The follow writing takes place between 9:45 and 10:30 P.M Monday.
Thank you Ryan O’Byrne, thank you.
Sometimes things work out in weird ways man, I swear. First Sean Bergenheim gets called for a phantom penalty [was he anywhere near Alexei Kovalev when he fell for no apparent reason or am I going crazy here? If it was for the small hug before that, then I'm afraid this league is turning into the NBA] and then O’Bryne takes a Patrick Stefan-esque dump and puts the Islanders right back into the game.
Again, thank you O’Byrne, thank you. [I'm singing it now, in a Rick Astley type monotone, Never gunna Give, Never gunna Give!]
At any rate, this almost makes up for the dump this team took the last time they played the Habs. Just to get a point after playing the way they did on even strength tonight proves the Islanders are heading in the right direction. Now I know what most of you guys are thinking: what the funk is this guy thinking? It had to be one of the luckiest things to happen on the ice this season! My response is a simple one: so freaking what! Three weeks ago, the complete opposite would have happened to this team. Now they’re on the other site of the coin. And buy does it feel good. Just like the old Virginia Slims ads, they’ve come a long way baby!
Then to be able to pull out the win in the shootout made things that much better.
Overall, the end of that game, just looking at that poor kid, reminded me of a specific scene of the cult-classic “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.”
“You look like someone just took a crap in your cereal…BONG!”
Bailey running out of time?- Two games to go on his audition, you gotta think this guy is going to stick around. That is unless the Islanders try out Ben Walter. At this point, with Frans Neilsen, Mike Comrie, Mike Sillinger and Nate Thompson already out, the Islanders don’t really have the luxury of letting the kid go back to juniors. Also, he’s been pretty solid thus far.
Streit Booed?- I find it funny that Canadien fans would boo a guy like Mark Streit. This was a guy that never really got a fair shot shot there. He was a fourth liner and a powerplay quarterback and that’s it. Simply put, he was a niche player that ended up having an amazing season. A free agent this offseason, Streit was looking for more responsibility and respect in Montreal. If that wasn’t going to happen, he’d look elsewhere. Thankfully for the Islanders, that’s exactly what happened. If fans in Montreal should be mad anybody, it should be the team’s management, for giving up on a guy that obviously had a lot more to give.
Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants
This post was written by Patrick Hickey, Jr. on November 25, 2008

With Mike Sillinger rehabbing with the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport and Brendan Witt already back, things look to be changing in the Islanders favor very quickly.
The Shenanigans the Islanders have forced their fans to deal with this season essentially started after the Islanders lost in overtime to the Flyers on October 30. Ever since then, watching this team play the final 20 minutes is worse than a prostate exam.
I think first and foremost, the Islanders have to play 60 minutes of consistent hockey to stand a chance against this team. The Penguins have a ton of depth on their forwards lines and without Brendan Witt [who owns Evgeni Malkin by the way] and Radek Martinek, the Isles have to be perfect on defense tonight. Any lapses will result in a letdown worse than any the Isles have experienced so far this season.
Islanders franchise player and starting goaltender is “injured” again, but thanks to the NHL’s new rules on the way injuries are reported to the media, it’s impossible to know to what extent the damage is. Fans will have to settle for a “lower body injury,” or some other obscure term to know how long the players they cheer for every night will be out of the lineup.
The way the Islanders have been playing this season, it figures they would lose a game that they registered a franchise high 60 shots on goal. There was only one problem.
After an abysmal defeat the other night against the Stars, things aren’t going to get any easier for the Islanders today, as they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes. While this isn’t the same Carolina team that won the Stanley Cup a few years ago, they still have players who can produce on offense and without their two best defensemen in the lineup in Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek, things aren’t going to be easy for them tonight.
A few days ago, I came across a beefy topic that caught my interest. According to HockeyBuzz.com, the Chicago Black Hawks are reportedly interested in the services of Mike Comrie. At first, I didn’t think much of it, considering the fact that the Islanders are already missing Mike Sillinger and need all the help up the middle they can get. After a few e-mails from people on the subject though, I figured I’d share my two cents.
The Isles are in need of win and Tampa Bay be just the team to get it from.
On the message boards all over the Internet, many hockey fans are already counting the Islanders out this season. In spite of that, I still think this team has a lot of potential. Injuries have already begun to take its toll on the team and because of that, the team hasn’t been able to implement many of the things they need to in order to succeed. 