Who stole my Islanders?

A packed Nassau Coliseum, a penalty kill unit that works hard, skaters who crash the net, and a team that toils in unison up and down the ice for 60 minutes. Who are these guys?

Joking aside, as I search for something to be critical of in this new season, these Islanders are not allowing me that indulgence. Last night, in what can only be described as an amazing night for myself and fellow Isles bloggers, the Islanders defeated Buffalo again, this time 3-2.

While it's only 2 games, Mike Comrie has been a spark that this team has sorely missed in past seasons. Fueling the fire has been the the play of new captain Bill Guerin, and the scrappy play of Ruslan Fedotenko. While those guys are getting the glory and the share of the headlines, kudos to Chris Campoli for not only netting his second goal of the year, but for taking the time to speak with us after the game.

You see, last night was the first-ever behind-the-scenes tour for New York Islanders Blog Box members. Being that this blog is a charter member of that new and innovative program, we and our fellow bloggers were led on an all-access tour of the bowels of the Coliseum. We visited the lockerroom (smaller than expected), spoke with on-air personality Deb Kaufman (shorter than expected), and were granted access to Chris Campoli and Ted Nolan for unrestricted questioning (cooler than expected). In all it was a great night and many thanks go to Deb, Chris, and Isles execs Chris Botta and Corey Witt for having the foresight to make this happen.

My fellow bloggers-in-arms also seem very cool to a man (and one woman) and I look forward to enjoying games with them in the future and reading their takes on this special night.