Eyes On Isles
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Top Shelf: Islanders Daily: 5/18/13

By Andy Graziano

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January 19, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders left wing

Eric Boulton

(36) takes to the ice during introductions before an NHL game against the New Jersey Devils at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Middletown, N. J – Previous seasons have set the precedent have they not?  In the case of the New York Islanders, this season that is not true anymore. A seemingly endless run of regular season ending games followed by a period of looking to a top five draft pick are now what seems a distant memory. In 2013, the Isles roared back to relevance and the playoffs and even in defeat, gave fans a lot of excitement and more of a positive outlook for what lies ahead.

In his first off-season move of the season, general manager Garth Snow re-signed pugilist Eric Boulton to a one year contract extension. The twitter universe exploded with mostly negative comments towards the move. I take a slightly different approach however. Boulton proved himself to be a loyal solider in the Islanders army, never complaining with limited game appearances and ice time. He knew his role, didn’t try to do too much and provided a spark when needed (see Toronto game late in regular season). Not everyone will agree with me, as you will see later with a quick retort from our new staff writer, Eric Bordin.

It’s a minimal risk move for Snow, as he keeps a guy with a good locker room presence at a low price. While Boulton might be destined for Bridgeport to start the 2013-14 NHL season, what with all the competition that will exist in training camp, he might just prove to be an invaluable call-up to the big club when games against some of the rougher teams in the league occur. With the season moving back to its customary 82 game slate next year, it’s a move that had you scratch your head for a second, then realize it actually was shrewd and made business sense.

EyesonIsles has no off-season and we are making preparations for our end of season recap, along with player report cards leading into the 2013 NHL entry draft which will be held in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center. Eyes staff does plan on attending and live blogging from the event. We are in the midst of hiring new staff writers to keep the content flowing to the site so you never miss a beat through the summer. Of course, after the draft, we will be looking at the free agent market, which opens in July, as the moves that the Islanders should, shouldn’t, can’t and just won’t make. We thank the loyal reader of this site and all we ask is that you share us as much as you can to get the word out as we continue our ascent to the best Islanders site on the internet.

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Around The Twitter-Sphere

  • I agree Diana, it just isn’t the same. There really is no fairy tale team remaining, unless you count the Senators in that pool. They gave us tons of excitement and some great inspired play on this ride and we are all anxiously awaiting September and not June for the first time in a long while.
  • The Islanders return to relevance was noted all over the hockey map, from mainstream all the way down to the casual blogger from other team sites. Feels good to be an Islanders fan who had the fortitude to wait out the rebuild.
  • An honest quote from a tough defenseman noting that they almost did not make it out of the first round.
  • Had to get this on the site as I am sure there are tons of Islanders fans much better than me at video editing. Imagine Dragons are one of the best new bands to hit the scene (love their music personally) and it would make a nice recap to insert on our hub as well. ?


Around The NHL

  • The lone game in the NHL playoffs last night featured those same pesky Pittsburgh Penguins, who seemed to have learned their lesson from their first round scare at the hands of the Islanders. Behind Sidney Crosby‘s hat trick, they defeated the Senators 4-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their best of seven series. For Ottawa to come back in this one, they are going to need to play more like the Isles did and take the game to the Pens physically. But allowing only 6 shots in the 3rd period when leading by a goal tells me that Pittsburgh might have figured things out just in time to make a serious cup run. Of course, they have yet to face an opposing goaltender that has really made them work either, but I digress. HeeHee

Thanks for sharing your Saturday morning with us and have a great day! Be good to each other out there!

-AG

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