This year, all 3 are gone. Their replacements are first-time NHL coach Scott "Flash" Gordon (anyone see that video of him from Boston College in 1985?), Rangers cast-off Mitch Fritz (I mean, I guess he's the enforcer of the team, right?), someone who actually belongs in the NHL as a defenseman, and Joey MacDonald.
You can't really hate any of those guys. And to be honest, I never hated Nolan, but he did annoy me a lot, and I do like Gordon a lot better.
MacDonald is the main reason I don't hate them this year. He comes out to play every game, except that Boston game where he just collapsed. He also never complained about playing time in Boston or Detroit and he never complained about being stuck in the AHL last year because of the waiver wire.
Kudos to the NHL for giving him 3rd star of November. Although he might not have deserved it with his stats alone - the NHL curiously only lists his games played, shots faced, and minutes played and not his save percentage or goals against average - he definitely has the heart and he's a hell of a team player.
However, while he might be the reason I don't hate the Islanders this year, that all might go down the drain if I see Andy Sutton take a run at Brandon Dubinsky or if Brandon Witt cheap shots Henrik Lundqvist or if DiPietro returns or if some stupid fan passes out photocopies of the hooker who someone said was bought by Sean Avery. If Avery can sleep with Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) or Catherine Keener, he doesn't have to pay.
It's kind of hard to hate the Islanders right now, just like it was hard to hate the 2005-06 Rangers. They played hard, didn't have too many big-name stars or a huge payroll, had a likeable coach... in essence, they were the opposite of everything the 90s and early 00s Rangers had become. This Islanders team is light years behind that Rangers team in terms of talent, but there are no real villains and the team plays hard and plays the right way. If anything, their own fans hate them more than anybody because of the blown third-period leads.
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