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16 Days New York Islanders Islanders coach Jack Capuano expects more from John Tavares' supporting cast in Game 2. Tavares was held without a shot for the first time all year in Game 1 of the series as the Penguins, predictably, focused on shutting him down. "I don't think it's a surprise to John that they were hard on the puck and he didn't get many chances," Capuano said. "We always talk about playing as a unit of five. You can talk about John and how they played him, but the surrounding support from our club needs to be better for John to be better." Tavares should get his chances in Game 2, now that his first-playoff game jitters are out of the way. | 17 Days New York Islanders John Tavares was held without a shot in the Islanders' 5-0 loss in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Penguins. Every player has an "off" game, but the Isles don't have the depth to get away with their best player being a nonfactor, especially against the Penguins in the most important games. Predictably, Tavares was the object of the Penguins' defense -- they limited his space and played him very physically -- and he didn't get a shot on goal for the first time all season, a span of 48 games. If Tavares is invisible, the first line will be, too. The result was Lubomir Visnovsky finishing with a team-high five shots. With the game out of hand, it became a penalty-fest: Marty Reasoner had 17 penalty minutes, while Matt Moulson, Travis Hamonic and Casey Cizikas all had 10 apiece. | NY ISLANDERS (8) v.s. PITTSBURGH (1) Must-Starts Islanders: John Tavares, Mark Streit Penguins: Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Kris Letang, Jarome Iginla, Chris Kunitz, Marc-Andre Fleury Sleepers Islanders: Matt Moulson, Lubomir Visnovsky Penguins: Brendan Morrow, Jussi Jokinen, Paul Martin read more | 19 Days New York Islanders John Tavares has grown as a leader and as a player this season and he's looking forward to playing his first playoff game Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. "I've always talked about being a very consistent player, playing at a high level consistently, and I'm still trying to find that," he said. "I'm trying to handle that on and off the ice, and I'm improving. It's part of getting older, part of being a part of this and obviously this time of year is a new experience for me. It's all another great challenge and something I'm looking forward to." Tavares had 28 goals and 47 points in 48 games during the regular season and he'll be the focal point of the Islanders' offensive attack in the playoffs as well. | 21 Days New York Islanders For the second straight season, John Tavares fell just shy of a point-per-game pace. Tavares ended up with 28 goals and 47 points in 48 games. Those are certainly remarkable numbers and he's the single biggest reason why the Islanders are in the 2013 playoffs. At this point Tavares has established himself as a star forward and he should be putting up big numbers for years to come. | 23 Days New York Islanders John Tavares scored the only goal for the Islanders Thursday as they were beaten by the Flyers by a score of 2-1. The goal was the 28th of the campaign for Isles' superstar, who remains four behind Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead. Matt Carkner picked up the only assist on the marker. | 25 Days New York Islanders John Tavares, who has enjoyed a Hart Trophy-caliber year in the NHL's truncated season, will get to play in his first playoff game next week. He scored the game-tying goal late in the third period of Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to Carolina to get the Islanders a point in the standings and clinch their first playoff berth since 2007. "It's definitely the biggest accomplishment since I've been in the league," Tavares said. "This is what you dream of as a kid, a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup, and we've got an opportunity to do that." The 22-year-old center has racked up 27 goals and 46 points in 46 games this campaign. | |
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