What You May Have Missed This Week

This post was published 14 years 8 months 9 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.

This has been a busy week all around, for both the Islanders and myself personally. Work has been insanely busy, I worked last weekend and I am set to work again tomorrow – I love the overtime, it just keeps me from doing some of the other things I like to do (the extra money certainly helps with the OTHER stuff). On the nights that I might actually have a few minutes to get a post up – I have had hockey games myself – 4 goals and 1 assist in two games (maybe I can convince Garth to give me an ATO contract – heh).

Where should we even start? First and foremost the Islanders have halted their losing streak and finally mustered up enough solid play to get their first win of the 2009 calendar year. This happened on Wednesday, if you happened to watch the game – once the Ducks of Anaheim came onto the ice it was like watching the old Nintendo title “Ice Hockey”. Instead of the tall guy, the short guy and the fat guy – Anaheim is made up of tall and fat guys when the Isles only have the shorties on their side. It turned out far better than many expected, with Kyle Okposo blasting a shot past Giguere on the power play early in the game and then a beautiful feed form Nielsen to McLean on another blast that beat Giguere minutes later would give them a 2-0 lead. The second goal, McLean’s first NHL goal and point would chase Giguere from the net and cause him to throw a temper tantrum on the way to the bench, in front of the bench, walking onto the bench, slamming the door to the bench and finally commencing once he sat down. The look of horror and fear on those around him while he tossed things and broke his stick was absolutely priceless. It made this Islanders fan forget, even for the slightest moment that the Islanders are in the middle of a very bad season.

Although the Islanders would forget they were playing a powerhouse in Anaheim, they still managed to hold tight despite only getting around 5 shots on goal through the remaining two periods. Yann Danis apparently responded well to the public lashing from head coach Scott Gordon, or it could have been the fact that the Islanders passed up on claiming Danny Sabourin on waivers that day – a goaltender who had shutout the Islanders during two previous match ups. Whatever the case, Danis made save, after save and helped the Islanders reach victory. Good for you Yann! Another bright spot, Kyle Okposo continues to make his presence felt, it is safe to say that whatever ailments he had during he early part of the year are fully healed and he is beaming with confidence – scoring in back to back games for the first time of his career should certainly help even more.

For some information on who Curtis McLean is and what his path to the NHL was – be sure to check out the latest article on NYI.com

Getting my opinion on the first win of the season should please at least one commenter on my site – you are welcome Sean.

Meet me at the Lighthouse?

With news that the Islanders had inked a deal that would bring them to Kansas City for an exhibition game with the LA Kings – it certainly lit a fire under the butts of those in the Town of Hempstead government. Now, nobody knows if this was Charles Wang’s plan or not – but it sure did work. In the past several days there have been articles a plenty in both Newsday and around the web regarding a possible move to KC and the importance of a new arena and the Lighthouse approval. Fans have taken to the streets and shown their displeasure at the team’s possible future move to a new and empty arena elsewhere.

Neil Best has a great article today in Newsday involving the Islanders lucrative Cablevision TV deal that runs until the year 2031.

Mark Herrmann had a great article in Newsday recently as well, if you don’t already visit his new blog In The Crease regularly – you should check that out as well.

Mike Gasparino, one of my fellow Blog Boxers – says the cable deal is indeed great, he just wants every game in high definition.

Chris Botta conducts an excellent interview with Kevin Gorman from the Town of Hempstead regarding the Lighthouse Project that is a must read. He also posted some new information and concerns today that is also worth the read.

Kate Murray is THE problem

I have a little birdie inside the Town of Hempstead that will remain nameless – but this individual keyed me into some interesting points the last time we sat down together.

It is already widely known that Kate Murray will be running for Nassau County Executive during the next election. It is said at that time she will likely give up her position as Town of Hempstead supervisor in order to run as an incumbent. This is where things get interesting, apparently Murray feels running for County Exec will be a win-win situation. Win or lose it doesn’t really matter for her as she will likely be appointed to a judgeship should she not win the election – judgeship is something she has wanted for quite some time I am told.

Ask yourselves this question – if Nassau County has already appointed the Lighthouse Commission as the contractor and approved all of their plans why is the Town of Hempstead supervisor holding things up? It is my BELIEF that Kate Murray likely does not want to be involved in such a large project and decision before she steps down as TOH supervisor and should she win County Executive – she would be dealing with it on a new level, something started by the previous administration.

So Islanders fans and Town of Hempstead residents (and non residents too) – PRESSURE Kate Murray’s office with phone calls and emails if you want to get this thing going. Voice your displeasure with the political non-sense and red tape so we can get this project started and keep the Islanders here on Long Island where they belong.