Snow Shovel 1 : Maddy 0

RIP Brendan Burke.

This morning, I found out via Twitter that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, was killed in a car accident (link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/brian-burkes-son-killed-in-auto-accident/article1458392/ ). The 21-year-old had only just come out as a gay man to the hockey world and was striving for acceptance when his life was tragically cut short.

Though apparently some people have awful things to say about the poor man still, prompting editor Greg Wyshinski to have Yahoo! close comments on writer Sean Leahy's Puck Daddy article (and to that I must say: Karma will get you, not to worry), many more people have still shown their support for him and have offered their condolences to Brian and the rest of the Burke family. A blogger named wraparoundcurl has also offered up a wonderful post here that asks people to donate to PFLAG, an organization that, in her words, helps families bridge relations after someone comes out of the closet. Though I hope to God that people take the opportunity to learn more about it and try to understand what it means, I simply wish to extend my condolences to the Burke family. This is a tremendous loss, and I can imagine how hard it is for them to cope with it at this time. Brendan was an extremely brave soul, and I am certain that, were he to have lived longer, he would be a voice for all those athletes struggling with their sexuality.

Rest in peace, Brendan. You will be missed.

Preview: Isles vs. Hurricanes 2.6.10 NVMC

This is the final meeting between these two teams for the season. The Islanders lead, 2-1-0, but the Hurricanes have the most recent win- a 4-1 lashing at the RBC Center just last week. They also have a big injury that might harm them tonight.

Cam Ward sustained an upper-body injury (to my understanding) prior to a 4-3 win at Buffalo and went to Raleigh for further evaluation. Chad LaRose, Scott Walker and Tuomo Ruutu are also out, while Erik Cole is questionable. The Islanders would do well to capitalize upon the somewhat decimated 'Canes lineup and try to get something going offensively. And wake up that power play somehow, too.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!

Witt Clears Waivers

In my hullabaloo about Josh Bailey and the Isles' poll, I forgot to mention that Brendan Witt cleared waivers last night and will be playing in Bridgeport. The Islanders apparently have no intention of putting him on re-entry waivers.

Witter had a couple of good years with the Isles that got overshadowed by injury, frustration, and a disagreement with the new system Scott Gordon had in place. Even so, he definitely loves the game and was a great addition to our team, and as a big supporter of his, I'm sad to see him go. As I've said before, best of luck, Brendan, and I hope you do well. Thanks for providing us with some great hits and warrior attitude. :)

Isles Improve Play, Don't Improve Offense

Islanders 2: Lightning 5

What on Earth do the Islanders have to do to get a win around here?

What started out promising turned into yet another mess, this time against the Lightning. Jeff Tambellini was back in the lineup tonight, but as expected, he didn't help out much against a Tampa Bay team that had its best players on their A game. Steven Stamkos scored twice and had an assist, Martin St. Louis scored one and tallied an assist, and Vincent Lecavalier scored on a complete gaffe by the Isles' D. Alex Tanguay also put an empty-netter home to give the Lightning the victory and get them even more comfortable in the top 8, and Antero Niittymaki made 34 saves to get the number-two star of the game.

Granted, Matt Moulson scored his 21st of the season, and Jon Sim's gate-crashing paid off with his 8th of the year to give the Isles the lead in the second period- ever so briefly, before St. Louis squeezed the puck through Dwayne Roloson on the short side. But ultimately what changed the game for them was the eventual game-winner by Lecavalier. Practically everyone was involved in the play in the offensive zone, and before anyone could cover the points, Sean Bergenheim coughed up a centering pass to Victor Hedman. Hedman hit Alex Tanguay with a lead pass, and Tanguay and Lecavalier were off to the races on a 2-on-0. Roloson had no chance. After that, the Islanders couldn't buy a goal- tons of missed shots, shots that hit the post or the side of the net, and much frustration on the faces of the players in white, orange and blue when all was said and done.

In other news, I hope Mark Streit is okay after being crunched into the boards by Todd Fedoruk. It looked like a bit of an awkward hit, and he got up kind of slow afterward, though looked to be all right. Or so I believe.

So now it's back to Long Island for the Isles, who have lost six straight and remain completely motionless in 13th place. They face off once more against the Hurricanes at home on Saturday, and I hope to God that they take the good parts of last night's game and run with them against this Carolina team. Sooner or later, something's gotta give.

Now for something else I wanted to comment on, related to the team: There was a poll placed on the Isles' website related to second-year players, and asking which of three sophs have been the most-improved: Drew Doughty, Steven Stamkos, or Josh Bailey. Now, I don't know about you, but if I see a guy like Stamkos, who just scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season, and a guy like Doughty who now has 42 points on the year, and then look at Josh Bailey with his 27 points and career-high 13 goals, I think this comparison is a bit unfair. This is not a knock on Bailey- I think the guy can be a very good player, especially since he's shifted over to left wing from center, and he's probably a good kid. But there's no way you can compare him to the other two, especially since the others probably have a much better support system in terms of veteran presence and the like. Bailey is one of many young players still trying to find their feet in the NHL, and while he has a captain in Doug Weight who's won a Cup, let's face it, there's not much veteran influence there. All three of these guys are still developing, but no doubt the other two have a leg-up on Josh where that is concerned.

With all of that said... till next time.

Yes, Virginia, there is Sports Psychology

Ok so not Santa but well there is no Santa...however there is sports psychology although with hockey fans, many poo-poo it or are too busy focusing on stats to take it into consideration.  No matter how many times game announcers make mention of the mental aspect of hockey, no matter how many former players talk about their experiences with mindset - it rarely gets talked about in depth.

It’s good to see an article on nhl.com entitled DiPietro: Mental wear always tougher than physical where DP briefly offers insight into the mental strain of having been injured thus out of the game for a while and of course coming back in. From what I’ve seen so far since his return, this once sullen looking goalie seems to be smiling more often, which is not only good for the mind but also a good release for the body. He also seems to have a deeper appreciation for being able to play at this professional level which as a woman I gotta tell ya – you got that right mister.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!

Preview: Isles @ Lightning, 2.4.10 St. Pete Times Forum

With the weight of a five-game losing streak on their shoulders, the Islanders march into Tampa tonight to take on the Lightning, a team that has surged into the top eight in the conference to everyone's surprise. On top of that, they've already won the first two meetings between the two teams, 4-0 at home and 4-2 at the Coliseum.

But the Isles should be feeling some sort of desperation to get back on track. After all, they're slipping quickly out of playoff contention, and they've got a team right behind them- the Leafs-that has made some drastic moves to get better. If this isn't the fire under their butts that they need, then nothing is. Plus, they've had three days to rest between Sunday evening and today, giving everyone some time to regroup and figure out what needs to be changed.

However, it'll be a tall order. The Lightning have all of their studs raring to go, including Vincent Lecavalier (13 points in 11 games), Martin St. Louis (18 points in 17 games, including goals in four straight) and Steven Stamkos (seven-game points streak). Also, Antero Niittymaki has been stellar- 5-1-1 in his last seven, and 13-9-5 overall this season. With John Tavares stalling, Josh Bailey out of the lineup (sent home with an upper-body injury), and everyone else trying to get their acts together, the Islanders will need to really bring their A game tonight to have a chance at beating this red-hot team. And above all, their goaltending and overall defense needs to be better. We'll likely see some changes in the line combinations with Bailey's absence, and perhaps Blake Comeau will be put back into the lineup tonight.

With all of that said...

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!

P.S. No word yet on Brendan Witt going elsewhere. My guess is he'll be a Bridgeport Sound Tiger by the end of the day.

Brendan Witt Placed On Waivers

Veteran defenseman and all-around badass Brendan Witt was activated off of injured reserve today- only to be placed on waivers, according to Newsday's Katie Strang. This news comes after rumors of the Isles trying to shop Witt, with little success.

The 34-year-old tough guy struggled with a knee injury and a -18 rating before being placed on IR. If he clears waivers, he will go down to Bridgeport. GM Garth Snow says that this move is more indicative of the play and development of young blueliners such as Andy MacDonald and Jack Hillen, rather than Witt's play. However, it's little secret that Witt has had a hard time fitting into Scott Gordon's system of play, not to mention keeping off of IR. No doubt frustration has also gotten the better of him.

At any rate, should Witt end up somewhere else, we wish him all the best wherever he goes. I had become one of his biggest supporters during his time on the Island, and I still think he brings his all to the ice, no matter whom he plays for. Best wishes.

Packs of Abandoned Beagles Terrorize Long Island

Packs of Abandoned Beagles Terrorize Long Island

Crappy article title...'terrorize'...poor snoopy pups...stupid humans at it once again.

Cue the Sense of Urgency

The Islanders are losers of five straight games.

Yeah, five straight. A far cry from their run just a couple of weeks ago. As it is, save for the final period of their game on Saturday afternoon against Philadelphia, they have definitely deviated from any game plan that remotely works against opposing teams. As a result, they are mired in 13th place while hotter teams close in on the final playoff spots.

What I have to wonder is... how long will it take for the boys to snap out of this funk? They've been playing as though they're unsure of themselves, as though they're afraid to do anything rash, but the result is they're giving up positioning, not playing physically enough, stalling on offense and more or less a disaster on defense.

If all this sounds harsh, then perhaps it is, but it's the truth. According to Doug Weight, the team has been talking it over and trying to resolve the issues on the ice, but talk can only go so far. It's time to execute- time to really turn on the jets and go back to the way it was before the game against Pittsburgh. Makes you wonder if this would have happened had Andy Sutton not gotten suspended.

Some say the team is too young and (still) not talented enough to sustain a winning run, and perhaps that's true. After all, like I've said before, it's a tight Eastern Conference, and there are teams here with talent and experience. The Isles have some of the former (raw, but existent), and not enough of the latter, to compete for very long. Still, we must have high hopes that somehow the Isles will go down fighting. If nothing else, I would like for this team at the end of the season to be able to say they have made some tremendous strides, and for the most part, I would have to say we've done that so far.

Let's see how much further we can go.

In Other News: The Rangers acquire Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust from the Calgary Flames in return for Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins. So much for that... the Flames continued their firesale by shipping off Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie to Toronto for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White... Toronto also received Jean-Sebastien Giguere from Anaheim for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala. Giguere was appointed Toronto's starter for the rest of the season. We shall see how this pans out.