Calgary Flames defeat New York Islanders 3 to 2
The Calgary Flames were up against the New York Islanders on Wednesday and handed them a definitive defeat. The Flames won with 3 goals against the Islanders’ 2. The Calgary Flames have so far been undefeated in the preseason after
5 games.
The Islanders put a split squad on the ice against the Flames, playing against the Philadelphia Flyers at the same time. The Islanders lost both of Wednesday’s games. They managed just one goal against the Flyers while Philadelphia
scored three times.
The Flames started off slow on Wednesday. The first period didn’t see any goals from either side. The Flames put goaltender Miika Kiprusoff on the ice against Islanders Rick DiPietro on the net. The first penalty came on Calgary’s
side within minutes of the first period. It was the Flames’ right winger David Moss who incurred the penalty. The Islanders though were not able to capitalize on the opportunity as the Flames successfully killed the penalty.
The most appealing opportunity opened up for the Flames when Rob Shremp was penalized for high sticking. Six minutes remained in play at that point. A minute later the Islanders lost Trent Hunter to the Penalty Box and the Flames
had a 5 on 3 advantage for less than a minute. In the final moments of the power play Calgary’s left winger, Niklas Hagman, took a shot at the goal that defeated all of the Islanders defences but the puck struck the post and the goal was prevented. The remainder
of the quarter didn’t see any score from either side. The flames took 6 shots on goal while the Islanders went for 5.
The second period more than made up for the lack of action of the first. Four goals in total were scored in this period, three for Calgary and one for the Islanders. First goal for the period and the game came within the third
minute of the quarter. Adam Pardy took the shot which Stefan Meyer deflected into the net to bring the score to 1 – 0 for the Flames.
While the Islanders were still reeling from the shock of the first goal, the Flames were at it again. Flames defenseman Mark Giordano found an open Curtis Glencross and passed the puck to him. Glencross didn’t waste the opportunity
and put the puck in the net while the New York Goaltender tried the save the puck.
The next goal must have been particularly disappointing for Rick DiPietro and the Islanders. The Islanders were able to hold off the Flames for most of the remainder of the period until the 14th
minute. Rick tried to get rid of the puck on rebound when it hit Right Winger Ales Kotalik in front of the goalie. The puck then found its way into the net. The Islanders were down by three points but would get back in the game soon after.
Following a holding penalty the Islanders got their power play breakthrough. Shortly after the Kotalik goal, Rob Shremp hit the puck hard and watched it rebound into the stick of Calvin De Hann. Calvin had the goal in his sights
and put the puck past Kiprusoff’s stick side into the net. The Islanders finally had points on the board as the second period neared the end.
Third period began with a goalie change for both teams. Islanders replaced DiPietro with Mikko Koskinen while the Flames brought in Leland Irving to relieve Mikka Kiprusoff. Only one goal would be scored in this period. That one
lone goal came in the 3rd minute. Zenon Konopka’s shot found Trevor Gillies’ stick. Gillies beat Leland Irving and put the puck into the net to score the second goal for the Islanders.
Both sides fought hard in the 3rd but neither could score again. The Islander increased the pressure on the Flames. They even pulled out their goalie for another attacker. It was all or nothing for the Islanders at this
point as they looked for the equalizer. However Irving and the defensemen by his side wouldn’t give in. The Period ended with 3 – 2 for the flames.
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