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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Islanders Bolster D on Day 1: Deal for Visnovsky, Draft Reinhart

When the final seconds ticked off the clock on the Isles final game of the season, a brutal loss to the league worst Columbus Blue Jackets, a whole new set of questions faced the team heading into the offseason.

The Islander defense was a huge weak spot and they were set to lose three bodies from a blueline that finished the year 26th in goals against. Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina will no doubt be looking for new jobs this summer, while Steve Staios already has his new job as a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Islanders have made it no secret that they want to add defensemen, and that they would likely have to come via trade due to the team's general lack of success on the free agent market. On Friday during day one of the NHL Entry Draft, Garth Snow got his summer off to a good start.

After Rough Loss to Sens, Isles Try to Regroup in Buffalo

"There was zero intensity in our game. We can't start a game like that, down two goals right away. We didn't find a way to respond and get back into the game."

Those comments from captain Mark Streit really say all that needs to be said. The Islanders obviously didn't play like they wanted to. They don't need to be reminded of that.

Isles Defeat Kings in OT

In what has become a string of must win games, the Islanders got back on the right track after beating the Kings 2-1 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

It was a game that surely made Kenny Jonsson proud.

No-no for Nabby

The Islanders knew they were missing their best defenseman in Travis Hamonic as they got ready to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. A team that already towered over them seemed to get even bigger when Hamonic was replaced by Aaron Ness.

Prior to the game, Andrew MacDonald spoke about needing to "step up" in the absence of Hamonic as far as defense and hitting was concerned. Unfortunately, the Islanders didn't do a great job of that. But that was fine, because their last line of defense stepped up big time.

Eaton Scores Winner for Isles in Ottawa

The Islanders were successfully able to walk away with two points from a team that normally gives them headaches. After going to overtime, they got the winning goal from an unlikely source, however.

Mark Eaton put the puck past Craig Anderson, who was completely fooled by Eaton's spin-o-rama backhand shot (pass?) after a really nice pass by Milan Jurcina.

Tavares Picks Up Where He Left Off

I didn't get a chance to write over the weekend as it was happening, but John Tavares did a fantastic job of representing the Islanders in Ottawa during the All-Star break. He had some neat moves in the shootouts on Saturday during the Skills Competition, and was one of the final shooters in the last breakaway portion of the event.

Leafs Get Help to Defeat Isles in OT

As if things weren't already tough heading into Tuesday night's game for the New York Islanders, their opponents would end up getting help - and a lot of it.

To say that the officiating was a disgrace is putting it kindly. For those of you who have frequented this space over the years, you know it's not something we usually harp on, even in other games where it's been bad. I know for myself, I'm a staunch believer that these things even out, and that missed penalties are one of the adversities that good teams overcome.