The Week In Review... WINTER OLYMPICS!

So I've missed the past two Isles games due to my BIG HUGE MOVE to Buffalo and all. But at least I have the Olympics to keep me occupied during a very long, Isles-free two weeks. So here goes.

- United States has gotten 18 medals so far, leading the competition. Evan Lysacek (men's figure skating), Shaun White (no surprise, men's snowboarding), Lindsey Vonn (women's downhill skiiing), and Shani Davis (men's speed skating- 1000m) are among the gold medalists.

- The first Canadian gold went to a young man by the name of Alexandre Bilodeau, for the men's moguls in freestyle skiing. Canada has 7 medals total.

- Men's ice hockey started off with both Canada and the U.S. winning their first two matches. The States beat Switzerland 3-1 and Norway 6-1; the Canadians beat Norway 8-0 first, then the Swiss 3-2 in a shootout. I got to see the Swiss game- a great contest that was, and one in which Jonas Hiller stood on his head for the White Cross. Too bad Sidney Crosby could be used twice in the shootout (and what kind of dumb rule is that, anyway?)

- In women's ice hockey, predictably, both the U.S. and Canada are kicking butt and taking names. Canada beat Slovakia 18-0, Switzerland 10-1, and Sweden 13-1; the U.S. beat China 12-1, Russia 13-0 and Finland 6-0. Can't wait to see how the gold medal game turns out.

Forgive me if I don't cover more; however, I don't really care to know more about the Olympics besides hockey, snowboarding and the occasional speed skater. No offense meant to the other great sports out there; I just haven't had the time to watch everything. Also, I should just come out right now and say I am supporting our only Isles representative, Mark Streit, and Team Switzerland in Men's Hockey; however, GO USA! for everything else. :)

Enjoy, everyone!

GO TEAM USA! & HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Much Effort, Not Enough Finish

Islanders 1: Penguins 3

The Islanders had some life in them. They had jump, and feistiness, and net presence. They had everything we've been asking of them since the 7-game losing streak had begun.

They were missing the key component- the ability to put the puck into the back of the net.

Ultimately, it was a lack of finish combined with some harmful mistakes that got Chris Kunitz two goals, Evgeni Malkin a goal and an assist, and the Penguins another win over the Isles, 3-1, at Mellon Arena last night. It was New York's seventh consecutive loss at the Igloo, and one in which perhaps the result looked a bit worse than it should.

The first period was a good showing- tightly-played and with plenty of bad blood. Matt Martin figured pretty heavily into that; as Mike Rupp tried to go at it with Andy Sutton (retribution for Sutton's hit on Pascal Dupuis last time these teams met up) Martin hovered near them and started yapping at Rupp, as if to let him know that he wasn't about to let him beat down on his teammate. Then a few minutes later, he got into it with Tyler Kennedy and proved to be a good match. That kind of toughness is refreshing to see, after games in which the Isles were just flat-out smacked around on the ice.

After a scoreless first in which John Tavares and Doug Weight each had chances- and hit either posts or the side of the net- the Isles failed to make good on a 5-on-3 power play opportunity, and then Kunitz scored his first of the night. The offense failed to get back into the defensive zone in time, leaving plenty of space for Kunitz to tuck the puck in past Dwayne Roloson's right pad. Shortly afterward, Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin had a 2-on-1 chance which somewhat handcuffed Guerin. Still the puck fluttered to the net and an alert Roloson made a great save. Roloson also took part in some of the feistiness, roughing it up with Rupp a bit after Rupp whacked at him. The resulting 4-on-4 play led to a Malkin goal off the faceoff- a blast from the point that also beat Roloson down low. That somewhat killed the Isles' momentum, and though they still worked hard, frustration mounted (especially for Tavares) as nothing got through.

In fact, it took until 9:38 of the final period for someone to get past Marc-Andre Fleury, who had made some good saves but hadn't had to really be stellar. Frans Nielsen won the faceoff cleanly and went right to the net, where Gervais made a nice pass to him. Nielsen got the puck just around the left pad of a sprawled-out Fleury to cut the lead in half. It still looked manageable for the Islanders... until Mark Streit drifted too close to Blake Comeau, who was carrying the puck into the offensive zone, and Comeau lost the puck. Bill Guerin picked it up and swiftly headed the other way, passing to Kunitz, who put it right past Roloson for his second of the night and eighth of the season. 3-1 Penguins, 14:48 of the third, and the Isles couldn't rebound.

While captain Crosby was point-less in this game, it barely mattered- Malkin and Kunitz were more than capable of picking up the slack, and Fleury made all the saves he had to in order to preserve the win. Malkin now has points in his last 11 games, and as a team the Pens have gotten eight straight wins on Igloo ice. As they keep going, the Isles have a couple of days to figure things out until their game against the Lightning at home. I don't know if I'll be able to watch that one; I'm currently in the middle of getting my computer and my notes together, packing it all in and heading to Buffalo. Sabres country, I know, but where else to talk about hockey in the great state of New York? They're crazy about it up there- about as in love with it as I am- and while I'll miss watching my boys in HD on MSG Plus, well... you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll keep up with them though. :)

Notes: The Isles only had one true penalty in the whole game? Niiiice... Fleury is 5-0-1 in his last six against the Isles... Tavares is still looking for his first goal in a while. He's goal-less in 12.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGIE!!

You're the BEST!





DP has nothin' on you #39 except for a few years in age...well that and a few surgeries.

Love ya sis,
xoxo
Christine

Isles Stop Losing Streak At 7

Predators 3: Islanders 4 (SO)

Well, it took a couple of call-ups and Martin Biron in net to do it, but the Islanders finally pulled off a win!

Now, that's not entirely fair, I know, and it did happen in the shootout, but a win is a win, and they did it in typical Islander style. Freddy Meyer got things going, receiving a great pass from Rob Schremp and blasting it past Pekka Rinne. After that, the Predators thought they had scored on the "shot" of Patric Hornqvist; however, video review showed that there was a distinct kicking motion made to push the puck through the five-hole on Biron. The Predators would tie it anyway, as Biron had trouble holding onto the initial shot by Ryan Jones, letting it pop up into the air, and then as he fell back into the net, Cal O'Reilly received the rebound and put it over the goal line.

Two minutes later, Nashville took the lead. The Isles got caught on a line change, and Jerred Smithson hit Joel Ward for a breakaway, which he scored on. Andy Sutton proceeded to smash his stick apart on the crossbar after the goal, frustrated that he wasn't able to get to Ward. Bruno Gervais got the tying goal on a 5-on-3 with 57 seconds left in the period.

Four minutes into the third, Steve Sullivan got a one-timer past Biron just seconds after a 5-on-3 for the Predators had ended. After that, the Isles tried their best, but Rinne made some great saves to keep the score in his team's favor. It wasn't until Martin Erat took a bad penalty for boarding John Tavares that New York finally broke through.

Martin Biron had dashed to the bench, giving the Islanders a 6-on-4 advantage. Newly recalled Matt Martin passed to Mark Streit at the blueline, who took his time lining up the shot, then let loose, ripping it past Rinne with 11.1 seconds left in the third period to tie it at 3. Streit isn't one to show much emotion when he scores, but no doubt he and his teammates were feeling all sorts of relief for the tying goal.

Overtime produced nothing, so on the game went to a shootout. First came Frans Nielsen, who smoothly gave the Isles the lead in the skills competition with his signature backhand deke. Then Biron stopped Sullivan and David Legwand before attempting a risky pokecheck in the third round on Erat, which kept the Preds alive. In the extra round, John Tavares lifted the puck over Rinne's right pad, and then Biron stopped Hornqvist to seal the deal. JT got the first star, but credit Streit with the tying goal, Biron with the great saves in the shootout (winning his first start since December!) and Meyer for being an all-around demon defensively on the ice, as well as scoring a goal.

The Isles don't have time to savor this one, however, as they travel to Pittsburgh for a game tonight against the Penguins- permitted the weather allows. It's coming down out there right now as I type, and Pitt's already been hit with the "Snowpocalypse," as they're calling it, so who knows what's going to happen for tonight. If the game goes as planned, however, we're talking a 7:30 start, 7:00 pregame on MSG Plus 2. It's the Isles' fourth time playing the Pens, and the second matchup at Mellon Arena. We already know what to expect- the big guns, Crosby, Malkin, and Staal, among others, will be ready to go after having a couple of days off. The Isles have to fight fatigue and avoid a "hangover" after this morale-boosting win.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!

Notes: Martin had two assists and three hits, factoring in pretty darn well... Jeff Tambellini and Doug Weight were healthy scratches for tonight, while Rick DiPietro dressed as backup instead of Dwayne Roloson... the Isles were 2-6 on the power play last night, a very big improvement... last time the Preds visited the Islanders was Oct. 16, 2006, and they won 2-1 in (you guessed it) a shootout.

The Mark is Missed... Once Again

Why I'm giving this any sort of recognition is beyond me, but humor me for just a second.

If you're a male, imagine life as a female hockey fan for just a moment. You root as hard for your team as the boys do, you're passionate and informed- yet even if you're well-respected and liked among your inner circle, even if you know all you can possible know about the sport and your team... someone always has to come along and treat you like a piece of meat. It's happened to me, it's happened to Christine, and it's happened to a few of the women I talk to on a daily basis.

The offending person in this instance is a man who goes by the name of @MotherPucker on Twitter, and who has his own website- Motherpucker.ca. He calls his site "Hockey News Minus the Typical Editorial BS," and that's all well and good. He also has some good content on his website, which I'm sure he's worked hard on, giving hockey news and opinions a fresh, fan-oriented spin. But he is also responsible for one of the most pointless contests I've seen in a while: The "Twitter Hockey Hotties" playoffs.

Now, I will be the first one to admit to you that a woman can be good-looking and knowledgeable. I believe that to the fullest. But it doesn't mean that all they should be noticed for is their looks. And while Mother Pucker and his readers insist that the contest is based on hockey knowledge as much as appearance, the title of the contest could have fooled me. It gives off the impression that you can have as little as one mention of the sport, and as long as you have a nice rack, you're in. I mean, just take a look at the pics these women have as their avatars, and you can be damn sure that no matter how smart some of them may be, hockey factored only slightly into the equation. Of course, you can't help but think that perhaps some of them have wanted this type of attention by the look of their pictures, and that's not okay either. Celebrate being an attractive woman, yes, but looking seductively into the camera or lying on a bed with your chest pushed up to your chin definitely sends some mixed messages. It's always been a double-edged sword, and that's something even I have worked hard to remember.

I might be one of those typical "editorial BS-ers" that he writes off as being lesser-than, but it doesn't stop me from having an opinion about this mess. We as women have to stop giving this any kind of credibility or encouragement. It's great if you're a beautiful woman, and there are many ways that you can show that off- many that don't involve you looking as though you'll tear off your clothes at any moment. And for their part, men could do well to stop treating us as though our boobs are all that matters. There are a ton of smart, well-rounded women out there who deserve to be noticed for much more than their looks.

Any questions? Comments? General complaints?

Preview: Isles vs. Predators 2.9.10 NVMC

The last time these two teams met was in October of 2006, when Paul Kariya clinched a shootout win for the Preds. Now, Nashville will face off against a very different Isles team- one in which only four of the Isles from that 2006 team remain (Richard Park, Bruno Gervais, Trent Hunter and Radek Martinek).

Not only that, but there has been a shakeup in the lineup. Bridgeport Sound Tigers Jesse Joensuu and Matt Martin are on the Island for tonight, while Martin Biron gets the start in net. Captain Doug Weight will be a healthy scratch for tonight. Joensuu has the hot hand lately (17 points in 18 games). The Isles likely hope that his size and developing skill, along with Martin's toughness, will rejuvenate the demoralized offense and get the Isles back into shape.

Coach Scott Gordon has also messed with the lines, putting John Tavares between Blake Comeau and Sean Bergenheim, two physical players who will probably try and use their aggressive forechecking to push into the offensive zone and free up JT for a one-on-one opportunity. It'll be interesting to see how the power play fares with Weight out of it. Likely Mark Streit will once again be doing much of the work on the first PP unit, unless JJ or MM get some PP time. (See what I did there?)

With all of that said... it should be an interesting matchup!

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!

This Just In...

It has been confirmed that Jeff Carter is a pinhead.

Marilyn Said It, Oh Yes She Did

My mom is no Billy Jaffe but then again, Jaffe didn't knit and crochet us Islander gear when we were kids.

Marilyn: who is playing?

Christine: washington caps and pittsburgh penguins

Marilyn: what's the score?

Christine: well the penguins were up but blew a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period, now they are in overtime.

Marilyn: that sounds like something the Islanders would do.

This Just In...

MSG Plus 2 sucks.

No, like, hardcore sucks. I don't know what was more annoying last night- the terrible audio or the flickering, discolored picture. I had to keep flipping channels to get the original picture back, often to no avail, and I could barely hear Howie and Billy between stoppages of play. Add to that another Islanders loss, 3-1, and it made for an overall terrible experience.

In what I could see of the game, Frans Nielsen was the lone Isles goalscorer (shorthanded), and youngster Andrew Peters got a win in his NHL debut, in relief of goalie Cam Ward (back problems). Jussi Jokinen and Brandon Sutter scored for the 'Canes, and Joni Pitkanen sealed the deal by capitalizing on an Isles turnover and catching Rick DiPietro out of the net as he tried to get an extra skater on the ice. The Islanders had some good jump, but unfortunately their offense is still not working out. Don't know what it is, don't know what needs to be done to fix it, but it's frustrating to watch.

And a note to MSG Network: Fix MSG Plus 2. It may not be HD, but it doesn't matter; that channel is just painful to watch. There's no excuse for it. Do something.