Islanders Offseason Update(AKA John Tavares lovefest)

With 55 days until the one of the biggest drafts in Islanders history, the Islanders were helped out by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks this week. Last Saturday the Penguins ended the Flyers season guaranteeing the Islanders a third round pick. And Anaheim’s victory on Monday over the San Jose Sharks guaranteed them the Sharks 26th pick in the draft. So while Garth Snow has stockpiled more draft picks than a squirrel stockpiles nuts, the real question is what will he do with all of them? The first pick should undoubtedly go towards drafting hockey sensation John Tavares. The Islanders need a face to help promote the organization and even though Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene are both outstanding players themselves Tavares offers advantages on and off the ice that Hedman and Duchene cant match. The stardom and hype that has followed Tavares since he was 14 years old and the anticipated first round pick. Although he is no Crosby or Oveckin he is anticipated to be a franchise player and the just the face the Islanders need as they begin to slowly build their way back to being a consistent playoff contender. He also offers more leverage toward the Lighthouse project keeping the Islanders on Long Island. With an improved product on the ice it will force local officials to consider the effect of moving the only Major pro sports team on the island. And most importantly for management it helps sell merchandise and tickets. With an upcoming star on the team it will draw more fans and sell more merchandise(especially Tavares jerseys) increasing the teams profitability. Anything other than Tavares in the draft would be a bust and would face harsh criticism if Garth Snow’s pick was a flop. But some fans have expressed their optimism on message boards and other blogs about trading for Tampa’s 2nd pick giving them the ability to draft Tavares and Hedman. Although this would be an ideal situation if Snow could pull it off, it would have to come at a very high price possibly giving up an up and coming player on the roster or the Islanders 1st pick in next years draft. With that being said if Snow can somehow make that happen it would raise the franchises stock and make Garth Snow look like a season general manager(like ambitious gm Brian Burke lol). So with 55 days and counting untill draft day we are forced to anxiously wait and see what happens, whether our old friend Brian Burke successfully trades up(which is highly unlikely) or the Isles decide to look at someone else we just have to wait and see.

Penguins 4 vs Sound Tigers 2 (Golf anyone?)

once again the Sound Tigers have been eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs joining their parent club members on the golf course. At 7:30 into the first on the power play Chris Minard(who had a goal and two assists in tonight’s penguins win) scored off the rebound shoot of Jeff Taffe to give the Pens the early lead. Justin DiBenedetto tied the game just 1:58 later as he was able to jam the puck between Curry’s pads. Jeffrey and
Daoust each scored a goal in the second to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead. A minute twelve later Jessie Joensuu scored a goal to bring the Tigers within one. But Jeff Taffe sealed the win as he scored with just 55 seconds remaining in the game to make it 4-2. Peter Mannino stopped 14 out of the 18 shots he faced as Bridgeport went 0-4 on the power play.

What's going on?

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers Lost last night at home after coming back from down three goals to win against the Penguins in game 3. But the magic wasn’t there last night when the Sound Tigers lost 2-1 at The Arena at Harbor Yard. They now trail three games to one headed back to Wilkes-Bare/Scranton. In other news Red line scouting service dropped Tavares from number one to number three ranking Matt Duchene and Victor Hedman ahead of him. Thus making the debate of picking Hedman or Tavares more complicated also adding Matt Duchene to the list as a more serious contender. Also on that note Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow took a road trip up to see the London Knights in playoff action and scout and meet John Tavares. Bridgeport takes on the Penguins tomorrow night looking to keep their Calder Cup dreams alive.

IN THE NHL
The Rangers won at the Garden over caps to take a lead in the series 3-1.
Boston Eliminated the Canadians in a sweep in Montréal.
The Devils take on Carolina tonight in Jersey with the series tied 2-2.

Chicago and the Calgery are tied at 2 in the series.

Penguins look to eliminate the Flyers at Mellon Arena 3-1 Pneguins lead.

Vancover eliminated the Blues sweeping them 4-0.
Redwings look to eliminate the BlueJackets as they lead the series 3-0.

Anahiem leads the Sharks 2-1.

W/B Penguins 3 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2

In a game in front of Islanders brass the Bridgeport Sound Tigers put on a good show but couldn’t get the win. Starting the game with a power play The baby Pens took advantage of the early opportunity and 1:22 into the game Chris Minard scored on a questionable goal as he slapped the puck out of the air and knocked Nate Lawson’s helmet off. Later following a hooking call on Jessie Joensuu at 18:02 Dustin Jeffrey capitalized on the power play to make the game 2-0 pens. In the second period at 10:58 Luca Caputi scored to make it 3-0 pens. In the third the Sound Tigers finally came alive as Trevor Smith scored the Tigers first goal to make it 3-1. Later Rob Hennigar started to close the gap as he knocked one home to make it 3-2. But that was the last goal the Sound Tigers would score and the game would end in a 3-2 loss. Kyle Okposo was relatively quiet in tonight’s game and the Official attendance at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was 4,927.


NHL SCORE CARD
Carolina Huricanes 2 New Jersey Devils 1
Pitsburgh Penguins 3 Philidelphia Flyers 2
Vancover Canucks 3 St. Louis 0

I took a week off and it seems like news is coming left and right out of Islanders country. Tuesday night the Islanders won the draft lottery giving them the first pick in this years draft with the only question remaining Tavares or Hedman? Garth Snow has been careful not to tip his hand at what he intends to do with the pick as Toronto GM Brian Burke
Is looking to trade up for that first pick for Tavares. Along with the perpetuated idea through the Toronto media that John Tavares is rightful property of the Leafs and that the Islanders don’t deserve him, including one Toronto reporter telling Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank that hockey doesn’t matter on Long Island. Infuriating yes, but we will move on with the other news of the week. Kyle Okposo was selected to play for team USA in the world Championships in Switzerland along side coach Scott Gordon who was selected to be assistant coach there. Mark Striet will also be there representing his home town Switzerland. Okposo will also play in both Sound Tiger playoff games this week at the Coliseum.

Thats All Folks!

The Islanders after tonights loss to the Penguins have clinched 30th place giving them the best chance for the top pick in the draft. Taking the early lead the penguins took off tieing the game in the first, scoring two in the second and scoring three in the third to make it a 6-1 loss. The Islanders will try to finish the season strong playing the Flyers saturday and the Bruins on easter sunday.

Islanders: we appreciate our fans!

In a town where Major league teams have pushed away their most loyal of fans for the corporate big wigs there is a team who dares to be different. The Mets and Yankees open their brand new multi million dollar stadiums open next week and look beautiful and The Jets and Giants new stadium is coming along well but all these new Buildings come at a cost to the fans. The increased prices at both have made it hard for the die hards and families to come to the ball park and have a reasonable, nice day. With parking at a ridiculous price of $18 at citi field and With PSL's at the new Medowlands stadium is there any team that looks out for any of its loyal die hards? The answer is yes and the team is the Islanders. Although suffering one of the toughest season in many years the team has gone out of its way to show its fans they are loved. Although food prices are still steep at the old barn the deals they have run has made it affordable to bring whole family to a game with family packages that include food, hates and tickets for everyone at a reasonable price. Along with packages like the break away bundle the Islanders have made it easy to come and enjoy hockey in time when everyone is hurting. Culminating with fan appreciation weekend where they are offering buy one get one free deals for the two season finally games at the coliseum this weekend. With the rest of New York's sports teams pushing fans away the Islanders have opened their doors and are saying to theirs "we appreciate you!"

Who to root for?

With the 1st round draft pick on the line, it poses the question who do we root for? After the embaricing loss to the Hurricanes the Islander will be trying to redem themselves tonight against ex-Islanders bill Guerin and the Penguins. The Penguins who come in tonight fresh off their playoff clinching win against Tampa last Tuesday look to finish their home regular season on a winning note. The Islanders come in tonight need one final loss to clinch last place and guarentee the best odds for first pick in the lottery next tuesday. So here inlies the dilema do we root for the Islanders to win or lose? Well the answe is simple, its up to you. There is no bad outcome tonight.

Sidenote- Mike Iggulden recalled for tonights game and Rechlicz, Fritz and Joensuu are playing tonight.

How low can we go?

After announcing yesterday that fan fav Doug Weight will return next year in an Islanders jersey, they took a beating so bad last night the even Islanders fans hoping for loses were upset at the outcome. The worst loss in the franchises history was made worse by news that Blake comeau fractured his wrist. The only good news was from San Jose where the Avalanche took their game to a shootout gaining a point and giving the isles a five point cushion from Tampa and a seven point cushion from Colorado. With the season ending in four days the Islanders will be facing all guaranteed playoff teams. With the team visiting Guerin and penguins tomorrow at Mellon Arena, they will fly back Friday to finish the season at the Coliseum hosting Philadelphia and Boston. Hopeing to rebound from the embarrising loss yesterday the will come out fighting in pittsburgh. A loss tommorow will all but guarentee the last place spot and the best odds for for the top pick in the lottery( which will be aired live on Versus next tuesday at 8 pm.

Fan Friendly

New York Is the Mecca of sports with teams ranging from the major four sports to the lessors ones like soccer and lax. But none of the major four offer a fan experience like the New York Islanders. From giving Season ticket holders once in a lifetime opportunities like rides on the Zamboni at the coliseum to getting to meet the entire team at the beginning of the season. They also open up every practice up to fans to come and watch them as the prep for up coming games as well as give the fans an opportunity to interact with and obtain autographs from every player on the team. A place for the fans to come talk hockey and have good time. Out of all the major teams in the new york metro area there isnt one that offers this much acces to its players like the Islanders do.

Islanders vs Lightning preview

A weekend preview saw a schedule that on paper looked to hurt the Isles in the hunt for last place in the NHL. But last night gave Isles fans something to smile about as both Tampa and Atlanta both gained at least a point in their matches against 2 playoff contenders. That makes tonight's match up extra interesting, With two teams playing hard but still looking for the better odds in the draft lottery play each other for a potentially harmful two points. The Islanders are coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Montreal Canadians who came to play and saw the Islanders for what they are, a competitive team who comes to play every night and was ready for them. As talked about on Hockey Night on Long Island With an Islanders win today and the next game they could be knocked out of last place by the Colorado Avalanche. Joel Rechlicz, Mitch Fritz, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu and Jamie Fraser (who is making his NHL debut) are all playing tonight.

Are we just getting pushed around?

Katie Murray called the Islander a pawn for Charles Wang to get his Lighthouse built, so are they just a pawn? The answer is yes and that happened the minute Kate Murray started her petition on line and through the mail. Even worse Islanders fans themselves have become pawns in this political battle with Murray on one side and Suozzi and Wang on the other. The appeal to the fans on both sides and the threats to move the team have made bad season on the ice even worse off it. With hope rising and falling every other day its hard to tell the fate of this historic franchise if the Lighthouse project fails. The team itself has managed to keep its focus on what it is suppose, developing youngsters and playing hockey which as of late has been paying off. The fans haven't been as Lucky, we've had to deal with the injuries, the loses, and the worst of it all the fear of losing this team. It has come down to the wire know as battle lines have been drawn, we know who stands where, but still have no idea what will happen. The mentality that i have come down to is this, either get this project done not only for the Islanders but for all of Long Island or Mr. Wang start telling us the other options on the table.