Isles Crush Leafs on DP's Return

Isles Crush Leafs on DP's Return

by: Brian Bohl | Senior Writer - NY Sports Day | Saturday, December 27, 2008

UNIONDALE, NY — December has been anything but a festive season for the Islanders. The club entered Friday night’s contest against Toronto with a 10-game losing streak with the possibility of completing a win-less month.

But on the day after Christmas, Isles fans were finally treated to some benefits of the organization’s self-described youth movement augmented by a career milestone from the team’s veteran captain in a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs at Nassau Coliseum.

Bill Guerin scored twice, picking up his 400th career NHL goal, in helping his team win for the first time since Nov. 29. First-round picks Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey each added points and goalie Rick DiPietro made his first start since Oct. 25, earning his first victory of the season as the Isles avoided its longest losing streak in 13 years.

DiPietro, who previous appeared in just three games before undergoing an operation to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, stopped 28 of 29 shots faced. The netminder looked sharp in turning aside all nine Toronto power play shots, leaving the Maple Leafs scoreless on four chances with the man-advantage.

“I felt good,” said DiPietro, who has undergone surgeries to both knees since signing a record 15-year contract in 2006. “Anyone who knows me knows patience isn’t one of my many virtues. It took a lot of growing up and a lot of maturity for me to sit out and wait for the right time.”

Bailey, the Isles first-round draft pick last summer, was originally credited with his first career NHL goal with a shot through traffic 6:25 into the second period. The 19-year-old had to settle for the assist when a scoring change properly awarded Guerin the goal after the veteran winger tipped Bailey’s shot off the post and into the net for a 2-1 Isles lead for what proved to be the game-winner.

Guerin’s tally put him just one goal away from the milestone, and the four-time All-Star became the 79th player in league history to reach the 400-goal mark when he pushed in a rebound to build a 3-1 edge. Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala stopped Chris Campoli’s point-blank shot before Guerin buried home the rebound.

Guerin became the eighth United States-born player to reach the plateau and the third to do it as an Islander, netting his 13th goal this season 2:34 into the final period. Freddy Meyer added the insurance goal nearly six minutes later.

“I’ve been able to stick around in this league for quite some time now and had some success, and it’s a big thrill for me,” Guerin said. “Hopefully this is a win we can build off of. It’s big for us.”

The news wasn’t all good. Andy Hilbert suffered a hairline fracture in his foot. Hilbert was drilled with a shot attempt nearly 14 minutes into the second period, staying on the ice momentarily before getting up and skating slowly to the bench.

Yet DiPietro’s return got the announced crowdof 15,173 into it early, and not because of his puck-stopping skills. DiPietro sprung Okposo for his third goal. After taking the outlet pass off the bench-side boards, Okposo fired a wrist shot from the right circle that went by defenseman Jeff Finger, hit the shaft of Toskala’s stick and bounced into the net for the opening goal just 3:47 into the contest.

DiPietro set a new franchise record on the play, picking up his 14th career assists to pass Bill Smith for most career assists by a goaltender. Smith had 13 assists and a goal, leaving DiPietro one point away from setting the points record as well.

Toronto could only get one shot by DiPietro, who blocked Jaime Sifers’ initial shot from just inside the blue line before Lee Stempniak pushed home the rebound. DiPietro said the victory will hopefully propel the team to its first winning streak since Nov. 22-24, when the club posted back-to-back road wins against Buffalo and Montreal.

“This has been coming,” he said. “We’ve been working towards it each game. The forecheck has gotten better. The offensive-zone puck possession has gotten better. Our ‘D’ has gotten better.

“We’ve been taking strides to get to this point. It was a big win for us tonight and we’re hoping this will turn things around for us.”