Happy New Year

Well, the Islanders were able to capitalize on what was a fine effort Monday night, parlaying the strides they made against the Rangers into an impressive 4-2 win against Florida. Here's what stood out to me.

- Mike Comrie is on fire. Over the past three games, he has four goals, two of which were scored in the final minute of regulation in close battles. He had a Gordie Howe hat trick in a losing effort on Monday night. And today, he contributed two goals and was on the ice for a third. It's taken Comrie a bit of time to get back into game shape, but he's been the best player by far over the past three games. Maybe all this talk of being "pain-free" actually has some merit.

- Disappointing crowd of 12,211 on an afternoon day when every kid on Long Island is off from school. You can blame the weather for some of that, but still. You'd like to see a better turnout for an afternoon matinee, especially since nobody does anything on New Year's until later on at night. Anyone who attended the game would have to be impressed with what they saw today.

- I missed the first 15 or so minutes of the first period, so I was surprised to turn on the TV and find Jiggs McDonald doing the game. After a while, I remembered that Howie Rose traditionally takes off when the Isles go out to the West Coast. And who can blame him? With no time off at all between baseball and hockey season, Howie's got to take whatever time he can. Anyway, it was great to hear Jiggs again.

And that's when it hit me. About a month ago, Jiggs McDonald and his wife were being detained in Thailand with a group of tourists. Nobody was sure what would happen, nobody knew when (or if) Jiggs would make it home. Now, not only is he home, but he's calling Islanders games and sounding like he's with the team as often as Howie or Jaffe. What a tremendous broadcaster and man. Those of us who grew up hearing Jiggs call Islanders games are lucky to have heard him for so many years.

- It was nice to see the Islanders put forth a great third period for once. Even though they were only playing Florida (a team Jaffe suggested wasn't giving their best effort), we got to see what might happen if the Islanders could string together 6o successive minutes of quality play. The Islanders got multiple odd-man rushes as the third period progressed; that none of them resulted in goals is no matter. This is the kind of third period the Islanders can build on; the problem is, they're traveling out to the West Coast and might be fatigued before long.

And thus, the Islanders end 2009 having played four good games in a row. Five out of eight points isn't a lot, but it's sure better than the first 20 or so days of December. It's a nice little run that hopefully can be improved upon as January unfolds.

We're obviously going to be watching the Winter Classic tomorrow, as should all of you. January 1 is traditionally a college football day, but hockey is starting to make New Year's Day all its own. Even ESPN.com has the Winter Classic as its headline story right now. Even people who usually hate hockey are sort of intrigued by this thing, so let's hope the Blackhawks and Red Wings give us a good show. I have no doubt that they will. For a lot of people, this is the first time they're seeing this Blackhawks team; I'll be pulling for them. Hockey's comeback in Chicago is one of the biggest stories of 2008, and I hope they can build on that with a big win to kick off 2009.