Congratulations to Mike Sillinger on his 1,000th NHL game and he’s not done yet!

Islanders 4 : Lightening 0

I think it’s safe to assume a shutout felt great for the Isles. It sure caused me to do a victory dance around my apartment. Nice recovery fellas. The much relied upon DP regained his composure. When he batted the puck away with his stick like a baseball I knew all was a-ok. Witt took the Bruce Lee approach and flowed like water in the face of conflict. The replay I would like to see is the 3 on 1 in the 3rd period. I was confused as to what kind of approach that was on net. One of comfort maybe? ICK! It was either the coach of Tampa Bay or Carolina as I recall, who told an interviewer that he hung up a sign for the players to see before going out on the ice that stated, ‘Comfort is Death’. What an effective and minimalist way to remind players that comebacks happen in the blink of a lazy eye. Other game highlights…loved the behind the back pass Guerin sent to Sillinger. Melted me like butta’. The promo piece on Jacques Plante was great and Ted Nolan’s commercial for Al Arbour coaching where he stated he was an assistant coach and an Islander was excellent. As for Tampa Bay, it appeared like the team was struck by lightening prior to the game. The goal by Ranger’s skate…D’oh! Overall it seems like they are going through the construction-deconstruction process. Ask the Red Sox about that (construction) and now the Yankees (deconstruction). Tampa Bay has a strong foundation to re-build upon so the next Isles vs. Lightening game should be an interesting one. All I know is that in this present moment I am counting the hours until I am at the Coliseum watching Al Arbour coach the Isles! I’ve dusted off the Isles knit hat I wore as a kid (thank goodness knit stretches!) and am ready to GO!

Ok fellas, rest and eat well before the game, shut down Crosby, listen to guest Pappa Al, channel the energy of your fans all around you, and know that you can bank upon the Isles team pilot light that never goes out.

LET’S GO ISLANDERS!