Tuesday, January 6, 2009

They say there is No Place to Go But Up --

when you're on the bottom that is. Well, that's where the Islanders are and they seem to be staying.

Whether it be because of staggering injuries, a lack of experience, a lack of talent, or just plain bad luck, the numbers are just painful to look at (and I work with numbers all damn day long!).

Twenty-eight points and the highest goals against in the league. Atlanta is close; probably not a distinction they are happy with.

So what did I get out of staying up past my usual work-a-day bedtime to watch this game from Edmonton?

1) The pleasure of listening to Jiggs, Jaffe & Doug Weight. What a team they were.
2) The smile I got from watching Okposo and Blake Comeau score.
3) A reason to wonder if there actually IS a conspiracy against the Islanders in the Toronto war room.

That's about it. Everyone on the net asked if the Islanders are not getting the respect they deserve from the refs. Last night was proof positive they don't.

The Islanders have no Sidney Crosby who can get away with punching an opponent in the nuts and walking away as if nothing happened. The Islanders are the team that has players called for interference when they're hauled down. Is the glass half empty or half full?

If we stay at the bottom, the prize is the great draft that is coming up. If they continue to play edge-of-your-seat hockey, do we really lose anything by basement dwelling?

I made the suggestion last night that maybe the Islanders should trade in their contingent of Bloggers for a cabinet of exorcists and medicine men that can break the injury curse. That garnered a chuckle where I wanted it. Because the best thing we can do is laugh right now. Hope has already left the building.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with you. As an Isles fan from the begining (1972), this team is tough to watch. But they do play hard and I enjoy watching the young guys, OK, Comeau, etc. Really looking forward to getting Nielsen back. Tamby looks done. I'm sure he's a great kid but he doesn't seem like he can play in the NHL. As bad as the Isles are, the teams that should really be ashamed are the Thashers, Lightning and Senators. The Isles don't have much talent but Atlanta,TB and Ottawa do and they are almost as bad as we are.Kovalchuk,Little,Kozlov,Spezza,Heatley,LeCavieler,St.Louis,Stamkos and they are almost as bad as us. That's a JOKE!! GO ISLES Like your blog!

Anonymous said...

Jiggs, Jaffe and Weight truly were a great team. I lapped that up -- if they can squeeze even a period more of that in Calgary, it will be great TV.

And Okposo/Comeau -- what a couple of shots! -- that happiness got me through the blown lead that I feared was coming.

The refs must have been drunk off Canada's WJC win, because they got worse as the night went on.