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LIVE COMMENTARY: Opening Day on Long Island, DP's Knee, 5-2 FINAL

October 11, 2008, 1:28 PM ET [ Comments]

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LIVE COMMENTS FROM GAME

((check out earlier write up today below))

Ahh, back in the blog box. Parking this year was a travesty. Not even the people directing where people to go seemed to know what was going on. Added about 15 minutes to the commute. Wow. Whoever planned media parking this year should have to listen to Gary Glitter's Greatest Hits.

Isles score in less than 3 minutes. Mike Comrie gets the goal, assist by Park and Okposo.

New goal song is...well, new, and we'll leave it at that. OK, OK...it IS a little catchy...in a winter cold kind of way.

Crowd is loud and there is excitement in the air. Isles have 2 shots to 3 for the Blues. Over 4 minutes in now.

Lost a lot of text thanks to my experimentation with the Dell Mini 9. This under 9 inch, 2.2 lb netbook is conveniant to carry but horrendous for blogging. It fails to catch the Isles WiFi, the keyboard is horrific, and seems to stutter on both Firefox and Chrome. Good thing my wife wants it, or I'd ship it back to Dell. Crapola.

Isles score two.

Blog Boxers DEMAND I declare that Hilbert got a point.

3-0

Hunter with a goal. Niiiiiice.

Bergie gets another soon after.

St. Lou notches one. Fans boo.

Guerin lands in the sin-bin once again. Momentum shifter?

Oh my god, it must be a new season. The Isles score short-handed. Hilbert with TWO points. Hilbert scores and Streit with the assist.

4-1, and the period ends.

The levitating stage for Seven Mary 3 is actually pretty cool. They play three songs.

BD goes searching for a snack. Finds glazed Pecans. BD discoveres something new to snack on.

Isles all over St. Lou.

Isles have 18 shots to the Blues 9. Blues that tired or just overwhelmed?

Reaction for fans is the same: this is the kind of home opener they have been looking for. One has to wonder if Hilbert and others will notch more than last year now with a different system. Hilbert with 20 goals? It could happen. You heard it here first.

Over halfway thru the 2nd and the Isles lead 20 shots to 11.

So, I was cursing the existence of this poor Dell mini. I went ultraportable after lugging a 11 lb laptop all last season. The dinky processor is just not enough for your bloggers photoshop and multi-tasking needs. But no worries. I have something up my sleeve. Just waiting for it to arrive.

Lighthouse Update: Waiting on Town of Hempstead still. The date to break ground is said tio be JULY. It was stated that they felt it would get done for that date. The next big date is Jan 09 for hearings. It is then when Town of Hempstead will probably ask for something in return or some sort of scaleback. This is, I am told, a usual LI process. Most feel this will get done.


Period 3. It's been mostly Isles this game. Now it is time to close it out properly. St. Lou is pressing a bit more now. BUT, not very heated or desperate. Isles need to keeo them from scoring that goal that charges them up.

Speaking of which, 12:13, that is precisely what happens. Tkachuk gets the goal. McDonald and Kariya on the assist.

St. Lou closing in on shots with 21 to the Isles 28.

Isles more on the offensive. 30 shots to 23. 5 more minutes left.

Isles stop a scramble in front of MacDonald. 3 minutes.

Isles get an empty-netter. Ahh, the capper.

5-2.

Guerin gets one.

Nice win at home for the Isles. We'll take it! More tomorrow.



Home Opener

I don't care what year, who is on the roster, or who might be coach. When it's the start of the season, there is an electricity in the air just the same. Even when Mad Mike was spinning us to oblivion like a Texas Twister, I still sat at this juncture with the same bustle and trepidation.

If you think about it, we came from a proverbial desert as sports fans. The late 90s were like some slow death of missed promises. I do think we've stepped fully from that roasting sun, even if we took a bad left turn at Albuquerque.

No matter the expectation, the canvas is clear and pristine for the NY Islanders. In each gloved hand, skated stride and wide eyes is the potential to make things happen. To impose will. To leave it all on that ice. To capture the coaches strategy and system.

The game of hockey is a simple one. Simple yet it makes are hearts thrum every time. This year's NY Islanders will take that ice and can be masters of their destiny.

Sure, skill and talent count. So does a good head on their shoulders. But never discount that in any place or time, anyone can win. That even one player or play can be the charge to jimmy the mechanics and set things in motion for victory. Every heaving breath. Every drip of sweat. Every furrowed brow. Locked in there somewhere are difference-makers.
When that first puck drops, they will feel the jolt like we do. It rides like lightening through the blood and makes us yell and scream as if from our lung belches a massive steam engine.

This is hockey. This is ours and no one elses. Let them preen and prattle about baseball, football, or...snicker...golf. Hockey is our addiction, our passenger to this warm autumn day. We will carry it to its end, and go through whatever emotions are applicable. At the end, we will be spent, weary, and safe to say, unsurprised.

So be it. It is what we love.




Wounded Knee

Per TSN, Rick didn't start due to a swelling in the knee he had surgery on over the summer. Someone rush back a bit too soon?


Game 1

Yeah, the Isles lost. Get used to it. They also kept it close, despite some sloppiness, jitters and inconsistencies. Personally, I liked what I saw. I saw a system that is intelligent and, once competently handled, will be a big help.

I especially liked the Mike Comrie, Richard Park, and Andy Hilbert line. Speed and 2-way defensive hockey from at least two of them. This is a keeper line in my book. I thought they have a lot of potential. The only caveat is if they get pushed around and banged up.

I also like the seasoned power line of Jon Sim, Doug Weight, and Bill Guerin. I especially liked when they followed the first line of buzzers, and then powered in after.

The other lines need some work, and not in exactly the composition. Just need to grasp their role better.

I liked Mark Streit's work last night. I also thought Jack Hillen holds a lot of promise.

To me, last night, no matter the win/loss column, was a good start. To me, this season is less about wins/losses and about what I see on the ice. We will be concentrating on habits, stats, and on-ice product. That's my focus. The losses will come. So will some wins. As to how frequent both are is the bigger picture and all that is made up by individual roles on the ice and how they play with one another on their lines and each shift.


Outside Looking In

Pock sat. So did Comeau. I am convinced that Comeau has landed in a mini-dog house that preseason for not quite fitting Gordo's expectation. Did he come in cocky? Or just resistant to the change? Or just slow to adjust? Whatever it is, only Comeau can solve it. Circumstances aside, it is up to Comeau to produce in the way they expect.

((EDIT: Of course, after I write this, I see Botta interviewed Comeau last night. Check it out on IslandersPointBlank.com))


I'd expect Pock to get a slot real soon, he sat simply because there wasn't room.

DP will start. When? Soon. One has to think he'll be on the ice today.


More later as the St. Lou Blues come to town. If you are at the game, drop by or scream "BD!" in hello.


- BD
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