Unhealthy Scratch

Finally back home from the Rhine river in Germany, however I returned with an upper-body injury and listed as day-to-day.  There were a bunch of people on the cruise that caught some type of bug.  There was lots of indiscriminate coughing going on.  Kellie caught it during the first couple of days and passed it to me right before we boarded the plane flight home.  I rested all day yesterday but need to have at least one more day before I go back to work.

Tonight I got to see the Islanders play a game for the first time in a long time against the New Jersey Devils at the Nassau Coliseum.  I still had a bit of jet lag and due to my injury it took all my strength to stay up for this one.  For tonight's game, Casey Czikas returned and Michael Grabner sat (lower-body injury and is day to day).  The hope is that Grabner's ailment is not related to his sports hernia.  Same defense and forwards as last game.  Also it looks like Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuk are getting close for a return.   Halak got the start against  Keith Kincaid. Who is that you say?  Turns out he is a Sachem grad and grew up an Islanders fan. Playing at the Coliseum was his dream. He got to live that dream tonight. 

In the first period, the Devils showed up and the Islanders did not.  New York did not play with any emotion and as a result the fans had nothing to really cheer about.  It seemed like a typical Monday evening game that could go either way.  It was also very surprising how invisible John Tavares was.  The Islanders top line has not been as dominant as it had been in the past.  Kulemin seemed to be a good fit on the top line, however I think there is new blood needed there to spark both Tavares and Okposo.  

The Devils got on the board first with a power-play goal from Zidlicky that Halak never saw.  Then a couple of minutes later Gomez (who just recently returned to New Jersey and is trying to resurrect his career) threw one at the net and it caromed in off of Visnovsky's skate to give the Devils a quick two goal lead.   The Islanders had one power-play but could not put one past the Sachem kid.  However, Jagar took a penalty at the end of the period to give the Isles another shot on the power play to start the second period.  The Devils out shot the Islanders 12-7 in the period.  

To start the second, the Islanders failed to convert on the power play and were passing too much instead of shooting against the rookie goaltender.  Kincaid was not being tested.  Right after the man advantage ended, the Islanders started to cycle the puck behind the Devils net and Ryan Strome found Josh Bailey in front for his 5th goal of the year to cut the Devil's lead in half at 2-1.  Grabovski got the second helper.  The Islanders played a little better for the last ten minutes of the period.  They out shot the Devils 11-7.  There was a strong feeling amongst the broadcast team that the next goal would win the game.  They turned out to be right.

The first half of the third period saw the Islanders pick up the pace a bit.  Then with about nine minutes left, Czikas feathered a pass ahead to Matt Martin who wristed it into the far corner of the net to tie the game at two apiece.  For Martin it was a goal scorer's goal and his 4th of the year.  Every once in a while he flashes some skill that makes you go "Hmmm."  Calvin de Haan got an assist as well.  Right after Martin's goal the crowd started to get back into the game.  All of a sudden the Islanders responded and seemed to get a lot more chances the rest of the way.  

With a little less than two minutes left in regulation, John Tavares got caught for spearing (bad play by the captain) and the Islanders had to kill off a penalty right before the end of the period.  In overtime, Tavares came out of the box and he looked like he wanted to make up for his mistake.  He was all over the ice and came close to winning it.  Then the tables were turned as the Devils had to kill their own penalty to end the overtime period.  In the shoot out the Islanders got goals from Okposo and Bailey.  Halak was Halak and kept the Devils off the board when it mattered most.  The Islanders got the extra point on a night when they probably did not even deserve one point.

The Islanders did not play very well.  However, they turned on the switch in the last period for the second game in a row to get a win.  That was evidenced by the 13 shots vs. the Devils 7 in the period.  For the game the Isles out shot the Devils 33-28.  Not a dominating performance at all.  This was another perfect example of a game that they would have lost last year.  The Islanders remain a  perfect 9-0 in overtime/shootout games which will reap big dividends going down the stretch run next year.

Now its a well deserved three days off before going to Detroit on Friday.  The good news is that the Islanders only have six more games over the balance of the year which spans 16 days.  That means players can get healthy and the team can get in some well needed practice time.  If they can go 4-2 the rest of the month then it bodes well going into the new year.  I need to overcome my own upper-body injury in time so that I can rejoin the team.  I hope when that happens I can crack the line-up because there is no way I want to be a healthy scratch.

Black Forrest

It is the penultimate day of my vacation on the Rhine river here in Germany (I always like using that word “penultimate”). We took a two hour bus ride from Breisach into the Black Forest. We were at the foot of the Kaiserstuhl Mountain on the French-German border in a thick forest of pine trees. The area got its name because the forests are so dense that the local residents described them as black. It was breathtaking at certain points, however it was basically no different than any forest back home. The things I do to please the wife.

Our driving tour had one stop at a cuckoo clock factory. There we got a slice of Black Forest cake and purchased a cuckoo clock. Those were the two highlights of the day. So in summary I basically rode in a bus through a forest for four hours just for a piece of cake and a clock. However, afterwards I did realize one hidden benefit. I can finally cross of one thing on my bucket list. I actually ate Black Forest cake in the Black Forest. Mission accomplished.

Tonight the Islanders and their three game losing streak hosted the Chicago Blackhawks at the Nassau Coliseum. Was it a coincidence that the Blackhawks were in town while I was in the Black Forest…I think not. Anyway, as far as the lineup went, it was musical upper and lower body injuries again. Josh Bailey was back in the line-up for Eric Bolton and Griffen Reinhart was in for Brian Strait (which made the Islanders Twitter-verse very happy). Hamonic, Czikas, and Boychuk are getting closer but not quite ready to get back on the ice. In other player news, earlier in the day New York put Cory Conacher on waivers. No one claimed him and he was loaned back to Bridgeport. Conacher started the year as a first line winger and after a quick and steep free fall is now in the AHL where he is most likely to remain. The Conacher experiment is now officially over with.

A couple of interesting items for this game. First, it was Clark Gilles mini-locker afternoon. The Islanders are 2-1 on mini-locker games so far this year (Potvin and Smith wins vs. a Nystrom loss) with all the games being a sell out. Gilles skated with the team in the morning and was hoping to get into the line-up. However, Capuano joked that Gilles would not be happy being a “healthy scratch.” An interesting quote from Gilles before the game, “I'm looking to grow a playoff beard this year.” which was nice to hear from one of the Islander legends. In addition, it was the first game for Nick Leddy against his old team. There was a nice article on Leddy in one of the Chicago newspapers in which he stated that he was happy with the trade to the Islanders so that he could have a more prominent role with a new team instead of being a third pair defenseman for the Blackhawks.

The internet was down on the ship even though we were docked. Seems that being in this part of Germany makes the internet kind of tricky because there is a confluence of three countries (Germany, France and Switzerland). At least that is what the Cruise Director told us. Anyway, I could not get any Twitter updates until the following morning at breakfast. Chicago was coming into the game with an eight game win streak. Most were expecting the Isles to put up a good effort but fall a bit short. The next sixty minutes were going to be a measuring stick. 

In the first period, there was not much going on. New York seemed to play well and kept in step with Chicago. The Blackhawks had a slight edge on shots 10-8. However, the Isles still struggled on face-offs losing 10-14 during the period. In the second period, the Islanders came out flying and had the first nine shots on net against Chicago's Scott Darling. However, all was for naught as Dan Carcillo got the Hawks on the board first off a weird bounce off of Halak's back. It was only six seconds later, before that goal was able to sink in, that Cal Clutterbuck responded after Duncan Keith made a mistake in his own end. It was Clutterbuck's 4th goal of the year and it was uassisted. The period ended up tied at one. Through two periods the Islanders had the lead in shots 25-17. However, they continued to struggle winning rugby scrums as they were successful on only 12 of 34 face-offs.

Early in the third, Patrick Kane got Chicago the lead back when he breezed past Lubomir Visnovsky and backhanded one past Halak. At that moment I was waiting for the third Blackhawks goal to ice the game. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kyle Okposo step up and get his 7th goal of the year off of a rebound to knot the game at two apiece. The goal was fed from Tavares and Leddy right after the ten minute mark. Then, less than a minute later Visnovsky got his 2nd goal of the year from Ryan Strome and Matt Martin. That would end up being the final score in what some called the best game of the year. The Islanders continued the shot brigade by doubling up on the Blackhawwks 16-8 for the period and 41-25 for the game. They were able to protect their lead by winning 9 of 17 face-offs. Not great, but at least they were not dominated in the circle as usual.

Next up is a game against the Devils at the Coliseum on Monday and then the Islanders have three straight off days before heading to Detroit on Friday before returning back home for Tampa Bay on Saturday. Hopefully,, New York can get healthy on the blue line before the end of the week. On my vacation, the Islanders ended up 2-3 with an opening win against Ottawa and a closing win against the Blackhawks sandwiched around a three game losing streak. It will be good to get home and see some games and evaluate where the team is at.

Even though the wins have been well-earned, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The Islanders have faced adversity, especially when it come to injuries. They are the top of the league when it comes to man games lost. Nevertheless, they continue to weather the storm and find ways to win. The schedule is not getting any easier and getting wins the next couple of months will not be a piece of cake. But if the wins to come have to be in the form of some sort of pastry, maybe a nice big slice of Black Forest cake will do.

Sacre Bleus!

Pulling into Strasbourg on the French-German border.  I am not a big fan of either country so I am not in the best mood.  The dislike is more culinary than anything else, but there are other reasons as well. Having the Islanders on a two game losing streak (which seems more like a seven game streak) and not being able to watch any of the games does not help either.  To make matters worse I am suffering from an upper-body injury and will be a game time decision.

For tonight's game against the Blues, Josh Bailey was out with a lower-body injury and was replaced by Eric Bolton who was coming off injured reserve.  With Casey Czikas not making the trip, Ryan Strome moved down to the fourth line to center for Matt Martin and Boulton and Cal Cluttterbuck moved up to the third line.  On defense Matt Donovan was in for Griffin Reinhart.  Capuano just wanted some experience in the line-up tonight.  I think that was a sign that he really wanted to win this one.  Halak was back in net looking for revenge against his old team facing Jake Allen for the second time in a week.  The Isles were looking to erase the bad taste in their mouth from the last game at the Nassau Coliseum when they went out to a three goal lead only to lose 6-4.

I slept through the night for the first time on the trip and got up at 5:30AM to check the score, but the internet was down.  It was back up an hour later as we pulled into the port.  The first period saw St.Louis go out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Steen and Jackman.  The shots were even for the period with the Blues having a slight edge 9-8.  The Blues had three power plays to the Islanders two.  The first goal came after a Brian Strait penalty.  Poor guy has been based on Twitter the past two weeks. He has been on the ice for a lot of even strength goals.  Strait is -8 for the year at even strength.  The fans want him waived.  I am sure that he will be out of the line-up once Hamonic and Boychuk return.

In the second stanza, the Islanders stayed out of the penalty box and played strong.  John Tavares got his 12th goal of the year from Kyle Okposo late in the period to make it a 2-1 game.  Okposo won the face-off and Tavares darted through a couple of Blues and put it between Allen's legs.  Then Mikhail Grabovski got his 5th goal of the year from Frans Nielsen with less than a minute to go.  Grabo went top shelf where the expensive liquor is kept to tie the game going into the intermission.  The Isles out shot the Blues in the second period 14-8.

In the last period the Islanders fell apart.  St. Louis got four goals from Steen (his 2nd of the game), Oshie, Stastny and Schwartz.  Okposo got on the score sheet with his 6th of the year from Matt Donovan.  The Blues dominated the period by out shooting the Isles 16-6 and 33-28 for the game.  It was the third straight game that New York gave up at least five goals.  That is a bit concerning.  The only good news is that they are still only a point behind the Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

December started with two wins against Ottawa, but has been followed up with three losses against St. Louis and Minnesota (none of which were good).  The Islanders go home for the next four of five games so they have a chance to right the ship.  No one expected them to maintain their hectic winning pace the first two months of the season, however they need to plug their holes as soon as possible and stay close to Pittsburgh and far away from the other teams in the conference.  They need to weather the storm for now.  It has been a disappointing week, however it is not the end of the world.  It could be worse.  I could be stuck in Strasbourg and forced to eat Foie Gras and Sauerbraten for the rest of my life.

Nicht Akzeptabel!

As we were sailing from Miltenberg to Frankfurt the Islanders were skating in Minnesota against the Wild (I almost said Northstars).  This was going to be the first of two tough road games.  Casey Cizikas did not make the trip due to an upper body injury.  He was replaced by Josh Bailey who was returning from his own upper body injury.  

Lubomir Visnovsky was also finally returning from an upper body injury and was in for Matt Donovan who was going to be a healthy scratch.  Squatch is getting pretty good at sitting in the press box these days.  All kidding aside, Donovan had done at admirable job at filling in.  Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic were both still out with their upper body injuries.  The good news is at least there were no lower body injuries to speak about. 

What is it with all this upper body/lower body unsinn zueg!  Why is the NHL so secretive about their injuries?  The other professional sports leagues are out in the open, why not the NHL?  I get it.  You do not want your opposition to know what is ailing your players because your opponents might take advantage.  Is that more likely in the NHL than the NFL, NBA or MLB?  It is just verrückt!  

Halak was supposed to be in net again, but because of a minor injury in warm-ups he had to be replaced by Chad Johnson.  I think that Capuano wanted to get Halak back on track after breaking his 11 game winning streak the other day against Ottawa.  It was not to be.  

This game was also interesting because the Isles were facing Thomas Vanek and Nino Niederreiter for the first time this year.  The Islanders decided to not sign Vanek in the off-season (to do so would have been a gamble...pun intended) and Niederreiter was traded for Cal Clutterbuck after Nino complained to the media on how he was being used.  The Isles always have had a tough time against old teammates and tonight was no exception.

I was not able to follow the game live because of the six hour time difference.  The game kicked off around 2:00AM somewhere while I was on the Rhine river.  I woke up around 5:00AM and did a Twitter recap.  As I scrolled through the commentary my emotions ranged from glücklich to angepisst. New York got off to a lead in the first period on a goal by Michael Grabner.  It was Grabs40's 2nd goal in his third game back.  Because he is so streaky it was good to see that he was getting in the right spots to score.  Grabner's goal was helped by Lee and Reinhart, the later getting his first NHL point of his career.  

Later in the first period, Brock Nelson tipped home a one-timer from Leddy after a Tavares pass for a 2-0 lead. It was Nelson's team-leading 13th goal of the year.  Newsflash...the kid is sehr gut.  The Islanders would get one more before heading to the locker room when Matt Martin tipped in a puck behind Backstrom after a shot by"Fish Oils" Hickey.  Visnovsky got the second assist in his first game back.  

At that point Martin had his 3rd goal of the year which was one more than Vanek.  The operative term being "at that point."  Either way,  good move by Snow to not sign Vanek during the off season.  New York out shot Minnesota 11-3 in a very good first frame.  The Isles had the all too familiar three goal lead, which they had last game against the St.Louis Blues.  We all know how that turned out...Schrecklich!

In the second period the teams traded goals.  The North Stars...I mean Wild dominated New York and out shot them 12-1 during the period.  During the period Matt Martin put a crushing check on Keith Ballard who had to be helped off the ice.  It was a clean hit as Ballard turned away at the last instant.  Afterwards, Minnesota finally woke up.  That was schlechte nachrichten.

Kyle Okposo took a high stick penalty and the North Wild (I keep forgetting their proper name) scored on a goal from Pominville. Martin then got the expected obligatory dance with Kyle Brodziak and the Wild Stars seemed to get some schwung back. However, before the period was over Josh Bailey back-handed one in to give the Isles their three goal lead back. It was Bales' 4th goal of the year from Grabovski and deHaan. 

Even though the Islanders were dominated by the Golden Gophers they still had a three goal lead going into the last period. In the third, Mikko Koivu went short side on Johnson for the score to make it 4-2. Then Erik Haula sent one off Hickey's skate and past Johnson to make it 4-3 with about nine minutes to play. Then the nightmare started.

The two ex-Isles gave all the Islander fans some sodbrennen.  Within one minute of Haula's goal, Vanek put one in to tie the game.  Then after killing off a Vikings power play Niederreiter swept in the go-ahead goal on his back to make it 5-4 Minnesota with four plus minutes left. New York had a late power play but came up short. The North Wild Stars pulled off the come from behind win with four goals in the third period. After out shooting Minnesota by 8 shots in the first, the Islanders ended up being out shot by 11 for the entire game. The power play was only 1-5 and they won only 20 of 64 face offs. Clearly nicht akzeptabel.

That makes two games in a row that the Islanders have had three goal leads in the first period and both have ended with losses. Without seeing the game it is clear that Johnson is not up to the task.  He played well for Boston last year as a back-up, however, this year is completely different.  He consistently giving up 4-5 goals per game and that is simply not good enough.  It cannot be blamed solely on the defense.  He knows his role and he needs to be ready.  As good as Halak has been, the Islanders cannot play him every game for the rest of the season.  Johnson must be better or be ersetzt.

The Islanders have gotten off to a very good start at 19-9.  Everyone has been excited and those that have not followed the team in years have jumped back on the musikwagen.  The start has been primarily due to balanced scoring across four lines and great goaltending by Halak.  However, it is safe to assume that the balanced scoring will not be there every night and the goaltending will come back to earth at some point.  If the Islanders do not get better production from their top line, get a more consistent power play, significantly improve their penalty kill and face-off percentage they will be in schwierigkeiten.

It is only two games, but the Islanders have another tough one at St. Louis on Thursday.  There is no need to panic, but there needs to be some sense of urgency to fix the problems that they have right now.  If they don't address their issues you know that the rest of the league will start to doubt them and start saying: "Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer Islanders? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!" Oh how true that is! 

P.S. Any improper use of the German vernacular is a direct responsibility of Google Translate.  This blogger takes no responsibility for any inaccuracies or improper use of the words including in this hockey recap.  That is my story and I am sticking to it.  Auf Wiedersehen!

Heidi & The Goats

I spent this morning visiting The Palace of Justice where they held the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. then it was a short stop at the Rally Grounds and Zeppelinfeld, followed by a two hour trip through the Documentation Center.  The Documentation Center is a museum located at the unfinished Congress Hall in Nuremberg which depicts Hilter's rise and fall from power.  The afternoon ended up finally with a three hour walking tour through the Christmas Market in Altstadt or "Old a Town" which included window shopped and sausage eating. 

I returned to the boat and went to dinner with Kellie and my iPhone. The Islanders were playing the St. Louis Blues at the Nassau Coliseum in an early afternoon tilt at 1:00PM. That meant 7:00PM for me here in Germany which coincided with dinner.  It was also the Islanders third installment of mini-locker night with the honoree being Mr. Islander, Bobby Nystrom. New York was going for their 20th win of the season against just 7 losses.  

Coming into this game the Islanders were really hurting on defense with Boychuk, Visnovsky and Hamonic all out. The Isles already called up Griffin Reinhardt from Bridgeport for the previous game against Ottawa and today did the same with Ryan Pulock. New York had all seven defensemen out on the ice in warm-ups and afterwards they sent Pulock back to the AHL club.  The good news is that meant Visnovsky will probably be ready next game. As for the Blues game, it was the same cast of characters at forward with Halak in goal against Jake Allen.

At dinner I had my Islanders Twitter feed all fired up.  Before I was able to get to my entree the Islanders got out to a three goal lead.  After an unsuccessful power play the Blues committed yet another penalty and on the ensuing advantage Frans Nielsen knocked one home for his 6th goal of the year.  It came off of a behind the back pass from Okposo after a shot by Nick Leddy.  Before the period was over Ryan Strome slapped one past Allen for his 6th goal of the year and then Michael Grabner got his 1st goal of the year since coming back from sports hernia surgery. Strome's goal was unassisted and Grabner's goal was helped by Donovan and Leddy.  The Islanders had their fifth sell out of the year and the Coliseum was rocking.

In the second period the Blues would make a change at goal and inserted the former Devil Martin Brodeur who had just signed a contract with the team in the past week. The fans were yelling Marty's name and they got their wish. It was a good move by St. Louis.  The Blues made a comeback and scored two straight goals to make it a 3-2 game. The St. Louis goals came from Stastny and Berglund.  By that time dinner was over so I went back to the cabin and tried to get an audio feed for the game.  Listening to Chris King's voice was going to be great.  However, Tune In was not cooperating.  Seems that internet radio from the states for certain stations does not transmit over the satellite here in Germany.

I went back to the Twitter feed but the internet was down.  The Cruise Director told us that there was free wifi on the boat at all times.  However, he said that there are some spots along the way where the ship may lose the satellite signal.  It is usually when the boat passes by "Heidi and the Goats" along the Rhine river.  What's funny about that statement is that there is a precedent.  It was not the first time that Heidi interrupted a New York sports team.  Back in 1968 the "Heidi Game" or "Heidi Bowl" pitted the Oakland Raiders against the New York Jets.  The Raiders won 43–32. The game is remembered for its exciting finish, as Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to overcome a 32–29 New York lead. It came to be known as the "Heidi Game" because NBC Television controversially broke away from the game, with the Jets still winning, to air the 1968 television film Heidi at 7:00PM.

When I finally got re-connected to the internet the Blues tied the game 3-3 on a goal by Shattenkirk.  However, the Blues committed another infraction as Donovan lost an edge and a phantom trip was called.  John Tavares made them pay as he potted his 11th goal of the year which left him one goal behind Brock Nelson for the team lead.  It was a power play goal from Okposo and Nelson.  New York had regained the lead going into the last period.  The fact that the Islanders got the lead back after playing so bad seemed to be a good sign at the time.

The Isles had out shot the Blues in the first period 12-10, but the Blues dominated the Isles in the second and third periods and out shot them 16-8 and 14-7, respectively. Overall, the Blues put up 40 shots to the Islanders 27 and scored three times in the last period for a 6-4 win.  Oshie, Stastny (his 2nd goal of the game) and Tarasenko were the goal scorers for the Blues.  Halak failed to get a win against his old team and his win streak was stopped.

You can't win them all.  However, this was a disappointing loss.  The Islanders had all the momentum until they started the second period.  It was Bobby Nystrom day and it was a sold out game with 16,170 in attendance.  Halak had won a franchise record 11 games in a row and was facing the team that gave up on him.  Giving up a three goal lead was reminiscent of last year's team.  The Islanders need to shrug this one off quickly.  Next up are two road games against Minnesota on Tuesday and St. Louis on Thursday.  It is not going to be easy.  

I did a bit of research regarding Heidi". In the story it turns out that Heidi befriends her new neighbors including Peter the goat herder and his mother and blind grandmother.  At one point Peter is jealous of Heidi's relationship with Klara and pushes the blind grandmother down a mountain.  Fortunately she did not die and eventually was able to walk again.  Maybe that is a sign that the Islanders will be pushed and start to free fall from where they are right now, but it could also mean that they will bounce back and be stronger than ever.  Either way, that leaves me a bit nervous for the rest of this trip because it seems like the outcome is going to somehow involve a guy named Peter. 

Pour de Vrai

The New York Islanders went to Ottawa to take on the Senators in the second game of a back-to-back.  The Isles took the first game with a thrilling 3-2 win in overtime.  Thursday night's game however, was a challenge for a number of reasons.  First, the Senators were celebrating Daniel Alfredsson's retirement earlier in the day.  He skated with the team and dropped the ceremonial puck to start the game.  The crowd was loud and boisterous.  Secondly the Islanders  looked like the walking wounded.  In addition to Boychuk and Visnovsky being on injured reserve, Travis Hamonic was out for this one as well with an upper body injury.  Griffin Reinhardt was called up from Bridgeport to take his place.  Lastly, Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck were still banged up from the last game.  That gave Cory Conacher another chance to crack the lineup and also allowed the speedy MIchael Grabner to make his season debut after missing the first 25 games after sports hernia surgery. 

I landed in Paris a little after 1:00AM EST.  I was on my way to Germany for a well needed vacation.  Tomorrow I will be leaving Nuremberg on a cruise down the Rhine river.  The game came and went while I was somewhere over Atlantic Ocean.  The best I could do was a Twitter recap.  After we touched down  I scrolled through the tweets.  Halak was in goal again against Anderson.  The first period was scoreless.  The teams traded goals in the second frame. Brock Nelson got his 12th goal of the season from Nielsen and Leddy.  The kid leads the team in goals and he is only in his second full season.  The Islanders doubled up the Senators on shot attempts 18-9 through two periods.  In the third period, Casey Czikas did it again.  Burying a shot to the right of Anderson after a neat pass from Thomas "Fish Oils" Hickey.  It was Zeeker's 4th goal of the year.  The Islanders finished the game with 25 shots to the Senators 21.

New York moved to 19-7 with 38 points and gained sole possession of first place of the Metropolitan Division with a Pittsburgh loss.  In addition, they remained tied with Tampa Bay for tops in the entire NHL.  What can I say about this team that has not already been said?  They are gaining confidence and winning games even though they have a lot of injuries on defense and their top line is not scoring.  Everyone is pitching in on every line.  Also, it does not hurt when your goaltender is playing lights out.  Halak won his 11th straight game to set a franchise record for most wins in a row by a goaltender.  But indeed there still is something that can be said about this team: "Les Islanders sont pour de vrai"....The Islanders are for real!

Fish Oil For The Win

The Islanders played the Ottawa Senators tonight in the first of back to back games between the two teams. Does that sound familiar? Sure it does. Coming into tonight, the Islanders had played 25 games this year with this being the fifth time they have played the same team two games in a row. On two occasions they were able to sweep both games (Carolina and Pittsburgh) and in the other two (Tampa Bay and Washington) they split. Halak was going for his 10th win in a row against Craig Anderson who was in the nets for Ottawa. The Islanders were going with the same lineup from Saturday's game against the Devils.

I had to work late tonight so I listened to the first period in the car on the way home. Really was a boring 20 minutes. I really did not miss anything. The only action ended up being a goal by Mike Hoffman to give the Senators 1-0 lead halfway through the first period. There were no penalties at all and there were only 14 shots on goal with the Islanders getting 9 of those. When I got home I had to take care of a few things and missed the first half of the second period as well. Again, I did not miss anything as there were no goals and no penalties up until that point. 

After eating dinner, I settled in to watch the rest of the game. Towards the end of the second period, it looked like the Islanders were not going to generate enough offense and that the Senators would score another goal to take a commanding lead going into the last period. But that was not to be. With a little less than two minutes to go, Brock Nelson got his team-leading 11th goal of the year from Kyle Okposo. Breaking news alert…Brock Nelson is pretty damn good. 

The score was even. The teams would finally trade penalties and both power plays would come up short. Then as time was winding down in the second period, Casey Czikas stole the puck and blasted a slap shot passed Anderson with no time left on the clock. It seemed that the Islanders got a lucky 2–1 lead right at the end. However the officials waived off the goal as the puck passed the goal line literally a tenth of a second too late.

Nothing to worry about.  The Islanders got their 2–1 lead back early in the third when Ryan Strome banged home his 5th goal of the year after a shot by Thomas Hickey. Brian Strait got the second helper. Things started to look good as the Islanders defense settled in and was protecting a 2-1 lead for most of the period. However, Ottawa was able to tie up the game with about nine minutes left to go with a goal from Macarthur. The game ended up going to overtime. Again what else is new? The Islanders had already played seven overtime games this year coming into tonight. They were 7–0 in those games, winning either in the overtime or the shootout. After 60 minutes of play, the Islanders had out shot Ottawa 24–18. It clearly was not one of their better performances. They were lucky to get a point.

In extra time, New York played better. Then after about three minutes, Hickey got the puck on the right circle with a defender on him. Hickey did a backwards 360 and went behind the net and tried to stuff it in the goal on the short side. The puck bounced off a Senators skate and went in behind Anderson to give the Islanders a 3-2 overtime win. It was the second great game in a row by Thomas Hickey.  Earlier this year the Islanders players were all interviewed as they went on a long West Coast road trip. They were questioned about what was one thing that they couldn't do without during the trip. When it got to Thomas Hickey for some reason he said “Probably my fish oils. It keeps you healthy.” If that's the case, he should pass them out to everybody else on the team.

New York stole a second point tonight. They clearly did not play a good name but still managed the win. It was Halak's 10th win in a row which tied him with Billy Smith for the franchise record for most wins in a row by a goaltender. The Islanders moved to 18–7, good for 36 points and a tie for first place in the Metropolitan division with Pittsburgh. The Nassau Coliseum had a good Tuesday night crowd of almost 14,000 against an average opponent. It was the largest Tuesday night crowd in about six years.  I bet Nassau County politicians are kicking themselves right about now.

The Islanders are still banged up on the blue line. Boychuk and Visnovsky are still day-to-day and Hamonic went off late in the game after a hard hit. Cal Clutterbuck also got banged up as well. It will be interesting to see if that will enable Michael Grabner see his first action of the year. New York goes to Ottawa on Thursday for the rematch. Programming note - I will not be able to watch a live hockey game for the next week and a half. I am off to Germany to take a cruise down the Rhine River. It is a well needed and long-overdue vacation. I am not sure if I will try to watch the games on a delay. I will be following the results very closely.  I have been waiting way to long for this and I will try my best not to miss a second.  Whether I get to watch or listen to a game depends on how much free time I have. Either way, I will try to post my thoughts if I can.

Potvin Doesn't Suck

After last nights loss the Islanders were hoping to bounce back against the New Jersey Devils at the Nassau Coliseum. It also happened to be Dennis Potvin mini locker night. This was the second of these events. All throughout the season the Islanders are inviting back some of their past heroes from the Stanley Cup era and honoring them with their own night. The first one was last week when Billy Smith came back to the Coliseum.

Before the game Potvin said “It’s like that torch is really being passed to them and they’ve got a chance to do something. It’s all about them. You don’t have to prove yourselves to us. They have a great opportunity now to write their own history.” He also planned to address the team before the game and then lead them out onto the ice. It's great that he was able to make it back for this event. It was another sellout crowd and as a result the Islanders were flying at the start of the game.

As far as the hockey goes the Islanders had Halak in net. Cory Schneider started tonight for the Devils. Halak had won nine games in a row and had only given up 10 goals in that time frame. Visnovsky and Boychuk were still hurting from last night so that meant that Strait and Donovan were back in. Still no Michael Grabner in the lineup. Not much information coming out of the Islanders as to when he will be available for game action. One wonders if he's not ready yet whether the Islanders are trying to decide how to make a roster spot for him.

After the ceremonial puck drop by Dennis Potvin, The Islanders came out with more energy than they did last night. New York got an early power play and had numerous chances but unfortunately Schneider was up to the task. The Devils had their own power-play but the Islanders were able to kill it off. Very fast paced period with lots of up and down action. With a little over seven minutes left in the period Kulemin knocked in a rebound off of a Okposo slap shot to make it 1–0. Tavares got the second helper on Kulemin's 5th goal of the year. However, just a couple minutes later the Devil's got the equalizer. It was a shot that was re-directed in front of Halak by Brunner. New York would have one more chance on the power play before the end of the period, however they again failed to convert. Both teams finished the first 20 minutes even at 1–1. Isles had a slight edge in shots 11–8 for the period.

In the second period, the Devils came out of the locker room and had the better of the play. The Islanders could not get out of their own end for a couple minutes. It seemed like the momentum was changing a bit. Then The fourth line stuck again after a face-off in the Devils zone. Calvin de Haan took a blue line slap shot from the center ice area and it deflected off Cal Clutterbuck's skate to give the Islanders 2-1 lead. Overall, it was a good period for the Islanders. New York out shot New Jersey again this time 15-10. However, as well as the Islanders have played they were only up one goal until the last period.

In the last frame it was all Devils. After two periods the Isles had the edge in shots 26-19 and had the better scoring chances, however, in the final 20 minutes the Devils out shot the Islanders 16-2. In the final two minutes New York had a to kill off a 5 on 3 power play and Czikas iced the game with an empty net goal for the 3-1 win. It was Casey's 3rd goal of the year and his 4th point in the last three games. In a game when the Isles could not convert on the power play they came up big on the penalty kill. Halak was lights out stopping 34 shots to get his 9th straight win. In those games Jaro has only given up 11 goals. Truly stellar play from Halak who may just be the best goalie in the NHL right now.

With the win the Islanders move to 17-7 and will still have a share of first place with a Pittsburgh win. After the game the Islanders took the league lead in wins, barring the outcome of the Montreal game. It was one of those games that they would have found a way to lose in prior years. Another good sign for this team. Now it's on to a home in home with Ottawa next Tuesday and Thursday. The NHL schedule maker was a little lazy this year and scheduled a bunch of home an home games this year.

Go to any game (not just against the Islanders) during the year at Madison Square Garden and you will hear jealous Ranger fans yell “Potvin Sucks!” It's all part of Rangers tradition and Islanders lore. That could not be farther from the truth. After having a career in which he had 310 goals and 1,052 points, 4 Stanley Cups and a hall of fame induction, Potvin clearly does not “suck.” Guess what…neither do the Islanders.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Today was Thanksgiving leftovers day. That means back to back days of turkey and all of its accouterments. So it probably made sense that the Islanders traveled to Washington on Friday to play the second half of back to back games against the Capitals. They were coming off an exciting 3-2 overtime win at the Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. Surprisingly, Capuano went with Chad Johnson in net. Halak will most likely go tomorrow against the Devils. Holtby was in again for Washington. Only other item of note was that Brian Strait was in for Johnny Boychuk, who is day today with an upper body injury.

The Islanders played a great opening 10 minutes of the first period. They had a lot of jump and dictated play. In fact they had the first six shots on goal. Then a little bit after the 12 minute mark Matt Martin hooked Ovechkin. You can guess what happened after that. The Capitals scored on the resulting power-play goal by Niskanen to take a 1-0 lead. Johnson really did not have a chance. As good as everything has been this year, the penalty kill has been equally as bad. The Islanders came into the game with the second-worst penalty kill unit in the league. The Islanders tried very hard to get the equalizer before the end of the period. However, just the opposite happened. Washington got a break out and Johannson wristed one over the right shoulder of Johnson for 2-0 lead. It was not a very good goal and should have been stopped.

Just when you thought that the Islanders were going to go into the intermission down two goals, the unexpected happened. With about two minutes left John Tavares banged in his 10th goal of the year from Leddy and Okposo to cut the lead in half. That would've been good enough but the Islanders were not done yet. It was only 31 seconds later that the Islanders tied the game with a goal from Anders Lee. It was Lee's 5th goal of the year from Hamonic and Czikas. It was an impressive comeback by the Islanders that only took a couple of minutes. It was only fair because they totally outplayed Washington in the first 20 minutes. Johnson did not look sharp even though the rest of the team was flying around the rink. The Islanders out shot the opposition 11–5 in the opening frame. The Islanders netminder would need to pick up his game if they were going to win this one.

In the second, it wasn't too long before the Capitals got their second power play of the game. However, you should really sit down for this one, the Islanders managed to kill it off. I know it's hard to believe but miracles do happen. It seemed that Johnson was a lot sharper in the period. Must be a trend with him. Maybe it's a function of being the backup goaltender. That probably explains why he is 5–2 coming into this game even though he had a high goals against average. Then about midway during the period, Washington reclaimed the lead 3-2 on a goal by Ovechkin. New York got their first power play in the game with about five minutes left in the period. However, Okposo fanned on a one-timer and the Islanders couldn't convert. Washington got the better of the shots on goal during the period with a 13–8 edge.

As the third period started I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that the Islanders were going to lose this game. After all, you can't win them all. Halfway through the last frame, Washington extended the lead to 4-2 on a goal by Kuznetsov. The Islanders got the chance to get one back with a power-play at the nine minute mark. however, they failed to convert once again. The Islanders pulled Johnson with about two minutes left in the game. However, the two goals lead was just too much to overcome. The Capitals added a empty net goal to make it a 5–2 final. Shots were even in the third, and I'll there's even out shot Washington for the 28-27.

Vinosky left the game with an upper body injury. That's never a good sign, considering his past with concussions. Now that the winning streak is over, it's fair to say that a couple of players are struggling a bit. Okposo, Nielsen and Grabovski have not scored in quite a while. The penalty kill a struggling also. I think it's time to get Michael Grabner on the ice stat. I would not be surprised if he laced up the skates for tomorrow evening's game against the Devils at the Nassau Coliseum. If the defense is hurting tomorrow, you will probably see Donovan get back in a game and you might see Ryan Pulock brought up from Bridgeport. He is leading the Sound Tigers with 8 goals as a defenseman this year. He will most likely help out the power play quite a bit with his big slap shot.

Can't be too upset about this one. Like I said earlier, you can't win them all. In honor of Black Friday, I'm going to do pretty much what all retailers are doing today. I'm going to significantly discount this game. It's just one game. On to the next one. Time to start a new streak tomorrow.

The 1980s Are Back

There was a snow storm outside, but inside there was a full house of 16,170 on Thanksgiving eve at the Nassau Coliseum to watch the Islanders take on the Washington Capitals. New York basically went with the same lineup as Monday's game against the Flyers with the only difference being the re-insertion of de Haan and Hickey on defense. Halak was in net again looking for his 8th straight win facing Brandon Holtby of the Capitals.

New York played a strong first period and out shot the Capitals 12–9. The Islanders got on the board first, shortly after the five-minute mark, with a goal from the “kid line”. Anders Lee camped out in front of the goalie and jammed home the first goal of the game after getting passes from Strome and Nelson. It was Lee's 4th goal of the year, all coming at home. All three kids played together in Bridgeport last year and as a result have developed some very good chemistry. The Islanders dictated play for most of the period until Alexander Ovechkin blistered a slap shot during a power-play to even the score 1-1. That really wasn't unexpected, as Ovechkin seems to always score against New York. Then with a couple of minutes left in the period, Travis Hamonic got a great screen from Matt Martin to get the one goal lead back. It was Hamonic's 3rd goal of the year from Clutterbuck and Czikas.

The second was a pretty even period as evidenced by the fact that both teams had 10 shots on goal. However, with only a few minutes left, the game was even once again. Lee got into a scrap and took a two-minute penalty. Another penalty led to another goal and a tie game. It was Ovechkin again, who tallied the 89th multi-goal game of his career. It was basically the same play as the first goal. The Capitals swung the puck around to the left side where Ovechkin was waiting to slap it home. Lee would fall one assist short of the “Gordie Howe hat trick.”

What what was really impressive about the game, was that the Islanders were not giving the Capitals anything during five on five. It was a pretty even game for the first half of the third period.then the fans started to get into it. It was the loudest “Let's go Islanders "chant that I've heard on television in quite some time. Almost immediately the Islanders picked up the pace and started putting a lot more pressure on Holtby. But for the second game in a row the opposing goalie stole a point on the road. An extra session was needed.

In the overtime, the Islanders had the better of the play. Then with about 2 ½ minutes left Brock Nelson had his stick held and New York went on the 4 on 3 power play. The Isles were able to keep the puck in the Capitals zone. Tavares took the puck from the right dot and made a nifty move to get to the center of the ice and slapped one past a Boychuk screen and more importantly past Holtby for the win. It was Tavares' 9th goal of the year from assist-machine Ryan Strome and Johnny Boychuk. The Islanders out shot Washington 5-0 in the extra period and 35-27 for the game. Halak did indeed win his 8th game in a row and in those games has only allowed 10 goals.

With the 3-2 win the Islanders improved to 16-6 and have won 10 of their past 12 games. They are a very confident group and as a fan I have as much confidence as they do that they can beat almost anybody they face. Instead of figuring out how to make a comeback or hoping for a miracle win, I find myself just trying to figure out how are they going to win. That is the expectation now. The ole barn was rocking once again. It has taken 30 years, but both the crowd and the play of the Islanders were back. I guess that is the best evidence that it is indeed the 1980s all over once again. That is fine with me as long as I don't have to wear a Member's Only jacket on the weekend.

It's Good To Be The King

When it comes to opinions, everybody has one...including ESPN.  The sports channel that gave up on hockey a couple of years ago came out today with their weekly power rankings.  They had the New York Islanders at #1 out of 30 teams (a jump of 8 spots in one week) due to their impressive sweep of the Penguins over the weekend.  That was a beautiful sight to see.  The Isles are for real and the rest of the world is just finding out.  Times like these remind me of a famous line uttered by Mel Brooks in *History of the World Part 1*, "It's good to be the king!"

Tonight the Isles were at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.  I originally thought that the next game was on Wednesday against the Capitals, but to my pleasant surprise there was indeed a game tonight.  The Flyers had won 15 out of the last 20 games against the Blue and Orange over the past couple of years.  They seem to have the Islanders number.  However, this is a different team and a different year.  The Flyers may have something on the Islanders of the past, but have nothing at all on this team.

For the first time this year, the Islanders feed was coming through on Center Ice.  I got to listen to Howie Rose and Butch Goring for once.  It's nice to have a home game once in a while.  As far as the game goes, Halak was in net trying to get his 7th straight win.  Strait and Donovan were in on defense for de Haan and Hickey who were feeling the effects of the flu.  For Donovan it was his first game of the year after 20 healthy scratches.  If was also his first action since last April.  He had been practicing with the team, but nothing takes the place of real game action.

Pretty uneventful first period.  No one found the back of the net and the Islanders had the only power play.  They did have the edge in shots 12-6 and had many more scoring chances.  However, they were terrible in the face-off circle losing 13 of 17 face-offs.   The second stanza was a little better  Islanders again had the better chances as they once again out shot the Flyers 15-10.  Mason was in net for the Flyers and stood on his head.  He really was the only reason that the Islanders did not have the lead.  What stood out during the period was the play of the Strome-Nelson-Lee (a.k.a. kid line).  They applied a lot of pressure and cycled the puck at will.  Strome especially has impressed as of late.  He not only was making smart decisions with the puck, he is also checking well and playing solid defense.  The Islanders just had to keep the pressure and eventually they would be able to break through the wall that was built by Mason (I just could not let that pun slip by).  

In the third period I found myself flipping back and forth between the scoreless hockey game and the Darren Wilson Grand Jury decision.  I wanted to stay with the Islanders game, but I was a transfixed on what was happening in Ferguson, Missouri.  As a result, I did not see much of the rest of the game and barely saw the overtime.  The Flyers stole a point solely based on the play of Mason.  However, the Islanders clearly deserved the extra point.  They out shot the Flyers 46-21 (including a 19-5 edge in the third period and overtime).

The skills competition once again decided the Islanders fate.  After Okposo missed in Round #1, Nielsen did what he does best and gave the Islanders the advantage.  It was Fransy's 37th career shootout goal which tied him for the most all time.  Tavares then sealed the deal with what is becoming his signature shootout move.  He skates towards the goalie, slows his pace to almost a complete stop, stick handles a million times and backhands it in the net before the goalie realizes what happened.  He is so slow in his skating it almost seems illegal

The win gave the Islanders 15 wins in the first 21 games for the best start in team history.  With Pittsburgh's win the Islanders remained tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division with 30 points.  At this point it does not matter who the opponent is.  Instead of hoping to win, it is just matter of figuring out how they are going to win.  As Jack Capuano said after the game the Islanders have a "swagger".  I can't remember the last time they had this much confidence.  I will say it again.  "It is good to be the king."

Now I can say with full confidence that the next game is indeed against Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.  It will not be easy.  I am sure it will be another day in the office for both me and the Islanders.  Hard work pays off.  Ain't it the truth.

Climb Aboard

Tonight was the second game in a back-to-back match-up with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I was in Knoxville, Tennessee at Neyland Stadium to watch the Tennessee Volunteers take on the Missouri Tigers.  It was a good game, but not as good as the game going on at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

I DVRed the hockey contest, but it was unrealistic to think that I could watch it, because I would be getting home very late and there is no way I could have waited all that time for the final result.  I brought my iPhone to the stadium and had Twitter fired up to track the action.  The cell signal at the stadium is very poor, so getting a Twitter re-fresh was spotty at best.  An Islanders win and they would get a share of first place (they would have more wins that the Penguins but Pittsburgh would have a game in hand).  The match up was Halak vs, Greiss so the Isles had the advantage in net.

It was also Billy Smith mini-locker night.  They were honoring #31 and celebrating his contributions to the Islanders legacy with his leadership during the four Stanley Cup runs.  He spoke to the media and to the team before the game, and then dropped the opening puck.  It must have been electric at the ole barn tonight.

The Penguins got on the board first with a goal from Malkin late in the first period.  From what I was reading the Islanders continued their strong play from Friday night and dominated the Penguins, however, they could not find the back of the net.  I was not too concerned, because I knew it was early and that the Islanders had first place on the line.  Shots on goal for the period were even at 9 apiece.  

In the second period it was more of the same.  Then lightning stuck for the second time in two games.  Matt Martin had a nifty backhand in front of the net for his 2nd goal of the season at the 18 minute mark.  The Islanders 4th line had been playing great as of late and also has been chipping in with some offense.  It was a relief to get the equalizer going into the last period.

The third period was all Islanders.  It started with a tip in from Anders Lee off of a Visnovsky slap shot.  It was Lee's 3rd goal of the season.  I do not know what the Islanders are going to do when Michael Grabner comes back from injury.  Lee and Strome are both playing very well even though they have options and can be sent down to Bridgeport without going on waivers.  The only options are to let Conacher go or trade Josh Bailey.  The other option would be to trade Grabner and get some draft picks, but I strongly believe that would be a mistake.  I think Grabner is a very good player and his speed adds another dimension to an already fast Islanders team.

About 7 minutes later Downie elbowed Hickey and knocked him down on a dirty and intentional hit.  The Islanders went on the power play and they quickly made the Penguins pay.  A tick-tac-toe pass from Tavares to Okposo to Nelson put the Islanders up 3-1 and the barn was getting loud.  It was Nelson's team leading 10th goal of the year. Then to add insult to injury, Tavares got his 8th goal of the year.  It was a neat play as Tavares pulled the puck back towards him and away from Greiss and then put it in the open net.  The Coliseum was on tilt for sure.  The sellout crowd of over 16,000 was delirious.  Twitter was exploding with happy Islander fans.

As I walked out of Neyland Stadium I was not upset that the Vols lost to the Tigers.  Knowing  that the Isles had played a near perfect game and had a share of first place made me grin from ear to ear.  After all, an Islanders win means more to me than anything else.  As I was driving home I listened to some post game interviews in the car.  I love the fact that the Islanders are not getting ahead of themselves and taking this season one game at a time.

Overall the Isles out shot Pittsburgh 35-28 and were clearly the better team.  Now it is a couple of days off until another home and home with the Washington Capitals.  There is a game at the Coliseum before Thanksgiving and then a re-match against Washington at the Verizon Center on Thanksgiving Leftovers Day on Friday.  There is a lot of work to do in the office and there is a lot of preparation for my upcoming vacation in Germany.  However, all of that is masked by the Islanders success.  

They Islanders are clearly the best team in New York right now.  The media has not given them the attention that they deserve.  It is kind of like how the liberal media ignores Obama and all of his shortcomings.  That will be changing soon.  Its time for some band wagon jumpers.  They will not be able to ignore this team much longer.  They are for real. The time to jump is now.

No Tiramisu For You!

The Islanders travelled to Pittsburgh for the first of two back to back games. Both teams were referring to these games as “playoff-like” because after a team plays one game adjustments need to be made quickly. What adds to this is the overall atmosphere. The Islanders are off to a good start and are only three points behind the Penguins heading into the game. A good weekend and the Isles could overtake or tie the Penguins. Last and certainly not least is the fact that these two teams are very competitive and hate each other. Game on.

Unfortunately, I will not have the pleasure of seeing either game live. On Friday, I travelled to Knoxville to see the Tennessee Volunteers take on the Missouri Tigers. On Saturday, I will be at Neyland Stadium with 102,000 of my fellow Vol Fans cheering on Big Orange. I was in the car driving up I-75 towards Knoxville and put the hockey game on the radio. Thank the lord for cell phones and the internet. Otherwise I would been screwed and would have had no way to know what happened. I DVRed the games at home, but it would have been hard to wait a couple of days to find out the results.

I was going about 90 miles and hour on the interstate to make up some time. However, I think the fact that I had Red Bull n my system and the Islanders game on the radio contributed to my breaking of the law. As the game stared, the Penguins got on the board first in the first two minutes as Brandon Sutter defected a puck past Johnson. It was risky starting Johnson against Fleury on Friday, but if the Islanders could pull out a win then they would have the advantage the next night with Halak in the Nassau Coliseum against the Penguins back up goalie.

Then the onslaught started. Starting at 8:18, Matt Martin came off the bench and found the puck to the left of Fleury and put one past him. It his first goal of the year and after that goal every forward could say that they have put at least one biscuit in the basket. It was important to tie it up so quickly because Pittsburgh had been playing well and Fleury has had a couple of shutouts in the past two weeks. Then a minute later, Nikloay Kulemin came into the Pittsburgh zone by himself and after some nifty stick handling he put a quick second goal past the goalie. It was his fourth goal of the year. He was the throw-in when the Islanders signed both him and Grabovski over the summer. However, Kulemin is turning out to be a very welcome addition.

Before I could let it soak in that the Isles had taken the lead, Ryan Strome scored to make it 3-1. It was Strome's fourth goal in a little over a week. I looked at Kellie in the car and confidently said “I told you…they are in fact a very good team this year”. There is no denying that now. Before the period was over the Penguins had a lucky deflection off the stick of Blake Comeau to make it a 3-2 game. It was unfortunate that it was a one goal game, because the Islanders were so much the better team. It would be interesting to see what was going to happen the rest of the way.

In the second period, Nick Leddy got his fifth goal of the year to re-establish the Islanders two goal lead. However, the Penguins got one back with a goal from Nick Spaling to make it 4-3 going into the third period. By this time, we had arrived in Knoxville and at Altruda's for dinner. I turned the game off and when inside for some good Italian Food and a couple of glasses of Malbec. Kellie wondered if I was going to listen to the game in the restaurant, but I could not do that. It would have been dis-respectful and a little strange to eat dinner with ear buds. Anyway, I had my iPhone on the table and kept refreshing TSN to get updates.

For the first 13 minutes the game remained at 4-3. It was impressive that the Islanders had maintained the one goal lead for so long. I wondered if that was how the game was going to end. However, the Penguins tied the game with a goal from Patric Hornquist. I kept refreshing the score for the rest of the third period and the overtime and was very nervous that the Penguins were going to somehow pull the game out. It went to a shootout. At least the Islanders got a point.

In the skills competition, both Malkin and Tavares missed on their first attempt. Then Neilsen and Crosby got their respective teams on the board. In the third frame, after Johnson stopped a shot, Kyle Okposo got the game winner. The Islanders got the bonus point and improved their record to 13-6. It did not work out exactly the way I wanted it to, but to get two points on Friday gave the Islanders the chance to tie the Penguins at home on Saturday. I did not see the game, but it was very clear the Strome had to be the player of the game with his goal and two assists. That gives him a very quiet 15 points. He is starting to show what he can do

I was very happy with the Islanders win. I had finished off my Snapper al Limone and pasta and ordered Tiramisu for dessert. The last time I was at there we got in too late and they ran out of my favorite dessert. Tonight was the same. No Tiramisu for me. I was disappointed. I always get it whenever I am at a good Italian restaurant. I looked back at the menu and ended up getting the New York Cheesecake. I found the following in Wikipedia:

New York-style cheesecake relies upon heavy cream or sour cream. The typical New York cheesecake is rich and has a dense, smooth, and creamy consistency. Sour cream makes the cheesecake more resilient to freezing and is the method by which most frozen cheesecakes are made. However, a lavish variant uses sour cream as a topping, applied when the cheesecake is cooked. It is mixed with vanilla extract and sugar and replaced in the oven, essentially making the cheesecake twice-baked.

Then afterwards I thought that maybe it was meant to be. Celebrating the New York win with some New York Cheesecake. Both the Islanders and my dessert were rich, dense and smooth. Suddenly my dessert tasted all that much sweeter.

Nabby's Return

Tonight the Islanders took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on the back end of a home and home series. The Islanders lost the first game which broke their five-game winning streak. They didn't play the greatest game on Saturday so I was really looking forward to tonight to see how they would respond. What made tonight more interesting is that it was the return of if Evgeni Nabokov to the Nassau Coliseum. He had not played in 10 days so it was going to be interesting to see how sharp he would be. I do remember from his prior years of playing with the Islanders that whenever he was off for a long period of time he always came back very sharp. Halak, who had been playing well of late, was in goal for the Islanders.
 
I worked a little late tonight so I tried to listen to the game in the car on the way home. However, I could not get a good cell signal and there was a lot of dead air. Whenever I got a connection I only got a minute or two of information. All I could tell was that there was no score in the game. As I arrived home I checked the score and saw that Tampa Bay took a 1–0 lead. After feeding the cats, I went downstairs to the man cave and put the game on. The first period ended with the very same score. For some reason I didn't feel all that confident for this game. I felt a loss coming on. I would turn out to be very wrong.
 
The Lightning started the second period with a power-play. However, at the 39 second mark, Cal Clutterbuck took an errant pass and wristed one past Nabokov to tie the game. The Islanders went on to kill off the balance of the penalty and then just as Hickey was coming out of the box, Stamkos was called for a tripping penalty. There was all of sudden a feeling that the tide was turning. The Islanders failed to convert on the man advantage, which is starting to become a little concerning. After starting off the season with a very hot power-play, they have been struggling as of late.
 
Capuano started to juggle his lines by moving Tavares and Okposo around a bit. It worked. A little past half way through the period, Grabovski got a neat pass from Neilsen to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead. It was his 4th goal of the year. Less than a minute later Ryan Strome wristed another goal past Nabokov for a 3-1 lead. After playing a very strong first period, Nabokov was starting to show the same form that he had shown all too frequently as an Islander the past couple of years. Right at the end of the second period, Tampa Bay took another penalty which gave the Islanders a power-play to start the third period.
 
The Islanders converted to start the third. Visnovsky took a slap shot which seemed to be tipped in by Brock Nelson for his 9th goal of the season. All of a sudden, in what seemed to be a blink of an eye, it was 4-1 and the Islanders were in control. The Lightning would get one back, but then Casey Czikas was turned loose on a breakaway and roofed his 2nd goal of the year to make it 5-2. That is the way it ended.
 
As I said, I really wanted to see how this team was going to respond. The first period was a little sluggish with a number of errant passes. However, the Islanders picked it up in the second period and once they scored, they smelled blood and went in for the kill. They played solid the rest of the way. What made it that much more impressive is that the Lightning have been one of the better teams in the league this year and on Saturday they dominated play. Tonight was the Islanders turn to get even. It also did not hurt that Nabby was in goal.
 
Next up is another back-to-back and home-and-home with the Pittsburgh Penguins who sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division a few points ahead of the Islanders. As 0Clutterbuck said after the game, “It's no secret that Pittsburgh isn't liked around here, so we'll take care of game one and beat them here on Saturday.” If you are an Islander fan, you got to like the confidence. Now they need to go out and make it happen.

Struck By Lightning

On Saturday Kellie and I ventured to Knoxville to watch the Tennessee Volunteers throttle the Kentucky Wildcats 50-16.  It was one of the few times where it is ok for the dogs to beat the cats.  We left in the third quarter partly due to the fact that the game was decided and we had a three hour drive home.  However, the primary reason was that Kellie was freezing as an unseasonal cold snap had the temperature at below 40 degrees.

I had planned to listen to the Islanders game on my iPhone on the way home.  The Isles were playing the Tampa Bay Lightning looking for their sixth win a row.  However, I decided to watch the game at home on the DVR.  I arrived in my man cave around 10:30PM.  I turned the game on and accidentally fast forwarded through the first eight minutes of the game.  Before I could fix my mistake, I saw Brock Nelson skate to the middle of the Lightning zone and wrist one past Bishop for a 1-0 lead.  I thought that was a good sign of things to come.  It was Nelson's team leading 8th goal of the year from Tavares and Okposo.  Chad Johnson was in net on the tail end of the Florida back-to-back games.  It made sense to give him a game but it was also a risk because Halak has been hot as of late.

I sat back and watched the rest of the first period.  The Lightning got one back when Ryan Callahan, the former Ranger got his 6th goal of the year.  Then Josh Bailey tipped in a shot from Boychuk to give the Islanders the lead back at 2-1.  Bailey had been rewarded for his strong play with a spot on the top line with Tavares and Okposo.  But the Lightning had a couple of more answers and put two more goals from Filppula and Paquette past Johnson to take a 3-2 lead into the second period.

It was clear that Tampa Bay was dictating the play  even though they had only a slight edge in shots.  In the second period the Lightning scored a critical goal from Johnson to take a two goal lead into the last frame.  The Islanders simply could not overcome those two goals.  Tampa Bay kept up the pressure and added an a goal with a couple of minutes left for the 5-2 win.  The Islanders did not play a bad game.  They were out shot only 28-27.  It was basically one of those games that you can chalk up to "you can't win them all".

The Islanders are 11-6 and coming home to a rematch with Tampa Bay in the Nassau Coliseum.  That game will tell me a lot.  It we see more of the same then it might shed some light on a potential problem.  However, if the Isles come out and play a strong game then it will be a good sign that the game in Florida was a one game aberration.  

Five In Florida

The Islanders played the Florida Panthers tonight. New York had won four in a row coming into the game. Josh Bailey came off of injured reserve after missing a couple of weeks with a broken hand. The first 10 minutes of the game was very hard-hitting. The Islanders had an early power-play but failed to convert.  They were actually playing well and had numerous chances against Roberto Luongo. It was going to take an extraordinary effort to get the puck passed him tonight.  The Panthers got on the board first with a chip in behind Halak. It was some guy named Jimmy Hayes (a classic hockey name if I ever heard one). It ended the Islanders shut out streak at 193 minutes covering the last 2 1/2 games.

The Panthers went into the second period with a 1–0 lead. The Islanders had to kill off a Panthers power-play and then a few minutes later Kyle Okposo found John Tavares in the slot to tie the game 1-1.  It was to Tavares' seventh goal of the season to lead the team.  It came on the Islanders 22nd shot of the game.  It was only a couple of minutes later that the Islanders got a break and a breakaway.  Strome got a lead pass from Hickey and was away all by himself. He took a confident shot and put it past Luongo's five hole for a 2-1 lead. It was Strome's 2nd goal in as many games.  He looked really good on that shot.  Maybe it is a sign of things to come. The Isles maintained their lead as the period came to a close. 

Early in the third period Kulemin knocked in his own rebound for his third goal of the year to give the Islanders of 3–1 lead. But it would not end there. The Panthers tied the game with two late goals.  Tavares took a bad slashing penalty that led to a power-play goal for Florida.  Then with a little over two minutes left the Panthers got a bad bounce to go their way past Halak to tie the game. The Islanders had a shot to win in regulation after a tripping penalty gave the Islanders a power play with a little over two minutes left. However, they could not convert.  

The overtime was dominated by Florida as they out shot the Islanders 8–1. In fact, they got a late power-play with a minute left in overtime.  The Islanders survived the overtime and it went to a shootout. Nielsen started with his famous "Backhand of Judgment" to give the Islanders the lead in the shootout. Okposo scored on a nice deke and Halak stopped two of three shots to give the Islanders the win. This was the type of game that good teams win on the road.  It was a very satisfying two points indeed. 

That's five wins in a row and the Islanders will travel to The Gulf Coast to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night. This is a confident team and there's no reason to believe that they won't come away with a win tomorrow night as well.

Hard Work Pays Off

They say that it is something that you cannot teach. It's the one thing that separates the average from the better than average. It can mask your deficiencies or accentuate your strengths. You are not born with it and you cannot buy it at any price. Those that don't understand how important it is will never have it. The only defense against it is to have a more stronger one. It requires commitment, dedication, and focus. It is called a work ethic.  I learned this a long time ago and I think the Islanders are finally learning it right before my eyes.

This week has been very hectic at work and today was the worst day of them all. It was meeting after meeting after meeting and there was still a ton of work to do.  I woke up this morning and got into the office around 7:00 AM.  I worked all day, barely had time for lunch, and before too long, I looked up and it was 6:00 PM.  I wanted to stay late and finish a report for a major project, however, I was too tired and knew there was a hockey game to watch. The Islanders were returning from a successful west coast trip and a 9-5 record.  I convinced myself that I could get some work done while watching the game at home.  So I left the office right then and there.

I decided to listen to the first period in the car.  It was a good thing that I did, because my DVR did not record the game.  Truth be told, I like listening to Chris King on WRHU radio. He calls a great game and he's a big Islander fan.  It's almost as good as watching the game live on TV.  Furthermore, for some reason, all of the games that on NHL Center ice have the visiting team announcers. I never get to hear the Islander announcers. Dish Network, where is Howie and Butch?

I got in my car I put the game on the radio. Within the first few minutes the Islanders struck first.  What else is new?  It has been a theme all year.  Yet another sign that this is not the same team as prior years. Nick Leddy got his 4th goal of the year on a slap shot from the left circle.  I did not know it at the time, but I could've turned off the radio at that point. It was only a few minutes later that the Islanders got another chance.  The Avalanche took a roughing penalty.  After the first power play until failed to score, Anders Lee got a gift goal from Varlamov when the goalie misplayed the puck right in front of the net.  Props to Lee for being in the right place a the right time.  It was Lee's 2nd goal of the season and gave the Islanders a quick 2-0 lead.  It was also the first power play goal by the second unit all year.

When I got home, I made a triple decker peanut butter sandwich and headed downstairs to work on my report.  I put the game on in the background and looked up at the screen from time to time.  In the second period, the Islanders continued to dominate.  Hamonic got his 2nd goal of the year from Tavares and Kulemin.  It was a slapper from the blue line with traffic in front of the net.  Then five minutes later, Kulemin got a short handed breakaway, went in confident to the net and put a nasty back hand shot past Varlamov for a 4-0 lead.  I hope Grabner was watching so that he could take some notes on how to finish one on one.  The Islanders had a commanding lead going into the last period.  I started to focus more on my report as I knew that the game was in hand.

In the third period, Czikas and Strome got their 1st goals of the year to make it 6-0 and that is where it ended.  Without a doubt it was the Islander's most impressive performance of the year.  I did not focus on the game, but I could tell that the Islander's were working harder than usual.  There have been too many times in the past where they would let teams get back into games after getting a lead.  That was last year and this is a new year.

  The Islanders played solid defense and got goals from six different players.  I call that a very balanced attack to say the least.

After such a dominating performance, it got lost amongst all of the headlines, it was almost overlooked that Halak got his second straight shutout.  He was very good, but he really was not tested.  That is due to the fact that the defense has been playing very well in front of him.  The Islanders outshot the Avalanche 46-20.  The Islanders moved to 10-5 and were off to Florida to take on the Panthers and Lightning.  It looks like the Islanders are finally getting it.  Hard work does indeed pay off.

Gila River Shutout

Tonight was the last game of a very important five game, twelve day western road trip. It started with a 5–0 drubbing at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. Since that game the Islanders found their defensive identity. They would not give up more than two goals in a game for the rest of the trip. It's a good thing because the Islanders cannot continue to rely on scoring five goals every game.

On Saturday the Isles played the Arizona Coyotes in something called the Gila River Arena. What a strange name for a hockey arena. I decided to google it because I was curious and it turns out that there really is an Gila River in Arizona. But there is no way a river by itself can pay millions of dollars for naming rights. On further review it looks like the arena is named after the Gila River Indian Community which is the first federally recognized Native American tribe to hold a naming rights deal with a venue for one of the big four major North American professional sports leagues. Up until today The only Gila I knew of was the Gila Monster. Well I guess that means that the day was not wasted, because I can say I learned something today. Back to hockey.

The strong defensive play continued. In the first period each team had one power play and one kill. However, the Islanders had much more jump than the Coyotes. They should have had more jump because they were definitely the more rested team. Arizona played Anaheim last night while the Islanders were resting in their hotel room after a day off.
 
After the ten minute mark of the first period it was clear that the Islanders were the better team. The second period was more of the same. A couple more power plays and a couple more kills. It was scoreless after two periods. However, the Islanders were dominating as evidenced by the fact that they doubled Arizona's shot total. The Islanders were not giving up anything five on five. It was a pretty tight game. It started to look like one goal would be enough for the win…and that would turn out to be very true.
 
Most of the third period looked a lot like the first two periods. A couple of penalties, a couple of kills and plenty of blocked shots. Then with a little over two minutes left Grabovski grabbed a rebound off of a Tavares shot and fed it into the slot where Nielsen one-timed the puck behind Smith for what would turn out to be the winning goal. It was Fransy's fifth goal of the season. But before the game was over the Islanders needed to kill off a six on four power play. Mission accomplished. A very impressive win.

Halak was sharp as he stopped 32 shots to earn his 31st shutout of his career. The Coyotes had only 19 shots but that was deceiving. Most of those shots came with a man advantage. The Isles were 0-3 on the power play, but more importantly the Coyotes were 0-5. It was probably one of the best defensive games the Islanders have played in a very long time.
 
The Isles will stay in Arizona over night and then have a very enjoyable flight home tomorrow. Next week brings Colorado to the Nassau Coliseum before the Islanders travel to Florida to play the Panthers and Lightning. New York ended up 3-2 on the road trip by getting three straight wins. They started the season on a winning streak by relying on their potent offense and now they are winning games with good defense and timely scoring. The November demons are being exorcised. It's just another sign that this version of the New York Islanders is a different team playing in a different season.

SoCal Sweep

I was up at 5:00 AM this morning so it was no surprise that I was asleep by the time the puck dropped on the Islanders game at 10:30 PM. However, I was in luck. Right after the game started, Frank jumped up on me and woke me up. After that, I was wide-awake and had no problem keeping my eyes open for the entire first period.
 
It surely was fast and furious. Both teams had a lot of energy and were flying around at a very fast pace. The Kings got on the board first with an early goal that deflected off a couple players in front of Johnson. Before the period was over the Islanders got even on a power-play goal by Brock Nelson. New York's passing on the power play was crisp. Nelson was able to come out of the corner and put the puck underneath the arm of the Quick for the goal. The Kings would have their own power play before the period was over, but the Islanders were able to kill it easily.
 
The second period was a carbon copy of the first. Only difference is that there were more power plays for both teams and no goals. The Islanders even had a four-minute minor penalty but could not convert. It was a pretty even game as evidenced by the fact that the shots on goal were practically even. The pace was fast and the fact that both teams were playing well made it almost impossible to make a play. It's almost felt at the time that the next goal would probably come off of a bad bounce or bad break. It was another strong effort by the Islanders in back to back games in Southern California. Just like last night it would be a shame if the Islanders did not come away with a least a point in this game. They deserved it because they were playing well.

I went upstairs and ended up watching the third period In the bedroom. The Islanders were playing well and I felt that they were going to score goal. I wanted to be up to see it. One thing I've noticed about this team this year is that they are not over matched or intimidated by anybody. In the past it would seem that it was only a matter time before the other team would score a couple goals to put them out of their misery. This year they are in every game and in fact in more often than not are the better team.
 
The game went to overtime and the Islanders dominated with numerous chances including one open net chance by Visnovsky. It's hard to believe that the Islanders looked like the fresher team even though they were playing the second of two back to back games. The overtime was scoreless and the game went to a shootout. In the shootout Johnson stopped two shots and Okposo and Nielsen both put the biscuit in the basket to win the game. It was a very impressive win.
 
Back to back wins in Southern California evened out the Islanders West Coast trip at 2–2. The Islanders are now 8–5 overall. Now it's on to Arizona and if they can win Saturday night they can go home 9–5. And this is supposed to be November? I'm glad that I stayed up to watch the whole game. It was very exciting. And who do I have to thank for that? Frank of course! If he didn't wake me up I probably would've slept through the game. It's now going on 1:30 AM in the morning and I have to wake up in just a couple hours to go to work. I will be tired but it will be well worth it.

Road Points

The midterm elections were held yesterday and there was a big shift in power between the Democrats and the Republicans. The GOP had a big night with a number of big wins across the country. It's no coincidence that tonight that the Islanders were also looking for some big wins across the country. The Isles had lost the first two games on this road trip and three straight overall. They needed a little bit of luck to go their way in order to get back on the winning track. Their lucky break turned out to be that Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry did not play due the flu. The question that remained was could they take advantage of the situation.
 
Tonight the Islanders were in Anaheim to play the Ducks. In order to get some offense, Capuano flipped the lines a little bit. Kulemin moved to the top line to play with Tavares and Okposo. I think that is a combination that will stick around for a bit. Grabovski stayed with Nielsen and Lee on the second line. Nelson moved down to the third line to play with Conacher and Clutterbuck. On the fourth line Capuano benched Czikas in favor of Boulton to play with Strome aThe Islanders played a very good first period on the road. New York got on the board first when Tavares notched his fifth goal of the season. It was an easy empty net goal from a bouncing puck.

For most of the the period the Islanders carried the play. They out shot and out hit the Ducks. I was seriously considering going to bed after the first period because it was 11:40 PM and I needed to wake up extremely early to get to the office by 7:00 AM for a conference call. However, the second period was about to start so I decided to sit down to see how long I would last. Before I knew it, Okposo scored to make it 2-0. Things started to look good. But if you are an Islander fan you know that two goal leads are not the safest thing in the world. It was inevitable that the game would eventually be tied.
 
Sure enough almost halfway through the period the Ducks drew a holding penalty from Hickey. The Islanders actually had a pretty good penalty kill going until Hamonic broke his stick right towards the end of the power-play. That enabled the Ducks to score their first goal of the game. That seemed to energize Anaheim as they started flying around Halak looking for a tying goal. Halak was solid denying a number of point blank chances. However, the Ducks tied the game right before the period ended. It was not totally unexpected. 

At this point, it was after midnight and I had to go to bed otherwise I would never be able to get up to get to the office on time. Based on what I saw so far the Isles were playing very well. It would have been a shame if they could not pull this game out in the third period. I went to bed and woke up a few minutes after 5:00 AM. I proceeded with my Twitter review of the previous night's game. As I started to scroll through the feed I saw that the Ducks had actually scored a goal. But after a review in Toronto it was overturned. The Islanders dodged a bullet. The game eventually went into overtime and New York got a much-needed point on the road. A few minutes later the Islanders got a rare power-play in overtime. They made it count. Taveras got his second goal of the game to win it. It tied him with the team lead and goals with Brock Nelson at six.
 
While getting one point on this road trip was a small victory in itself, it was extremely important for the Islander's confidence to get the second point. Now they have a chance to get back to back wins tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Kings. It will be hard to beat the defending Stanley Cup champions on the road on back to back nights. It will not only even their record on this road trip, it will also give them a chance for winning though trip on Saturday night against the Phoenix Coyotes. Winning a couple more games this week will do wonders as far as exercising the November demons of pass seasons. They have the talent now they just need to make sure that they maintain their confidence. Let's see if they can get the SoCal sweep tonight.

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.