I am just going to give a brief thought synopsis, you can get the news anywhere.

1. Thought the team played a strong game. The first period was not as strong, but the team improved by each period, and stood up to the Flyers. Especially in the 3rd period – the forecheck was brilliant.

2. “Amazing Andy” – great presence of mind to hold the shot, and get the puck to bounce off the Flyers D and in…

3. I think MacDonald was fine in net. Two of the goals again, were shots that got to the Flyers players off a miscue. Just about any goalie would not be able to get the shot. Some of his saves were outstanding. Even got a skate to the mask. Thank God the blade hit his neck guard, or we would have had a Malarchuk incident.

4. Sutton back was a nice thing. It gives the D a large presence, and he was put to the test immediately against Scott Hartnell. Him and Streit worked well.

5. Welcome to the NHL Mitch Fritz! His name sounds like your accountant, but he does not look like one. He is huge and I am looking forward to seeing him get into some pugilistic tendencies.

On a score of 1-10, on the Isles play, I would give them a 7. Improvement all around. Get a break or two, and the 1 point gained could have easily been 2.

My Isles Three Stars

3. Nate Thompson – true grit. He has stepped up his game.
2. Trent Hunter – hitting machine, and Biron had a lucky stop on his point blank effort.
1. Andy Hilbert – You can see that he is a Gordon disciple. His game is much better than last year.

I will not be blogging live tomorrow. I will be sitting in my own seat, and being a fan. I will write a little on Sunday about the game.

Enjoy Halloween, and make sure that your kids are safe…

Posted under Blog Box, Islanders 08-09

Congrats and Happy Birthday Josh!

Nice to see that the team has confidence in you to sign. We all know what Garth did to get you, and he feels that he got a steal by moving in the draft to get you. He (Garth) had you pegged all along, and getting an extra few players in depth, allows the team to grow.

Get better soon, and let’s see what you got!

As far as the game the other night, I was unable to go. Work has been nuts lately, and I am averaging about 14-15 hours a day of work/commute. So it was impossible to make it. It is going to be tough to make certain weeknight games, so it was get words from others and make my own opinions…

It seems like it is going to be a tough year of scoring goals again. Hopefully, as the team futher understands and develops the “Gordon system”, the offensive capabilities increase. If we managed to get that .25 goals per game average last season, we could have been playoff bound. That can make a big difference.

Sutton’s loss will be a big blow. We were expecting much more from him this season. Hopefully, he gets back soon. His size is a big factor. Campy too. This is a tough loss, especially for his development. Tomas Pock could be a help. He just was not able to crack the Ranger lineup. Although he is not the fighter that Eric Carins was, let’s hope that another Ranger defensive castoff can pay dividends to us.

As Newsday reported, Tambellini can be a person that can really help this team, or bring it down. It is totally up to him, to bring his AHL play up to this level. Franz Nielsen is also in this situation too. It is time for these guys to take the “put up or shut up” attitude and get it going.

Well – back to work… Eight days until the home opener… Tailgate party – 3:30 PM – South West Corner of parking lot… Be there, aloha!

Posted under Islanders 08-09