60 SHOTS BUT NO WIN VERSUS 'CANES

In a very exciting game that ended in a penalty shot with 0.7 left on the clock, the Islanders fell to the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3. With the many positives to take out of this game, the Islanders certainly have a foundation to build on going into Monday night's game against the rival New York Rangers. However, not everything can be voiced as positive. At the post-game press conference and subsequent interviews, Coach Gordon, Captain Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and Rick DiPietro himself confirmed to deny that Ricky suffered an injury during the first period. Joey MacDonald started the 2nd period and finished out the game which is quite telling for the franchise goaltender's immediate future. What does this mean for an Islanders team that is already down several key players?

The Islanders will have to answer the call, plain and simple. With the effort put forth tonight it's hard to say that this game really resulted in a loss. By far this was the Islanders best game of the season and will provide ample motivation for going into Monday night's game. It also means that the younger players will have to step up in key roles. Jack Hillen is the most prominent of the group as he got his shot tonight Brendan Witt's stead. He will have to mature quite a bit in the coming weeks to really develop into an NHL defenseman with consistent playing qualities.

Also of note, only four penalties were taken by the Islanders in this game, a stark contrast to the games of late. This just proves that when the Islanders are playing Coach Gordon's system properly, they draw more penalties than they take and cause their opponents to afford them more opportunities via giveaways.

I'm sure the NY Metro area will be looking forward to the game on Monday. I know I can't wait.

For Questions, Comments and Bonehead Calls e-mail me at DougD84@optonline.net.