Bergenheim 3, Devils 3; Trent Hunter out for the year

Don't look now, Islanders fans, but in the last twelve home games, the boys are 8-2-2!

Great, fun, hope-filled game last night. The Isles beat Marty Brodeur and the Devils 7-3. Sean Bergenheim had a hat trick--and scored a near-improbable empty-netter with less than a second left to send the fans who stayed to the very end of the game home hatless.

Radek Martinek, Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini and Blake Comeau also scored for the Islanders as Devils coach Brent Sutter had to yank Brodeur, who remains three wins shy of Patrick Roy’s record of 551.

Latest Bridgeport call-up Mike Iggulden had two assists in his first NHL game as an Islander.

We've said it before but it bears repeating: these kids play for each other. Howie and Billy talked about it all night and the whole team worked hard to get Bergenheim his hat trick; cheif amongst them Mark Streit.

Not all was rosy though. Trent Hunter fractured his ankle in the game, and will miss the rest of the season. Seriosuly, this MASH list is freaking out of control.

Our boys are back this afternoon at three to host the Coyotes.

Kansas City

Got some emails about why I haven't written about the whole Kansas City deal.

Well, for one thing, I am hoping that if I put my head in the sand that the whole thing will just blow on by.

And to "Calvert DeForest", who was kind enough to email me (from the grave) and blame me as probably not caring if the team moves because I don't live on Long Island, all I can say, son, is that you're full of it. I've bled with this team for over 30 years. And what's more, I also know what happens when a team leaves because I live in Connecticut and interest in hockey has nosedived in my home state since the Whalers left Hartford.

I also know myself well enough to understand that if the Islanders leave, I am going to super-miserable. I may be in West Hartford, but the Islanders mean a ton to me. That logo is all I care about in sports. If they go to Kansas City, it's going to be like a bad breakup...for all of us...and that doesn't matter where you live.

As I type this, the Islanders are dopwn 1-0 to the Capitals. Ovechkin ripped one by Danis but so far, the Isles are playing a much more competitive game than they did Saturday night against the Devils.

Latest injury report: Chris Campoli is day-to-day with a groin injury. Trent Hunter is day-to-day with a lacerated finger. Up from Bridgeport come Jack Hillen and Kurtis MacLean, who is making his NHL debut.

End of the first, still 1-0.

End of One: Islanders 2, Penguins 0

Just thought I'd jump in with a quick update.

Isles are up by two on goals from Weight and Hunter. Bailey has 2 assists and almost scored his first professional goal.

Yeah, um, I am betting he will still be around after magic game #9 on Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

An Islanders Thanksgiving

Well, it's that time again...time to worry about making it to .500 and whether or not the franchise goalie is ever going to make it back to the lineup. Yes, that is what I wonder about while sitting here at work when almost everyone in the office has taken the day off and I am the only one in the building. Don't worry--I'll turn out the lights when I leave.

I love this time of year. I am a Christmas nerd. Turkey is like my favorite thing to eat. I have a great and supportive family and the best wife in the world. So, yeah, I know I am lucky and that I have a lot to be thankful for.

This forum gives me a chance to entertain and inform with my musings. Yes, I am thankful for my readers. Both of you.

In that spirit, I want to make a list of what I am thankful for hockey-wise this year. Indulge me if you will.

I am thankful for Joey MacDonald. Admit it: when Rick went down (all of the times) you thought our goose was, um, cooked. But Joey MacDonald has nutted up and made himself a darn good NHL goaltender. Sure, he's had coaching and sure he has a underrated corp of defensemen, but in the end, he is that last line. MacDonald has taken his ball and run with it. He's no Wally Pipp--I fully expect that when Ricky can go that Ricky is gonna go--but MacDonald has solidified himself as a good NHL player and he's made Garth Snow look smart for letting Dubie go to Siberia...or the KHL.

I am also thankful for Doug Weight. Weight is a guy who took a chance on Long Island and has been a pleasant surprise. I'm not even sure Doug Weight thought Doug Weight would be leading the team in points and almost scoring a point per game...but he is and he has been part of the leadership core that Scott Gordon has had to rely on to make the Islanders one of the more surprising teams in the league.

Naturally, if we are talking about Doug Weight we have to segue into to speaking about captain Billy Guerin. Let's make one thing perfectly clear: if Guerin didn't buy into Gordon's overspeed then the team would have been down the drain. He had some well-documented issues with the previous coach and the system (or lack thereof) that the team was employing night after night. After the change, Guerin got his buddy Weight to come to NY and once they bought in, they set a professional example for the younger guys. Plus, Guerin is scoring some.

I am thankful for overspeed. Sure, it was a weird catchphrase for a while but now that we see it working, the system is a lot of fun. Islanders games are never dull because everyone is moving. Scott Gordon is still getting used to the big time and all but it really is great having a coach with a plan that the organization can rally around with everyone pushing in the same direction.

I am grateful for Brendan Witt. Things just are better when he is out there on the ice. Witt brings the snarl that every hockey team needs. Plus, he is signed for three years so he is going to be around to help shape the islanders of the future.

And man, for Mark Streit. I can't even put into words how freaking impressed I am with Streit. Whatever his rep was in Montreal, who gives a crap? He has been playing at an All-Star level since he arrived.

Finally, what can you say about Trent Hunter and Richard Park? Cast into checking roles by Ted Nolan, Gordon has released the guys to become point producers and offensive contributors. Hunter seems to have found his scoring touch and Park plays like his pants are always on fire. (I know I've said it a lot but it is true.) Watching these guys get time on the power play proves to the young guys that if you produce, you're going to be rewarded.

So there you go. No, it's not been all a hayride this season. Jeff Tambellini has the same numbers of goals that I do. The whole injury non-disclosure thing was strange and the DiPietro cover up continues. But if you think about it, when we all thought the team was Tanking for Tavares, if we were told the team would have 20 points in 21 games, would we have believed it? Probably not.

Isles go for .500 tonight with the Penguins. It's March of Dimes night. Don't forget to bring some canned food to the game on Saturday if you're going to help some people out.

Isles beat the Bolts in OT, 4-3

What I liked:

Trent Hunter. I think we may see more of the offensive spark from #7 this season that he showed in the years before Ted Nolan took the helm. Clutch play by a guy who used his instincts to get to the right spot so that Frans Nielsen could slide him the puck after Olaf Kolzig misplayed it. That leads us to another played we liked last night...

Frans Nielsen. In four games this year, Nielsen is proving that he belongs in the NHL. Two assists last night and man is it good to see him as he emerges as a fine playmaker.

The assertiveness of Freddy Meyer. Billy Jaffe said it best when he complimented Freddy on the fact that the kid just stands his ground in front of his own net even though he is often smaller and outweighed by the guys trying to screen our goalies.

Bruno Gervais. The overspeed pressure of Gordon's means that the defensemen are likely to jump into the play. Heck, we even saw Brendan Witt trying to make stuff happen in the offensive zone last night! Bruno looks more comfortable out there so far jumping into the play and using his skill in the offensive zone. I mean, the kid has three assists so far! Good job out there.

The Penalty Kill. OK, last year I bored my friends and family complaining about the PK. The guys always had two hands on their sticks in their own zone and not only does that limit your movement as a skater, it makes you smaller and opens up passing lanes. Duh.

Last night, I actually had to grab a stick to demonstrate to my (very patient and sweet-to-play-along) wife that when you use one hands on the stick, you eat up space in your own zone by playing "bigger" than you really are. It's common sense!

With apologies back to Ted Nolan: duh. I guess he was too busy not checking in with the kids and coaches in Bridgeport to notice that. Or maybe he was too busy not installing a decent game plan and style for the Sound Tigers to play so that when they got to the Island they'd be NHL-ready. But why nitpick?

What I didn't like:

Um, the penalties...and the power play. The first few PPs were good and there was decent pressure on Kolzig. Somehow, our boys need to go back to Iceworks and get that together.

As far as the penalties go, giving a team with names like Lecavalier and St-Louis seven chances is far too many, even if Tampa is struggling.

Saturday the soap opera continues with Rick DiPietro. Many are speculating that he'll make his season debut in Sunrise against the Panthers. We shall see. Coach Gordon has said that he doesn't like to tip his hand as to who he will start in net for any game, but all the talk is that DiPietro will get the call. Stay tuned.

New Hockey Cards!

I love it when I find the new hockey cards each year. It's one of the three barometers that we are getting closer to hockey season; along with The Hockey New preview issue and exhibition football.

Upper Deck's Victory set is always the first out, so you can imagine how happy I was to see the boxes at our local Target. I picked up one of those boxes that has ten packs (plus a "bonus" pack--why not just say eleven?) for $9.99 yesterday. My wife and I ripped them open and as you have probably figured out, all we want really is Islanders. We don't mind getting cards of the stars and all, but our boys always are more important.

So, guess how many Islanders I got in a box of 11 packs and 66 cards? That's right: zero. Didn't get any Rangers either, which we are oddly okay with. Still, with 250 cards in the set and getting 66 cards in the box, you'd figure that the odds are pretty good that we would get some Isles, but we didn't. We did get Crosby and Ovechkin and an oversized Tomas Vanek card (yawn).

So, out of (let's say) five stars, I would give this rip about a two. One star for getting Crosby and Ovie and one star for just being happy that there are hockey cards out. We'll also give Upper Deck some credit for improving the design of the cards, which are much more appealing than last year's Victory set.

The Islanders players in the set are cards 71-76: Rick DiPietro; Bill Guerin; Miro Satan; Trent Hunter; Mike Comrie; and The Tank.

Thanks to The First Lady of NYIFORLIFE.com, my wife Linzi, for the photo. She's also the webmistress for this site as well.

2007-2008 NHL Individual Statistics - New York Islanders

From The Sports Network and Newsday.com

POS	NO	Player	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT	S	PCTG
C	89	Mike Comrie	65	20	27	47	-18	79	4	0	3	0	170	11.8
RW	13	Bill Guerin	64	19	17	36	-11	54	6	0	4	0	189	10.1
RW	7	Trent Hunter	65	9	27	36	-8	35	2	0	1	1	179	5.0
RW	81	Miroslav Satan	63	14	21	35	-7	30	4	0	4	0	142	9.9
LW	26	Ruslan Fedotenko	61	15	16	31	-6	40	8	0	2	1	108	13.9
C	63	Josef Vasicek	65	14	17	31	4	30	0	2	2	1	100	14.0
C	18	Mike Sillinger	52	14	12	26	-10	28	3	2	2	0	94	14.9
RW	10	Richard Park	65	9	14	23	-5	16	1	2	2	0	102	8.8
D	14	Chris Campoli	46	4	14	18	-1	16	2	1	0	0	68	5.9
LW	20	Sean Bergenheim	61	7	10	17	2	48	0	0	1	0	105	6.7
C	11	Andy Hilbert	65	8	8	16	5	18	0	0	0	0	117	6.8
D	4	Bryan Berard	37	5	10	15	-11	40	4	0	2	0	58	8.6
D	8	Bruno Gervais	58	0	13	13	-5	32	0	0	0	0	55	0.0
D	24	Radek Martinek	52	0	12	12	-4	34	0	0	0	0	57	0.0
D	44	Freddy Meyer	40	2	7	9	1	16	0	0	2	0	33	6.1
LW	57	Blake Comeau	34	4	4	8	3	18	0	0	1	0	39	10.3
D	25	Andy Sutton	58	1	7	8	-6	86	0	0	1	0	57	1.8
D	32	Brendan Witt	53	2	4	6	-3	49	0	0	0	0	53	3.8
G	39	Rick DiPietro	58	0	5	5	0	16	0	0	0	0	4	0.0
RW	28	Tim Jackman	31	1	3	4	-2	46	0	0	0	0	28	3.6
LW	15	Jeff Tambellini	18	1	1	2	-4	4	0	0	0	0	24	4.2
C	51	Frans Nielsen	12	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	7.7
D	2	Aaron Johnson	18	0	2	2	4	14	0	0	0	0	10	0.0
LW	16	Jon Sim	2	0	1	1	-1	2	0	0	0	0	8	0.0
D	3	Rob Davison	17	0	1	1	-4	23	0	0	0	0	14	0.0
D	49	Drew Fata	2	0	1	1	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	0.0
C	17	Shawn Bates	2	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
G	34	Wade Dubielewicz	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
C	29	Ben Walter	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.0
C	72	Jeremy Colliton	1	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0

Isles win in OT; Yashin featured in the New York Times

Trent Hunter saved the Isles' bacon last night with the winning goal in OT after our boys had squandered a three-goal lead.

In the second period, the Islanders looked to be coasting along 3-0. Soon it was tied at 3 after a penalty shot score by Eric Perrin and tallies by Ken Klee and former Islander Alexei Zhitnik.

Mike Comrie had two goals and Josef Vasicek and Trent Hunter each made the scoresheet with a goal and an assist. The newest Islander, Rob Davison, added his first point as an Islander on a two-line pass that sprung Comrie in the first period.

Holik had tied the game at four with a little more than a minute left in the third after Comrie had reclaimed the lead early in the period. Hunter capped the game after Josef Vasicek intercepted Klee's pass and whipped the puck in front to Hunter, who made no mistake for his ninth of the season at 1:09 of the overtime.

The Islanders website reports that Frans Nielsen will be re-examined later today. He left the game in the second with a shoulder injury. Also, Brendan Witt traveled with the team and may be ready to come back Saturday for Fan Appreciation Day in a matinee with the Flyers.

As of the time I write this, with all precincts reporting, the Isles are in tenth place in the race for the playoffs. Every game counts here on out. The Sabres are in eighth with 71 points in 64 games and the Isles are 4 points behind them.

The New York Times has what I consider some strange comments about Russian hockey in an article by Michael Schwirtz. Mr . Schwirtz maintains that the NHL is losing some of the better Russian players to the Russian leagues who are trying to reclaim some of the home-grown talent. While that fact is undeniable, Yashin tried and tried to get an NHL contract for this season after the Islanders bought him out but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to meet his price, so he went back to Russia to play.

The article also touches on the planned European Superleague that is in the planning stages. Overall, an interesting read. You can find it here: www.nytimes.com

Chris Simon; Devils today; Trent signs for 5 years!

BREAKING NEWS: Trent Hunter signs a 5-year deal for ten million bucks. We are very excited for Trent, who is one of our favorite Islanders. The moves sends a good message to the other guys in the room that the organization wants to take care of their own core.

Well, I guess the Islanders brass was a bit surprised at the welcome afforded Chris Simon the other night against the Lightning.

I wasn't.

You see, while the Islanders like to promote themselves as a family organization, the truth is that sometimes, people in your family screw up royally and it pisses you off. Pisses you off or worse, embarrasses you. While Simon's troubles in and out of hockey have been documented to the point of making you want to skip over it all and forget about it, he still is a man who is trying to deal with his issues. For that, you have to give him respect; however begrudging that respect may be.

The question begs that if he had not had this personal relationship with Ted Nolan, would he enjoy these many second chances. Charles Wang has shown that he tries to run a compassionate organization, but to be fooled twice puts everyone on edge. That's why we boo.

Devils this afternoon. We'll post if we can. Isles going for seven in a row!

Where was "Black Betty"?

Well, the Giants pooped in the punch bowl for sure yesterday and that
has me feeling prickly as a summer cactus. When I get fired up about
the inability of some of the higher-salaried people on the Giants
roster, I just try and relax and I remind myself that the Islanders are
9 and 4 so far this season. Yes!

This week begins a stretch where our boys are finally going to be
playing some games on the road...such as they are. I bet teams from the
Western Conference are jealous when they see stretches like this. The
Isles meet the Flyers tonight and the Penguins on Thursday. Then they
head to Jersey for the Devils on Saturday, the Rangers on Monday, and
the Canadiens on November 21. The day after Thanksgiving the Isles are
in Boston for a nooner and then host the Bruins the following night at
the Coliseum. Not a whole heck of a lot of traveling, for sure.

What can we say about the Devils game...other than the Games Ops peeps
didn't play "Black Betty"? I keed. No, it was another solid effort by
our boys in blue and orange. Somebody needs to call the fire department
because Miro Satan is on fire! Also, we need to keep Dancin' Stan
Hunter (love that nickname) in LI because his son Trent has been playing
very, very well since Dad came to visit. Billy Jaffe and Howie Rose
made the observation and I think it is true: we need to get Stan on the
road trip!

I especially liked the way our defensemen were heading to the net
Saturday night. Billy and Howie mentioned Andy Sutton's name many times
because Sutton was setting up shop right in front of Martin "Mr. 499"
Brodeur. Again, I keed. I love Brodeur and I think he is the best
goalie I've seen since Roy (I know how to take a stand on the real
issues, eh?) but everyone knows that the best way to beat any goalie is
to keep the puck near his feet. Sure, he is awesome in the butterfly
but packing the crease and playing it to his feet is the way to slide
'em past him. Of course, I say that and recognize that Miro's GWG was a
quick slam on a goal mouth pass from Trent Hunter that Brodeur had no
chance of stopping--especially because it was on a 5-on-3 PP advantage.
You know what I mean.

Over the weekend the Isles also welcomed back one Frederick Meyer IV as
well. Freddy had been with the Isles until getting cut when the team
needed to sign Bryan Berard. Of course, Berard has been out for a bit
and now ace in the hole Aaron Johnson is out for 6-8 weeks with a knee
injury so the backline is looking a bit depleted. Hey, the great thing
is that Meyer comes in fully aware of the systems and style of play so
he should be ready to go as soon as tonight against the Flyers.

Bill Guerin took a puck to the face against the Devils and although he
came back to play because he is a hockey player and that's what you do,
The Captain ended up missing the third period with the injury. Looked
to get him on the eyebrow area and he is reported to be re-examined
today before the Flyer game. I have a sneaking suspicion that if the
swelling is down and there's no damage to the eye itself that The
Captain will be in the lineup tonight.

Radek Martinek also was rocking a cut over his eye that needed a few
stitches the other night. He came back to play and was his usual steady
self. He reminds me a lot of Kenny Morrow in so many ways. I know that
is saying a lot but both guys were steady and played against the top
offensive players all the time without making any mistakes. Radek and
Brendan Witt compliment each other so well. You get the sense of
stability that Kenny Jonsson and Adrian Aucoin used to give us.

Lastly, I don't want to start an Oprah book club or anything, but people
have been asking me about the new books written by Bret Hart and Chris
Jericho. I've read both and I can tell you that each one is definitely
worth checking out. Jericho's book flows along like a buddy telling you
stories and when you're done, I think you can't help but like the guy
more and more. Bret's book is just like he seems to be: rather tortured
at times and serious. The guy has been through a lot and let's face
it--he's been on the doorstep of a lot of history. When he wasn't
knocking on the door of history, he was directly in the middle of
controversy. If you're looking for massive insight and disclosure about
Montreal 1997, there's not a lot new here. But if you want to learn
about the real Hart family and a lot about the early WWF, this is a good
one to read.

So there you go. Five stars for each book. Five stars for entirely
different reasons.

Islanders 6 Buffalo 4

I'm writing this post while eating some apple pie that my wife made. As usual, honey, it rocks.

BIG win last night in the opener. Mike Comrie is still playing like a man possessed. The guy took the opportunity to be a front-line center with the Islanders and he feels like he has something to prove. Great signing by Garth.

That whole rebuilt first line is looking great, eh? Comrie had two goals and the winner was simply spectacular. The Tank had a PP goal and two assists and captain Bill Guerin has 3 helpers. As Greg Logan of Newsday put it, it was a "spectacular debut". We really need for Hilary Duff to keep dating Comrie because he's been unbelievable so far in training camp for the team. A telethon or a online petition, whatever. Someone needs to make sure this happens.

Most gratifying to me was that in the third period, the Islanders outshot the Sabres 11-5. Last season it seemed like our boys were holing on tight when entering the last period with a lead. Trent Hunter added his first of the season in the third as well and the Islanders outshot Buffalo 34-26 overall.

The Isles' effort last night has to be mentioned. They were down at many points last night and even when they took the lead late in the first (after Chris Campoli scored on the PP) and the Sabres answered right back, the boys never out their heads down. That, my friends, is what strong leadership will do for a team.

Great article worth noting by the New York Times' Dave Caldwell about Billy Guerin. You can access it here: Guerin

Big ups to Radek Martinek, too. Radek got a new three-year deal yesterday before the season started. We are big Martinek fans over here. He's a lot like Kenny Jonsson in that he does all of the little things that make him such an important player for the team. Things that may go unnoticed at times.

Tonight we see the same Sabres team that raided their Conference Championship banner last night before the Isles hung 6 on them. I can't wait.

Trent Hunter signs a one-year deal

I was hoping that they wouldn't even go to the arbitration hearing but the Isles and RW Trent Hunter agreed on a one-year contract after the arbitrator ruled in favor of the Islanders. All reports are that the hearing was amicable and that no one went in there wth the intent to make the other party cry...which is cool since Mike Milbury once made Tommy Salo cry like a widow at one of these hearings.

The key thing now is for both parties to come together and work on something substantial for Trent Hunter. He'd be an unrestricted free agent next year because he will be over 27 years of age. Hunter is totally a key player going forward. We need to lock him up and keep him on the Island.

According to TSN.ca, the deal is worth $1.55 million.