Thu 19 Apr 2007
I give up.
Even Rodney Dangerfield got more respect than we do.
And the fan speculation, is that it is all because of Milbury. And even though I do not have him on my top 10 list, he is not the reason why we do not get the calls.
I simply can not even comprehend the fact that we need to win Miss Congeniality before we can get a break.
However, enough said - we still lost the game, and it wasn’t because of that incident. The Isles, once again, were simply outclassed in the 3rd period.  Buffalo clogged the middle, and did not allow any offensive pressure to be put on Miller. That is what good teams will do. The Sabres won just about every race for the puck, and made strong transitions.
We all know that they were the better team, I think that we just wished that the outside factors did not need to dictate how this game was going to play out.
And once again, Islander fans will be known throughout the NHL as disrespectful and rude for the debris shower at the end of the game. These are just drunken fools that have no respect for the team, or the game. Some idiot at the top of our section chucked something that hit friends at the end of my row, and got a mustard shower as a result. Maybe we should dump garbage and beers on their cars and see how they feel about it! There - I feel better now.
The team’s play was better - however, after goal number 1 - it seemed that either the intensity level dramatically shrank, or Buffalo just kicked it up a notch, like an Emeril sauce. The next thing you know, “BAM”, and we are down 1. As for every game, my wife and I had to leave with about 3 minutes remaining to head to the Booster Club table for the 50/50 draw. For the second game in a row, we missed a goal, as we were on the concourse. However, Richard Park gets called for interference at the 20 minute mark. Who was he interfering with, the ref, trying to get to the locker room? And before we can get back in our seats, Drury scores 36 seconds in to get the lead back for good.
Yash had a better game - getting on the 2nd line, and got that opportunity to tie the game with 100 seconds left. Well - moving right along.
Silly had a great game - 16 of 18 on faceoffs in the first two periods, got the 2nd goal, and really played with focus. However, he and a few others, were trying to make the perfect play, instead of shooting the puck. Playing desperate doesn’t mean that you need to have an ESPN highlight to show you mean business! Shoot, shoot, shoot!
Well - we are in Buffalo for game 5 - and hey - we are not the first team eliminated… Atlanta just stood up and looked as lifeless as a bunch of prunes. Nice job Thrashers!
Friday is game 5 - get the voodoo dolls out and let’s steal a win tomorrow. Hey - I did not lose any hope in us that we would make the playoffs. I will never give up until mathematically it is no longer possible. Stranger things have happened.
BTW - here is the Islanders stance on the call:
* After the puck went in the net, Islanders center Mike Sillinger was told by the referees that the decision of “goal or no goal� would ultimately be made by NHL headquarters in Toronto.
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* In a phone conversation after the game, Stephen Walkom, the NHL VP and Director of Officiating, told Islanders general manager Garth Snow that the call was made by the referees on the ice.* Walkom told Snow the referees disallowed the goal because Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt crashed into Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller, causing the puck to cross the goal line.
* There is at least one clear, definitive replay that shows the puck sitting on the goal line between Miller’s legs and then Brendan Witt, uncontested, skating in and slamming the puck into the net. Not a player on either team touches Miller until well after the puck crosses the goal line. Witt never touches Miller at all.
Hmmm…Â Well - I guess the NHL doesn’t want to see us succeed.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Gary,
While I do agree that the ref’s in this series have been downright embarassing, I am so sick of hearing every Islanders fan whine about how the NHL doesn’t want the Isles to succeed. We sound like 2nd rate fans of a morbid franchise when fans start whining. Good teams learn to win no matter what, they don’t make excuses.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Mike,
The coach says it - the GM says it - I am only reiterating what they are saying. What else can it be? Yes - we need to win - but it helps tp be on a level playing field… If you constantly have to skate upstream, it makes scoring harder.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
You know what, I think I’m sick of being accused of whining as an Islander fan. There comes a point when reality is reality. We simply get no respect from the NHL. This isn’t crying or whining. This is fact. Last night only makes that point more clear. No one can give me a logical explnation for Many of the calls and missed calls that have plagued this team long before this series began. Yes, good teams learn to win, but good teams also get breaks and have the respect of the league. It has gotten to the point in which one truly has to ask, Why? You can accept a time or two or three as just “the breaks”, but when you get to the territory where every game seems to be effected by outside forces and, well, someone needs to just publicly blast the NHL.
I will simply say that the NHL is an embarrassment. It was a disgrace and an insult to the game of hockey. I believe it was Al Arbour who once said that the officiating in a game should be like the ice itself, the same for Both teams. It has been FAR from that in this series.
I will definitely agree with Gary that the Sabers have out played us, and when the day is done, it comes down to this fact. However, take that second gol Buffalo Shouldn’t have scored on Monday and give us the goal last night, and let the teams decide who wins those games. Would the Sabers have still won? Perhaps so. However, if you are a Saber fan or player, you can’t feel too proud of how these games have been decided. And I mean no disrespect to the Sabers, as I feel they are deservingly rated as the best in the conference and have the skill and disipline of such a team. I simply would have liked this series to be settled based on the efforts of the teams and Not because of the officiating.
In any event, it’s not over. I hope that the Islanders now take this to heart and come out with a single-minded purpose of proving the experts wrong again.
For me, personally, if they are eliminated on Friday or beyond, I have lost the taste for following the other series. I’ve lost all respect for the NHL at this point and will not listen to any otehr games.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
John,
Agreed. I’ve lost a lot of respect for the league in the past week.
Look, you can’t complain when we legitimately lose. Game 1 was a loss, plain and simple. No one’s whining about that.
But I think we should have won Game 3. Realizing that you’re not going to get a single break, not even on home ice, is a little demoralizing, so I can understand why we didn’t seem to have “it” Game 4.
Incidentally, I would have accepted a Game 4 loss had it not been for that no goal call. We played horribly the 2nd and 3rd periods. It’s that final bit of injustice that calls the game into question for me.
We may not win this series (though a lot can still happen). But I do know that, with all that’s happened, I refuse to say that we lost.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:00 am
Gary, I feel your pain. It’s tough when you have calls go against ya. I know the feeling.
I think as far as that non-goal call, there’s really nothing they could’ve done. Leggo happened to be in the motion of blowing his whistle. Once a ref decides that, you’re screwed. I’ve seen it happen against my team. It’s a tough one to swallow for sure.
I believe from the replays I saw when I got home, Leggo lost sight of the puck and thought Miller had it. His view may very well have been obstructed by all the bodies in front.
I know the puck was on the goal line and rolling. So yes, it was loose as Witt stuffed it home. What can you do?
As far as Game 3, that was just a brutal call. You don’t decide a game like that. Even if he did get the stick in and trip him. It was one of those tacky new NHL calls we see a lot of.
One thing that disturbs me about these playoffs is that the refs continue to make the tacky hook/interference calls but miss the more blatant stuff. I can’t tell you how many cheapshots the Thrashers got away with in the last 3 games. It was a flat out disgrace.
I also am led to believe one other thing. That reputation plays a role as well. Take Sean Avery. He was repeatedly mugged in our sweep. But never got the benefit of the doubt. And one time, it led to an Atlanta goal in Game 4 that put them up 2-1. I get that Avery is never going to get the calls. But come on.
Anyway, I want to say I think the Isles have put up a good fight. Buffalo hasn’t played great. I am sure your team will show up ready tonight and give it everything.
You never know.