Rick Dipietro, End Of An Era

   

The New York Islanders will place Rick Dipietro on waivers tomorrow with the intentions of buying out the remaining 8 years $4.5 million annual contract. The Islanders would pay Dipietro $1.5 million a year for the next 16 years, that's right, 16 damn years that guy will collect $1.5 million a year for doing nothing. His career as an Islander will be remembered for numerous injuries and many games missed, not to mention the punch in the face from Brent Johnson. Some may feel bad for the guy but not me, he sucks and he will be taken care of financially for the rest of his life and won't ever have to work again. I do wonder if he will ever work again, I can definitely see a team trying him out and maybe give him a shot on the roster. He has played in 319 games since being drafted first overall in the 2000 draft. He has a record of 130-136-36 with a GAA of 2.87 and .902 save percentage. I knew  this day was coming soon and this is a step in the right direction for the Islanders, they gave Dipietro so many chances to avoid this. Now the question is who will be the starter next season. That is a question that I think will soon be answered, until then, peace out Ricky and don't forget to stretch.

Capt Mark Streit Traded

The Stanley Cup starts tonight but the NY Islanders came out and traded the rights of Captain Mark Streit to the Philadelphia Flyers for Shane Harper and a 4th round pick. Streit didn't get the money and years he wanted with an extension so that pretty much would of lead him to try free agency. The Islanders were smart about it  tho by getting something for him when it appeared he would be leaving anyway. This pretty much means that John Tavares will be the next captain.

Shane Harper is a 24 year old right winger who played with the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL last year and posted 10 points in 48 games. He has shown better stats in the ECHL scoring 36 goals in 63 games during the course of 2 seasons so we will see.

And for the Stanley Cup I got the Blackhawks in 7 games, it would be nice to see an original 6 series go the full 7 games.

The End Of The Year, Start Of An Era

It was a rainy day on Long Island last Saturday. Fans poured into the old Coliseum hoping for a big victory to force a game 7. There was a few high moments during the game with the Isles taking a few leads only to lose in overtime on a Brooks Orpik goal. Even tho the home team lost you wouldn't be able to tell that by the cheers for the Islanders during the traditional post game handshake. I was very upset about the defeat but I could see a much bigger picture, the Islanders were back, for the first time in a very long time they were competitive. People at the work place that pay no attention to hockey at all were asking about the Islanders, kids in schools were walking the halls with Islander jerseys something you don't see on Long Island. Something was happening that was getting people excited and that was the rebirth of a franchise that has had many, many, and many dark times the past 20 years.

There is a great core of players that the fans can look forward to see grow together. There are few holes to fill during the off-season. One concern is the goalie position as we saw Nabakov struggle at times in the postseason. With Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson I do not see them trading for a goalie and I cringe when I hear Roberto Luongo brought up, there is no way Garth Snow would move some prospects to take a chance on a goalie who has series struggles in the playoffs. I would like to see Nabakov resign and I think he will. He took the team far this season by giving them a chance to win every night, there is nothing else you can ask from your goalie. I do expect Rick Dipietro's Islander career over as he will be amnestied, I don't think anyone has missed him the past two months.

I like the situation when it comes to the Islander's defense. Andy Macdonald proved that he can play big minutes, Lubomir Visnovsky was a plus 12 during the 35 games he played during the season and restriced free-agent Travis Hamonic brings a strong physical presence and no doubt in my mind he will be back next year. Thomas Hickey and Brian Strait would make a good number 5 and 6 dman, with Matt Carkner also under contract for next year. I really don't want Mark Streit back next year, he wants too much money and will be 36. I would say if the price is right but I don't see that happening and might be better off trading for a dman or signing a younger guy for cheaper like Ian White or Ryan Whitney. You also have to remember the Islanders have younger prospects that maybe ready next year such as Griffin Reinhart, Calvin de Haan and even Matt Donovan.

The offense on the other hand really doesn't need much but teams are always looking to get better. The Islanders offense went toe to toe with a stack Pittsburgh Penguins team and need to continue the same thing next season. Hart Trophy finalist John Tavares has done a great job leading the team and he will be the next Captain of this team. Matt Moulson proved his career is no fluke as he continued to not only score goals again but get 29 assist in 47 games. Michael Grabner still has great speed and had a great rebound season after struggling the year before. We all saw Kyle Okposo play to his potential in the playoffs, if he plays like that during an 82 game season he can be dangerous and score over 30 goals easy. Matt Martin will continue to check everyone on the opposite team even if it means going onto the opponents bench and I also can't forget guys like Colin Mcdonald, David Ullstrom and Casey Cizikas who will still be around next year. The only guys unsigned are Josh Bailey who should return, Brad Boyes who may come back if the price is right but he can be replaced considering whoever replaces him will get to play with Tavares. Aucoin, Boulton and Joensuu are all up in the air and Marty Reasoner won't be back even if he wants to play for free, the Islander's couldn't trade him for a bag of pucks.

It is going to be an interesting offseason considering the run the team made this year and the time coming for the move to the Barclay Center I expect some names to consider playing for the Islanders. The team is a few pieces away from being a serious contender even though I think they had a legitimate chance of knocking off the Penguins and advancing to the next round. Garth Snow might even want to test the trade market and deal for a big name like a Thomas Vanek or even a top 1 or 2 dman. It would be really nice to see the team actually sign guys that will play and not overpay some bum who would only score 1 goal in 2 seasons (Marty Reasoner).

NY Islanders vs Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Matchup Preview

So the playoffs have started and today the NY Islanders are in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins. The Penguins are heavy favorites to win the whole thing so no analyst will pick the Pens to lose the first round. The Penguins have the highest odds at 7/2 to win it all and the Islanders are the lowest with odds of 40/1. Just to give everyone an idea on what that means, just last years Stanley Cup playoffs the Penguins were again the favorite to win it all only to lose in the first round to the Flyers and the 8th seed LA Kings were the ones to win it all, so there is a reason they play the actual games.

Islander fans like myself are not used to being in the playoffs with haven't played a playoff game in 5 years but with the play from John Tavares and the rest of the team in the month of April I can see most fans are ready and some even confident. With the presence of Sidney Crosby in Game 1 remaining a game time decision, I do however expect Crosby to be in the lineup sometime this series if not for Game 1.

The Islanders would need certain things to happen in order to win. First, this series will be a physical one and with the Penguins stacked roster the Islanders will have to be the more physical team in order to have a chance in winning the series. Second, they would need Nabakov to come up big in goal. Nabby has playoff experience which most of the team lacks with a total of 80 games played with a 40-39 record, 2.29 goals against and a save percentage of .914. And finally they would need to have a better special teams unit. The Islanders were tied for the 10th best power play percentage during the season at 19.1 percent compared to the Penguins who were second in the league at 24.7 percent. If the Islanders can stay out of the box that would be huge considering the Penguins power play could really wear down the Isles penalty kill unit and take them out of games early.

I really would like to see the Islanders give the Pens a run for there money, but it is still good to see the team maturing and getting this chance to gain playoff experience. I really don't pay attention to what most are saying about the series with not giving the Islanders any chance at all to win but then again we all saw what happened last year and whenever an 8th seed upsets a number 1 seed in the first round, that team gets a very high confidence level and if they build on it then they can be very scary to face in the following round.

A Night In Boston

Last night was the first hockey game in Boston since the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. The video above was taken by Jesse Spector whose a writer with SportingNews. It was an emotional night that started with that special moment. The game had a playoff feel to it considering there are only a few games remaining and the Buffalo Sabres are fighting from behind to get in the 8th spot. They showed that they can come from behind when they tied the game up with a goal from Cody Hodgson with 27 seconds left. The game went into a shootout in which Ryan Miller saved all 3 attempts from the Bruins. Fan favorite Drew Stafford scored on the 3rd attempt for the Sabres to win it and put Buffalo 2 pts behind the Rangers and Jets for the 8th spot. Given the Sabres have a game in hand on Winnipeg and 2 on the Rags, but as I always say, that is a few games in hand that the other team can lose, not to mention tho but they do play the Rags & Jets in the final games remaining. And yes considering that I mainly focus on Islanders hockey, the Sabres do have a game left vs the Islanders who currently have the 7th spot. That is the last game of the season so it has the potential to be a big one. For more on Sabres hockey and their run for the playoffs check out http://sabrespulse.blogspot.com

Boston... Check!!

Josh Bailey was a beast last night scoring 2 goals in a 2-1 win in Boston. Mark Streit also had assist on both goals. You also can't forget about Nabakov who stood on his head making 30 saves and just missed stopping the only Bruins goal as it hit his arm before sneaking into the net. It was a good road win to keep up with Ottawa who also won. Tomorrows game vs the Rangers is going to be huge so expect a very physical game with some good goaltending.

Also in a scary moment last night David Krecji tripped Travis Hamonic causing him to fall awkwardly looking like a hyperextended knee. Hamonic left the ice without putting any pressure on the knee that appeared injured. The Hammer did however returned after only missing a few minutes showing that hockey players are indeed the toughest athletes. I just wonder if Derrick Rose happened to see that last night, considering he still hasn't returned to the court after missing a whole year and counting.

With the win last night, the Isles have now beaten every team in the East except for Carolina who they play April 23rd, it's nice for hockey to still be relevant when your an Isles fan this time of year.

Voided Trade?

It felt like long ago that the Islanders traded for Lubomir Visnovsky, really just 10 months ago. It seemed that he didn't like the deal as he wanted to void the trade but now its 10 months later. The Islanders are tied with the Rags for the 8th spot, given their game in hand. But big news just announced is that Visnovsky has just resigned for 2 more years. This deal will soon bring the resigning of Mark Streit which I say will happen in the offseason, meaning 1 more year to see John Tavares as Captain of this team. It is great to see a first timer with the team wanna resign. Things are starting to look different for this team.

The Test Ahead

Even though the Filthy Flyers are having a bad season they always play the Islanders good. Just a few weeks ago they made the Isles look like a peewee hockey team so I was a little nervous going into last nights matchup. I turned the game on a few minutes late but just in time to see the Flyers go up 1-0. The Isles are not a great 3rd period team hence the blown leads in previous games so I wasn't feeling good about being down 2-0, thank God tho for John Tavares as he put the team down by 1 with a min left in the 2nd. They fought hard and showed a lot of heart in the 3rd period though, something that the team was missing the previous 5 seasons. Colin McDonald who was involved in a little scrap earlier in the game with Scott Hartnell tied the game for the Isles in the 3rd and then scored again to put them ahead 3-2. Then as time winded down a questionable delay of game call against Frans Nielsen put them down a man, and with the Flyers pulled goalie it was a 6 on 4. History told me that the Flyers would tie the game and of course with 30 seconds left history smacked me right in the face. The Isles had a few chances in ot with a man advantage but with no success so it was onto a shoot out. The Isles played catch up most of the game and were forced to do so in the shoot out with Claude Giroux scoring first. Brad Boyes answered though with a nice shot top shelf and a save by Nabby led to Josh Bailey scoring the game winner, a great win vs a team that embarrassed us weeks earlier in the Coli.

Now with 3 wins in a row tomorrow the Islanders face a huge test, the Penguins. With newly acquired faces including Brenden Morrow and Jarome Iginlia it will be tough vs an already stacked team who hasn't lost since February 28th in Carolina. Since then they are winners of 14 in a row including 2 victories over the Isles. However tomorrow is a new day and as the late Owen Hart says "enough is enough and it's time for a change", a Penguins loss would be great, even better will be the Islanders beating them.

The Goalie Scores!!!

On Thursday night Marty Brodeur played in his first game since February 21st and he scores? He scored his 3rd career goal and he has more goals than Marty Reasoner this year. The goal was absolute luck as he just so happened to touch the puck last.

Then in a Polish league a goalie scored on a 2-1, that's right he actually shot the puck into the net. The goal didn't stand since a goalie can't cross the center red-line. The goal was quite amusing and I loved the goal celebration. To make things worse the opposing team was awarded a penalty shot due.

But when I hear about a goalie scoring I always think back to this, Ron Hextall in the '89 Stanley Cup  Playoffs,

Greatest Show On Earth!

Just this past weekend the Barnum & Bailey Circus was at the Nassau Coliseum. The circus was supposed to be long gone last night, but when the Islanders took the ice I couldn't tell the difference. Okay, the first 2 periods were great where the Islanders were up 3-1, Bailey/Neilson/Okposo line were dominating during that time. Some players from both teams appeared to be falling and mishandling the puck due to the poor Coliseum's ice surface, thanks to the circus and an old building. Once the third period started the Islanders blew the lead in 2 minutes. As a fan I saw it coming with this team just like most others due to recent history. Keith Aucoin scored what appeared to be the go ahead goal but was disallowed. Butch Goring was adamant that it should of counted and I agree with him. The game from there was an absolute joke. Granted the Islanders had 6 power plays and they did blow the 2 goal lead right into the 3rd period. The end of this game was totally determined by the refs. First the Aucoin no goal (which was Toronto's doing) and then the failed call that changed the game then Ottawa touched the puck first after Mike Zibanejad's high stick which led to the go ahead goal with 1 minute left. So the one game that the Islanders really needed, now that they have to face Montreal and then Pittsburgh in back to back games. I am very interested to see how the Islanders will respond tomorrow night, I expect the team to come out strong, its just the 3rd period I am worried about. Until then, enjoy:

A Fun Week Ahead?

It is almost that time of year where you have to look at your team and see if your a real contender. Don't get me wrong, there is still lots of hockey left to play but the trade deadline is approaching. Some teams who are on the bottom trying to play catch up are going to be looking at there roster and see if they want to go all in and try to add a few missing pieces or to roll back and go for it next season. As time goes on and the deadline gets closer more and more teams could become sellers. A team like Florida can shop players like Stephen Weiss whose in a contract year who they will most likely lose in the off-season anyway and at least get something in return.

Now the Islanders being just 2 points out of the 8th seed I have to say I am glad for how things are till now with the exception of Michael Grabner and David Ullstrom injuries and 2 blowout losses vs the Flyers and Pens. I know I maybe making it seem that the Islanders are a lock for the playoffs but hey, the team is over .500.... by 1 game. For real though, they are due to make the playoffs soon or a later with not being there in the past 5 years. It would be only fair to the fan base that they make an attempt to make a little run.

It is still real early into the season but this week is a big test for the Islanders. A game on Tuesday vs an Ottawa team looking for revenge from the previous shootout loss, and even more versus the Habs on Thursday who the Islanders beat twice so far. The worst part of the week but  has a chance to be the best part with an Islanders win would be the game versus the Pens. It will be a back to back coming off of Thursdays game at the Coliseum. That game will be a tough task for the Isles considering last game was terrible vs Pittsburgh let alone the Pens dominating right now winning 9 in a row. Damn you Crosby whose still crying from getting hit with the puck last game in the Coliseum.

 I feel as tho I would be asking too much to see them go 1-2 over this 3 game stretch but an 0-3 will definitely change the tune I am singing as I look at my team just 2 out. We do have Florida to look forward to on Sunday but even they nearly tore the Islanders hearts out coming back from a 3 goal deficit to then lose in regulation. Come on tho, the Islanders have the longest current drought in the NHL when it comes to winning a playoffs series which came 18 seasons ago. All I have had since then was hope and that is all that I can have now, but this time we got John Tavares and a young group with Dougie Weight helping us and he has been to the playoffs more recently then the Islanders team has. 

Islanders Gameday and JAY-Z in the house!

It has been over a day since the Islanders played the Rangers at the Coliseum in which the Isles played one of their best games of the year but lost in OT. I really feel that this loss tore the hearts out of some Islander fans, some that I spoke to have been pretty down and others who were planning to attend today's game vs Washington are staying home instead. The thing that worries me the most is how much life it took out of the Islander players themselves. The post game interviews after that game were very depressing. A loss like this can be the start of some pretty bad games. Yeah it was the second game in a week where they didn't get 1 Power Play opportunity and yeah they got 1 point in each of those games but the game vs the Rangers was a real heart breaker. Honestly if you ask me I almost rather them lose that game by the score of 3-1 or something like that. They will need the true leaders of the team in Tavares and Nabakov to upbring the locker room to get ready for today's game vs the Capitals.

Today's game has a 1PM start which is the last of the 7 game homestand in which they are 2-2-2. A win today could turn everything around, bringing the team to .500 for the first time since they went 4-4-1 on February 5th, more importantly getting rid of the somber mood around the team following a tough loss. They will have their hands full today playing against Alex Ovechkin who has 19 goals and 11 assist in 21 career games vs the Isles. I expect Visnovsky to play today since he returned to the island yesterday. Now lets see if they can get a Power Play opportunity today to utilize him or if we will see another perfect game by an Islander opponent. The nature of the game is so physical so its hard to believe a team can play a perfect game let alone 2 in 8 days. Brent Thompson will serve the first of his two game suspension today for verbally abusing the refs after Thursdays game.

One more thing, last night was a good one, I made it to the Barclay Center for the first time ever. Although it was a basketball game being played instead of a hockey game, it was still a good time. It was pretty easy to get to by train but could be expensive if you wanna go to a bunch of games. The train ride home was packed by Ranger fans who looked pretty sad just taking a beat down by the Senators. The refs came up short in the one. I wonder when the Islanders move to Brooklyn will Jay-Z be sitting rink side? Maybe, but if he is at an Islanders game here is a little preview of what you could see:

Visors? No Way!!

Nobody ever wants anyone ever getting hurt playing hockey. The sad part is that injuries are part of the game and that goes for any sport. Hockey however is a sport where guys wear steel blades and carry sticks. Sometimes a player is hurt but they act like they are ok just so they can keep playing. It is kind of humorous because the other day I saw a soccer game and a player acted hurt when he wasn't, the total opposite, but I am not here to take shots and make fun of other sports. 

Just last night you all must of heard by now that Marc Staal suffered a gruesome injury. It wasn't a dirty hit from behind or a high hit to the head that would cause Brendan Shanaban to get involved, it was a puck traveling over 100 MPH straight into his eye. Now when I saw the injury I really wasn't thinking about if he could still play, I was much more concerned if he will still have sight in that eye or let alone an eye at all. Staal had no chance of avoiding the shot as it was right off a face-off and happened so fast. He is out indefinitely right now and since then the team has claimed Roman Hamrlik of waivers from the Washington Capitals. Staal also missed almost half of last season due to a concussion, which ironically was due to a hit from his brother Eric.

This event however has raised the question should players wear visors? I think that wearing a visor should be the players choice. Some guys in the league are old school and if you gave them the choice they wouldn't even wear a helmet. Other players would say that they cannot wear a visor because it gets in the way of their sight paths. Of course the NHL would want to mandate the rule making everyone wearing a visor because an injury causing a player to loose an eye would be devastating to the game. 

MInutes Before Puck Drop

Minutes before the game starts and Islanders get ready for their game vs the Habs who should be looking for revenge. The Isles are coming off a rare home game win last Sunday and will have Nabby in goal as confirmed this morning. He has given the team a good chance to win every game he started even though sometimes they fall behind early, but Nabby is usually able to rebound and hope for a comeback which is what happened in the last game vs Montreal.

Vishnovsky is out tonight and Thursday as well vs the Rags, unfortunately this is because of personal reasons, it seems a good friend of his crashed a helicopter and his friends child who was 13, didn't survive. This has nothing to do with his old team Slovan Bratislava who were already eliminated in the playoffs. He will be back on the weekend.

John Tavares played great on Sunday but he has been under the weather. We can not really afford to have him out of the lineup. I really don't want to see that happen, he should play tonight.

I will also keep an eye on the Sabres game vs the 'Canes, Ryan Miller will be in net so it should be easy. Should be a good night of hockey, Game On!

Dipietro A Winner!

Rick Dipietro played in consecutive games for the first time this season last night, that's if you consider him playing on Friday night vs the Whalers. Bridgeport coach Scott Pellerin said he pulled him after the 1st to send a message to the team because he didn't like the way they played in front of him. Last night didn't start to well either for DP by taking a penalty four minutes into the game, which was killed off tho. Things did get better and the Sound Tigers won the game 4-3 with Dipietro making 22 saves. It was good seeing him get the win with the way Friday's game turned out for him.

Today should be a fun game, especially for the kids. Spongebob and Patrick will be in the Coliseum for the game and I hope the Islanders can pull off a win and not disappoint the crowd. Most games this year at the Coliseum showed a decent presence of the opposition crowd in the stands. Even the past 2 games we heard loud chants for Tukka Rask and also Go Leafs from the visitors from Toronto. However I think today would be different against Ottawa.

And also the Chicago Blackhawks play the Red Wings today in Detroit. I really thought the Blackhawks would lose to Columbus, I saw that game as a let down game and it also was a back to back game for Chicago, they did barely escape with the win and needing overtime to do it. That game will be on NBC so the pressure is clearly on Chicago.

Islander vs Leafs Recap, Howie Rose and Ryan Miller

The guy in the above pic looks like an absolute fool. He is also the guy who scored a hat trick in the Coliseum, Nazem Kadri. The Islanders have yet to win a game this year when Tavares is held scoreless but cannot expect to win when this guy nets 3. On his second goal he had I cannot give him any credit as Nabby turned to swiss cheese and failed to catch a floppy wrist shot in the 2nd period. Kadri acknowledged that the goal was pure luck on the 2nd period intermission interview.

One thing I am happy to say is that I was wrong. I really thought Okposo needed to sit a game in display of his recent play, but tonight was his best game in a while. The game started with him showcasing a nasty stick handling move setting up Josh Baileys goal. He also assisted on Amacs goal which brought them within 1 in the 3rd period. Then it happened, Okposo blocked a shot, he got control of the puck, he was being heavily pressured but got the shot off and BAM, GOAL!!! That one tied the game, the Islanders had a few chances in the final minutes only to lose the game in OT. A 2-8-1 home record is better than 2-9 I guess... 3-8 would of been supreme tho.

On a side note, Howie Rose wrote a book. I have no idea why, I guess he had some downtime during the lockout. I will be keeping an eye out for an autograph signing and will be sure to let you know about it. From what I heard is that its about the NY Mets, who Howie does the Mets games on the radio for. This guy has the best job in sports, its actually like my life in going from the Islanders to the Mets every year, maybe he will get involved with the NY Jets. Damn, I think I might be the next Howie Rose!!!


I also gotta give props to the #1 goalie in the world, Ryan Miller with the Buffalo Sabres who stood on his head for 65 plus minutes and helped the Sabres to a 4-3 shootout win. Miller had 40 saves in the game.

Hockey hangover, Bruins 4 Isles 1

The Islanders ran into a wall last night, the Great Wall of Tuuuu that is. They registered 37 shots with Cizikas scoring the lone goal assisted by Bailey who made a nice move to get the puck to the net and Amac with the secondary assist. After the first period the score was tied at 1 and I thought we had a good chance even tho Nabby should of stopped the first Bruins goal.

The 2nd period started with the PA announcer announcing that it was Marty Reasoners birthday, the crowd erupted into boos and bam it was 2-1 Bruins. I thought this was a great time for Matt Martin to try and pick a fight with someone to try to build some momentum and get the crowd back into it but that didnt happen and the score was soon 3-1 with a nice one timer goal for Krecji.

That was pretty much it for the game, the happiest I saw the crowd was at the start of the 3rd period the ice girls came out and shot those stupid t-shirts into the crowd, what joy being an Islanders fan, whohoo a t-shirt!

I left the game pretty disappointed but more annoyed at the Bostonians who were screaming Go Bruins in the vestibule, I couldn't help but to chuck a power bar that was being given out to fans right at one of them in the back of the head. Take that Boston!

After the game Cappy said he was happy to see a surge in the offense, I agree with him, Rask just played outta his head last night. Capuano also spoke about how he remains confident about a playoff berth considering no team is really running away with things, most teams are at about 8 or 9 wins going for the final playoff spot. Having a 2-8 home record doesn't help things at all whatsoever. Next game is Thursday vs the Leafs, I really think it's time to sit Okposo, I love the guy but he just seems out if it.

Islanders vs Bruins on NBCSN

It is now official, Rick Dipietro has reported to Bridgeport and was on the ice today at practice. Tonight the Islanders try to rebound vs the Bruins who won their last 3 games. The Islanders lost to the Bruins in there game earlier in the year 4-2 with dp in net, this go around we will be playing home(sucking sound) and Nabby will be in goal. Another change you will see tonight is Ullstrom will be back in the lineup with Aucoin being scratched.  The Bruins are a team that I feel like to get in there fair share of cheap shots so I have the feeling Radek Martinek will be a scratch and the gentle giant Joey Finley will be back in the lineup. I also would love to see a big hit from Matt Martin on Milan Lucic. The puck drops at 7:30 tonight, I will be in attendance tonight sitting way up high hoping to break the losing streak, Isles are 0-3 with me inside the Coli this season.

Islanders can't hold on vs. 'Canes

The game started in the right direction for the Islanders with Matt Moulson scoring his 10th goal of the year 4:38 in. About seven minutes later Tavares scored his 13th goal of the year to make it 2-0. The Islanders didn't really have any pressure on the offensive end in the first period only getting 5 shots. Kevin Poulin played with confidence early saving all 14 shots he faced in the first.

The Islanders showed more offense in the 2nd period by getting more shots only to collapse and allow 2 goals within 45 seconds to the Staal brothers to end the period. Then the 3rd period started but it looked like the Islanders didn't feel like showing up. Only registering 6 shots in the whole period, Carolina took the lead with Bobby Sanguinetti's first NHL career goal, I don't know what it is but I feel like the Islanders have been allowing goals to a lot of first timers lately.

This game really didn't bode well for the Islanders. The final score was 4-2 with an empty netter added by Semin. With a great opportunity to put together a 3 game win streak the same old Islanders were the ones to show up tonite in Uniondale who have been terrible at home. Then again if your place looked like this how would you feel?

Angry Jessie Pegula

The Buffalo Sabres have seen better days, they are last in the East and 29th overall in the NHL. The daughter of Terry Pegula is Jessie Pegula who is also a professional tennis player. In the past she would let out her frustrations on Twitter if you remember her tweet on free agent day in 2011 over the Sabres not getting Brad Richards, who by the way is making sucking sounds for the NY Rags. Yesterday after the Sabres 4-0 loss she vented on twitter again saying, "A spade is a spade. The Sabres are just really bad..." It looks like however she regretted the tweet and became more optimistic saying something along the lines of sorry and something along the lines of Rome wasn't built in a day, you know the saying. Poor Jessie, I hope today is better for her as it is her 19th birthday, so go log on Twitter and wish @JLPegula a very happy birthday.

It's Poulin time

Nabakov gets the night off while Kevin Poulin makes the start tonight in Uniondale. Poulin is 6-6-1 with 2 of those wins vs the Hurricanes. Radek Martinek will also make his season debut tonight with Joe Finley not in  the lineup. 

For the Hurricanes, Jeff Skinner skated today wearing a non-contact jersey, he is will likely not play tonight after suffering a concussion recently, his 2nd one in two years, he did however say he is feeling much better so I guess we will see tonight if he plays.

Also around the league I noticed today is Alexei Kovalev's 40th birthday. So Happy Birthday to Alex from the Florida Panthers, you will be scratched in tonights game.

Future of Islanders Ricky Dipietro

I know its a little late for me to talk about the supposedly end of the Rick Dipietro era on Long Island but here it is. I really thought Dipietro's body would be put to the test and get a lot more starts this season. Nabakov started the year hot so Capuano went with the hot hand which makes sense in this shortened season. With the Islanders three points out of the playoffs (which don't mean anything) and the timid shakiness play from Dipietro it wouldn't make sense to play him all that much. Nobody was going to claim Dipietro (even tho I saw comments from stupid Leafs fans that they wanted him), so sending him to Bridgeport makes the most sense right now. Sorry Bridgeport.

I was a big fan of Dipietro when he came into the league and made the Islanders relevant again by leading them into the playoffs 3 times. I even had arguments with Sabre of Light about who would be starting goalie of Team USA, DP or Ryan Miller. Unfortunately the play from Dipietro landed him in the 2008 All Star game causing him to injure his hip. Dipietro continued to play the season until the Islanders were out of playoff contention and then he had hip surgery. As you all know he continued to have injury issues with his hips, knees, head and face. He became a laughing stock of the league with fans saying he would injure himself sneezing, getting a haircut or shaving his beard.(hence his appearance now)

Now the question is, have we seen the last of Dipietro in an Islander uniform? Will his contract be bought out? These are things that are not set in stone at the moment, but I think if Dipietro can stay healthy in Bridgeport and build a little confidence, I strongly believe he will get one more shot with the team next year. On the other hand, he could continue with his bad luck and might not make it to seasons end. Only time will tell, I still see Yashin jerseys at the Coliseum these days but the fan base hates Dipietro so much that management doesn't want him to play in any home games. Poor Ricky, the goalie who lost his way.

Islanders win 4-0, Nabby shuts down Sabres

The Islanders went into the broken home of Buffalo tonight and made things look easy. The Sabres pretty much looked like a classroom of kids with a substitute teacher (Ron Rolston), no control and huge lack of effort. Not much happened in the 1st period besides 2 interference penalties on the Islanders which at least made them look a live. Nabby took control in the 2nd period making some real nice saves. The period finished with goals from Streit and Grabs. I missed most of the 3rd period tho while checking out the Rags losing to the Habs, I however saw the goals scored by Tavares and Mcdonald. I also have to mention ex-Sabre Joe Finley the gentle giant finally starting to become evil with giving Kaleta a facewash with that giant hand.

The frustration of Ryan Miller really showed in the final seconds of the game wanting to throw down with Matt Martin after Martin was pushed into Miller. He was the same guy that played out of his head 2 weeks prior in the state of the art Coliseum to lead the Sabres to a win against the Islanders. Things just keep getting worst for Buffalo, the short season is against them as well giving them less time to bounce back.

Even tho Jesus Christ wasn't on the Islanders bench they were able to get away with the 4-0 win. The biggest advantage they had was the Sabres struggle on the PP who went 0-6. They have only 2 goals in the last 46 times with a man advantage. The Sabres are off until Tuesday when they skate in Tampa vs the Lighting and the Islanders will face Carolina tomorrow night in Uniondale. Maybe Marty Reasoner can tie his career high with the Islanders and score a goal tomorrow, giving him 1 on the year. Tomorrow will give the Islanders a chance to become a .500 team, and who knows, maybe we will see Kevin Poulin in net tomorrow, a young 22 year old who spent last night in the Marriot across from the Coliseum.