Old News - Newsday

While the NY Islanders are not in the playoffs, they did make the cover of Newsday this morning. Now, of course it should be any press is good press, especially when your cross-town rival has been gracing the back cover more than we wish to see. But this time the front cover news seems like "old news" at least to me. "NHL Boss on Coliseum: Isles looking at other options." Duh. No kidding. Gary Bettman has been saying that for years. Has anyone from the Town of Hempstead heard him? Or maybe they just don't believe him. He has said for the last five years that the Islanders will not play a day after their lease requires them to and that the Nassau Coliseum is not up to NHL standards and would never be approved as an NHL venue today. Let's throw in the asbestos scare and we've got a whole new wrinkle. John Jeansonne from Newsday carefully stated that air quality was "safe in public areas of the arena" after Nassu County hired a consulting firm to investigate since it's being sued by 75 arena employees. "Public areas" could lead one to believe there 'may' be contamination in the 'restricted' areas which means it could be in the areas where these highly paid professionals work. Hello NHLPA? Also notice that as I stated before, the League does not think that the Barclays Center is anything but a stop-gap idea for the Isles. It's not a hockey building. But it is a building. Mike Deery, Town of Hempstead spokesman noted that the town board approved a new building zone ten months ago "that expressly allows for the construction of a new Coliseum." That's nice. But hockey does not live on an arena alone. Nope. So where's the rezoning for that? With both Nassau and Suffolk Counties cash strapped and in budget crisis hell, I can't see either one of them stepping up with a plan to help. Our Long Island political football is turning into a time bomb. On a brighter note. Want to see what you get when you are a beloved NHLer who comes home for the summer?

A BMW - Sweet ride Nino. Enjoy it.

A nice family car for Michael Grabner. Although it is a bit "billboard-ish."

Isles: Out & Down (Just a little)

No, there was no loud music and laughter in the Isles locker room after yesterday’s game as there had been Thursday night when they won. No. The mood was one of contemplative reflection on the season that is now positively ending in just a few days. As long as there was the smallest of chances, there was still youthful hope. But as hard as they worked yesterday, the Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, were not going to lose to the Islanders AGAIN. So they didn’t.

A writer for the New York Times said that none of the Islanders reporters would mention that the Islanders were HEALTHY and the Bruins were not. I suppose he was trying to say that indeed, the Islanders should have won. However, I can’t really say they were healthy considering that the backbone in net named Evgeni Nabokov has made an early exit from the season with a strained abductor. But there. I said it. Maybe he’ll rescind the statement now. (I doubt it.)

Matt Martin and Josh Bailey were particularly quiet sitting in their stalls post game. No good natured ribbing of each other. No jawing at Travis Hamonic across the room. They sat in drenched tee shirts waiting to explain to the throngs of cameras and tape recorders just how they felt about “being out of it.”

I couldn’t ask it that way, so I asked Matt how difficult it is to stay focused as the season winds down and the weather turns to Spring knowing he’d find his way to the real question.

“I don’t think it’s really that difficult. If you go to Florida and it’s nice weather or you travel to different places, I think our focus is to finish these last games off as strong as we can.” (And there it is….) “Obviously we all want to win. Some guys are still looking for contracts. (Martin is an RFA) I don’t think it’s hard to stay focused.”

As Jack Capuano has said this week, the team is not deviating from their routine or their program. They weren’t looking at the standings and playing to help or hurt other teams in the hunt. They were just trying to stay within their own system.

This from Eric Hornick’s excellent work on "The Skinny" regarding Matt Martin’s accomplishment this season:

Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Boston 21-19. Matt Martin led the way with six hits and in the process established a new National Hockey League record in hits. Martin now has 360 hits (hits have only been recorded since 2005-06), breaking the record of 356 set by Cal Clutterbuck of Minnesota in 2008-09. Martin has also recorded 13 of the team’s 22 fighting majors this season.

Having known this, I mentioned it to Matt as for the first time this season, he sat looking up at me without hair hanging down in his eyes. A nonchalant “okay” was his first reaction, so I pressed. “Well, obviously it’s a (he thought about the right word) accomplishment, I think, to lead the league in anything. It’s an accomplishment, but I’m a physical player (he finally smiled just a little), it’s just part of the game for me. It’s not trying to count how many I’m hitting. I just play the same way every night. It’s really all that is.”

While Matt Martin hits, Matt Moulson scores and gives back. For another year Moulson has pledged $500 for every goal he scores to go to children’s charity. Not to be outdone by his brother-in-law, LA Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick pledged $500 for every WIN he earned this season. Together Moulson and Quick created the 326 Foundation and yesterday Moulson split his pledge between the Islanders Children’s Fund and the326 Foundation to the tune of $17,000.

Feeling in the giving sprit too, Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner each pledged $300 per goal to the IFC and yesterday presented a check for $22,000 to Islanders General Manager Garth Snow along side Matt Moulson’s beautiful wife Alicia.

Today is Fan Appreciation Day at the Coliseum as the Islanders face the Ottawa Senators. While the Islanders are now “officially” out of the playoffs (as Newsday’s Art Staple had to announce to Jack Capuano in the post game meeting), don’t expect them to play any different. Matt Martin will still hit. Moulson will still crowd the net, Parenteau will still look to swoop in and score and Okposo will still try to muscle his way around anyone standing in his way of the net. Tavares will still look to win the game whether it matters to the score sheet or not. It matters to him.

For the fans in attendance today the entertainment value of the game will be enhanced by the amazing amount of giveaways that are planned. With three games remaining on the schedule, we should just enjoy them -- while we can.

Aug 19th, A Day of Viewing Infamy

Yes, it's here.  The day of the Isles infamous Viewing party that received more National attention than Matt Moulson's rise to stardom is finally upon us.

New Meet Up details are here.  Now, will CNN pick up on the Isles host a SABRES GAME viewing party at the Marriott in Uniondale?  I doubt it.  No, gathering to celebrate Michael Grabner's play in this game won't even get a notice.

The only reason why the game was changed at the request of the NY Islanders was the national media attention it received.  The media has been able to manipulate the outcome of just about everything from politics to sports.

It is truly a shame how the voices of few manage to change the direction of others.  But tonight, Isles fans will still gather together and talk about the up coming season but because of the attention they will now also talk about -- the Penguins.

So... who's going and showing their support?

Matt Moulson's Family Affair

Hockey has always been a sport of pedigree and lineage; the Esposito boys, a gaggle of Sutters, the inseparable Sedin twins and many others, have made hockey the special sport it is.

Not a direct blood link, but Sean Backman, brother-in-law of Matt Moulson was signed yesterday to a 1-year, 2-way NHL/AHL deal. The 25-year-old forward is a Yale graduate and is listed at 5'8" tall. From first glance, you may wonder what Garth was thinking. But as Bridgeport Sound Tigers reporter Mike Fornabaio wrote, Jeff Hamilton didn't do so badly at similar stature.

But to me the real giggle is not that Matt Moulson is taking family lineage to the ice level, but also into the brave new world of social media.

Ah, we live in strange and wonderful times you and I. Never before could we view public figures chirping each other without the suggestive interpretations of a gossip reporter. Now we can sit on the sofa and read what stars, athletes and regular people have to say to each other just by following a Twitter stream.

Moulson has become a pro at it along with NY Islander Michael Grabner. The signing of @SBacks1 (Sean Backman's Twitter handle) has just guaranteed him thousands of new followers. But he's not alone in the Twitterverse. His brother Brett Backman (@BBacks16) loves to get into the act.

Not to be left out of the fray is @MoulsonDosTres, Chris Moulson, brother of - you guessed it -- Matt.

Now, the reason why I'm writing about this (other than it's August and I'm really pretty sick and tired of writing about political BS) is because we have never been given a window into the personalities of our players as we have today.

The TRUE personalities. From the exchanges we read between friends and brothers, who they really are comes through. True voice without the homogenized, pasteurized, scripted PR interviews produced for television.

No, this is raw and real and often funny as hell.

Of course there is always the dark side to social media, but when you use it intelligently, you can get around that.

I use it as the only way to get news faster than the speed of light. I find it funny when I'm sitting at the breakfast table and the big angry man will be reading Newsday and make a comment about a story he is reading as if it was a surprise to him. I have a hard time not snapping back "huh? Old news! We talked about that yesterday! Where were you?"

Well, where he was WASN'T on Twitter. But he was probably on Facebook. Weren't you 'droidboy'?

Too much Islander News for One Day

Who said a Wednesday in late June would be boring when it comes to Hockey? Ugh.
There was an 11 am Ed Mangano/Charles Wang press conference at the Coliseum that I couldn’t attend. However, because Twitter is my friend, I was kept in the loop by @BellmorePatch and @NYISlanders and their live blog.

Also at 11 am, Newsday’s Art Staple hosted an Islanders Live Chat while Ms. Katie Strang was busy with NHL Draft travels and duties. Then (of course) there are the NHL Awards tonight at 7 pm from Las Vegas and there is also a live blog by @SkatesOnAPlane writer Jesse D Eisenberg who has the pleasure of accompanying @Grabs40 to the Awards show.

Continued at Hockeybuzz.com here.

Grabner Signing a Big Success!

The line was huge as expected at the Isles Team Store in Massapequa today. But this time, the staff was prepared. It ran like clockwork. Approximately 200 fans were in and out of the store in an orderly fashion.

When I arrived late in the time frame after our IslesMiniTweetUp, the line at the register was 15 deep. Grabner signed the last few autographs and then spoke with me for a few minutes.

With his dog in his lap, his beautiful girlfriend by his side and his precious baby sleeping in his stroller, this was a picture perfect Islander family. Grabner is always low key when questioned. But you can tell when he breaks into his sly smile how happy he really is.

He said the new contract deal went very quickly. I wondered if it was something they knew about, but kept secret for awhile. Not a chance. When I asked him how long he know about the deal he told me "Not long. It got done quick. Maybe the day before I signed it." Then he thought aloud, "Maybe even the SAME day. It happened so quick."

Of course it did. Garth Snow knew exactly what he wanted for Michael Grabner. As he told me, it was fair to both sides.

I asked Michael if there was anything he'd like to see in the new arena should it be approved and he didn't have any special requests, he was just happy for the fans who have waited so long for news on the site and is happy he'll be here to share in the excitement and hopefully a long playoff run.

He still feels that staying healthy will be the key component to making this team a playoff contender. "Injuries happen, but I've never seen injuries happen THAT much. But the last few months we played some solid hockey." So with the young core in tact, if they stay healthy, we'll see how far they can go.

Grabner never thought he'd be in this position at only 23 after leaving camp in Florida. When I asked him if he ever thought he'd be in this position so soon after that he chuckled a little. "No. Not really. I just tried to make a team and play my role. Do whatever the coaches asked me and limit my expectations."

This has been a banner year for Michael Grabner who ended the season with more goals than Ilya Kovalchuk. And I don't think Kovy's got a tee-shirt quite as interesting as this one that people would stand on line for two hours waiting to get.


And since they were having a one day, 40% off sale, I bought myself this one for the Americana holidays this summer.

Gremlin Signs for Five

Today the Islanders’ news didn’t come first from their PR Department or their beat writer or any of the other men and women stepping all over each other covering this team but from the man who put his name on the dotted line.

Yes, the power of Twitter reined supreme this morning as Michael Grabner himself announced to his 18,654 followers, “I am happy to announce that I will be an Islander for the next five years.new building,new contract and new baby.what a great year!!!!!”

An hour later Matt Moulson Tweeted congratulations, “Wohoo! Just got out of workout and saw the news.Congrats to @grabs40! Well deserved so happy for the Gremlin”
Daddy Gremlin has had a spectacular year, one he probably didn’t think he’d have after being placed on waivers by the Panthers following a sub-par training camp. Is anyone else wondering if they’re kicking themselves about now?

Gremlin, the nickname given to him by Andy MacDonald that seems to have stuck like glue. Although Andy MacDonald doesn’t seem old enough to really remember the movie Gremlins, the 1984 horror/comedy about the strange little creatures that start out so cute and cuddly and turn into chaos inducing demons. (Voice supplied by Howie Mandel). It’s said Bruno Gervais designed the new t-shirt that Grabner fans are lining up to purchase.

No matter who announced the news first, it couldn’t come quick enough. Since the end of Grabner’s 34 goal season, fans have been begging for Grabner to be signed. I too asked Garth Snow about five times “So, when are you signing him?” to which he responded, “Don’t worry. He’ll be an Islander for a very long time.”

True to his word, Garth Snow worked out a very impressive five-year deal with the two-way forward whom Snow called “an elite player in this league” in today’s press release. I tried to get my own quotes out of the General Manger, but only received “it’s a fair deal for both.” Um, I’m thinking it’s a little more than “fair.” As a RFA the Islanders only had to issue a qualifying offer, but worked out a deal that pays Grabner a cool $1 million next season and then adds a million a year for the next four years giving them a reasonable cap hit of $3 million a year.

It seems the announcement made Matt Moulson (signed recently for 3 years) mumble that he hopes to stay here longer too. With the hope of a new arena and a healthy team, can you blame them? Isn’t that nice to hear after all the negative press we are force fed about the team, the management and fan apathy?

NOTE TO NAYSAYERS: THESE GUYS LIKE IT HERE.

Also, they too see a bright future with this talented core of young players. Like the fans, they are looking forward to seeing what sort of success they will have. In Grabner’s own words from the release:

“I’m really happy knowing I’ll be staying here on Long Island, especially after Wednesday’s news of a new arena,” Grabner said. “We have a lot of young, talented players who came together last year and I am thrilled to have the chance to be a part of getting this team back to the playoffs.”

Hey
Mike, we’re happy too.
Have a wonderful summer in Austria with your family.

Bruins 3 Grabner 2

Just quick notes. I was too busy playing fan-girl on the couch and dog sitter to a puppy that leaks every 10 minutes.

The Islanders played an excellent first period. The young defense and the kid who just played two games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers weren’t a push-over for the 3rd seed Bruins.

The Isles Penalty Kill proved to be spectacular once again including killing off a5 on 3 early at 7:03 of the first when JT and Trevor Gillies shared the box. Rick made some excellent saves and caused a few heart failures when he left the net unattended. But with one tenth of a second left of the first, he let u the first Bruins goal to Thornton. He wanted that one back.

Josh Bailey couldn’t buy a goal, but boy, does that kid have some moves. He did manage an assist point. While I was trying to invoke the hockey-gods into giving new kid, Campanele, a point in his first NHL game, the only thing he’ll have to remember from this game is his first NHL penalty -- and playing against the Bruins. Tomorrow, he’s back to Bridgeport. But he didn’t look out of place in his 8:21 of ice time.

But it was speedy Michael Grabner that put the Isles on the score sheet -- Twice. New daddy Grabs scored his 32 and 33rd goal of what is considered his rookie season. Grabner scored one short handed goal and one power play goal. All because he’s now keeping his head up. One his shortie, he looked to have borrow a move from Frans Nielsen who has scored seven short handed goals. It was his fifth multi-goal game this season and he leads the team in plus/minus. As one top NYI employee said, he was “dynamic” tonight. I say he was awesomeness.

I’m truly hoping that the balance of the voters for the Calder have seen him. As Butch said, he is a legitimate contender.

For the Bruins, goalie Tim Thomas was the difference. He made key saves that would have won the Islanders the game. One especially on Josh Bailey while sprawled eight feet away from the crease. He got a good laugh out of that once the whistle blew.

Jack couldn’t help but smile when talking about his youngsters. They gave him everything they had. “ It’s gratifying. We are out of the playoff race, but it gives the young kids an opportunity to play in the NHL and I’m pleased with the way they played against the Bruins who are pretty deep.”

John Tavares didn’t have a great night. Oh, he played an excellent game, he was just a target for the Bruins. If they could keep him on the ice face-down, they would have. Well, they tried.

“When you’re an elite player in this league, you want to stand up for yourself. He’s strong on the puck -- he’s pretty impressive in what he’s done.” Yes, John Tavares has done a lot of growing up this season. And as Jiggs and Butch questioned, so why HASN’T John been called by Hockey Canada yet?

So have a lot of other youngsters thrown into roles they wouldn’t have had if not for the Islanders run of bad luck.

Rick doesn‘t like to lose. Especially in his home town in front of family and friends. In the locker room he told Rob Carlin “I thought we played well. There were a couple bad bounces in the 2nd period. But, I thought we played well. When you have six weeks off midway through a season, it’s tough to get back when you’re not playing every night. All you can do is work your hardest and hope everything works out.”

So on to Friday’s match-up against the Penguins. All eyes around the league will be on that game, but according to the Isles squad “It’s another game. We’ll play hard. We expect our best effort.” Period.

Final Four: Game 2 Isles @ Bruins

Game Day: After a bumpy ride in turbulent weather yesterday, the Islanders landed safely in Boston. We know that from @MMoulson and @Grabs40's Twitter accounts. I thank them for that. We also know that they had a good dinner, took in a movie and Grabner ate all the chocolate out of his mini-bar. Sugar rush?

Okay then. Here we go.

With the Bruins currently sitting as the third seed in the East, expect the TD Center to be rocking. They are gearing up for playoff hockey and Boston is an awesome hockey town. The Islanders have now lost Milan Jurcina and Frans Nielsen. I'm not even sure if Jack Hillen has made this trip, so the Isles could be seriously depleted. There has been no word as of yet as to any call-ups from Bridgeport, but I would guess there has to be some new name on the bench tonight or Jack will looking at Doug Weight behind the bench and seeing if he's got his skates.

Interesting fact that Art Staple put out yesterday, only six players that started with the Islanders in October are still on the bench. This is certainly a season to remember.

The Bruins will be without Marc Savard due to concussion and Shawn Thorton has 40 fresh stitches that caused him to miss the game against the Rangers. Will he make this one?

What the Isles fans should root for tonight is goals. Goals, goals, goals. John Tavares is two away from 30 and PA Parenteau needs one more for 20. Oh hell, give Matt Martin another too. Or how about Trevor Gillies, who will undoubtedly be in the line-up tonight facing the mountain that is Zedeno Chara.

Rick DiPietro is a Mass native, so perhaps Jack will put him in net tonight and keep him away from the Penguins on Friday, Fan Appreciation Day at the barn.

The fact that Isles hockey will end on Saturday is starting to sink in. I'm starting to feel the dark cloud invade my sunny disposition. Ugh.

Super Moon over Sunrise Gives Isles a SO Win

Well, Congrats to RDP and company on a decent win even though they let a lead slip away in the third once again.

Congrats to Michael Grabner on his 30th goal of the season. Seems both Scotty Allen and I saw that coming.

PA Parenteau gets a little closer to that 20 goal marker with his 18th of the season and Blake Comeau has to sit with his first fighting major.

Yep, what a weird night for sure. Full re-cap here at HockeyBuzz.com.

Heartbreak in Raleigh

*Okay, let me explain. I have not slept more than 4 hours for 12 days. Last night was the first night that Big Angry Man was back home. In all honesty, I slept through portions of this game. It's obvious from the first draft of this post game!!!

With Al Montoya facing Cam Ward in net in Raleigh*, anything could happen. And it did.

Jeff Skinner, in the race with Michael Grabner for Rookie of the Year, managed to put Atlanta on the board first with his 25th goal of the season. That didn't mean that Grabner did nothing in the first. Michael Grabner had two break-away chances that got Howie Rose and all Isles fans very excited. Both of which didn't get the Isles on the scoreboard.

It took a hard angle shot by Frans Nielsen banked off Ward's pad to put the Islanders even with the Hurricanes. It was a beautiful goal and Grabner earned an assist point on it.

But at 3:10 of the 1st, one of Grabner's NINE** shots for the night managed to go in the net for Grabner's 29th goal of the season. (One more closer to my winning that bet this season with Steve Carlson!)

The Islanders as a whole played well. There were no penalties called in the first period at all and only one during the second period on Michael Haley for interference. Carolina was hit with two penalties in the third period, but the Isles power play couldn't find a way to give them a safety net of another goal.

At that point, I heard Big Angry Man yell, "You're going to give them a way to tie up the game. You should have been able to score there boys." And as if he looked in a crystal ball, John Tavares' late period penalty in the third gave the Thrashers life that sealed the Isles fate.

Paul Maruice's squad desperately wanted the points. They need the points. And at 15:23, Eric Cole tied the game at two leaving the Islanders deflated. Especially Frans Nielsen. The Isles were badly out shot in the third 14 - 5. THAT'S how bad they wanted the win.

But the heartbreak in Raleigh actually came during the overtime segment when a slap shot by Joni Pitkanen banked off the post and behind Montoya who was stretched across the crease with glove in the air ready to stop it. He froze for a moment realizing he didn't have it in his glove. THERE was the heartbreak.

The only good thing about last night's game was there is no time to sulk over it. The Isles are in South Florida taking on the Panthers tonight in their second game of the week-end back-to-backs. Everyone is assuming Rick DiPietro will get the nod in net tonight.

I think it will be a good diversion for him. Besides the bad injury luck he has had, Rick also had to put down his dog this week after it was hit by a car. For anyone who has had to live with the loss of a family pet, you know what that is like.

Rick spoke openly about his last few weeks with both Newsday's Katie Strang and MSG's Rob Carlin. Check their twitter feeds and Ms. Strang's Newsday blog for details. I didn't know that Rick required metal plates in his face after Brett Johnson belted him. We'll just put that also on the list of why I'm not happy with the Pens goalie. Thank you.

Looking for another Grabner goal tonight so I can order my case of wine from Mr. Carlson in the morning. Now THAT would be SWEET!

**Yep, I got that one wrong too! Grabner had NINE shots on net.

Isles 4 Bruins 2 3-11-11

Post game notes & quotes at HockeyBuzz.com.

And a little extra: I saw Rick DiPietro in the hallway tonight. The gentleman that he is, he stopped to talk to me. I will say this, NO ONE dresses better than that man. When I complimented him on his amazing sense of style, he said "Dee there's only two things you can control in this world. How hard you work and how you look."

Well, no one works harder than he does and you'll never find someone who dresses better.



First of all, there should be a limit on how long the national anthem should take to sing. I'm just saying.

Puck drop. Again, Justin DiBenedetto has drawn the ire of the refs as soon as the game starts. He gets 2 for roughing. I didn't see it.

The Bruins first power play of the evening and yes, Chara is getting booed when he is out on the ice. I like it!!!


Penalty killed off with Bruins managing only one shot on Montoya.

Shots mid way through the first are only 3 - 2 in favor of the Bruins and Montoya has seen them all.

10;39 of the first, and the Isles get their first power play of the game. Although in the first few seconds, it didn't look like one. Actually after a minute had gone by, it still didn't look like one.

Michale Grabner gets a clear shot into Tim Thomas crest as he stood to meet the puck. They managed four shots on goal during the power play and Thomas is a little rattled from a scrum in his net. He needs his skates looked at during the TV Time out.

At 13:13 of the 1st, Kyle Okposo is called for boarding. Another BS call. But the Isles killed off the penalty. But it was unlucky when Horton managed to get a puck behind Montoya at 16:29. The Bruins are the first on the board, but I think it just made the Islanders angry. They'll get it back.

They're still booing Chara, but I don't think he cares.

End of the first, Isles have managed more shots on Thomas, but one fewer goal than the Bruins. Drat!

Blake Comeau playing tonight though he was experiences some sort of muscle spasms

Second period under way and the Isles are out shooting the Bruins 15 - 9. Matt Martin had an excellent chance and was robbed by Thomas who managed some sort of ballet move six feet to the left of his crease

Seems like a lot of pucks going over the glass and a lot of blocked shots. The puck bounces off more legs and bodies than actual sticks. Also, too many turn-overs. Lots of shots, but nothing going in.

Best line tonight: @IslesRM just said "If this was a competition of who could shoot directly into the goalie's chest, the Isles would have won this game in the first period."

And I think I saw Matt Moulson throw two hits. For some reason, that seems odd to me. I don't know why.



Ugh. Okay, Milan Jurcina is sent to the box for holding and half a minute later Frans Nielsen gets called for crosschecking of all players, Chara. He went down to the ice and the crowd thanks him as he heads to the box putting the Isles down two men.

At 6:58, Chara makes them pay but putting the puck in the net behind Montoya as it was seen almost going through the netting due to the velocity. Nielsen still sits in the box for another 1:30 while the Isles try to kill off the one man advantage.

The Isles have to find a way to score this period or it will be a very ugly third.

With a minute left I decided to try my old trick. Usually the Isles would score if I was in the ladies room. They didn't fail me. Matt Moulson scored his 29th goal of the season. He can thank me later.

The third period began with SOG 30 - 20 in favor of the Isles, but they were are still down by one. Let's see who will tie this game up

The answer was indeed Michael Grabner, his 28th of the season at 1:28 of the third. Grabner actually managed to take three shots before it actually went in. He just did not give up and kept changing position to get it past Thomas.

The crowd came alive with that goal. There really is nothing like this building when it is energized

Earlier tonight, I Tweeted out that I felt a Jack Hillen goal. Sure enough a shot from the blue line by Jack bounced off Seidenberg and into the back of the net. I'd love to know what Tim Thomas said about that one.

That is Jack's fourth of the season

With 8:29 left of the third, Grabner again has a breakaway, turns on the jets and heads towards Thomas with big Chara on his tail. Sadly he shot wide. SOG now 40 - 25 in favor of the Isles.

Jack Capuano must have said something in the room after the second to turn up the heat on this team.

Horton takes a run at Jack Hillen and Hillen won't stand for the indignation. A little scuffle ensues. Horton is called for interference and the Isles are back on the power play.

Blake Comeau tries using patience to get the perfect shot off during the power play, but the Bruins continue to block everything. The Isles added no shots on goal during the power play. With 4:45 left, the teams go back to full strength but stay in the Bruins zone. Okay, for like a few seconds. Al Montoya makes a save, and then a second before the Isles clear the zone.

Isles Burn the Leafs in OT 4 - 3

Well, I guess the Isles really are playing without pressure. But what they played for was two points. What they got was exactly that.

Grabner with his 27th goal and Zenon Konopka with his second. But it was Josh Bailey who ended up with the hard hat tonight.

Game report here on HockeyBuzz.com.

Isles vs Kings 2-19-11

So it's Hockey Across America weekend, and I'm hoping it's not true that I'm one of only a handful that are looking to celebrate it. I wore my jersey to work yesterday, did you?

So tonight the Islanders face the Kings tonight. It's the last game of their ten day road trip. We hope they're really tired. They beat the Isles their last meeting in November and have and have an excellent record of 32-22-4.

Maybe Matt Moulson will tell JT and Michael Grabner how to beat his brother-in-law Jonathan Quick. "Go high glove!! Go high glove!" You know, something like that.

Sadly, I won't be there tonight.

But I wanted to take a moment to show you what I did see a few nights ago at the barn. Seems the trouble in net for the Islanders even hit the Ranger fans. This guy here...
Yep, "Will Tend Goal for Food."

He hid his face with the banner so he wouldn't be recognized and wouldn't tell me his name. He just said he was a Ranger fan who always attends games at the Coliseum. I took this photo before Al Montoya became an Islander. So, wonder how he feels now. That's TWO ex-Rangers we now have on the roster.

But this IS the land of Opportunity. So let's see what they can do against the Kings.

I'm heading to CT for the Hartford Whale Fan Fest. So hopefully, I'll check back in tomorrow afternoon.

Let's Go Islanders.

48 Hrs Later: Isles Win in OT in Buffalo

So suspensions, fines and closing remarks by both the Islanders and the Penguins out of the way, the Islanders hit the ice against the Sabres at HSBC Arena.

Jack Hillen is not in the line-up for precautionary reasons. There had been rumor (that I got for a Penguins beat writer!) that Hillen may have exhibited concussion like symptons. I guess he was right.

With Matt Martin and Trevor Gillies now serving their League mandated suspensions, Tye Wishart and Rob Schremp were placed back in the line-up along with NON-disciplined Michael Haley.

Haley not only won over the Isles fans during his first NHL game, according to Rob Carlin, he won over his coach too.

Michael Grabner continuing his point streak gets the Islanders on the board before I can even sit down to watch the game. Maybe this is more than a "streak," maybe Michael Grabner is actually THAT good.

Hecht tied the game at one at 6:46 of the first as I personally felt that Mikko was too far outside the paint. I was corrected, supposedly the technical term is "he was too deep." Either way, he got beat.

The second goal Mikko let up was just a bad rebound and bad luck. Drew Stafford buried a rebound as Mikko could not get back into position to save it. No problem thought. John Tavares, who had been slow to get up after being knocked to the ice earlier in the first, snuck in and buried the puck deep in Millers net from a shot by Travis Hamonic with a PA Parenteau screen.

Stafford scorred his second of the game at 17:39 from an Ennis shot to put the Sabres up 3 - 2, again as Mikko was too far towards one post.

The Islanders go on the power play as Kaleta is called for charging on Travic Hamonic. Charging? He took Travis into the glass with his elbow and had to jump 4" off the ice. Only a two minute penalty was given to Kaleta. Let's see if the league has anything to say about that or since it's only 20-year-old Islander Travis Hamonic, does it note really matter? Not important right?

And this is the reason the Islanders feel they have to police themselves. If they are going to get no help from the league that is supposed to protect them, they have no choice but to stand up and take action.

Hamonic let Kaleta know what he thinks of him as he exited the penalty box as the period ended. The Islanders will have 31 seconds of power play time to begin the second with a fresh sheet of ice. Hopefully, they find the back of the net and get this evened up again.

Travis was given a ten minute game misconduct for letting Kaleta and the ref know what he thought. Still playing into the idea that the Islanders get no respect from anyone in the league.

As he had done the last time out, little Nathan Gerbe scored the Sabres 4th goal of the afternoon as he blew right past Milan Jurcina. That prompted Jack Capuano to make a change in net and 26-year-old Al Montoya, celebrating his birthday today, makes his Islander debut.

Wish they had just listened to me to begin with and let him start the game.

With PA Parenteau in the box late in the second, Jordan Leopold managed to get a stick up high on Josh Bailey and then hook Frans Nielsen just as he was about to shoot on Miller 6" from the net. Rather than a penalty shot for Frans, Leopold received 4 minutes in the box. That put the teams at 4 on 4 for a little over a minute before the Islanders would go on the power play for 2:34.

Al Montoya likes to control the puck until the D come and get it. Well... that's sure different!

Islanders 0 - 4 on the Power Play this afternoon. Matt Moulson was hit with a puck and had to leave the ice for a few minutes. Back on the bnech he still was doubled over until he could tak a regular shift. However, dumped on his butt in front of the net, he was slow to get up and had to skate off ice and out to the trainer's room.

Does this mean the only Islander Iron Man may break his game streak? I hope not. But he's in pain

Blake Comeau back in the line-up after being out since the last Penguins game with a concussion makes it 4 - 3 Buffalo with only 1:05 left of the 2nd.

Michael Grabner scores his second of the game to tie it up at 4 early in the third, but Meyers beats Al Montoya who was scrambling back into position after a flurry of activity in his crease. Buffalo 5 Isles 4.

Frans Nielsen was literally punched in the mouth by Morrison against the boards. No call. No whistle. Just Frans on his knees bleeding. Gee, I thought those sorts of players weren't allowed?

oh wait... It was an Islander that was hit. Carry on. No call.

Matt Moulson returned for the third, so that's a good thing.

Because as I'm told, if you can't score 5 on 3, you shouldn't be playing. So with the Sabres down two men, Jurcina ties the game at 5 with a one timer that leaves the Islanders still on the power play.

Ty Wishart scores his first NHL goal to put the Isles up 6 - 5, and the puck is retrieved for the kid from the net. But it too is a short lived lead as Drew Stafford scores his fourth hat trick of the season and the hats rain down on the ice.

Score stands at 6 - 6 with a little more than 6 minutes left of the third. Montoya is struggling with his rebound control. Is it a problem with equipment? Nerves? New team? Then again, Mikko was very shakey his first game.

The Islanders manage to hold on, even with a Sabres power play with less than two minutes left of the third. Travis Hamonic was called for something he didn't seem to agree with and Butch didn't blame him.

Isles killed off the penalty 15 seconds into OT. However, had it not been for the face-off win by Zenon Konopka, i think the game would have been over before the end of regulation.

As Howie Rose said on air, the Cinderella story continues as Michael Grabner wins the game in OT with a hat trick.

Sign him. Just sign him now.

Isles 9 Pens 3 In a Game to Remember

Okay, I'm home and I'll say I'm in the minority. I wasn't happy with the game. Perhaps it's my lack of testosterone or my neophyte status as a fan, but I felt the game got out of hand.


While the scoring was remarkable; nine goals for the NY Islanders, the penalty minutes tell the story. A total of 183 penalty minutes for the Islanders and 163 for the Pens. There were SIX misconducts and five GAME misconducts issued to the Islanders squad. The Penguins had four misconducts and six GAME misconducts.


Yep, NHL disciplinarian Campbell will be very busy sorting this out. Eric Godard was the worst for the Penguins with a total of 31 minutes. Michael Haley, in his first NHL game has 39 penalty minutes and his first NHL goal.

According to @MikeCorrigan on Twitter, there will be suspensions and fines in abundance including a suspension and fine on Dan Blysma. Also, he mentions Eric Tangradi who fought with Trevor Gillies has a concussion. It looked that way.

Wonder how many injuries the Isles will report tomorrow.

Let's just put it this way. The goals were pretty. The fights were not.

More tomorrow. I need sleep


Few things: Congrats to Grabner on his point streak. Congrats to Matt Moulson on being "back on track." and donating so much to the Isles Children's Charities.

Bruno Gervais was hit with a puck in the leg and didn't seem comfortable. Wonder if he'll be the next on the IR.

and lastly -- things were so bad they had to put the iron gate across to separate the dressing rooms. It looked like that scene in Titanic where they gated off steerage. Yeah. Things were THAT bad at the barn tonight.

Mikko's 1st NHL Shoot Out Win

I never expected it. Actually, I was worried about the game the entire day. But remarkably, as Jack Capuano said in his post game, this team rose to the occasion and managed to regroup after Tuesday's loss at the Coliseum.

Mikko was far better prepared, as was the rest of the team, and it showed. Koskinen, who hasn't had the best season in Bridgeport at only 5 - 15 actually has had success in the shoot out there. Had I known that, maybe I would still have nails.

The Islanders let up the first goal again tonight, but it didn't come until 14:10 of the first by Max Pacioretty from the Right circle. At 16:35 of the first, John Tavares lifted the puck over Auld's shoulder to tie the game. It was his 19th goal of the season, and it was unassisted. It was -- beautiful. The odd thing was there were seven penalties in the first period. It seemed as if they were calling just about everything.

It wasn't long after the second period began that the Habs were once again leading the score on a goal by Benoit Pouliot. They stayed in the lead until almost the end of the second period.

Michael Grabner is now tied with JT and Matt Moulson at 19 goals. He scored twice during this game and could have scored a third goal had his first break away attempt not been stopped by Auld. Along with Grabner's blinding speed is his ability to not give up on the play. Grabner's goals tied the Habs in the second period and again early in the third. He was looking for the hat trick but couldn't find it. He had a team high six shots on net. Grabner played on the power play, he played on the penalty kill and he played five on five. According to Jack Capuano, he's exceptionally versatile and sees the game better than most. On Tuesday he also joked that Grabs could probably play goal.

But there were many stand-outs tonight. Jack Hillen again had an excellent game as did Andy MacDonald who seemed to play possessed for a second under 28 minutes. The Islander defense played for Mikko and they played for each other. This is the team Jack Capuano wanted to see.

Koskinen went four for four on the Habs shooters, but so did Auld. It wasn't until Kyle Okposo skated out and brought the game to an end with two points in the Isles pocket.

In the post game, Mikko was quick to praise Okposo. "It was awesome to see that Kyle buried that one." He seemed to still be a little shell-shocked. "I haven't won for a while. It was a great feeling. One of the best of my life. It was unbelievable."

Playing in just his second NHL game, Mikko said he really wasn't nervous before the shoot out. "I know I'm pretty good at the shoot out and they didn't know me. They didn't know how to beat me. It was really fun. I had a lot of fun there."

But a true team player, he made sure to let everyone know "The guys played unbelievable in front of me. Made my job easier tonight." Unlike Tuesday when as Matt Moulson said, Mikko really didn't get much support.

The man who scored the game winner in the shoot out spent a good amount of time in front of the cameras during the post game. Kyle Okposo was his reserved self, but every now and then he would flash that amazing smile of his and the dimples in his cheeks would make their appearance.

"He played unbelievable for us tonight. He made some huge saves and kept us in the game with a couple of them." Now skating with Frans Nielsen, Okposo said he is beginning to find some chemistry after being out of the line up for so long after his shoulder surgery."

Now, I couldn't see the reporter who asked Kyle a question about the mentality of the team. I also couldn't hear the entire question, but I did enjoy Kyle's answer.
"People under estimate us a little bit. We've been playing well since the break and we're getting better every game and we want to continue. Our team played well and we battled for him (Mikko)and for each other."

I take it that was his way of telling everyone the Islander team should not be taken lightly. They may not be going anywhere in the post season this year, but they sure as hell shouldn't be looked at as an easy mark. Not even with an inexperienced goaltender having to protect the net.

After watching Koskinen's performance tonight, I had to figure that Garth Snow was proud of his efforts. He was. Very.

No time to rest and enjoy the two points, the Islanders face the Penguins tomorrow night in what may end up being a grudge match. Hopefully, no one will be looking for a fight.... yeah... right.

Islanders All Star Weekends

The All Star break is a mixed bag of tricks for players and fans alike. It can sometimes destroy the momentum a team has built up but it can also be a welcome break for players in need of healing. For hockey fans, it's a four day wasteland of catching up on shows. In other words -- I hate it.

Brendan Shanahan's school-yard draft format change last night was well received. But I still had no interest in watching it. But many people did just to see who would be picked last like the chubby 3rd grader with the glasses during gym class.

Hello Phil Kessel. For his painful ordeal of being humiliated on camera (much like his time with the Leafs), he received a $20,000 charity donation in his name and a new car. Not bad.

However, with the amount of injuries that have sprouted before the weekend, the question and debate has become the timing of the weekend. I was very interested in the idea that was floated on XM's Home Ice with Mike Rossi. What if the All-Star game happened at the BEGINNING of the season, in late September, using all the statistics from the previous season?

Would there be insurance issues? Would players be in better or worse shape than in January? Some may not have contracts or have changed teams, but would that matter in the format of teams based on Captains and not division?

Personally, I'd like to see them try it one year and see how it goes. What a great way to kick off Hockey season while it's still baseball season.

Here's a look at the Islanders All-Star representatives from Michael Grabner to Jason Blake.


This year's All-Star representative from the NY Islanders, Michael Grabner, with Deb Placey and others showing off his keen fashion sense before he shows off his rocket speed. (From the very entertaining Flikrfeed of @NYIslanders.


NY Islander Mark Streit at the 2009 All-Star game takes a little tumble after the shoot-out.


And who can forget Rick DiPietro's visit to the All-Star game when he announced to the world (accidentally, of course) "I blew out my ****ing hip." Ex-PR Director Botta has an interesting story about that one.

Islanders ITV had cameras following both Rick and Jason Blake the year prior in order to give Islander fans a behind the scenes view. The videos posted were not as telling as the conversation I had with then Media Director Josh Bernstein who explained that while the word to describe Jason Blake during the weekend was "aloof" the word to describe Mr. DiPietro was "elusive." I'm pretty sure the word to describe Mark Streit was "charming."



In 2007, it was Jason Blake making his All Star debut as an Islander. If I recall correctly, all Islander fans wanted to see him in the fastest skater competition, but he was not chosen. What I do remember is seeing him carry one of his young children around the ice. For the players involved, the All Star weekend has become a family event.

A Tired Team Loses 4 - 2 to the Hurricanes

“We wanna win hockey games.” Jack told the few reporters in the post game that were able to show up due to the weather.

And he does. That has been the objective the entire season. You can hear it from Garth Snow as well during his pre-game interview with Howie Rose.


But they aren't winning. They have lost some tough fought games and Jack is not happy about it at all. Breakdowns, lapses of judgment and from what Jack said post game, being just plain tired and not playing smart did them in.

The most surprising portion of the post game interview was Capuano calling some team members “selfish.” Whoa there! The team that is a close knit family just called out by their coach?

“I thought tonight that there were some guys that were selfish for the first time and they didn’t’ play within the team concept and they left our goalie hanging out to dry on a few occasions and that is disturbing.”

He never named them, but he has a mental list. And those will be the ones who see their ice-time diminish or worse. Jack said he’d be discussing things with Garth for changes after the All-Star break.

Whether it’s the number of games played in too few nights or the mental fatigue of losing, the All Star break is coming at a good time. They can use the time off, but they know there is work to be done in the second half of the season. “ I sent them off to have a relaxed mind but when they come back it’s back to business.” He told them “Keep in mind when you get back ,we’ve got to get back to business. Could be a different line up. We’re not going to go through losing games and guys getting rewarded who shouldn’t be rewarded.”

If that wasn’t a wake up call, I don’t know what is.

“Costly mistakes can hurt you.” Jack said about the game. But it goes beyond that. I can hurt you in the wallet when it comes to contracts. Many of them will be looking for new ones pretty soon.

So Jack left his players with a lot to think about over this extended break. There will be a lot of soul-searching before hitting the ice again. For Jack Capuano and Garth Snow, there will be a lot of discussions.


Speaking of Garth Snow and discussions, I’m not going to go over his extended interview with Howie Rose last night pre-game. The link is here and you can draw your own judgment on the Nabokov situation. If you haven’t read JT Bourne’s article in DeadSpin about it, do so. It’s hysterical and well written even with the blue language.

The only other thing I will say about last night’s game that was once again attended by few due to inclement weather conditions here on Long Island is: Howie Rose keeps digging his own grave.

When Rick DiPietro decided to bat a puck out of his zone, Howie decided to deliver a little inside information he felt compared to share. “Rick once told me if he had to do it all over again, he’d chose baseball.”

Great. Just what we all needed to hear about our 15-year, struggling for wins, goalie. Thanks. Dearest Howie: WE DIDN’T NEED TO KNOW THAT!!! Also, by the way, Pitchers and Catchers report in 19 days. I’m sure you’re getting ready.

Game Day! Thursday in Edmonton

I may have to nap before the game, but I am looking forward to this one. Well, actually it's because I can't stand the three-day layovers that sometimes happens this time of year.

During that time of no Islander hockey we say Dwayne Roloson earn his first shut-out for Tampa Bay, the Russians win the WJC and the final episode of HBO's 24/7. We also saw Dwayne Roloson give up three quick goals, get pulled from the net, get put back in and finally lost 8 - 1. Yep.

Jeff Marek called it the Russian Miracle On Ice and for sure that is what it was. With the Russians trailing 3 - 0 through two periods, I (and everyone else) never expected five unanswered goals in the third to give them a gold medal and an amazing celebration. Just please remember these are teen-agers. Cut them some slack if you were offended with the enthusiasm.

Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner (whom if you are not following on Twitter you are really missing out.) were still making fun of John Tavares and Matt said he sent tissues to his hotel room because Canada's loss (i.e. winning a Silver medal while Team USA came home with Bronze) did him in. JT was a big part of the gold medal winning Canadian team. (Something fellow team mate Josh Bailey wasn't. Wonder how the kid feels about that.) Grabner's hotel desert looked fabulous.

I only managed to watch a few minutes of 24/7 last night but it was the few minutes that included the Penguins game at the Coliseum where they lost to Rick DiPietro and company. It was visually beautiful in the production quality. I'll have to catch the entire thing on demand another time.

As of last night there was no word on Frans Nielsen's ability to play today. I'm assuming we will hear this morning from Ms. Strang. Although, as we know Coach Jack does not believe in mandatory game-day morning skates, not sure how much info will come out.

Still hoping we get to see Kevin Poulin in net today, especially against a sliding Edmonton team. The Islanders have their three game win streak going and would like to extend it. Jack may feel that Nate has more experience to get the job done. His call. We'll see.

More as it arrives on my little Amish phone via Twitter. (What did we do before that? No. Really? Oh... right... waited till game time and for the newspaper to come out. OH the dark days of information delivery.)