A Few Things

1) As per TSN.ca, Josh Bailey is going to start the season on the Islanders' roster. The Islanders have to make a decision on Bailey's future before he plays his tenth game; either he'll stay on the big club all year or he'll return to Windsor and captain the Spitfires, his OHL team. I see him returning to juniors, but it doesn't hurt to get him some exposure early on. One writer - I can't remember who - suggested keeping Bailey on the Island to start the season would be tantamount to a publicity stunt; after all, seven of the eight players picked ahead of Bailey are beginning the season in the NHL. I'm not sure that writer isn't onto something. But for now, we have to take this for what it is and see how Bailey develops.

2) It hasn't been heavily advertised, but NHL Center Ice is doing a free preview until the 17th. So while all your buddies watch baseball tomorrow, remember that you can watch every NHL game for free as long as your cable provider offers Center Ice. I'm still on the fence about ordering this year, but I probably will.

3) For the first time in this blog's history, we're actually advertising a live blog! We're doing the Isles-Devils game on Friday night (or, at least I am). Should be a rollicking good time, so feel free to drop on by if you'd like.

Sirius/XM

Zach sent me an interesting text today. He said that I should turn on Sirius channel 208 and check out NHL Home Ice. It's the NHL channel that people who have XM already know well, and it's the channel I hear every single time I'm in Zach's car. And, much to my surprise, it's now available on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Sort of.

If you have Sirius, you can get NHL Home Ice, along with the MLB package, Opie and Anthony, and the biggest draw of them all, Oprah Winfrey. And if you want these, all you have to do is call Sirius and upgrade your package to the top tier, which is $16.95 a month. Then, you'll get the NHL on the road.

Sort of.

When I tried to do this today, I was told my radio isn't compatible with the XM channels. I've had my radio for four years, which I guess is a good reason. Then again, the ads did say nobody would have to buy new equipment as a result of the merger. Obviously, that's not the case. I called them to see if there was anything I could do, and they pretty much told me to buy a new radio. In other words, no freebies for this scribe. That sucks.

Having said that, NHL Home Ice is a quality station, well worth the extra $4 a month if you're a Sirius subscriber. Between Home Ice, the NHL Network, and NHL Center Ice, it's a great time to be a hockey fan. Those of us who have complained about the coverage of the league really can't say that anymore; today, we have all the tools we need. Who needs ESPN?

Round 2... So Far

It's a bit early to make judgments about the second round. But why not make them anyway?

- Detroit-Colorado: This series is pretty much done already. Jose Theodore's magic is gone, and I don't mean Propecia. Peter Forsberg is injured yet again, and the only thing that could save the Avs is a big win at home in Game 3. However, I'm not too optimistic. I can't see Colorado winning more than one game the rest of the way. They sure as hell aren't going to be winning any games at Joe Louis Arena anytime soon.

- Montreal-Philadelphia: It's a shame this series isn't getting more publicity. It's going to be a good one. Montreal's offense vs. Philadelphia's physical play. You can tell that even though this series is going to be a war, the goaltending is what's going to decide it. Montreal might have won tonight if not for the stellar play of Martin Biron. Similarly, Carey Price will most likely be stealing one for the Habs at some point in this series. It's very possible that the winner of this series will have the Token Hot Goalie required to make a Cup run.

- Pittsburgh-Rangers: The aforementioned Habs-Flyers tilt might actually be the more competitive series, but this is the one that NBC and Versus are creaming their pants over. We already explained the appeal of this series, and it's great that we get to see it. The blood is already starting to boil, and it might not be long before the chippiness reaches the levels we saw in the Rangers-Devils series. This is one of those series where it's not going to really matter who wins to the neutral observer - it's just great to see these two teams beat the hell out of each other, making the young guys on both teams better and watching this become a big-time rivalry. You just hope the refs don't become bigger stars than the players, as was the case in Game 1.

- San Jose-Dallas: I can't get into Dallas for some reason. But I love watching the Sharks play. And if the Sharks want to reach their potential this year, they will have to dispose of a tough Stars team. Most people expected San Jose to take Game 1 at home, but they lost it in overtime. They should bounce back; however, this series is far from a cakewalk. Hell, everyone thought Calgary would be easy pickings for the Sharks, and look at how that turned out. I still see the Sharks winning this series, but it's going to test their mettle big-time. After all, it's hard to imagine San Jose doing well against Detroit coming off two slugfest series. As for Dallas, now that they've captured home ice, you never know... but I don't see the Sharks going down too easily.

Now that Versus is showing nearly every game, my Center Ice package is pretty much useless. It's been a good run. It's also really hard to watch hockey in bed while considering the needs of a sleeping (or crying, as the case may be) baby. Anyway, we'll see about re-upping on Center Ice next year - I really enjoyed seeing the West Coast games I never would have seen otherwise. One thing's for sure, though - I absolutely cannot live without the NHL Network.

NHL Playoffs, Day 1: Unbiased Thoughts

Finally, the second season has begun. And even the hockey haters at ESPN have taken notice... sort of. Next to the humongous ad for The Masters (which just happens to be on ESPN for the first time this year), a tiny box appears with links to tonight's scores. Better than nothing, I guess.

Anyway, these are unbiased thoughts. Why? Because apart from my desire for the Devils to fall flat on their faces as soon as possible, I'm watching these playoffs as a neutral observer. Honestly, it's more fun this way... though I suspect an Islanders playoff run might be more enjoyable. I also suspect I won't be finding out anytime soon.

Let's take a trip through the games. At every arena, an NHL logo appears behind each goal and the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo is just inside of both blue lines, where we saw "Thank You Fans!" just two years ago. I guess this is clarification for those fans who thought they were watching the Super Bowl. Away we go...

- Rangers 4, Devils 1. I got to see all of this game. While it wasn't pure, beautiful playoff hockey, it was entertaining to watch. And I was very impressed with this Rangers team.

Once they settled in, the Rangers played a very smart game. They did everything they needed to do. They were physical, but not overly tough like the Devils tried to be. They were aggressive on special teams - both on the powerplay and shorthanded. Most of all, though, it seemed apparent that the Rangers just wanted it more.

On the Devils' first power play, the Rangers had four shorthanded shots, while the Devils didn't get a single shot on goal with the man advantage. That was a sign of things to come. Sean Avery and Scott Gomez were literally all over the ice. Martin Straka, of all people, lost his stick on a penalty kill and was flopping all over the ice to block the puck. That the Devils scored their only goal seconds later doesn't take away the effort, which was there all night.

Devils fans are going to say the Rangers got lucky tonight, and they have a pretty good argument. The Devils hit the crossbar three times. The Rangers' second goal was scored because Martin Brodeur was too busy counting sheep to cover up the puck when Ryan Callahan came charging in. The third goal bounced off Sergei Brylin's skate and to Sean Avery, who just happened to be crashing the net at the right time. It also didn't hurt that Gomez blew right by four Devils, all of whom just waved at Gomez instead of trying to stop him. In the end, you make your own luck, and the Rangers got themselves into a position to take advantage of the lucky breaks they received. The Devils can't say the same.

If I were a Devils fan - and I'm not, thank goodness - I'd be embarrassed. The breakdown of The Rock tonight was at least 50-50, and if the fans favored one side over the other, the Rangers had more supporters. The Devils didn't show up in their first home playoff game in their new arena. There's no excuse for that. They will probably put forth a better show on Friday, but is it going to be enough to trump a motivated and inspired Rangers team? That's a tough one.

- Penguins 4, Senators 0. Thanks to a solid effort by the Mets, I didn't have to check in on their game, which meant I could focus my attention on this game. Versus HD had been screwy during the first two periods, so I couldn't check in very often. Of course, by the time I got to this game, it was already over.

However, I did get to see Ottawa's failed attempts at flexing its "muscle". First, one of the Senators (maybe Wade Redden) dumped Crosby in the corner. The Senator went down... Crosby emerged with the puck. After the whistle, Crosby and this unidentified Senator were throwing haymakers with their gloves on. Seconds later, Ryan Whitney absolutely pummelled Redden (yes, it was definitely him) in a mismatch. Three minutes later, Gary Roberts dumped Chris Neil into the boards. Now, we all know Roberts is no stranger to drilling opposing players head-first into the boards (remember Kenny Jonsson?), but Neil is an abhorrent player. Roberts got a fighting major and a game misconduct by the time the ensuing scrap ended, but he was yapping all the way off the ice. Ottawa tried its best to intimidate Pittsburgh physically... and it didn't work. Let the record state - Pittsburgh owns Ottawa in every way.

Oh, and Marc-Andre Fleury got the shutout.

- Avalanche 2, Wild 0 (2nd intermission). This game wasn't even advertised on the channel information for Center Ice - not exactly a ringing endorsement. This is a unique series - and by "unique", I mean that I'm curious to see how it plays out, but I don't actually want to watch any of it. Admittedly, I've seen very little of this game, but I'm not too curious to watch any more of it. Maybe it's because it's not available in HD and the first two games were. I think I'm just inclined to avoid the Wild because Jacques Lemaire coaches them. Lemaire is wearing a pretty nice suit tonight, though - he looks like the Russian politician guy in Rocky IV.

- Flames 2, Sharks 1 (1st intermission). Now this is a game I can sink my teeth into. The Sharks have been one of my favorite teams to watch all year, and the Flames are a good match-up for them. Unfortunately, we don't get the excellent Sharks broadcast on CSN, but instead we're stuck with the CBC feed. Oh well.

It didn't take long for this game to get going. Calgary scored first on a deflection, then scored a second shortly after. Within ten minutes of the opening faceoff, the Sharks had pulled within one. The Sharks seem to have controlled play for the most part, but Calgary isn't out of any game with Mikka Kiprusoff in goal. They're not going to be intimidated by the Sharks - that's one thing Mike Keenan will always give you.

Of all the games we've seen tonight, this is the one game that has a chance of coming down to the wire. This looks like a fun one. You sort of wish Calgary had more offensive firepower so we could see a real barnburner, but this game is going to be all sorts of intense as it progresses.

Maybe this hasn't been the greatest night of playoff hockey we've ever seen. But I sure am glad the playoffs are here. Who knows what the rest of tonight has in store for us?

The Bigger Picture

As an Islander fan, you sort of get tired of your team having nothing to play for. You don't want to watch the games. You don't want to read the papers. You just sort of want to shut it down and get ready for baseball season.

This year, though, is a little different. For me, anyway.

I have to say that, despite the awful performance of the Islanders in the second half, I have probably enjoyed this regular season more than any regular season in my life. Sure, part of that has to do with going to 15 Islander games and only paying for six of them, but there's more to it than that. Thanks to the NHL Network and Center Ice, I finally felt like our beloved sport of hockey was a real sport. It no longer bothered me that ESPN stopped caring about hockey because I finally found out that I'm not the only obsessed hockey fan out there. I got to devour hour after hour of games, both old and new. My DVR is currently filled with Vintage Games, Classic Series, and Top 10 Countdowns. I can watch the Islanders at 7 PM and put on the Sharks or Coyotes as I'm winding down. For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I actually know what's going on in the league, not just the New York area.

And that's a good thing. Because this season has been extremely memorable... and I'm not quite ready for it to end. I don't want to see the Islanders' website to turn into constant Central Scouting updates just yet. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of their final six games, and then I'm going to watch as much of the playoffs as I possibly can. Why should I stop caring about hockey just because my team's out of it? I'm a fan of the NHL first; the Islanders come second.

In the end, it doesn't matter what the Islanders do. There's nothing like playoff hockey, and absolutely nothing compares to seeing a team's captain hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in front of his home fans. The Islanders could finish in last place for the rest of eternity, and I wouldn't stop watching.

Baseball can wait. The real season starts in two weeks.