Isles and Sens back to back no less. Sorry sjcma, there is no way the Isles don’t get at least a point out of the 2 games.
Looks like they’ll get at least 2.
Oh, the shame. :aiyo:
Well, what do ya know…that one team beat that other team 3-1… 
The Isles latest draft pick Josh Bailey sure looked good out there. He’s developing some chemistry with Kyle Okposo and looked real strong on the PP. And Joey MacDonald between the pipes has made many an Islanders fan forget that Rick DiPietro is injured and out for a while.
I’m just going to pretend that game never happened.
How about those Pens?
They’ve pulled off 2 huge comeback games in a row.
No offense Sens fans, but your team looks just awful out there. The Islanders have taken both games.
Rock bottom in Ottawa?
Sens suck right now, no two ways about it. As bad as things are, it can always get worse. Rags, Habs, and Rags for the next three game. :neutral:
Forwards are not playing on both sides of the rink right now. Of course, Ottawa is still a one line team and the first line is struggling.
That entire team should be dragged up Parliament Hill and shot at high noon. :fume:
[quote=“Josefus”]That entire team should be dragged up Parliament Hill and shot at high noon. :fume:[/quote]Or decapitated by their own sharpened hockey sticks?
Well, the “trade Spezza” voices have been getting louder and louder. I still think crappy defense is the issue and that the fowards are not back checking as they should, which creates turnovers and more puck possession. The bad habits from a horrible 2nd half last season continues to fester this season.
Hey mingshah, looks like your Austrian boy for the Islanders will be losing a bit of his paycheck. ISLANDERS’ POCK HANDED FIVE-GAME SUSPENSION
He’s not known as a dirty player and already did the right thing and got in contact with the guy he put out. With all the injuries on the Islanders blue-line, they can’t really afford to be missing anyone else at the moment. Pock is a fringe player though, I suppose it’s not a big deal.
I didn’t think this elbow to the head from Pock was worse than the Habs Kostoupolos’s hit on the Leafs Van Ryn. Maybe the NHL is finally getting the message and are going to get serious about hits to the head. We can only hope so. The “code” on the ice, as they say, does not seem to be alive and well league-wide.
[quote=“Mer”]Hey mingshah, looks like your Austrian boy for the Islanders will be losing a bit of his paycheck. ISLANDERS’ POCK HANDED FIVE-GAME SUSPENSION
He’s not known as a dirty player and already did the right thing and got in contact with the guy he put out. With all the injuries on the Islanders blue-line, they can’t really afford to be missing anyone else at the moment. Pock is a fringe player though, I suppose it’s not a big deal.
I didn’t think this elbow to the head from Pock was worse than the Habs Kostoupolos’s hit on the Leafs Van Ryn. Maybe the NHL is finally getting the message and are going to get serious about hits to the head. We can only hope so. The “code” on the ice, as they say, does not seem to be alive and well league-wide.[/quote]
Was reading about that too, didn’t see it thought. He was never a bad guy type of player but sometimes such things happen and I am glad he took the right steps. The Islanders have enought problems to fight with out such stuff.
The other Austrian is still doing ok, leading the league with 13 goals but the Sabres had some bad games. So he is a bit hanging in the air there it seems. Maybe thats the price you pay if you drag too much attantion your way. 
Oh boy, the Sabres are in a hole too now, just living from there good run at the start of the season. Vanek is still leading the league in goals but the rest of the team seems to be quite off.
So the big chance for your Islanders Mer, and with winning that you put yourself in reach of the Sabres too.
The Sen’s are playing the Rangers, so a win win for you. Either the Rangers win and you are ahead of the Sen’s than (in case of beating the Sabres of course) or it at least another loss for the Rangers. 
Anyone else catch the highlights from the DET-MON game last night? Two of the best teams in the league, no doubt about that. First, the tick-tack-toe passing the Habs did with Plekanec finally burying the puck in the net was a thing of beauty. You don’t see that skill and precision take place often. It’s probably even more so because it’s against Detroit. Then a bit later, to break Price’s shutout bid, Johan Franzen was simply brilliant in getting past the Habs defense (last man back was O’Bryne, the guy who put the puck in his own net against the Islanders in the previous game) to pot one of his own. It wasn’t as impressive as Toews or Nash’s goals last year, but the same kind of thing. Nice.
The joy I had from seeing those plays was overshadowed by my fucking NY Islanders blowing another 3 goal lead, this time to the Pens. :fume:
Growing pains. Growing pains. I’ve got to say though, the Isles haven’t been as bad as everyone thought they would be this year. They are no pushovers (blowing 3 goal leads aside of course). And Joey MacDonald has certainly made a name for himself in the absence of an injury-recovering Rick DiPietro. Nice tandem there when DP is back.
Well, well, well…Isles win 4-2 over the Sens. That makes the season series 3 to zip for NY thus far. The Isles needed this win after a blowout loss to Boston the night before and another blown 3rd period lead against Pittsburgh earlier in the week.
Auld is playing good enough in net for Ottawa for them to win, but past him, it’s a one trick pony with that top line. When they aren’t really firing on all cylinders, sorry to say, this version of the Sens looks like bottom feeders.
I’m afraid you’re right. I’m still hoping this is a repeat of 2 years ago, where the Sens started really slow and ended up making it to the finals.
I hope the Dallas Stars dump Sean Avery. I’d love to see him out of a job for the rest of the season. Even if Dallas gives him the heave-ho, I’m sure some bottom feeder will snap him up. And the heave-ho would result in a buy-out. Avery sits on his ass collecting a few million for his troubles. :aiyo:
I haven’t seen shit for hockey yet. I usually don’t really get into it until Jan. But that was when I was in Detroit.
I read someone here early on in the season mention Shanahan. Frankly I was glad to get rid of him in Detroit. He seemed to always just stand around waiting for a pass when he was in Detroit. I thought he was over rated like Federov who I never really liked. Datsyuk is a way more talented forward than Fedorov ever was. Maybe not as much a pretty boy though. Offensively Federov always bored me. He was a sound defensive forward and a decent play maker, but in that era during an OT I would have much rather have had Larionov on the ice. Federov always seemed to skate in real fast and then lose the puck, or make a lame shot on net. I know he had some amazing points in the first few cups but I never thought he was on par talent wise offensively with say Petr Forseberg… Datsyuk is and so is Zetterberg and that is only scratching the surface…
Steve Yzerman is my fav player of all time, but I must say I think this Detroit team may be the best team they have ever had talent wise. Can they repeat… Dunno, they have a Stanley cup hangover, and every team in the league has been watching what they do so well. Thier ability to transition the play.
If Detroit doesn’t win the cup I would like to see a Canadien team win. One of my fav runs was the Calgary run of 2003. Actually I thought they were the better team than Tampa Bay. I thought Tampa Bay won soley because of thier goalie–which to me was a dissapointment.
Offensively Calgary really reminded me of the Red Wings on one of thier Stanley Cup years where they surround you create a turnover and then just offensively dominate. Thier D was great and they were playing deep. Jerome Iginla plays alot like Yzerman or Sakic and is one of the best guys in the game when he is playing well.
I miss the Colorado Detroit rivalry when Col was a dominant team.
In any event, I see San Jose as being a difficult opponent in the playoffs. Its so hard to predict anything now, but if Detroit can be healthy in the spring they will most certainly be a foreboding opponent. If they can succeed like last year, I would like to see Pavel Datsyuk be the dominant player. I think he is equally as talented as Zetterberg and defensively few can play on his level.
Hey Gifthorse, nice to see a new face here talking hockey. I will say one thing, you sure have had your fair share of joy, elation, and good times being a Red Wings fan during the last 15 years or so. As an Islanders fan, the success I witnessed many moons ago seems so far in the past, it’s hard to remember. The last 15 years for the Isles have been mostly dismal with the odd tidbit of cheer sprinkled in stingily. Then again, if you look back to before the Yzerman days in Detroit, and even his first few seasons, the then Dead Wings were horrible. I guess every team goes through some good and bad stretches. Sadly, the Isles bad stretch isn’t likely quite done yet.
Snowblower > Joe Sakic
Has Sakic even played? I don’t see him on the charts at all. I haven’t been watching any games, but I heard this was his last year. What an incredible player. I have always equated him and Stevie Y, though Sakic may have been a better skater in his prime. Both of them were incredible competitors. Didn’t sakic have a 100 pt season last year? That is insanity for someone in his age bracket.
Yeah I know the Isles were one helluva dynasty with Brian Trottier (Yzerman’s fav player). That was right after the Montreal Canadiens were dominant with Guy Lafleur.
I think the game has changed alot since then. The skill level is different, but that is to be expected with time. I mean football in the 1970’s was different than it is now… All sports are emergent in that sense.
I think guys like Datsyuk are elevating the game further. He is one of the best puck handlers in the game. He just skates in and strips the other team and does what he wants. Kind of reminds me of Larionov at times, but with more skill.
The Red Wings are lucky to have the organization that they have Ken Holland is by far the best talent scout in sports. He always seems to pick them. Whereas on the opposite end of the spectrum we have The Detroit Lions—LOL—.
But Detroit is just scary talent wise. I mean think about how many good players they have besides Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hossa, Lidstrom, Rafalski… I mean Sammuelson, Franzen, Draper, Maltby… They have guys on thier 3 and 4 lines that would be 2nd line players on any other team.
I am always astonished how they rarely have guys in the top 10 in scoring/points, but that is a good thing because they spread out the goals amongst the whole team. What an incredible passing game they have.
You know my band played with Darren Mccarty’s band and I got to hang with him a few times because my old drummer was a producer on a big morning show in Detroit. He was a cool guy. I personally think he should stick to hockey though, and I have always worshipped his year when they won thier first cup. That was a special moment in Detroit. Watching him kick Claude Lemieux ass was something else, and then watching him score the goal of the year against Philly to win the cup was amazing. He is a true competitor.
tw.youtube.com/watch?v=pab978XyR3E This was an incredible series, awesome fight.