Sorry for the late recap of the Pittsburgh game from Thursday – quite frankly I only saw the first period as I passed out for the rest. Looking at the recap, I didn’t miss anything exciting surrounding the offensive play of the Islanders – but I did notice Miroslav Satan and Sean Bergenheim each getting fighting majors. Something else I noticed – a leagues worst 15th shorthanded goal against, this team really needs special teams help in a bad way next season.
It seems moving to the center position has really sparked some sort of edge to the play of Satan, he can however be looking for a new contract from teams other than the Islanders next season so this doesn’t really surprise me. It does annoy me a little bit, because we really needed this type of play from him down the stretch and he was just a body on the ice at times. He has been great defensively this season, but injuries and bad bounces have really limited his offensive output this year. Satan is the type of guy who can disappear for stretches, as streaky as they come – so it’s nice to see him play gritty hockey, he just needs to find the net and someone will have a great winger.
Sean Bergenheim continues to impress every single game – although it’s not always on the score sheet. His timely hits, his positional play and the way he has become somewhat of an antagonist on the ice has really been a huge positive. He has also shown some toughness and a willingness to drop the gloves when the need arises, which is something this team needs in a bad way. With this season under his belt he should come into training camp next season beaming with confidence and should be able to pot anywhere from 20-25 goals.
Philadelphia comes to town tonight after a tough shootout loss last night to the New Jersey Devils, I expect them to come in and really work for those two points. Word on the street is Franz Nielsen will be back tonight and we should see the return of Bruno Gervais in the next few days.
Okposo Watch – Game 5
So, this is a late update (after game 6 actually) – but here are Kyle’s stats from Thursday:
Total Shifts: 18
Time on Ice: 15:41
Power Play Time: 3:34
Penalty Kill Time: :43
Average Shift: :52
Shots: 3
Blocked Shots: 1
Assists: 0
Points: 0
Takeaways: 0
Giveaways: 0
Hits: 0
+/-: -2
