Blogging about the New York Islanders, the NHL and everything else hockey
It’s the end of summer. Less frozen drinks and more frozen pucks are coming soon. Here’s some time lapse video from the University of Michigan as they make their ice surface for the coming season. Happy Labor Day Isles fans!
Oh no he didn’t! Oh yes he DID!
Found via 2 Man Advantage
I’ve had the luck and/or misfortune of being stuck down in Florida for work for the past three weeks. The good news was I was able to enjoy 85 degree weather and a nice ocean breeze in between 12-hour stints at the office. The bad news is I had to eat at the crummy hotel buffet every morning and didn’t get to see one single Islanders game.
In all, I was gone for 19 days. The amazing thing is, I missed just THREE Islander games! That’s as many games as my beloved Jets managed to play (and lose). What gives? You can look at it two ways - the extra time between games gave the squad more rest and time to practice or the extra time has prevented the team from getting into a groove. I’m going with the latter. Hockey players are conditioned to play three games a week. As we see every Spring when playoffs come around, a tight schedule with a lot of games can benefit a team. Sure, they need time to recurperate from the ravages of the game, but averaging a week between contests isn’t going to benefit one single Islander. And it also might come back to haunt the Isles down the road, when suddenly they are playing a tight schedule and fighting for a playoff spot (fingers crossed) and their competition has a critical night off.
Right now, with just nine games under their belt, including just three since Oct. 12, it’s hard to tell what kind of team the Islanders have. The next couple of weeks should give us a clearer indiction of this squad’s ability and more insight on its strengths and weaknesses. Starting tonight, the Isles play three games in five days and a total of 14 games in 30 days for the month of November, followed with 15 in December, their busiest month.
Some random thoughts while traveling in South Florida:
I saw two Florida Panthers jerseys in and around the Hollywood, Fla. area. Both guys were coming out of different liquor stores on differnet weekdays in broad daylight. Understandable. The Panthers are 4-7 and have scored just 27 goals.
We got lunch at this joint called Chicken Kitchen a few times. I’m totally on board with this place. They basically sell cut up grilled chicken (kind of like you’d get in a fajita or chicken taco) and a bunch of different sauces. The salsa is great. Some chicken and salsa over yellow rice and I was set.
As a Jet fan, I have an inherent dislike for Miami Dolphins fans (but I put that aside for my cousin, that s.o.b) but that may no longer be a problem. You see, even in the heart of Dolphin country, the Dol-Fans seem to be a dying breed. A group of us were getting lunch in a local sports bar and grill last Sunday. There were about 10 televisions in and around the bar. One was tuned to the Giants-Dolphins game. One. A few others were on bowling. You gotta be kidding me. I know the Dolphins are terrible (after all, the Jets beat them for their lone win) but come on. You can’t leave your team hanging like that. Still, I know the Dol-Fan will never be extinct. I have no doubt all the fans will come back the next time the Dolphins look good again. Sunshine fans in the Sunshine state.
Looking forward to Al Arbour Night this Saturday. Get a ticket and come honor big guy.
And lastly, Happy Halloween.
You are currently browsing the Islanders Army weblog archives for the hockey category.
NYI News NYI Highlights Islanders Army Video NYI Official Videos