What Not to Do With a Dust Pan

My new found Isles mate Marc and I arrived late into the 1st period to find Ottawa leading 2-0. After watching the Isles play for a while I asked Marc who on our team would score, he replied, "DiPietro". Considering that Marc seems to know the Isle’s playing patterns very well, his sarcasm was not a good sign. But we kept the faith and along with a scarce crowd, rallied behind the Isle’s surges against Ottawa. In the end the Isles came close to tying the game but could not get the puck in the net. What more can be said that hasn’t already been said…the Isles made the kind of mistakes that the Sens. were able to capitalize on. Ottawa did not outplay the Isles, they outscored them.

Beyond recent injuries and the flu bug biting a few players, the Isles have appeared out of sorts since returning from their long road trip. The image that comes to mind is a bag still circling the airport baggage claim carousel with their team cohesion in it. The pace in which the Isles were flowing at has slowed – what seemed like a group of guys connecting the dots has turned into too much individual effort – a separateness that makes their playing look and feel awkward. In addition, DP’s searching for where the puck went has escalated, and although Angie thinks DP has been defending the net consistently, I continue to think that his agility and timing seem off kilter. Overall something other than the flu has infected the Isles - a remedy is needed to unite the team and restore their confidence. A home game win against the Kings might be one such remedy. And if you see someone decked out in orange and blue attempting to sage the Coliseum, that would be me.

As for what not to do with a dust pan…DO NOT put a plastic dust pan on top of a lamp with exposed light bulbs.

Q: Hmmm…what’s that smell??
A: A cleaning mistake I made that a light bulb was able to capitalize on.

LET’S GO ISLANDERS!!