Making Brent Thompson An Assistant To Capuano Would Be Unfair

Yesterday started off another week of NHL Playoff hockey, which means another week without Islanders hockey. Even so, the team still made some noise off of the ice. The New York Islanders fired assistant coaches Scott Allen and Dean Chynoweth. Both assistants were part of Scott Gordon's crew, handpicked in 2009 to lead the team absolutely no where in Gordon's "go-go" system.

That's right. Thompson's won with these beautiful things.

Suddenly, Wang's vote of confidence for Capuano seems sincere, unfortunately. This probably means that I have been wrong about thinking Capuano would be on his way off the Island. It also means he will have his own say in who he picks to join his staff, whatever significance that is.

Who does Cappy know? What connections can Capuano possibly bring in? And does he actually coach? One rumor: He will be trying to bring in Brent Thompson to join Doug Weight and himself for the Islanders 2012-13 season. If Thompson was "promoted," the Islanders organization would be doing him a huge disservice.

The Islanders Need Toughness If They Want To Go Anywhere

Last year!

Fun weekend in the NHL. There has been a lot of the rough stuff in the NHL Playoffs, yet we're not even a week into it. Watching these games has made me miss Isles hockey. Watching these games have also made two things very, VERY clear:

1) I really cannot wait until the Islanders make it back into the playoffs.

2) The Islanders would not have had enough toughness going into the playoffs in order to survive a first-round matchup.

Saturday's Scouting Report: Andrey Pedan

Thinking "Don't hurt Strome. Don't hurt Strome."

Today marks a full week since the Islanders final game of the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's been quiet from the Islanders side since last Saturday. Not much has happened to the team since the Islanders retained their 4th spot in the NHL Draft at Tuesday's Draft Lottery.

For now, I think I'm going to try keeping you guys up-to-date with the Islanders prospects during the weekends. Hopefully, this will give us all something to look forward to as we watch the NHL playoffs while waiting for the Islanders to re-join NHL action on June 22nd.

Moving forward, or really towards defense, Islanders defensive prospect Andrey Pedan looks like one of the Islanders top prospects within their system.

Thinking Out Loud: Would Brent Sutter Come To The Island?

An uncommon scene behind the good guys' bench.

Eventful day yesterday. I've watched each playoff game so far, and it's looking like it's going to be another good year for hockey in the spring.

Some other interesting notes: Brent Sutter stepped down as the head coach of the Calgary Flames. Three straight 90-point seasons in Calgary, and the man is now jobless. The current word going around? He left Calgary because he wanted to coach a younger team, something GM Jay Feaster would not give him.

Younger team, eh? Well Mr. Sutter, step right up! Wouldn't he be a nice fit on the Island?

What Can The Islanders Do With The 4th-Overall Draft Choice

I wonder how much Montreal's actually soured on him.

So, the draft lottery was two nights ago. I'm a little late on this. Edmonton won the draft lottery, which will allow the Oilers to pick 1st for the third straight season. They now have the option to draft RW Nail Yakupov, but by the sound of it, Steve Tambellini is leaning towards trading the pick away.

That should lead to a pretty fun draft day. I love hockey transactions, so this year's draft could be a good one. Nonetheless, as of right now the Islanders are set to draft in the #4 slot. This would be their highest pick in 3 seasons, and although I'm not complaining, I think there is plenty they can do with their pick.

Grading The Islanders Goaltending For The 2011-2012 Season

Spotlight's on you, Nabby.

There were many questions about the New York Islanders situation in the crease heading into the summer of 2011. Would the Islanders bail on Rick DiPietro, or would he start the beginning of the season? If the latter, would he stay healthy? Would the Islanders finally turn the page on a 1st-overall gone bad by going with new fan-favorite Al Montoya? And what about Evgeni Nabokov? Do the Islanders really expect him to play for the team after he refused to report to the team in February?

Well, of course the Islanders decided to go into the season with 3 starting goalies, and of course it turned out to be another mistake. The Islanders fell into another early season slump by rotating Rick DiPietro, Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabokov through December. Rick DiPietro fell to another injury, and Al Montoya then took over until he became injured, and then waiver-defect Nabokov took over only to find out that he actually loves it here on Long Island.

The Islanders saw 5 different goalies in net this season. They also saw John Grahame sit on the bench for a few games. Time to grade!

Grading The Islanders Defense For The 2011-12 Season

Today, I will give a grade to the Islanders defense as a whole as well as to the individuals within the unit. Personally, I didn't think they were so awful this year after they played through an entire season, but they were still very far from good.

Need to get some size next year.

Going into the season, expectations weren't very high for this defensive unit. No additions were made from the previous year, which went against the promise that was given in the offseason to fix the holes back there.

Nonetheless, this is the first time I'm doing this even if these guys are the same guys from last year. Let's get started on this defensive core that had more ups than downs. These opinions are obviously my own, so feel free to agree or disagree. Just keep it clean.

Grading The Islanders Offense For The 2011-2012 Season

Ah, the first week without Islanders hockey. Playoffs start in two days, and as much as it really is my favorite time of year, I am really hoping to see the Islanders competing come next April.

We want more goals!!!

For now, our work as fans is pretty much cut out for us. Speculating, reviewing, and criticizing will be our biggest activities until October comes around. We obviously want what's best for our hockey team, but let's just stay patient, enjoy the playoffs, and look forward to the potential our team offers for next season.

Today, I would like to start by reviewing the Islanders forwards. Let's take a look at what we've had to deal with throughout the entire 2011-2012 NHL season. These opinions are obviously my own, so feel free to agree or disagree. Just keep it clean.

The Final Islanders Weekly Recap For 2011-12; More Notes

The Islanders "played" in Columbus last night. The NHL's worst team beat the Islanders 7-3 in a game where I would have liked to see them win, but whatever.

After this, Montoya never had a chance.
Leave your captions.

Whatever was how Al Montoya played. He won't be back next year. Whatever was how Jack Capuano looked after every goal. Hopefully, he won't be back next year. Whatever was also how most of us felt as we locked up our lottery-pick. That's fine.

Other players battled hard. John Tavares had 8 shots, but no points to show for it. 81 points in 82 games for the star this season, so kudos to our future captain for exceeding all expectations in year 3.

Grabner and Okposo potted goals for the Islanders, so they continued their solid play into the end of the season. Frustrations also boiled over as the Islanders had 3 fights (I know right?), with Martin having 2 and Haley having 1.

So, whatever. It is what it is. Let's get on with the recap of the Islanders final week of the season.

Game 82. Beat Columbus.

Optimism coincides with wins.

This it it. Tonight's game marks the end of the New York Islanders 2011-12 season. It will be the 5th straight season where the Islanders season is ended in April, much to the dismay of the franchise's fans.

Instead of preparing for the playoffs, the Islanders will be preparing for another top-10 (probably top-5) draft choice, and unfortunately, most fans are looking for the team to lose it's final game against the NHL-worst Columbus Blue Jackets. 

I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really care for losing, even if our lottery spot is put on the line. A win is a win is a win is a win. I'd take that over a loss any day.

This Is Why It's Not So Easy To Leave Michael Grabner

The Islanders gave their fans something to cheer about heading into the offseason. A 5-4 victory at the Coliseum allowed the Islanders to skate off to a standing ovation. No one in the building seemed upset that the Islanders draft position could be shaken up.

We're happy when he's happy. 

Michael Grabner left the fans with a good taste in their mouths. He finally scored on a breakaway, and put the Isles ahead with 47 seconds left by deflecting a Travis Hamonic shot past Winnipeg's goalie, Chris Mason. The breakaway goal was on a penalty shot, and the Islanders first regular season home goal on a penalty shot since Tim Connolly's in 2000. The Islanders had 2 penalty shots that game (Ironic because the Islanders should have had 2 again).

So, Michael Grabner added himself to the Islanders list of 30-points scorers when he notched his 18th and 19th goals of the season.  Those 19 goals puts him 4th on the Islanders in that category. Interesting, especially considering all the opportunities he's missed. It creates a very unique stance on a player that I have firmly criticized in the past. It reminds you what he can do on any given night.

Some Thoughts Going Into The Final Home Game Of The Season

The 30th-Anniversary went so much better.
41st is a charm.

The Islanders face-off at 7 PM against the Winnipeg Jets for the final home game of the Islanders 2011-12 season. Obviously this game holds little meaning. The Islanders and the Jets are both eliminated from playoff contention, so the only thing affected by this game is draft position.

Some of us hope we can lose to maintain our lottery-pick. A handful of us hope we win just to give us something to cheer about as the season comes to a close. Personally, I'm indifferent as I always love to see the team win, but another top-5 pick can help us in the long-run. Either way, the Islanders will pick 8th in a worst case scenario, but even a win tonight can still mean a lottery-pick if we lay an egg in Columbus.

I will be at the game tonight, but I figured I'd give a few thoughts before the puck drops.

Sorry Guys, But Al Montoya's On His Way Out.

On February 8th, 2011 the New York Islanders lost Kevin Poulin for the remainder of the 2010-11 season due to an ugly knee injury suffered during pre-game warmups before his scheduled start.

This about sums it up.

The next day, Garth Snow made a move to patch the Islanders goaltending situation. The New York Islanders traded their 6th-round draft choice for goaltender Al Montoya, who was playing for the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. 

Montoya took his chance and ran with it, leading the Islanders to a second-half surge. He appeared in 20 games, compiling a 9-5-5 record with a .921 Save Percentage.

Islanders fans immediately jumped on his bandwagon while hoping the plague of DiPietro was finally over. Islanders fans believed they had their goalie of the future. I mean, Montoya even stole the opening night starting spot from a "healthy" Rick DiPietro. Amazing.

Unfortunately, the last few games have proved that it was all too good to be true.

Matt Donovan's Game Speaks Volumes

He will help fill the seats again.

Last night's 3-1 loss to the Devils marked another game this season where the New York Islanders played a very quiet game offensively, generating only 20 shots on net for the full 60 minutes. Once again, it proved that the Islanders need to make some changes offensively, and it looks like they might get a boost next season with the signing of Brock Nelson.

Well, quiet games aren't always bad from the defensive end, and last night was a good defensive effort by the entire Islanders club. The Islanders D also unveiled Oklahoma-native, Matt Donovan, to the NHL last night for game #80 of the NHL season. Like I said, a quiet game is a good game for a D-man (and Marty Reasoner), so Matt Donovan impressed me, as I'm sure he did for many Isles fans that have been clamoring for him since the beginning of the year.

The Islanders Need A Second-Line Centre, Stat.

Tonight, the Islanders go into New Jersey for their last divisional matchup of the season. The Islanders are currently 8-12-3 within the Atlantic this season, failing to reach their goal of .500 against their top rivals.

Let him play his game!

It's been a sloppy season, and although I do believe there has been slight progress, the Islanders have found ways to struggle all season long. Personally, I think most of this can be attributed to the offense, something that Snow failed to upgrade because the offense was supposed to be "set."

That's not me blaming him, as most of us wouldn't have gone into the season predicting a struggling Islanders offense, but it's what happened, so it needs to be addressed this off-season. It's become painfully clear that the Islanders do not have enough goal scorers, and in particular, they are missing a legitimate second-line centre.

Two Out Of Three: Bails, KO, Grabs?

As the season comes to a conclusion, I will be commenting more and more on potential Islanders moves, as well as possible draft choices, future rosters, and anything else pertaining to the team when they aren't playing actual hockey games.

Making it difficult on us fans this year, guys.

Today, I wanted to comment on the Islanders abundance of wingers, and the reality that this roster WILL be shaken up, regardless of the anti-Wang/Snow party's beliefs. Although July 1st may come and go (we can only speculate. I don't think it will, but it did last season, even though a lot of us were happy about what we thought was an "upgraded" 4th-line), the team will probably make moves via trade. Still waiting on Chris Botta's  announcement the day after the Rolston trade.

"Another hockey move is on the way. For what it’s worth, we were also told that we’re going to like this one."

Whatever. Something's going to hopefully happen.

To start off, in the past I have stated that I believe one of Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner will not return to the Islanders 2012-13 season. This was several weeks ago, a time period where the Islanders were still in the playoff race, yet clearly missing a major piece or two on their roster.

It's Sunday Again! Isles Weekly Recap!

Not at the game today, but I hear Rickety is buying the first 5,000 of us fans a hot dog and a soda? Of course I'd miss that. The Islanders are getting ready for a 3 PM game against the Ottawa Senators. This will be their 79th game of the season, and their first since being officially eliminated from the NHL's Playoff Race.   Not bad, but the team obviously needs to make a few improvements going into next season. 

Hot dogs and soda from this guy!
Leave Your Captions!!

The Islanders played well enough to keep their playoff hopes alive this week, but it was too little too late. Breaking the season down into smaller segments, this week was great! The Islanders went 3-1 since Sunday's evening game against the Florida Panthers, and they provided us with a few feel good stories, even if it was "garbage time," like Chris Botta said. Real quick, although it's obviously garbage time for the team in the standings, it isn't for the players that would like to remain on the roster, or for the teams we faced (Florida and Pittsburgh were both looking at the division). Let's get started.

A Shot Of Bailey's Leads To Happy Days And A Knockout

The New York Islanders 3rd line is looking pretty good these days, huh? A line formed by Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen, and Kyle Okposo has taken this team by storm right now. With 5 games left in the season, including a game this afternoon against the Bruins, the Islanders secondary scoring is finally coming out of its shell. Obviously, it's a little too late, but it sets up something for next season, which is one that I think is very promising if these specific players find their game.

Bartender! 5 shots of Bailey's for that poor goalie.

Bailey, Nielsen and Okposo are on fire right now, and although we may be a little upset that there was none of this in October, there's no used to dwelling in the past, so let's enjoy this while it's here! Let's hope they can continue their personal streaks (and the winning), so they can leave us Islanders fans with something to smile about. On we go.

Don't Chase Mark Streit Off The Island

Respect Our Captain.

The calls for Mark Streit's place on the roster have quieted a little bit, no? Three months into the season, so many people wanted him gone, which was something I never really understood. It was misplaced anger thrown at our new captain who was trying to find his game right after missing an entire season because of a separated shoulder.

There were discussions among fans on what his par value was, and stripping him of his captaincy, and although John Tavares is ready to be our captain, just give that announcement one more season. At 34, Streit's one of the older guys, and he's back to being the Mark Streit we knew him as with, possibly, even more of an offensive upside.

Pittsburgh. Shut Up.

Well, Isles fans. It's been a fun season. Agree to disagree, like many other topics on this team. From our ownership situation, to whether or not we should tank, to "Nino's a bust," there's at least one thing we, as Islanders fans, can all agree on. The Penguins are a very annoying entity, one that feels entitled, as they show it in their game.

Result of an Islanders unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Before I get started, let's just say I don't hate the city of Pittsburgh. Obviously, it's just a game. But, a lot of Pittsburgh cannot seem to overlook what happened to them back in February 2011, although they have had many successful moments in the past 5 seasons, including a Stanley Cup. My problem is, why is it that Pittsburgh cannot just stick to the game of hockey, rather than constantly harp on, literally, getting beat up by the Islanders over one year ago.

That Awkward Moment When John Grahame Joins The Islanders

So much for that Kevin Poulin emergency recall. The Islanders signed John Grahame, 36, to an NHL contract for the final 6 games of the 2011-12 season. He is expected to backup Al Montoya, keeping Kevin Poulin and Thor in Bridgeport for their division title push.

I loved watching these guys in Tampa.

Unfortunately, this means Evgeni Nabokov will probably be shut down for the remainder of the season, preventing him from reaching the 20-win mark as an Islanders goalie, an occurrence we have not experienced since Dwayne Roloson two seasons ago. It would have been fun to watch, but it's better to make sure our top goalie is healthy going into next season (looking at you Rickety), rather than risk the entire 2012-13 season to win one game at the end of this one (Note that before all the media bashing).

Moving on, hey John Grahame. How's life been?

Josh Bailey Has Come To His Hockey Senses

Josh Bailey had 3 assists in last night's 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, a career-high for one game. Although the real question is "How come it took so long," the question given today's scenario is "Who really saw it coming?"

Bailey: "I'm sorry, I ALWAYS MESS UP!"
Frans: "Bails, it's ok! I got your pass and I scored!"
Bailey: *Tears of Happiness*

Basically one month ago, I wrote an article on Josh Bailey explaining his move back to the wing, setup a poll whether or not to keep Bailey (votes were split between keeping him as a winger and getting rid of him, although there were probably 6 votes), and ultimately decided the only way Bailey can stay on this team was if he took control of his new, and permanent, position. 

Now on a 5-game point streak, Bailey has scored 1 goal and 6 assists, which has bumped his points total from 19 to 26, and since his move back to the wing 14 games ago, Bailey has registered 14 points (including 5 goals), creating more than half of his output from the previous 60 games.

David Ullstrom Has Earned Himself A Full-Time Spot On The Islanders

YES! More of this!

I've been meaning to do this for a few weeks, but never felt that I had enough of a sample size. Now that I do, let's talk about David Ullstrom for a little bit.

Drafted in the 4th round (102nd overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Ullstrom signed an entry-level contract with the New York Islanders at the end of his championship campaign with HV71 in Sweden's Eliteserien League.

Since then, he has played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the New York Islanders, looking more and more like he belongs on the big club, and not so much like a 22-year old rookie.

Brock Nelson, The Stage Is Yours

Nice win for the Islanders last night. A 3-2 shootout win has made some fans cringe, solely because of our small push up the standings, but a win's a win and it always leaves us feeling good.

Goals from Matt Moulson (again), and Kyle Okposo allowed the Islanders to come back twice, and Frans did his thing in the shootout to seal the win for the Islanders. Hey, at least NOW they're showing they can battle back.

Taking his talents to Long Island?

Well, we went up the standings, but the biggest news, yesterday, for the Islanders was the University of  North Dakota losing 5-2 to the University of Minnesota in the NCAA West Regional final. Why is this such big news? The University of North Dakota just so happens to be the school where Brock Nelson, the Islanders' first round pick (30th overall) in the 2010 NHL draft, has been playing hockey. Decision time!

Stuck In The Middle Of A Road-Trip, Here's Your Sunday Islanders Weekly Recap!

Well Isles fans, it's Sunday again! What a week it's been! The week basically came and went as our New York Islanders played two games, going 1-1-0 on the road.

Yes, I am the Lorax who speaks for the trees.
Leave your captions!

Stuck in the middle of two parts of the trip, the Islanders played the end of their Canada trip over in Toronto, one game after they won in Montreal, and then started their Florida trip last night in Tampa.

If the week ended on Tuesday night, it would have been a pretty good week.

Asbestos In The Coliseum? Hm, I Wonder.

Usually I try to stay away from all this political talk because I'm not always very good at it, but here it goes. The Nassau Coliseum has obviously been in limbo as Charles Wang has been trying to give the New York Islanders a new home for over a decade.

It's a barn, but it's our barn.

The lease expires in 2015, and with Kate Murray at the helm of the Town of Hempstead, this seems as if it will go on until the very. last. date. I mean, we couldn't even break ground on Sonic on Hempsted Turnpike because of "traffic."

Well, it turns out that our favorite barn is possibly infested with asbestos, a toxic mold that floats through the air, which would expose anyone inside the NVMC to health hazards (Kind of sounds like a Rangers' fan). Interesting.

The Islanders' Foundation Is Set

It's been an interesting year for the Islanders. Expectations have been exceeded for some, and expectations were never close to being met by others. A lot of people had the Islanders either squeaking into the playoffs, or falling short but showing much improvement. Although I feel the Islanders have showed improvement, many others would disagree due to the fact they are still a bottom-5 team.

Nothing unusual with this picture.

Well, one thing is definitely a sign this team is getting ready to make a jump. Along with their new starting goaltender, the Islanders have found a solid foundation in John Tavares, PA Parenteau and Matt Moulson. This year, each player has surpassed their expectations with 9 games to go, which makes re-signing PA Parenteau a priority.

Tavares has 73 points, PAP 64, and Moulson 61, which makes them the first Islanders' trio to score at least 60 points in one season since the 1993-94 Islanders.

If Their Discipline Carries Over To Next Season, This Team Has A Real Shot

Last season, and the season before that, the Islanders fans (including me) have cried conspiracy over the constant calls based against the Islanders. Game-after-game, it seemed as if the zebras turned a blind-eye to any cheap shot towards the Islanders (think Phaneuf on Tavares), but cried "major" if the Islanders were remotely involved in any of the physical stuff.

I swear, if you get sent to the box,
you 're finding your own way to Carvel.

Last season, the Islanders topped the entire NHL with 1,515 PIM. Second closest was nearly 150 PIM less, or Pittsburgh with 1,388.  The Islanders also had 31 misconducts, 11 more than Edmonton's 20. I remember it seemed like, especially after the Penguins brawl, every time we were involved with a fight, the Islanders had an extra 10-minute misconduct. Ridiculous.

Jack Capuano's gotten one thing right. This team has been far more disciplined under Jack's, by far, than under any other watch since the lockout. That's not an endorsement, just a fact.

Garth Got The Deal Done! Nabby's An Islander!

Donny you're out of your element!
Dude, the Chinaman is not the issue here!  

So, how many of you guys wanted him gone at the deadline because he wasn't going to sign? And, how many of you guys thought this was the best news on this crazy sports day for New York?

I wrote about him a few weeks ago, but Evgeni Nabokov has officially signed with the New York Islanders. The contract's terms are 1 year and $2.75 million. Not bad, considering we weren't even sure if we would get one NHL game out of him. So far, we have gotten 40. Garth and Wang, you have done good.

Welcome Yuri Alexandrov, Everyone!

So, there's always that awkward moment where the Islanders make a trade after the trade deadline. I'm sure there's some loophole based off of the player involved in the transaction playing overseas. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact rule Edit: (Found out the rule is that any player can be traded after trade deadline, but cannot play in post-season).

I guess Boston just wants to give us all this cool stuff.

Regardless, Garth made another deal with his new buddy Peter Chiarelli over in Boston, trading future considerations (ice cream) for D-man Yuri Alexandrov. Formerly a 2006 2nd round draft choice, Yuri was selected 36th overall by Boston. He only played 66 games within the Boston organization (all for Providence), recording 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points during the 2010-2011 AHL season. During the off-season, Yuri rejoined the KHL, where he played his previous 5 seasons of his professional career that began at the age of 17.

This season, Alexandrov has split time between SKA St. Petersburg and Avangard Omsk of the KHL. In the playoffs for Omsk, he has excelled, scoring 1 goal and 4 assists in 7 games after an offensively sub-par 3-3-6 season in 37 games.

The Islanders Playing Into Irrelevancy? Yeah, Ok.

The Islanders are approaching the off-season as the only team to have 5 straight top-5 draft choices during the 30-team expansion era. Enter negative media.

Sports Illustrated writes:

He would be ripping the media apart.

"A few decades removed from one of the great runs in NHL history, the Islanders are pushing the definition of relevance. [Garth Snow's] club is headed somewhere no one in the NHL has gone before since the league expanded to 30 teams in 2000 -- a fifth consecutive bottom-five finish. Not one of the 122 North American big-league franchises has made itself as irrelevant as the Islanders. There may have been a fair amount of chaos under Ted Nolan, but at least his teams always were in their opponents' face, and the same for Scott Gordon's teams until he lost the room. Now there's nothing. They have taken the treadmill to obscurity. They are the team that doesn't matter."

Funny, SI. Guess that's why none of you guys can ever stop talking about us.

Do The Islanders Bite If Columbus Trades Their Draft Choice?

Islanders better than Rangers, Peace Guys

In the past week, there have been some rumblings that if the Columbus Blue Jackets won the lottery, they would opt to trade the 1st overall choice. Most say the reason being that they cannot draft another Russian, as their past Russian draft picks in the 1st round have completely backfired. Nikolai Zherdev and Nikita Filatov (the kid I was so excited to draft until we traded down for Josh Bailey) did not become the superstars the Blue Jackets were looking for, so a third failure on Russian, Nail Yakupov, would just about erase any hope left in the Blue Jackets' fan-base.

Of course, as an Islanders fan, do we bite on a trade if we don't already win the lottery?

The Streak Is Over! Weekly Recap And More!

So, it's Sunday and I was thinking maybe we would try something a little different to end the week. Sunday, I'll give my opinion on the entire week, ask a few questions, put up a picture for all of you guys to caption, so feel free to comment and interact however all of you see fit.  Sunday should be a day to just relax for all of us, so let's see if we can have some fun with it.

Holla! City of Squala!
Leave your captions!!

Since Monday, the Islanders have went 1-1-1. The first game was a Tuesday night match-up where the Islanders came off a Rangers loss by scoring 4 goals in the opening two periods.  John Tavares was thought to have only a hat trick and an assist, but it turned out it was just a 3-point night for Mr. Marginally talented. Unfortunately, the Islanders played on their heels for the remaining period and lost in a shootout to continue an issue that has plagued the Islanders all season long.