The Voice Presents - RANDOM THOUGHTS. 5 Thoughts as it pertains to the current state of the New York Islanders. The Islanders are currently on a Western Canadian swing and we are all tired from that shootout game last night won by the Canucks. What better time to shake off the cobwebs with another edition of the popular RANDOM THOUGHTS??
1 - Islanders laying eggs all over Western North America. Colorado, Edmonton and Vancouver have Islander eggs laid by the team that spells the 4th bad performance in a row counting the Florida OT loss. After what seemed a resurgence of confidence, strong play and hard work the wheels have seemed to come off again. Tomorrow the team skates into the Saddledome to face Keenan's crew in Calgary. It is not getting easier and I am tired of hearing the "Hey at least we got a point" side of the story. I heard it after the Panther game, the 'Lanche game and now were seeing it again after last nights poor performance. If it were not for DiPietro, it would have been a 6 goal loss. 8 power plays? Well it was at least 8 after keeping the penalties against to a minimum they had a total breakdown in discipline. Jiggs McDonald must have cringed at seeing what the mighty powers of the 80s have turned into in Edmonton Monday night. This may sound harsh but when the heck is it going to stop being acceptable to people when the team squeaks away from a game stealing a point? They needed 2 points out of Edmonton and laid an absolute and utter egg. They needed to bounce back against the over rated Canucks and laid another (their 4th in a row) egg. We will see what they have as it will not get any easier in the next two games in Ottawa and Calgary. Yes its OK they are getting points where they shouldn't, but its not OK that people seem to be accepting it.
2 - Bergeron bolsters PP. I hate to toot my own horn but Bergeron has bolstered the power play. Keep him out there and deal with his sub par defense. This team needs offense. He produces offense. End of story.
3 - Town of Hempstead Night!! Town supervisor Kate Murray will be on the ice to drop the opening puck when the Islanders return home on the 19th against the Flyers. I would suggest anyone and everyone who has the chance to come into contact with her that night let her now how important the Lighthouse Project is to you. Perhaps the more potential voters that show their support for the project can make a difference.
4 - Satan with Comrie and Guerin, when does the shuffling stop? Its tough to keep track of the Islanders line combos this year. Hey I am not an NHL coach but you would think there would be a comfort level with players staying together for the long haul but maybe the uncertainty is meant to keep everyone working hard to move up on the team's depth chart. Vasicek and Fedotenko seem to have slipped on the depth chart. I'm all for keeping guys honest but I also have to believe that familiarity can breed success.
5 - Where is my sniper? Potential targets. I keep hearing the Islanders have their finger on the pulse of the trade market. There are the "Pipe Dreams" that will simply not happen in Ovechkin, Sundin and Hossa, then there are the more logical targets like Boston's Glen Murray and Minnesota's Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Rumor has it out of Calgary that the Flames may have trouble inking Dion Phaneuf to a contract. If this guy is available the team should explore all options to bring him in as he is one of the best all around defenseman in the NHL. Rumors continue to fly around Ovechkin that he wants to move out of Washington. I do not believe it, but if he is available do I have to say go get him enough? Hossa could be a possibility, but its another "believe it when I see it". Hopefully the team will be active in trying to improve the offense because they need it.
POLL RESULTS - Dealing with how the team has performed this year 56% of the respondents chose the "team has performed how I thought they would" option. 31 % said the team has exceeded expectations this season and coming in with 12% was the mildly disappointed crew. 87% of the respondents seem to be pleased with the teams performance. Impressive... Most impressive. This weeks poll deals with Kyle Okposo and where you think he should start and lay this year. See you around and thanks for reading.
FCT
6 comments:
re: Phaneuf to Isles
I don't see it happening, but I would love if it did. That kid's a monster. I'd be at the team store the next day buying a Phaneuf jersey...even if it had to be one of those crummy RBK jerseys!
I agree the Islander's, if they are serious about being one of the elite teams in hockey, need help on both ends. Defence and offence. Alex Ovechkin would "CHANGE" the Islander's period. Marian Hossa would also "CHANGE" the Islander's. The team needs a superstar on offence and one of these two "GREAT" hockey players would answer this Need. The Islander's also are in need of defenceive help. Getting Dion Phaneuf would answer that. I have said many times in my comments on this blog, the Islander's should also try and get Eric Nystrom. He is doing nothing in Calgary. All this would be super if it could be done. And what would make it even more super, would be if the could do all of this without giving up Kyle Okposo. Now, wouldn't that be nice. " Go Islander's " Mark
Phanuef and Ovechkin are two of those guys that would be worth a 10 or 12 year contract. The problem is you would either have to "Dustin Penner" them away this off season or trade for them. The first name out of either teams mouth would me "Okposo" in Ovechkin's case its a no brainer. Id give them 4 Okposo's for Ovechkin. For Phaneuf maybe you could package Campoli a prospect and pick or two to get him. I can't see either team letting either of them go, but its always fun to talk about it.
Well so much for what was a miniscule shot at him anyway, Ovechkin signed a 13 year 124 million dollar deal with the Caps today. Great move by the caps, but how long before hes traded to the Rangers UUGH!! because they can't afford the contract they gave him ala Jagr.
FCT
We keep wondering if Nolan stumbled upon Stirling's Line Combo Yahtzee game in the locker room. It has been a little nuts. Two more road games to go....
Ted Nolan - Whats this... a line combo game... I just have to change the names on here and Ican use it too!!!
FCT
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