Isles Lose Goalie and The Game
Jan 14th, 2009 | By Brian Bohl | Category: New York Islanders, Today's News
Danis played well, but it just wasn't enough. (Brian Bohl/NYSD)
UNIONDALE, NY- A groin injury forced an Islanders goaltender off the ice and into the trainers’ room.
Rick DiPietro’s groin, knee and hip injuries have made that sentence a familiar refrain. But it was Joey MacDonald who had to exit the Nassau Coliseum ice just 5:01 into Tuesday night’s game against the Rangers with a sprained groin.
Yann Danis, who started the season third on the organization’s depth chart, entered in relief and did his best to steal one for the Isles by making 24 saves. But a turnover and an odd-man rush in the second period resulted in goals by Chris Drury and Nigel Dawes, allowing the Rangers to escape with a 2-1 victory.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 33 shots and shut down the Isles injury-depleted lineup, making a door-stop pad save on Mark Streit’s shot in a frantic sequence in the final minute. Lundqvist also made a stop on Blake Comeau’s initial attempt, allowing the Rangers to start its five-game road trip 3-0.
But Danis gave the Islanders a chance. With DiPietro scratched and likely headed backed to Injured Reserve, Danis was called up from AHL Bridgeport, making the 1 ½ hour drive from Connecticut to the Coliseum.
Nearly five minutes into the game, coach Scott Gordon needed to deploy his backup netminder and have team officials get permission from the NHL to have the club’s goaltending consultant and former Islanders netminder Mike Dunham be eligible to play in case anything happened to Danis.
“I saw him before the game and he was scraping up his crease,” Gordon said about MacDonald. “I was watching him and thought there was something wrong. We looked back after a couple of shifts and there was something there. I haven’t talked to the doctor about it [yet].”
Captain Bill Guerin joked that Danis nickname was yo-yo for his constant status as the backup on-call. The Islanders have constantly shifted the 27-year-old from Bridgeport to the big club depending on DiPietro’s recovery from knee surgery and his recent groin problem.
“I didn’t see what happened, but you have to be ready at all times,” Danis said about entering the game on short notice. “I know I can play in this league. I felt confident and felt solid the whole game.”
Danis, who last recorded an NHL victory in the 2005-06 campaign for Montreal, saw his team support him with Chris Campoli’s goal with 1:10 remaining in the opening period. Guerin slid a backhand pass to Campoli, who fired a slap shot from the left circle that blazed through traffic and beat Lundqvist stick-side for his fifth goal of the season.
Campoli couldn’t prevent the Rangers from tying it 12:31 into the second. With Richard Park’s penalty expiring, Campoli tried unsuccessfully to clear the puck from the Islanders end. Scott Gomez gloved Campoli’s attempt to go up the sideboards, carrying it in deep before leaving a dump pass for Drury between the circles. Drury fired a hard shot from between the circles, beating Danis high stick-side to the cheers of a sold-out crowd which predominantly comprised Rangers fans.
“There are a lot of playoff games like this and also down the stretch,” Drury said. “You have to be comfortable with 2-1 leads. We managed it well tonight.”
Ryan Callahan set up the Rangers go-ahead tally just 1:56 later, skating to right circle on a 3-on-1 rush near the end of a power play chance. Callahan pushed a centering pass right on a streaking Dawes’ stick blade. Danis was too late sliding over to make the save as the Isles dropped to 12-27-4 and have the NHL’s lowest point total at 28.
“They capitalized on breaks they got,” Guerin said. “It was an up-and-down game and a good game.”
The Islanders out-shot its geographical rival and looked good for stretches. But the club is 0-5 in January and was missing Doug Weight and Andy Hilbert because of injuries. Despite the reasons for distress, Campoli said the game could be seen as a positive in a few respects.
“We skated and were physical,” Campoli said. “If we do that, we can skate with any team in the league.”
Notes: Defenseman Andy Sutton had surgery and will be out 8-10 weeks. Sutton broke his foot in December…The announced attendance was 16,239… Frans Nielsen and Nate Thompson both played significant minutes after being activated from Injured Reserve. Nielsen logged 20 shifts and 15:42 of ice time, registering three shots and won three of nine faceoffs. He suffered a leg injury on Nov. 21. Thompson played 10:21 on 17 shifts with one shot and won six of 11 faceoffs.
