Post-Olympics, Isles Start With a Trade, Then With a Bang, Then a Whimper

I've missed almost this entire week's worth of hockey action, to my chagrin, mainly because of my relocation to Western New York (which I've mentioned in earlier posts). I tell you, though, one thing that Buffalo is crazy about is their hockey. In almost every store you go to, there's something Sabres or hockey-related. It's quite comforting, actually, seeing as New Yorkers never show this much devotion to either the Rangers or the Isles. Still, I'm not showing any signs of changing my allegiance, to many Isles fans' delight, and I promise to be more diligent in my posting as time goes by. It's all just a matter of sitting down and getting to watch the games online (though my computer doesn't handle online video streams well, I don't think).

Anyway, the Islanders have been busy bees since the closing ceremonies, first trading away defenseman Andy Sutton to Ottawa (what?) for a second round pick. I'm not going to lie; I don't like this trade. I think we definitely could have gotten more than just that pick for Andy, and moreover, um... where are we going to get size on this team, particularly on the blueline? At 6'6, Sutton ain't a guy you miss on the ice. I mean, sure, Streit has a hell of a shot, Hillen is a blur, Meyer can hit with the best of them. But they're all six feet tall or shorter (emphasis on shorter- the tallest one is Streit at six feet even). We need size, and we just traded away not only our biggest player, but a guy who (when healthy and not suspended) can shot block like no other, and throw out the biggest (clean, most of the time) hits possible. We had better hope that we can either sign him in FA once more or get another big guy there.

There was also some speculation as to whether either goalie- Dwayne Roloson or Martin Biron- would be moved. Twitter was, well, atwitter with rumors, and some even guaranteed a 95% chance that Roloson would go. Well, the deadline came and went, and a proposed deal to the Flyers did not come to fruition. The other players supposedly being shopped- Biron, Richard Park and Sean Bergenheim- stayed put as well. And the games continued.

The Isles started out well with a 5-3 victory against Chicago. Blake Comeau, somewhat of an enigma for the team, had a hat trick in the win, and Jon Sim and Richard Park scored the other two goals. Streit had two assists and Roloson made 41 saves to seal the deal, and it looked as though Sutton wasn't going to be missed much (just like it did when he had gotten suspended earlier in the year)... but then last night happened.

What, exactly? A 6-3 Thrashing- yes, a Thrashing, by the aptly named Thrashers of Atlanta. Roloson was pretty far off his game in this one, as was his defense. He allowed three goals in the first before being pulled, but Atlanta still managed to get to a 4-0 lead before the buzzer. Mark Streit cut that lead to 4-1 with 20 seconds left. Then in the second, the Thrashers reached a 6-1 lead before being cut off. When all was said and done, Niclas Bergfors, Nik Antropov, Clarke MacArthur, Maxim Afinigenov and Evgeny Artyukhin had all scored (Antropov with two). Rob Schremp and Tim Jackman stopped a bit of the bleeding with goals of their own, but it was too late to come back completely in a game where there were a few soft goals and definite mistakes on defense that cost the Islanders. I didn't watch the entire thing, only saw some highlights online (thank God for nhl.com's extensive game highlights! One thing that I absolutely love on their site), but I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to see too much of the carnage.

Next game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 pm against Boston, so make sure you catch it in lovely HD on MSG Plus. I'll (hopefully) be watching... and praying what happened last night doesn't happen again.