A Long Distance Run-Around View from Glendale
by FireGarthSnow on Jan 9, 2012 1:26 PM EST
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Print2 tickets including Ticket-Shyster fees:$80.00 . Gas: $60.00 . Hotel: $65.00. Food: around $50.00. Taking your son to his first regular season NHL game to watch your favorite team since 1974?????: Priceless!
Attended the Isles-Coyotes game this past Saturday. Sat in a corner on Isles shoot twice end. First off, Jobing.com Arena is a place Isles fans can only dream about. With Stadium-style seating, view was great, even from the upper deck. Didn't lose site of the puck in corners. Very open and airy feel with wide concourses between seats and concessions. Arena staff was helpful and polite. Hell, even parked for free right next to arena using Handicapped placard. Surrounding Westgate area was busy. Had no problem getting in and out, probably because everyone stayed to see if Doan's goal counted and I got a jump leaving,lol. Only thing, why was there a longer line for the Men's room than the Ladies???
Sat with some very nice Coyotes fans. While only 13, 400 attended, they were very passionate. Even wearing my Isles sweater, many came up to me and thanked me for supporting their team .....Amazingly, Isles fans have a lot in common with them. The Isles are still dealing with "The name that shall never be mentioned. " Yotes fans are still dealing with the mess left by Gretzky, in addition to the ownership issues. I kept hearing, "Great player, lousy judge of talent and not a clue as a coach." My thoughts on the game after the jump??? Haven't done this before, so bear with me here.
OK, I realize this was the 2nd game of a B2B on the road against a team that was coming off a 4 game road trip and ready for some home cooking. I also realize this is just one game out of a season. I know many don't like my screen name, so be it. But attending my first Isles game in many years, I got to see a better look at the team. Much of what I say may seem redundant to most. oh well, I'm not a professional writer. I say what I feel.
- Only 3 D-men worth keeping: Striet, A-Mac, and Harmonic. Jurcina, Eaton, and Staios were constantly out of position, and too slow to recover. AMac and Hamonic made young D mistakes...expected growing pains. Striet is being hamstrung offensively by his partners. Seems as if he has to stay home to compensate. Hearing rumblings that he could be moved? Maybe getting a shut-down D-man to go with him would be more appropriate.
- Bailey shot the puck!
- Nino, Pandolfo, Wallace line was awful. I get Nino has nothing to prove in Juniors. But he's caught in No-Man's land. Seemed lost, with some aimless skating, as if trying to figure out where to be. Not down on him, just not NHL ready. Product of linemates?
- JT is a wonder to behold. Watching him split defenseman left me wondering how good he will really be! Get him a good RW and other teams will fear him. KO seemed almost as lost as Nino. Don't know what's in his head. MM missed a few chances, but was fun to watch. Works hard.
- Nice PP goal by Franz after JT's efforts.
- Nabby's 5-hole was big enough to fit a 16lb bowling ball through. Surprised he got the start. At least he was pissed off, showing some emotion behind the play. Don't know if it was because he gave up some softies, had to play 2 D positions as well as goalie, or for not reporting last season so he could have been free this year.
- I know Garth can't hit a Home Run every time, but the "bargains" he brought in this season couldn't reach base by an error! Made a young rebuilding team into an old, slow also-ran. Wallace was spun around covering for an out-of position defenseman and looked like an ECHL player. Pandolfo is only good for my "Jay and Silent Bob" jokes. Reasoner was mercifully out. Staios should be the 7th D-man, if anything.
-
Giving Rolston his own bullet(
hopefullywishfully?)....Really got pissed off watching him skate around for 15-20 seconds, then motion towards the bench to be replaced. More than once he chose to skate off rather than become part of the attack after the Isles intercepted a puck in the Neutral Zone and turned it the other way. Seeing him on the point in the last five minutes for an offensive zone face-off during 5 on 5 pretty much sent me over the edge. I get the Cap Mule part, but this guy brings nothing, has nothing, and means nothing. Scratch his sorry ass already!- PAP and Martin were the best players on the ice, other than JT. I've not been a PAP as first line player supporter,, but he was hustling in the corners and got scrappy towards the end. Wonder what he
gestured saidmentioned to the ref to earn that double-minor? Must have name dropped "The Name that shall not be mentioned" Martin plays with a controlled purpose. Too bad he has hands of stone. Not meant as an insult, he just wasn't gifted with a scoring touch. Had a few chances. - Ouch, can't turn off bullets. Well to wrap up. I had a blast with my son, despite the poor effort. My son usually talks a mile a minute, but was amazingly silent during most of the game, except to ask questions. He told me afterwards that he was just concentrating on the game. The huge hugs he gave me afterwards for taking him made it worth it. PS I offered 300.00 to buy the Coyotes, but there were no takers.
- PAP and Martin were the best players on the ice, other than JT. I've not been a PAP as first line player supporter,, but he was hustling in the corners and got scrappy towards the end. Wonder what he
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LOL
Ouch, can’t turn off bullets.
Once they get going, there’s no stopping ’em.
Thanks for the report. Fun read. Glad you got to take your son; sorry it was a stinker.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Out of the doorway the bullets RIP
Wait – wrong band. Sorry FGS. But I still rec the post, because passing on hockey to your kids is completely awesome. (And also for the Yes reference in the title.)
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
Thanks, now if I could only figure out how to post pics.
Guess I’m not very computer literate.
"This season is a serious misallocation of valuable hockey resources"- Saving Private Tavares
Nice sig
Photos requires hosting them at a third-party site (like Flickr) and then using the link to the photo to post here.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Always nice to hear how Islanders fans are received at road arenas
Maybe people say they suck or, “hang in there” or “I’m sorry” or “why?” I can see Coyotes fans being sympathetic to a team’s municipal plight (which is why I made the $300 joke to begin with).
Hopefully, your son isn’t turned off to Islanders hockey based on that one highly disappointing game. But hey, at least he saw Doan’s first hat trick.
"He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot" - Mike Milbury on Ziggy Palffy's agent. On Twitter: @Dan_of_Science
That's horrible about passenger 11
choosing to skate off rather than getting involved (more than once too!). If that behavior is rewarded its no wonder the other players sometimes look like they couldn’t care less. And maybe why the coach looks that way too. Its a shame.
When everybody thinks it,
It can’t be wrong. Sends a bad message to the rest of the team. Too bad too, we got some good kids.
"We owe him a lot more than he owes us at this point. He's been stellar all year. He still gave us a chance to win this one, and we've got to find a way."
—C Josh Bailey, on G Al Montoya after a 5-3 loss Tuesday in Montreal.
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Jan 9, 2012 8:26 PM EST up reply actions
I went to see the Isles play the Coyotes in Glendale a couple of seasons ago
I have to agree, Jobing.com Arena is a very nice place. If/when the Isles get a new arena, they should be looking at Jobing.com Arena and the surrounding Westgate complex for some ideas.
"He told me afterwards that he was just concentrating on the game."
My kind of kid. Sounds like a future sport’s nut if he’s not already.
"We owe him a lot more than he owes us at this point. He's been stellar all year. He still gave us a chance to win this one, and we've got to find a way."
—C Josh Bailey, on G Al Montoya after a 5-3 loss Tuesday in Montreal.
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Jan 9, 2012 8:26 PM EST reply actions
Not picking on you, but a lot of people always say Nino had nothing to learn in Portland, which was wrong.
Benhasna had a great Nino fanpost about his splits and stats and +//- playing with and without Ryan Johansen, and it was very interesting. I wish I had a link to it. But Nino was not close to as dominant offensively or a 2-way player without Johansen on his line. This means, Nino playing without a high-end center talent on his line in juniors had some work to do. And since Johansen was/stayed with the Blue Jackets before we had to make a decision to send Nino back or not, we should have definitely sent him back. Nino had the potential to better his offensive game, Nino had the potential to work on his defensive game there, which was/is obviously needed given his big defensive mistakes at times this year “on the 4th line”. That’s why I don’t get the “Nino didn’t have anything to learn in juniors” montra, because it’s not true. Let me see if I can dig up the fanpost.
What do you mean they won 4 cups in a row? Is that possible?
Woo
Nice seat.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
That story gets rec'd if for the Yes song title in the headline alone.
But the report was great too. Thanks!
Yet another Moulson brother-in-law.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jan 13, 2012 12:54 PM EST reply actions
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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.
