At the risk of covering a soap opera instead of a game: My read is that the Islanders -- or at least Gordon -- have actually handled this latest DiPietro setback straight up (one can infer Logan thinks so, and Logan doesn't hesitate to say when he smells fish) . BUT: But even if Chris Botta went a "little far" (Logan's words) with criticism in this specific instance, there is a larger issue at play: That being the ever-present strange way the club handles information flow.
And frankly, a club in the Islanders' fragile state is not in the position to be turning off the drove of fans who flock to Botta's site to follow their team. Maybe the club didn't expect him to bring this little spat out into the open -- and I'm sure it will pass once they return from the road trip -- but they could chide him privately rather than freeze him out (in case they forgot, that's how PR professionals handle coverage they don't like). The pen (keystroke?) still has some power left in it yet.
The lesson for the club: Their record of Orwellian information management practices is what makes fans jump on them at the first hint of misdirection. While they've since improved their injury reporting -- after much prodding -- this is an image problem that won't go away until they reflect a little more on how they engage their critically thinking consumers -- customers who may occasionally wonder, "Wait, why is it that I bother again?"
Comment about this silliness or the game(!) in the thread below.
New York Islanders (12-25-4, 30th) at Canada's Team-Stealing Scoundrels (24-12-4, 3rd/West)
9 p.m. EST | [suspicious growth] Saddledome | MSG+2 (twice the plus!)
Flames blogs: Battle of Georgia Alberta | Five Hole Fanatics | Insideflames
Hi Yann, thanks for flying in! Yeah, it's minus-16 C here. Hope you brought your coat.