With all that’s happening in Islanders Country, I feel like a bear waking up from a long hibernation to find that my house is on fire.  Sooo much to do, so little time.  The players and staff must be feeling the same way.  they’ll be jamming 48 games into this season, so the expectations are that there will be injuries.  Hey, speaking of injuries, the Isles signed Radek Martinek again.  I always though he made a decent 5-6 defenseman, but alas he is as sturdy as a piece of rock candy.

Since his last time playing on the Island?  You guessed it, more injury time than playing time.  I do like the signing though.  Good defenseless are hard to come by, and if he can play at a fair level for even a portion of the season the team is better off, rather than adding more unknown, overage, veteran defensemen such as they have in years past.  Also, it will give some of the younger players a little more time to mature in the AHL.

Various Internet sources are reporting the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to a framework that will bring NHL hockey back this month.  Here’s looking forward to a great season!

A ray of sunshine has fallen on the Islanders, just days away from what seems to look like another lockout.  The June 22nd trade that netted Lubomir Visnovsky has been upheld after Visnovsky filed a claim with an arbitrator to negate the deal.  His original no trade clause was the issue, and lucky for the Islanders, it became a non issue in the end.   Most Islander fans will agree that there is a lot of hope pinned on this newcomer, coming over from Anaheim after a sub par 2011-2012.  Either he steps up and earns some top PP time, scores some points and provides adequate defense, or he goes the way of the once similar Anaheim import James Wisniewsky, and gets traded during the course of some monstrous losing streak.

I was looking through some old photos and found this disturbing shot.  Then I went and inverted the colors and it became freaky.  What does it mean Islanders fans?

Islanders sweep the Penguins in a home and home series, winning both games 5-3.  Josh Bailey with 8 points in the two games.  Marty Reasoner scores his first goal in 100 years and Jay Pandolpho got an assist.  Throw in a smorgasbord of goals for Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo and you have officially entered bizzaro world.  No, April fools day is not today, but with the first line being shut out for the past two days and the secondary scoring exploding., I can’t wait to see what sort of @#$% we’re gonna see on Sunday.

It’s tough times for Islander fans, as the team is heading toward yet another lottery finish.  At this point though even that is not guaranteed.   Tonight’s game against the Penguins is still an important game though and here is why.

Without the playoffs in the future this season, we’ll get to see how the Isles stack up against one of the best in the league.  Malkin, Crosby, and the rest come into the coliseum trying to snatch first place in the conference from the Rangers.  This is a good game to look forward to next season.  Who is still playing for pride and how has already given up on the year?  Which rookies deserve a strong look over the summer to be on the roster come next October?

The biggest question in my head right now – Can the team stop Malkin?

Tonight’s Isles-Rangers game is a must-win for the Islanders, losers of their past 2 games.  They can ill afford a loss here with the playoffs hanging in the balance.  The Rangers have been playing their best hockey in many years.   We all know that doesn’t matter though when these two teams play each other.  As a fan, I just hope the Isles can play some inspired hockey and put up some goals.

Some major Long Island developers are putting their hands in the ring regarding the development of the 77 acre parcel the New York Islanders currently sit on.  Here is a link to learn more about what is about to happen:

Coliseum

My take on the subject is an obvious one.  How could they develop the land without the Islanders after all that the team has been through in trying to build on the property themselves for years?  If the team leaves Long Island it will create a huge hole, something that a new development won’t be able to fix.  Doing poorly for so long has hurt the team and their positioning to develop the land for many years.  It’s too bad too, hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders will have broken hearts if the team leaves in 2015.

The Islanders have been going down a similar road the past several seasons.  A poor first half followed by a renaissance that leaves them out of the playoffs and still managing to get a high lottery pick. The team has a tough road ahead of itself if making the playoffs is going to happen for them.  More likely that that, the team is playing for self respect. There has been growth with some players, and not enough in others (see Comeau, Blake).  When the plan is to rely on growth to take you to the next level and that doesn’t happen, seasons like this are inevitable.  I’m feeling the same way this year as I did last though, which is optimistic about the future of the club.

After last years renaissance, many fans thought the Isles could be real contenders, as they played great down the stretch.  This year is turning  into a repeat of last year, save for the development of a few players that I consider the core of this squad:

The Islanders just can’t seem to catch a break against the Flyers. Grabner missing 3 breakaways (1 penalty shot) didn’t help. On the bright side, Okposo seems to be flourishing on JT’s wing and he’s beginning to finish. One of the highlights for Islanders fans was payback to Maxime Talbot, whom many fans were upset about regarding his head shot to Blake Comeau last season. That play was one of the straws that finally caused the Isles to kick the !@#$ out of Pittsburgh in what many fans believed to be a turning point in their season. Here is Steve Staios destroying Talbot in the Isles loss this evening:

The Isles lost tonight to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. They started off sluggish, and Toronto took advantage. Coach Capuano said they came out a little bit flat. As evidence by the 3 goals Toronto scored within the first 11:15 of the game, they wore more than a little flat. They weren’t ready to play. They did have some come back in them however, and nearly tied it on a play started by Michael Grabner ending with Kyle Okposo flipping the puck over an empty net. You have to appreciate the effort after the sluggish start, but losses always magnify what the team is doing poorly, and tonight it was starting flatfooted.

John Tavares Dive Video:

The Islanders are in need of a big win tonight vs. the Leafs, coming off the heals of a 4-2 bust against their cross town rivals, the New York Rangers. I’ve always admired Toronto and their fans for their love of hockey, and sticking with their team through the lean years. In fact, the Islanders plight doesn’t feel as bad in comparison. If the Islanders don’t show some life soon, their season will be about draft picks sooner rather than later. It’s never fun to pack it in early, and a win tonight against the Leafs may jsut be what the doctor ordered to break this team out of their season long malaise.

Islanders to watch: I’ve got a feeling about Okposo and Baily tonight. On the flip side, Mark Streit hasn’t been himself on a regular basis. If he can put a 60 minute effort together that will increase the chances of W for the Isles tonight.

You could consider tonight’s game against the Blackhawks an overtime loss, but coming from behind and getting goals from 2 defenseman is definitely a win. Getting the overtime point is just gravy to the streaking Islanders. This is a game that by all accounts they could easily have lost. Al Montoya wasn’t at his sharpest on either of the goals against, and he wandered out of net several times like a drunken hobo on an LIRR platform. Good to see the team pick up a point in this, although they must be upset with the way it ended. They showed some chippiness toward the end after snoozing though large chunks of the game.

The Islanders have become serial slumpers for the months of November and December, and that leads to a serious question – Who’s to blame? There are a lot of reasons, ranging from the top down.

1 – Charles Wang?

Charles Wang has been denied his new coliseum development for many years now, and doesn’t seem keen on spending much more than the salary cap minimum on his team. With the future location of the team in doubt, it appears Wang has hit a wall in regards to throwing money at the teams weaknesses.

2 – Garth Snow?

It was a big night at the Nassau Coliseum for new linemates Brian Rolston, Frans Nielsen and PA Parenteau each scored a gritty goal to help the Isles to a 5-3 win. Matt Martin and John Tavares (Empty Net) also scored for the Isles. I just wrote about my opinions regarding the line changes. I may not agree with them, but you can’t argue with success, especially against a team as loaded as the Washington Capitals.

Coach Capuano has changed the lines in an attempt to shake the offense up and generate some scoring. You can’t blame the first year coach as the team’s offense has been abysmal so far this season. Players need to be rewarded for good play, and punished for lackadaisical play. Keeping this in mind, the team doesn’t need any 4th liners playing 20 minutes per game because they hustle.

1st line:

Matt Moulson – John Tavares – Michael Grabner

2nd line:

Rolston – Nielsen – Parenteau

3rd line:

Comeau-Reasoner-Okposo

4th line:

Pandolfo-Bailey-Martin

I’m not a huge fan of these lines, but I won’t argue if they can score 3 goals a game.

I’d love to see a first line of Matt Moulson – John Tavares – Matt Martin

One of my friends from section 329 with the classic “Ranger’s Suck” written on the board.

I love ice girls

1 More For Free Chili

From Dee Karl – One magic goal for Fran Nielsen. I want another!