Off to Buffalo: Morning after means more hockey
by Dominik on Dec 27, 2008 6:00 AM EST
in New York Islanders Previews
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PrintNo time to savor snapping the losing streak -- the Islanders must get right back at it in Buffalo tonight. The teams' post-Christmas celebrations were quite a contrast: The Isles welcoming back Rick DiPietro and congratulating Bill Guerin on goals #399 and 400 in an uplifting win; the Sabres looking sluggish in a loss in D.C.
New York Islanders (11-21-3, 30th) at Buffalo Sabres (16-14-5, 11th, East)
7 p.m. EST | [Many Letters of Scotland] Arena | MSG+
Sabres blog: Die by the Blade
But the Islanders don't have Alex Ovechkin, who struck again with another highlight goal (video via The Program) last night against the Sabres. Nonetheless, the last time the Islanders played in Buffalo, they took the win amid happier times.
So who knows which version of either team will show up tonight? In net, surely Scott Gordon will play it safe and go with Joey MacDonald, right? To protect DiPietro from back-to-back nights after a two-month layoff that included no AHL rehab stint, right? RIGHT?
In the Sabres' net, unfortunately Patrick Lalime drew the assignment last night in Washington, so expect to see Ryan Miller.
As per usual, the Islanders will have to make a lineup change, this time for Andy Hilbert, whose foot was broken on that shot block last night. When the Earth stops spinning for a moment, I'll go back and check how many times the Islanders have had the same lineup on consecutive nights this season, because it feels like it's never happened.
But no crying in hockey: The Sabres have some significant injuries themselves:
Now, let's win two.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
