Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Jeff Tambellini has been called up from Bridgeport for today’s game. Hells Yeah I say, let’s see what he can do and how he plays. This club needs a shot in the arm. I’m not saying he’s a sure thing, but I applaud the move and the timing.
The New York Islanders have recalled forward Jeff Tambellini from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Tambellini is the Sound Tigers leading scorer this season with 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points along with a 12 plus/minus rating – all team bests.
Acquired at the trade deadline last year, the former first-round draft pick made the Islanders out of training camp and appeared in the team’s first game of the season before eventually being sent to Bridgeport.
Kazakhstan defeated Thailand 52 to 1 in hockey in the Asian Games. WTF? The victory followed the Kazakhs’ 38-0 drubbing of the United Arab Emirates. Kazakhstan outshot Thailand 97 to 7. I need to see some highlights. Seriously. It’s crazy. The Thai coach, an American, tried to put a positive spin on the drubbing, according to the Toronto Star.
“They are just an outstanding team,” Thailand’s American coach Michael Rolanti said of Kazakhstan, which competed in the Turin Winter Olympics. “I think it was a good game for us because we did not give up.”
I need to hire Rolanti as my official spokesman. He’d be great to have around when I come home at 4 am, down a few hundred and smelling of bourbon and strippers. I can just hear him telling my old lady “I think Tom did a great job by finishing the night and refusing to get in a cab.”
But seriously, props to Thailand for fielding a team and giving it a go. Rolanti told the Star there are only two ice rinks in all of Thailand and he had to pick a team from a pool of just 40 athletes.
The hero was forward Arthit Thamwongsin, who jumped on a rebound off the boards to slam a shot past Kazakhstan goaltender Sergey Ogureshnikov.
Links to today’s recaps around the web and video highlights.
- NY Post: No Isle-usion Renney Erupts After Rangers Loss.
After it was over, after the humiliation ended both the Islanders’ six-game losing streak and the Rangers’ little four-game winning streak against the rest of the league, Tom Renney exploded in anger.
This was the Professor Unplugged.
“We’re brutal, we’re awful, we have no concept of camaraderie, no concept of team, no concept of circling the wagons playing these guys,” the head coach fumed after the Blueshirts had committed too many careless mistakes to detail. “I’m really, really mad at this team. I’m not happy. I’m PO’d.”The Rangers never gave themselves a chance, not even after taking a 2-1 lead in the first, not even in a game where Jaromir Jagr had an extra jump to his step. The Islanders never stopped coming, never stopped taking the body, never stopped believing they were the better team.
“You Can’t Beat Us!” the vocal contingent of Islander fans in the building taunted the Blueshirts, and they were correct. The Islanders forced the Rangers to play down and dirty, forced the Rangers to navigate 200 feet with the puck almost every shift after the first, and the Blueshirts could not meet the challenge.
- Newsday: Isles, Renney rip Blueshirts
Well, if the Islanders could play the Rangers every night, they’d be undefeated.
For the fourth time this season — and the third time at Madison Square Garden — the Islanders last night upended the undisciplined Rangers in a game that left coach Tom Renney ripping into his team in one of his most emotional assessments of the season.
“They have no spell on us,” a furious Renney said after the Islanders’ 5-3 victory, which snapped their six-game losing streak and sent the Rangers to their first loss after four straight wins.
- Newsday: Islanders get total team effort
It was the Islanders’ third straight win at the Garden this season, a first in team history; it was their fourth straight overall at the Garden, also a record, and they now are 4-0 against the Rangers this season, one short of the franchise-best winning streak against their fiercest rival.
“It was just one of those games where we were due to come out of the slump we were in,” Nolan said. “The last six games, the puck hasn’t been bouncing our way, but you have to give this team a lot of credit. They’re pretty resilient, they never lost faith and they worked themselves through it.”
- NY Daily News: Isle be darned
After getting embarrassed yet again by the Islanders, Rangers coach Tom Renney closed the locker room door and unloaded.
Then, upon meeting the media, he ripped into his Rangers again - venting as much public anger at his players as he has at any time during his two seasons on the job - and contemplating whether personnel changes are in order.
“I am really (ticked) off,” he said. “I am really, really mad at this team right now. I am not happy.”
That was hardly surprising after the Rangers caved in against the Islanders for the fourth time in four meetings this season. Outworked, out-thought and out-tried virtually all night by a reeling Islanders team that had lost six straight, the Rangers were spanked, 5-3, last night at the Garden.
God, I love beating the Rangers.
[ev type="youtube" data="P6m4clzaOLY"][/ev]
Via HockeyFights.com, the Calgary Flames called up ex-Islander Eric Godard from the minors yesterday just in time for a tilt with Derek “The Boogeyman” Boogaard. Talk about a heavyweight matchup. Godard came out on top and the Boogeyman is now day to day with a possible concussion.
[ev type="youtube" data="d86wx-cU1n4&eurl="][/ev]
Newsday’s Greg Logan updates us on the Islanders prospects playing in the World Junior Hockey Championships in Leksand, Sweden.
Neither one is lighting up the scoreboard. (Kyle) Okposo has two assists and (Ryan) O’Marra has one. But Islanders general manager Garth Snow said last night that the club’s scouts at the tournament are pleased with their play. “It’s like an All-Star lineup, and some players are asked to play different roles,” Snow said, noting that O’Marra is on the third line as opposed to playing a top offensive role for his junior team in Saginaw.”
Logan also mentions that D Fred Meyer acquired from Philly, may be ready to join the Isles as soon as tomorrow night.
Is a $100,000 ice skating treadmill.
Well it’s been a while since IslandersArmy.com has posted a video up at YouTube. I still have the 1982 and 1983 Stanley Cup clinching game videos to go through and post up for you. I promise to do 1982 soon.
But we’re not the only ones uploading Islanders videos. I got an email from reader Chris R. today with a link to his newest video, a compilation of 2006 highlights, with some old-school highlights mixed in. Check it out.
As I finished watching Chris’ video, I noticed some Islanders videos from YouTube.com user “NYISLANDERS”. Yes, the Islanders have started uploading their own videos to YouTube. Here’s the Islanders Jumbotron pre-game video.
And here is the Islanders “Tradition” video they showed before the home opener this season.
There are also a bunch of commercials for Islanders TV (mostly lame, as most feature $%@! Sparky) and the $67.5 million dollar man’s press conference is up there as well for all to see, for all of eternity. See all the NY Islanders videos here.
Tampa Bay scored three power play goals in cruising to a 5-1 win over the Isles at the Coliseum. So 48 hours ago the Coliseum Heroes were at the top of the Atlantic and now they’ve slipped four spots, ahead of just the lowly Flyers (love that). Crowd favorite Mike Dunham got the start and played pretty mediocre. Some might say like a #2 goalie. Then again it’s hard to blame the keeper for giving up power play goals.
Zhitnik scored the lone Islander goal with assists from Simon and York. It was Alexei’s second goal of the season. Witt was on the ice for all five Lightning goals. Hunter was on the ice for four. Rough night for those guys.
The Islanders had fewer shots, more penalties, less takeaways, more giveaways, and won fewer faceoffs than Tampa. When all that happens, you lose. Pretty much every time.
I can’t say I like that idea. Mighty Jason Blake is not only the Isles’ most consistent goal scorer, the guy plays with an infectious red-bull like energy level (or maybe that new cocaine drink but the Army hasn’t tested that yet). We’ve all seen Islander games turn on a nice hustle play by Blake. Sure, he can be a bit overzealous at times but that’s why we love him. All that said, Buccigross, one of the few ESPN guys committed to hockey, makes a good point - the Orange and Blue need d-line help and need some good young players and Blake may be the most attractive player on the roster. He’s good. He plays hard. He’s cheap. Hopefully the team will play well enough to be in the hunt this year and GM Garth Snow won’t be looking to sell. But if things go bad, we might lose him.
By the way, the Good Guys are down 3-1 at the end of two periods to Tampa. Hate those guys. Dunham’s in net. Three goals on 19 shots.
This team is playing well of late and has a nice roster of veteran forwards. The playoffs will be unlikely with that blue line, but they should stick around the eighth spot for much of the season, so you never know. I would trade Jason Blake because he has high value. I bet the Isles would get a good return. They need to get younger.
In anticipation of the big game tonight, the Buffalo News has run a few stories on everyone’s favorite hockey team, including a nice feature today about Ted Nolan and his time in Western New York. Here’s an excerpt:
It was no surprise the other day when he pulled his players aside with a yarn about losing his way shortly after he was named coach of the New York Islanders. Apparently, he followed a friend on his first trip to the Isles’ practice rink but insisted on figuring out the way home. Two hours later, he pulled into his driveway. Now, it takes 15 minutes.
“If you don’t know the direction, you’re going to get lost,” Nolan said. “If you don’t know where to be in certain situations, our team is going to be lost. Everybody has to be going in the same direction. You have to pay attention to your surroundings, know where you’re going. You have to figure it out.”
