Plenty Of Life Left

It was the final game of the Nassau Coliseum Goodbye Tour against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday afternoon.  Not only did I get a guarantee of a win from the Long Island Marriott Night Manager, I also got a guarantee from Kellie.  Yesterday as we were walking around the Roosevelt Field Mall she mentioned that Michael Grabner would get back in the line-up and that the Islanders would win.  Then she said, "you can write about it in your blog and give me all the credit."  I would be more than happy to do that.  Stranger things have happened.  Let's see if it came to fruition.

The Red Wings came into the Nassau Coliseum off of a 4-0 win against Tampa Bay, so that meant that both the Islanders and Wings were playing back-to-back games over the weekend.  Detroit is third in the Atlantic division with 92 points (40-22-12) and clear of Boston and Ottawa in the play off race.  The Islanders always seem to play well against the Red Wings, but needed a strong effort to break the long losing streak at the Coliseum.

For the Islanders the line-up was the same with Jaroslav Halak in net (so Kellie was wrong on Grabner).  Jack Capuano did shuffle his lines to get some offense.  He moved Nickolay Kulemin and Ryan Strome to the top line with John Tavares, combined Josh Bailey with Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo on the second line, and had Brock Nelson center Anders Lee and Tyler Kennedy on the third line.  The NHL Greatest Hits line stayed in tact.

First order of business was a fantastic pre-game meal at Vincient's which consisted of Fried Zucchini, Chicken Parmigiana with a side of rigatoni, and some Tiramisu for dessert.  With a very full stomach we wobbled into the Nassau Coliseum about thirty minutes before puck drop.  For the first two games of this trip we had seats in the lower bowl.  However, for the Red Wings game we were in the lower part of the upper bowl in the corner.  I usually like to be close to the action, but there is something to be said about being up a bit higher.  It gives you a much better view of the entire ice surface.  As many have said, the sight lines in the Nassau Coliseum are very good and there is not a bad seat in the house.

The start of the game was not very good at all.  Right off the bat less than a minute in, Okposo failed to clear the puck which led to a Detroit scoring chance.  However, Halak misplayed the rebound and Tomas Tarter was there to clean it up for a quick 1-0 lead.  Then before the goal was announced to the crowd, Detroit was back in the New York zone and Drew Miller lifted the puck softly in the air and it bounced off Halak and into the net to make it 2-0 just two minutes into the game.  The crowd was stunned.  Seven straight home losses and a quick hole to dig out of.  The season seemed to be slowly slipping away.

The Islanders responded quickly.  After a Detroit hooking penalty, the Islanders power play (yes I said power and not powerless) got them back in the game.  Brock Nelson was able to fire one past Petr Mrazek to get the Islanders on the board.  It was a power play goal and Brock's 19th goal of the year with assists from Lubomir Visnovsky and Travis Hamonic.  At the very moment that the goal was scored there seemed to be a collective sign of relief from 16,000+ fans in the Coliseum.

But things got better less than two minutes later.  John Tavares skated into the Detroit zone and dropped a pass to Ryan Strome who had his first shot stopped by Mzarek before putting in his own rebound to tie the game at two apiece.  It was Strome's 16th goal of the year.  The Islanders could have packed it in, but instead came roaring back quickly.  It was like someone had awakened a sleeping cat.

With a renewed energy, the Islanders pushed the play a bit more and that led to another holding penalty against Detroit.. On the ensuing power play, Tavares took a slap shot that bounced off of Okposo's skate and behind Mzarek for a 3-2 lslanders lead.  Nick Leddy got the second assist.  However, before the ten minute mark, the Red Wings would tie the game at three on a goal by Niklas Kronwall.  Six goals in half a period.  At that moment it felt very much like an all-star game.   No one could stop a puck if their life depended on it.

Towards the end of the first period, Detroit committed their fourth penalty of the period, which bled over to the second stanza.  Right off of the second period face-off Frans Nielsen raced into the Detroit zone to the left of Mzarek and threw one on net.  The Detroit goalie got caught cheating as the puck slipped through his pads and the Islanders reclaimed a 4-3 lead.  It was Nielsen's 14th goal of the year from Tavares and Leddy.  It was also the Islanders third power play goal of the game.  As goals go, it was pretty soft, which prompted Mike Babcock to replace Mzarek with Jimmy Howard the rest of the way.

Just four minutes later, the Islanders took another penalty and went on the kill.  However, Cal Clutterbuck intercepted a pass and raced towards Howard.  He put on a fake with the puck sliding under Howard's pads for a short-handed goal to make it 5-3.  It was an unassisted goal and Clutterbuck's 7th of the year.  The Red Wings did not know what hit them.  After a couple of tough losses, it was nice to hear the "Yes!, Yes!, Yes!" chant so many times in such a short timeframe.

Pavel Datsyuk would cut the lead to 5-4 in the middle of the period, but after that point there would be no more scoring.  The third period was clean with no goals and no penalties and the shot clock was pretty even for the entire game with the Islanders having a slight 27-25 advantage.  There were a few anxious moments, but the Red Wings really did not mount much of a threat.  One last big save from Halak in the closing minute iced the game for the Islanders and stopped their home losing streak.

The win was guaranteed by both the Long Island Marriott Night Manager and Kellie.  I will give Kellie only half the credit because she turned out to be wrong on Michael Grabner.  Either way, I will take it.  A win is a win,  The win temporarily vaulted the Islanders back into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 95 points (44-27-11) ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and extended their lead over fourth place Washington to three points.  However, both teams have games in hand.  

The good news is that the rest of the way the Islanders only play one playoff-bound team and it is the Penguins.  That could be either good (because those teams have nothing to play for) or bad (because those teams have nothing to lose).  It also gives the Islanders the chance to close out the season on a high note by beating up on the Eastern Conference after taking a beating from the Western Conference.

After the final buzzer I walked out of the Nassau Coliseum happy with a win in what should have been my final game in the ole barn.  However, as I left the arena I had a strong feeling that I would be back to see at least one more game.  I was not very nostalgic.  I did not shed a tear or get choked up.  Maybe it was knowing that there is still plenty of life left in the building, plenty of life left in the Islanders season, or the fact that there are plenty more memories still to cherish before the lights are finally turned off.

Housekeeping Stat!

Its game number two of the Nassau Coliseum Goodbye Tour and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were in town.  The Islanders were coming off an adequate performance against the Los Angeles Kings which saw them lose the game on a late goal in the third period.  The Ducks are in the midst of a road trip and were coming into the game off of a win in Boston against the struggling Bruins.  The Ducks have 101 points and are tied with the Rangers for the most points in the NHL.  Just like the Kings, the Ducks were looking to avenge a loss to the Islanders earlier in the year on the left coast.  Which ironically was the turning point of the season and set the Islanders up for the rest of the season.

It was a surprise on Friday, when Head Coach Jack Capuano told the media early on that Michal Neuvirth would be getting the start on Saturday.  Normally Cappy waits until a few hours before the game.  Maybe he was just letting Neuvirth know ahead of time in order for him to get his head in the game.  Even though he has been better than Chad Johnson, he still has not played nearly as well as anticipated.  Jaroslav Halak had been playing better since returning from injury and will most likely get the start on Sunday against the Red Wings.

The only change on defense was Lubomir Visnovsky in for Calvin de Haan.  There were no changes at forward, but Kyle Okposo was bumped down to the second line and Anders Lee was reunited with John Tavares and Josh Bailey on the top unit.  Nickloay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen teamed up with Okposo.  The move probably make sense because BookerT has not looked all that good back on the top line since returning from his detached retina.

It was another full house on Saturday afternoon in the ole barn.  The first period seemed to be almost a repeat of Thursday evening against the Kings, with another west coast team coming into the Nassau Coliseum to push the hosts around.  For most of the period Anaheim cycled the puck in the New York zone and played "Duck, Duck, Goose" without interruption.

It was just a matter of time before the Islanders made a mistake.  After some pressure, Richard Rakell got a rebound and threw the puck in front of the net where it deflected off of Nick Leddy and past Neuvirth for a 1-0 lead.  It was a perfect example that showed that when you work hard and throw pucks at the net, good things are bound to happen.  The Islanders did not throw very many pucks at Frederik Andersen and as a result had very few scoring chances.

The Islanders eventually did get a break before the end of the period.  With about three minutes to go, Ryan Strome found Lubomir Visnovsky at the point and he threw one at Andersen that hit defenseman Simon Despres and bounced in the net.  It was Visnovsky's 5th goal of the year in an injury plagued year.  Thomas "Fish Oils' Hickey got the second assist.  I guess turnabout is fair play.  Throw puck at net, puck go in.  The shots were pretty much even for the period, but Anaheim dominated in puck possession.

In the second period it got ugly early.  Within the first two minutes, John Tavares failed to clear the New York zone.  Then after a Wisniewski slap shot the puck found Nick Leddy again.  The puck deflected off of Leddy to Kyle Palmieri who used a reverse spin-o-rama move on Neuvirth to make it 2-0.  Leddy has been impressive to watch in person because he is so smooth with the puck and easily penetrates the zone.  So for the Ducks to score two goals off of Leddy deflections was very unfortunate,

New York received a great opportunity on the powerless play when Anaheim took a tripping penalty and delay-of-game penalty that were nearly simultaneous which gave the Islanders a five on three advantage for nearly two minutes.  But true to form, there was a lot of standing around looking for the perfect pass and the perfect shot.  It was just not there.  Its as if they did not learn anything from the first period.  Throw puck at net, sometimes puck go in.  After failing on the double man powerless play all of the momentum was sucked out of the building.

To add insult to injury, Andrew Cogliano made in 3-1 late in the period.  There was even one last chance for the Islanders to get back in the game when the Ducks committed their fourth straight penalty.  But all that did was take two minutes off of the clock as the Islanders, as expected, failed once again,  The shots were once again pretty even for the period, only because the Islanders were "Oh for Four" with the man advantage.  There was not a lot of optimism going into the last period.

In the last frame the Islanders started to pick up the pace,  They spent much more time in the Anaheim zone and had the Ducks back on their webbed feet for most of the period.  However, the Islanders could not get one past Andersen.  Finally, with about five minutes left Matt Martin brought the puck into the Anaheim zone and worked very hard to gain possession of the puck behind the goal line.  The puck found its way to Casey Czikas in front of Andersen and he put it in the net to make it a game at 3-2.  It was Czikas' eighth goal of the year.  Martin should have earned an assist but did not get any credit for some reason.

It was another heart-breaking frustrated 3-2 loss to a strong west coast team.  It also was another long and disappointing walk back to the Long Island Marriott.  After the game, it was around 3:30 PM when we returned to the hotel.  Housekeeping had not made up our room.  I went to the front desk to lodge a complaint, and they sent someone immediately up to the room to do their deed.  We went out for dinner and returned around 9:00 PM.  However, the room was still a mess.  I went down once again to the front desk to complain.  This time I was a bit louder.

At this point I was upset because it was a mess in my room and also inside the Coliseum.  Housekeeping was a healthy scratch from the lineup and needed to be activated.  The front desk called housekeeping and sent someone up to clean the room.  We waited for about a half an hour until it was done.  I chatted with the front desk and the night manager came up to me.  He heard what had happened and offered us free breakfast for the rest of our stay to make up for the inconvenience.  He asked if there was anything else he could do and I told him. "Guarantee an Islanders win against the Red Wings on Sunday."  Of course, he had no secret power to make that happen, but I thought it was worth a try anyway.

I was surprised to learn after the game that the Islanders had only won 7 out of their previous 21 games.  They fell into third place as the Pittsburgh Penguins won their game on Saturday afternoon.  It is important for the Islanders to get back into second place so that they have home ice advantage going into the playoffs.  They have had a real good season and it would be very disappointing to not see some reward for their hard work.  

Next up is one last home game against the Red Wings,  It most likely is my last Nassau Coliseum game.  The hockey g-ds need to come through and give me a convincing win that will turn the season back around for the Islanders and propel them to a deep playoff run.  To go home "Oh for Three" on this Goodbye Trip to the Nassau Coliseum would be devastating to say the least.

The Islanders played another average game.  That will not cut it.  They need to start doing a few of things to get back on the winning track.  First, they need to shake the cobwebs out of their ears and start playing with the passion and urgency that they had earlier in the year.  Secondly, they need to start to throw more pucks on the net.  As mentioned before: Throw puck at net, puck go in....sometimes.  

Lastly, they need to call the Long Island Marriott and have a closed door meeting with the Housekeeping Team.  From this point forward for the rest of the season all hockey player rooms will not be serviced no matter how much they complain.  Trust me, it will get them off their game and will wreck havoc throughout the team.  Hey, at this time of their all bets are off.  We need all the help we can get.

Starting To Say Goodbye

Today was the start of a four day road trip to pay my last respects to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.  It started with a Thursday evening game against the Los Angeles Kings, which will be followed by an early Saturday afternoon game against the Anaheim Ducks, and then end with a late Sunday afternoon game against the Detroit Red Wings.  

It will be four days filled with great hockey that will stir up a lot of old memories and probably leave me with a tear in my eye as I spend my last days in the old barn on Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale, Long Island.  Souvenirs will be bought, pictures will be taken, and the ambiance will be burned into my soul.  No matter where the Islanders go, the place that they call "Fort Neverlose" will always be home.

The Nassau Coliseum means so much to me.  It reminds of my entire youth growing up in Massapequa.  It represents the Long Island of years gone past as well as today.  Unfortunately, it will not represent the Long Island of tomorrow..  Shame on the politicians in Nassau County for putting their own interests ahead of the people that they are supposed to serve.  What Long Island use to be will be no more.

I have a lot of Nassau Coliseum memories but for some reason the ones I remember the best are all of my "firsts."  My first Islanders game with by brother-in-law Kurt, my first concert with friends to see Lynyrd Skynyrd in 197, and my first wrestling match with my Mom.  After a 43 run that started when I was about ten years old it is now time for me to say goodbye to the building that means so much.  Unless of course, there is a playoff game to attend to.  Then I will have to do this all over again,

We checked into the Long Island Marriott a couple of hours before the game and crossed paths with the Los Angeles Kings bus. Our room was not ready yet so we left and came back in a couple of hours.  When we got back to the hotel it was still 90 minutes prior to game time and both the Marriott lobby bar and Champions bar were booked solid with orange and blue.  A sight I had not seen in quite a number of years.

On to the game...

The Kings came into the game having won the first two games of a five game Eastern Coast road trip against the Devils and Rangers.  The Islanders meanwhile came into the game trying to find secondary scoring and wanting to re-establish their home ice advantage heading into the playoffs.  They had lost five games in a row at home so starting a new home winning streak was the first order of business.  The Islanders went with the same line-up again which meant that Jaroslav Halak was back in net.

Before the game started every section had people in it, but there were empty seats.  I was a little surprised because the Islanders had drawn well at home at the Los Angeles Kings after all were the defending Stanley Cup Champions.  However, all of a sudden, as puck drop came closer the seats filled in and it looked to be a complete sell out.  Faith was restored.  During the national anthem there were a number of jerks that yelled out "The Rangers Suck" which seemed to not be the right time to voice such a sentiment.  It was dis-respectful of the anthem.  That being said, it was also refreshing to see the Islanders passion back where it should be.  

I was sitting in the fourth row behind the Islanders bench.  The first period was not very exciting.  The Islanders were outplayed by the Kings and out shot 14-5.  New York did not get a single scoring chance and Jaroslav Halak had to be sharp to keep the puck out of the net.  It was a very fast period with no penalties.  The Kings certainly looked like the more desperate team as they are fighting for a playoff spot with only a handful of games left.

The second period had a bit more action.  The Islanders seemed to pick up the pace and eventually took the lead when an odd man rush led to a goal.  Travis Hamonic and Nickolay Kulemin started the play and Frans Nielsen got his 13th goal of the year to make it 1-0.  At that point, I heard my first "Yes!, Yes!, Yes!" chant by the crowd and it was awesome.  It was great to see the entire arena participate by raising their hands in the air.  

Afterwards, the Islanders seemed to wake up and almost made it a two goal lead, but Jonathan Quick made a great glove save on Anders Lee who was wide open in the slot.  The Islanders then had to kill off near simultaneous penalties to Travis Hamonic and Nick Leddy which gave the Kings s five on three advantage for almost the entire two minutes.  But true to recent form, the Islanders were able to get through the two minutes which gave them some more momentum.  The penalty kill has all of a sudden become a strength for them which is a good sign going into the playoffs.

The Islanders could not escape the period with the lead as Nick Shore redirected one of his crown jewels past Halak to tie the game 1-1.  With an even game, the hitting was taken up a notch.  Cal Clutterbuck went airborne and hit shoulder to shoulder with Drew Doughty near the blue line.  It was a ferocious hit that reminded me of an old Milli Vanilli video.  Doughty was called for interference, but the powerless play could not convert.  The period ended 1-1 with the Islanders out shooting the Kings 16-8.  

In the third period, the Islanders had an opportunity to take the lead as Matt Greene went off for holding Anders Lee.  However, that only gave the Kings an opportunity to take the lead.  Tyler Tofolli  got a break and scored a short-handed goal after John Tavares mishandled the puck at center ice.  The Kings lead was short-lived as the Islanders were able to take advantage of the remaining time on the power play.  Johnny Boychuk fired one of his patented rocket slap shots and made it 2-2.  Josh Bailey and Ryan Strome got the assists.  

With time winding down in the period, overtime seemed inevitable.  However, Anze Kopitar iced the win for the Kings when he scored with a little over four minutes left in the game.  As the Islanders pulled their goalie and the seconds wound down it was very disappointing indeed.  It would have been nice to start the road trip with a win.  There will be two more opportunities this weekend to turn it around.  It will not be easy with back-to-back afternoon games against the Ducks and Red Wings.

The Islanders have now lost six games in a row at home (0-5-1) which is unthinkable.  They have faced a string of hot goalies, but that is not an excuse.  They need to find a way to win like they did in the beginning of the year.  My personal opinion is that they should put Michael Grabner back in the line-up.  Also, if Mikhail Grabovski can be cleared to play that would add another dimension to the line-up.  There needs to be some sort of change to shake thinks up a bit and get the confidence and swagger back.

This was the start of saying goodbye to the Nassau Coliseum.  I really would like the Islanders to make a deep run in the playoffs and I would love to come back one more time and experience a playoff game before the Nassau Coliseum is no more.  However, the Islanders need to fix a few things quickly or it will be one and done in the playoffs.  I will enjoy the rest of the weekend, however, I really do not want to say goodbye just yet.

A Scary Thought Indeed

The Islanders started a four game home stand against the Western Conference with a game against the Minnesota Ex-Islanders...um...Wild at the Nassau Coliseum.  The Wild have three former Islanders on their squad in Nino Niederreiter, Sean Bergenheim, and Thomas Vanek.  Stop and think where the Islanders would be today if they did not trade Niederreiter for Cal Clutterbuck, if they did not let Bergenheim leave for free agency, and if they had signed Vanek to the $50M contract they offered him.  It is a scary thought indeed.

The Wild came into the game on a roll., having won 7 of their previous 10 games with 89 points (41-25-7) and in the hunt for one of the wild cards for the playoffs..  They have been riding a horse named Devan Dubnyk who came into the game with 23-6-1, a 1.74 GGA and a .937 save percentage.  Minnesota was playing the second of a back-to-back after beating up on the Toronto Marlies at the Air Canada Center on Monday evening.

As for the Islanders, they had been off since Saturday's shutout of the New Jersey Devils and have only played a couple of games in the last nine days.  The game against the Wild was also Pat Lafontaine night so there was sure to be a sell out.  The forwards remained the same with the only change being on defense with Calvin deHaan replacing Matt Donovan in the lineup.  Jaroslav Halak was in net for the Islanders.  With only nine games left in the season and a string of home games against some tough opponents it probably was a good time to turn up the effort a notch or two.

The first period was one of the best of the year.  Lots of action with nothing on the scoresheet to show for it.  The Islanders had sustained pressure throughout and spent a lot of time in the Minnesota zone.  They outshot the Wild 16-5 which did not even include another 10 shots that were blocked.  The Islanders tried to jump on the Wild early on knowing that they travelled from Toronto the night before.  The only reason the Islanders did not get on the scoreboard is that Dubnyk stood on his head.   

There was more of the same in the second period until special teams played a part in the game.  After the 15 minute mark, Thomas Hickey took the first penalty of the game, but the Islanders were able to kill it off, which ended up being their 23rd straight kill in March.  Then a couple of minutes later a holding penalty gave the Islanders chance on their powerless play and they were able to finally get one by Dubnyk for a 1-0 lead with less than 30 seconds to go in the period.  

As the Islanders crowded the net, Tavares picked up a rebound and kept hacking away until he was able to knock the puck over Dubnyk's pads.  Technically it was not a power play goal, but was a direct result of power play pressure.  So I guess we can still call it a powerless play until we actually get credited with a power play goal.  It was Tavares' 34th goal of the year with assists from Kyle Okposo and Anders Lee (both of which are Minnesota natives).  However, even though the shots were pretty even for the period you could tell that the Wild were starting to get back in the game.

For the final period, the Islanders came out hard, looking for the clinching goal.  Brock Nelson had the best chance when he broke in on net and stick handled through one of the Wild defenseman and backhanded a shot that Dubnyk ate up.  It was tough sledding the rest of the way for the Islanders as Minnesota increased the pressure..  Zach Parise eventually tied the game at 1-1 with a little over eight minutes to go when he followed up on his own shot to put the puck as well as himself past Halak into the net.

The overtime was a bit wide open with both teams having a point in the bank..  It got real scary when Thomas Vanek got a breakaway opportunity to end it.  As he bore down on Halak, the headline started to materialize in Wednesday's Newsday.  It made perfect sense for Vanek to end it right then and there, but it was not to be as Halak kicked the puck out with his right pad.  Johnny Boychuk had his own breakaway opportunity but was denied by Dubnyk.  The ended up going to the skills competition where the Wild won the game on a Zach Parise shot that Halak kicked into the net by himself.

The Islanders played a good game, but just ran into a hot goaltender.  There would be more concern if they were not getting chances.  Eventually shots will go in, but that being said they cannot sit back and hope for that to happen.  The Islanders need to continue to work hard, especially with the Kings, Ducks and Red Wings coming up this week.  There will be hot goalies in the playoffs so they need to figure out how to win these close games.

It was tough to lose to the Wild with so many ex-Islanders on their team.  At least Niederreiter, Bergenheim, and Vanek did not score a goal in their final game in the Nassau Coliseum.  However, it could have been a lot worse.  The Islanders could have lost the game with those same three players on their team.  As mentioned before, a scary thought indeed.

A Very Sweep Win

I woke up at 6:00 AM in Hong Kong and got ready for the long trip home.  It would take almost 24 hours to fly to Atlanta through Chicago.  I was sure to miss the Islanders game so I asked Kellie to DVR it for me.  When we arrived in Chicago, we were able to shorten our layover and get an earlier flight home.  That meant I would be able to get to see part of the game.  I was able to listen to the first period driving home from the airport and caught the last two periods at home back in the man cave.

The Islanders came into the game in a tailspin.  They had lost four games in a row, three at home with a bad loss against the Blackhawks in Chicago last Thursday.  With only ten games left in the season, the division championship seems to be out of reach.  However, positioning for the playoffs is up for grabs so each game is critical for the playoff push.  More important than that, they needed to get their swagger back and soon.

New York traveled to New Jersey to play the Devils at the Prudential Center (a.k.a., "The Rock"). New Jersey is clearly out of the playoff hunt coming into the game ten points behind the struggling Boston Bruins.  These teams are hard to play against because teams with nothing to lose play wide open and care free.  They do no have to be concerned with making mistakes.  As an Islander fan we know what it is like to be that team on the outside looking in.  Is is nice to be on the other side.

New York had won all three previous games against New Jersey earlier this year every way imaginable (i.e., a regulation win, an overtime win, and a shootout win).  It did not matter how the won this game, all that counted were the two points that were up for grabs.  Jaroslav Halak was back in net after missing one game with a lower body injury.  

It is funny, but I am sitting here at Starbucks writing my hockey blog and just as I am writing "Jaroslav Halak is back in net", there are three people sitting next to me reading scripture and talking about "Satan" and "The Son of G-d".   If you go to Starbucks, be careful where you sit.  Oh my....I just realized that I am writing about the Devils game.  I think I know the theme for this story.

The forwards remained the same and Matt Donovan remained on the blue line in favor of Calvin de Haan.  I have noticed recently that the healthy scratches for the Islanders have not been happy sitting out.  However, with a nearly healthy team, it is smart to not only rest some players, but also to create some competition.  The message is simple.  Play better or you will be sitting in the press box

As I got in the car, the puck dropped as I pulled into Burger King.  Yes, I said it, Burger King.  I had to get a chicken sandwich because I stumbled into one while in Hong Kong and ordered something that was called a "chicken sandwich" but looked unlike something I had ever seen.  It went straight into the trash can.  I needed to redeem myself and restore my faith in Burger King so I stopped to get some crispy deliciousness.  

Right as I placed my order, the Islanders got on the board.  Nickolay Kulemin bulled his way into the corner and knocked a Devil off of the puck (which was the righteous thing to do) and stole the puck (which I think is against one of the ten commandments).  Kulemin then passed the puck to Ryan Strome in the slot and he made amends by firing one past Corey Schneider for a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period.  It was Strome's 15th of the year.  The Islanders defense tightened up and they left the period with the lead.  After getting off to a slow start the Islanders came back and out shot the Devils 13-9.

In the second period, Halak stood on his head.  The Devils started to fire more shots on net and many of them ended up being very good scoring chances.  There was no scoring in the period and only one single penalty as Travis Hamonic went to the sin bin to sit two minutes for hooking.  I am not sure why New Jersey did not commit more penalties.  You would think that New Jersey would be committing penalties left and right,  After all they are the DEVILS. New Jersey's pressure led to more

With the Devils coming on and a slim one goal lead the Islanders were playing with fire.  A single mistake and the game could be lost.  Halak continued to stop everything that came his way.  An interference penalty gave the Islanders powerless play a chance to ice the game, but true to form it failed to deliver...well sort of.  

Just mere seconds after the penalty expired, Brock Nelson found Ryan Strome who made a nice feed to a wide open Travis Hamonic to make it 2-0.  It was a great play by Strome for his second point of the game.  Hamonic netted his 5th goal of the year.  An empty netter by Kyle Okposo sealed the 3-0 win.  For the first time in a very long time, the defense was able to close out a convincing win.

Next up for the Islanders is a four game home stand, starting with the Minnesota (Ex-islanders) Timberwolves on Tuesday followed by games against the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.  Your truly will be at the latter three games and will be reporting the action live and in person from the dilapidated Long Island Marriott.

Overall, it was a good win for the Islanders as they swept the season series against the Devils.  It gives them a little momentum heading into the last part of the season.  Points are critical this time of the year.  If Halak can get on a hot streak and if Mikhail Grabovski can come back from his upper body injury then the Islanders should be in good shape for a playoff run.

It seemed that the Devils were due for a win in this series, but the Islanders needed it much more than the Devils did..  It showed in their effort.  The fans were there in force and you could clearly here "Yes! Yes! Yes!" chants throughout the Prudential Center. Is was a very sweep win indeed.

Disengaged Effort

The Islanders are headed on the road this week and hoping to put the woes from the last two weeks behind them.  Having lost three games in a row at home (which was unthinkable a month ago) the Islanders find themselves struggling to stay in second place after leading the division for the better part of 2015.

New York traveled to the Windy City on Tuesday to take on a surging Chicago Blackhawks team that is once again in the think of things in the Central Division.  Coming into the game the Hawks were within five points of the Predators and Blues tied atop the division at 93 points.  A win against a strong Blackhawk team would have done wonders for the Islanders confidence heading into a Saturday contest at the Rock against the New Jersey Devils.  Next week starts a run of four straight home games with no back-to-backs.

Twittersphere was rocked by the news that Kevin Poulin was recalled on an emergency basis because Jaroslav Halak was day to day with a lower body injury.  That meant that Michal Neuvirth got the start in Chicago.  Nick Leddy was still out with an upper body injury which meant he would miss the game against his former team.  Ryan Strome made it back to the lineup which resulted in a healthy scratch for Michael Grabner.

As the game got underway, it felt like a loss from the start.  A couple of giveaways in the Islanders zone led to a couple of quick saves from Neuvirth. That would normally be good news, but when the giveaways don't stop it is just a matter of time before good teams convert.  

That is what Jonathan Toews did early in the first period to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.  After a turnover, Toews found a rebound and knocked a bratwurst past Neuvirth.  Before the period was over Toews struck again as he walked through the Islanders defense to make it 2-0.  The Hawks had a 16-10 edge in shots but the rest of the advanced stats were pretty even. The Islanders just beat themselves up in the opening period.

At this point it was off to work in Hong Kong so I could not listen to the rest of the game.  It turned out that I did not miss anything important.  The Blackhawks jumped out to a 4-0 as Marion Hossa stuffed two more Kielbasas past Neuvirth before Nickolay Kulemin got his13th goal of the year in the third period. It was way too little way too late.

The powerless play had a five minute man advantage and could not get a single goal.  The Islanders outshot the Hawks for the game 39-30 and the stats bore out an even game.  Unfortunately, stats do not always tell the whole story.  It seemed that every mistake ended up in the back of the net.  But look on the bright side, the Islanders solved their penalty kill.  It has not allowed a goal in the entire month of March.

John Tavares said after the game that the team was "not engaged."  Hard to figure out why the effort is not there.  It could just be a combination of a tired team and some injuries.  In fact, that is probably what it is.  

Only time will tell, but there is not a lot of time left.

The Powerless Play

The Montreal Canadiens were in the stands at the Nassau Coliseum on Friday to watch the Islanders sleep walk through their disappointing loss against the Ottawa Senators.  

That could be either good or bad.  It could have made the Canadiens over confident resulting in a letdown or it could have given them too more confidence that they could win the game.  How the Islanders would respond would tell the tale of this game.  Les Habs came into the game with 91 points (42-19-7) although they have struggled a little bit lately.  The Islanders remained at 90 points (43-34-4) and have struggled a lot.

Big changes for the game.  Ryan Strome was a healthy scratch after playing in every one of the Islanders 70 games this season.  He was replaced by Frans Nielsen who is battling an injury that kept him out of the lineup on Friday night.  Strome has struggled a bit lately and has not been putting up many points.  That compounded defensive mistakes and bad penalties resulted in a seat in the skybox.

Another surprise was the re-emergence of Matt Donovan in the lineup for Lubomir Visnovsky.  Donovan has been a healthy scratch for almost the entire year and had not played since early January.  With Nick Leddy out it made sense to give him a shot to see if he could add some offense.  The interesting thing was that Donovan replaced Visnovsky instead of Brian Strait.  I think that speaks more to how well Strait has been playing and not so much about Visnovsky.  Michal Neuvirth got the start in net over Jaroslav Halak due to the back-to-back games at the Nassau Coliseum.

The game against the Canadiens almost seemed to be a carbon copy of the Senators game.  The first period saw no scoring a just a couple of penalties.  It was as if the two teams were feeling each other out in a playoff game.  Neuvirth seemed sharp in the first period as stopped a couple of breakaways.  John Tavares made a valiant effort towards the end of the period when he split the defense and got knocked down as headed towards he net as time expired.  The captain slammed his stick on the ice as he skated off.

Then again in the second period the visitors struck twice.  First it was a tic-tac-toe play from Pierre-Alexandre (P.A.) Parenteau to Alec Galchenyuk to a wide open Tomas Plekanec to give the Canadiens the lead.  It was a three on one break just a minute into the period.  Neuvirth was on the other side of the net cleaning his bistro table and had no chance to stop the puck from going into the net.  

Subsequently, less than three minutes later, Max Pacioretty scored when Neuvirth misplayed the puck in his own end.  The Islanders for the second night in a row were down two goals at the end of two periods.  They had their opportunities, but Carey Price was right on the spot each and every time to keep the Islanders off the scoreboard.

The third period saw the Islanders once again give some false hope to their fans as Josh Bailey was able to push one past Price with a couple of minutes left in the game to cut the deficit in half.  It was Bailey's 15th goal of the year from no one, because it was recorded as an unassisted goal.  It was once again too little way too late as the Canadiens added an empty netter to beat the Islanders 3-1 and sweep the season series.

The Islanders powerless play is very disturbing.  Sure Nick Leddy is out and Frans Nielsen is hurting, but it should not be this bad.  They have not scored in quite awhile. In fact they are only 4-22 in their last six games.  It needs to be fixed and quickly.  Even though the Islanders have not played poorly, the powerless play is costing them points.

Here is something funny. For the longest time the Islanders were winning with the worst penalty kill in the league.  Now the tables have turned, as they are losing while the penalty kill is thriving.  They have killed off 43 of 47 power plays (91.5%) and have killed off all 20 power plays in March over a seven game span.  Go figure that one out.

The Islanders are in a mini-tailspin.  This is probably the most critical point of the regular season.  They can forget about Division Titles and Conference Championships until they right the ship.  They go on the road for two games this coming week at Chicago and New Jersey.  Then they come home for a stretch of home games which will be attended by yours truly.

The loss was their fourth in a row at the Nassau Coliseum, which was almost unthinkable a couple of weeks ago.  It has been far from "Fort Neverlose."  There will be plenty of days off the rest of the way which will give the Islanders a chance to get healthy, fix the powerless play, and lick their wounds.  

It is not time to panic.  Islander fans can move back from the ledge.  They have accomplished a lot this year and they are the team we saw for the first 60 games this year.  However, now is the time to fix what is broken and gain some momentum going into the playoffs.  What we have seen lately is not normal for this team.  Perhaps all they need is a little rest and relaxation...and a couple of power play goals.

Senators Have A Hamburgler

It is time for the New York Islanders to wake up.  There are only 13 games left in the season.  With 90 points (43-22-4) the Islanders are second in the Metropolitan Division as the Rags overtook them for first place with their lucky win earlier in the week.  The race for the President's trophy, which is given to the team with the most points in the league at the end of the season, is as tight as it can be with six teams tied at 91 points.  

Even though the Islanders have not played well the past couple of weeks, a win against a tough Ottawa Senators team on Friday night at the Nassau Coliseum would vault them back into first place in their division aw well as first place in the entire league.  However, the Rags have the advantage because they have three games in hand.  

The Senators came into the Nassau Coliseum having won 9 of their previous 11 games and playing their best hockey of the season.  Ottawa's win against Montreal on Thursday night improved their point total to 73 (31-24-11) on the season, however, a tough start in the first couple of months leaves them 7 points behind Boston for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Good news hit the stands on Thursday as Johnny Boychuk inked a 7 year extension worth $42 Million to stay with the blue and orange only weeks after his defense partner did the same.  Boychuk announced the signing by joining twitter and proclaiming "Yes! Yes! Yes! For Seven More Years!"  He was quoted as saying that after a month with this team he knew he wanted to stay and that this team gives him the best chance to win another Stanley Cup.  Those were the sweetest words that any Islander fan could have heard.

The Islanders have not played their best hockey of late, but they had an opportunity to turn it around with back-to-back games at the Nassau Coliseum against Ottawa on Friday and Montreal on Saturday.  Michael Grabner and Brian Strait both found their way back in the lineup as Frans Nielsen and Nick Leddy were both scratched with upper body injuries.  Jaroslav Halak was in net for the Islanders facing Andrew Hammond (a.k.a. "The Hamburgler").  Hammond has only played 11 games in his NHL career but most of them have been this year (8-0-1).

I woke up later than I wanted to on Saturday morning in Singapore and actually was able to listen to the first period in my hotel room.  However, the Senators and Islanders were not in session as evidence by the goose eggs in the first period.  There was only one penalty on Ryan Strome for tripping and there were only 15 shots total for the entire period.

Both teams were back at it in the second period, but it was Ottawa that was able to pass a couple of bills past Jarolslav Halak.  After Lubomir Visnovsky broke his stick trying to take a slap shot, the Senators broke back the other way and Matt Puempel scored to give Ottawa the lead.  Then right before the period ended, Kyle Turris deflected a shot in the net past Halak that he could not veto to give the Senators a 2-0 lead.

It was not like the Islanders did not have their chances.  They out shot Ottawa during the period by a whopping 22-9 margin.  The difference was that the Islanders had three power plays but could not convert.  With Nick Leddy and Frans Nielsen out with injuries, there was no one to break down the Senators and get the puck in their defensive zone.  Maybe we should start calling it a powerless play.

New York just could not catch a break against an unknown yet hot goaltender.  In the third period the Islanders finally woke up and scored a goal with about nine minutes left.  Tyler Kennedy got his 6th goal of the year on a deflection of a Visnovsky shot.  However, it was too little too late as the Islanders lost 2-1.

This was not a good one for the home team in front of their 20th sell out in 34 home games.  The loss was their third in a row at the Nassau Coliseum and put them in the danger of falling out of the race for the top spot in the Division and the Conference.  The good news is that they can get the bad taste out of their mouths by getting back up on their high horse and beating the Montreal Canadiens at home on Saturday night.

There is still plenty of time to get back on track, especially with the fact that the pace of games will be slowing down significantly over the next couple of weeks.  But the Islanders will need a little luck and have some teams lose if they want to stay in the hunt.  

At this point it does not matter who they play in the playoffs, they need to get back their swagger.  They need to want the two points more than their opponents do.  They need to start "fearing loss" than worrying about the win.  That is what made the dynasty teams successful.

As for this game the Islanders did not have as much influence as their opponents.  The Senators tried to pass 28 bills during the game and the Islanders lobbied hard and tried to pass 35 bills of their own.  In the end the Senators fired two bills past Halak, while the Islanders could only get one by Hammond.  I guess when it comes to big government it always helps to have a hamburgler.

Until We Meet Again

Here it is. Game On. Welcome all to the game of the year. The final regular season game ever at the Nassau Coliseum between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers. A rivalry that is like none other in hockey or any other sport for that matter. The game between these two teams has always been full of pride, spirit, and blind loyalty for both players and fans alike.

No fan will admit it, but there is always a bit of trepidation in a a game like this. On one hand there is chance of public acclaim from beating your arch rival. On the other hand there is always the chance of public shame from being beaten by your arch rival. This is the last game between these two teams. It is one for the ages. It is not for the faint of heart. It is the ultimate contest. Unless of course these two New York teams somehow meet in the playoffs. Then we all will need to come up with some new superlatives to describe what would happen next.

The Islanders came into the game with 90 points (43-21-4) and the Rangers had 87 points (40-17-7) with four games in hand. In fact, the last time both teams met in the regular season and both teams had at least 40 wins was back in 1979. The Islanders have won three out of the four meetings this year.

The Rangers have nearly unbeatable for a very long stretch. The Islanders have stayed on top of the Metropolitan Division for that same stretch. Both teams have faced adversity. The Islanders lost one of their top wingers in Kyle Okposo and the Rangers lost their best player in Henrik Lundqvist. Okposo has recovered and returned for this game after suffering a detached retina back in January. Lundqvist is still out of the lineup with a vascular injury. Both were significant upper body injuries.

Michael Grabner was a healthy scratch to make room for Okposo. Interesting choice by Head Coach Jack Capuano, but Tyler Kennedy looked good in his first game as an Islander last night against the Toronto Maple Leaves and Grabner has not been producing as of late. Kael (Mole Rat) Mouillierat was returned to Bridgeport.

Nick Leddy was a game time decision but could not go. That ended a 320 game playing streak. Brian Strait got the call in his absence. A rested Jaroslav Halak was back in net after getting two games off and the red hot Cam Ward was in goal for the Rangers. It was the 19th sellout of the year at the Nassau Coliseum which equaled the total number of sellouts in the past four years. Tighten your belt buckle. Here we go…

Every game between the teams this year has seen the Islanders get off to a hot start and this one was no exception. The first period saw each team with a failed power play. But it was Anders Lee that gave the Islanders a 1-0 with his 23rd goal of the year after feeds from Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome. Lee stuffed it past Talbot as if he was trying to get on a crowded #1 Train at 34th Street. The Islanders had the lead in shots 13-7 and had the better of the play.

In the second period it was the Rangers that made a little noise. Kevin Hayes wristed one past Halak after a feed from Mats Zuccarrello to tie the game at one apiece. The Islanders had to kill off two power plays during the period. Towards the end of the second period, Josh Bailey had a two on none breakaway with John Tavares, but the league's leading scorer did not have a twig. Bailey took the shot, but Cam Ward came up big. Rangers had the edge on shots 11-10.

Just three minutes into the last frame, Rick Nash took a slapper from the right boards. He was just directing it on net, because he saw three of his teammates going towards the goal and he was hoping his shot would catch one of their sticks. The puck ended up bouncing off of Ryan Strome's skate and past Halak for a 2-1 Rangers lead. That would end up being the final score.

There were only 11 shots total for both teams in the period and the Islanders had the edge for the game 30-22. Both teams were 0-4 on the power play the the hits were about even. However, what did the Islanders in were their 28 takeaways which was double of what the Rangers had.

The Islanders now have a couple of days off before back-to-back home games against Ottawa and Montreal. Good news is that for the rest of the month they are playing in New York with the one lone exception being a road game at Chicago next week.

Overall, it was not a well played game by any stretch of the imagination. After the barn burner of a game that these teams play a couple of weeks ago, this one ended up being a dud. Lets hope that these two great rivals meet in the playoffs. The Nassau Coliseum needs a much better send of than this one. So for now this will have to do…until we meet again.

Toronto's Nightmare

Its the penultimate day before the huge Isles-Rags game at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday evening.  However, first there is a little business to take care of north of the border.  The Islanders travelled to YYZ to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Air Canada Centre.  

This was New York's last game of their four game road trip which has seen them beat Nashville and tie both Dallas and Florida.  Four points in three games is ok, but a win would leave them with six points in four games on the road, which would be good.  Every point is critical this time of the year.  Momentum is very important before the Rags come a calling tomorrow night on Long Island.

The Leaves came into the game with 57 points (26-35-5).  It is always good to beat the Leaves, especially in Canada, due to the fact that both reporters and fans alike spread vicious rumors about the Islanders trying to get John Tavares to go to them back when he was drafted.  

The Islanders welcomed Tyler Kennedy to the third line with Michael Grabner and center Brock Nelson.  Head Coach Jack Capuano mentioned pre-game that he expected Kennedy to bring some energy to the team just like he did in game three when the Penguins and Islanders met in the playoffs the year before last.

With Kennedy on the third line it meant that there was a reunion of sorts for the "NHL's greatest hits line" of Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, and Casey Czikas.  The Islanders had not been the same the past couple of games, and hopefully their reunion will spark the team the rest the next couple of games.  They need to be clicking going into the Rags game tomorrow so an exhibition game the night before made perfect sense.

At the drop of the puck I was on the treadmill again listening to Chris King.  The Islanders got behind the eight ball early on by committing a couple of penalties which included a one minute of five on three.  The first period remained pretty even until David Booth came strolling in on the right side and backhanded one past Michal Neuvirth to give the Leaves the lead.  

Toronto would extend their lead on a goal by Peter Holland.  After two periods New York was down two goals even though they had the edge on shots 23-18.  The Islanders were getting their chances but not converting.   Jonathan Bernier seemed to be a bit sharper than Neuvirth for the first forty minutes.  

It certainly looked like that it was a case of a very good team overlooking an inferior opponent before a big rivalry game. But before the Islanders hit the ice for the third period, someone went into their locker room and reminded them that they were playing Toronto.  That is when the fun started.

It all commenced with some hard work from Tyler Kennedy who got his nose dirty (I can't help it but the dude has a snout on him).  After almost notching his first goal as an Islander in the first period, he made good on it in the third period.  He was able to wrist one past Bernier for his 5th goal of the year.  John Tavares and Josh Bailey got the assists.  

Right after the Islanders cut the lead in half, James Van Riemsdyk got an unassisted goal to give the Leaves their two goal cushion back.  At the time it seemed like a back breaker that would send the Islanders home with a bitter loss.  However, the Islanders would get one last opportunity to make it a game and they came through when it counted.  

David Booth committed a hooking penalty midway through the third period and Frans Nielsen was able to get the power play goal to bring the Islanders within one.  It was Fransy's 12th goal of the year from Lee and Bailey.  Before anyone could blink, Casey Czikas tied the game at three goals apiece after he tipped home a Travis Hamonic slap shot.  It was Zeeker's 7th goal of the year.  The period ended with Brock Nelson almost ending the game right in front of Bernier.

The overtime was nearly over when Kennedy and Hamonic worked it to Tavares at mid ice.  The Captain took the puck through the neutral zone and crossed the blue line on the far right side and bulled his way around a defenseman.  He then displayed some sick hands by moving the puck from his backhand to his forehand finding himself right in front of Bernier.  Tavares then used some special sauce to slide the puck past Bernier for the win.

Even though I could not see it live, it was exciting nonetheless. It was a critical win that the Islanders had to have going into the Rags game on Tuesday night.  Overall the road trip was a success with six points in four games.  In fact the win made it seven straight road games with at least a point.

This was not one of their better games, but in the third period the Islander woke up and willed themselves to come back and tie the game.  Then in the overtime the Captain took the team on his back and won it.  For Tavares it was another two points which enabled him to maintain the league lead.  He is turning it up at the right time of the year.  

If anyone doubted who the best player is in the entire league, look no further.  There is not much of a debate.  John Tavares leads the league with 72 points including 33 goals, has the most overtime goals than any active player since he came into the league, is more valuable to his team than any other player in the league, and has transformed the Islanders from a national joke to a serious Stanley Cup contender.

Toronto wanted John Tavares badly in the 2009 draft.  They did not understand why he was so committed to Long Island and why he signed a long term deal.  It was because Tavares understood what it would mean to bring the Islanders back to respectability.  He embraced the challenge and now he is finally being rewarded for all of his hard work and dedication.  Six years ago the Toronto dreamt of John Tavares and now six years later all they can do is see him in their nightmares.

Hail the King

The New York Islanders were in Sunrise, Florida to take on a injury-battered Panthers team on Sunday morning at 8:00 AM.  Why play a hockey game so early?  Actually, they weren't, but it was a morning game to me as I was actually in Hong Kong which is 13 hours ahead of the eastern coast of the United States. 

I am in Asia for two weeks for business purposes (yes I have a real job) that will include a side trip to Singapore.  I will still try to blog if I can, but not sure it I will be able to watch or listen to any of the games.  This morning I plan to work out while listening to Chris King call the game from Sunrise.

The Panthers are having a tough time of it.  They came into the game with 70 points (28-23-14) which left them slightly behind the Boston Bruins for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. However, both of their ex-Islander goalies were injured as Roberto Luongo and (you can call me) Al Montoya were out with upper body injuries.  If the Panthers really wanted to make headlines they should have got Tommy Salo out of retirement and between the pipes.  With all that goalie carnage it meant that some guy named Dan Ellis got the start.  He is a 34 year old journeyman goalie with a lifetime save percentage of .905.  

To make matters worse, the flu bug was running throughout Sunrise and a number of players were probably still feeling the after effects during the game.  That would include newly acquired Jaromir Jager who is 68 years old (at least he seems that old).  The Islanders caught a big break with all that was going on with the Panthers.  It remained to be seen if they could take advantage of it.

The Islanders on the other hand got some good news.  First, Matt Martin returned from a one game suspension for his accidental knee on knee hit in the Dallas Stars game.  MattyMarts was in the lineup for Eric Boulton.  In addition, Kyle Okposo made the trip with the team and started skating.  He is projected to be back perhaps next week.  Tyler Kennedy was with the team as well but is still out with an upper body injury.

The rest of the lineup was the same with the exception of the goalie.  Michal Neuvirth made his debut giving Jaroslav Halak some rest.  In fact, many think that Neuvirth will also get the start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday so Halak can go against the Rags at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday.

I was able to listen to the first two periods while I worked out and ate breakfast.  The first period seemed kind of sluggish.  Not much action at all with each team having one power play a not many more shots (Florida had 7 vs. New York 5).  In fact, Neuvirth did not even touch the puck until a little past the nine minute mark. The only scoring came when Erik Gudbranson sent one in on Neuvirth from the point and it caromed in the net off of Casey Czikas's leg for a 1-0 Florida lead.

In-between periods I surprisingly became part of the radio cast.  In the morning I saw a tweet from the Eric Hornick, the New York Islanders statistician, and he asked the question "Who is watching or listening to the game outside of North America?"  I then responded to his tweet with this:

*@ehornick  In Hong Kong for business and will be listening to Chris King call the game on Sunday morning at 8AM.*

So an hour later I am listening to the Islanders game on the radio inbetween periods and Chris King (who does the play by play for Islanders games) reads my tweet on the air!!  He said "Pfigjam23 is listening to the game all the way from Hong Kong"  I wish I had it on tape.

In the second period the pace picked up a bit.  The Islanders would tie it when Anders Lee fed John Tavares for his 32nd goal of the year.  Then a pair of Nicks would then trade goals.  First for Florida was Nick Bjugstad and then for the Islanders it was Nick Leddy.  For Leddy it was his 10th goal of the year from Tavares and Nielsen.  The Islanders had the better of the Panthers as far as shots went at 11-5 for the period.

The last period would once again see the teams trade goals.  This time it was John Huberdeau (whenever I hear that name I think of cigars...kind of like a fancy humidor) to give the Panthers their third one goal lead of the game.  However, Josh Bailey was able to squeeze an orange past Dan Ellis to send the game into overtime.  It was Bailey's 14th goal of the year.  Tavares notched his third point of the game to take the NHL lead in points with 70.

The overtime from what I heard was high energy and back and forth, but in the end it went to a shoot out.  The Islanders came up empty in the skills competition and John Huberdeau got the win for Florida when he apparently stopped and barreled over Neuvirth.  After watching the replay I am not sure how they let the goal stand.  Huberdeau stopped short kind of like I do a couple of times during my commute to work everyday.

The Islanders got the loser's point and now have 4 points in 3 games on the current road trip.  With a win on Monday at Toronto, the Islanders will be able to go home with a respectable 6 points in 4 games.  No matter what happens, the Islanders will be in first place on Tuesday when they face the Rages at the Nassau Coliseum.

I learned a couple of valuable lessons today.  First, just because you got a loser's point does not necessarily mean that you are a loser.  Second, it is perfectly acceptable to stop short and barrel over a goalie in a shoot out. Third, and most important, if you want to get Chris King to read your tweet on the air you have a much better chance if you include the words "Chris King" within your 140 character message.

It Only Took 13 Years

The New York Islanders traveled to the wintry city of Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Music City USA.  I had thought about driving from Atlanta to Nashville to go see the game, however, an early morning flight from Atlanta to Chicago and then to Hong Kong made me think twice about it.

Believe it or not, the the Predators actually had to remind their patrons that the game was still on due to the weather conditions in Nashville.  It is amazing how much snow the east coast is getting with that global warming thingy going on.  Apparently, in the south all it takes for all hell to break lose is a little bit of cold air and a little bit of precipitation.  

This one was going to be a difficult game for the Islanders to win for two reasons.  First, the Predators came into the game on a four game losing streak.  Second, it had been 13 years since the last time that the New York Islanders won in Nashville.  New York handily defeated the Nashville 5–2 back in February at the Nassau Coliseum.  

The Predators came into the game second in the entire league with 89 points.  At this point in the season all of the upper echelon teams are bunched up within a couple of points of each other.  An Islanders win and they could climb within two points of the Predators.  An Islanders loss and they would fall out of a first place tie with the idle Rags.

The Islanders had some injury issues to deal with.  Kyle Okposo (who is starting to skate and could be back next week) and Mikhail Grabovski (most likely a concussion) were still out with upper body injuries.  Added to the injury mix was newly acquired forward Tyler Kennedy who came up with a mysterious upper body injury of his own on his first day as an Islander.  Apparently when the Islanders traded for him he was slightly damaged goods.

To make matters worse, Matt Martin was suspended for the game for his knee on knee hit in the Dallas Stars game on Tuesday night.  Luckily, Casey Czikas was able to be activated off injured reserve.  In addition, Eric Bouton came off injured reserve as well and was pressed into action.  Boulton had played only two games this year, and if I am not mistaken, both of them were Islander wins. 

At the start of the game the Islanders looked a little sluggish. The Predators had a couple of point blank opportunities early on, however, Halak was able to deny them with a little help from his friend, the right goal post.  The Islanders got their own point blank chance when Nick Leddy trailed the play in the offensive zone and received a great pass in the slot, but with too much time to think about it, he ended up pulling the trigger too late.

Then the scoring started.  Lubomir Visnovsky threw the puck behind the net to a waiting John Tavares who made a quick move to get to the front.  The Captain then banked the puck in off of Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 lead.  It was Tavares' 31st goal of the year with Bailey getting the secondary helper.  A short time later, the Islanders got a power play opportunity as a result of a Predator crosscheck.  It only took 27 seconds for #27 Anders Lee to tip in a Nick Leddy slap shot to extend to a 2-0 lead.  The ever consistent Lee got his 22nd goal of the year.  Tavares got the second assist which left him tied for the NHL point lead at 67.

As the seconds ticked off at the end of the period, there was a scrum in the front of the Islanders net.  Halak tried to hold on but could not keep Colin Wilson from knocking it in with one second left.  That seemed vaguely familiar to what happened at the end of the Dallas Stars game.  I guess turnabout is fair play.  The Islanders still took a 2-1  lead into the intermission despite being out shot 15-5 for the first period.  

The second period was a lot better. The Islanders really started to spend more time in the Nashville zone.  Tavares felt his oats a bit and commenced a stick handling exhibition.  Brock Nelson had a wrap-around opportunity, but saw the puck go off his stick.  Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy had some big slap shots, however Rinne kept Nashville in the game.  Islanders had the better of Nashville on the shot clock 12-5 for the period which drew them even through two periods.

Starting the final twenty minutes the Islanders took control of the game.  They got their two goal lead back when Frans Nielsen drew a couple of defensemen towards him in the Nashville zone and then went across ice to a wide open Nick Leddy for a 3-1 lead.  It was a beautiful play by Fransy enabling Leddy to get his 9th goal of the year.

The Islanders then did their best to make the game interesting.  The Predators turned up the heat after a slap shot from the blue line took a crazy bounce off the head of Mike Ribeiro to make it 3-2.  That energized the crowd and the Islanders were on their heels.  

Just 31 seconds later Filip Forsberg came in on the wing and found Craig Smith across the ice to the left of Halak and he buried it to tie the game at three apiece.  The Toronto war room took a look at the play to see if a high stick was involved but there was not enough evidence to overturn the goal.

Panic could have set in at that point, but the Islanders remained calm.  With six minutes left, Michael Grabner came in on the wing and took a very hard slap shot the rebounded into the slot for a waiting Brock Nelson who shot it past Rinne to reclaim the lead 4-3.  Johnny Boychuk got his second assist of the game.

What was real impressive is how the Islanders protected the lead down the stretch.  The Predators pulled Rinne with 2 1/2 minutes left and never had a shot on Halak the rest of the way.  New York did a great job at dumping the puck out to the neutral zone.  They were calm and composed which was a good sign.  The third period had Nashville with a slight edge in shots 11-9.

With the win the Islanders go back into sole possession of first place, however the rags have three games in hand.  A week to ten days from now it will be interesting to see where these two teams stand.  Points are getting more valuable as each day passes.  Now it is on to Florida to play a Panther team that is searching for a healthy goaltender and then to Toronto on Monday to play a struggling Maple Leaf squad.

Watching the Nashville feed of game on television, I was glad that after all these years the Predators kept their original goal song.  Hearing "I like it, I love it, I want some more of it" brought back great memories.  However, what I realized is that the Tim McGraw song sounds even better just as long as the Islanders end up with the win.  Just hope it doesn't take another 13 years before the Islanders win in Nashville again.

Short Term Miracle

After a disappointing home stand, the New York Islanders traveled to the Lone Star State to take on the Dallas Stars.  The game was the start of a much-needed four-game road trip to help get the Islanders back on track.  Dallas came into the game 27-26-10 with a  six game losing streak and a surprising losing record at home so far this year.

On Monday at 3:00 PM the trade deadline passed. While the Rags were very active with a number of moves, not least of which was the acquisition of defenseman Keith Yandel from Arizona, the Islanders seemed to be satisfied to stand pat.  That changed late Monday when General Manager Garth Snow acquired Michal Neuvirth from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Chad Johnson and a third round pick.  Even though Neuvirth had a losing record with the Sabres, he had much better goalie statistics than Johnson.  Let's face it, Johnson fell out of favor with management with his poor play during the first half of the year. It was only a matter of time before he was let go.

The snow did not stop there.  Garth also acquired forward Tyler Kennedy from the San Jose Sharks for a conditional draft pick.  Prior to the Sharks, Kennedy had spent six years with the Penguins.  In two other smaller moves, Snow sent Cory Conacher to the Vancouver Canucks for another long-time minor leaguer Dustin Jeffrey and then he closed up shop when he shipped backup Bridgeport goalie David Leggio to Arizona for defenseman Mark Louis.

Kennedy was supposed to make his debut in Dallas, but came up lame with an upper body injury (there is a very obvious and very tasteless joke that could be inserted at this point, but it will remain unwritten).  What was not clear what is if the injury occurred prior to or after the trade on Monday.  As a result of the last minute scratch the lines remained the same from the Carolina game on Saturday.  That meant Kael Mole Rat got another chance on the fourth line.  The only change on defense was that Lubomir Visnovsky was in for Brian Strait (it seems those two are alternating games to keep Lubo fresh).  Halak was in net.

In past years a trip to Dallas usually meant a sure fire loss. However, after the drop of the puck those ugly green uniforms that the Stars had made them look like losers from the get go.  Right out-of-the-box the Islanders made it difficult for themselves.  Matt Martin hit Trevor Daley knee on knee and got called for kneeing for a five minute major and an automatic game misconduct.  MattyMarts' evening was done before he even broke a sweat.  However, Dallas only got three shots on the extended power play.  It was probably the best stretch of penalty kill that the Islanders have had all year long.  

Most of the first period did not have too much action.  The Islanders got their chance on the power play after Grabner got tripped at around the 13 minute mark.  The Stars basically killed off the power play, but right at the end Brock Nelson passed the puck behind the net to Ryan Strome who did not waste any time to feed a hard charging Josh Bailey.  The Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen let one in for a 1-0 lead.  It was Bailey's 13th goal of the year.  Islanders out shot the Stars 18-9 for the period.

At the start of the second period, the Islanders had to kill off the rest of a bifurcated power-play that resulted from a goalie interference call against Anders Lee at the end of the first period.  Halfway through the period the game all of sudden opened up with a lot of end to end action.  Then with six minutes left in the period, Cal Clutterbuck and Thomas Hickey took back to back delay of game penalties.  However, both were successfully killed off.  

Amazingly enough, that made 11 straight minutes of penalties through the first two periods that the Islanders were able to escape without any damage on the scoreboard.  The Stars ended up out shooting the Islanders in the second period 13-9 only because of their power play time.

The Islanders penalty kill had been so good in the game going into the last period, it almost made you forget about the other problem that they had.  That would be winning face-offs. That would be exactly how the Dallas Stars tied the game.  After winning a face-off in the Islanders zone, Dallas put the puck on net which Halak initially saved, but Brett Richie was there put in the rebound. 

It was only a couple minutes later that Dallas caught a very lucky break. After a hard slap shot went off the board behind the net it took a very weird bounce off of the end boards right in front of Halak,  Vernon Fiddler then jumped off of his roof to knock it in.  Halak never had a chance.  

The Islanders tried to mount a comeback but couldn't muster any offense at all.  With a couple of minutes left Ryan Strome got called for slashing as he tried to retaliate after getting manhandled by Demers. However, before Strome's penalty expired, the Dallas Stars took their own slashing penalty to even it up.  

The Islanders ended up with a short power play in the last minute of the game and then pulled their goalie to make it six on four advantage.  It did not matter because the Stars closed out the game 2-1.  That last sentence was written with about 20 seconds left in the game and with a face-off in the Dallas zone.

Then a couple of miracles happened.  First, the Islanders won a face-off, but could not direct a shot on net.  Then second, Anders Lee flung a puck at Lehtonen with one second left and it caromed off of Jordie Benn's skate to send the game to overtime.  After some high energy back and forth action in the extra period Ryan Strome fell down at his blue line to give the Stars a two on one breakaway only to have Cody Eakin slide a thick slice of Texas Toast past Halak for the win.

New York fell to 41-21-3 and got their 85th point of the year and are still in first place in the Metropolitan Division.  However, their hold on the top spot is perilous at best.  The Rags have three games in hand as they go on a five game road trip that will see them back one last time at the Nassau Coliseum next week.  Now the Islanders go to Nashville to play an upset Predators team that has lost a couple of games in a row.  Getting any points in Music City will be very tough.

The Islanders played a decent game.  The penalty kill unit did a good job.  Halak was very solid, but there really was not anyone else who had an exceptional performance.  Shots for the game ended about even, but the Stars won the battle in the dot by winning 39 of 69 face-offs.  That may have well been the difference in the game. 

The Islanders were very lucky to get a loser point in this game. It was nice to see the miracle shot to tie it at the end, but it just gave all the players and the fans some false hope.  It was only a short-term miracle.  I guess that is better than no miracle at all.

The Legend of "Legless" Michael Grabner

It is safe to say that Michael Grabner has had a tough couple of years.  During this season he has battled numerous injuries, not least of which was a sports hernia (makes me wonder if there is a business version of a hernia for us regular folks).   After scoring 34 goals and nearly winning the Calder trophy a couple of years ago, Grabner has not been able to put up anywhere near the same numbers as in his rookie campaign.

Last year when we were in New York to catch a couple of Islanders games I purchased three bobble heads: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and of course Michael Grabner.  When I got home from the trip, Tavares and Okposo were fine, but Grabner had a rough go of it.  Both of his legs were chopped off at the knees.  It was almost as if they were surgically removed at the very same spot.  It was ironic in the fact that he makes his living with his legs as arguably the fastest skater in the league.  As the season wore on Grabner ended up getting hurt and missed the rest of the season.  This year has been more of the same. 

Michael Grabner is one of those players that is hard to find.  A tremendously gifted skater that can change a game with his speed, an aggressive and effective penalty killer, a forward that is responsible in his own end, and a player with the potential to be a prolific goal scorer.  It is the latter that frustrates coaches and fans alike.  He has the ability to put up 30+ goals in a season, but his health always gets in the way.  That being said, there probably is some thought to move him at some point, but that would be a huge mistake.  Once he gets healthy and gets in a groove he will relive his rookie form.

For the past year "Legless Michael Grabner" has remained alongside Tavares and Okposo, however he did not have a very good vantage point of the game lying on his backside.  That is why I thought it was time to fix the situation.  Drastic times call for drastic measures.  I had Kellie perform some emergency surgery to get Michael Grabner back on his feet.  If he pulls through, then the next step is to put him back on his bobble head stand.  

Maybe this is what the real Michael Grabner needs to get back on his own feet and show what a force he can be. If the Islanders are going to go on a long playoff run, Grabner will be an important piece to the puzzle.  He creates offense out of nothing.  Some might be critical that he does not finish off enough breakaways by putting the puck behind the goaltender.  However, I would argue that the opportunities he gets are a sheer bonus; opportunities to score that the mere mortal players will never get.  He has yet to put it all together, but perhaps that is right around the corner.  

They say in the NBA that you cannot teach height, well in the NHL you cannot teach speed.  You either have it or you don't.  I guess that would make Michael Grabner the Gheorghe Muresan of the NHL.  Muresan was a 7 feet 7 inch tall NBA player and could alter shots simply by standing still in front of the basket and stretching his arms towards the sky.  Similarly, Grabner can alter games with just a few strides on the ice to create breakaways out thin air.  

Both Michael and Gheroghe had or have the ability to change how teams approach the game.  Muresan probably could never have beaten Grabner in a race, but I would not have doubted that Grabner would have beaten big Gheroghe in a three point shooting contest.  That is reason enough to not give up on Michael Grabner.

The symbolic task of getting the Michael Grabner bobble head back on his feat hopefully will spur on the real life hockey player to start both wrecking havoc again on the ice and putting more biscuits in the basket.  If that happens, Islanders nation will be very happy.  No need to thank me, Islanders Nation can just thank Kellie.  After all, she performed the emergency surgery free of charge.  All it took was some tender loving care, a little bit of time, and a little bit of Locktite Super Glue in-between the knees.  

Michael Grabner is whole and a force once again.  Let Islanders Nation rejoice!