Well, we're no longer under the radar. Most major sports outlets rank the Isles in the top 5, if not atop their "power rankings" (funny, but I'll bet that most of these pundits still don't know where Uniondale is), so we need to keep this thing rolling.
Jaro Halak gets the start tonight, and we have our D back at full strength with CDH and Hickey returning to the lineup.
Forwards:
Kulemin-Tavares-Okposo
Grabovski-Nielsen-Bailey
Lee-Nelson-Strome
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Some nice sound bites from a good article in the Wall Street Journal (iknowrite?) that's ultimately linked below:
The Islanders’ start might come as a shock to those who can’t remember the last time the team won the Stanley Cup (1983), or even a playoff series (1993), but this squad—young, skilled, opportunistic and relentless—appears to be for real.
“To be the best athlete, you have to be the best-conditioned athlete, and our conditioning is strong,” coach Jack Capuano said. “I also feel like we have the confidence and the mind-set. No matter if we’re up one or down one, we’re going to finish the job.”
“We try to grind teams out,” said Nielsen, a 30-year-old center from Denmark who broke in with the Islanders in 2007. “We play a very simple but hard-working style. It’s not always pretty out there, but we work extremely hard.” |
Praise from their opponent tonight, Braden Holtby:
“They’re playing well,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “I think it’s no surprise. … I think last few years the Islanders have been a dangerous team to play against. I think the difference is they’ve added a little bit more structure defensively. They could always score. You always knew they were a dangerous team offensively.
“Putting together both sides of it now, and it was only a matter of time until they did, so we have to be ready. They’re not going to be a team that bows off. They’re going to be up there for the rest of the year we think. We all believe that and those are points we really need to put ourselves in the class at the top of the division.” |
More on the trade of Pedan yesterday from Staple, confirming what we'd began discussing...the Islanders were looking to add a pick in '16 and Pedan was well behind Reinhart/Pulock/Czuczman/Mayfield/Pelech on the prospect depth chart.
Kyle Okposo on compliments and being hard to play against:
| "I’ve liked what other teams have said after they’ve played us. How tough it is to play against us. That’s something that we’ve really been stressing as a team and what coaches have been stressing is to be tough to play against and we’ve done a good job of that. We can roll all four lines and keep coming at you and coming at you." |
My two cents: stay out of the box tonight and we win. Don't, and we won't.
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will.
WSJ: Don't Look Now, but the Islanders are the Cream of NY Sports - (
New Window )
Another strong game from Strome..I love seeing that. And if Jaro keeps up with this .930 sv pctg groove he's in, the goodness will continue.
Leddy is so fun to watch. Lock him up, Garth!
tim, correct that it's great to be able to win when not playing at your best..
12, hope all is well with your mother. It'll be a great Thanksgiving if she could be home with you (but don't fret if she's not; she's worth the extra care).
My caps fan friend was complaining about the refs but I told him we outshot, outchanced and outscored them in addition to scoring the 5 on 5 goal this game. Can't wait to take it to them again on Friday.
When was the last time this team was able to win C effort games?
Besides the hitting and the first 10 minutes they didn't do much to deserve to win. Nice to have real talent.
12. Best wishes to your mon and family
Happy thanksgiving y'all!
12th - hope your mom has a speedy recovery. Happy Thanksgiving.
Yeah I had Caps fan complaining about the refs too. The ref missed some calls but the majority of them were on Washington. Even in OT Kuley was mugged coming across the blue line. Also, how many times did the puck get caught at the one refs feet. At least attempt to jump!
12th - hope your mom has a speedy recovery. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thought it was a ridiculous call. Dude raked Lee's face to initiate the fight...
* Interesting, and may affect that 12/6 game. Blues G Brian Elliott hurt himself yesterday and is now "week-to-week". Rookie Jake Allen (no slouch) may get the start, but the Blues have brought in...wait for it...Martin Brodeur (!) for a tryout. He'll be with the Blues all this week. Gee, the possibility of MB playing in the tri-state area? I'll bet the Blues will throw him that bone if he sticks.
Finally, I want to say that I'm thankful for the emergence of these Islanders, who are starting to embody all the things we've hoped for over the past 25 years or so in the long-running "rebuild". So proud of these guys, and what's even better is that they're all a hard-working bunch of genuinely likeable guys. Thanks to the organization as well for making the moves necessary to put us in the position we're in now. And I'm thankful for you guys; there's really not many people (fans) who've endured what we have over the past 3 decades. It's a testament to you to stick things out, through thick and thin, that makes this all that much more enjoyable. Thanks for the brotherhood (and that's also for the real hockey fans on this board, even those who root for the MSG squad).
A safe and happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your loved ones. Catch you Friday for the 5pm jump against the Caps. Let's Go Islanders!
12th - hope your mom has a speedy recovery. Happy Thanksgiving.
Totally agree, Brett.
Was watching at a restaurant without sound and initially thought the penalty was on us.