Wrapping up the Rangers

T minus one day until Kyle hockey!

A few thoughts on last night's Rangers game. I won't go through the entire game recap; you can surely visit NHL.com, ESPN, or one of my fellow BLOG BOXers for that. In fact, Tom Liodice of The Tiger Track was again liveblogging from the game. Here are a few random thoughts:

- The Isles were outshot 37-30, but they were not outworked. This morning I read that the Isles blocked or deflected an additional 19 shots that never reached DiPietro. Great hustle and dedication. Way to keep them wrapped up, boys!

- There was more fighting in the stands than on the ice. While people anticipated a brawl-filled game, there was barely any of that. Meanwhile, I witnessed at least two dustups in the seats which were quickly snuffed out by Coliseum security. The participants were tossed and missed a great 3rd period. Too bad for them.

- After our postgame debrief session, I lingered a bit to try to get some Islanders photos. Sean Bergenheim was nice enough to stop and let me snap him, but here's the interesting thing. On my way to the exits, I popped back into the arena and another game was being played! The Assassins were taking on the Villains. Who are these guys? Is there a clandestine hockey league playing late-night contests on the sacred Islander ice? If so, how do I get involved?

- Has anyone tried the Nassau Coliseum sushi yet? As a sushiphile myself (Hai, watashi wa Nihongo-ga scoshi wakarimasu), I am a bit wary. If you have tried it and are still living, drop us a line in the comments section.

- Since the Isles are in Toronto tonight, what better time to debut a few of the photos I took at the Hockey Hall of Fame this summer? Enjoy!


The entrance to the Hall of Fame

Dr. Hook and Okposo Island with the Cup

The last time it happened. It's been too long.

Trophies everywhere

Sweater of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Bergenheim's team last year, Y****n's this year.

Strong Win

Now that the Yankees are gone (and words on them can probably take up at least 10 blog posts), it's time to enjoy our New York Islanders. And what perfect timing, as the Isles get a great win against the Rangers -- the "preordained" Atlantic Division champs.

Some quick thoughts from the third period (I imagine Ken will be in later with some thoughts on the full game and reaction from the Coliseum):

-- Strong penalty killing on the Rangers 5 on 3, thought it really took the Rangers out of the game for much of the period.

-- Terrible stoppage by the ref on Guerin's post shot, the puck was obviously still in play.

-- Maybe it was just my TV, but the sound quality made it seem like the Coliseum wasn't as rocking as it normally was for an Isles-Rangers game. I'm sure Ken can provide more details about the crowd, but this was an issue last year with Versus in terms of broadcast quality.

-- While you don't want to necessarily go down 6 on 4 at the end of the game, good penalty by Andy Sutton to help prevent a potential game-tying goal (and it doesn't hurt to have icing waved off for the last 20 seconds).

-- As long as DiPietro plays like this, the Isles will be playoff contenders -- several excellent saves considering the Rangers were starting to apply some serious pressure in the third.

Overall, a good night for the Isles and this team is looking strong (hey, as of this writing, they're in first place by 4 points!). Ken should be back later.

In the meantime, enjoy this link to a fun story about the Philadelphia Flyers. Question: what would Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Dave Schultz think about this? PG replies only, please.

A Day of Firsts

Hello everyone,

Well, we're just back from Isles vs. Capitals, a holiday afternoon affair. It was certainly a day of firsts; some exciting, some disappointing.

Today we witnessed the Islanders' first loss of the season (2-1). It was the first time that the team looked at times noticeably flat. The first period got off to a great start, and the Isles led 1-0 after 20:00 (Richard Park, 1st of season). However, the team didn't quite have the jump they began with and allowed the Caps to tie the score at 1 about 8 minutes into the 2nd period. The home squad let a golden opportunity slip by when they were awarded a 5 on 3 advantage for a whopping 1:35, but failed to score. One of the telling signs in the period was the Islanders out shooting Washington 16-3 in the frame, but never putting one past Kolzig.

The play picked up decidedly in the final period, when the Isles themselves killed off a 5 on 3, but DiPietro allowed a rebound with just over 12 minutes left to play and Brooks Laich didn't miss his chance.

Continuing the theme, today we heard the first smattering (not a chorus, mind you) of boos directed toward the home squad. Many fans felt that this was a game where the Isles should have come away with at least a point, and failed to do so.

On a strictly personal level, this blog (and the NYI BLOG BOX crew!) had their first-ever story published in a major sports publication. Kudos to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated for shedding some light on this very fun project we're all partaking in. He even worked in a quote from yours truly (Ken Dick) and while it isn't the first time my blogging work has been featured in a sports mag, it is the first for Okposo Net. You can view his piece here.

Today's game also featured Darryl Bootland's first NHL point since 2003, and after the game we got to speak with the Toronto native. He didn't make excuses for the loss after the game, gave full credit to an outstanding opposing goalie (Kolzig), and didn't think that playing 3 games in 4 days (more like 3 1/2 days) had much effect on the team. He assured us that he will have absolutely NO problem getting up for the Rangers on Wednesday night, and we're hoping to see him scrap it up a bit against the hated Blueshirts.

As a reminder, we're also eagerly awaiting the return of University of Minnesota hockey on Friday (10/12) night, which means the return of fresh news on the play of Kyle Okposo!

Until then, thanks for reading.

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.

The New Islanders

Opening Night versus Buffalo was a success, with the Islanders recording a 6-4 victory at HSBC Arena. While I would have preferred a little more defense in the effort, it is hard to find fault with their performance.

The game recaps are emphasizing how well the squad played together on opening night, especially the newly-minted top line of Comrie, Guerin, and Fedotenko. Let's not forget about Josef Vasicek either, who netted the first Islander tally after the Orange and Blue quickly fell down 1-0. Honorable mention also goes to "The Rick," who saved 22 of 26 shots, but made some dazzling stops to keep this contest in hand and let The New Islanders go to work.

Game 2 of 82 is tomorrow night. Same teams, different venue (our place), hopefully the same outcome!

UM is getting ready. Are you?

Fans, the University of Minnesota's regular season begins October 12th with the IceBreaker Invitational (Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN). And while we can't get up there to see that tournament, we are making plans to see Okposo in person sometime this season, with a trip to the Twin Cities.

While we are pretty much the only independent site for Kyle Okposo info on the web, we are limited in what we can bring you. But soon that is about to change. Thanks to a generous offer from the NYI organization, we'll have the chance to ask some things we want to know about Kyle and their future plans for him. But, we'd also like to know what YOU want to know about Kyle. If you read and enjoy this blog, have a relevant question, or even if you hate this site and just want to let us know, please feel free at any time use the comment button located beneath each entry. We'll answer you promptly or relay your question to the Isles if we can't answer it ourselves.

Now, to give you a taste of what a special talent we think Kyle is, have a look at this goal from last season. The clip runs about 1 minute.

Let the 2007-08 Season Begin

For Yankees fans like me, it'll hopefully take until the end of October to get fully involved with the Islanders, but for Mets fans, welcome to the 2007-08 NHL season!

Hi, I'm Dr. Hook. You might remember me from such blogs as ... well, none actually. I did work on sports webpages about 10 years ago where I wrote some semi-regular editorial copy (sort of a forerunner of blogs), but this is my first true blog post. First off, thanks to Ken for the opportunity to join this blog - it should be a fun ride this season, and I look forward to Ken's eventual postings from the Isles' new Blog Box, where I hope he is able to break several exclusives, such as which show does Ted Nolan watch -- Grey's Anatomy, CSI or The Office? Inquiring minds want to know.

By way of quick background, I've been an Isles fan for about 25 years - first watching the Isles during the Stanley Cup dynasty, following them through the Easter Epic, going crazy in Bayville after Volek's goal, cringing through 1995-2000, and finally glad to see playoff hockey back making more regular appearances on the Island. The Isles still have some work to do (and a new building wouldn't hurt either - I love the Coliseum, but as we've learned in recent months, free agents do not), but at least one thing seems guaranteed: with Ted Nolan at the helm, these guys will play their asses off.

So once again this year, the Isles are expected by the "experts" to finish out of the playoffs. Personally, with the additions of Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Andy Sutton, and the return of Sean Bergenheim, I believe the Isles could surprise once again this season. And if they show as much fight during the season as they did during that preseason brawl with the Rangers (poor Al Montoya never stood a chance), it should make for a very fun season.

I'll be checking in every so often with various thoughts on the Isles, the Coliseum, the Atlantic Division, etc. -- but until then, I'm looking forward to October 5 at a much weaker Buffalo.