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.

Healthy Scratch

As my time in Buenos Aires draws to an end the Islanders embark on a long west coast road trip that represents just the beginning. All of the good vibes and promise generated with a 6-3 start to the season will either be validated or exposed in the next two weeks. It will signal to the league and their fans that they are really playoff contenders or provide another bitter taste of reality that they are just regular season pretenders. Just because the names change on the back of the sweater does not mean that the record for the team on the front gets any better.

The previous four Novembers have been a disaster for this team and each of those previous fall months have put the Isles in a hole that they could not dig out of. The only exception was the year before last when the Islanders made the playoffs, but being that it happened to be a strike shortened season there really wasn't a November to worry about. Technically today the calendar still said it was October, but what is a couple of days amongst friends. What laid ahead was still a concern and still a very formidable challenge.

My international data on my iPhone ran out today. That meant as the audit team went out for a final dinner here in Argentina that I would not have the ability to get constant updates of what was happening in Colorado. The boys were on their own and their would be no way for me to be there to provide real time support. Whenever I cannot watch, listen or follow a game there is a feeling that I have let the team down. Its almost as if I am sitting on the bench with the rest of the Islanders and contributing in some way. For this evening I was a healthy scratch.

The best I could do was a couple of iPhone refreshes after the game started to see what was going on. After the the appetizer and salad I glanced at my iPhone and noticed it was 11pm. I decided to check on the game. I knew I would be paying for extra data but I could not go the entire evening without knowing what was going on. It turned out that Colorado was on top 1-0 at the end of the first period. The Islanders did not score the first goal in the game which was not surprising or concerning because they had done so in almost every game up to now.

Now that the cat was out of the bag I checked a couple more times in the second period. In what seemed like a matter of minutes it was 2-0 and then 4-0 Colorado as the period ended. All the air was out of the balloon. The Islanders lost to the Avalanche 5-0. It was almost like they did not show up to play. All I knew pre-game was that Capuano started Chad Johnson in net. That was surprising because Halak is the clear #1 here and Johnson had been adequate at best in his three wins. Without seeing the action I once again could not tell you if the issue was defense or goal, but what I do know is that when you get shut out it does not bode well for the offense.

I think the best thing to do here is to forget that this game ever happened. No need for analysis and no need to try to break it down and place blame. I will be flying home this evening and in front of my television tomorrow. This road trip must be a success and I need to be there for morale virtual support. There will be no need to worry about distractions and there will be no barriers to overcome. We need to stop losing streaks before they start. There are no upper body or lower body injuries. There cannot be any more healthy scratches. I need to be damn sure I am in the line-up.

The Dreaded Club Sandwich

I did not have a very productive day today in Buenos Aires. Retired to the hotel to get room service, get some work done and listen to the Islanders play Winnipeg at the Nassau Coliseum. It's funny, but others probably think I live the lap of luxury staying in nice hotels and eating out in fancy restaurants, but let me tell you it gets old very fast. It does not matter how good the food is you get tired of it pretty quick because the menu does not change...ever.

It's almost three weeks here in Argentina and it would be great if I could fast for the rest of the trip. But a man has to eat something. I would kill for a couple of buttered bagels in the morning and some of Kellie's home cooking. However, I am afraid that is just a pipe dream at least for a couple more days until Saturday. Tonight I passed on the pizza, the hamburger and the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and settled on the Park Tower Club Sandwich sans ham. They put ham and dulce de leche on everything here in Argentina. I am surprised that they do not have a puff pastry dessert with ham and dulce de leche. Even though my stomach was turning sideways at the thought of room service, it was also grumbling because it needed something. The club sandwich was ordered and on the way..

Tonight was the Islanders last home game before heading out on a five game two week west coast trip. It was imperative for the Isles to get a win before leaving town, but it was not to be. Normally hearing "Jets Win!" is music to my ears. However, this year the New York Jets are an embarrassment with only one win in eight games (I could write a novel on the state of the green and white nowadays but I will spare all others from such torture). Unfortunately hearing "Jets Win!" on a Tuesday night referred to the Winnipeg Jets (who used to be the Atlanta Thrashers).

The Islanders started out once again with the first goal, which they have done with what seems like almost every game this year. Brock Nelson got his team leading sixth goal just a couple of minutes into the game. On my iPad it sure sounded like the Islanders were flying around the rink in the old barn as they maintained a one goal lead at the end of the first period. It was about this time that there was a buzz at the door. Every time someone comes it always a buzz instead of a knock. Every time I jump to my feet like I was shocked for getting a wrong answer is some science experiment. When I opened the door it was room service. My club sandwich finally arrived along with a desert and a ice cold bottle of Coca Cola.

Before the second period I lost the Internet connection on my iPad and it took a good ten minutes to get back to the action. That seemed to be the ball game right there. I should have turned it off at that point. During the outage, Nicolay Kulemin took a five minute major penalty and the Jets scored two goals to take a 2-1 lead. They would eventually stretch it out to 3-1 and things were not looking very good. However, before I finished my apple crumble (which by the way did not contain anything resembling ham or dulce de leche) the Islanders struck back with a goal by John Tavares and then tied the game on a beautiful rush by Mikhail Grabovski before the end of the period. It seemed the momentum was shifting as the teams headed to intermission. Dinner was over and it seemed like the Isles would take control in the third like they did last game against the Dallas Stars.

It was not the case.

Early in the third period the Jets took a 4-3 lead and that ended up being the final score. With tonight's game the Islanders officially the move to the top of the heap as the highest scoring team in the league. Offense is surely not the problem. The Islanders are giving up a lot of goals and their penalty kill is still one of the worst in the league. I really do not understand it because there have been a lot of good changes to the back end this year. Without being able to watch the games it is hard to say if it is due to defensive breakdowns or goal tending or a combination of both. What ever the problem is it needs to be fixed.

It was disappointing to say the least. I would be more upset, but work has me totally consumed right now and I am very tired from a long day. Time to hit the hay.

For the Islanders it is now off to Colorado and the dreaded month of November. The Islanders have pretty much ruined each of the last four seasons with a poor performance in November. I would like to think that this is a different team and that they can be successful on the road this year. If they can at least stay above .500 for the month it would be a major accomplishment. They seem to play better on the road. I am expecting good results. It will come down to the defense and goal tending. I have my fingers crossed.

It was nice to hear "Jets Win!" again tonight. It has been two months since I have heard it. I forgot what that sounded like. It was just on the wrong day of the week and it was the wrong sport. I only hope that I will hear it again before the end of the year and next time hopefully on a Sunday afternoon. One thing for sure, next time when I hear or read those words I certainly will not be sitting down to have a club sandwich from room service.

Great Dane

Had a free Saturday night in Buenos Aires so there was no better way to spend it than to listen to the Islanders - Stars game from the Old Barn on Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale. I am sure going to miss the Nassau Coliseum after this last season is over. I worked earlier today and then went out with the team to Recoleta to eat lunch and do a little shopping at the flea market. I was not hungry when we returned to the hotel so I said good night to everyone and retired to the room. Hockey was on the agenda.

Before the game I watched the ESPN special on Travis Hamonic *In The Name Of the Father*. It chronicles his childhood in St. Malo, Manitoba growing up on his family farm and the tragic experience of losing his father at ten years old of a heart attack. He was only 44 years. It hit Travis hard. The family eventually moved to Winnipeg and Travis focused on hockey. He was drafted by the Islanders at 17 years old and then quickly moved up to the NHL level. He said in the piece that "he would give up every game that he has played and every game that he will play to have his Dad see him play one shift and then be able to talk about it afterwards". He was close to his Dad and before every game he takes the time to look up to the rafters on the left side of the arena, because that is where his Dad would always sit to watch him play, and says a little prayer for his father.

What makes the story so special is that Hamonic knew how difficult it was to deal with losing his father at such a young age and he knew that there were other kids out there "in the very same club"...one club that they really do not want to be in. Every home game, win or lose, Hamonic hosts a young child that has lost their father and meets with them after the game to let them know that everything will be alright. He also shares with them his email to let them know that if they ever have to talk to someone that he is there. What a special person. I am proud that he is an Islander and that he is part of this core group. I only hope that one day Travis can skate on the ice with the Stanley Cup over his head. Then he can look up to the rafters on the left side of the arena so his Dad can see his son win a championship. Whether that happens or not, one thing is for sure...Travis already is a winner.

As far as the game goes Chad Johnson started in net after the Boston win. Capuano wanted to play the hot hand. The first period was high energy. The Islanders got on the board first (which has become a trend of late) with a goal from Anders Lee who was just called up from Bridgeport. The kid just seems to have a nose for the net. That was his 11th career goal in only 28 NHL games spread over two seasons.

The Stars tied it and then Nikolay Kulemin (his first of the year and first as an Islander) gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with a short handed goal. Brock Nelson then extended the lead to 3-1 with his team leading fifth goal of the year. He had not scored since the beginning of the year so it was a good sign going into the second period. Ryan Strome got his seventh assist of the year in his eight games played. He has been quietly having a very good year even though he has not lit the lamp all that much.

The Stars stormed back with three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead. Chad Johnson must not have been very sharp. Seems that everything near the net was trickling in. Only a minute or two went by until Lubimir Visnovsky got his first of the year in only second game back from injury. The crowd got loud as the game started to take on the feel of an arena football game.

The first half of the third period was quiet, but the Islanders took a 6-4 lead on two separate rushes that resulted in two Nielsen goals from Grabovski. The Stars would get one back with about five minutes left, but the Islanders hung on with Nielsen getting an empty net goal at the buzzer to seal the 7-5 win. It was the Great Dane's first ever hat trick in the NHL boosting his total to four goals this year. It must have been a great sight seeing all the hats on the ice at the end of the game. One interesting fact is that the Islanders scored seven goals without one single John Tavares point. That is depth my friends.

The win left the Islanders at 6 wins and 12 points in 8 games which leaves them in first place. This is the best start in Islanders history since the last time they won the cup. Even though defensively it was a tough game, the Islanders played well, fought back when they were down and won on home ice. It was a rowdy crowd of over 15,000 that helped the team to the win. Next up in the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Then it is a grueling five game west coast road trip which will tell us if this team is for real. It was a great dane indeed.

Back On Track

Tonight was another conflict between work and hockey in Buenos Aires. I had to go out to dinner with the team again. However, dinner was not until 9PM so I had an opportunity to hear the beginning of the Islanders - Bruins game from the Gahden in my hotel room. Laying down on the bed I heard Frans Nielsen get the good guys on the board first. You always want your team to score first. However, all I could think of was "here we go again". We scored first in Pittsburgh and also the other day against the Leafs and lost both games. Would there be a third loss in a row? It remained to be seen. I finished getting ready and went downstairs to meet the team to go out for dinner 

In the taxi I fired up TSN on the iPhone and started "refreshing" every couple of minutes. I kept my phone on the restaurant table and did not shut it off until the game went final. The Bruins tied the game, but the Islanders scored two straight goals to take a 3-1 lead heading into the third. Okposo got a feed from Tavares and then Clutterbuck and the fourth line got the eventual game winner. The Bruins made it close but the Islanders stood tall with Chad Johnson in goal. It was a good idea to start Johnson over Halak because he was undefeated in the Boston Gahden all last year. He made some key saves and the defense did not panic. It was an emotional game not only for Johnson but for Johnny Boychuk as well. It was his first game facing his old team after the big trade a couple of weeks ago. 

With all that the Islanders hung on with a 3-2 win. This was another good sign that this team is different this year. Last year the team would have faded in the third period and lost the game outright. The fact that they are more composed and confident with a slim lead is very positive. I did not watch or listen to the game but it read like a solid effort. Next is a home game against Dallas before a couple of games on the road. Need to keep the momentum going before that west coast trip in November. Just one more week before I leave Buenos Aires and head home to Atlanta. Can't wait to sit in my chair in the basement and see a live hockey game.

Leafing With Loss

Hockey and Business Travel are not a very good mix. Trying to watch or listen to hockey games while traveling for business is not the easiest thing to do. As much as I would like to get room service and listen to Chris King call a hockey game, it is important as the leader to rally the troops and go out to dinner with my staff and co-workers.

Don't get me wrong. We always have a great time and it is enjoyable. The food is usually good, the company is always engaging, and it is relaxing to get away from evaluating data analytics and trying to resolve business issues. But when I dig my knife into a New York Strip Steak and as I take sips on my glass of Malbec, part of me still wants to hear the uplifting, optimistic, and energetic voice of Chris King yell “Score…Islanders Goal!” Is that so wrong?

We walked north from the hotel to an area of downtown Buenos Aires called “Puerto Madero”. It is an area by the water with lots of restaurants and shopping next to a large canal. We ended up at a place called “The Happening” which I first experienced in Santiago, Chile a couple of years earlier. I knew it would be good.

As soon as I sat down I figured out what I wanted, ordered a bottle of wine for the table and took out my iPhone to click on TSN to check on the game. Just like last Saturday against the Penguins, the Islanders scored first on a goal by Leddy, his third of the young season. I immediately felt good about the game, just like I did on Saturday. I did not realize at the time what would transpire.

During dinner I frequently checked the score. I know it is rude to do that when out with others, but everyone else is on their smartphone too. The only difference is that while others check their email, I am staring at my iPhone secretly hoping for an Islanders goal. Unfortunately, the Leafs tied the game, but Tavares came right back with a quick power play goal to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead going into the second period. I still felt good about the game.

We finished up dinner and left the restaurant. Even thought I missed most of the game I felt relieved knowing I would be able to at least hear part of the second and all of the third period. However, maybe that was not the best thing. The Leafs scored four straight goals to take a commanding 5-2 lead at the end of the second period, which ended up being the final score. Halak was pulled going into the third period and was replaced by Chad Johnson. It is hard for me to comment on what went wrong being that I did not see the game and heard only a portion of the game. However, there seemed to be too many defensive mistakes in the Islanders half of the ice.

I was hoping the Pittsburgh game was an a one-off freak occurrence, but the result of this game was troubling. As the captain said after the game “We were not going to win the cup after six games anyway” (or something to that effect). He is right. Need to look at the glass half full. The Islanders are still 4-2 and can right this thing now to continue their momentum.

My business trip is halfway over. I know when I watch the games I feel that I have a vested interest in the result. Just need to have the team weather the storm the next week and a half until I can get back home. Business travel and hockey are not a good mix. The business travel will soon come to an end, but the hockey season is just starting. This is the best time of the year.

Streak Of Won

I worked all day in the lobby of the Park Tower Hotel in Buenos Aires today. The plan was to watch the Volunteers play the Rebels of Ole Miss and monitor the Islanders game. However, that plan changed,. After a sub par steak and a glass of Malbec, I went back to the room to listen to the Islanders take on the Pittsburgh in search of their first five game winning streak to start the season in team history. As I was walking back to the hotel I saw that Hickey scored the opening goal and that made me immediately feel like history was in the making. I was wrong.

The Islanders lost their first game of the season 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I cannot think of one Islander that played halfway decent tonight. In fact the game can be summed up with special teams. Islanders were Oh for 7 on the power play including a golden opportunity with a two man advantage with a one goal lead. If they had converted it could have set the tone for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, they did not score. Then in the second period the Pens had their own two man advantage and scored two goals to take the lead. Disappointing, but on the bright side they are still 4-1 on the young season. It is still early.. They did not get outplayed, they simply did not execute on the power play and gave the Penguins too many chances to get back in the game.

It is encouraging that they played so poorly and still were in striking distance. It is only one loss, but streaks always start at one. The next couple of games will be telling. They are home for Toronto on Tuesday evening and then go to Boston on Thursday before playing the Dallas Stars at home on Saturday. Another tough week with quality opponents. Will they turn it around and dominate on offense again? Will they solve the problems on the penalty kill? Will they get balanced scoring? Will they show more energy that they did in Pittsburgh? It remains to be seen. However, they need to pile up as many points as possible, because November is approaching and that usually is a barometer on where the season goes.

Its funny, but one loss seems like a long losing streak. Some of the air has been let out of the balloon, but there is still plenty of air left and the Islanders need to fill that balloon up again because it is a long season. Streaks always start at one. The question is where do they go from there. Hopefully the Islanders can win on Tuesday and start a new streak. Its always better when streaks start at won.

Shark Attacked

The Islanders kept on their roll and beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in a shootout. In other local sports action, the Jets were also playing the Patriots tonight, but I focused all of my attention on the Isles. The Jets eventually lost to the Pats 27-26 even though they played well. Their season is over with as they are 1-6. It is getting to another situation (kind of like the Knicks and Mets) where I like the coach and some of the players, but the General Manager and Owner are ruining the team. Anyway, on to better things.
 
This hockey game was a classic trap game. The Islanders had won three in a row, they were playing one of the better teams from the west coast and were expected to lose to end all of the goodness that was going on with the team. It was a nip and tuck game with the Sharks getting out to one goal leads on two different occasions. It was 2-1 and the feeling at the time was that the Islanders were going to come up one goal short and lose as they always do in these situations. At least that is what usually happened in past seasons. That was not to be.
 
Kyle Okposo scored the tying goal and Josh Bailey the go ahead goal in the third period. That was unlike the Islanders. The Sharks eventually tied the game on a controversial offsides call and it went into overtime. Just to get a point from this game was huge. In the overtime it was pins and needles as the Sharks threw everything but the kitchen sink at Halak and the Isles were totally gassed. It went to a shootout which gave the Islanders a fighters chance.

Again, this is a situation where the Isles normally fall short. The Sharks got out to a lead in the shootout and had two chances to end it. 

Halak came up big with four stops and Okposo and Taveras netted the shootout goals to win the game. The Islanders have won their first four games of the season for only the third time in team history and go for a record setting fifth in a row at Pittsburgh on Saturday night. In fact, if you go back to last season they have actually won seven in a row because they closed out last season on a three game winning streak.
 
Okposo was the best player on the ice as he was able to get his second goal in as many games. Taveras logged two assists to give him the NHL scoring lead at 9 points. He has had multi-point games in four straight games (Bossy has the team record at seven). Halak was a little above average but came up big in the overtime and shootout. Leddy got his second of the year. Another great team effort.
 
There is something different about this team. Their confidence is at a peak and they feel that they can beat anyone at anytime. The fans are really behind them and eve the media is started to say good things about them. I really think that they can keep this going. 

It's about time that the good times are finally here.

Pinch Me

Today was the first day of a three week business trip to Buenos Aires. It is hard to travel during hockey season, however there is nothing I can do about it. I planned to watch the Islanders vs. the Rangers game tonight on my iPad, but I could not log in to Dish Network. For some reason it is not working here in Argentina. I decided to move to my laptop computer and was able to log on, but the game did not show up in the viewing guide. Just my luck. I ended up listening to the game on the WRHU Radio (the Radio Hofstra University Network). That actually made it more enjoyable. First, I always like listening to Chris King call the game because he is very good at what he does, is a big Islander fan (which helps a lot) and is a relative unknown to anyone outside of Islanders Nation. Secondly, and most important, is that the television game feed would have most likely come from the Rangers camp and their announcers are very annoying.

The first two periods were evenly played. Boychuk got the Islanders on the board first and then the Rags scored two straight before Tavares knotted up the game up at two apiece by the end of two periods. Then in the third period the Islanders exploded with four straight goals in a span of about ten minutes to breeze to a 6-3 win. The third period goals were netted by Okposo (his 100th in his NHL career), Nelson (his third in three games), Grabovski (his second of the year), and Leddy (his first as an Islander). Oh and by the way, Halak had 40 saves on 43 shots, which was no small feat in the Garden. I wish I could pick out three stars, but it is hard to do that when you listen to the game on the radio and six different players score. It was a true team win.
 
I could not be more happy about this team right now. The Islanders are 3-0 with a potent offense and a better than average defense. They can play with anyone right now. Need to keep the streak going. Thursday they are home for San Jose and then Saturday they visit Pittsburgh. It is one thing to beat the hated Rags at the Garden, it will be another if they can play well in their next two games against quality opponents.
 
It is a special season. Pinch me...I must be dreaming.

Beginning Of The End

Tonight was opening night of the final season at the Nassau Coliseum. I didn't think about it until this very moment, but I should have been there. From what I read and heard it was electric. The atmosphere rivaled the Pittsburgh playoff series from two years ago when the Islanders took the Penguins to six games. The building was sold out and it was rocking. The fans started tailgating in the parking lot early in the early morning. A lot of the players noticed it when they drove into the Coliseum for the game. The fans even disrupted Johnny Boychuk who was staying at the Marriott. Those very tailgaters provided a convenient 10am wake up call. It was something special.

When the players came out of the Nassau Coliseum tunnel they didn't go through the normal introductions. In almost every other year and every other arena what usually happens is that the players come out one at a time and they are introduced to the crowd. Someone came up with a brilliant idea (I am not sure but through different sources it may have been either Josh Bailey or the Coliseum Operations crew).

With the lights out in the entire arena all the players came out in full circle in the middle of the ice. Then after the spotlight was turned on the Islanders logo and simultaneously on the players, all of the fans turned on their cell phone lights in unison. Josh Bailey said that the idea was to honor the Nassau Coliseum by showing that the fans and players were united as one. It was a great idea. I wish I was there to see it. Unfortunately, I have to go to Buenos Aires tomorrow, so in reality even if I wanted to, there was no way I could attend.

I had been away all day today in Knoxville attending the Tennessee Volunteers football game. They trounced Chattanooga 45-10. It was not even close. Kellie and I left at the end of the third quarter. I tried to listen to the game on the way home from Knoxville in the car. However, the "Tune In" app was not working very well on my iPhone. Every time if finished buffering my phone would fast forward through the game and it was hard to follow what was going on. So I ended up basically following the game on Twitter. It's not fun following the game waiting for a stream of Twitter messages, but it was the only option that I had.

The Islanders won 4-3. From what I could read they played an all-around great game. The standouts were John Tavares again (surprise, surprise) who had a goal and assist and Josh Bailey who played a great overall defensive game, had a key goal, and may or may not have had the great idea for the opening ceremony. It was long overdue for Bailey as he is on the bubble. If he does not show consistent improvement then he could be on the way out when Michael Grabner returns form his sports hernia surgery. Its good to see the fans cheer for him. Bailey needs to continue the trend. He ha talent, he just needs to keep a positive attitude, maintain confidence and he will break through. Its always satisfying pulling for the underdog.

What can I say? The Islanders are 2–0. They have three players among the league leaders in scoring (Nelson, Tavares and Boychuk). The Islanders are playing together as a team, they have the fans behind them, and that always translates to winning. I will say it again. This is a special team and there's a special feeling that this is going to be a special season. It's the final season at the Nassau Coliseum. There needs to be a proper ending to this fairytale. It's about time.

The Journey Starts Today

Today is a very special day. It's a day that we forget all of our past disappointments and remember all of our uphill struggles. It's a day of optimism and hope. It's a day where we all have the same dream. It's a day to remember that everybody starts out on the same playing field. No one is better than anybody else. It's a day of high expectations, but the truth of the matter is that in the end only a few will exceed those expectations. It's a day for all the nonbelievers to believe. Nobody can ever say that "you can't", because on a day like today "you can".
 
Today everyone has the same goal but some will work harder than others to achieve it. The harsh criticism and the half truths of the past keep all of us driven and focused. Earning back respect has to start somewhere and today is that day. It's time to prove people wrong.

The journey starts now. It's a long and winding road. We will have to work harder than we ever have in our entire life to get to the end. But it will be all worth it. Success will never taste any sweeter. We will be more satisfied and content than we have ever been in our entire life.

It's hockey season and there is no better game on this earth. Good luck to all but best of luck to one. Bring the cup back to where belongs. The dream is alive. We all envision "91" lifting Lord Stanley high above his head at center ice in the Nassau Coliseum. No one can tell you today that it can't happen...because it can. All you need to do is believe and work hard. 

Time is running out. The journey starts today. It's hockey season.

We are the one. We are all Islanders!!