Brian Elliott finally got the chance to to prove himself he was yearning for. The Islanders topped the Blues in a shootout at MSG.
The first period was filled with penalties, shots, hits, and giveaways. In all its chaos, the Blues struck first.
Vladimir Tarasenko backhanded a pass across the blue line to Kevin Shattenkirk, who ripped a slap shot past Thomas Greiss. The puck went post-in with 0:27 left in the first period.
But the Islanders owned the second period. It seemed as if the Blues were down a player for 20 minutes. Luckily, they couldn’t register.
There was a great amount of hits heading into the third: 35 for the Blues and 15 for the Islanders. Although the Islanders lead the league with hits, the Blues showed they’re just as physical. The shots, however, were average (18 for St. Louis and 15 for New York).
Although there were’t many scoring chances, there were 21 giveaways between the two teams (Blues-11, Islanders- 10).
The Blues were 7-0-0 when entering the third period winning.
Momentum transferred to the Islanders when rookie defenseman Colton Parayko was injured. He fell backwards and crunched what appeared to be his right foot. Parayko was escorted off the ice.
A slick give-and-go play with Ryan Strome put Mikhail Grabovski behind the Blues’ defense. Grabovski shot it and knocked his own rebound past Elliott. His goal tied it 1-1 with about 13 minutes left in regulation.
Shortly after Grabovski’s goal, Parayko returned to the ice.
The Blues and Islanders were tied after regulation for the second time this season. In their last meet-up, the Islanders took the second point. 3-on-3 overtime is extremely eventful, as most of us have already discovered.
Neither team scored in the hectic five minutes of golden goal.
The shootout only took two rounds:
1st Round
– Frans Nielsen beat Elliot (Elliott didn’t even see it)
– Shattenkirk missed on a five hole attempt
2nd Round
– Kyle Okposo scored (Elliott didn’t even see it)
– Vladimir Tarasenko missed
The Blues play the Maple Leafs at the Scottrade Center Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Photo: islanders.nhl.com
