Support Movember!

Mustache November, or "Movember" as it's commonly called, is an entire month in which men go without shaving their upper lip. It supports prostate cancer awareness. And this year, we've got eight players ready to go the distance for the cause.

Last night (and in that picture), I was already impressed with Blake Comeau's stache, haha. This is going to be a great thing, and I'm glad so many of the guys are doing it. With morale on the team no doubt lagging a bit thanks to the losing streak, at least there's something like this to be fun with.

There is also a Matt Moulson "Moulstache" tee that Moulson paired up with sportschirps.com to make, which I am DYING to get my hands on. It is amazing. xD Have a look:

Tell me that isn't awesome.

You can also donate to specific players' causes, or to the team as a whole. Here's more info on that, from The NHL Arena (thanks, TMC, for posting :D).

I hope these guys can get some good 'staches and donations going! I'm planning to donate as soon as I can get my tuition reimbursed (thank God for financial aid!).

Oh, Brother.

Jets 3: Islanders 0

"The Jets franchise, who once resided in Atlanta, has 20 wins over the Islanders, and 12 of them coming on Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ice."

This sentence above comes from Get Real Hockey on Tumblr, and it explains a bit about last night. New jersey, new city, new name, whatever, this team still somehow has a stranglehold over the Islanders when they come to their house. Stats or not, though, it still made for some frustrating-as-hell hockey to watch.

I won't be too harsh. I mean, these guys did play a good game- for 20 minutes, anyway. Actually, I'm more inclined to say those 20 minutes weren't concentrated into one period- they would have flashes of brilliance for about thirty seconds and then lose it completely again. And it was not for lack of trying that they lost, though some could argue that the energy was not there for enough of the game- they did have some good chances that Andrej Pavelec was just up to the task on. (Then again, I'm sure any goalie would be up to the task of stopping a shot directly to his chest or pads instead of around him...) His teammates also stepped up; Randy Jones, Nik Antropov and Jim Slater were all temporarily benched after being blasted by shots they were blocking (and I'm pretty sure at least two of them were thanks to the shot of Mark Streit, which I would not want to get in the way of either).

One sequence comes to mind: The Tavares line was out, and they had crashed the net beautifully, but Pavelec would make one save, then another, then a rebound that missed the net, and then a rebound that went OVER the net. Clear-cut scoring chances that had absolutely no finish whatsoever. That shift in particular made me scream in frustration at my computer, just because it's a recurring theme that NO ONE wants to see again, least of all the players themselves, I know.

It also blows for Rick DiPietro, who got another start tonight and showed up admirably, making 23 saves on 25 shots. (Yeah, the Islanders also outshot the Jets 34-25. What does that say about the finish?) These guys are going to have to do something in front of each of their goalies. This isn't the first time the Isles have had a three-headed monster to deal with in goal, but it doesn't matter; each of them has been playing well, and since Capuano has made clear that he's not choosing any specific one of them to be #1 anytime soon (see end of article), the guys in front are going to have to adjust to whoever is in net for a start. Or perhaps Cappy will have to make some adjustments to his lines.

The only bright spot about this game? No penalties! Save for a fighting major Travis Hamonic served at the end of the first period after dropping the gloves with Evander Kane (who was really annoying me last night- scored a goal, got into a fight after making Hammer lose his stick and then took a penalty shot- thank goodness Ricky stopped him. End rant.). Though it's frustrating that on the most disciplined night of the Isles' young season, they also fail to score goals, maybe it's a good thing that no penalty kills were added to the already mounting headache they had to deal with on the ice.

Other than that, all I have to say is... come on, Isles, get it together. You're playing the Capitals on Sunday, the defending champion Bruins on Monday (I don't care if they're currently in the basement of the Eastern Conference, they're still dangerous), and you'll have to travel a lot more this month. Let's see some goals and some points, huh? Other people may be lamenting over how badly our team sucks right now, but it's still early. As long as the Isles can shake this funk now before it stretches to ten games, we can still focus on that p-word everyone wants to say (but is too scared to... who am I kidding, playoffs).

I still have faith.

Controversy, Controversy, Controversy...

Sharks 3: Islanders 2 (OT)

If any of you follow me on Twitter, then you should already have a good idea of how I felt about the outcome of this game. Caps lock is usually my friend when I'm inclined to live-tweet games, but it was in especially generous use last night after the entire officiating staff working the game between the Isles and San Jose dropped the ball- right onto the Isles' toes.

It was an incorrect "delay of game" call that cost New York an extra point- and after watching refs and linesmen together review the play and come to a consensus, it's a wonder that they still got it wrong. The puck clearly deflected off of the glass, as an irate assistant coach Doug Weight yelled repeatedly, pointing to the Jumbotron. Then, as Brent Burns scored on the ensuing power play at 1:07 of overtime, the little wind left in the Isles' sails blew completely out.

It's a shame, too, because this really was an entertaining game. It started out rather slowly for starting goaltender Rick DiPietro (yes, him) after Steve Staios took a penalty ten seconds in, and Joe Pavelski potted a power play goal seven seconds after that. But he shook it off admirably and went on to make 27 saves, many of them during the penalty kill. On the other end of the ice, Thomas Greiss gave the Isles fits for much of the first period as well. He ended the night with 35 saves.

The Islanders were able to tie it up at 3:15 of the second, however, on their own man advantage. John Tavares picked up the rebound from a Matt Moulson shot and placed it over a sprawled-out Greiss for his sixth goal of the year, on a great net-crashing play by the top line. Then the Islanders had a brief lead halfway through, as Kyle Okposo made an excellent play to catch a streaking Michael Grabner at the front of the net. Grabner scored his third of the year on that play. But fellow Calder nominee Logan Couture tied it up two minutes later, and the Isles found themselves deadlocked.

As disappointing and frustrating as this loss was to witness, it can't be blamed on the team. As Jack Capuano said in his postgame interview, "This was probably the best game we've had all year." That remains to be seen, of course, but I was pleased to see all four lines trying hard to get to the net, as opposed to just the top line. Josh Bailey had a decent game, which was in stark contrast to the last two games he played against Pittsburgh. Blake Comeau also had a good game, and he finished with four shots on the night. The third line was the line a few people, myself included, were worrying about- the top line has definitely produced as of late, the second line is getting there, and the fourth line always provided some energy and defensive upside, but until last night the third line was in a sort of limbo. Brian Rolston often seemed to be the only one working out there, while Bailey looked lost and Blake Comeau tried, but more often than not missed the net. Last night, though, there was a bit more cohesion, which makes me optimistic. Maybe it'll take a couple more games, but I'm hoping to see them score some goals soon.

Well, not much else to do except collect the point (the Isles' second in two nights- they're still winless in five) and move on. The team doesn't play again until Thursday, when the Winnipeg Jets come into town. This should be an interesting game. The Jets played a topsy-turvy game in Philly that ended 9-8 in their favor (after holding a 5-1 lead at one point), and then their offense was stumped by Dwayne Roloson in a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay. Don't know which team will show up, don't know who will start, but I do know I will be watching on my computer. :)

See you then.

Dropping a Pair? Awesome.

Isles 1: Lightning 4
Isles 2: Panthers 4

Just some quick notes:

• The top line clearly can't do everything. It's time for the secondary scoring to show up. Shot totals were abysmal in both of these games- which means no established forecheck and very little puck possession. Also, the shots a lot of players did take were wide of the net or at bad angles (haha, no name-dropping intended~).
  
• Mark Streit? Still a beast on the PP. And so very good at shot passes to the front of the net. I adore it.
  
• You can't blame these scores on the goalies- Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabokov kept the Islanders in it for as long as they each possibly could have. Not much can be done when the offense isn't clicking.

Oh, well. It's been long enough for me not to go into detail about both of these matches. Not to mention I didn't watch either of them in their entirety (thanks, work).
Center Ice free preview is over as of tomorrow, which means I get to miss Islanders-Penguins on Tuesday night. Joy. Must scramble to find alternate source.
Night.

Offense Abounds, JT Shines as Isles Strike Lightning

Lightning 1: Islanders 5

Dwayne Roloson probably thought he'd have a little bit better luck than this.

The former Isles goalie was torched for five goals on 18 shots- not all his own fault- and pulled midway through the second period, while the Islanders took care of business against the Lightning, 5-1.

Victor Hedman gave his goalie grief 36 seconds into the first, inadvertently shoving a John Tavares shot into the net after Roloson made the initial save. JT was credited with his first goal of the season, and he was not finished there; he had hands in the next three afterward, scoring once more and providing assists for his linemates Matt Moulson and PA Parenteau. That entire top line ended up scoring eight points in the first- JT with half of them (2G, 2A). Moulson and Parenteau had a goal and a helper each, and each of them finished with a +4 rating. However, I think we can all agree that Tavares's play last night was a huge key to that line's success.

Also on the board last night was Michael Grabner, who'd been a little under the radar during the past two games, but who finally knocked in a goal last night on another slip-up by Roloson. Indeed, that goal chased Roli from the net (which I was sad to see), replacing him with Mathieu Garon who had an admirable showing (16 sv). Grabner was also very effective on the penalty kill along with his PK crony Frans Nielsen. The Isles didn't take quite as many penalties as the nights past, however, and if they did, often the power play was canceled out by a Lightning penalty.

As for the Lightning, Steven Stamkos deflected a shot by former Islander Marc-Andre Bergeron to tie it at 1 in the first, but that was all the Bolts could really muster up. It seemed as though the Islanders were everywhere at once, picking off passes or getting into the passing/shooting lanes, as well as executing a great backcheck (with four or more getting back into the defensive zone at a given time). When Tampa Bay did start to generate offense, the defense and Al Montoya (34 sv) were there to take care of it.

Aggression was also a factor- I don't know how many times I mentioned Matt Martin in my game notes last night. Aside from four shots on goal, he was all over the ice, a giant blue-and-orange wrecking ball, if you will. He had at least three huge hits on three different Lightning players and was extremely effective on his fourth line with Marty Reasoner, who was great in the faceoff circle, and Jay Pandolfo. Altogether, the Islanders did a wonderful job of scoring quickly early, scoring more than two goals and then shutting down the offensive efforts of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was a tremendously fun game to watch (and I even didn't mind the TB commentators!) and I hope they can carry it over to tomorrow night's game against the Rangers at the Coliseum once more. That should be a fun game, even though I might not even be able to SEE it (some crazy thing about the New York City markets being blacked out if you live in the Buffalo market or something... not sure, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see)... but at any rate, it'll be feisty. Here's to hoping Micheal Haley's in the lineup.

LET'S GO ISLES!

A Brief Interlude.

Nothing like some goalie love. :) Awwww.

Al Is Right With the World! Isles' First Win of the Season

Wild 1: Islanders 2

Well, at least we survived.

That's what the Islanders are no doubt saying in the locker room right now as they come away with a win against the Wild, 2-1- and if they aren't, I am. What started out as a fast-paced, lively game turned into a quest to avoid giving away a point, but thanks to some sharp defense and the quickness of Al Montoya, they ultimately triumphed.

First blood was drawn on the PP by Andrew MacDonald, who threw a sweet wrist shot that banked off the post and hit the twine. Then a bit later, Frans Nielsen got a pass from Mark Streit and redirected it past Nicklas Backstrom for the 2-0 lead (after getting the puck out with some gorgeous work along the boards- at least, it was either him or John Tavares before a line change, I couldn't tell because I was too mesmerized). The defense held Minnesota to just TWO shots on goal for that period, and the two shots they did have were saved well by Al Montoya. The defense was blocking everything that came their way. All was going well.

And then the Wild got going.

I'll be honest- Minnesota dominated the Isles through nearly two full periods afterward. They were quick, smart and aggressive, everything the Islanders should have been for a full sixty minutes- and while the Isles managed to make some good plays and hold off the Wild's comeback, they owe a huge part of their success today to Al Montoya, who carried his stellar play from Saturday night over to this afternoon. He made 20 saves to seal the deal for New York, and was especially impressive on the PK, which had a full plate today thanks to a combination of whistle-happy refs and their own rambunctiousness. Even the away commentators were giving him props, which definitely made me proud. Save for one small hiccup that led to a goal, he was perfect.

As it was, though, the Wild didn't score until 1:13 of the third period, on a shot by Matt Cullen, who now has two goals in two games. From that point on, the Isles went into survival mode, as the Wild offense was buzzing and aggressive as hell. In one shift, John Tavares got bowled over twice, by two different Wild players, and that should not happen. JT, I know you're a smaller guy, but at some point you have to stand up and take matters into your own hands, or you're just going to keep getting smacked. The Isles are not a team that is prone to dirty plays, no matter what some other team's fans tell you; however, they can get aggressive if need be, and that needs to be true in Johnny's case.

Another player I wondered about was Michael Grabner, who's been floating around a bit and had a couple of chances in this game, but didn't do a lot. It's only two games in, I know, but for the Isles to establish themselves, every facet of their team has to contribute early. We're not an incredibly well-known offensive juggernaut, but Grabs is one of five 20-plus goalscorers (he had the highest goal tally at 34) and he, JT, Matt Moulson, and others have to step up now and contribute more to the scoring. We saw flashes of what the Tavares line is capable of, and clearly we saw much of Grabner's speed, early on; now that has to be sustained. You can't show up for one period and score twice and think that that's enough. It has to be consistent, and it wasn't today.

So, the Isles don't play again until Thursday (Tampa Bay), and I'll likely be subjected to another away telecast (thanks, Buffalo market). I did enjoy FS- North (I think it was them anyway) more than I did the Florida broadcast- the guys were a bit chattier, a little more informed and a lot less dramatic than the fools from Saturday. Still, I miss Howie Rose and Butch Goring. (I miss Billy Jaffe even more, but let's not talk about that.) I'll probably update with some posts on hockey in general during the week, so stay tuned if you'd like to know my rambling opinions. xP