2-18-08 Kids Day too -- Shark Bait?

I don’t like day games. Sorry. I understand them, but I don’t like them. I like my hockey at night, not at 1 pm when the sun is shining and I feel like I should be doing 100 other things. But it’s President’s Day on Monday the 18th, and once again the Islanders are taking advantage of the kids being out of school and hopefully, looking for something to do.
There are only two day games scheduled in the NHL tomorrow. The Islanders are taking on the Sharks and the Devils vs. the Hurricanes. Two night games are also scheduled, so it will be a light day in the NHL. The complexity of this year’s schedule is astounding. Just as the complexity of marketing this game is more than difficult.
The Islanders developed a family game day pack for Kids Day Too that is a bargain, at 4 tickets, a Dave & Busters card and a Friendly’s gift certificate. As the weather shouldn’t be a problem, I hope there are plenty of Long Island families taking advantage of this special, especially considering this is Hockey Weekend in America. Festivities were planned in many of the hockey loving communities, all of which I heard about on 3M’s Home Ice. I will say there were a few of my friends who WORK in this field that had no idea. Shame on you guys… Shame on you! This is your field, and I really shouldn’t know more than you do.
Let’s look at Monday’s possibilities. In my mind, they’re dreadful. When I had this conversation with the Big Angry Man over dinner of Lobster Quesadillas and Caesar salad, you could see him getting considerably angry. I mentioned they don’t play well during day games this year. There have been four day games so far this season, and they’ve lost each of them. Last season’s stats were better with more day games on the schedule: Seven wins and four losses. Maybe we’re actually due for a day time win.
But when we discussed this, the Dynasty Die-hard didn’t want to hear my reasoning. “If you’re telling me they can’t win because it’s a day game, then they should just pack it up now because they don’t belong in the NHL.” He wasn’t listening when I said the theory was mine and not theirs. I was just going by the numbers.
So far the numbers are: 61 points with only 6 teams with less than that, 59 games played, 27 losses, 147 goals (the lowest in the league). Better numbers, three recent games, three recent wins. In my mind, that’s a mini streak. If they can get it to four games, that’s a REAL streak.
This is their longest road trip, and it started off with a loss. The Sharks are going to get to the Coliseum tomorrow and they’re not going to be in a very good mood. They took a beating from the Rangers at another 1 pm game. They’ll be looking for a win on our ice. And I’m sure JR will be running his mouth left and right. It should be an interesting day. I’m hoping to see that smile of Ted’s in the Press Room again. That would make the kids happy too.