Hello Old Friend

I just flew in from Buenos Aires and boy are my arms tired! Landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport around 5:30am and got home before 7:00am. After unpacking I ventured out to Starbucks and the bagel store to get some breakfast. At Starbucks a gentlemen in front of me saw my Islander garb which consisted of a bright blue Islanders hoodie and matching hat. He looked at me quizzically and said "You sure are optimistic?" I responded, "I have to be, I am an Islander fan." I thought nothing of it at the time, but looking back now I should have stood up more for my team. Oh well, I will chalk it up to the fact that I did not get a lot of sleep on the airplane. I will be more ready next time.
 
When the Islanders game came on at 10:30pm I could barely keep my eyes open. The Islanders were at the Shark Tank in San Jose and Halak was in net. It was an even first period. Okposo got the Isles on the board first with a beautiful one on one toe drag of the puck for his fourth goal of the season. The Sharks tied it at one goal apiece before the period ended. At that point I was dead tired and could not stay up any longer. I made sure the DVR was recording the game and went to sleep. I resigned myself to watch the game in the morning.
 
When I woke up around 4:00am I was curious about the game. I decided to perform a "Twitter Review". That is when I scroll though my Islander Twitter feeds and fast forward through the action. It is a quick way to get a result and still feel the ups and downs of the game in a short time frame. The Islanders and Sharks played a scoreless second period. It was not until late in the third period that San Jose scored to take the lead. They went on to win 3-1. From what I read on the Twitter, Halak played a strong game. For some reason the Islanders could not generate offense for the second straight game.
 
Capuano juggled the lines a bit. He moved Nelson up to the first line and kept the Grabovski, Kulemin and Nielsen line intact. He moved Martin up with Lee and Strome on the third line. He shifted Conacher back to the forth line with Clutterbuck and Czikas. He also moved some players around during the game but it did not matter. From what I saw in the first period they seem to play well. There were chances but unfortunately no goals to show for it.

An old man passed me on the street today; I thought I knew him but I couldn't say. I stopped to think if I could place his frame. When he tipped his hat I knew his name. Hello Old Friend - Eric Clapton

However, in this case the "Old Friend" is a November losing streak. That is three loses in a row. First a disappointing loss to the Winnipeg Jets at home after having so much momentum to start the season, next was a loss to the Avalanche where the team just did not show up and then last night's loss which was a good effort with no results. Many in Islanders land are looking at their glass as three quarters empty and questioning Capuano. I do not think that is the problem. It is not easy to win on the west coast and the Islanders trip out there always seems to be at the same time each year.

I am not going to panic because there is a lot of hockey left. The boys will turn it around. I still feel there is something different to this team this year. That being said, they better start winning or Capuano's coaching seat will start to get really hot. It is pretty warm for now. As long as they finish the month at .500 or better it will be ok. The puck will start to bounce their way. The breaks will come and so will the wins. There is really no other way to look at it. I have to be optimistic. After all, I am an Islander fan.