Colin McDonald scored his first goal as an Islander, but the Isles skated away with yet another loss on home ice, this time to Buffalo. (Photo: 5of7/flickr)

The post was not the Islanders’ — or rather, John Tavares’s — friend tonight.

After being taken down by Christian Ehrhoff, earning himself a penalty shot, the Isles center skated in and brought Ryan Miller down on his pads; however, his backhand attempt hit the right pipe. That goal would have been his second goal of the night and tied the game at three, taking the Islanders to overtime with the Sabres. Instead, it was his second goal post.

» Continue reading “Sabres Prevail in Joust With Isles”

Brad Boyes faces off against former team the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Coliseum. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Tonight’s game will be the only meeting this season at Nassau Coliseum between the Islanders and Sabres. The snow storm battering the East Coast right now might mean low attendance, but there will surely be a few diehard fans braving the conditions.

» Continue reading “Preview: Isles vs. Sabres, 2/9/13″

It’s black and yellow no more for goalie Tim Thomas… but will it ever really be orange and blue? (Photo: deb/flickr)

Unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere with a bunch of giants, it’s very unlikely that you don’t know what I’m about to reiterate to you: The Islanders acquired goaltender Tim Thomas yesterday afternoon for a second-round conditional pick.

Talk about “all this for a bag of pucks.”

» Continue reading “The New York Islanders and Their Newest Reluctant Goaltender”

Evgeni Nabokov finished with 21 saves in the Isles’ third straight loss, this time to the Rangers. (Photo: Clyde/flickr)

I was excited for this matchup. Why? Because I always am. It’s a crosstown rivalry, man –two teams who hate each other, each within, say, 30 miles of the other.  This is special stuff.

Unless, of course, you’re the Islanders and you miss the memo about intensity against a team that you can’t stand.

» Continue reading “Isles Fall Flat At MSG”

Michael Grabner scored his team-leading fifth goal against the Penguins, but the Islanders lost, 4-2. (Photo: Robert Kowal/flickr)

The Islanders attempted to pull even in the third period with two quick goals, but eventually the Penguins dashed their hopes, beating them 4-2 at Nassau Coliseum.

» Continue reading “Penguins Double Up on Isles, 4-2″

Fisticuffs specialist Brett Gallant has agreed to terms on a one-year entry level contract with the Islanders. (Photo: M Richter/flickr)

• Brett Gallant has signed an entry-level deal with the Isles, good for one year. The third-year Sound Tiger is third in the AHL in penalty minutes with 174. 
• Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma had some nice things to say about the Isles earlier today, according to the Pens’  Twitter. 
• Oh yeah… there’s a game tonight.

The Penguins are looking for some redemption after losing to the Isles 4-1 last week. Since that loss, they’ve been on a tear, winning three straight and outscoring their opponents (the Rangers, the Devils and Washington) 14-4. Yowza.

While the Pens did manage to double up the Capitals on Sunday, they had let a 3-1 lead slip away prior to a Chris Kunitz hat trick. Playing on Sidney Crosby’s wing has definitely sparked Kunitz’s game (as it should); he has seven points in his last two games.

Meanwhile, the Isles are tweaking some things. We’re finally going to get a sustained look at Brad Boyes on the top line with John Tavares and Matt Moulson, as Kyle Okposo is demoted to the second line. Eric Boulton’s a scratch tonight, as Colin McDonald returns from suspension and bumps Casey Cizikas back down to fourth-line wing. And Joe Finley is still out of the lineup, while Radek Martinek is on IR (my reaction: LOL ARE YOU SERIOUS HE HASN’T EVEN PLAYED A GAME… oh, right. Visnovsky’s coming.).

In goal, it’ll be Marc-Andre Fleury, who had a miserable outing last time, against Penguin killer Evgeni Nabokov. (PETA, please don’t come after me for that one. I don’t mean those penguins.)

That’s about it from me. I’m looking forward to actually being able to watch this one on Gamecenter! Enjoy.

It’s unclear whether or not Webster Bank Arena might host an affiliate of the Rangers one day, but… oh, the rumor mill has been turning. (Photo: Doug Kerr/flickr)

The Sound Tigers had another lovely little three-in-three weekend, and came out of it with five out of a possible six points.

» Continue reading “Sound Tigers Rundown: Weekend Turnaround, Rangers Rumors”

John Tavares and Matt Moulson have remained the Isles’ leading scorers through seven games this year. Today, they meet the Devils for the third time. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

After a successful finish to their road trip (3-1-1), the Isles settle back in at Nassau Coliseum for yet another bout with the Devils. Are these teams getting sick of each other yet?

» Continue reading “Preview: Isles vs. Devils, 2/3/13″

Matt Moulson drew the penalty against Henrik Tallinder that gave the Isles the game-winning goal in overtime. The Isles jumped over the Devils to claim first in the Atlantic Division. (Photo: Doug Kerr/flickr)

I thought about doing a straight-up recap of this game, but seeing as I didn’t do a proper preview, I figured I may as well step outside of the box for the post-game too. Plus, ya know, it’s Aerys’s second birthday and birthdays require celebration. So here goes.

» Continue reading “First. Place. In. The. Atlantic. Division. (For Now.)”

Newly-extended defenseman Brian Strait and the Islanders face off tonight against New Jersey. (Photo: Natalie Litz/flickr)

Defenseman Brian Strait has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with the Islanders. The team announced the signing this afternoon, and Bob McKenzie added that the deal averages out to about $775,000 per year. After  six games Strait has an even plus-minus and no points, but has exhibited a decent shutdown style of play and has hovered around 20 minutes of ice time a night.

Tonight, he’ll need to be solid, as the Atlantic Division’s first- and second-place teams clash at the Rock. The Devils outwilled and outplayed the Islanders, 2-1 on Opening Night at Nassau Coliseum, but the Islanders are fresh off of a resounding 4-1 win in Pittsburgh, so that might do something for their confidence.

Seeing as it’s around 3 p.m. and there are a plethora of previews better than what I can come up with, readily available, here are a few I think you should check out:

• islanders.nhl.com’s preview;
• Lighthouse Hockey’s take, complete with the lineup after Colin McDonald’s suspension;
• Arthur Staple’s bite about the Devils’ game, with quotes from Jack Capuano;
• SB Nation’s Devils site, In Lou We Trust, with a breakdown of what to expect.