Since I had the day off from the job - my buddy Ron calls and asks what the hell am I doing home?  I asked him why was he calling my wife in the middle of the morning for???

Anyway - he said he was going to practice today, and asked if I wanted to go.  No brainer, but yeah!  So off in my car I went - and I was at Iceworks in about 10 minutes.

Very interesting to not only see Todd Simpson on the ice (he is still helping out the team, even though he can not play) but Chris Simon is involved heavily as well.  The guys looked focused, but calm.  They know that minute by minute is very important.  They can not look too far ahead.  As we saw the guys head to their bus, bound for Philly, the guys are relaxed, confident - but not overly so.  They are on an even keel, and are ready to make this weekend an important one for the team.

Now - to last night.  I am just so glad that all of Canada got a chance to see us lay the smackdown on Toronto.  They worked hard and took chances when they needed to.  Ryan Smyth has played his best two games as an Islander this week.  Most people will say that he only has one goal, but his forechecking and play behind the net has been superb.  He is the real deal, and Garth, if you are listening, you know what to do…

Dubie has another great game in net.  He has been smooth, but a little floppy at times.  But at no time, have we been disappointed with him.  Talking to Peter Botte at Ice Works, we both felt that Dubie should have been put in earlier.  Ted relied on a cold mike Dunham a little too much.  I  like Dunny, he has done a nice job, however, he was cold, not playing a game in nearly 40 days, and Dubie was playing just about every game at the Port.  It is not a wrong move by the coach, it is just a loyalty stand that he took.  We can not correct this, but we move on, and the fat lady has been thrown in the closet, hoping to be left there for a while longer.

I think Arron Asham had his best game of the season last night, playing on a line with Randy Robitaille and Jason Blake, who notched #40 on the season.  Asham had a blast shot past Andrew Raycroft to get goal #4 for the Isles, giving him 11 on the season.  I think that Coach Nolan may be seeing that he may have underutilized Asham a little, and is getting the best out of him.

Well - another BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON TOMORROW.  As we had to be Ranger fans last night (thanks to them - but you still blow!), now we become Maple Leafs fans on Saturday night.  Yes Islander fans, you are going to have to like this guy!  I know that it will be tough - but hey - we had to root for Jagr and the Queen Dork (Lundqvist) for a couple of hours…

Cmon you Islanders - we can still do it….

Posted under Islanders 06-07