About the Islanders

About the Islanders

March 27, 2008

Thursday, March 27, 2008

By Seth Rorabaugh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A preview of the Islanders.

Record: 34-36-7

Leading Scorer: Mike Comrie 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists)

Last Game: 4-1 win against the Penguins at New York Monday.

Last Game against the Penguins: Ditto.

Islanders Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Let's go with Trent Hunter. He scored a goal against the Penguins Monday and he just gives us this vibe that he's going to score.

Ex-Penguins: Andy Hilbert, C; Richard Park, RW; Jon Sim, LW (injured reserve);Garth Snow, general manager; Bryan Trottier, director of player development; Ted Nolan, head coach, John Chabot, assistant coach.

Useless Islanders Trivia: Through Tuesday, the Red Wings (Nicklas Lidstrom, 66 points and Brian Rafalski, 53 points) and the Canadiens (Andrei Markov 57 points and Mark Streit, 55 points) have each had two defensemen score more points than Comrie, the Islanders' leading scorer.

Best Islanders YouTube Video We Could Find: Pat LaFontaine was a player.

NOTES:

-Sidney Crosby doesn't think it will take long to get used to Marian Hossa.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and Wade Dubielewicz are scheduled to start in net.

-New York has been sending forwards Jeremy Colliton, Tim Jackman, Steve Regier and defenseman Matthew Spiller back and forth between the NHL club and their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. They are hoping Bridgeport can make the AHL playoffs.

-Islanders forward Frans Nielsen and defenseman Bruno Gervais did not make the trip to Pittsburgh due to injuries.

-The Islanders recalled a goaltender named Mike Mole from Utah of the ECHL. Is really a good idea to have a goaltender named Mole? Moles are renowned for, you know, being blind.

-If you're going to the game, we'll be in Section D-7, Row E, Seat 10. Stop by and say hi.

WHO TO ROOT FOR?

A reader writes:

I have a hockey question for you. I am heading to New Jersey this weekend for my annual fantasy baseball draft and trip to Atlantic City. In addition, I am attending the Devils-Flyers game on Friday night. I'm in a bit of a quandary in that I don't know who to support. It is probably best for the Devils to lose so that the Penguins can move closer to winning the division. However, it is going to be really difficult to root for the Flyers.

-Sean, Sean's Ramblings.

EN-We almost look at this like gambling. You may hate a certain team, but you probably love your wallet a lot better.

In other words, root/cheer/pull for whatever gives you or your team more in terms of a tangible gain. As foreign as it might seem, root for the Flyers. It means more to the Penguins in the long term.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Don't expect Mike Lange to return to television next season.

-Ron Cook says Marc-Andre Fleury is clearly the Penguins' top goaltender.

-In a shocking development, Michel Therrien doesn't think much of Ryan Whitney's defense.

-The Penguins' wives are spitting babies out left and right. First Ryan Malone's wife gave birth earlier this season. Then Pascal Dupuis' better half give birth on Tuesday. And from reading Shelly Anderson's notebook, we learned Mrs. Mark Eaton welcomed a new life to the world. Our money is on Dany Sabourin's wife to pull the trick next. He needs to double up on that creepy baby mask.

-Gary Roberts hopes to skate this morning in full equipment.

-Who's tougher? Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin?

-The Staal brothers (the ones in the NHL at least) had a teleconference. Kukla's Korner has the transcript.

-It's looking like Eric (Hurricanes) and Marc (Rangers) could meet each other in the first round of the playoffs.

-Random YouTube Find of The Day: Petr Sykora scoring a goal for the Devils against the Penguins in the 1999 playoffs.

-Does Anyone Remember This Happening YouTube Find of The Day: Jan Hrdina and Bobby Holik getting their skate laces tangled together during the same playoffs.

-Of the 12 teams with the lowest payrolls in the NHL, only the Penguins and the Sharks are definitely playoff-bound.

-The Penguins are interested in signing Niagara University forward Kyle Rogers. (Kudos to Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice for the find.)

-Going Five Hole is holding a Mike Lange quote tournament.

-Mark Ardelan and Nathan Smith scored goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-2 loss to Bridgeport. The Penguins missed an opportunity to claim first place in the AHL's East Division from Philadelphia.

-"Ardy, Ardy, the one-man party:"

-Apparently Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender David Brown didn't play very well.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Paul Bissonnette dominated Bridgeport defenseman Matthew Spiller in a fight last night:

(Kudos to EN contributor Eric Politowski for finding both videos.)

-Shootout goals by Aaron Clarke, Sean Collins and Kevin Croxton gave the Wheeling Nailers a 2-1 win at Dayton.

Atlantic Division

-Rangers forward Sean Avery took the blame for his team's 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers Tuesday.

-We missed this yesterday. The goal scored by Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr in the loss to Philadelphia gave Jagr his 20th of the season. He has scored at least 20 goals in every one of his 17 NHL seasons.

-If the Flyers go to the Stanley Cup final (snicker), forward Simon Gagne says he will try and return. He hasn't played since suffering a concussion Feb. 10 in Pittsburgh.

Northeast Division

-Boston center Marc Savard has a broken bone in his back.

-Bruins forward Chuck Kobasew is dealing with an ankle injury.

-Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller isn't as good as his Amp Energy Drink commercial would have you believe.

-Ottawa defenseman Brian Lee made his NHL debut in a 6-3 defeat of the Sabres Tuesday. He was the Senators' first-round pick in 2005.

Southeast Division

-The Lightning recalled goaltender Marc Denis from Norfolk of the AHL.

-The Lightning's new goaltender, Mike Smith, said his knee injury is minor.

-Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle was kicked in the head accidently in practice by forward Andreas Karlsson. Thankfully, he escaped a serious injury so we feel comfortable making a cute joke. Dean Martin unavailable for comment.

-Tampa Bay head coach John Tortorella will coach the United States at the IIHF World Championships.

-We forgot to make a mention of this yesterday as well, but Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin set a franchise record for goals during Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win at Carolina. Denis Maruk previously held the mark with the 60 he scored in 1981-82.

-The NHL is already hawking "Ovechkin 61" t-shirts.

-The Hurricanes are doing a less than stellar job of dispelling that "red neck" stereotype of southern hockey fans. They're actually giving out autographed John Deere tractors.

-Carolina signed 2007 first-round draft pick Brandon Sutter. He is the son of Devils head coach Brent Sutter.

-The Capitals demoted defenseman Sami Lepisto to Hershey of the AHL.

-Washington defenseman John Erskine will play tonight against the Lightning after missing six games due to a head injury.

Central Division

-Clay Wilson had a goal and an assist in his second NHL game and led the Blue Jackets to a 4-0 shutout of the Blackhawks.

-Predators forward David Legwand may miss the rest of the season due to a foot injury.

-Blue Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (one of our favorite NHL names) could miss the rest of the season due to a neck injury.

-Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock basically called Predators forward Jordin Tootoo a clown. Herschel Shmoikel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofsky unavailable for comment.