Monday Morning Mish-Mosh

What a weekend! It's amazing how much you can cram in a 48 hour time frame.

A Saturday day game in Boston that I expected to be another Bruins blow out against the Islanders turned into a well fought 2-1 loss. Kudos to Yann Danis for an amazing effort.

Also notable for me in that game was Jack Hillen doing exactly what Scott Gordon expects of his squad. "Don't you ever give up on the play!" Jack didn't. Even flat out on the ice protecting the puck and having the where-with-all to clear it with a backhand poke while he was being mugged. I liked him when he first skated in an Islanders sweater. I'm liking him more and more.

Sunday's win just proves that the Islander boys haven't gotten the memo from the fans. "Excuse me, guys! You're supposed to be losing."

They will have none of that. So Peter Mannino called up from Jack Capuano's Bridgeport squad has his first NHL win in front of his parents in Chicago. It must have been a great day for him.

Mark Streit (whom I can't seem to find a picture of on my computer) has a three point afternoon as my husband yelled at me asking who was the last Islanders defenseman to score a hat trick. It's obvious Streit will be the NEXT one. He was on fire.

My Sunday was capped off by attending a surprise party for one of my favorite PR people and new found friends. Yes, "Lighthouse Katrina" is now officially in her "adult" years. Her mother Linda staged a party for friends and family to celebrate the occasion complete with balloons, DJ and goody bags. Oh, and Mickey Mouse ears. No adult gets through life without having their own set of ears.

This was one heck of a week for Katrina as she vacationed in Canada, attended three hockey games (two of which were Isles games), did a guest blog for a Habs site and STILL managed to have her finger on the pulse of everything Lighthouse. Yep, multi-tasking mayhem Katrina!

Finally, I was awakened at 5:30 am by a very vivid dream that included ex-head coach Ted Nolan. So, if my Moncton readers could let me know if there is anything wrong with Teddy, I'd appreciate it.

That's the morning's mish-mosh. I guess I should start heading to work.

Sather Gets His Death Pick

As if I needed yet another reason to dislike the Rangers and the way they operate, they resurrected the "conditional draft pick of death" at the GM meeting in Naples FLA this week, and it passed.

I was disgusted by this idea when it came up in November of 2008, so imagine my surprise when I found out that on Wednesday, it passed. Here's a great article about it from "The Puck Stops Here" explaining the reasons why it's a mistake.

Speaking of things Rangers -- Remember antagonizer Ryan Hollweg that pushed Islander Chris Simon over the edge? He's playing on the Marlies now in the AHL. I guess the Leafs figured out he and his porn star mustache aren't exactly USEFUL for them.

On a sad note, Miro Satan has also been sent to the AHL by the Penguins. Considering how hard it is to get to the NHL level, I must imagine it's devastating to a man who is sent packing the other way.

Unlike Hollweg, Miro Satan doesn't have a bad reputation on or off the ice. Success is fragile in any sport. But in this one, I would expect the fall from grace is more painful than in others.

Oh sure... Baseball, Football, Basketball -- all of these have athletes that get to a point where they can't compete at the levels they used to or want to. They take their money and hit the golf course. But the passion it takes to play this game doesn't dissipate at the same time the quality level of play goes south. There's a gap there. And it's a painful void.

Islanders in Montreal at 7:30 pm with Peter Maninno on the line up card. Let's cross our fingers and hope for no more injuries.