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Nabokov calls Isles’ win ‘a statement game’

evgeninabokovgetty

The eighth seed New York Islanders came into the 2013 playoffs as an underdog, yet they also made a lot of noise late in the season as one of the East’s hottest finishing teams. If the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t take them seriously before, they should have after the Isles erased a 3-1 deficit to win Game 2 4-3 on Friday.

After some rough times, Evgeni Nabokov kept the Penguins off the scoreboard after they scored their third goal five minutes in* to the second period. The 37-year-old goalie believes this victory provides evidence that the Islanders should be taken seriously.

“It’s huge,” Nabokov said. “For us being in the playoffs & losing the 1st game the way we did, this game was a little bit of a statement game.”

The veteran netminder stopped 30 out of 33 shots.

Head coach Jack Capuano raved about his team’s overall effort.

“You saw a different team than you saw in Game 1,” Capuano said. “Our work ethic, physicality and battle level was there tonight. Everyone contributed.”

* - Technically 4:58.