Our friend Kristine came through once again with a new banner. This time, we didn't even have to ask for it. The old banner, which prominently featured Sean Avery, unfortunately became outdated on July 2nd. Not only is this one current, but it also looks even better than the old one did. We would like to publicly thank her for her efforts, as well as for putting up with hours of hockey talk she probably couldn't care less about.
As for the Islanders. Last night, I told Zach he could bet on the Islanders with confidence. After all, they were playing a horrible team in Florida. Rick DiPietro returned. What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a bit, apparently.
I know the statsheet says that the Islanders lost by only two goals and were outshot by only five. But that was quite the egg they laid last night. It didn't seem like they were ever a threat to an awful Panthers team who let up six goals to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. You could say that the Panthers were "up" for the Islanders, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Despite being down by two goals, the Islanders managed just six shots in the third period. It's also worth noting that Florida only had seven. Now, some might say that's good, because it meant the Panthers weren't scoring again. But to me, it shows a stubborn refusal to open the game up when it needs to be opened up. That one's on the coaches.
If you're looking for positives, there were a few to be had. DiPietro seemed pretty solid in net and recovered well from letting up a goal in the first minute of the game. That's hard to do. Also, for those of us who worried about the young players not getting any playing time, everyone's playing for this team. With the exception of Nate Thompson, every player played between 11 and 21 minutes. Not bad. But when these are the things you try to reassure yourself with, that's a bad sign.
Still, look at it like this. Five games, four points. Most of us would have taken that before the season started. And even more of us would have taken that if they knew DiPietro would miss the first four games of the season. The truth is, this is the first game the Islanders have lost against a team that's on their level. You can take the losses against New Jersey and Buffalo because those are better teams. It's the games against Florida that you have to win. These are the games where you learn what you're all about so that when the Devils and Sabres come back to town, you can show you've improved. That's what this 2008-09 Islanders season is all about. It's not about winning the Stanley Cup or getting 92 points. It's about learning and about consistent improvement. This is a game where I thought we'd see more than we did. It happens.
Now, the Islanders get a nice five-day break between games to figure out what went wrong. They also get a wonderful test inthe Dallas Stars, a team that many have earmarked for great things this year. Let's hope they learn something in these next four days. This could be the first game I do from the Blog Box, and I'm not really sure what that means, but we should have something fun in store if things go as planned.
As for the Islanders. Last night, I told Zach he could bet on the Islanders with confidence. After all, they were playing a horrible team in Florida. Rick DiPietro returned. What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a bit, apparently.
I know the statsheet says that the Islanders lost by only two goals and were outshot by only five. But that was quite the egg they laid last night. It didn't seem like they were ever a threat to an awful Panthers team who let up six goals to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. You could say that the Panthers were "up" for the Islanders, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Despite being down by two goals, the Islanders managed just six shots in the third period. It's also worth noting that Florida only had seven. Now, some might say that's good, because it meant the Panthers weren't scoring again. But to me, it shows a stubborn refusal to open the game up when it needs to be opened up. That one's on the coaches.
If you're looking for positives, there were a few to be had. DiPietro seemed pretty solid in net and recovered well from letting up a goal in the first minute of the game. That's hard to do. Also, for those of us who worried about the young players not getting any playing time, everyone's playing for this team. With the exception of Nate Thompson, every player played between 11 and 21 minutes. Not bad. But when these are the things you try to reassure yourself with, that's a bad sign.
Still, look at it like this. Five games, four points. Most of us would have taken that before the season started. And even more of us would have taken that if they knew DiPietro would miss the first four games of the season. The truth is, this is the first game the Islanders have lost against a team that's on their level. You can take the losses against New Jersey and Buffalo because those are better teams. It's the games against Florida that you have to win. These are the games where you learn what you're all about so that when the Devils and Sabres come back to town, you can show you've improved. That's what this 2008-09 Islanders season is all about. It's not about winning the Stanley Cup or getting 92 points. It's about learning and about consistent improvement. This is a game where I thought we'd see more than we did. It happens.
Now, the Islanders get a nice five-day break between games to figure out what went wrong. They also get a wonderful test inthe Dallas Stars, a team that many have earmarked for great things this year. Let's hope they learn something in these next four days. This could be the first game I do from the Blog Box, and I'm not really sure what that means, but we should have something fun in store if things go as planned.
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