal.

... On Monday, Bruce Ciskie explained the problems with the Minnesota Wild in recent weeks, and I'm guessing they didn't get fixed during their 2-1 loss in Calgary. The Flames' Eric Nystrom scored a shorthanded goal midway through the third period breaking a 1-1 tie, sending Minnesota to its 10th loss in the past 14 games. Daymond Langkow also scored for Calgary, while Stephane Veilleux tallied Minnesota's only goal. Bright spot for the Wild? The play of Josh Harding in net.

... Evgeni Nabokov stopped 28 shots for San Jose in a 3-1 win over Dallas, while Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek and Ryane Clowe provided the offense for the Sharks.

... Rough night in goal for Nashville's Pekka Rinne, as the 26-year old netminder gave up five goals on just 21 shots, as the Predators fell to Colorado, 5-1. Cody McLeod scored a pair of goals for the Avalanche in the first period, while Chris Stewart, David Jones and John-Michael Liles also scored goals in the win. Peter Budaj stopped 25 shots for Colorado to pick up the victory.

... Columbus started its six-game road trip with a 2-0 shutout win in Los Angeles on Monday, as Steve Mason turned aside 24 shots to pick up his second straight shutout in net. Kris Russell scored his second goal of the season in the second period, while Rick Nash added an empty net tally late in the third period to seal the win. Jonathan Quick continued his strong play in net for the Kings, stopping 23 of the 24 shots he faced.

Newsmakers in the NHL: Islanders Are the Worst 3rd Period Team Ever originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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