Debut on the NY Hockey Report, Isles-Flyers Pre-Game Thoughts

First, let me say that spending some time on the NY Hockey Report last night was a blast. Gary by himself is a mountain of hockey knowledge, but with Derek there as well, it was something I won’t forget anytime soon. That was one of the first times in my life where I was surrounded by fellow hockey nuts in an environment catered solely to us. For those who missed last night’s show, you missed an entertaining one to say the least.

I hope Gary and Derek are ok after that comment I made about Travis Zajac. In any case, it felt good to be appreciated on the air for my sense of humor and for my amount of hockey knowledge. Gary made a comment during the show asking me if I read a hockey encyclopedia before going on after I mentioned Craig Janney. Brother, I am a hockey encyclopedia, ha-ha. I can’t tell you how much useless knowledge is crammed into my brain when it comes to hockey.

Simply put, Hockey is one of the biggest joys of my life, aside from having a career I love and a beautiful girlfriend that appreciates me. Nothing makes me happier than getting the opportunity to showcase my ability. For that, I owe you guys a firm hand shake and smile for giving me that chance.

Thank you.

OK, MOVING FORWARD TO TONIGHT’S GAME…

The Flyers are in town and the Islanders will have to put their last loss against the Penguins behind them and come out firing on all cylinders. Guys like Trent Hunter, Viktor Kozlov and Miroslav Satan need to start scoring consistently if the Isles are going to make due with Yashin. While some people think the Isles are destined to deflate as the season goes on without Yash, I think that they will get a solid team effort on both sides of the ice and will play well without him.

The Flyers are a team that has gotten some inconsistent goaltending this season and has shown a penchant for not being able to score when the chips are down. It’s so bad that Peter Forsberg and Petr Nedved have only EIGHT GOALS combined this season. However, with big names like this, the Isles need to understand that they can break out at any time and need to stay focused, play a smart game and get some offense.

As I’ve mentioned before, while Yashin is without a doubt the most important offensive player on the team, he’s not the only player that can produce offensively. The Isles have four lines full of solid two-way players that have speed, grit and energy. That’s what wins hockey games. If they come out with some “spunk and jump” tonight, there’s no reason why they can’t dominate the Flyers.

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