I never thought having to deal with user acceptance testing would be more fun that being at a hockey game. With kids opening day as well - yay!

I guess practice wont be fun tomorrow….

Can only get the Sabre radio broadcast. They think MacDonald is not sharp… For a short point it sounded like the Isles had all the play in front of Hedberg, but Buffalo came down and scored the second goal…

What happened to ludicrous speed????

Will not be at the game. I had to work today, as there were things that needed my attention.

What do I expect?

I expect to see Joey Mac again today. He deserves the playing time. Get Ricky to above 100% and then - we can work things out. We have days in-between games, so this would be the time, to be 100% sure, he is ready, whether TSN thinks so or not!

Keys to the game

Keep the in your face aggressiveness going. It was beautiful seeing that intensity and effort on Saturday. I can see why this Ludicrous speed system works so well… (Spaceball references are always good! - Got to figure out how to put the Schwartz into it!)

Keep the “D” playing positionally well (Meyer has done such a nice job of that). Get Hillen back to the form that he had his first two games in the NHL.

The line combo were good Saturday, keep them up.

And keep the legs moving on the PP and the PK. When we slow down - we slip.

Shouls be fun with all the mascots there today. Just wish I was there. However, I will be listening on line. Let’s see 2-1 in our future today!

As it figures, I am the first one here tonight. I would be early for my funeral, if that was the case. However, I am so excited to be doing my first game as a member of the NYI Blog Box. This is an opportunity to experience the feel of writing about the game I love, as well as the team, but still can be a fan.

I am going to just provide my notes and thoughts as the game progresses.

Warmups… Joey MacDonald came out first…. Hillen is out, Pock is in. Jack looked a little shaky last night, so it is a break for him. Weight wearing the “A” at home with Park wearing it on the road. DP is not bending too much, and is just letting the shots go through.

Comments on the 1st period:

What a difference 24 hours makes…. Great decision-making by the team, excellent puck pursuit. Seeing all four lines making huge contributions. Hilbert with 2 points in the period, Bruno, as well. This will equal more and more confidence. Joey Mac made some great stops in the period. He is comfortable handling the task. Can they keep the momentum going? Let’s see what the second period brings….

Second Period Comments:

No scoring, but very little mistakes made in the neutral zone. I like what I see from Thomas Pock. He looks comfortable in this system. The only isusue I have is with the power play. The one that ended the period was much better, but the ones earlier were sloppy. Have to establish the points a little better. Not a terrible period, but they did not provide this Blues team with a lot of chances. The Isles MUST play hard and rest on their laurels. Take it to the Blues!

Third Period Comments:

St. Louis scored a goal eight minuites in. MacDonald overcommits, and lets Tkachuk get an easy marker. The Isles can not take it easy. They have to keep the tempo upgoing (which they have). MacDonald has been strong again. I have never seen a young defensemen like Pieterangelo from St. Louis be up in front of the net so much. Is he really a defenseman? Great save at the end by MacDonald…. Guerin get the empty netter to seal the deal. 5-2. Great game. Now 1-1-0-0.

Three stars:

3. Gervais - two point night
2. Hilbert - two point night
1. MacDonald - great game in net.

I totally agree with the choices. An honorable mention to Weight. I think he had some extra wishes to play hard against his old team tonight. Also - to Meyer for his great positional play on D, as well as laid that great hit in the first period.

Comments from the locker room:

Coach Gordon was happy with the team’s performance. The team played real hard, and with the goal scoring the confidence seemed to increase. He was very impressed by MacDonald’s performance. He did not want to talk about DP at all, he wanted to be talking about the positives.

MacDonald was glowing. He was so appreciative of the accolades coming to him. He feels that Ricky will be ready and will be the man. He (MacDonald) is willing and able to be at the helm, whenever he is called.

Hilbert is just happy for Gordon. He played for him in Providence, and is happy to get the win for him. He said that Gordon has worked so hard for it, that he deserves the chance.

Experience

This was great. I have had the opportunity to cover baseball games, as well as a few Sound Tiger matches in the lockout years. However, getting the chance to cover my team, and see the reactions from the locker room, was real exciting. A win definitely makes it better. I know that being in the blog box, I can be a fan, as well as ‘media like’, but I really tried to keep the emotions in check. But once the fourth goal came, I had to raise the arms and get a little excited.

Thanks to Ken, Frank, Mike, and BD, for welcoming me, and making my first game in the Box a lot of fun. I hear that there is an initiation going, but you are not getting me in a dress…

Some thoughts….

MacDonald has looked well tonight (we are all surprised…). Hope DP plays tomorrow for the home crowd. Will we know the real problem?

Jon Sim looks like an eager guy, that looked like he so wants to play, and being out for over a year will do that to a guy.

Like Weight’s comments after 1. He gets it, and I hope that some of the guys really listen when Dougie talks.

Seems some of the guys look a little tentative. Hillen made a few mistakes in his zone, but I think he will recover quickly.

Great speed shown by Okposo. However, he did not fool Brodeur with the penalty shot.

Every time that I see Parise doing damage to the Islanders, I want to KILL Milbury for passing on him. Yea, Robert Nilsson is a real star….

Stay in the booth, you dummy!

Is Scott going to say this to the guys before the head out to the Pru ice tonight?

The screen test is over, the action scenes are going to begin.

What to expect: Tough question… However, from what I can see from Scott, I can see that he will be one that will make 100% sure that his guys will not only be focused, but ready to breathe fire on those Devils.

How will Ricky respond? Being a former goalie, I think Scott has more of an idea what is going through DP’s psyche than most… Will DP go all 3 games in this weekend? I hope not. I could easily see MacDonald into action, probably on Monday against Buffalo.

Bailey, I can safely assume will be out of the lineup tonight, and possibly tomorrow. I am sure that the disappointment will be mounting. If it was me, I really would send Josh to Windsor. He will be the captain, and get to work on the leadership skills, and be the ‘MAN’!

Interested to see the new line combinations. I think Hunter would look good with Tambellini and Nielsen. He would be the grinder and mucker to get the other guys the puck. I would assume that Guerin and Weight will be together. They know each other like peas and carrots.

Who on “D” will sit? Hillen has impressed, and I wonder if he will get the nod over Pock, or Gervais. It will be a difficult decision.

Although the Devils are a stronger team on paper, the Isles have done well against them, going 6-1-1 last season. Ricky always like to play against MB30, so it should be a good matchup.

We are under 12 hours from the start of our season, and under 36 hours from the home opener. I really am excited for the start of play. I enjoy watching the team that wins the cup the prior year hoist the banner up. And Detroit does not disappoint. They had Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Alex Delvecchio among others, present the banner to the Wing Captains (Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lindstrom), and they brought it over to have the picture of the organization with it, before it was raised. Nice touch.

Game on!

Season preview tonight!

Special time - 9:30 PM.

Derek, Joe and I will be talking about the start of the season for all three teams. The Rangers open at home with Chicago, and our Isles head to Newark to take on the Devils. We will look at the plusses and minuses for all three locals, and make our predictions for the season.

We have not all been on together in quite a while, so it should be some interesting banter. Try to make a listen, won’t ya?

To get to the New York Hockey Report Page on BLOGTALK RADIO, go to this link:

NY Hockey Report Show

Also - I will be on Hockey Night on Long Island’s Blog talk show on Saturday afternoon. That show starts at 3:30. I should be on around 3:45 or so. The link to that show is:

HOCKEY NIGHT ON LONG ISLAND

Hope to see you then!

Gary

Comments:

When he looked at the Metro Mug, Scott commented:

“I would like to see a shinnier silver trophy instead of that one…”

Was surprised that the hit on Chris Lee did not warrant a suspension. He did not know about it until I asked the question.

Was pleased that Ricky played 60 minutes, despite the lack of playing. Is confident that he will be in the lineup, and if the timing is right, he WILL play. Ricky is chomping at the bit.

Bailey - he has so much hockey intelligence. He may be here one game, he may be here for the season. The process of the NHL will be so much easier for him, because of his intelligence. He is
head and shoulders’ better than some guys I know with three years of experience.

Nate Thompson - (Gordon’s former captain in Providence) classic blue collar player. We will like the intangibles..

Thoughts on Tambellini - we have to see if his ability will translate to the same success at the NHL level. He was not given the opportunity to fully play to your potential. He has to play, make the mistakes, and learn from them.

Working with the teams. There are times that I will have to be tough, and I will let them know that. The players welcome direction. He is not a ‘my way or the highway’ coach, but the players and the coaches have to work together.

System - training is the core of the matter (over-speed). Doing it in practice, will make the game easier. Making the practice more intense, will make the game a lot easier to handle. It does not happen overnight, but in time, the system will take over. Some games in the exhibition were good (even the 6-0 game - Scott thought the team executed, and there were positives, with the less than full lineup). The idea of game setup is making sure that the team is constantly moving forward, instead of the opponent coming to them. We have to be efficient coming out of the zone.

Penalty Kill - be aggressive….. We dont want our horses to play with snow tires.

Power Play - not normally a 4 forward 1 d - not liking to be high risk…

Riding the goaltender - It usually comes down to the schedule. Want to give Ricky every advantage to be successful. He wants to play every game. Any rest that goals to the #1 goalie is dependent on the schedule.

The injury bug - thought the early injuries may have been to the change in the system. Scott seems to be leading to the skates being stiff. Talking to some of the other coaches, they feel it may be the same thing. The soft ice surfaces can be a problem…

Playing days in Quebec. Probably like being in Atlanta and not saying y’all. Quebec was passionate about the game, but at least he had his chance to play and experience the NHL.

Sillinger - hopefully be back in November.

Shootout - Gordon may have a secret weapon. (I am not allowed to say, but it is someone you would NEVER expect) Looks as shootouts as ties. Looking at a half full glass instead of half empty. It is entertainment. What happens is secondary, just have fun.

Coaches on the bench - they go about it the right way… They come across as great professionals with excellent attitudes. They go about it the right way, and the veterans that take that attitude, seems to rub off on the younger players. They exert, and make he efforts in practices, will keep from letting down the teammates.

Thoughts on Jack Hillen - not big - but extremely intelligent. Would not play professionally if he did not have the smarts. Has the tools as well; he gets it! Instincts far more than exceed what a minor leaguer can do. See what he will handle the change from the college schedule to the NHL schedule.

Great meeting - 2 days to hockey, yea!!!!

So - our #1 pick not only got the entry level contract, but has made the squad to boot.

He (Bailey) definitely has the profile to make it as a 19 year old. He has a great way of handling himself, and knows his plusses and minuses. He also has a great presence for someone so young, according to bystanders and media alike.

The only thing that is a little troublesome, is the fact that he has not had the game experience. He has only played in 2 of the 7 exhibition matches and that, to me, does not tell me about his ice presence. You can be all that you can in practice and in shinny, but when it counts for real, does he have it?

Now - personally, I WANT him to succeed! I really want him to make it - and do well in the process. However, I am just concerned about the lack of playing.

Honestly, if I played the GM role (sorry - Garth - I will NEVER want your job!), I think I would have sent him back. He would have been the captain of the Windsor Spitfires, and would be a sure star in the World Junior Championships this December. The tournament is in Canada, which would be another chance for Mr. Bailey to shine…

But Gary, the Islanders can still send him there?

Yes they can - up to 9 games can be played (not the team’s 9 games, his), before the decision had to be made. And that can very well still happen.

I just don’t want to see a kid with such potential being wasted, if not starting. There are a lot of centers on the depth chart, and it will be a tough decision for Coach Gordon to make. Who will be sacrificed? Glad I am not in those shoes either.

Speaking of the coach… Tonight - 7:30 Marriott Ampitheater - Scott Gordon will be the Guest at the NYIBC meeting. Come on down, won’t ya?

First game since 3/15/08…

Not a good way to start.

I know the game was on XM204, but by the time I got home, I did NOT want to put on my computer… After looking at one for 12 hours, it was just not the right thing to do.

I hear Rusty Olesz laid out Chris Lee with a nasty check from behind… Got a Game, and I am sure a review with the league. Good - get a few games for that Rusty!

Final of 4-3 for the Preseason… Not bad.. Friday - it counts for good. No - I will not be in NJ. I hope to get home for the start of the game, however, and I hope I will try to write a little at home. I will be writing at the game on Saturday. My wrap up will appear after the game…

Wow - I sound like a writer now!

Tomorrow - NYIBC Booster Club meeting - LI Marriott - guest is Scott Gordon. 7:30 at the ampitheater. You can join that night, or else it is $5 to come (but that can be applied towards membership - if you join that night).

A great chance to find out what is in the mind of the coach, as he prepares for his first NHL game (for real) behind the bench. I am interested in his comments.