Just.. No.

So a Twitter buddy of mine, Joe Yerdon, came up with this story earlier today and posted it up on Pro Hockey Talk. And all I have to say is...

What are the Isles THINKING?

The Islanders and Penguins faced off on Feb. 11 in more ways than one. While the Isles had their most lopsided win of the season, 9-3, they also received fines and suspensions of three players for their actions. There's no need to recap any of it; we all know what happened. And if you don't, Joe provides a pretty good explanation in his article.

Now, I'm not going to make excuses regarding this game. I know the motive behind this re-airing: it is a point where we decided we were not going to be skated all over anymore, and of course, there's power in that. But for all of the positives, there are a couple of glaring negatives- and unfortunately, society tends to dwell on the bad, not the good. That is true even in the hockey world- especially in the hockey world, come to think of it.

This isn't about the score. It's not about Pens fans vs. Isles fans or hypocrisy or who's the worse player, Cooke or Gillies, blah blah blah. And while I really don't care about what the people at PensBlog or anywhere else think in general, I can't argue that they have a point in being upset. It looks like a total "nyah nyah", gloating moment, and over what? A concussion and a sucker punch, not to mention the six-goal difference? Yeah, that's really something to gloat over. Whether or not the Isles mean to do that with this watch party is a moot point; the fact is, we all know someone's going to say something, and while I'm sure my fellow fans can defend themselves, I would really rather not go through the headache I'm sure to develop. The point is, personally speaking, this game was embarrassing, and I can't understand why the Isles would go to trouble to bring back the bad taste in the mouth I and others have already experienced.

I've already been asked, "What does that make those of us who enjoyed the f**k out of that game, in your eyes?" and to that, I have only this to say: We are all different. I'm not judging you for enjoying that game. If you want to think it's the pinnacle of our success, so be it. But I don't, and I can only ever speak for myself. I'm sure I'm not alone out there, though I could be in an acute minority with my opinion; but whatever the case, I'm one of the Isles fans that is not proud of the way this game was played. There were other ways for the team to assert itself, and this was not the best one. That's where I stand, and I'm not changing my position.

That being said, all I can do is prepare for the worst, right?