Weekend Recap: Two Losses and a Ping Pong Update

Friday night was one of the better games I have seen in a while. The Isles and Hurricanes played 60 minutes of break-neck, fire-pants hockey that was simply intriguing to watch.

Most impressive was how the kids reacted to being down 2-0 after the first period. Goalie Peter Mannino was--how do we put this charitably?--a bit off his game; especially on that first goal where he misplayed a dump in and the puck and it went through the crease and right to Matt Cullen 44 seconds into the game.

The kids came back in the second to overtake the Hurricanes and had a 4-2 lead on goals by Frans Nielsen, Richard Park, Bruno Gervais and Kyle Okposo.

Then the Canes came back and potted three unanswered goals as our boys failed to hold the lead.

On Saturday night, the Isles were in Ottawa to play the Senators, who had dropped every meeting this season to the Isles--truly surprising since the Islanders had been beaten up like jobbers over the previous ten years or so when facing the Sens.

The good news was that Josh Bailey scored two goals for the Islanders. Bailey has been going to the net much more of late--as Billy Jaffe has mentioned many times--and his production has certainly picked up in the last few weeks. The goals give him 5 for the season in 58 games. The stats aren't the key to Bailey's rookie season--it's the experience. But hitting the score sheet is good for anyone's confidence.

Also, in our daily drum-beat for Mark Streit, that the defenseman not only leads the team in scoring with 53 points but that he is a +8 on a team that has scored 52 less goals than the opposition. And it isn't like Streit isn't playing only on the power play. He's out there in every situation and logging serious minutes.

The Lightning lost in the shootout Saturday night so they gained a point in the Ping Pong Ball Derby. Current standings:

Phoenix: 67 points
Atlanta: 66 points
Colorado: 64 points
Tampa: 62 points
Islanders: 56 points

The Islanders and Tampa Bay have now played the same amount of games, 72. Colorado, Atlanta, and Phoenix have all played 73 games. Tampa next hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night and the Isles are off until Minnesota invades on Wednesday.

As I type this, I have already been asked my three co-workers about what I thought of Alex Ovechkin's hot stick celebration in Tampa after he got his fiftieth goal of the season.

For me, I love the energy and excitement Alex brings to the rink. He just throws convention in the face of the old "Russian Hockey Robot" stereotype that we've long bought in to. So, right there, you have to think that I thought it was hilarious; which I did. Myself, I'd have been much more comfortable with it if he had done that hot stick thing in his own rink and not on the road.

Don Cherry made a point this weekend on Coaches Corner that the Lightning have been through a terrible season and don't need to be embarrassed any further this year. I agree with that sentiment but I also believe that for a guy like Alex, he never thought about the Lightning and their circus ride of a season. He'd have done that no matter where he scored the 50th goal--it just happened to be in Tampa.

People seem to make Don Cherry out to be a bad guy all the time and yet, I think he is hilarious. Seriously, there are very few people shining a light on the second-tier players throughout the league and he does more for hockey as a whole than all of his detractors combined. He's a patriot who loves his country. How can you argue with that?

Senators 1-0 after one period

OK, so they weren't on HNIC. I forgot a little matchup between the Penguins and Leafs. Don Cherry is probably ripping on Sidney Crosby as I type this.

Wade Dubielewicz stopped 17 of 18 in the first period. He's been solid so far. A guy with Yoda on his mask has got to have a little something extra, eh?

Good news that Andy Hilbert and Ryan Smyth are playing tonight.

Hockey Night In Canada

Tonight the boys are on HNIC. I only wish the Islanders were in a better state right now for the big game in Ottawa, but they're not. At the very least, we get to see Don Cherry.

In the past few days, Freddy Meyer has been shut down with a broken finger. Accoring to the team website, Fred's been gutting it out with the finger for some time now. Hats off to him. He's proven to be a team guy.

It also looks like Bruno Gervais is going to be shut down with that bad ankle as well. Again, it is a good move. Both guys have shown promise and have long careers ahead of them.

Garth Snow has brought in some replacements on defense--and boy, do we need it. Deron Quint and Todd Simpson have been signed for the rest of the season. At the very least, bringing in two veterans to take over for the depleted squad show the guys in the room that the team brass is still trying to make that playoff push.

Bad news on the guys up front too. As everyone already knows, Captain Canada was out of the last game against Buffalo with a leg problem. I hope Ryan Smyth plays tonight in Ottawa. Andy Hilbert's shoulder kept him out of the Buffalo game as well.

There's speculation surrounding the goaltending situation for the Islanders. Ricky's concussion issues--and yes, they are officially concussion issues now--may keep him out for the rest of the year. Wallace Matthews in Newsday wrote that the team should keep Rick out of the rest of the season, and I have to say that I agree. Whatever side of the 15-year contract you're on, no one wants to see a young man cut down in his prime.

Expect Wade Dubielewicz tonight. I thought he was solid coming in for Dunham in Buffalo.