Typical Day Game Loss

Well, had they played 60 minutes, they may have won, but the 3 - 2 score in favor of the Bruins stood after I packed up at the five minute mark. I thought if I did, Kyle Okposo would have tied it up and sent it to overtime and I would be kicking myself for having packed the computer. No such luck.

But I did get a few minutes with call-up Dylan Reese who is very familiar with Matt Moulson's scoring touch. Postgame here at HB. Scott Gordon had some strong words in today's post game regarding dissapointment and mental mistakes. The frustration level is evident.

Blake Comeau was escorted off the ice and didn't return, but Gordon said it didn't seem like there were any concussion symptoms. We hope that's true. We'd also like to see if any rulings come down for the hit.

I'm hoping beyond hope that I can actually get my final Olympic entry done tomorrow. I had a wonderful conversation with Scott Gordon on Friday about his experience and his feelings about the NHL continuing participation in the Olympics. I may not have it up until late Sunday, but I'm going to give myself the deadline of -- SUNDAY! He did have some interesting things to say!

and with that -- I think I will pass out now.

Hockey in the Daylight! Isles vs. Bruins

3:27 left and I'm calling for a kyle okposo game tier. I hope.
But I have to pack up now.

later for postgame from the couch.

10:02 According to IslesNation According to islanders spokesman. Comeau is "fine had facial lacerations and kept out for precautionary reasons." That's more than i got up here.

Great shift by the Islanders with nothing to show for it on the score board.


14:00 of the third, and just as I expected, Matt Moulson cuts the lead to 3 - 2 with the Islanders now leading in SOG by 3 at 32 to 29.

One more and we get Wendy's Chili!


Period 3: With a less than 2 minute power play available to them, and in front of 14,587 fans, the Islanders had better come out firing on all cylinders in order to get this game back on track. They are only down by 2. Completely doable.

With a five minute power play to work with the Islanders take their time and get a few SOG, but the puck doesn't stay in the Bruins zone.


3:54: NOT GOOD!!! Blake Comeau is taking into the glass hard by Ryder and doesn't get up. They have wheeled out the stretcher but he refuses it and is helped off the ice by the training staff. Ryder is given a five minute major and a game misconduct. This is exactly the plays the NHL wants OUT of the game. But seriously, how do they?


6:47 Doug got stripped of the puck by Lucic and then Richard Park literally picked some guys wallet as he stole the puck and sent it up ice.


10:15: Roloson gets knocked down and the net gets dislodged and there are no calls. I hope he is alright. Well he did make another save. You shouldn't knock a guy around like that. Pads or not. And Tim Thomas is definitely not getting enough work!

12:00: Awesome stick work by Robbie Schremp to keep the puck in the Bruins zone and get it to Dylan Reese Twice. Two nice shots on goal for the kid in his second NHL game but two stops by Tim Thomas keep him from getting his first NHL goal.

Oh look it's Miro Satan on the ice! He has a job.

Rolson is going to kick himself (or the ref for not blowing the whistle) but a really unfortunate situation as Roloson just gave the Bruins their 3rd goal by kicking the puck behind him and right into the net. He was pissed.

16:00: I almost decorated my shoes as Sean Bergenheim tried so hard to get another goal for the Isles to put them up 2 - 1. He came so close, but no cigar! There were 4 shots on that shift. Sadly within seconds with Roloson sprawled in front of his crease, David Krejci poked one right behind him into an open net.

I wonder if that collision with Freddy Meyer had anything to do with it.?
2- 1 Bruins but SOG are now 13 - 19. Getting there.


Start of second: And they get their 5th shot on goal. I could hear it from up here. #37 Bergeron took down Bruno and the Isles go on a Power play. Fail to keep it in the Bruins zone. But with my head down, I think the Isles just got a goal Not sure who it belongs to as it was a Streit shot and a dog pile in front of the net. Think they are crediting it to Bailey. that's good. All tied at 1 and SOG are now by half 8 - 16.

1:42: Bad break for Roloson who was screened as a bruins shot directly in front of him went by three Islanders and into the net. Goal by Lucic at 18:26.

2:46: Is it my eyes or is Freddy Meyer having a really good game? One bad turn over by Mark Streit was followed by a very important whistle. Thank goodness. Sean Bergenheim actually got a shot on goal, but no one was there to bang in the rebound. Another opportunity missed. SOG are now only 4 - 13 in the Bruins favor.

6:50: The third Isles SOG was a bang from JT to the left of the crease which slipped by and was so close to Moulson's stick I'm sure he felt the breeze. What an opportunity lost.

9:12 left of the first: Isles are being outshot yet again if the shot clock is correct. It says 2 Isles to 10 bruins. Yep. Seems about right. Sean Bergenheim is back in the lineup with Tim Jackman Schremp, Meyer, and Reese. He's been hustling, but still nothing.

If there is a Hockey God, please, Let JT score today. Please.

Puck Drop: And the first penality of the afternoon is none other than Jon Sim.
Isles on the PK with a good clear midway through. Two good stops by Roloson who is getting tested early. Hopefully we don't have a repeat of him getting chased from the net like he did in Atlanta. Not that Marty would have a problem with that mind you.



Don't say I'm not dedicated. Food poisoning and all -- I'm freakin' here!

Let's see if the Islanders show up for this daylight tilt against the Boston Bruins. As the Bruins seem to be having a hard time finding their scoring touch, it should be an interesting game. They do have SEVEN (or several) more points than the Isles right now and a pretty good road record. Let's see if the Isles can put a loss in that road column today.

And if this becomes incoherent, I'm sorry. I still feel like crap.

"Several" Is A Vague Number

Certainly more than one could be "several" and it certainly looks better than saying "two" if you are looking to make a point or cause a ruckus. But when I checked with MY anonymous source the term "several" in relation to the latest Newsday headline, the quote I received was "That's just the media being the media. That's all there is."



The timing of the article seems suspect to say the least and not just because of the trade deadline. My anonymous source seemed to agree with me on that as well. While I thought to grill, um, question some of the players on the validity of the article, I could see I (as in specifically ME) was not going to get far with that one and chose to chase down Scott Gordon instead. I asked him questions about the Olympics (for something on Sunday) and snuck in a question about the benching of Sean Bergenheim in Atlanta yesterday. I was curious if it was to send a message or just the luck of the draw.



"He hasn't scored in 14 games. I don't think there needs to be any explaining. He hasn't played well. There's no message sending with me. You don't play well -- You don't play." At least he's fair. He applies the same rules to everyone.



It was wonderful to see Newsday reporter Mark Herrmann back in the building for today's practice. It's been so long, I joked about security letting him in. He smiled and said he got lost. He spent some quality time in the locker room with Captain Doug Weight and a few others while I had Scott Gordon all to myself.

When I went back to the locker room, he was sharing availability with NY Post's Dan Martin as Marty Biron explained Wednesday's events to them. He was speaking at lightning speed and was very animated. He was not holding anything back from them, but you could see that while Marty may have been frustrated on Wednesday, that was then and this is now. The ultimate professional, he knows how it goes and certainly knows that the two men he reports to also can relate to his mindset. There should be no problems here, but I look forward to Mark Herrmann's report as he is always brilliantly entertaining in his dissection of the story at hand.


I also found out Bruno Gervais has never made a Lobster Quiche and was then ushered out of the skate room with a "Hey! No Media Allowed!" And back to work I went.

Island Harvest Food Drive Sat 3/6/10

Don't forget if you are coming to Saturday's game against the Bruins, please bring 3 cans of non-perishable (non-expired!) food. Three cans will get you a ticket voucher for another Islanders game and will help refill the Long Island food pantries who are having a hard time keeping up with the demand in this economy.

Please?! Thanks!

"We Shot Ourselves in the Foot"

I was looking forward to this game because the tension of trade day was over. We know this is the team that we are ending the season with and they had an exceptional showing over the Black Hawks on Tuesday.

I stopped at the Isles store on my way home and then picked up way too much Taco Bell with the idea of being able to sit in front of the big screen and just enjoy the game.

Yeah.

I forgot how great listening to Chris King actually is. I was in the car at 7pm and turned on 94.3 FM to listen to the game so I wouldn't miss anything. Once the puck dropped, Kinger was replaced by TV crew Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe. Everything was fine, my reception was clear as I head east, but then the unthinkable happened. Billy and Howie were talking about Dylan Reese and his first shift on the ice, which was fine. However, within a few minutes (literally minutes) I found myself yelling at the radio, "STFU Howie and call the game!!" I could hear the action on the ice, but I had no idea what was happening. It was then I understood the frustration of those who cannot watch the game, only hear it on the radio.

I would never think of telling Howie to shut up while I was watching the broadcast. But when I was forced to listen to it, that was totally different. This doesn't work. Not by a long shot.

Neither did the Islanders defense as it was already 3 - 0 by the time I opened my front door and threw the Taco Bell bags on the table to turn on the TV.

Our "MVP," Dwayne Roloson must have been having a reaction from the pressure and uncertainty of trade deadline day because he gave up "3 goals on 7 shots. It just wasn't working." That's how Scott Gordon described it in the post game report with Rob Carlin. He looked like he could have spit nails MSG's Rob Carlin as he tried to ask the coach questions about a game Rob felt that the Thrashers dominated.

"First things first, they didn't dominate. Not even close. The reason why they scored their goals was us shooting ourselves in the foot." He then went on to detail all the things that went wrong. Line changes, turn overs, it bothered him. "So before we give Atlanta too much credit, we need to look at ourselves and see what we did to allow them to capitalize on those opportunities."

Yep. I think he was a little miffed. This was the same team that had just beat the Black Hawks 5 - 3, and here they were down 6 - 1 at one point before Robbie Schremp tried to make it look respectable late in the third. But it was too late for that. Tim Jackman, sweating in the full shield, made it 6 - 3 at 12:48 of the third, which only made it a little less frustrating.

Marty Biron didn't like the game either. You could tell by the way he skated out to bat the puck out of his own end to try to give himself a break for two seconds. After all, his defensemen let Afinogenov skate from behind his own net all the way down the ice, dancing around every Islander present until he was Marty's doorstep, where he promptly deposited it in the net. That was the fourth Thraser goal and probably the one that gave Scott Gordon the headache.

He handled Bergfors first goal at 05:04, and Antropov's first of the evening at 08:51. He probably started to feel it a little when MacArthur lit the lamp behind Roloson again at 09:16. That's when he figured it was time for Dwayne to take a seat and let Biron see the game. But after Afinogenov's goal, Antropov scored his second on a power play at 10:05 of the 2nd he was probably looking for some Advil and when Artyukhin netted the Thrashers' 6th at 15:53 of the 2nd, his eyesight may have gone fuzzy. He could no longer take solace from Mark Streit's goal in the first.

Neither could I.

This was Dylan Reese's first NHL game. His family was in the arena. They watched him play 9:59 and handle himself pretty well. "I think the first time being in the NHL, I think for the most part he looked like he was comfortable out there. He didn't play tentative and that's what I liked about it."

And that was probably the ONLY thing Scott Gordon liked about this game.

Bruins up on Saturday for a 2 pm bout. We know how day games go. Bring Advil.

HTM Agrees! Islanders Did the Right Thing!

As hindsight is always 20/20, I was very happy to hear the HTM guys on XM this morning saying that Garth Snow absolutely did the right thing by standing pat and not trading just to make trades.

If all the interest was in Dwayne Roloson, it was obvious that wasn't a deal he could make. If there was interest in our depth players, if he wasn't getting back equal or better value, then what would be the point. And if anyone was dumb enough to start asking for JT, Kyle, Josh or Matt Moulson, I would hope he would have just laughed and hung up the phone.

As the HTM guys said, we don't know what the conversations were. We have no idea what was being offered. Rumor has it that many GMs make offers that are routinely laughed at. Maybe this is their day of private jokes. Who knows.

I like the way Brian Burke looks at it. He said if you're having to make major changes in March then you didn't do a very good job putting the team together and you should probably be fired. He also said no one gets fired for NOT making deals. The Pope of Hockey has spoken.

So 19 games on the schedule remain. Our team is what it is and we know what we have. With the exception of Dylan Reese who has been called up from Bridgeport. This guy has been on three teams in FOUR days. Someone please remind him which net he should defend.

Isles vs. Thrashers tonight with our MVP, Dwayne Roloson in net and the guy I really LOVE talking to backing him up.

I'm wearing my Blue, White & Orange today and will probably wear a jersey on the couch when covering the game -- and no one can tell me Boo!

Now go out there and win some games!

Oh! And don't forget to vote for this year's Bob Nystrom Award!

It's the Curve of the Stick

That's what seems to be the difference in Blake Comeau's scoring ability. According to Scott Gordon, he's using Hunter's sticks.

The Man of the Hour, the guy with the hat trick, stood in a puddle of stuffed bean bag toys surrounded by the media. They asked him about each goal. He took them through them, one by one. Considering how often Comeau has been a healthy scratch, he can relish every second of this.

The Twitter feed confirmed the difference. As per Point Blank, in Comeau's first 151 games in the NHL he had no multi-goal games. He's had two the last two games he's played. Scott Gordon said he didn't remember the last game and smiled. He also said Hunter should hide his sticks or he wouldn't have any.

When the media abruptly left Comeau, they surrounded Dwayne Roloson. The man with the gray hair in his beard, who had just faced 44 shots and was the second star of the game, stood in the bright lights of the cameras and spoke in calm, quiet tones.

The question of the night was if this was a showcase game for the veteran goaltender. Roloson brushes it off as just part of the game. It is un-nerving, but they know it could happen and someone may need to leave tomorrow or in an hour. He accepts it and understands it. I would never be able to handle such upheaval. But then again, when it's coupled with a few million dollars, I would probably try to make it work.

Scott Gordon is always in a good mood when they win. He was in an exceptional mood tonight. More than likely not just because of the win, but because of the break from his normal routine. He made a joke about the Assistant Coaches doing something different while he was away that made the team react differently after the first period. Everyone chuckled.

But the Islanders, with the exception of Mark Streit, were a rested team with two defenseman back in the line up from injury. "As far as playing up to their speed, I thought they put up a lot of pace in the first period. I thought we were a step behind them and we didn't get the puck in and we were too slow to move it."

The Islanders were badly out shot in the first period. But Dwayne Roloson (showcase or not) kept them in the game with save after save. Gordon stuck up for Roloson when the tough stretch he had gone through had interrupted the Islanders winning streak. "Dwayne hasn't been that far off. He's had some lapses but I'm not critical of his play, we just couldn't score goals."

Maybe they should ALL use Hunter's sticks! Scott also said the difference is shooting instead of passing the puck. "He had a good shot before he changed sticks. Just getting him to understand to use his shot if he has the opportunity instead of looking for the pass. It's no different with Josh. Josh is always pass first mentality. And Garth said to them one day, the guys that make the money are the ones that score the goals. So, you might as well be one of those."

The question will be, who is paying the money. With Sean Bergenheim a healthy scratch tonight along with (two guesses) Jeff Tambellini. Maybe they are both packing. Maybe not.

Trent Hunter, who stayed out of practice yesterday, took one hell of a hit in the third period and was walking around after the game with an ice pack on his right shoulder. Hopefully, it doesn't turn into something major.

Jack Hillen played 19:10 in his first game back. Tim Jackman played 12:43 and was a +2. Mark Streit, the iron man of Switzerland, played a team leading 26:06 and was a +3.

This is how they needed to start the last stretch of 20 games. There are now 19 games left to the season. It will either end in April in disappointment or continue on a little while into the Spring. That is what Scott Allen told me I should be hoping for. He was very serious.

Tomorrow the NHL loses their minds for a few hours. I'll be at work with the computer on overload waiting to see what else Mr. Snow has up his sleeve.

Isles vs. Black Hawks

with less than 4 left, the Hawks get one back from Roli and make it 3 - 5. It actually looked like Blake Comeau scored that one too from this angle.

And with 2:42 left to go, I'm packing up. I don't think this one will go to overtime. So I think I'm safe.

5:36 left: For the second time in this period, Huet has been knocked to the ice. Guess he likes to put himself in compromising positions. No call of course as none is warrented. But dangerous for him.

9:46 left of the 3rd: A puck trickles behind Roloson and into the net, it is deemed no goal. Not that it would matter that much, but at least Dwayne doesn't have to fight for it to be waved off.

Period 3: With a score of 5 - 2, it very well may be the Islanders will keep the Winning Streak over the Black Hawks going. SOG are now 212 - 33 in favor of Chicago, but it doesn't seem to matter much.


8:37 PM: OMG!!! BLAKE COMEAU HAT TRICK!!! Well I guess we know who the media gets to talk to tonight. but instead of hats, everyone is throwing their PC Richard bean bag promo. Sorry Blake, this still doesn't hold a candle to Jason Blake's underwear trick
8:30 pm: Well, it is Wendy's Chili time with a score of 4 - 2 And there's Bill M. "Wesfall" from NYIC on the jumbotron with I think Blake55 dancing away! Nice!

So Richard park has one goal and two penalties this period. hmmm... is that good or bad?

As the second period starts while I'm still wishing my friend Mike a happy birthday, we watch a handful of Islanders' goals that chase Niemi from the net.

Nice to see Jon Sim get one for his hard work and his first game back. See? I said they may have more talent on the Black Hawks, but the Islanders can outwork any team -- when they want to.

Let's see how many mroe they can get. SOG re now a little less lopsides at 16 - 24 with 11:14 left of the second.


And here we go, the mighty BlackHawks have 17 SOG at the 8 minute mark left of the first. "51 from 88" is what I heard as the Campbell shot goes over Roloson and into the net from Patrick Kane.

But with a little extra rest, Blake Comeau decides to even the score at one and it's a new hockey game. The Islanders may be out shot, but they shouldn't be out hustled! Robbie Schremp gets an assist on that one.

As was Tweeted by Point Blank, Sean Bergenheim is a healthy scratch. Um, uh oh. I don't have too many "B" words left on this team and he has always been one of my favorites. But what can I do? This is the way this business is. If it comes to that, I'll have to accept it and move on.

Richard Park ends up in the box and just like that, it's 2 - 1 with SOG now 18 - 5. This may end up being one of those very high scoring games. Sort of like the game against Finland!

Antti Niemi is in goal for the Black Hawks while Cristobal Huet is on a stool sitting in the tunnel. I always find that so amusing about the visiting goaltender having to do that becasue the bench is too short.

Nice shot by Bruno off Niemi's blocker, but they go to the room down by one with SOG 22 - 9. YIKES!!!
I'm going to go meet a friend.

Bye Bye Big Guy

As expected, Andy Sutton has been traded. Andy will head to Ottawa for a 2nd round draft pick that originally belonged to San Jose.

At the last minute, Dustin Kohn has been recalled from Bridgeport for tonight's game.

Well, that's probably the biggest trade Mr. Snow will make this year. Unless of course he can indeed finally find a home for Jiffy Jeff, Jeff Tambellini.

Rick DiPietro Out Indefinitely

With knee swelling. Supposedly does not change the Islanders course of action for trade deadline.

Maybe that Huet trade wasn't so freakin' stupid after all!!!!

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE????

Trade Deadline: The Short List

Yep, we are fast approaching March 3rd, and while I don't expect anything earth shattering to happen here on Long Island, it still is a time to ponder. So, "WWGSD" is upon us. Here is my very short list of things I would like to see happen.

Funny thing though. Friday I was reading around the net as I took a "Snow day" of the percipitation type and found an article written by a BlackHawks writer with comments from their fans. They were talking about Garth dealing for Huet. That was a big "huh?" moment for me. Why the hell would they be talking about us trading for yet ANOTHER goalie? Don't we have enough? Are they smoking something in Chicago?

And then I asked around to see if there was something I was missing. The answer I got was "Don't believe everything you read." Right... wait...I write stuff too.

HEY!!!

Best Brian Burke quote of the day from NHL.com: "Losing a hockey game is like getting kicked in the groin." And losing that one was even worse.

Happy Monday people.

Dear Ryan Miller:

It's not your fault.

It was an amazing game. One that ended as most would have thought as soon as Canada scored the first goal; and then the second. Team USA trailed 2 - 0 until Kesler managed to put Team USA on the score sheet at 12:44 of the second.


The game was so fast, a few times I thought they were skating eight aside. It was just a blur of players. Even without the ability to drop the gloves, it was obvious this was not a gentleman's game. The hitting was big, the shoving ever present. The penalty calls, however, were inconsistent.

In the final minute, with Ryan Miller pulled from his net the coaching staff gathered the team at the bench to draw up the last big push, the joke in my house was "Just get the puck to Parise." That was the only plan. "Just get the puck to Parise."

That must have been the plan, because that's exactly what happened. With under a half minute to to, Zach Parise, the man who COULD have been an Islander, tied the score and sent the game from absolute loss to a possible win.

While waiting for the OT to begin, ex-Olympian Jeremy Roenick sounded as if he was going to cry. He was so excited over the game going into overtime and the fact that someone, some player on that ice would be a hero. Who would have thought that the hero would be the NHL's own poster boy, Sidney (freakin') Crosby.

In the seconds before that historic goal was scored on Ryan Miller, Dan blurted out "He smells hero." Dan saw it coming. I'm guessing Miller did too. But in the blink of an eye, the puck was in the back of Miller's net. The deal was sealed and Team USA was going home with Silver.

Much like the Women's team, the men were despondent. Unlike the women, they didn't break down in tears. Actually, they just looked angry. Even while accepting their Silver medals, Zach Parise looked as if he could have punched a wall. So the men's standings ended the same way the Women's did. Finland, USA, Canada. Interesting.

Brian Burke, without his jacket, tie loosened and shirt opened, and looking like every Irish baretender I've ever known, sat on the bench with his coaching staff and looked at his team. Something caught his eye and he went out onto the ice to talk to one of his players. I wish NBC had kept the camera on him so I could have seen who it was. Perhaps it was Burke being the father figure he is, or the GM he is, or both. During the handshake line, Ryan Miller and his Coach Lindy Ruff had a moment in line, it was heartwarming, but it didn't seem to do much to ease Miller's pain.

Even though you lose to get Silver, Team USA should be proud of their accomplishment. They came into this tournament ranked fifth. (Or so one of the articles said which was the reason the NHLPA scheduled their flights for this morning.) They came in second and it was a historic, hard fought game.

For a few hours today, Hockey was center stage in North America. Will it bring more people to the 30 NHL rinks? I don't know. Will it encourage kids to take up hockey as a sport? Maybe. Will that stunning Game Winner by Sidney Crosby earn him more fans? Yes. It will also earn him more detractors.

But one thing is for sure. That goal solidified the reason why Sidney Crosby is the face of the NHL and not -- Alexander Ovechkin. I'm just saying.

Travel safe Olympians. NHL hockey resumes tomorrow and the trade deadline is Wednesday. No time to rest or enjoy. Just get back to work!

Uh, that's YOU TOO Miller!

The Final Showdown - USA vs CAN

*(This was Arena Hostess Dina's view when she attended one of the Team USA Olympic games.)

While the Islanders are on the ice this morning for practice, they are still without their coach. He is otherwise occupied preparing for today's Gold Medal game with Team Canada. I'm sure that assistant coaches Scott Allen and Dean (can I buy a vowel) Chynoweth don't really mind. As long as he's back in time for Tuesday's first game back at the Coliseum, everything will be fine.

Some thoughts on the very fuzzy hockey border here at HB.

Good Luck Team USA, but no matter what, you've made us proud.

(*And this is the power of the big cookie. That one was peanut butter. Today's will be chocolate chip. So far, they've worked.)