On the Islanders Beat

Nice job, guys. Way to jump out in front early...Keep it going here.

Why Not Us?

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!

Buffalo looks they are respecting DP's breakout pass.

Loved that first goal. Two players in front of the net, including Smyth.

Night and day from last game so far. But only 7 minutes in.

Kevin T.

Stupid Penalty Koslov!

I agree. Especially now with this 4-on-4 it becomes even more imperative to neutralize Buffalo's speed.

And Kevin, tough one yesterday....I hope the Canucks bounce back in Game 3.

BRUNO GERVAIS!!!!!!!!!!

Weak goal. I smell a goalie change coming. But then again keep him in.

Bring it Isles!

Sillinger and Smyth are on fire!

Yeah, Canucks looked tired and the three injured players were Energy guys. I expect the series to go to 6 or 7.

Buffalo seems to be pressing right now, and I agree Sillinger and Smyth have been everywhere and anywhere so far. Here's hoping they can sustain this effort over the whole game.

I am sorry to any Koslov fans, but judging from this first period he SUCKS!

Again Sillinger. Nice effort, just couldn't lift it enough on the backhand.

hmm. was Koslov on the ice for that goal. Yep I think so.

2-1 still. They should know they can't sit on the lead.

Hey Kevin T.
Good to see you online..I'm in London and forced to listen to the game online through NHL.com.
Too bad we couldn't keep the 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Are you watching?? The Isles sound like a different team.

Kudos to you, Mick. I lived in London last year and if we'd made the playoffs I would've been in the same boat.

Buffalo, exactly as I figured, came out flying in the second. DP was huge, and the D came through when necessary. We need to tighten up the game and take it to them the last 20 minutes if we want to skate out of here with a victory.

We can do this...We can put them on the ropes. Why Not Us?

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!

Hey Nick,
I feel like I live here 'cause I'm here 5 times a month for work.
Will be back tomorrow(nor'easter willing), and will be there Monday and Wednesday.
They need that 3rd goal and then shut it down.
Cannot sit on a 2-1 lead against this Buffalo team.

Are you kidding me!!!

You fans are pathetic.

I am sitting here watching the Isles game and Deb Kaufman announced there are tickets still available.

It make sense though, its not your playing the Rangers.

Thats the only way you can sell out.

I TRIED GETTING RANGERS TICKETS AND THEY SOLD OUT IN TEN MINUTES.

YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED!!!

LOSERS

What a shock !!
the regular NY Ranjerks fan shut out of tickets.
Maybe you should check with ANY Wall Street or Law Firm...I'm sure they have LOTS !!!
In fact, my friend in SYRACUSE got HIS tickets for game 6 cause he works for a law firm...
EVERYBODY knows ALL the good seats at The garden are taken be SUITS .
I'd rather have 14,000 REAL fans then 18,200 suits.

5 Million people on LI and you can't get 18,000 people to go to a game after such an exciting finish. Face it man, once Charlie sells the team the Isles and gone. Hopefully for the fans they move to Queens or Brooklyn.

And 'NYR-NYonlyhockeyteam' has been placed on Ignore.

Playing a little too loose for my taste right now. Let's get the forecheck back and grab another deflection goal. Steal this one and the pressure's all on them.

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!

Thank you Marc-Andre Bergeron, thank you so much....

Great job all around, with Smyth setting the screen and Bergeron letting loose that rocket from the point. Keep it up, boys, we can do this.

My bad...I actually acknowledged a Ranger$$ fan...let's ignore them from now on.
GO ISLES !!!!!!

nice job, now go out and support your team!!!

WE WIN !!!!
WHY NOT US ???

HAHAHAHAHAH BACK TO THE ISLAND 1-1, F*CK ALL THE DOUBTERS, WHY NOT US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DP!!!!!!!!!!

Hey NYR,
I'm as frustrated as any Isles fan is about attendance...I've had my full season tix for 6 years...doing my part...
Now, everybody else STEP UP !! and get your GAME 3 Tix NOW !!!!

we win
theeeeeeeeeee islanders win
theeeeeeeeeee islanders win
why not us?
thank you gath snow for getting Marc-Andre Bergeron
thank you ted nolan for benching yashin

Mick

You are a true fan just like me.

As a resident of Long Island but a Rangers fan I can't understand why people wouldn't go to support your team especially during the playoffs. I suggest you guys call your friends, family, coworkers anyone you know. How much money is Wang willing to lose before he giveS up. As a Rangers fan, I enjoy our rivalry. So support your team ITS GOOD FOR HOCKEY!!!

GOD BLESS THE GAME AND THE PLAYOFFS!!!

we win
theeeeeeeeeee islanders win
theeeeeeeeeee islanders win
why not us?
thank you gath snow for getting Marc-Andre Bergeron
thank you ted nolan for benching yashin

Benching your captain in a playoff game takes some balls. Nolan deserves every plaudit he's received. The hell of it is that Yashin played a decent game on Thursday. If he cost half as much and wasn't wearing the C, I'd even call him a respectable player. As it is...

But let's dwell on the victory, instead. 1-1 and coming back to the old barn.

Isles in 6?

This is the kind of game I was hoping they would have played before the series started. A lot of people were saying how they should not send people in a be aggresive, and with DP back it was certainly the right time to use their size and work the puck deep.

I have to respectfully disagree about Kozlov. He's been using his body effectively - not saying he can't do more ofcourse, but he's been a pleasant surprise this season.

As far as attendance ...games 3 & 4 will be sold out ...I'll be there for both ...and will be there for any more that will hopefull be played this season.

**Here's a reality that we all just have to get used to ...Ranjerk trolls will always be on this blog ...just ignore them ...let them talk ...just don't respond ...let that be law around here ...don't even acknowledge their little comments and lets all just talk about the team we love ...

Great win tonight ...looking forward to Monday ...have a great night ...

I agree. I think there are too many fair weather fans as well.
The lockout didn't help as well as all of our management and ownership problems...fans got fed up.
BUT, we have a GOOD team now and they need our support.
The Isles played tonight like we knew they could play.
GO ISLANDERS !!!!!!
I personally know that BUFF fans are buying bus/ticket packages to game 3/4...we need OUR fans to show up .

One more thing ...Satan really has been stepping up this series ...a huge faceoff win to set up Gervais goal and is really fighting for loose pucks and isn't being hit off the puck easily ...

PRESSURES ON BUFFALO NOW! these games BETTER be SOLD OUT, get your tickets!!

Satan has the fire in his belly and it shows.
Now if only Yashin could get pissed off as well.

maybe bench yashin will show will put some fire into his step....
hate to say it if he does not i see a buyout coming during the summer

it should read:
maybe bench yashin will put some fire into his step....
hate to say it if he does not i see a buyout coming during the summer

Regarding the goaltending...

Before the game the comment "Dubie's been doing fine, goaltending wasn't the problem in the last game, make sure DiPietro is completely fine before you get him back in" was relatively prevalent. I disagreed with it then, but it took watching tonight's game to really believe it wholeheartedly. Dubie's a solid goalie, he put up great numbers and he carried the team when they needed it, but a season of playing with DP has tied this team to him. They play looser and harder when he's backstopping them. It might be a psychological thing, it might be stylistic, but it's definitely there and it definitely won this game for the Isles.

Anyone else concerned with the pile-up that happened in the last five minutes of the game? Didn't look like anyone clipped DP, but it's going to be the danger that we're be watching for the next fourteen years.

Also, credit to Witt and the rest of the D for never letting anyone even think about a cheap shot on Ricky. Personal favorite: Vanek comes in on the rush, Poti shoves back and then moves away. Vanek slips forward and cracks his head on the crossbar.

Great win!

I started to get a little anxious after that Gervais delay of game penalty; I feared a game 1 type meltdown.

We softened up at a few points during the game. We also got lucky at a few points. The first period was positively inspired, though, and we need to keep that kind of intensity and effort up for the rest of the playoffs.

I'll say it again, Isles in 6.

Why not us?

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!!

feels good....for now. keep it up.

Unfortunately, getting to the NVMC from Manhattan for a weeknight game is virtually impossible. There is no way to get there from the train without someone to pick you up and the traffic from Manhattan is insusrmountable. For Islanders fans living in Manhattan, it's just not an option. I had to buy tix to Game 6 (on a Sunday) and cross my fingers it'd get that far...in the 4 playoff games I tried to get to from 02-04 I never made it for a 1st period.

If and when all of this Coliseum remodeling happens, they simply have to make this place accessible by public transportation.

The Islanders play an entirely different gfame with DP in the net.

All respect to Dubie, but those games were a team effort. They had to make such a commitment to defense, and as we leared in Game 1 that style is not going to do it vs. Buffalo.

With DP back there the team can be more aggressive and know he can cover mistakes Dubie just can't. This team came together this year around DP and his style - you saw when Dunham stepped back in they were totally out of sync.

DP being back is not simply about a better goaltender. We are a better team when he is back there and we are built to play with him in goal.

We just need to keep the intensity at home. I felt this good coming home from Tampa 1-1 in 2004 and we laid a giant egg from that point on.

Yes, there are tix still availabe but according to Steve Mears it's less then 1,000. Trust me the game will be packed to capacity and the place will be rocking!!

Great night!

I think this played out exactly the way discussed if the Islanders were to win--including luck and a bad goal by Miller. Only two Islanders played less than 10 minutes (Hill and Yashin--another story there) and even Bruno and Campoli got a shift together in the last four minutes. Btw, Campoli's speed is proving a big asset against the Sabres. I thought his game against them in January at NVMC was his best of the year--and the matchup just fits (No, I am not Migsey).

While they did get the PP goal to win it--there is still a lot of work to be done here. MAB's goal seemd like their only real chance on the PP and we have done next to nothing to make Buffalo work while short-handed. The PP has to mean more than just killing two minutes of game clock.

We also got lucky with Sillinger in the 3rd period. WT* was he thinking? I was sure he was getting called for two penalties and almost had a stroke!

Anyway, Monday should be fun at 7:30 and hopefully thereafter. Why not us?

good point on the Tampa series when we came back even and then sucked it up. that can't happen again. buff is so explosive and seem to be able to get shots at will. the barn will be louder than ever. i'll be there. will you?

Every home playoff game will be a sell out...

But the real story was the REl captain of this team...DP. He was the difference tonight and he is the reason that we have a real chance to win this series. He is an ELITE goaltender in this league. We have all seen a hot goalie carry a team in the playoffs before and DP gives us a real chance to beat the more talented Sabres.

one more thing, we can't be booing Yash on Monday. that does nothing for the team. i know he kills us, but we have to deal with the guy.

Even the series..... oh yeahhhhhh baby. DP is the man... wow!!!!!!!
Got my tics for monday.... coming from pa for the game.... lets get intense!!!!!!

Oh yeah........ yashin f**king sucks monkey balls. What a chump.... good effort captain.... what a bum

This is going to be fun....great night guys.

Damn the Nor'easter, I'm coming down from New England to use my ticket for Monday....I'll see you all there

Great win DP DP !!!!!..F the Rags...hopefully someone on atlanta will SIMONIZE avery tuesday night so i got my ticket strips this week for the first two rounds...why the F$$K do they make us shell out $100 for home game 4 tix in the first two rounds??..we cant host those game 7's!!

Hey yo "kicked-junk"... you're right bro... no use booing the bum... I used to stick up for the pansy... but I still won't boo him. I have to admit... I wanted to throw my Becks at him through the tv several times...
How about ryan smyth hustling to be the first to congratulate dp.... nice!!!!!

Ryan Smyth is all-heart. the guy might not come up on the stat sheet, but he's one hell of a player. yash is so lame. nolan will have a nice chat with him. i love the fact that nolan benched the guy. you'll see why because of the first buff goal. yash wasn't on anyone and i think that was his man that netted that goal.

still, we can't boo the guy.

Only pus*ys like Richter don't play after concussions.

Bob Nystrom played with 7 concussions...please...never an issue.

DP is some b*lls on him... What a great game!!!

Why not us?

TD

Great effort. DP made a couple of big saves. Good to see him back, but I hope that was the right thing to do wrt his health. Great job stepping up at the blue line tonight. Last game it didn't make sense to keep 3-4 people back if they all just kept retreating in the zone. Tonight they stood the Sabres up and made them fight for every inch of ice. Played their game instead of changing everything for the opponent. They have to respect the Sabres talent, but can't fear it. See you all at the Coliseum Monday.

Who are these Rag clowns kidding thousands of Devils fans packed that corporate Msg dump last year and took over the place in game four with rows of seats available.

Even this year as soon as they clinched the Msg crawler was spamming available tickets.

Will Tuesday even be a sellout at Msg without Isles or Devils fans to bail out the Dolan announced sellout...LOL

Know your play in NYC Rag fans it's ISLANDER COUNTRY FROM MANHATTAN TO MONTAUK !!

ISLES HAVE BEEN DOMINATING THE HEADLINES IN MANHATTAN AND IT NEWSDAY !!!!!

LET'S BOMB MEDIOCRE MILLER MONDAY AND BURY THESE SABRE COCKAROACHES..

Funny reading some of this stuff, Isles could and should have had five or six tonight, Sillinger had an open net and put it into Miller, a few others they should have had to. Easily could have been 4-1 after the first.

DiPietro was very good, he did not steal this game, Isles were the better team and deserved to win.

RR was second for forwards in ice time...he was a -2

he turned the puck over both goals...

each time...he was put right back on the ice....

yashin drew a penalty...he was benched...

great win 2nt...mostly DP savin the day...but enough of this RR nonsense...he's a career AHLer for a reason...

Excellent! Thank Isles.

Rags 2:0, but at least, we are not scoring those "Sean Avery-like-goals". Just like he did yesterday.

Credit to Rangers, but they were outplayed and I cant see them win two games in MSG.

GO ISLES!!! 3rd game might decide the series...

where are all the idiots saying DP shouldn't have played tonight! I think it's clear the difference between a good goaltender and a great goaltender.

DP played solid in game 2. 2 main reasons isles won were the forecheck creating pressure on Buffalo in offensive zone and DP moving the puck relieving pressure numerous time in defensive zone. Team has much more confidence with DP in net. Game 3 should be a good one!!! LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!!

People, the games will be SOLD OUT no doubt. It isn't even a question. You have to remember that tixx have been dribbling out little by little because they have been waiting on season tixx holders. That is all over with. Singles ar available only at this point. Don't let TOOL RAG FANS spew nonsense without thinking why tixx where available.

Frankly, I was among them saying go ahead with Dubie, but that was because I was looking for his contract and would like to avoid 3rd concussion. And yes, I was screaming for more offence, not goaltending, but have to admit that DP's presence showed the difference.

Btw., why should I be called idiot, scott???

Great game last night. I was definitely one who thought their style on Thursday was the way to handle Buffalo. DP in nets would have changed some of that, but I can definitely admit I was wrong.
The Isles showed they could control the offensive zone enough to keep the speedy forwards in check. They played a tremendous game from end to end, and won the 60 minute battle.
Let's hope that they believe in themselves enough to take control the rest of this series.
The hitting has been solid, and they have done the little things. They are also getting big plays out of the unexpected sources. Campoli and Gervai have been outstanding... yes I said that.
Has anybody heard that Yashin was actually "benched". I know they speculated on TV, but I haven't heard or read that Nolan said it. I thought his game on Thursday was one his best in an Islander uni. I can't believe he did anything to warrant a benching yesterday...
Could he have aggravated an injury?
Tomorrow night will be great!!! There is nothing better than a playoff game at the NVMC!!!

WHY NOT US?

I'm with Piero. Of course the kid makes a huge difference. I don't care about his contract. I don't care about the fact that he would help the team.
You can disagree with me all you want. I've been around pro athletes all my life. They will do stupid things for meaningless reasons and take chances with their own health time afrer time. If he is seriosly hurt because he came back too soon you'll forget about him in a few years... but he, and his family, has to live with that.
I really think that in a sport like hockey or football their should be guidelines for that type of injury.
If you're out one game because of a concussion, you should have to sit for 30 days and then go through the tests to be cleared.
If that would have happened the second one wouldn't have happened.

now.. for my other thought.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
I'd much rather face them than any other team in the east in a conference final... if we make it.
5-1-2...

JP has the ISLES off of 1 victory headed to the Eastern Conf Finals. That's rather humourous considering you need 3 more wins against Buffalo, and then you need 4 more wins against the highest seed left in the playoffs. Of course the win last night was good, the other 7 wins will probably be priceless. And maybe there won't be another win at all. Maybe you think that Buffalo won't show up and they will just concede this series to the ISLES. It seems to me that Buffalo will up the intensity level quite a bit and make several small adjustments to the ISLES game plan. Like look for a new break out, last nights game still saw Buffalo have more odd man rushes than the ISLES. I think the real advantage back hm is the ICE GIRLS who may be able to shift the momentum in the ISLES favor. When the ISLES beat Buffalo then you can focus on the next series and should they win that then you can get giddy about the Conf Final. One game does not a 7 game series make, wake up!

Nice win last night. Monday night the Coliseum should be rockin.

Lets go Islanders!!!!

Thank YOU Rick DiPietro!
Bruno was the Isles best defenseman last night I thought... and Smyth did a lot of great things.
Great effort... not always pretty and sometimes a bit scary with all the action and pinballing of the puck in front of our goal... but an ugly win is the type that turns a series around. Buffalo played a pretty good game, sustained a lot of pressure and lost in their building. Keep it up!

Couldn't stay for the whole game, had to watch the rest on tape later. Easy to do here, because I am the only one following the isles I know.

I did change my mind on playing DP just in time. But the team did play a better game in front of him.

TSN said that Yashin missed 2 shifts and then was put on the fourth line. I didn't notice hime before that, but after I saw some nice play from him.

Isles know it's possible and so does Buffalo. Should be interesting. Buffalo will come out hard next game from the get go. Isles should be ready to weather the storm.

I travelled down the QEW to Fire City to see the Isles last night and was not disappointed one bit. They were awesome and played a controlled game by surviving the 2nd period Sabre blitz. DP stood on his head for his first game back and a sense of controlled urgency seemed apparent in each player. As Merrick and JP rightfully noted, the Campoli/Gervais pairing once again played very effectively. They weren't on for ANY goals again, played with poise and Bruno (except for his delay of game penalty) was rewarded with a seeing eye dog goal. Campy's speed proved more than an equal to Afinaganov's speed as he was matched with Maxim for most of his shifts. My daily tirades about Danny ( The Clown)Flynn grew additional credibility as I actually heard Hill screaming on the bench to "stop f**king with the pairings" to Flynn. Flynn is tinkering when it's not necessary and it lead to a goal when he stuck out Witt with Bruno in a moment of supposed pairing brillance on his part. Let them play the game, get the minutes, get into the flow and gain the experience. The vets on this team more than anyone realize the Campoli/Gervias combo add a different perspective to the back end and provide the defensive balance needed to assure the vets are rested when needed most.

i liked the way richard zednik played last night. he deserved to play in yashin's spot on the 2nd line. is it a coincidence that this team plays much better with yashin out of the lineup or benched? look at their streak when yashin was injured and out of the lineup. you have to buy out yashin and sign smyth and blake in the offseason. LET'S GO ISLANDERS

People like getting on Koslov... but the guy has a lot of skill and therefore is frustrating at times... but he does present problems for the opposing teams when he is on his game - which hopefully he will be on his game Monday.

CALLING ON ALL ISLANDER FANS.......

Please do not respond to any Ranger fans on this blog. They are like children and if you ignore them, they will eventually stop.

Let them write whatever they want and we will always know that they are the scum of the earth.

DO NOT RESPOND TO RAGS FANS...

SMYTH DID DO GOOD,BUT STANDING IN FRONT OF THE NET WHILE A CANNON COMES AT YOU,NOT ME.THATS WHY HE IS WORTH BIG $$$$. GUYS LIKE SMYTH & SINNON MAKE PLAYERS PLAY THEIR BEST. NEW ILSE FAN

Ranger fans have smelly shoe's

Koslov played poorly in the 1st, but I saw some good play at the end of the 3rd. He worked hard on the boards to keep the puck in their zone to run down the clock.

The Isles seem to have a lot of players with holes in their game. Nolan just has to Hopefully they can cover each others errors.

If Koslov would just not bail every time he's in position to block a shot, he'd be a great player.

Campoli's speed and Gervais staying back is too much for Sabres speedsters. I love their youthful exuberance. Guys like Briere and Afinaganov wanted to be matched against Hill but never got the chance. Nice going Ted.
Go Isles Go

Kevin T,

i've been reading your posts for a while and they are pretty intuitive. I'm confused though, what is your deal? you're a vancouver fan, who likes a player (smith) who played on another team in your divsion and you liked him so much that you are now an islander fan? why don't you just concentrate on your own team??

Sammy Davis Jr. Wow you could be famous!

:)

I lived in Kamloops BC where Bob Nystrom played before making the NHL. I am an Isles fan from back in their hay day. And it was tough when the Isles swept the Canucks in the 80s Final.

Garth Snow, Sillinger and many others have played for the Canucks. I saw a lot of Smyth and always wanted him on our team. The trade just convinced me to start follwing the Isles again.

I've been on this site for quite a while. So I tend to post assuming people know my history.

I think I can safely divide my attention between two teams since they are in different divisions.

But it is weird. I may be the only one on the West Coast of Canada walking around with an Isles Jersey.

Kevin T.

The Rangers will always be the most popular hockey team in NY. Always have been and always will be. Too bad Icelanders fans, nobody wants to come to the empty, decrepit, disgusting Nassau Mausoleum. And the only paper that gives your crummy team any coverage is Newsday, only because it is one of your sponsors. Read any other NY paper, hardly a mention of the loser Icelanders. And by the way, Henrik Lundqvist is the best goalie in NY, maybe in the league. Get your playoff tickets Icelanders fans, I am sure there are plenty available. Enjoy it now, soon you will be playing golf. And to you Newsday, how about some more support for the best hockey team in NY, the Rangers? I bet there are more Rangers fans on Long Island than Islanders fans. Let's go Rangers!

Whats wrong with you Gary? Sounds like you might have pe-is envy, or you might be gay.

Gary - you like all the other pathetic Ranger fans I know can't stomach the fact that the Islanders have had more success in their short hist