Isles Rally from Three Goal Deficit to Stun Wild 5-4

Given the fact that the Islanders were playing the Minnesota Wild, you just knew that Nino Niederreiter would do his best to make his presence felt. It seemed predictable, and I even indicated as much on the radio show on Sunday morning. While he didn't live up to my pregame prediction of two goals, he had a goal and an assist as he looked to pace the Wild against his former, struggling team and when he gave the Wild the 3-0 lead many - including myself - thought that was all they needed.

Nabokov, Isles Blank Red Wings

On Monday night the New York Islanders were on the other side of a poor effort for a change which is surprising given the team they played. The Detroit Red Wings are not known for poor efforts, but as they try and figure things out through injuries, their spiral continued with the Isles 3-0 win.

Grabner Paces Isles in 5-3 win over Rangers

Michael Grabner chose a perfect time to snap out of his scoring slump, especially considering he's been doing many things right these days. Jack Capuano even said he was doing everything right except scoring, and I tend to agree with that statement of late. The Islanders were able to defeat their rivals thanks to Grabner's two goal performance, where he scored on a couple of breakaways to pace the Isles in a back-and-forth contest.

'It Sucks'

There really is no other way to describe it, and with the way things are going it can refer to anything. Tuesday night's game against Tampa Bay. The last month and a half. The defense. The penalty kill. There's been a lot that's gone wrong for the Isles that you can apply this quote to, muttered by Jack Capuano after the Isles stunning loss against the Bolts.

Habs drop Isles in OT in Strome's Debut

The last time the Isles won a home game that went to OT was on February 11th, 2012 against the Kings. That would not change Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Isles lost again in OT, failing to get to the skills competition which is the only way they've been able to win games that go into extra frames at the Coliseum.

Isles Shutout by Kings to run Winless Streak to Nine

Getting off to the right start didn't seem to do the trick for the Islanders on Saturday night in Los Angeles, but then again: it's hard for anything to go right when you have trouble getting shots off after controlling play for the better portion of a game.

Blues Give Isles 8th Straight loss in 5-1 Powerplay Showcase

The Islanders may have taken baby steps forward in their games against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, but in St. Louis the penalty killing and defense were once again the culprits in an effort that left the team taking another huge step back.

Why Tonight should be Cappy's Last Game

By Sean Croft

 "The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming." -Harvey Dent

Truer words have never been spoken, especially in regards to the New York Islanders, and the situation they are currently in. As of this moment, the Islanders are 8-15-3, 19 points: 14th in the Eastern Conference, 27th Overall, and yet, only 7 points out of the playoffs, with nearly three quarters of the season left to play. Should When we lose to the Capitals tonight, it will solidify another 4 win November. It will should also solidify the end of Jack Capuano's tenure here on the Island.

Isles drop Fifth Straight in 5-0 Blowout by Wings

There couldn't have been a worse time for the Isles to come out and have one of their poorer efforts of recent memory.

There were very few moments and bright spots for the Isles. Aside from a couple of good rushes there wasn't much substance to this game. There were a lot of the same issues we've been harping on. Turnovers continue to be a problem, and once again was an issue for Andrew MacDonald.

The Song Remains the Same: Isles lose again in Regulation to Jets

For the New York Islanders, Wednesday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets looked oddly familiar. It was the same song and dance as the prior games, and resulted in the Isles eighth loss in their last 11 games.

Isles Fall in Heartbreaking Loss to Pens

It's hard to find a loss more heartbreaking than the 4-3 one the Isles suffered on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, especially given the circumstances.

Leafs Defeat Isles 5-2

It's getting to the point now where every game it seems like the Islanders have good moments, but it all gets ruined by some perplexing and quite frankly unacceptable breakdowns. Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs continued that alarming trend.

Isles give Wings Another Shootout Loss; NYI FYI Sunday at 10 AM

After the way that Thursday's game had ended against the Los Angeles Kings the Islanders really needed something to get themselves going against their new Eastern Conference opponents, the Detroit Red Wings. For a few minutes to start the game things did seem to go well for the Isles.

Isles Return Home, End Skid with 3-1 Win Over Nashville

The New York Islanders put forth one of their better efforts of the season, defeating the Nashville Predators 3-1 and finally ended an extended losing skid in their return home.

The thing that stands out the most in this game was the consistent effort particularly on the forecheck. The Isles did a great job of pressuring the defensemen and forcing turnovers which they were able to turn into scoring chances at the other end.

Isles Lose Game to Blue Jackets, Vanek to Injury

Things could not be going any worse for the New York Islanders lately. By 10 PM on Saturday, the Islanders had suffered yet another lopsided loss, this time to the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets and lost new winger Thomas Vanek to an "upper body" injury after just one shift.

Not to mention Evgeni Nabokov kept up his alarming trend of giving up many goals on few shots. The Blue Jackets had trouble getting pucks towards the net for the first half of the game - they only had six by that point - but had two goals to show for it.

Isles Shutout in Carolina

Every team is going to have games where the opposing goaltender makes some fantastic saves and they'll have trouble getting a puck past them all night. Unfortunately, that night came for the Isles at an inopportune time.

Vanek, Poulin Star to Give Isles Win vs. Bruins, Four Point Weekend

For the first time in what certainly seems like quite some time, the Islanders finally got all four points available on a back-to-back, and even won a game at home against a good team to do so. The Islanders snapped their funk at home and defeated the Bruins 3-1.

Resilient Isles get Shootout Win in Ottawa

The Islanders night looked like it was going to be a pretty long one after the first period was over, with the Senators having scored two quick goals to go into the intermission and the Isles unable to capitalize on really controlling much of the period.

However, the Islanders were finally able to be party spoilers of their own and ended up on the other side of a team blowing not only one two goal lead, but two.

Islanders Acquire Vanek from Sabres for Moulson, 2014 1st, 2015 2nd

Talk about a Sunday evening shocker.

In a strange twist of events, the Islanders have completed a trade to acquire Thomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for Matt Moulson, a 2014 1st round pick and a 2015 2nd round pick.

There is a lot to digest here, but lets try and break some of it down.

Bailey and Nielsen's Strong Play Helps Isles Win

If Josh Bailey and Frans Nielsen hadn't gotten off to the starts they have this season, you have to wonder where the Islanders would be in the early season rankings. But each have started off strong, and were integral in a huge win on Friday night in Pittsburgh.

Isles Comeback Falls Short vs. Canes; NYI FYI Sunday Morning

The first few minutes of the game on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes looked like a carryover of play from the previous game against Edmonton. As time went on though, the Isles regressed in their play and the result would end up being the opposite.

The Isles fell into some traps that they were ultimately unable to recover from as the Hurricanes pulled out a 4-3 win over their new division rivals.

Sabres Earn First Victory on more Blown Leads by Isles

While it's certainly not time to panic yet with so many games left to play, the fact that the Islanders are having trouble playing against teams that (on the surface) they are better than does bring a cause for concern.

When I look at the way the last two games against the Nashville Predators and Buffalo Sabres have gone, I'm disappointed in the way this team has played. It's still the same problems we've seen recently.

Line Shuffle Produces Results, but Isles Fall Short in Nashville

The Nashville Predators are a team that is defensively sound and finds success in getting opponents to play their game. The Islanders found this out the hard way.

The Predators played their patented game lead by Barry Trotz and notched the 3-2 victory over the Islanders. It seemed like all night the Isles had trouble getting passes completed and were stuck in the neutral zone for long stretches.

Hawks Give Isles First Regulation Loss

We always hear the statement, but it never fails to be true. If you struggle to keep your legs moving you will lose, no matter how skilled your opponent is. The Islanders got stuck early on in the game in "deer-in-headlights" mode and although they came close, they ultimately were unable to recover.

Isles Blow Two Goal Lead but Salvage Point in Home Opener; NYI FYI Sunday at 10 AM

The Islanders let a two goal lead slip away in their home opener, losing in a shootout to their new division rivals the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus didn't have much of a chance to control the play in the first period, and only had four shots on Evgeni Nabokov through the first frame. Meanwhile the Isles didn't do enough to capitalize on their possession time, often missing passes and having a hard time getting pucks towards Sergei Bobrovsky.

Isles Spoil Devils Home Opener in Shootout

In similar fashion to what we would have seen towards the end of last season, the Islanders pulled out a shootout win over the New Jersey Devils in a game where they played pretty sloppy overall.

Neither side really had great defense, a trend that seems to be in concert with what the rest of the league has been experiencing over the first week of the new season. When you pair that with the smaller equipment that the goalies are now required to wear it makes for some high scoring contests.

Thoughts on Hockey at Barclays

It's been a few days since the Isles played their preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but I wanted to put my thoughts on here since most people have already beaten me to the punch.

I was fortunate to have been away from my computer the last couple of days, which has allowed me to reflect and think about what I liked and didn't like rather than write anything reactionary.

Isles Drop Both Ends of Split Squad to Flames

The Islanders got their first preseason games under their belts, playing a pair of games against the Calgary Flames in split squad matches.

Naturally it's tough to gauge anything in the early preseason games as it's more of a tune-up. In general vets don't want to get hurt, and that's the best strategy of them all.

The Moment We've Been Waiting for: Tavares Named Captain

On Monday, the Islanders made the worst kept secret of the past few months official as they named John Tavares as their captain. Tavares will be the 14th player in team history to wear the 'C' on his sweater.

Free Agency Opens - What are the Options?

Happy Free Agency Day to all! Today will prove to be a wacky and wild one once 12 PM hits, seeing as teams have had the last couple of days to meet, erm, I mean express interest in any UFA they wish (without negotiating or many any offers, of course – thanks NHL for pointing that out early in the process)!

At any rate, it’s been a while since I posted in this space with the whirlwind of stuff going on between game 6 and now the start of free agency. I have all intentions of posting about the Isles draft day, but I feel we need to see how the beginning of this signing period goes to correctly identify organizational needs and how the rest of the roster falls into place.

Pens Take Game 3 over Isles in OT with Strong Powerplay

If there was ever a time for the New York Islanders to make a statement that they were relevant to the NHL again, doing so Sunday on national TV was the perfect forum to do so. And overall, the Islanders made their fans proud and really for the first time in a while turned heads.

You really have to look no further than what’s being said by every analyst from one coast to another regarding the penalty assessed to Brian Strait in overtime for the way he played Sidney Crosby peeling off of the side boards.

A penalty in October. Not in overtime in the playoffs.

The Penguins scored on the resulting powerplay, bringing a great deal of frustration to the Islanders, their fans, and anyone out there actively rooting against the Pens in this series (which I’m pretty sure is 95% of all other fanbases at this point).

The Islanders let a fast start get away from them, allowing the Penguins to get back into this game with some undisciplined play, started off by Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic in what were both fair calls. As mentioned in the last post, you CANNOT let this team get the man advantage with the guys they put out there. In a flash, the energy was sucked away for a spell and that came to a head when Pascal Dupuis buried a nice cross ice pass from Crosby, with John Tavares unable to do enough to disturb Dupuis, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.

You have to give all the credit to the world though to this Islander team, who battled and fought their way through even after giving up a goal to Douglas Murray to give the Pens the 4-2 advantage. It left many of us in the building wondering if the Islanders had yet another game of storming back against these guys in them, and they did.

Feeding off energy from one another and the crowd the Isles busted through, and while on a penalty kill Frans Nielsen somehow recovered a puck after losing it off his stick, turning it around and firing it up ice to a streaking Kyle Okposo. It’s hard to put into words what exactly Okposo does here, but the eruption of the crowd after scoring on the breakaway is probably the best way to put it. I’ll never know how he didn’t lose that puck in his skates and was able contort his body that way.

Nassau Coliseum was a home again, and this was accentuated by John Tavares, the face resulting from 20 years of struggling to find an identity and a string of consistent, good play. It was Tavares who scored the goal that tied the game, leaving the building with nothing to do other than chant “M-V-P.”

The Islanders had a huge opportunity on the powerplay not long after that, but were unable to capitalize. That’s becoming an alarming trend especially when you are trying to take down a team as tough as Pittsburgh.

The Islanders had their chances in the overtime too, but they missed a couple of opportunities and in some cases the Pens got away with cheap shots that left them unable to bury those chances.

Overall, the game wasn’t the best officiated, but it wasn’t the worst either. In the interest of fairness, from where my seats were there were several instances where Isles’ defensemen interfered with Pens players on the boards (blatant holding), just feet in front of the refs that went uncalled. So it goes both ways.

But as mentioned earlier, that’s a pretty tacky call in overtime for two teams that were playing their hearts out.

It was a solid hockey game all around, and for the second straight game the Islanders outworked and outplayed the opponent (well, for most of two games). They can beat this team but need to be a little more disciplined.

It was not a banner game for Strait, and I’m still not opposed to benching him in the next game. He had some solid moments and was key in Game 2, however Crosby is a very tough match-up for him and you need a better effort with Hamonic’s hands full of Evgeni Malkin. Radek Martinek has done this before, guarded against Crosby for the Isles and would be my choice for Game 4 in place of Strait who’s clearly not at 100% still.

It’s very hard to find anything negative here aside from the discipline, a shaky defensive play here and there and goaltending.

The latter deserves it own category as Evgeni Nabokov has struggled mightily this series. It’s tough to put full blame here and go all-out declaring this was why San Jose always choked but let’s be honest with ourselves. They’re playing a Penguins team that’s got two of the best three players in the league and a top-5 defenseman in the league on their man advantage. If you continue to give them these chances it won’t matter who is in the net.

Bottom line: Nabokov has given up some softies, and that has to change. In the past month we’ve some of the craziest saves from him, and almost one in every game. But that’s been absent through the first three games against the Pens here.

The forwards all came to play and all executed their roles pretty well. The most alarming however is Matt Moulson, who opened the scoring and pretty much disappeared the rest of the way. Brad Boyes is having trouble sustaining offensive momentum but I have liked the way he’s thrown his body around a bit. But he needs to be better with the puck and quickly get himself back in the slot area.

The crowd is one final thing to address here. Can you tell we’ve been waiting a long time for this?

I’m thrilled to say I was able to be a part of that atmosphere because I never had been. The last playoff game I was at had thousands of screaming Sabres fans there. But not Sunday. Sunday was virtually all Islanders, with a scattering of Pens fans here and there throughout the building.

The building left me speechless; as I’m sure it did the same for many of you. It sets up a really intense situation for Game 4 on Tuesday, and that’s become a talking point around the league with several people – media and fans alike - taking notice and calling this the loudest home game of the playoffs thus far.

A few adjustments need to be made heading into Tuesday, but there’s no doubt the Islanders will attempt to make them. They made the adjustments from Friday into Sunday, but allowed themselves to get into penalty troubles again which cost them the game more than anything else, quite frankly, including the officiating. If that 5-on-3 situation never comes up, we’re not even discussing the Strait penalty in overtime.

If the Isles can come out on Tuesday and play their game with some minor adjustments, they stand a very good shot of ending the home playoff game futility streak, and turn this into a three game series.

- Chris

Okposo, Isles Ruin Crosby's Return to Stun Pens and Even Series

Since their Game 1 showing on Wednesday night, the Islanders did a lot of talking about playing in the playoffs, adjusting to a different style, and what is required to be competitive. Both John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov talked about how playing at a playoff intensity level was "supposed to hurt" and how they just didn't get the job done.

Isles Suffer Game 1 Letdown, Pens win 5-0

Since we found out on Sunday night that the Islanders would slide to the 8th spot and be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, lots of speculation ensued - mainly centered on how many games Pittsburgh would win in.

Of course, at the very least we wanted to see the Isles play well, keeping the games close and maybe even stealing one on the road from a Pens team that is still trying to get to full health, which is scary when you realize the depth that they already have in place.

After much anticipation and a quiet start, the Pens broke through quickly on the powerplay when Beau Bennett put an odd angled shot past Evgeni Nabokov three and a half minutes into the game and it snowballed from there for the Islanders.

I felt that in the early going, despite the goal the Islanders were handling things fine but you knew they had to be better once the Pens finished their feeling out process. That didn't happen and the Islanders paid dearly for it. With every chance that Pittsburgh was getting up the middle of the ice, the Islanders freaked out and it created all sorts of problems for the better parts of two periods.

I know a lot of people are already on a Nabokov bashing kick, which quite frankly is unwarranted after what happened here. This is playoff hockey - you cannot leave your goalie out to dry, which the Islanders did so many times this season that you could almost see this coming.

I said on the show this past weekend and I will reiterate: I don't see any benefit to Brian Strait playing in games right now. He was coming off a major ankle injury, and has not looked strong since returning. His speed is shot right now and this was evident on a few Penguins rushes in Game 1. I like him and he's a solid defenseman, but the rust from the injury has not been shaken off yet. This should be Radek Martinek's spot, and that’s a move I'd like to see for Game 2.

We can talk all we want about how the Isles had been playing in the "playoffs" for a month but that is always misleading. On Wednesday night they got to witness the difference and experienced a Pens team that was prepared to play the several notches above regular season play that is required by all playoff teams.

And this doesn't only apply to the Isles. Just look at what happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have finally ended their playoff drought and get to match-up with the Boston Bruins. They were slaughtered in their own way, struggling to even get shots off against a Bruins defensive structure that has enough experience to know how to tighten up come Spring. Time and space is not given as it would be in the regular season.

The Islanders effort was not there for most of the night, but did improve later on in the game when the Penguins were perhaps taking their foot off the gas a little bit.

However, despite this there were some silver linings.

John Tavares looked like he was made for playoff hockey, despite the fact the Penguins bothered him all night. He had some nice rushes but couldn't get the chances off at the last moments in some cases but you could see he knew where to be, what to do, and the intensity that's required. This is more than we can say about several of his counterparts.

Kevin Poulin came into a difficult situation and did an admirable job replacing Nabokov, making some nice saves and only giving up one goal of his own. He wasn't tested as much as Nabokov, but it was nice to see him shake off some jitters after his unexpected first playoff appearance.

The Penguins got their scoring from some unlikely sources, Pascal Dupuis aside. I felt the Isles did a good enough job neutralizing Evgeni Malkin (despite his two points, which came during powerplay time). James Neal suffered a concussion (no details as to the extent) and Sidney Crosby is an unknown at this point as far as his availability (we'll assume game-by-game).

Given that, it's a shame the Islanders really couldn't compete in their first playoff game in six years. But if these players are still in limbo by Game 2, then it becomes a must win. The Penguins would still have Malkin, Jarome Iginla and Brendan Morrow, but the job is slightly easier with Neal's potential absence.

Personally, I don't see the Isles getting blown out in any more games this series. I'd expect them to be a bit closer now that they've seen what a playoff game is REALLY like.

Will Capuano make the necessary changes to reverse the Isles fortunes? They've taken steps away from what's made them successful and need to snap out of it, bear down and realize what more they need to do. As a matter of fact, Tavares and Nabokov said it the best themselves when asked about it during the post game. They need to recognize the fact that they need to battle even harder, and that winning in the playoffs is "supposed to hurt."

That message needs to be sent throughout the organization before 7 PM on Friday.

- Chris

Isles Escape from Winnipeg with Two Points; NYI FYI Sunday at 11 AM

The Islanders headed to Winnipeg for one of their biggest games of the season, needing to take two points from a team that could very well threaten their playoff hopes should the team go into a tailspin. With the jets playing some of their best hockey of late, especially at home, it made it yet another must win game for the Islanders - but pretty much everyone up until they clinch will be, given how tight the bottom half of the East's playoff teams are.

Isles fall to Rangers in OT but still get Huge Point

As far as 'first goal wins' games go, the Islanders and Rangers played what was one of the most exciting ones that I have ever seen. Unfortunately for the Islanders, they were the team that made the costly mistake in overtime to give the Rangers the victory. Josh Bailey lost his man after getting bumped by a teammate, allowing Dan Girardi open space to skate in and win it with a wrist shot.

The overtime point still gives the Isles a one point lead over the Rangers but the Rangers have played one less game.

Martin, Isles Make it Three Straight at Home to Continue Playoff Push; NYI FYI Sunday at 11 AM

The Islanders did a nice job of getting a point in Washington to keep pace in the playoff race. If they are going to drop games, getting points out of them is really the only way they can go about business right now.

But what that mini-comeback in Washington did, combined with the Rangers SO loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the day after, was rejuvenate the Islander fanbase in a big way as the team remained very much in it heading into Saturday nights home match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Isles get a Point in Washington to Move into 7th

The Islanders took their hot streak into Washington on Thursday night, with a chance to continue their march towards a playoff berth after not receiving much help on Wednesday from Pittsburgh or Montreal.

Happy Trade Deadline Day!

2:30 - The Ottawa Senators have sent goalie Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Cory Conacher and a 4th round pick in what's been the most exciting deal of the day thus far. This is a hockey trade, although my immediate reaction is I don't like what Tampa GM Steve Yzerman is giving up here.

Isles Head into Trade Deadline on High Note

Coming off a huge win over the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders made yet another statement heading into Wednesday's NHL trade deadline with a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

The win propelled the Islanders two points above the New York Rangers, where they sit tied for 7th with the Devils.

Isles Strong, but Pens Streak at 15

When it comes to playing a team on the kind of streak that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on right now, you couldn't have asked for more when it comes to the Isles play.

Visnovsky Returns with Two Year Pact

All we were saying was give us a chance.

Lubomir Visnovsky finally did that in the middle of February, reporting to the Isles after a 10 game absence due to either his son's illness or his reluctance to play for the team, whichever you prefer to believe.

Isles Playoff Push Road Trip Starts with Victory over Caps

The Islanders kicked off their road trip in a huge way on Tuesday night, defeating an opponent in the Washington Capitals that they are trying to fend off in their hopes to remain in the playoff conversation.

Isles Blow Golden Opportunity, Fall to Sens in Final Minute

For about 40 minutes everything was going extremely well for the Islanders as they appeared headed for another huge win in their attempt to propel themselves into playoff contention. Had the final 20 minutes gone any differently, we would be of a different mood.

Isles Hold on to Beat Panthers 4-3

In just a matter of minutes, the Islanders saw a game go from in the bag to up in the air against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead and basically outplaying the Panthers in every area of the game, the team collapsed a bit in the third period, giving up three goals to the Panthers in 1:40 of game play. However, the Islanders would end up pulling this one out and avoided going to overtime to do so.

Isles Extend Home Points Streak to 5

The Islanders gave fans more hope to build on with a convincing 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon to give them a 5-game points streak at home, and put themselves one point out in the playoff picture with 23 games remaining.

With Playoff Atmosphere, Rangers Defeat Isles in OT

The real crime in the Islanders 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers wasn't the penalty call on Michael Grabner - a stick to the midsection of a player with the puck in the vicinity will get called every time - it was the lack of many penalty calls at all, including a goose egg of calls on the Rangers.

Isles Continue Momentum, Prep for Rangers

It's amazing how much fan outlook can change over the span of a couple of games. But today, Islanders fans have plenty of reasons to feel good.

Once the buzzer sounded to conclude a 6-3 win over the East-leading Montreal Canadiens, fans began to look towards Thursday game with more hope.

Islanders Defeat Sens in Shootout; NYI FYI Podcast for March 3rd Up

The game between the Islanders and Senators on Sunday afternoon wasn't the most exciting game, but for the Islanders and their fans it was exciting enough that the team finally was able to secure a home win.

Isles Battle Back but Phaneuf, Leafs Win

The New York Islanders continued on with one of their more perplexing issues this season, losing 5-4 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Canes Score Four Straight, Isles Drop Another Home Game

Despite taking a 2-0 lead in a period in which they were grossly out-shot, the Islanders gave up four unanswered goals to the Carolina Hurricanes, giving them the 4-2 victory as the Islanders perplexing play at home continued.

Isles Blank Sabres, Back at it Sunday Night to Start Long Homestand

On the day the Islanders made one of their most significant transactions of the last few years, the team skated to a dominating 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Just as we wanted to see after the good ending in Montreal and as pointed out in the last post, the Islanders tightened up on defense and their netminder was as strong as he has ever been to seal the convincing win for the Islanders.

Rick DiPietro sent to Bridgeport, Isles Likely Ready to Move On

In a somewhat surprising and long overdue move, the Islanders waived goalie Rick DiPietro on Friday, effectively ending his season and possibly his career in a New York Islanders uniform. DiPietro officially cleared waivers on Saturday afternoon and will head to Bridgeport.

Isles Prep for Sens after 7-0 Massacre by Flyers

Ugly. There really aren't any words to describe what we all witnessed in Uniondale on Presidents Day against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was truly a Monday massacre.

The Islanders gave you a preview of this game barely 30 seconds in. And we all know what it means when we say it's going to be one of those games. This was definitely one of them.

Isles 5, Devils 1; Team Sale Rumor; New NYI FYI Episode

The New York Islanders capped off a relatively successful and busy week on Saturday night with a convincing 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils. In a matter of a few games we went from a five game losing streak to a two game winning streak and renewed hopes for some Isles fans.

Isles Rally to Beat Rangers 4-3 in Shootout

For a while, the outcome for the Islanders looked like it wouldn't be any different than previous games. Another loss seemed to be in the cards. But they were able to rally around one another, ultimately sealing the deal in the shootout to avoid losing their sixth straight game.

Danger Zone? Canes 6, Isles 4

The Islanders have hit a serious snag in their playoff hopes for this shortened season, and they have done so in an alarming way that's causing some concern among the masses.

Isles Dominate, but Lose to Sabres

There are going to be games where the Islanders put in a phenomenal effort but come up on the short end of the score. Saturday night against the Sabres was one of those days.

Rangers Defeat Isles as Thomas Trade Overshadows Game

While the Islanders lost their third straight game in a row, dropping a 4-1 decision to the New York Rangers, many fans were still perplexed by the cap-motivated move the team had made just hours earlier when they announced a trade for Tim Thomas.

Power Outage Continues: Pens 4, Isles 2

For most of the night, it looked like I could consider taking the easy way out of writing my thoughts for the game and just copy and paste the one from Sunday's game. But fortunately, at the very least this one had some different aspects to it, as the Isles did show some life against the Penguins in the end. It’s still baffling though that the Isles lost a game in which the opponent played so undisciplined.

Isles Powerplay Silent Against Devils, Fall 3-0

After playing each other twice before, the Islanders and Devils definitely felt that they had a handle on the style the other played. And both teams, remembering the offensive outburst by the other side from Thursday night played hesitant for the first 30 minutes of this game.

Islanders Beat Devils in OT; Strait Gets 3 Years; Visnovsky Reportedly Arrives Next Week

In what proved to be one of their biggest tests of the young season, the Islanders bent but never broke after blowing a two goal lead against the New Jersey Devils, ultimately winning 5-4 in overtime in a game that was quite exciting and gave the Isles a share of first place.

Grabner, Nabokov Star as Isles Beat Pens 4-1

One concern everyone had about the Islanders going to Pittsburgh was how much of an effect the crushing overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the previous game would have on the outcome. Clearly, the answer was not much.

Jets Storm Back to Defeat Isles in OT

Those who giveth, taketh away.

This was the story line of the Islanders top performers in their 5-4 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.

Bruins Edge Isles, 4-2

Although the Islanders fought valiantly for the better part of two periods, they showed that they were clearly gassed from playing the second of a back-to-back, their first one of this season.

Isles Make Comeback to Win First Road Game

Things could have gone a lot smoother for the first road game of the season for the Islanders. But they could have been worse.

While the Isles were able to pull out a 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the score wasn't as indicative of the game as one would think at first glance.

Islanders Hold Off Lightning for First Win

From the moment the puck dropped you knew this game was going to have a bit of a different feel to it than the home opener. Any game that has two fights go on one second after the puck is dropped will be different.

Opener: Devils 2, Islanders 1; 1/20/2013 Podcast

After a long anticipated wait, the Islanders finally opened up their season on Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. As expected after a training camp that lasted just shy of a week, the game of hockey that was played between the two wasn't the prettiest thing we've seen.

Isles Finalize Roster, Claim Strait & Suspend Visnovsky; Prepare for Devils

Continuing the week of the waiver claim, the Islanders added defenseman Brian Strait from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move marks the fourth consecutive day the Islanders have added a player via the waiver wire.

Isles add Keith Aucoin, Send Strome and Reinhart to Juniors

For the third day in a row, the Islanders made some noise on the waiver wire as they continued to try to shore up some areas where they lacked depth on the roster.

Needing an extra center with a splash of experience, the Islanders announced they claimed Keith Aucoin off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Team White (BST) Defeats Team Blue (NYI) in Scrimmage

In lieu of a true training camp, most teams have decided to square off against their minor league affiliates to prepare for the upcoming season. The Islanders were one of the teams that did this and on Wednesday night opened the Nassau Coliseum up to anyone who wanted to come see it - you didn't even have to pay to park.

A nice crowd of about 3,000 was on hand to watch the scrimmage between what amounted to the Islanders against the Sound Tigers, with the Tigers (Team White) coming out on top 5-3.

Thomas Hickey claimed by Isles from Kings

With a very thin defense that desperately needs depth, the Islanders pulled the trigger on their second waiver claim of a blueliner in as many days.

Isles Claim Joe Finley; Visnovsky Update

With the season starting in less that a week, teams need to go through the usual process of officially assigning players to the minors, meaning that those who are not exempt must pass through waivers.

Since much of the league has began exposing their players, the Islanders scoured the waiver wire for a defenseman, and came back with Joe Finley from the Buffalo Sabres.

Isles Sign Radek Martinek; Waiting on Lubo; Public Viewing at Camp; New Podcast

The NHL and NHLPA finally signed their Memorandum of Understanding late Saturday night, officially ending the lockout. For those keeping score at home, the entire thing lasted for 119 days. Now we're on to bigger and better things - for at least the next eight years.

With the legal stuff out of the way, teams were able to make transactions once again shortly after midnight. The Islanders got into the fray as well.

Lubomir Visnovsky to Stay in KHL, NHL says 'Not So Fast'

As the lockout comes to a conclusion and teams begin to reassemble for their brief training camps, we're all beginning to remember what shape teams are in.

For Islanders fans, realization set in that their top three defensemen included Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Lubomir Visnovsky. Or...not?

NHL, Players Association Reach Agreement to End Lockout

Early Sunday morning, the NHL and the NHLPA came to an agreement on a new, 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement that will see an end to the 113 day standoff between the two sides.