Welcome back, friends. Tonight, the young, talented team in blue and orange makes the leap to not only a new building and new traditions, but to the realm of being acknowledged as one of the better teams in the league. Speaking with some of you, I am seeing both sheepishness and skepticism, and as well cautious optimism. There's cases to be made for both, but you also have to understand, by many metrics...
this is a good team, period. It won't be easy A) against the Champs tonight/tomorrow, who are also coming in hot after dropping their opener and B) because of the injury bug affecting Halak and Hickey, necessitating a Strait appearance as well as Greiss likely playing 2 of the first 3 with an untested FA rookie to also get a game. You know what I say? Bring it. Bring the adversity. Challenges are good. And remember this: you need not panic if there's a stumble out of the gate. It's a looong season.
Turning to the game itself, there's a lot of festivities planned, not the least of which is a tribute to Al Arbour which should touch many folks. The banners are here. The real goal horn is here. The modernized arena is here. The light on the horizon we hoped for through all these years...it's here.
Your probable lines tonight: (F) - Lee-JT-Strome; Nelson-Grabbo-Kulemin; Bailey-Nielsen-Okposo; Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck. (D) - Leddy/Boychuk; de Haan/Hammer; Strait/Zid. As mentioned, Greiss gets the start. Let's hope he runs with it. Let Jaro recover fully before he comes back...we'll need him. Note: L2 and L3 may be flipped during the game.
Some opening night factoids: The Isles will be looking for their third straight Opening Night win, but are 3-7-2 in their last 12 Openers. Overall, the Isles are 11-21-10 on Opening Night (2-4-2 at home). A defenseman has scored the first goal of the season for the Isles in 5 of the last 6 seasons, including Johnny Boychuk last year. Mikhail Grabovski is one of six active players with an Opening Night hat trick.
For those looking for some reassurance, or merely the validation of the positive direction we're headed in, here's some perspective from Dan Rosen at NHL.com:
My advice is stop worrying about three years from now if you're an Islanders fan. Embrace the team you have now. It's a playoff contender heading into a new building, a new era. Embrace Tavares and the superstar that he is. Trust Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss. Enjoy watching Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan. Watch for the development of Michael Dal Colle and Ryan Pulock. Believe that the defense got better with the addition of Marek Zidlicky. Hope for the best from Kyle Okposo and that he will stay an Islander. Look for more out of Ryan Strome, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson. Appreciate Frans Nielsen for being one of the most underrated centers in the NHL. Enjoy the energy the Islanders get from Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas.
Relax and enjoy being an Islander fan. The team is good and relevant again. Soak it in. |
The city is ready for us:
Are
you ready? I sure as hell am. Let's Go Islanders!
Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride
More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark --
In the long run...
You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance --
First you've got to last...
a lot tonight
No excuse leaving him all alone.
Look no further than the moron behind the bench.
Same old team lol
Personally, Im not a fan of bringing back almost the same exact team. The change in backup goaltending looks like a positive so far but other than that we replaced 1 old offensive dman with another old offensive dman. I dont like guys becoming buddy buddy and comfortable. I wanted petrov playing, i wanted pulock playing and I wouldnt have minded a trade of okposo, bailey or frans. Hopefully they just gotta get going and playing a tough team doesnt help. Time will tell
Baby steps.
They were not over matched at all. I didn't think Chicago really had any good chances the whole 3rd period
Suck it.
Looking forward to a fun series boys. May we meet in May and not late April please Lets both have a little fun first please
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similarities from this team to last seasons team. Similar mistakes, breakdowns, shots wide of net and most important, had a good period and still losing.
Look no further than the moron behind the bench.
Ding ding ding ding
They were not over matched at all. I didn't think Chicago really had any good chances the whole 3rd period
Why should it be any different than last year? Chicago gained an extra guy making it a 4-3, not a 3 on 2
Only you fucking hipsters would be happy with the participation prize.
When do the Fishsticks get the special helmets to accommodate their man-buns?
During intermission it was MORE crowded than the coliseum and more chaotic. As bad as the coliseum could get, the bathroom lines and the food lines were all distinct and obvious. But last night, there was a liquor bar right next to the bathroom which is just unbelievably silly. The halls are very tight, and all the lines to sort of merge into each other... amidst the chaos of people trying to get by, too. This led to two separate fights breaking out between strangers within 10 feet of me. It was ugly.
The crowd was late arriving and quiet in the first period, but was roaring in the 2nd and 3rd. Unfortunately, much of our enthusiasm was lost in the high ceilings. No matter how loud we get, this place will never rock like the barn.
I say all this with the caveat that I did not go in there wanting to hate the place. I want to love this building, but I just don't right now.
Some positives... I will say, the staff at Barclays is way better than any other stadium/arena in the New York area. You walk and people great you "Welome to Barclay's" and they actually smile. You don't really get that anywhere else. The people who work the concessions are oddly nice and chipper too.
Also, the pre-game experience is going to be better here, and I don't mean because as a New Yorker I have a shorter commute. The area around Barclay's is lively and all about the Islanders prior to the game. If you ever try and make it to a game, definitely make an attempt to get in an hour early if you can. Tons of restaurants and bars filled with die hards chanting Let's Go Islanders.
The logistics are going to be worked out eventually, but I'm very skeptical if the place will ever be as energetic as the coliseum. Perhaps there are things they can do with the acoustics to better bounce the roar back down to the ice, but even if there is, I highly doubt this is a priority.
Overall, it's hockey. It's the Islanders. It's great. But there are elements missing that I had taken for granted. They simply don't make 'em like the coliseum anymore.
The problem is that the cup holders are essentially on the ground. The seat in front of you is much lower than I'm used to, and that's great for viewing the game of course, but the cupholders are attached to that same seat. They are at foot level. I nearly fell 3 times by tripping over the damn things.
Again, I know it sounds silly, but you'll see it when you get there. I liken it to trying to walk barefoot on a beach where there are a lot of broken shells. You have to be very careful with each step.
These nosebleed seats on the sideline actually afford a very good view of the court, but you are more likely to suffer the nosebleed from falling over several rows while carrying food and drinks and trying to edge back to your seat without tripping over the cup holders.
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Oh I totally agree. Like I said, at the end of the day I'm watching islanders games. Ultimately I'm going to be happy. Just sharing my experience. All I really care about at the end of the day is a win.
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Too bad that can't take the team to the next level! But hey, you always have the "we made it further than you" consolation prize to hang your hat on. Kudos!!
I wouldn't even bother. Look at who's commenting. Fluffy? Who's next, Stealing Society? The castoffs from the Rangers threads come here because they're ignored over there, so no reason not to treat them the same here. And Brooklynders? That's cute; no really, it is. One game in and some are already scraping bottom on their wit-meter. At least show some regular season form.
This is spot on. I'm all for a good trolling session from the quality Ranger fans over there (a bit of an oxymoron, but they do exist). But you said it perfectly. This guy's ignored over there, so he comes over here to display the type of intellect that rendered him invisible over there.
I also don't get the Brooklynder thing. Is it bad to play in Brooklyn? I think it's pretty cool.