Back to the Blog for Game 6

The only upside to Islanders not being in the Stanley Cup playoffs/finals? Jones Beach being the alternative to the Coliseum. 

Whoa has it been a long time since my last post. Since then Angie has left the NYIslesScene building and I wish her well. The blog took on more of a formal sports writing approach when Angie joined in and to be honest, writing in that format was like pulling teeth and although to Angie it came natural and she was really good at it, I fully admit I sucked at that process. I'm actually glad I sucked at it because it's not how I understand hockey and more importantly, not how I enjoy the game as an observer. As a fan of the Isles since the 1st Isles season in (holy sh*t I'm kinda old!) (44 and fabulous though), hockey has always been an experience, not just a game. I can remember as a kid feeling nervous in my stomach with excitement and having trouble focusing in school on the day of a game that I was going to. Amazing thing is, even after all these years I still get that way today. 

Also, there are tons of blogs/websites that already cover aspects of the NHL like game reviews, stats, draft picks etc...and bloggers/writers out there much better at those parts. I enjoy reading their perspective and learning from them. Overall, my creative mind does not belong trying to condense 60 minutes of hockey into a blog post or spouting off about what I don't know well enough or enjoy knowing about so from now on I'll just be hockey fan me and take a more ADD type approach to blogging...snippets here and there, photos here and there, commentary here and there and whatever else comes up in the time that I have to write/post.

Tonight is game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the LA Kings and NJ Devils. I am rooting for LA because winning the SC would be a 1st for the franchise and I'm rooting for the NJ Devils because being 44, I love when older players kick ass like Martin Brodeur and it cracks me up that it wasn't so long ago some were saying his career was coming to a close, which made me wonder if they were watching him play at all before making that statement. Who would have thought these two teams would surpass the others who ended up higher (for LA, much higher) in league standings at the end of the regular season? That's the great thing about this competition (and I suspect frustrating for teams), NHL teams charge forward into 82 games that demand so much of each player on so many levels, come out of the regular season on top or near the top and then POOF! no Stanley Cup for you! 

For this game I'd say LA has the edge, they are on home ice and now are (or should be) desperate to win whereas NJ wants to win this game to make it to game 7. LA has to figure out whether the pain their bodies are going to endure is greater than or less than the pain of a game 7. I don't know about you but if it were me, I would do anything to avoid a game 7...that would be my mindset...striking the fear in myself of having to play another game after playing what must be over 100 games total to date.  And then there's NJ...who seems to have a hockey dessert pocket that made itself known against the Rangers in round 3. The threatening thing about that dessert pocket is no one knows where it comes from and if it can be manufactured as opposed to being automatic. I don't know where it comes from...I don't think the Rangers knew and the LA Kings know now...it just exists and it fuels NJ somehow and I'd bet not even the Devils can say for sure where that energy is coming from. Something just seems to be carrying them out there on the ice in addition to their own volition. In any case I find it fascinating. LA has got to figure out a way to shatter that energy so that they can get beyond it and put some pucks in the net in the 1st period, enough to give them a lead they feel a great need to protect. Good luck getting past Broduer who at age 40, seems to be the most disciplined, focused and conditioned athlete out there on the ice. The LA Kings can take all the shots on goal they want but I suspect it is the player who will be at the right place at the right time in front of Brodeur who helps his team the greatest in winning the Stanley Cup tonight. Devils? Well all they have to do is continue to play their game, it's worked so far in getting them this far...I don't think for the Devils it will be about what they do as much as it will be about what the Kings don't do. That's where the Devils have a chance to force a game 7.

In summary...

I have NO IDEA who is going to win the Stanley Cup and that is the BEST part of this match-up!!

Uniform Déjà Vu

Ummm so yeah...got an analogy for you...

Univ. of Maryland's new player ensemble : Islanders fish stick jersey ensemble

I love my Alma Mater as much as another Terp but COME ON NOW PEOPLE!! 

Photo by: Under Armour 

Here's the one good thing, I think if it doesn't work against our own players, the patterned design on the uniform will be a visual distraction to the opponent...so to be quite honest I don't know how it was approved in the first place. Hope our QB can filter out the visual noise of throwing to his own players. 

LET'S GO TERPS!! 

Please Help a Fellow Blogger and Hockey Lover!

Difficult times can bring out the best in people and this is what has happened in our Twitter community for @Hawgs38 who with her dog made it out of her house in N. Jersey but returned to a home flooded with water. Fans from all around are donating funds to help her recover so please consider donating what you can, when you've lost so much, every dollar counts.

Thanks for Dani at NHLtweetup for organizing the fundraiser. For more information please click HERE.

Thank you!!

Isles Attempt to Lure Star Goalie

It's going to take a lot of catnip to convince a goalie of this caliber to play for the Islanders. 

SELL BABY SELL!!

I've been asked many times over the years why I dislike Charles Wang so much. It's not about like, it's about business. Sure, with Wang's 'colorful' business history there is plenty for me not to like however for the sake of time, it's just as easy to focus on general issues. And with all that written, I am full of shit. But hey, I tried to be diplomatic.

The Islanders franchise sucks. There is little to no respect for us as a club. And with clubs out there like Columbus and Ottawa to pick on, this is tragic. I mean we are the Islanders dammit! Umm hellooooo 4 Cups in a row Islanders? The day of the Islanders riding that history train has ended and now what do we all have to stand upon? Zippo.

The only solution to attempt to repair this franchise is for Charles Wang to sell the team. He's been holding the Isles hostage long enough for his development deal however after Monday's vote, it appears this will not happen any time soon. And even if the vote was YES, a new arena would still not have happened under Wang's ownership. A new arena being built was so much greater than a public vote. The vote was a dog and pony show which backfired. So then what else does Charles Wang to have as a foundation to his field of dreams? Zippo. Well zippo in the sense of support from something/someone that counts in getting a new arena built.

The Town of Hempstead (ToH) needs to be provided with an owner they want to work with. Charles Wang will not be that person. Could ToH come out and say that? Nope. But that's the root of the power struggle and it's not going to change. Considering Wang's colorful business history, I would hope ToH would fight tooth and nail to protect their town and the people in it. To reward Wang with more power and more business on Long Island would just be plain stupid. He's had many years to make something of the Isles franchise and he hasn't come up with much except for abusing the word rebuilding, which many Isles fans were all too happy to beat to death as well.

Let's see...what else...

Blaming the old folks for the NO vote winning: Simply put, to ask Nassau Country to allow this arena to be built in this economic climate was an obnoxious of an expectation by Islander fans. It amazes me how many excuses I've seen Islander fans make for why they are not getting their way, how many others they will blame rather than looking to the head of the Isles household as the reason why. Sad but true. Listen up kiddies, part of being a good business person is being able to close a deal. Wang failed at that on many occasions, if he were a CEO he'd be fired by now but since he is the Isles owner, he gets free pass after free pass by Islander fans...thank goodness NOT ALL ISLANDER FANS! And if you think you need a new arena to be a winning team, explain Detroit. What's that? You can't? Of course you can't.

Lions and Tigers and the Islanders are going to move OH MY!: If there would be one reason to start bitch slapping certain Isles fans, this would be it. Sort of like the movie airplane, in trying to calm down the hysterical woman kind of process...why? Because nothing seems to work to deprogram the cult-like fear Charles Wang put into fans about moving the team, a lame scare tactic that wasn't lame enough not to have had some effect. Yet if you ask these fear based fans what the process is in the NHL for moving a franchise...they have no idea. And with that they appear to think Charles Wang has the sole power to move the Isles. He does not. The NHL does. More specifically, the NHL Board of Governors. DO YOUR EFFIN' HOMEWORK PEOPLE!

I am a traitor, turncoat, moron and so on for not supporting a YES vote AND I am not an Islander fan: There aren't enough curse words out there to precede 'you' so I'll just skip to the next sentence. My guess is these insults have mostly come from Islander fans who have not been on the planet longer than I have been an Islander fan. I am 43 years old, started going to Islander games when I was 5 or 6, you do the math. If it were not for my love of the Islanders and Long Island I would not have spent the last 3 years researching every step of this process I could find. What that research has been and who I have spoken to will remain a closed file. At the end of the day, I feel an almost maternal instinct to protect my team from Charles Wang. And since I grew up on and love Long Island, same goes there. I will not apologize for it, I will not back down from it, and I will not rest until Charles Wang is no longer owner of the Islanders.

Could I be wrong about Wang opening up to offers to purchase the Islanders? Sure. But here's the thing, I am determined not to be wrong. If there is an impending exit door coming for Mr. Wang, I'd fork out some moola to be the one to slam it behind him.

As my Nanny used to say...better days are coming.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!!

Isles Have Core to Build Upon As Free Agency Looms

Let me just start by saying this: not everything in this post will be sunshine and roses.

I'll talk about the bad news first: According to multiple sources, including @HockeyBreak on Twitter, Chris Botta at Islanders Point Blank, and most recently NYI Faceoff Circle, Trevor Gillies and Micheal Haley are expected back on the Island; Zenon Konopka, however, is not.

I can't even begin to explain this one, seeing as Gillies was suspended twice by the NHL for irresponsible hits, and will most likely be playing as a marked man for the rest of his career no matter what. Not to mention the man only plays two to three minutes a game, and those come when fisticuffs are needed. He's too much of a worry on the ice and in my opinion a waste of a roster spot, but the Islanders would rather keep him than hang onto a guy like Konopka, who in the course of a year has more than proven himself as an enforcer, a leader and a heart and soul player on the Island. The way he plays and sticks up for his teammates, all while battling his own knee injuries in private, are beyond commendable; also, he loves the fans and he's expressed his desire to stay in New York.

I'm not saying Gillies isn't a great guy off the ice, because according to many people I've spoken to, he is. Even a Pens fan went out of her way to say how nice he was when she met him at a signing once, while he played for another team. It's the idea that this guy has done enough damage to the Isles' image, while Konopka has done much to give people the idea that this team is a doormat no longer, that bothers me. Why should we reward a player who had admittedly built a rapport with Isles management, but who gets disciplined at the drop of a hat? And why, conversely, should we let go of a player who, no matter what he might do outside of the arena, brings his proverbial lunch pail to work every single day and is quick to defend his team to the very end? Sure, we can always get another fighter or grinding center (NYI Faceoff Circle mentions bringing up Casey Cizikas for the fourth-line center position), but Konopka brings too much to the table regarding character and leadership, especially when you consider the Islanders are a team needing direction in the form of a stable leader.

While I shake my head angrily and sadly over THAT, however, I also have a lot to talk about regarding the Isles' injury situation. It looks as though the team will be going from depleted at D to having way too many guys to deal with. Mark Eaton, Mike Mottau, Andrew MacDonald, and Mark Streit (a lot of Ms) are all coming back from injury, adding to the group of Jack Hillen, Bruno Gervais, Milan Jurcina, Travis Hamonic and Ty Wishart that was left over from this season. Radek Martinek is an impending UFA, and while he's an underrated D, something tells me he won't be re-signed, if only for roster space reasons. Juice, Eaton, Streit, A-Mac and Mottau are also signed through next season or beyond, and Jack Hillen is an RFA who should receive a qualifying offer. Gervais is the weak link here in my opinion, since he's on the brink of 27 years old and hasn't shown much in the way of development, as far as I can tell. This past season he has actually regressed from his usual 15/16-point average, scoring six points (all assists) and posting a -14 in 53 games. Compare that to Hillen (22 points, -5, 64 GP), Hamonic (26 pts, +4, 62 GP) and MacDonald (27 pts, +9, 60 GP).

While MacDonald, Hamonic and Hillen have improved and stated their cases to remain in the NHL, Gervais remains an enigma- some games, he's involved in offensive play and makes good plays on D, but other games he looks completely lost. I would be a little surprised if he were to stay on the Island for next season, seeing as we have defensemen signed and more defensemen who deserve the spots. Also, I'd expect Wishart to go down to the A for space reasons.

Now on to the forwards. The top line of Matt Moulson-John Tavares-PA Parenteau scored big this season. Tavares led the team in scoring with 29 goals, 67 points altogether, a significant improvement over his 54-point rookie campaign (though he was second-worst on the team in plus-minus with a -16). Moulson and Parenteau tied at second with 53 points apiece; Moulson had a second consecutive 30-goal season, ending with 31, while Parenteau posted a respectable 20 goals. Both wingers have clinched contract extensions- Moulson for three years, Parenteau for one- while Tavares is entering the final year of his entry-level contract. Expect a deal in the works for JT soon, especially since two other Isles forwards have already been signed for the long term.

Those forwards are Michael Grabner and Kyle Okposo. Grabner shocked everyone with his 34-goal, 52-point rookie campaign (and got a Calder Trophy nomination to boot), while Okposo came back from injury halfway through the season to post 20 points. Both forwards are a part of the "youth movement" Garth Snow is banking so heavily upon for the team's success. Grabner is speedy and has hands to match, while Okposo is gritty, hardworking and has also matured into a leader on the ice. In fact, the same week the KO deal was done, former captain Doug Weight announced his retirement, making me wonder if Okposo would be getting a nod for the C. I still think with a guy like Mark Streit around, the chance of him getting it now is slightly diminished; however, Streit is here for only another two years, giving Okposo (who will be 25 by then) time to grow into the captaincy.

We also have one Frans Nielsen to think about. The guy is a playmaker, not a finisher, but he also posted 13 goals and 44 points in 2010-11 and worked wonders playing alongside Grabner. Moreover, he works beautifully on both sides of the puck and seven of his 13 goals came shorthanded. Yes, seven shorties. And he's the best shootout/penalty shot specialist in the league with something like a 57% accuracy percentage. Yes, really. Don't quote me on the exact stat, but it's in there somewhere. Long story short, he's still young (27), he's in the final year of his contract as well this coming season, and he came at a heck of a bargain ($525,000 a year). If the Isles are smart, they won't let go of this guy.

And of course, let us not forget about the goalies. The Islanders recently signed Anders Nilsson to an entry-level contract, and Al Montoya is signed through next year. Also, Kevin Poulin (remember him?) is coming back from his season-ending knee injury and should make a case for the Island again this year. We also have Mikko Koskinen to consider, as well as that other goalie whom we grabbed off waivers. With Rick DiPietro a constant question mark, the Isles should allow room for him (I suppose- they will anyway), but consider Poulin and start Montoya. Nilsson should see some time in exhibition, of course, to see where he stands before the start of the season. It seems a lot like we went from having no goalies to having a surplus of them, so the Isles have to figure out where everything goes.

Overall, I think we have reason to be happy for next season's start. With a full, healthy roster, who knows what might happen? :) Next post I'll talk about Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau- two questions for the Isles. At least, as far as I see it.

Thank You Tampa Ba(b)y!!!

A new team was added to my permanent NHL sh*t list this season:

1: Flyers

2: Penguins 

One of the most disgraceful moments in NHL history represented in the photo above. Wonder if they are laughing now?

Buh-bye.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!

Letting Go of the Past

Today marked a day of spring cleaning for me, seeing as it's been my first day of doing absolutely nothing outside of home all week. As I went through my piles of books and bags of stuff, I happened upon my old notebooks full of Islanders game notes. Most of them were messy, some were extremely short, but all of them were full of my excitement and disappointment over a given game. The names, I realized, have changed a hell of a lot as well- I've been keeping notes since my second year as an Isles fan. Arron Asham, Chris Simon, Josef Vasicek and Bill Guerin- those names, along with many others, have been seen on plenty of other teams by now. And it was a bittersweet feeling I experienced when I decided that these books would have to go bye-bye.

Let's face it: none of us likes letting go of the past. The Islanders have had a great many awful seasons since their Cup days, yet they hold onto them like they were yesterday- not unlike me with these notebooks.

However, the best thing about letting go is being able to move forward. And I look forward to getting Gamecenter Live next season, and sitting down every night to watch Matt Moulson, John Tavares, Michael Grabner, Frans Nielsen and Al Montoya, among others, play to win. We have a bright future complete with two 30-goal scorers, a 60-point scorer, the best shootout specialist in the league-and soon a PP quarterback and a young goaltender coming back from injury with a vengeance. Despite the team's rank in the standings, the Islanders have posted a fantastic record since February, and that cannot be discounted.

So, while I have loved former players just as much as the new guys on the roster, I let go of the past and look forward, as the Islanders must do now.

Game on!

Isles Keep Truckin' Despite Standings

One of the things that bugs me the most as a hockey fan is how some people base their entire thought process on the league standings. Don't get me wrong, in many ways they are indicatieve of how a team is faring, but they do not tell the entire story.

Why? I'll tell you. Currently, the Islanders are last in their division, 14th in the conference, and 27th in the entire league (hey, we jumped a bit!). They have 68 points and are eleven points out of a playoff spot. While they come out even (5-5) in the last ten games, they have managed to get a point in four of their last five losses, the only regulation loss coming against the Rangers (and in many of those games, sad to say, they were in a position to win- but such is the case with a young team).

In the process, they have had two players reach 30 goals apiece (Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner) and their top line of Moulson, John Tavares and PA Parenteau is currently in the top three spots for points scoring among the team; Tavares leads the Islanders with 60 points even, his highest total to date. Blake Comeau also reached a career-high 20 goals, and Frans Nielsen has reached a career-high in points with 41. In goal, Al Montoya holds a solid .920 save percentage and a 7-3-5 record in 15 games played, after basically falling under the radar within the NHL's farm system. Crazy how that happens, right?

We cannot overlook the effect that head coach Jack Capuano has had on this team. After taking over Scott Gordon's position mid-season, the former Bridgeport bench-minder has gotten players to believe in themselves and each other, and even through brawls and suspensions the team has come out on top and has been enjoying the benefits of the system. David Strehle reports that since the 1-8-2 start under Capuano, the Isles have turned around and posted up 24 wins, 15 regulation losses and 6 overtime/shootout losses, making it a pretty WIN situation. Surely, the front office will lock up Capuano for next season at the very least.

Also, any opponent will tell you that barring the occasional head-up-rear sloppiness these young ones tend to display, the Islanders consistently come out onto the ice determined to win. There's a reason both Bruce Boudreau and John Tortarella, among others, have praised the Isles' forechecking ability and resilience at different times during the past two years. This is not your regular band of scrubs, no matter what the standings suggest. With a good streak to close out the season, John Tavares could join the 30-goal club, and Moulson has already proved to critics that last season was not a fluke. As for Grabner... well, there have been whispers about the Calder Trophy, for which he is still eligible. And while Montoya had a slow start, he's been giving Islanders fans a lot to smile about with his solid play and laid-back, earnest demeanor during interviews. With Rick DiPietro back in the mix, it's hard to say what might happen next, but all I know is that I'm happy with what the boys are doing on the ice. Something tells me the "country club atmosphere" has left for good, and in its place is a close-knit locker room and a determination to succeed in the coming years.

So even if the Isles don't make the playoffs this year (and they likely won't), with key players like Mark Streit coming back into the lineup from injury, and a young goalie named Kevin Poulin who certainly has what it takes to challenge DP or Al for a nod in net, I'd say we have plenty to cheer for next season.

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!

There Comes a Time for Change... and This Is It

Well, this is about as good as I could get it to be after doing six takes. xD I have a lovely new $9.99 webcam from OfficeMax that I was just DYING to use, so here I am showing you my lovely face (and very messy hair, might I add). I hope you all can here me and that I'm not rambling TOO much... haha. :)

In all honesty, though, there has to be a change to the NHL's system, before very bad things happen...