No one is ready to anoint Joey MacDonald as the Islanders’ goalie of the future, but he is making the team miss the oft-injured Rick DiPietro as little as possible.
Last night, MacDonald was excellent again, as the Islanders won their third straight for the first time this season, a 2-1 shootout victory over the Canucks and Roberto Luongo at Nassau Coliseum.
MacDonald was perfect in the shootout, sealing the win by poke checking Alex Burrows’ final attempt during the shootout, after Frans Nielsen scored on the Isles’ first chance.
“You don’t want to give up too many against a guy like that,” MacDonald said of Luongo, a former Islander. “You have to raise your game against him. There’s not too many flaws in his game. If he sees it he’s going to stop it.”
But Nielsen found a way, scoring on a nifty backhander for the game-winner. Josh Bailey and Trent Hunter failed to convert their chances. Coach Scott Gordon said Kyle Okposo would have had an opportunity during the shootout, but got “banged up” in the third. He is day-to-day.
“I had Bill [Guerin] and Doug [Weight] out there last time and wanted to see a couple of other guys,” Gordon said.
It worked, even though the Isles didn’t look like they’d get that far early on, when Pavol Demitra gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead 49 seconds into the match by blasting a one-timer by MacDonald.
“We battled back against Ottawa when that happened and we found a way again,” MacDonald said.
Weight scored on a power play 14:35 into the second to tie the game.
“One thing that has been consistent is that we’ve had to come from behind,” Scott Gordon said.
And MacDonald allowed them to do that, stopping 31 shots before the shootout.
“Sometimes you just need timely saves, with the game on the line,” Gordon said. “That’s what you want a goalie to do.”
He’s been apt at doing that lately and the Islanders have reaped the benefits, going 5-2-1 in their last eight as they slowly climb their way up the standings.
“We’ve got a streak now,” Nielsen said. “For the first time this year.”
Islanders 2 Canucks 1