2021 Stanley Cup Finals

We started this long journey back in January. A 56 game regular season and three rounds of the playoffs have now lead to this. We started the year with 31 teams. Now we're down to our final two. Its a matchup of the defending champs going against a team that hasn't won a title since 1993. Its the Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the Montreal Canadiens. 

Tampa got here by beating the Panthers in six games, Hurricanes in five and the Islanders in seven games. This is the 2nd straight finals appearance and 4th overall. They are the defending champions and have won another cup in 2004. Meanwhile for the Habs, they beat the Maple Leafs in seven games, swept the Jets and beat the Golden Knights in six games. This also marks the 35th appearance in the finals for the Canadiens, who have won 27 titles but haven't made an appearance in the finals since 1993.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this finals series:
June 28 Montreal Canadiens 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
June 30 Montreal Canadiens 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
July 2 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
July 5 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
July 7 Montreal Canadiens 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
July 9 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
July 11 Montreal Canadiens 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena

This is going to be a very interesting series, as Montreal has been coming in hotter than a firecracker. Tyler Toffoli is leading this team in scoring with 13 points. The offense is balanced and can come up with the timely goal, but they won't blow anybody out of the water. What has been keeping the Canadiens around has been the outstanding play of Carey Price. He has been playing out of his mind. Montreal has been getting the best out of their goaltenders and it has been and is the key reason they are playing in their first finals in 18 years.

But the Habs are going up against the defending champions the Lightning, who despite being a little on the banged up side, are back for the second year in a row in the finals. Nikita Kucherov, who still leads the NHL in playoff scoring despite missing the regular season due to injury,. is getting sore after getting knocked around a little in the last round against the Islanders. But its not just him. Brayden Point, Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos have been scoring. They getting contributions from everybody. The goaltending in Andrei Vasilevskiy has been good. Not quite as great as Price but still been very good never the less.

With all that being said, Montreal is going to make it an interesting series. They are going to steal a couple of games, but the better team is going to come out on top. Tampa is just too balanced and too good of a hockey team to be toppled over. Price could steal a game but the Champs will be too much to handle and they will win back to back cups.

Pick: Lightning in six!

Thanks For The Ride

Yes, the dream ended last night, but it was still a hell of a ride. One us Islanders fans will never forget. After coming off a conference finals appearance last season, the expectations were high. And with everything that the team went through this year, the fact that they got where they did speaks volumes about the heart and desire of this hockey team.

Things had been looking good from the get go with this team. For the first couple of months they stayed right in the hunt at the top of the division with Washington. Then, early in March, Andres Lee goes down with the knee injury. There was a little of that fear of who's going to score. That wasn't helped when the offense slumped late in the season.

By the time the playoffs had started, the Islanders had managed to find their game again. It started with Pittsburgh. Then Boston. And finally pushing to a game seven against Tampa. This team did so much for not only itself but for the fanbase as well. They gave the fans one hell of a final run at the old barn at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike.

What this team did was show character and heart beyond description. They gave the fans and the team memories that will last a lifetime. Did it end in a championship? No. But did it leave a lasting legacy on the way to a new Era in Islander hockey? Hell yes. Nobody will ever forget this season and what it means to all involved from ownership, to the players, to the fans and everybody around the team in between.

To the boys in the blue and orange, thank you for a hell of a run and for all the memories this year. It was worth it and then some.

Team USA Basketball Announced

July 23rd can't get here fast enough. That's the date that the Summer Olympics are set to star. They are taking place in Tokyo and running through August 8th. One of the events that Team USA is expected to do very well in is Men's Basketball. Greg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Jay Wright and Lloyd Pierce have a solid bunch to work with at this years games.

Here's the 12 man roster that Team USA will be sending to the games:
Kevin Durant, F, Brooklyn Nets
Damian Lillard, G Portland Trail Blazers
Devin Booker, G, Phoenix Suns
Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
Khris Middleton, G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
Zach LaVine, G, Chicago Bulls
Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
Draymond Green, F/C, Golden State Warriors
Jrue Holiday, G, Milwaukee Bucks
\Kevin Love, F, Cleveland Cavaliers
Jerami Grant, F, Detroit Pistons

It was a little surprising to see names like LeBron, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul left out in the cold. Maybe this is a sign of a changing of the times for USA Basketball. Plus there are also some pretty good young guns waiting for a shot at a future Olympic glory on the big stage. You could see the likes of Zion Williamson, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle down the road as well.

New Leading Man On Broadway

Being a head coach in any sport isn't an easy task. Having to do so in the city of New York is even tougher. You understand why when you look at how harsh the media and fan bases of the teams in this area can be. Trying to win in New York is just as tough. But the Rangers have handed the reigns of that job over to new bench boss Gerard Gallant.He's the 36th head coach in the history of the franchise.

Gallant could be the right man for this job., The 52 year old veteran coach brings plenty of coaching, and playing, experience to the table. He played eleven years in the league between Detroit and Tampa, before moving into the coaching game.Retired from his playing days in 1996, came back to the NHL in 2003-04 as head coach in Columbus. Gallant was the Jackets bench boss for three years, missing the playoffs each time before being fired early into season three. He then went to Florida and guided the Panthers to one playoff appearance in three years before getting dismissed. He then lead the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to back to back playoff appearance before being let go again midway through last season.

Gallant seemed to be the Blueshirts primary choice from the get go to be the man behind their bench. Gallant was able to get two expansion teams going in both Columbus and Vegas. Oh and in between he managed to be able to get the Florida Panthers turning around and going in the right direction while he was there. He built the Golden Knights up, and with the young team that the Rangers have, he can work the same magic here.

He knows how to build up young talent, the run in Vegas is proof of that. So is his turn around rate with the Panthers as well. There's plenty of young talent and a good mix of veterans for him to get to gel together on Broadway. And Gallant could be just the guy to be able to do it.

Stanley Cup Semifinals Preview

A long journey it has been to get to this point. We started with 31 NHL teams, and now we have reached the final four. Over the next two weeks, we will see whos left standing to play for hockey's ultimate prize. Will it be the fourth year team who's already had a big impact on the league, or will it be the winningest team in league history? On the other side, is it going to be the defending champions, or a scrappy team that's made it to the third round for the second year in a row? Let's get right into it, here's how this third round goes down.

Vegas comes in as the best team still standing in the playoffs, having picked up 82 regular season points. they reached this point beating Minnesota in seven and Colorado in six. This is the 2nd straight year and third time in four years that the Golden Knights are in the 3rd round of the playoffs. Montreal finished the season with 59 points, they were the last team in the North division to make the playoffs. They go to this point by beating the Maple Leafs in seven and sweeping the Jets. This is the eight conference finals appearance for the Habs since 1980 and haven't reached the finals since their last title win in 1993. Montreal and Vegas have never met in the playoffs and Montreal has won five of the six lifetime meetings.

Here's the dates and times of every game in this series:
June 14 Montreal Canadiens 9:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 16 Montreal Canadiens 9:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 18 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
June 20 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
June 22 Montreal Canadiens 9:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
June 24 Vegas Golden Knights 8:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
June 26 Montreal Canadiens 8:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena

Vegas has been one of the premier teams in the entire league all season long. Montreal right now is coming in hotter than a firecracker. Montreal is coming off the sweep of Winnipeg and have been playing great hockey as of late. Tyler Toffoli has started to come on as of late for the Canadiens. The balance scoring had started to come back for Montreal. And all of this is starting to show more support for what has been outstanding goaltending from Carey Price.

But at the other side, they're going up against the best team standing in Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury is starting to play like the Fleury of old. It happens during the playoffs I guess, Fleury usually finds another gear come this time of year. Max Pacioretty has started to turn his game up to another level towards the end of the Colorado series. Wlliam Karlsson is starting to show why he one of the Golden Knights best forwards.

There's no denying the fact that the Habs have started picking up momentum as of late. But they are facing the best team left standing and a squad that just came back from down 2-0 against the best team in the league during the regular season. Montreal might be able to steal a game, but the drought for a Canadian team to win the cup will continue for another season.

Pick: Golden Knights in 5!

This is a rematch of last years Eastern Conference Finals. New York finished 4th in the East division with 71 points. To get here, they beat the Penguins in six games and the Bruins in six. As for the Lightning, they finished 3rd in the Central Division with 75 points. in order to get here, the Lightning beat the Panthers in six games and the Hurricanes in five.. This is the Lightning's seventh overall appearance in this round, while its the eight for the Islanders. These two teams have played each other three previous times in the playoffs, with the Lightning winning all three series, including last year.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
June 13 New York Islanders 3:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
June 15 New York Islanders 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
June 17 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
June 19 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
June 21 New York Islanders 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
June 23 Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m. New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
June 25 New York Islanders 8:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena

This series is going to be good. Like really, really good. These teams know each other so well, having faced off against each other just last playoffs. The Islanders have come into this series as the highest scoring team in the playoffs. They getting scoring from some of their role players like Kyle Palmari and Brock Nelson. All of it being done with Jordan Eberle being quiet on the score sheet most of the playoffs and Mathew Barzal only just starting to find the back of the net. Semyan Varlamov has been playing fantastic hockey coming off the Boston series win, holding the Bruins in check outside of the top line.

But they are facing a Tampa team that has found its game at the right time and is full tilt. Nikita Kucherov is healthy and has been scoring since the playoffs got going, so has Steven Stamkos. The goaltending has looked suspect at times, according to some, as these playoffs have rolled along. But at the end of the day, Andrei Vasilevskiy is up for the Vezena as top goalie this year, and when he's on his game, he's very tough to beat. The defense, too, can be either hit or miss, but with Victor Headman leading the way for the Bolts, they can shut things down when they get a lead.

Facts are, this is going to be a fun, hard fought series between the two teams. There's no doubt the Islanders offense has found its game again during these playoffs. But the Bolts are just a little bit better of a hockey team. It going to go the distance, and at the of the day, the better team will come out on top.

Pick: Lightning in 7!

Old Barn Gets One More Round

A year after the Islanders made the Eastern Conference Finals in the bubble, there was a lot of hope on Long Island. In the final season at Nassau Coliseum, a weird one at that, the team and fans wanted to have one more good run at fort neverlose. Now that roll keeps on going, thanks to the Islanders 6-2 win over Boston on Wednesday night to send the team to the Stanley Cup Semifinals, for the 2nd year in a row. Waiting for them will be the team that ended the dream run last year the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the team getting set to open a new building come fall, that means one more playoff series at the Coliseum.

From 1972 to 2015, and then again from 2017 to now, the Coliseum has been the hallowed home of Islanders hockey. Sure, the building has been a dump, and at times rightfully so. But it was our dump and it will always hold a special place in the hears of us Islanders fans. Many a great Islander moment has taken place at that building.

Four straight Stanley Cups, 19 straight playoff series victories. A shocking run to the conference finals in 1993. Back to back runs the last two seasons. Shawn Bates penalty shot 2002. Fight night in 2011 against Pittsburgh. Dramatic goals in both the regular season and playoffs. Some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Pat LaFontaine, the list goes on and on of a who's who that have played there. 

When this season started, nobody knew what to expect, both on the ice and in the stands. The on ice play had high expectations after last season's finish, and at times this year it didn't look good. But in true Islander fashion, the play was resilient and here we sit. Expectations have not only been met, but exceeded by this team in the final year of the old building.

As for the crowd, they've been as loud as ever (like we would do any different). When the season started there were no fans in attendance. Health regulations would not allow it. Then, as the season wore on, they started coming back. By the end of the Boston series, they building was full and the crowd was as loud as ever. It has always been a very tough place to play out here on Long Island. Its intimidating as hell.

Now there's at least two more games to go in the place that the team has called home for 47 years. How will it end? Only time will tell. Whatever the outcome its been a hell of a ride and a hell of a sendoff!

Gotham On The Rise

This season was one to remember at Madison Square Garden. I, like many, had the Knicks near the bottom of the conference. I had them finishing 13th in the East with a mere 26 wins. But they surprised every body and then some this season. New York finished with a 41-31 record and a 4th place finish in the East, hosting the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round. Sure, that series didn't end the way the Knicks wanted, getting ousted in five by the Hawks. 

The fact that the Knicks were even there, speaks volumes for the way this team is set up and the direction they are heading in. This was a team that was projected by many to not win more than 26 games this season. Instead they turned the basketball world on its ear by winning 41 games and finishing 4th in the East. The young guns, guys like RJ Barrett, really started to step up their game. He wasn't the only one who really stepped it up this year. Immanuel Quickley had a good year in his rookie year. He averaged just over 11 points a game and was able to hit big shots as the season went along.

Then we had the story of the year, Julius Randell. Randell was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the best player on this team. He was a massive reason the Knicks took as giant a step this season as they did. All of this was being done under the leadership of Tom Thibodeau, who did a pretty good capping off his first season here in New York. He got them to buy into the system and play at a different level, one that hasn't been seen around these parts in a long, long time.

Yes, it wasn't the ending to the season that anybody wanted, but man was it a hell of a ride. This season showed that the Knicks are on the right track and back to soon be challenging for a championship in the NBA. This aws New York putting people on notice. They will be a threat again soon.

Was He Snubbed?

Yesterday, the National Hockey League announced the finalists for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top goaltender. Among the three finalists, New York Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov was not one of them. The three finalists are Phillip Grubauer of Colorado, Marc-Andre Fleury of Vegas and Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay. So the real question here is, was Varlamov snubbed of a nomination?

Stats may say yes, but eye test says otherwise.

Yes, the other three guys had better records then Varlamov did. Vasilevskiy went 31-10-1, Grubauer went 30-9-1, and Fleury went 26-10-0. Varlamov's record 19-11-4. The other three guys finished one, two and three in wins in the league this year. Varly in his own right had a fine year. His save percentage was 2nd best in the game and his goals against was 4th best. He also tied for the league lead with seven shutouts on the year.

Lets put it like this. I feel Varlamov would have had a much higher win total if in some of his starts, his offense was able to give him a support. I just feel that if the Islanders had put up better numbers he would have pretty much been a lock to win the award this year in my mind, he was playing that well. He kept the Islanders in a lot of games this season that they might not necessarily have had business sticking around in.

Record and numbers only tell cold facts, the eye test does play a factor in this too. He made big saves at the right time for the Islanders and was, on some nights, the best player playing in the Blue and Orange. This is by no stretch taking anything at all away from the three guys who are nominated for the award, which is selected by the General Managers around the NHL. I guess Varlamov didn't do enough to impress the others around the league. He did more than enough here to help get the Islanders to where they are this season. He not only done a fantastic job mentoring young Ilya Sorokin in the Islanders net, but he held his onw and then some between the pipes this year.

No matter how that voting played out, Varlamov was the MVP of the Islanders during the regular season. He was the best Islander player this year and is without a doubt one of the top goaltenders in the league this season.

Nightmare North of The Boarder

This is starting to feel like its becoming an old story and fast. The Toronto Maple Leafs. A team built for regular season success that, as of late, can't quite get it done when it matters most come spring time. Look no further then this year. They had a great regular season, winning the North division, the first division title for the team since 2000. They hosted Montreal in the opening round and even opened up a 3-1 lead in the series. Now they are on the golf course, after losing game seven, ending their season.

Yes, we can say that a small factor in this was the absence of John Tavares, who missed the end of the series with a concussion after a freak accident in game one. They missed his offensive presence late in the series. But that wasn't the only reason why the Leafs exited the playoffs.

A big reason why was golatending, and defense in kind played the Leafs. Yes they did have to come back in game five to force OT, only to lose it 59 seconds in. Then in game six they blew a 3rd period lead to lose in OT again. Then in game seven Montreal outplayed Toronto and knocked them out of the playoffs. Toronto is now 12-13 all time in game sevens, and have lost their last 8 in a row. They haven't won a game seven since beating the Blues in the second round in 1993.

Toronto can't get out of their own way come playoff time, especially if they have to go to a seventh game. Toronto is a classic example, at least in my viewpoint, of a regular season team. Meaning they are built great for the regular season, but not so much come playoff time. They have a great offense that can strike almost at will, but they also have trouble at times stopping the attack coming the other way. You can see Montreal exploiting that, at timers, during this first round series.

Look it was smart of the Leafs to lock up their offensive core. Problem is they put too much money into it and haven't really been able to build up the supporting cast up front, or the more important matter, solid goaltending and defense. If they can work in a system to better strengthen that, the this will be an after thought. But it always seems like this seems to happen to the Leafs, the regular season powerhouse who can't get it done when it matters most.