Blue Jackets are in town - 11-3-08

11:41 pm: At home, and a little wired. Weirdest thing I heard in the locker room this evening was when one reporter asked Chris Campoli (Who showed up with some sort of blue sling/brace/something or other on his left shoulder) "How important was it for you to come from behind?"

Uhhhh... Hate to break it to you guy, but they were leading. So it wasn't exactly a "come from behind" unless you thought you were in the Blue Jackets dressing room.

Nice that Joey MacDonald received his first point in the NHL for his assist. That certainly put a smile on his face. And missing from the room tonight were Newsday's Greg Logan and our own Michael Schulerine.

I think I need some sleep. Photos tomorrow.

Game Night:

And it's also the first game of the season that IslanderQueen and I are seeing together (sort of) so I'm somewhat distracted.

Jon Sim seems to have earned the ire of the linesman as he has been called now for two penalties so early in the first. However, IslesOfficial Doug has explained that the last goalie interference call is purely a black and white issue.

WE don't care.

2:42 left, SOG 7 - 13 and there is no score. Now, let's see if Joey has the Ricky syndrome of letting up a goal with 1 minute left.

Hopefully not. Oh, and Tambellini was actually throwing around his body for a change. What a surprise. Okay, heading to gate One for the Meet & Greet. Someone should score now.

And they did because IQ and I stood at Gate 1 waiting, and waiting but no one else from NYIC showed up. We did manage to chat with some fans from Finland who were wondering why Sean Bergenheim wasn't in the line up tonight. I was wondering the same thing. But Tiger Track Tom found me on the concourse to tell me that Sean has the flu. I hope these four gentlemen didn't fly from Finland to see Sean play. They must have my luck for sure.

So while IQ and I were in the Ladies room, Richard park made it 1 - 0. They're not going to let me sit at the table pretty soon. And sure enough, as soon as I got to the door, Bill Guerin made it 2 - 0. Again, they're thinking that I'm the bad luck as they are usually down by many when I'm at the table. We'll have to change that tonight for sure.

And just as I said that Campoli manages to find a whole in the dog pile in front of.. who? Norrena? And a short handed goal no less! Good for him, he so needed that.

Okay, so here's how this goes. We're sitting here and the boys are saying that for sure they will blow the 3 -0 lead as they did Saturday. I am positive. "No No" I say. Be positive. The newbie from Farmingdale college next to me tells me he is a realist. I keep saying stay positive and give him some chocolate.

Sure as crap, the score is now 3 - 2 and I'm getting harrassed for being "positive." Okay, this is getting freakin' tiring. How long can I be the glimmer of hope in the darkness?

Love the "Hey Comrie, stop being a princess!" call from above us.

While we are waiting for the Ice Girls to clear the ice, Happy Birthday to Tiger track Tom. And the other Farmingdale College newbie Adam caught a tee-shirt for the 3rd time. But with those arms, I can't imagine he wouldn't.

Oddly, Adam is wrong. They were supposed to win by 3 - 2. But now they are tied at 3. WTF???

Okay, okay, well, Columbus had a penalty, but from the groan of the crowd, it looks like we might ot get anything out of this.

"This is worse than watching the Met's bullpen this year." came from the right of me.

Okay, with 3:57 left. I'm packing up.

THE BLUE JACKETS ARE COMING!!! 11-3-08

Sorry, I'm still in history mode from visiting Boston. Okay, so it has been two seasons since the Islanders last matched up against the Columbus Blue Jackets. As NHL.com notes, there have been numerous line up changes since then. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Captain Rick Nash. I'm curious to see how he has developed.

In 2004 I had the pleasure of staying in Columbus for the World Cup exhibition games. What a great city and beautiful arena district. It was without a doubt one of our most memorable mini-vacations. But while we were there, I noticed the Jackets were promoting Rick Nash the way the Islanders promote Rick DiPietro. Nash IS the face of the Blue Jackets. Tonight, their "face of the franchise" will be on the ice. OUR "goalie for life" will be sidelined and purely a spectator. Yes, many things have changed since 2004.

Also returning is ex-Islander Mike Peca. The return to the coliseum must be very bittersweet for him. Those who were closest to him during his tenure are no longer around and I'm sure he will be flooded with memories as he steps out onto that ice for warm ups.

Mike Peca was the guy we used to like to call "Captain Crunch." In his heyday his thin frame could disable an opponent and render them useless. But then the unfortunate knee injury seemed to change him forever. I'd like to think he will receive a warm welcome back to the Island. He's given a lot to this game and he deserves to be recognized for it.

Let's also see how Ken Hitchcock handles his team now that his wallet is $10,000 lighter since the NHL penalized him on Friday for Jared Boll's instigator penalty. And I quote "The disciplinary action is pursuant to NHL Rule 47.22, which states "a player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game ... in addition, the player's coach shall be fined $10,000 – a fine that will double for each subsequent incident." (That was for IslesOfficial Doug.)

The final comments by Kyle Okposo in today's Newsday article by Greg Logan made me think of a very old adage. He is quoted as saying "It's tough to not get a win, but I think our game is moving in the right direction."

How many times did I hear my daughter's little league coaches tell them "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.... Now let's go get some ice cream!"?

Yes, for the next 4 - 6 weeks, without Rick DiPietro in net, it will be the process and the mechanics that will be most important, not the outcome. Patience is a virtue, let us all be 'virtuous.'

Today is National Cliche day. I have done my part. And I'm sure whomever is in the post game interviews tonight will do theirs as well.

Happy Monday people.

So close yet so far...

Okay, so like, what was that?

I'm standing at the bar with IslanderQueen and PuckRock, a fellow Islander fan and SFD hockey player. We're watching the last period of the game and what do we see? We see the Canadiens not only come from behind to tie it, but then... they win. Okay, like what was that? They were winning the entire time. They lose?

AAAAAKKKKKKKKKK.... Better yet? I almost had to kill a Ranger fan who decided it would be funny to try to change the channel on me with just a few minutes left in the game. Granted, he does't know me too well, so when I explained "Please don't do that, beause I will have to kill you." he thought I was kidding. By the third time I said it, I think he was getting the hint. But ofcourse, slow and stupid had to wait for a man to explain that I was in deed NOT KIDDING and if he didn't turn the TV back to the Islander game, he was absolutely going to lose a testacle. I may be short and chubby, but please remember I am Scicilian and have a vast knowledge of cutlery.

Sigh... Islanders lost. IslanderQueen and I had a great time and.... the Hanson brothers won the costume contest.

I can't even look at the post game video yet. I know it must have been bad in that room. I'll save it for tomorrow. Tonight, I'm still in a good mood.