2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Set to Go!

The 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to go. So here is the breakdown of the upcoming series including Series schedules and predictions. We start off with the West.














Vancouver and Nashville will get us started. Here is the schedule for this series:

April 28 Nashville at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
April 30 Nashville at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 3 Vancouver at Nashville, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 5 Vancouver at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
May 7 Nashville at Vancouver, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 9 Vancouver at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
May 11 Nashville at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS

Now for this series, it will surely be an interesting one. This is the 1st ever meeting between these two clubs in the playoffs. Nashville is coming in off the high of winning their first ever playoffs series. Vancouver just finished a tough hard-fought 7 game series with the Hawks. Nashville may jump on Vancouver in the first game or two but the Canucks are going to be too much for the Predators I will take the Canucks in 6 games.


Now for the other Western Conference matchup which is:









Yes its the Sharks and Red Wings once again in the post season, which is starting to turn into a nice little rivlary. Here is the schedule for this series:

April 29 Detroit at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 1 Detroit at San Jose, 3:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
May 4 San Jose at Detroit, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 6 San Jose at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 8 Detroit at San Jose, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 10 San Jose at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN
May 12 Detroit at San Jose, TBD VERSUS, TSN

These two teams have met 3 times before in the post season with San Jose winning 2 of the 3. Detroit may have a little bit of rink rust on them since they have had the longest time off after their sweep of the Coyotes. This series is going to go 7 games easy. Red Wings put up a good fight but I think San Jose is going to be too much for Jimmy Howard Sharks win this one in 7 Games.


Now then moving on to the Eastern Conference. Here is how we start things off.











Yes it's the 1-5 match between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Heres the schedule for this series:
April 29 Tampa Bay at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 1 Tampa Bay at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 3 Washington at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 4 Washington at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m. TSN
May 7 Tampa Bay at Washington, 12:30 p.m. NBC, TSN
May 9 Washington at Tampa Bay, TBD VERSUS, TSN
May 11 tampa Bay at Washington, TBD VERSUS, TSN



Now as far as playoff history is concerned these two teams have met only once before with Tampa Bay winning that series in 6 games back in 2003. As for the here and now this will be a very high scoring series. Tampa will be a little banged up after playing that 7 game series with the Pens, and Washington has had time off after beating the Rangers in 5. So who knows what will happen in the 1st game. But for the series as a whole I'm taking the Capitals in 6 games. Here's why. Yes Dwayne Roloson has done a great job in goal for the Lightning but I think the Caps are going to be too much and I say Caps in 6.


Now for the final matchup of the 2nd round.












Yeah it's a rematch of last years second round between the Flyers and Bruins. Here is a look at the series:

April 30 Boston at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
May 2 Boston at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 4 Philadelphia at Boston, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 6 Philadelphia at Boston, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 8 Boston at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
May 10 Philadelphia at Boston, TBD VERSUS, CBC
May 12 Boston at Philadelphia, TBD VERSUS, CBC


Now these two teams have met 4 times in the playoffs all time with each team winning 2 series. And of course most of us remember what happened when these two teams hooked it up in the 2nd round last year. Both teams are battle tested having going 7 games in the last round, and both teams know each other after last season. This may be the toughest series of them all to pick. Again because these two teams are evenly matched it will take 7 games to decide it but I go with the Bruins in 7. The reason is because this is somewhat similar to the first round series between the Flyers and Sabres. But the difference is Boston has a bit more scoring punch then Buffalo. The Sabres took a lot out of Philly and Boston will finish the job Bruins in 7!

First Round of The Stanley Cup Playoffs in The Books

The First Round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs is offically in the books. A very entertaning first round has come and gone, with 4 of the series requiring the full 7 games to complete, as ewll as 14 games having to be decided in Overtime. We are going to start with a recap of the Western Conference. First up was the 1 vs. 8 matchup out West as the Canucks took on the Defending Cup Champion Blackhawks.

Vancouver domintated the first 3 games of the series taking a comanding 3-0 lead. Scores were all in favor of the Canucks: 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3. It looked like this would be a clean sweep. Game 4 rolled around and the Hawks offense woke up, lighting up the Canucks 7-2. The offensive outburst kept coming in Game 5 as the Hawks won again this time by a 5-0 score. With Gmae 6 rolling around, Vancouver had a chance to put away the Champs but were unable to do so, as the Hawks came back to force Game 7 by winning in Overtime 4-3. However the miracle comback would fall just short. Had Chicago won Game 7 they would have become only the 4th team in NHL history to erase a 3-0 deficit to win a 7 game series. The other 3 teams were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders, and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers. The Canukcs kept the Hawks out of the history books, thanks to a goal by Alex Burrows in Overtime, giving the Canucks a 2-1 win in the game and a series win in 7.

Next up was the 2-7 and the only divisional matchup in the West as San Jose took on Los Angles. The battle of California was something to watch. The Sharks took the series in 6 games, with 3 of the wins coming in Overtime. Game 1 went to OT as Joe Pavelski proved to be the hero in the 3-2 victory. Game 2 was the only shutout of the series as the Kings won 4-0. Game 3 would again go to Overtime, with the Sharks taking the game 6-5 thanks to Devin Setoguchi. The thing with game 3 was the Kings had a 4-0 lead half way through the game. Moving on to game 4 San Jose took this in regulation 6-3. Game 5 went to the Kings by a 3-1 score. The dagger went into the heart of the Kings in Game 6 as this would again go to overtime. San Jose ended the series in game 6 thanks to Joe Thorton.

Now we look at the 3-6 Matchup, which was a rematch of last year, with Detroit knocking off Phoenix in 4 straight games. Detroit dominated the entire series, winning their games 4-2, 3-2, 4-2, and 6-3. This was a different series then we saw from last season, as last year Phoenix was able to push the series to 7 games. Despite Detroit being the older hockey club, they had more playoff experience and were able to roll to the series win.

Finally its the 4-5 matchup out West as the shock of the round the Nashville Predators win their first playoff series in franchise history beating the Anaheim Ducks in 6 games. Nashville took Game 1 by a 4-1 score. The Ducks respond in game 2 with a 5-3 win. Nashville responded with a 4-3 win in Game 3. Game 4 went to the Ducks 6-3. The only OT game in the series was in Game 5 and Nashville won 4-3 thanks to Shea Weber. The highlight was the sick goal scored by Bobby Ryan. Nashville ended the series in Game 6 with a 4-2 win on home ice.

Now that the West has been discussed lets switch over to the East and the 1-8 Matchup as the Washington Capitals took down the New York Rangers in 6. Game 1 went into overtime tied at 1. Then a few minutes in Alexander Semin sent the Washington fans home happy after a trunover by Mark Stall to give the Caps the Victory. Game 2 again went to the Capitals this time a 2-0 shutout on home ice. Game 3 the scene shifted to MSG and produced the lone Ranger win of the series as the Blueshirts won 3-2. Game 4 was a thriller as it went into double overtime before Jason Chimera won it for the Capitals 4-3. Washington put the series away in Game 5 thanks to a 3-1 victory on home ice. Now some critics I talked to said the Rangers chocked in this series. That didn't exactly happen the Rangers just never showed up. Washington was just the better team.

The 2-7 Matchup in the East was a fun to watch 7 Game series with the Flyers taking it from the Sabres. Game 1 went to the Sabres 1-0 as Ryan Miller pitched the shutout and Patrick Kaleta scored the lone goal. Philadelphia would respond in Game 2 with a 5-4 victory in one of the most physical games of the series. Game 3 the series moved back to Buffalo, and the Flyers walked away with the 4-2 victory. Game 4 Buffalo responded with another 1-0 victory. Ryan Miller got the shutout and Jason Pominville scored the lone goal. The next 2 games went to overtime. Game 5 went in Buffalo's favor with a 4-3 victory. The Sabres blew a 3-0 lead in regulation before Tyler Ennis wonit in OT with his 2nd of the Game, Game 6 was Buffalo's chance to win the series but they squandered a lead late in the game and Ville Leino won it for Philly forcing Game 7. In said Game 7 the Sabres just didn't show up and the Flyers rolled 5-2 to win the series.

The 3-6 Matchup was the lone divisional matchup in the playoffs as Boston knocked off Montreal in 7. Montreal took the first 2 games of the Series by 2-0 and 3-2 scores. When the series shifted to Boston, the Bruins woke up responding first in Game 3 with a 4-2 win. Then Game 4 would go to Overtime when Michael Ryder stuck it to his old ream for a 5-4 win. Game 5 would go to Double Overtime before Nathan Horton gave the Bruins a 2-1 victory. Montreal had to come back in Game 6 with the win and they did, defeating the Bruins 2-1. Game 7 was in Boston, and the Bruins had a lead but blew it as Montreal forced overtime. After about 5 minutes of OT, Nathan Horton struck again to score his 2nd OT winner in the series, and send the Boston Bruins on to Round 2.

The final matchup was the 4-5 in the East, another 7 game series, between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The Penguins had to fight through this series without the services of Sidney Crsoby, Geno Malkin, and Matt Cooke. Game 1 went to Pittsburgh 3-0 thanks to a strong showing from Alexi Kovalev. Game 2 was all Tampa Bay as the Lightning rolled to a 5-2 victory. Martin St Louis and Vinny Lecavalier had huge games. Games 3 and 4 of the series went to the Pens giving them a 3-1 series lead. Game 3 was a 3-2 Penguins victory. Game 4 had to go to double overtime, before the Pens won it 3-2 on a James Neal goal from a bad angle. Tampa Bay's offense exploded for an 8-3 victory. St Louis and Steve Stamkos had moster games, including the 1st 2 career playoff goals for Steve Stamkos. Game 6 again went to tampa by this time by a 4-2 score. Game 7 of the series was a nail bitter with the Lightning knocking off Pittsburgh by a 1-0 score. Dwayne Roloson got the shutout and Sean Bergenheim scoring the lone goal. This series was a wake up call for the Penguins, showing the holes they have in the lineup without Crosby and Malkin dressed.

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs 1st Round Preview

Hockey Fans rejoice! The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin this Wednesday April 13th. After a grueling 82 game schedule the 2nd season, and the more exciting hockey, is ready to rock and roll this Wednesday. The following are the playoff matchups in the 1st round as well as the date and times of the games, National TV games, and my predictions for each matchup. We begin in the western conference.

1st matchup to look at is the #1 Vancouver Canucks taking on the #8 Chicago Blackhawks. Here is the breakdown of days and times of the 7 game series:

April 13 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 15 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 17 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 19 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 21 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 24 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm CBC
April 26 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks TBD CBC

The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions and Presidents' Trophy winners, earning 117 points. The Chicago Blackhawks qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 97 points. This is the third time in three years that Vancouver has met Chicago in the playoffs. Chicago took each of the previous two second-round series by a score of 4 games to 2, adn the 4th time overall these two have met in the playoffs, with the Hawks winning each time. The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cu[p Champions and looking to repeat, and the Canucks are looking to get to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1994. The Blackhawks are good I won't take that away from them, but I just think the Canucks are too much for the Hawks this year. Chicago puts up a good fight but will fall short in winning back-to-back Cups. i take the Canucks in 6 games.


Now moving on we have the #2 San Jose Sharks take on the #7 Los Angles Kings. Here is the breakdown of games for Sharks-Kings:
April 14 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 16 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 19 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings 10:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 21 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings 10:30 pm TSN
April 23 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 25 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings TBD TSN
April 27 Los Angeles Kings- San Jose Sharks TBD TSN

The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after winning the Pacific Division with 105 points. The Los Angeles Kings earned the seventh seed with 98 points. This will be the first meeting of these teams in the postseason. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, justin Williams, and Ryan Smyth lead the way for the Kings and Jonathan Quick holds down the fort in net. However, the Sharks are going with Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Dany Heatley on offense and have Antti Niemi in net. Sharks, even thought they have had playoff troubles in the past, will roll in this one, Sharks in 5.


Now its time for the #3 Detroit Red Wings and the #6 Phoenix Coyotes. here's a look at the series matchup:
April 13 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 7:00 pm Versus,CBC
April 16 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 1:00 pm NBC, CBC
April 18 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes 10:30 pm Versus,CBC
April 20 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes 10:30 pm Versus,CBC
April 22 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 7:00 pm Versus,CBC
April 24 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes TBD CBC
April 27 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings TBD CBC

The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference after winning the Central Division with 104 points. The Phoenix Coytoes earned the sixth seed with 99 points, losing tiebreakers to both the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators. Detroit and Phoenix played in the first round in 2010, which Detroit won by a score of 4 games to 3. Detroit is looking to get back to the Finals while Phoenix looks to get to the 2nd round for the 1st time ever. Sadly that wont happen this year wings roll in 5.


Finally we look at the #4 Anaheim Ducks and the #5 Nashville Predators. Here is a look at the series matchup:
April 13 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:30 pm TSN
April 15 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:30 pm TSN
April 17 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 20 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 22 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:00 pm TSN
April 24 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 26 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks TBD TSN

The Anaheim Ducks entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Western Conference with 99 points, by winning tiebreakers over the Nashville Predators and the Phoenix Coytoes. The Nashville Predators earned 99 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall. They lost the tiebreaker to Anaheim by having fewer games won in regulation and overtime. This will be the first playoff series between these two teams. This may actually be the most even matchup in the West of the first round. The Ducks have the playoff experiance and I give them the series in 6.


Now moving on to the Eastern Conference. we start it off with the #1 Washington Capitals against the #8 New York Rangers. Here's what the schedule looks like for this one:

April 13 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 15 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 17 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 20 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers 7:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 23 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 25 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers TBD TSN
April 27 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals TBD TSN

The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season champions, earning 107 points. The New York Rangers qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 93 points. This will be the sixth playoff series between the two franchises, with Washington holding a 3–2 edge in the past series. The two teams last met in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Capitals won the series 4-3. In the season series, the Rangers hold a 2–1–1 record, winning the last three games by a combined score of 15–1. I give the Rangers the edge in Goaltending right now. The Caps have the revolving door between Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. I would go with Varlamov to start the series. Rangers make it a good fight but I go Caps in 6.


Now we look at #2 Philadelphia Flyers and the #7 Buffalo Sabres. Here's the breakdown of the games:

April 14 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 7:30 pm Versus , TSN
April 16 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 5:00 pm TSN2
April 18 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 7:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 20 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 22 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 24 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 26 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers TBD TSN

The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 106 points. The Buffalo Sabres earned the seventh seed with 96 points, losing the tiebreaker to Montreal on regulation + overtime wins (38 to 41). This will be the ninth meeting of these two teams in the postseason, with Philadelphia holding a 5–3 edge on the past series. Now this series is the most interesting. Buffalo has a set goalie in Ryan Miller. The Flyers on the other hand have used Sergei Bobrovsky, who is a rookie, and Brian Boucher. They also still have playoff hero from last year Michael Leighton, so I wont be surprised if he gets playing time. Now this may annoy a lot of Sabres fans but I really don't think Buffalo has the depth to match the Flyers. Philly may faulter in later rounds but now I think its too much Flyers Philly takes this in 6 games.


Now on to the only divisional matchup in the East its the #3 Boston Bruins against the #6 Montreal Canadians. Here is the breakdown:

April 14 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 16 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 18 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens 7:30 pm RDS, CBC
April 21 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 23 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 26 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens TBD RDS, CBC
April 27 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins TBD RDS, CBC

The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division with 103 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned the sixth seed with 96 points, winning the tiebreaker over Buffalo on regulation + overtime wins (41 to 38). This is the 33rd meeting of these teams in the postseason, which is the most frequent playoff series in NHL history. Montreal has earned a record of 24–8 against Boston in the playoffs. On April 10, the scheduled date of the French-language Canadian federal election debate between party leaders was changed from April 14 to April 13 so it would not conflict with Game one of the opening round between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. Carey Price has done a great job holding down the nets in Montreal. But Boston Has Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask.Both teams are evenly balanced in scoring. I just have one of those feelings about this one Boston in 7.


Finally we look at the most even matchup in the East the #4 Pittsburgh Penguins against the #5 Tampa Bay Lightning. here is the breakdown:

April 13 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00 pm CBC
April 15 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00 pm CBC
April 18 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning 7:30 pm Versus, CBC
April 20 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00 pm CBC
April 23 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins TBD Versus, CBC
April 25 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning TBD CBC
April 27 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins TBD CBC

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points. The Tampa Bay Lightning earned 103 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. This will be the first playoff series between these two teams. The Penguins are good. This will be the most even series in the 1st round. Here is the upset as the Lightning take the series in 7 hard fought games.


So there you have it. The first round preview is all set. Now just sit back, relax and enjoy all the action!

2010-2011 New York Islanders Season Recap

The 2010-2011 Season for the New York Islanders has come to a disappointing end, with the club failing to make the playoffs for the 4th straight season. The season started off very promising for the club after going 5-1-1 through the first 8 games, at the time they were tied with the Penguins for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The 2 OT losses were a 5-4 Shootout loss to Dallas OPening Night and a 3-2 Overtime Loss in Pittsburgh. the one regulation loss was a 2-1 loss in Washington to the Capitals. That loss in Washington had some significance to it, as the lone Islanders goal was the 1st NHL goal for Nino Niederreiter, who only played 9 games all season registering a goal and an assist. After a 2-1 Overtime win in Tampa Bay against the Lightning, The Islanders would go on a awful 17 game winless streak that, for all intensive purposes, sunk their season. During that 17 game winless streak, there was one major milestone hit. On October 23rd in a 4-3 loss in Florida to the Panthers, John Tavares scored his 1st Careeer Hat Trick.

After a ten-game losing streak, the Islanders changed coaches on November 15, moving Scott Gordon into an adviser to the General Manager position and naming the Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach, Jack Capuano, as their interim head coach.[10] The Islanders ended a near franchise tying record of 15 straight games without a win on November 26 against the New Jersey Devils. The Islanders won 2-0 with Rick DiPietro securing the shutout. The Islanders ended the season with the worst average attendance in the NHL with an average of 11,059 (68.1% full). As of writing time, Jack Capuano has been named head coach for next season, getting the interim tag removed from his name.

The Islanders had a flare for the dramatic during the season, espically in Overtime. The Islanders won 7 games in Overtime this year. The Ot victories were as follows: Oct 18th in Toronto (Tavares), October 21st in Tampa Bay (Moulson), December 22nd at home against Tampa Bay (Tavares), December 31st in Detroit ( Parenteau), January 8th in Colorado (Tavares), Febuary 18th in Buffalo (Grabner), and March 8th at home against Toronto (Comeau).

Besides the flare for the dramatic in Overtime, and also the shootout, the Islanders had plenty of memorable games this season as well. The first had to be on Columbus Day October 13th, a 6-4 victory over the rival New York Rangers. The last 2 games of calander year 2010 were very good to the Islanders, as on December 29th the team played the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. Islanders won in a shootout 2-1 and at the same time snapped Sidney Crosby's point streak which heading into the contest had been 25 games. Then 2 nights later on New Years Eve the Isles went into Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and walked away with a thrilling OT victory over the Red Wings on the PA Parenteau. Two more games of note happen to come against the Buffalo Sabres. First was the game betweent he two at Nassau Coliseum on January 15th, a game in which the Islanders won 5-3. What was so memorable about that one was the natural hat trick scored by John Tavares in a span of 3:25 the 2nd fastest Islanders natural hat trick in team history. The other one was the game on February 13th at HSBC Arena in Buffalo which the Islanders won in OT 7-6. What was so great about that game was the 2 teams traded hat tricks. Drew Stafford scored one for Buffalo, but not to be outdone, Michael Grabner scored on for the Islanders, the 3rd being the OT Game Winner. The final really memorable game of the year was the 9-3 win over the Penguins on Friday February 11th at Nassau Coliseum. This game was memorable for not only the score but for the fights, as this game turned into a slugfest with 65 penalties, 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors, 20 misconducts, and 346 total minutes in penalties. And this was all in response to what happened 2 weeks prior in Pittsburgh with Rick DiPetrio getting knocked out by Brent Johnson of the Penguins in 1 punch.

Here are the final stat totals for the players from this season:

#
91 John Tavares 79 29 38 67 -16 53
15 P. A. Parenteau 81 20 33 53 -8 46
26 Matt Moulson 82 31 22 53 -10 24
40 Michael Grabner 76 34 18 52 13 10
57 Blake Comeau 77 24 22 46 -17 43
51 Frans Nielsen 71 13 31 44 13 38
12 Josh Bailey 70 11 17 28 -13 37
47 Andrew MacDonald 60 4 23 27 9 37
36 Travis Hamonic 62 5 21 26 4 103
38 Jack Hillen 64 4 18 22 -5 45
44 Rob Schremp‡ 45 10 12 22 -19 12
20 James Wisniewski‡ 32 3 18 21 -18 18
21 Kyle Okposo 38 5 15 20 3 40
27 Milan Jurcina 46 4 13 17 -4 30
24 Radek Martinek 64 3 13 16 -5 35
17 Matt Martin 68 5 9 14 -13 147
93 Doug Weight 18 2 7 9 -3 10
28 Zenon Konopka 82 2 7 9 -14 307
58 Jesse Joensuu 42 6 3 9 -6 33
8 Bruno Gervais 53 0 6 6 -14 30
42 Dylan Reese 27 0 6 6 -12 15
6 Ty Wishart 20 1 4 5 5 10
16 Jon Sim 34 1 3 4 -10 22
7 Trent Hunter 17 1 3 4 -3 23
10 Mike Mottau 20 0 3 3 -12 8
4 Mark Eaton 34 0 3 3 -2 8
37 Jeremy Colliton 15 2 1 3 -7 10
59 Micheal Haley 27 2 1 3 -4 85
25 Nino Niederreiter 9 1 1 2 -1 8
14 Trevor Gillies 39 2 0 2 -3 165
81 Justin DiBenedetto 8 0 1 1 -2 2
71 Mark Katic 11 0 1 1 -9 4


Goaltenders
# Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM
39 Rick DiPietro 26 1533 8 14 4 88 3.44 773 .886 1 0 1 25
30 Dwayne Roloson‡ 20 1206 6 13 1 53 2.64 629 .916 0 0 1 2
35 Al Montoya 21 1154 9 5 5 46 2.39 585 .921 1 0 1 2
60 Kevin Poulin 10 491 4 2 1 20 2.44 262 .924 0 0 0 0
52 Nathan Lawson 10 384 1 4 2 26 4.06 243 .893 0 0 0 0
1 Mikko Koskinen 4 208 2 1 0 15 4.33 118 .873 0 0 0 0




Now having said what has been so far, I think it was an OK year for the team despite finishing with a 30-39-13 record. Now things would have been completly different, I feel, had the team been able to stay healthy, as they had the most man games lossed due to injury in the league. Think about this for a moment. Okposo missed a little more than half the year, Weight and Hunter played under 20 games each this year, Streit missed the entire year, and the team used 6 different goalies to protect the nets. Just imagine how much better this hockey club could have been with everybody healthy and in the lineup. All Islanders fans really have good things to look forward to for next season with what is currently in place.