Season Report Card (November)

Team: New York Islanders
Division: Atlantic
Conference: Eastern
Record: 13-8-1 (27 Points)
Home Record: 9-3-1
Away Record: 4-5-0

Team Leaders
Goals: Josef Vasicek (9)
Assists: Mike Comrie (11)
Points: Mike Comrie (18)
+/-: Miroslav Satan (+5)
Penalty Minutes: Andy Sutton (27)

The Good: The Islanders are playing team hockey. From the offense down to the goal, the Islanders are one unit. This aspect was missing last season with the likes of Yashin and Blake in the locker room. The new look Isles have raised their game to a new level and are, as Bill Clement put it, a scary team to play against once again.

The Bad: The offense has died out like the dodo bird. Vasicek leading the team with 9 goals is ridiculous. Guerin, Comrie, Tank, Satan, and Hunter need to put their heads in the game and some pucks in the net.

The Ugly: Andy Hilbert. 1 goal, 1 assist. It took him 20 games before he acquired these points and until tonight, he was still a point behind goaltender Rick DiPietro. With tonight's assist, he is now tied with Ricky.

The Walking Wounded: Jon Sim (Knee, Indefinite), Aaron Johnson (Knee, 6-8 weeks)

Christmas Wish List: 1) Offense. 2) Offense. 3) Offense. 4) Eureka Season 2 on DVD.

Grade: B+ (Good, but Needs Improvement)

Brodeur Denied #500... Again

Martin Broduer is now in a mini 3-game slump, keeping him stuck at 499 wins, highlighted by a crushing 1-0 defeat to the Islanders tonight. Kevin Weekes got to play in a game during this streak, which he won. I believe the New Yorkers call this the "A-Rod Curse". He knows that there are significantly more eyes watching this game because of the impending milestone, but is he losing because he's nervous? Absolutely not. Remember, this is the guy who won a gold medal with Team Canada, in arguably the most-watched game in Canada in the past ten years.

He's a future Hall of Famer, and has 3 Stanley Cup rings to his credit. 500 wins is just an icing on the cake that is his career, no need to be worried about it. Marty hasn't even been playing bad during this stretch, a stretch in which his team has only scored 11 goals in 7 games.

Rick Di Pietro was fantastic in the 1-0 win, stopping 26 shots. There was also a good fight between David Clarkson and Tim Jackman which added to an overall exciting game despite the lack of offense. Yes, it is possible to have an exciting 1-0 game!

Marty Brodeur just has to sit back and relax, win #500 will come soon enough, but hurry up already will ya? You're killing my fantasy team!

Arbour Day

Al Arbour day, that is. Big Al made his comeback to the Islanders bench for his 1,500th game and a roaring ovation from Islander faithful.

Big Al came back for 1 night only and was rewarded in a huge way. By the fans, the coaches, and the players who gave him a 3-2 come from behind victory over the Penguins.

Al Arbour, also known as "Radar", led the Islanders to 4 Stanley Cups and retired as a legend with 1,499 games behind the Isles bench, the most by any coach for one team. Ted Nolan brought up the idea to Garth Snow, Islanders GM, and then they both pitched the theory to owner Charles Wang. With all three in agreement, Al Arbour made is triumphant return.

The Islanders responded in a huge way, storming out of the gate early in the game, only to have Ryan "I love playing the Islanders" Malone bust their balloon with the first goal of the game. Things didn't get much better for the boys in Orange and White when another shot was buried behind DiPietro by rookie Tyler Kennedy (...Kennedy.. sorry, wrestling reference!). Congrats to Mr. Kennedy on his 1st career NHL goal, one of many to come.

Trent Hunter finally broke through, igniting the still excited Isles fans, cutting the score in half. A surprise show... Miro Satan finally scored. Twice! The arena literally exploded on the final buzzer, but the night wasn't over yet. Not just one banner was lowered that night, but two. Al Arbour, 1,500 games coached. Al Arbour, 740 wins. Al Arbour, the man who said it best...

"I'm Al Arbour and I'm an Islander."

You always will be, Radar.

Side note: Rick DiPietro was stabbed in the eye by Sidney Crosby's stick and didn't come back to the game. Doctors say he is okay, but may miss a game or two. Arbour will have his 740 win banner raised later in the season.

Side note 2: I hate Ryan Malone!! He has the Isles number memorized and on freaking speed dial...

No Hockey (No GOOD Hockey) Makes Psycom Something...Something...

Go crazy?

In the words of Homer Simpson, "Don't mind if I do!"

Minus a extremely forgettable shlacking by Carolina, the Islanders get the pleasure of sitting on their duffs for roughly two weeks. 3 games in that span is generously brought to you by Gary Bettman and his NHL exec cronies, who also brought you great classics like "No Goal - Buffalo v. Dallas '99" and "The Great Southern Hockey Migration" .

So my massive Islander performance review will be postponed until the end of November, when we actually play hockey instead of me playing NHL 08 on my PC. Oh, I am 7-2 in it as the Islanders, I just beat the Rangers 3-1 so that helps a little.

While the Isles are still floating above the .500 mark, two blow out games in October has me worried, but as I said... November will be the real test.

Nolan Kicks Renney

No, I'm not an Islander fan. This is coming from a die-hard Rangers fan who knows an undeniable fact when he sees one. The Rangers came off a brilliant second half and playoffs last season and looking poised to make a Cup run. In the off season they added Drury and Gomez and lost Nylander and Cullen. This seemed like an upgrade but it left no room for error. And that's exactly what happened. Error, confusion, lack of chemistry, or what ever you want to call it. The Rangers' offense, especially the top lines, has had trouble getting sustained pressure, shots to the net and most importantly, goals. There is no shortage of talent on paper. Glen Sather put the best team possible on the ice. The fault lies with Tom Renney. Not the player and not the management.

The proof:

The successful case, Coach Nolan. The Islanders came into the season having lost their two best forwards: Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake. In came Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko. They have a combined 11 goals and 17 assists. That's 2 goals and 6 assist less than the entire Rangers team. They have shown superb chemistry whether playing together or apart. They do not look erroneous, confused, lacking chemistry or whatever you call it. They are fluid and solid at the same time. Credit Nolan in his encore of leading a patchwork team and making them into a piece of art.

I don't know how long the Islanders will be this successful or the Rangers this dismal. But I do know that as of now, the Islanders are 5-3 and the Rangers 2-4-1. Take nothing from the players but give recognition to a man who should have won the Jack Adams last year and is on his way to capturing it this year.

Never Been So Happy to be Proven Wrong

The title sums it up for me. I have never been happier to be proven wrong. I was among the many to choose the Buffalo Sabres to sweep the home and home series against the New York Islanders. My predictions? 4-2 Buffalo in game 1, 3-1 Buffalo in game 2. Was I wrong? Ooooh yes. The Isles exploded on Ryan Miller and a suspect Buffalo defense with 6 goals in their season opening win and repeated the performance in front of a roaring home crowd in a 3-2 victory in their home opener.

Mike Comrie. This signing is looking better and better as this young season picks up steam. 4 goals, 2 assists in 2 games. Not bad for a person who many thought would have a weak season on the Island.

Ruslan Fedotenko. A surprise start for a player who had a weak 06-07 campaign, blasting off to start the season with 1 goal and 4 assists.

Bill Guerin. Billy G hasn't dropped a puck in the net yet for the Isles, but he sure helped put a bunch in with 5 assists in 2 games.

So in 2 games, the 3 major signings by the Islanders this offseason drop in 16 points against the team that knocked them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. Not bad for a team picked to finish last or second to last.

Rick DiPietro said it best: "It's been like that since I've been here, we've always been picked to finish last, second to last. I think we're doing the right things here to be successful."

So far, so good, Ricky.

Notes: Freddy Meyer dropped to waivers, prepare for a Berard signing very soon. John Sim is out with an injury, up comes Tambellini! I hope he sticks, but not at the expense of Sim. Trade Hilbert for the rights to someone. Anyone. Alexandre Daigle. Least he could score a few.

Labor Day Ramblings

Oh what a busy week I have had and it shows no signs of slowing down! Hey all, Psy reporting from my laptop up in Niagara Falls, Canada where I am having a few cold ones with friends and family!

Enough about me, to the NHL! Bravo to the Sharks for resigning Marleau. Maybe now we will stop seeing his name everywhere in trade rumors. Joining Bryan Berard in the Islanders training camp will be Gord Dywer, who I personally am not thrilled about being at camp.

The Nashville Predators new ownership deal is coming along nicely. It's good to see that they will be staying down in there. I spent a night down in the area and was able to take in a game last season and enjoyed myself immensely.

More and more uniforms are hitting the scene and I am liking most of what I see. Not a fan of a few jerseys, but all in all, if it's good for the players and helps them perform better, I am all for it.

For now that is it, I seem to be out of Labatt Blue! Enjoy your holiday all, I know I will! Cheers!

The Lonely Lighthouse

How hard is it being an Islanders fan? Pretty hard and that is just living in Long Island! How about being an Islanders fan deep in the heart of Sabre Country? Try almost impossible! For my first blog on Everything Hockey, I will share a little bit about my past, my present, and what you can expect from my posts! Buckle up, it might be a bumpy ride!

Only a young man of 26, I was born right into an Islanders family. I only spent a few years on the Island until my family decided to relocate across state to Buffalo. I grew up loving hockey from the moment I could lace up skates. I took right to goaltending as soon as I saw the equipment and the pure ability to change the course of a game. Through childhood to my teens I put on the gear for school and recreational teams. Modeling my style a mix between Ron Hextall, Steve Shields, and Felix Potvin, I was a decent puckstopper for my age. An unfortunate accident ended my hockey career as I took a solid slash to my kneecap where it shattered and required multiple surgeries to fix.

I continued to follow my desire through the NHL, even though I could not play myself. For a time (before the advent of DirectTV and cable company sports packages) I had to watch only Sabres games and could only see my beloved Islanders a few times a year. As I got older...and a bit techno-savvy...I can now watch the Islanders play year in and year out.

Today I follow the Islanders primary, but remain a fan of the entire NHL. I love all the aspects of hockey and enjoy discussing them. I am now happily married, yet my mistress is the NHL. You can look forward to some interesting articles about the happenings around the NHL and added focus on the Atlantic Division and the New York Islanders. I look forward to having some great hockey discussions with all you fans!