End of the streak (boogedy boogedy)

I had a bad feeling about the Devils game (although, truth be told, there aren't many Islanders games I have great feelings about beforehand), but after discovering that the Devils hold aside 200 $10 seats for every home game, I figured it was worth the half-hour trip to the Prude (I aint calling it the Rock) to watch the Isles go for seven in a row. Alas, it was not meant to be, as my impressive personal two-game seeing-the-Islanders-live streak also came screeching to a halt. The Mediocre One and I will try to start a new streak next Saturday.

Despite the loss, it was actually a pretty good time, as I saw something I never saw before--rabid, interested Devils fans. I thought such creatures only existed on "Seinfeld." I stand corrected.

Most of the fans on line for the $10 tix were calm enough, or perhaps just sleepy from being up early on a Saturday. But then there was the teenage douchebag behind who yelled "Yeah, Trent Hunter..Five Years" and "Fishsticks" at anybody wearing Isles gear (I had on my Sound Tigers hat, which I guessed went right past him), including families. Personally, I think the Hunter deal is fine, and the "Fishsticks" jeer doesn't really impress me. Of all the things you can make fun of the Islanders about, you're gonna choose a jersey they wore more than ten years ago? That's the best you got? The Reverend, the Mediocre One, and I come up with worse insults about the Islanders than that. C'mon, jerkoffs. You can do better.

Anyway, after waiting on line for about an hour (and seeing former Newark Mayor Sharpe James dash in and out of the lobby, stopping on his way out to wish a former constituent a happy new year, which raises the question of when is the cutoff date for wishing someone a happy new year?), I got my ticket, which I soon discovered was in the very last row. But unlike the last row in the Coliseum, the last row at the Prude actually enables you to see the entire ice surface and not have to elect someone from your section to tell you how much time is left in the period. So it aint so bad. Plus the $10 seats are at the end of the ice where the Isles attacked (pause for laughter) twice, so that's a bonus. Theoretically.

Since I was late the previous time I went to an Isles-Devils game at the Prude, I took my time strolling around the arena and taking in the sights. Here's a guy who's not Eddie Layton (RIP), but at least he tries. You gotta give props to a guy who plays an ongoing medley of various pop hits (including a killer "Stacy's Mom") before the game.

And here are the famous Beers of Newark.

Jersey City...represent

Brodeur on Brodeur

Once the game got rolling, the fun really started in Section 216. The teenagers in front of me were particularly vocal, and soon some guys maybe a little older than them took the seats next to me and quickly sussed me out as an Isles fan. I girded myself for a long afternoon, but it turns out I was worried for nothing. The Isles fans in 215? They had reason to worry.

It started calmly enough. There was the "Rangers Suck...Islanders Swallow" cheer, and some derogatory comments directed toward Mr. DiPietro, but nothing out of the ordinary. And, in fact, in the early going, the only strong venom from the guy next to me came in the form of "God, I hate the sound of children's voices" after a "Let's Go Devils" chant from a kid. But then things took a turn for the worse, when the 17-year-old (I know his exact age because at one point he yelled out, "I'm 17 years old and I'll still kick your ass") started throwing "faggot" and "queerbag" around, and it soon turned into a cultural war between New Jersey and Long Island.

I would like to point out that there is no dynamic that fascinates me more than the Jersey vs. Long Island war of insults. Basically, these arguments are one side making fun of the other for reasons that other people make fun of them. It's fascinating. And it was fully on display in Saturday afternoon's war of words in Sections 215 and 216.

The guys around me started mocking Long Islanders and speaking in exaggerated Italian accents, which is odd, because I think there may be a lot of Italians in Jersey, but maybe that was just on "The Sopranos." Then it got better. The guy next to me went into a long diatribe that included the following:

"Yo, let's all go down to the Jersey Shore and see Seaside {sic] Johnny and the Jukes. Oh-ay."

OK, so, let's take a look at that. The guys from New Jersey are mocking the guys from Long Island for (a) having guido-like inflections when they talk, (b) going to New Jersey on vacation, and (c) liking a band from New Jersey.

Awesome. Even better than the Sabres fan who yelled out "White Trash!" after a playoff game at the Coliseum last year.

It heated up every now and then during the game. The 17-year-old in front of me told one of the older guys from Long Island to "have a heart attack" and "sit down, ugly." A guy from Long Island told one of the guys next to me to "get a haircut," which was quickly met with "get a nose job." And then after the Devils went up 4-2, it got a little tense (that was when the 17-year-old made his fight offer) and an usher had to come by to restore order. Cooler heads (if any of the heads involved could really be deemed "cool") heads prevailed, and after a woman two rows in front told the Isles fans to "enjoy your lose [sic]," it was time to head home. Or at least to the Goal Bar to soak in the postgame show atmosphere and get Chico Resch to sign my ticket stub (got Daneyko last time). Even more handsome in person, ladies.

So, anyway, that was Saturday at the Prude. The streak(s) had to end at some point, but that third period (Isles were outshot 20-5) was tough to watch. Definitely didn't look like a team that was fighting for the playoffs. I hope they bounce back Tuesday night. If they can get into March in 8th place, I'd say they have a shot.

Oh, and I would've liked to give you a full report on the Isles' open practice at Iceworks in Syosset, but they cancelled it. Which I wish I would've known before I got to Syosset. Oh well. At least I partially salvaged the trip and got a sweet Trottier t-shirt at the Team Store in Hicksville.

New Islanders Team Motto

I missed most of the game tonight, but got back just in time to see the end. I hate to see them give a point to a team in the conference, but by all accounts, it seemed like they earned the two. And to get two points with the defensive crew the Isles are putting out, well, that's amazing.

So, the fun continues. I keep looking at the schedule for a game the Isles can afford to lose, and I'm not coming up with much. It'll be a rough road, but potentially a fun one.

In the postgame interview with Deb Kaufman, I do believe Radek Martinek (whom I'm just about ready to call my Favorite Current Islander) coined the new motto for the rest of the season: "It's Not Easy," which seems to be a go-to phrase in this stage of Radek's English-speaking history.

The New York Islanders: It's Not Easy. That's way better than We're All Islanders.

I Hope It Becomes a HABit

I was going to write something about the Islanders being sellers or buyers at the deadline, but I was just reminded why I love hockey and love being a hockey fan in the New York area. Don’t worry, reader, I will eventually write something about the Islanders, but I think something needs to be said about the Rangers blowing a 5-0 lead. No typo, that was 5-0. I love the Rangers because they give me the chance to root for every other team in the league. Tonight I was rooting for the Canadians who are a decidedly more fun team to watch than our own New York Islanders. Awesome game. And Jagr choking in the final shootout spot was the cherry on top. Here's hoping the Rangers blow some more leads.

The only clip I could find concerning the game was Joe Micheletti complaining about the Rangers (well before the meltdown) when he thought they were at commercial.

Updated -- Huzzah

Comrie. DeePee. And Fred Meyer. And I think I heard Joe Vasicek's name. Fucking fortuitous.

Four in a row. Even Garth can't handle four ... .

Watching Hockey -- With the Third Eye

Apologies for my absence. I spent most of last week in the throes of seasonal malaise, but came out of the dark this weekend to score five goals down the stretch of an exciting ball hockey game at my home rink, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and guided the NHL 08 Islanders to an eerily similar-to-life 4-1 victory over the eerily, equally despondent Atlanta Thrashers (video game shot totals: 42-16; real-life, 49-10).

The home of TC3 Panthers Ball Hockey

I didn't see the big Islanders' victory, but felt a kinship with the club after pasting the video Thrashers, and then downing a few Labatts at a Binghamton Senators game with Islanders fan and legendary Binghamton journalist/guitar picker Diamond Dave Edick. We took the Senators game as occasion to catch up on a year's worth of bullshit talk, and wound up taking in a decent game. As is usual with our catch-up sessions, we did an off-the-cuff rundown of most of the Isles' roster, and, as usual, we agreed on nearly every player's contributions and/or lack thereof.

A reasonably brief summary:

1. Chris Simon: Yeah yeah, we don't condone ... on and on ... but it's hard to argue that players on opposing squads aren't just a little frightened of this guy. Who did you fear more in your schoolyard days: The legitimate playground enforcer you knew you'd never fight, and who would probably laugh at your ass as it ran away from him were he ever to threaten you, or the greezy, poorly raised, wiry, pimpled metalhead (apologies to Dave, a great fan and purveyor of the Metal Ethic) who would kidney punch you during a game of Wallball and walk past your Math class flipping a switchblade in the window?

2. MAB and Berard: If only we were playing football, these two special-teams designees might be near-folk legends on the Isle. But alas, their weaknesses (especially for the wayward MAB) are too much to ignore for a team that needs scoring, but gets so little, the balance at this point must tilt toward the less-than-constantly mistake prone. Even during his Look at MAB! Look at MAB! trade showcase period last week, the little slapshot that could (miss 15 fucking defensive shifts in a row) was ghost. Oh well. Put them on the "chances we took that didn't pan out" list.

3. Richard Park: You need a guy like this to make the playoffs. You also need a few other things the Isles don't have (goals). But Park scores at the right times, does smart things with the puck, and makes Mr. Bad Example feel relaxed. That's worth something.

4. Ruslan Fedotenko/Josef Vasicek: Paging Oleg Kvasha. I put these guys together because I thought they'd be the same type of player. They are. But, I thought they might be the same type of good. They aren't. Honestly, I don't know what Joe Vasicek looks like, which means I have something in common with every goalie in the NHL. Fedotenko seems to "be around" once a month or so. I was a little startled to hear from him last week after he scored a goal (Deb was wearing a nice red, off-the-shoulder "mom's into the wine" sweater). He said, to some effect, that Coach Nolan told him to go to the net more to score goals. I've been yelling that at video game sprites since the early 90s. It works.

5. Bill Guerin: Was hoping for a Brendan Shanahan-sort of late-career makeover. I think Guerin is trying his godshonest best to do that, but, much like Shanahan, he needs other people around him doing the heavy lifting, so to speak. And, well, you know. I like Sean Bergenheim and Mike Comrie, but it ain't happenin'.

6. Mike Comrie: You can't complain. He's having one of his best seasons, and doesn't seem to be a prick, which is what the Canadians wanted you to think about him. He toasted Wade Redden a few times in Ottawa; he fights once in awhile, even though he looks like a freshman taking on the captain of the football team; and he at least tries to make things happen. If he stays cheap, I don't see why you can't keep him.

7. Miro Satan: Either he's hurt, out of gas completely, or, well, he seems like too nice a guy to write what I was going to write. Let's just say he's out of gas. He doesn't make me nearly as crazy as I thought he would when he was signed, but he's also never really become the finisher he was in Buffalo. I am not from Western Canada or Lou Lamoriello's family, so I can stomach a few defensive lapses, but the lack of scoring is disappointing. What else can you say? I don't think there's a magic line combo that's going to turn it around for Satan.

8. Sean Bergenheim: Yes yes. On track to be a reliable, cranky second-line crasher. He's got some oh!ffensive skill, too.

9. Trent Hunter: This makes me want to cry. Score a fucking goal. He looks enough like Dave Scatchard, and used to play enough like him, I thought we'd be getting Scatch without the one-punch knockouts and bum shoulder. Instead, we got 8 goals in 59 games (credit for the 31 points, sure, but he used to score ...). I don't have a solution here, either, that doesn't involve me screaming "go to the front of the fucking net" at my television. And I've got kids, so maybe you should try. All together now ... .

10. Brendan Witt: Considering the alternative used to be Dumbass Eric Cairns, and is now Andy "$3 million a year" Sutton, Witt comes out a winner. He's The Presence, and plays reasonably sound defence, although Dave and I agreed "he looks like he's always fighting the stupid."

11. Sillinger and DeePee: Nothing to say. They're both playing out of their minds (or will be when Silly is back), and the Isles would be in Grand Rapids without them. Huzzah.

12. The Rest of Them: We missed a few. Especially on defense. But, the Islanders are on my Internets radio right now, playing the rare afternoon game.

More later ... .

Saturday Hockey CliffsNotes

The Islanders always seem to hit some crazy bump somewhere in the season where they go six or seven games without a win. I just wish this one didn’t come so late in the season. It’s interesting to think, though, that if they’d won just two of those games, they’d be tied for 8^th. If they’d gone .500 during that stretch they’d be in 6^th at this point lined up to play the winner of the South East division in the playoffs. But that’s not what happened did it.

So now they’re in a dog fight for the playoffs. With so many teams making a playoff run, it can get pretty complicated to know who you should root for. Look no further:

1:00 pm

Buffalo at New York Rangers I don’t really have to go over this one, do I?

7:00 pm

Florida at Carolina This is one of a couple that goes under the “please don’t go into overtime” category. There’s a four-way race for top of the South East division which I think will go to Washington considering that Brind’amour is out for the season. Hopefully that means that Carolina will drop like a stone in the standings. Maybe they can help take out the Panthers on the way. Hurricanes

Philadelphia at Montreal This one’s easy. Montreal is too high in the standings. Montreal

Atlanta at New York Islanders Uhhhhh…

New Jersey at Ottawa Doesn’t matter. If you think that either of these teams are in reach, then you forgot to take your medication.

Boston at Toronto Put on your Whalers jersey. Toronto

7:30 pm

Washington at Tampa Bay A couple of losses could put a fork in Tampa’s season. Good. One less team to worry about. If that’s the case, keep your eye on Marty St. Louis. He’s got drug problems written all over him. If he ever gets traded to the Rangers, he might as well check straight into Rehab. Washington

What about the rest of the season? As of today, these are the teams your root against in order of priority:

1. New York Rangers: No surprise here.
2. Boston Bruins: Four more points and a game in hand.
3. Atlanta Thrashers: My guess is that of all the South East teams, they’re the most likely to sneak into eighth place.
4. Florida Panthers: It sounds like Florida was starting to turn it on a bit. Zednik was part of that but you may have heard that he’s injured.
5. Carolina Hurricanes: Hope for a meltdown without Brind’amour. Take off that Whalers jersey if you’re watching a Hurricanes game. “What if Carolina plays Boston” you ask? Your Whalers jersey will spontaneously combust.
6. Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning: They’re on either end of the eighth place bubble. Hopefully the Sabres earn an easy two points tomorrow putting themselves comfortably out of the fray. If not, they’re reachable.
7. Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs: Pretty much the same as number 6. Maybe Philly stumbles and falls back to the pack. As for Toronto, it’s way too soon to say ‘finished’ but I'm hoping they don't wake up.

And everything will change by Sunday night. Just settle in and count the times announcers abuse the phrases “must win” and “do or die." Feckin' idjits.

Three Thoughts on Two in a Row

(1) The Islanders may not be league leaders in many (any?) categories, but they may be the all-time greatest team in making a two-goal lead seem ridiculously unsafe. When Howie Rose declared that Meyer's empty-netter sealed the win, I wanted to reach through the TV, grab his lower jaw, and finally give him the chin he so desperately needs. What an ass. Does he actually watch the games? Islander wins are never sealed. Ever.

(2) Richard Park certainly has his flaws, but when it comes to killing off a 5-on-3, there's no other player I'd want out there. Sure, the Leafs' ineptitude helped keep them off the board there (and ultimately gave the Isles the win), but something about Park's presence calmed me down during that frustrating part of the game.

(3) I can't be the only person who noticed that the Ghost of Deb Kaufman Future was sitting right behind the Leafs bench. A savvier person would provide a screen shot here, but that aint me. So if you didn't see it, you'll just have to trust me. Uncanny.