Isle’s Glass is Still Half Full

Isles 1 : Silladelphia Flyers 4

It was fan appreciation day at the Coliseum…fans who would have appreciated a win against the Flyers. As a result of this game, the Flyers secured the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference – now 2 points ahead of the Sabres and 4 points ahead of the Isles. Sometime during the 3rd period the image of Muppet Don Music came to mind.

Although bearing no resemblance and unable to play the piano – banging my head on a piano just seemed to fit my frustration level. Of all the teams to lose to fellas, did it have to be the Flyers?

The game started out on a great note with Al Albour, Bill Torrey and my all time favorite player Bobby Nystrom participating in a ceremonial puck drop - add to that seeing Brendan Witt back on the ice after missing 8 games due to a knee injury. At first glance, the Isles appeared evenly paced with the Flyers – at second glance the Isles looked like a tightly knit team out there on the ice. So then what happened?

The 1st period yielded a snap shot goal by Flyer Jeff Carter (13:59) and da da da! no Isle’s penalties! In the 2nd period Bill Guerin’s wrist shot PPG (8:30) tied the game and although the Isles were able to hold the tie for a while, in came the dreaded Isle's penalty with Bruno Gervais serving 2 minutes for cross checking (13:17). While Gervais was in the sin bin, Flyer Braydon Coburn scored with a mean slap shot (14:24) that found what appeared to be an open right side pocket of DP’s net. The 3rd period provided a turning point to the game when Miroslav Satan took a shot on goal into a wall of hockey players (Mike Knuble blocked the shot), then lost a battle for the puck to Jeff Carter who then banked a rebound off of Knuble to put the Flyers ahead 3-1 with the short handed goal (9:31). Scottie ‘with an ie’ Upshall scored on the empty net (19:33) ending the game 4-1. Beyond being outscored, the loss today seemed to be due to the underpinnings of passing and shooting inaccuracy.

Three highlights of the game…

-Andy Hilbert threw his entire life force into blocking a shot on goal in the 2nd period.

-Bill Guerin scored his 20th goal today, making him the 2nd player in the NHL to score 20 goals in a season for six different teams.

-Rick DiPietro made a sweet break away move and pass as he headed for the bench in the last minute of the game.

No doubt that the Isles put forth a great effort today, however momentum without execution seems to be an issue that the Isles need to overcome to win the games necessary for a playoff spot. Some Isles fans are now declaring the season over. Nope. The Isle’s glass is still half full.

Tomorrow brings the Core of the Four Celebration and the Florida Panthers. There is only one Muppet who can symbolize the effort the Isles will have put forth from here on out…

LET’S GO ISLANDERS!!