Tavares is incredible. He will be top three in the league as soon as next year. Nabby has been real good lately as well. Streit is beginning to play much better also. Rolston made a couple of decent plays today too. Still horrible though.
- mighty13duck

I hate rolstons guts but he played smart and unselfish tonight. Good team game by all. Can't believe I was there to see it. Flyers fans were actually pretty good

Can we give a TON of credit to Nabby??? He has played VERY well the last couple weeks.

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

See what happens with solid goaltending

I hate rolstons guts but he played smart and unselfish tonight. Good team game by all. Can't believe I was there to see it. Flyers fans were actually pretty good
- Isles316

He actually looked decent..he still takes crappy shots and stinks in general but if he played every game like he did tonight I wouldn't hate his guts.

Can we give a TON of credit to Nabby??? He has played VERY well the last couple weeks.

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

He's played really well..I think he thrives on getting a large number of consecutive starts because he had a huge workload in San Jose. When he was in his prime in 07-08 he started 77 freakin games for them. It's tough for me because I really like Montoya but more than that I like getting wins which we seem to be doing somewhat more consistently now, so I'm totally fine with riding the hot hand while were winning.

Glass Joe Strikes Again!!!

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=612641

Poor Radek... i really do feel for the guy.

XxNYIxX

just thumbing thru this week's L.I. Press Best of issue. Best Islander: #2 DP?!?!?
Who votes in these things?
- 1since40

people who don't know poop about hockey. I mean for god sake there are people who still think dp is better then lundqvist which is extremely disturbing. I mean does anyone know we got a franchise player in John Tavares that is ascending to elite status before our very eyes.

Checking the standings and if the Isles can win 3 of their next 4 games then they are right back in the thick of the hunt if a few teams ahead of them like florida and toronto lose. Isles need to take both games against the leafs, and 1 against the hurricanes. February is gonna be a tough month with games against the senators, flyers, jets, rangers, and blues to name a few.

Checking the standings and if the Isles can win 3 of their next 4 games then they are right back in the thick of the hunt if a few teams ahead of them like florida and toronto lose. Isles need to take both games against the leafs, and 1 against the hurricanes. February is gonna be a tough month with games against the senators, flyers, jets, rangers, and blues to name a few.
- The Iceman

Let's just enjoy the win and the way jt has been playing and keep the playoff talk off the table for now. They're still 10 points back and only 2 ahead of the canes

See what happens with solid goaltending
- Isles316

See what type of goaltendening you get, when your entire team plays well.

Nabby has performed extremely well over period of time. Should we trade him or ride him throughout the season? Should we resign him for a year or two? Trade Poulin for a defense player? What do you guys think?

He actually looked decent..he still takes crappy shots and stinks in general but if he played every game like he did tonight I wouldn't hate his guts.
- eichiefs9

I would. (a) He wasn't that good...I didn't even notice him until you guys wrote something here. But I guess "not noticing" would be an improvement. (b) Where was this "decent" play when it mattered?

Anybody who does not realize John Tavares is already a star in this league needs a dose of reality. This guy is scary good.
- NYIDRIVE4FIVE

What I'm seeing from Tavares right now is something that I've seen from only a handful of players in the last three decades. Now I'm not saying he's in their class yet but he's showing characteristics/instincts that made Lemieux, Gretzky, and Crosby so special. He anticipates plays as though he's already seen the film BEFORE the game. He creates space and always puts the puck in an area for a scoring chance. At his age, I can only imagine what he'll look like by 26-27 years old. We're in for a fantastic future with this guy and with kids like Strome, and Nino, this team is going to produce a lot of offense in the future. I honestly believe Tavares may become the best all around player in franchise history.

Let's just enjoy the win and the way jt has been playing and keep the playoff talk off the table for now. They're still 10 points back and only 2 ahead of the canes
- Isles_since_6

Exactly. We can't keep doing this every time they manage a couple of wins. Shouldn't even be looking at the standings yet, let alone thinking playoffs. Over the past two seasons, the Isles have shown a remarkable ability to look amazing when they're 12 points back and flat and unprepared when they get to 8 points back. If we need to keep our eye on anything in the standings, it should just be the team directly in front of them. If the Isles manage to put more teams behind them without letting other teams pass them again a day or two later, it'll be a step in the right direction.

Although, for those who can't help but keep the hope alive, you'll probably appreciate the last couple of minutes of Botta's Home Ice interview, even though some of you don't like Botta.

http://www.xmhomeice.com/...%20New%20York%20Times.mp3

Don't look now, but if this team can somehow put together a run like they did the last couple months of last year, we could be fighting for a playoff spot. It's a little too early, but if they can play with some consistency, we could cut down the amount of points necessary to be looking to add pieces at the trading deadline, instead of trading them.

Two biggest questions, of course, are do these guys want it every night, and will Capuano prove me wrong and GET these guys to want it every night. They're sticking up for each other, which is nice, but they NEED another line (or two) to step up and at least try to play up the to level of the JT-Moulson-KO line.

While the past 2 wins have been impressive, it will take the Islanders to win 3 of the next 4 (vs. CAR, TOR) for me to get excited for a potential run. Not really anything to say about JT that hasn't already been said. If you know someone who doesn't watch hockey just sit them down for a game and tell them to focus on #91. They'll become a fan.

Great game last night as NAbby stole the show. He is playing at a level that the Islanders have not seen from a golatender in ages. Truly he is the number one right now. Word on the street is that he is loved in the locker room and the guys respect him and look up at him. He is the type of veteran these guys need. Also word on the street is that Nabby might not be leaving the Islanders he has been quoting to say that he loves it here and never thought he would experience what he is right now and how great this team is. I dont know I think if I am Garth I would see what his plans are. I mean if he plays at this level it is going to be hard to remove him from this team.

As a side note TAvares is just amazing and he is exactly the player we thought he would be. I thought Bailey and Grabner had a great game as well and the defense even though gave up over 40 shots played pretty well. I guess keeping Staois off the d has worked. Reese has played well too. Rolston is Rolston and if we can get him out of here we are on our way. Must win against Carolina and then the Leafs. GO Isles

- eichiefs9

ahh the "City of Brotherly Love"!! LOFL

XxNYIxX

good win for you guys. the Isles pretty much dominated play. Tavares IS freaking great.
- FlyerGuy

fixed

From IPB, you can apparently hear on the video during the skirmish with Okposo and Schenn, Okposo 'advising' Schenn about Tavares:

“If you [bleepin] touch him again, I’ll [bleepin] kill you.”



AWESOME!

While the past 2 wins have been impressive, it will take the Islanders to win 3 of the next 4 (vs. CAR, TOR) for me to get excited for a potential run. Not really anything to say about JT that hasn't already been said. If you know someone who doesn't watch hockey just sit them down for a game and tell them to focus on #91. They'll become a fan.
- BringBackBalky

it's going to take a lot more than that for me to even consider that they might make the playoffs.

Currently the teams in 8th and 9th are multiple games OVER .500

The Isles still sit 3 games under .500 and every time they get this close they drop 2 in a row. 10 points may not look like much, but that's a hell of a long way to go, especially when the teams ahead of them will be playing a lot of games against other teams in the race, so someone will be getting points. The Isles beat the flyers for the first time in forever last night with a big victory and gained no ground at all on 8th. This is how hard it's going to be to make the playoffs.

You can't make the playoffs in October, but you can sure as hell miss them in the first month of the season. Every once in a while you see a team make a late season surge, but how many of those actually make it into the playoffs?

At this point if they finished the season at or above .500 that's a major victory considering how bad they've been, how little scoring they get and how terrible the goaltending has been most nights.

If you keep thinking playoffs, you're only setting yourself up for a major disappointment. I'd love to see it, but it's not happening. I'll settle for seeing JT finish in the top 10 in scoring and finally getting some recognition.

I love how I still keep seeing the occasional article debating the 2009 top 4 draft picks. Our local radio here in Vancouver had one of the hosts suggesting he'd rather have Evander Kane. Yeah, I don't think so.

Evander Kane WPG L 46 18 13 31
John Tavares NYI C 45 17 29 46

Evander Kane may play a physical game, but clearly the jackass on 1040 in Vancouver hasn't watched JT this year. I haven't seen a skill player with that much drive in a hell of a long time. This kid will get close to 100 points next year.

MY previous quote highlights why playing with Tavares has saved Okposo as a player. The kid might now become the nasty power forward due to the physical confidence he'll gain from altercations like this. It's an edge he lost with his injury last year.

This kid will get close to 100 points next year.
- Isles_since_6

With the pace of his last 20 games, he may come 'close' to 100pts THIS YEAR!

*He now has 30 points in his last 23 games (19 in his last 11).

With the pace of his last 20 games, he may come 'close' to 100pts THIS YEAR!

*He now has 30 points in his last 23 games (19 in his last 11).
- keaner17

I'm thinking he'll finish with between 84-88 points this year, which is pretty damn impressive for a kid playing on a team with no depth who is a target every shift.

If they would just add some scoring depth to this team so JT wasn't the focal point of every opponent he could do some serious damage. Although he won't get any consideration for it due to the team's standings and the lack of media attention, IMO he's making a case for MVP. This team would be worse than columbus without him.

I'm thinking he'll finish with between 84-88 points this year, which is pretty damn impressive for a kid playing on a team with no depth who is a target every shift.

If they would just add some scoring depth to this team so JT wasn't the focal point of every opponent he could do some serious damage. Although he won't get any consideration for it due to the team's standings and the lack of media attention, IMO he's making a case for MVP. This team would be worse than columbus without him.
- Isles_since_6

We should trade him now while his value is high!! Maybe get a 3-4 D-men & a later round pick!!

XxNYIxX