As Lou Brown would say in the movie Major League 2:
You win three in a row – we got ourselves a winning streak
Tonight is the chance for the boys to get on the streak.  Right now – the Isles are tied with the Flyers for fourth in the Division.  Yes, Philly has two games in hand, but hey no one ever thought the Isles would get on track.
Tonight – Buffalo comes in.  Losers of only ONE game in regulation this season.  No one has done better than the Sabres.  No big stat numbers.  Tim Connolly, remember him?  He leads the [...]

Ovechkin had two more goals night – lifting him to 13 for the season already.  Seeing some clips of the game – I noticed that Atlanta just did not keep Ovie to the outside.  They just let him move around at free will.  Yes – he can beat you from the outside too – but the odds are more in your favor.
Well – the Isles have to remember what they did last Saturday with them, and re-apply that formula; it’s like having to put that second coat of sun-tan lotion on later in the day.  You think you have it [...]

Finally – playing a solid FULL game pays off for the Isles.
I would not say they dominated… but they kept with the Rangers just about all game.  They outhit them, and especially won at the faceoff circle. I believe they had over 65% again, as they did the other night.
Park was at about a 80% rate.  That is BIG when you are trying to get your game rolling.
What a great shot by JT.  Just his nose around that net is so above the average 19 year old.  I know this was his first goal in 5 – but he has [...]

As reported by Katie Strang in Newsday, Doug Weight had the swine flu last week.  He was quarantined from the rest of the team, and is fully healthy, not contagious and stepped into the second line for tonight’s game.
Gaborik is also out – along with Blake Comeau of the Isles.  Not sure whether the latter is a health issue or a healthy scratch.
5 hours before game time – and the nerves are getting up.  Should be a blast!

And someone is NOT talking about the Yankees – Phillies World Series Game…
Game 1 of the ISLANDER – RANGER rivalry is tonight.  This is one time – that I really can believe that we may not see a sold out Coliseum tonight.  There is so much interest on the Battle in the Bronx – that this game, which would be a big thing – just may not be…
The Rangers got off to a tremendous start – with Marian Gaborik putting the fire to this team, according to Henrik Lundqvist, just like Jagr did for them a few years back.  Gaborik [...]

Thank you Maxwell Smart!
Can not blame the effort.  It was there (although – #91 is looking more and more invisible by the day… – not without effort – just off the scoresheet).  The guys are playing with purpose.  There were many instances where the guys were just one click away from a rout, but they answered the call when the Habs stepped up their play.
I was impressed with the work – they deserved a point tonight, and the play needs to continue that way when the Rangers invade the NVMC tomorrow night.  The players believe that too.
“It was such a [...]

Four days after facing the Habs on Thursday night – the Isles are back in Quebec to face Les Habitants again.  So for a bit – I am going to write a little in French.
De que les Insulaires ont-ils besoin faire, pour gagner ce jeu ce soir ? C’est tout à fait simple ; prendre le jeu de th ils ont joué le jeudi soir, et faire le contraire.
Basically – it translates to do the OPPOSITE of what they did on Thursday, and they have a chanc to get a win tonight.  They need to come out with more of [...]

I think the Isles played a good game.  I think there were some moments where the team seemed to lose their intensity.  But the team did get back to what they needed to do – but just could not make the chances happen.
Unlike other games where the 3rd period was a total collapse and failure.  To these guys, it was not a bad effort.  Two of Washington’s goals, including th gme winner, were deflections and re-directions of pucks – not necessairily a failure of the team to clear the front of the net.
Tambellini got his first – and played a [...]