Islanders Look to Attack Ottawa!

This post was published 14 years 4 months 13 days ago which may make its content inapplicable to the current Islanders roster and/or team news. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

Well, it never fails – no matter what time of day, the weather or anything else that can have some sort of “effect” on whatever it is writers use to get their creative juices, there is always at least ONE (or more…) who just have to drag the Islanders name through the mud. In this specific case, an article out of Ottawa (not even Garrioch mind you) but an unnamed writer on CBCSports

How do you spell relief for your worst beating of the season? NYI.

That’s the common abbreviation for the New York Islanders, the sad-sack team against which the reeling Senators open a home-and-home series on Thursday night in Ottawa (7:30 p.m. ET).

Luckily, the Islanders appear to be just the tonic for any queasy feelings that may be lingering in Ottawa.

New York (4-9-2) has the fewest points (10) and the fewest wins in the NHL this season

Woah, wait a minute – this “unnamed” person can just get anything they want into an article because it’s “With files from the Associated Press”? Please, it’s not like their Senators are lighting the hockey world on fire either.

A little compare and contrast:

Ottawa (6-7-2) Pts 14
New York (4-9-2) Pts 10

So let me get this straight, the Islanders can go into this home and home series and potentially come out with the exact number of points the Sens have? Good – I hope they do just to show the little snob who wrote that article just how bad of shape the Senators are in themselves.

If anything, stuff like this should really lift the drive and desire of the team, however according to Newsday’s John Jeansonne, the Islanders are having fun and know they are close to being a true competitor. They have patience and have faith that their coach Scott Gordon needs time to work out all the kinks. All in all, there is patience within the organization – it is the fans however that are on the fence with remaining patient.

Bailey’s Second Game

2008 First round draft pick Josh Bailey played in his first NHL game on Monday, and he did just fine. He may not have gotten on the score sheet in the way he had hoped (0 shots and 2 penalties), but he was fairly solid on face offs (7 of 11 or 64%). I had the chance to give Bailey a quick interview in the locker room on Monday – and the kid was just beaming from ear to ear. He told me he was a bit upset with the penalties but that it was part of adjusting and I commented on his solid face offs, he said that was part of his game and he was glad be able to show the fans a small part of it. At times, when Bailey had the puck in the offensive zone on the Power Play, he was poised and very patient. He moved the puck smart and seemed to open up shooting lanes for his teammates. It was this solid play, that landed Bailey on a new line with Okposo and Hilbert. That line should be great because his wingers are smart, gritty and quick.

If the Islanders want to be successful tonight, they need to keep to their plan for their first 40 or so minutes – and extend them into the third period. The game they played on Monday was fairly decent, if they would have scored on one or two of their power play opportunities they could have either won or gotten into extra frames. The on ice product is getting close, it’s just a matter of getting the team healthy and firing on all cylinders. Hopefully they can figure that out tonight in Ottawa.

Live Tracker

I am not feeling well tonight, so there won’t be a live blog – but I will do a recap later on or tomorrow.