The Islanders will win the Stanley Cup this afternoon. According to my listings, at 3 p.m. the new NHL Network (channels 401 or 429 on Cablevision where I am) will show the Islanders-Oilers game from May 17, 1983 That's the last game of the Finals that year, the one that ended with Billy Smith chiding Wayne Gretzky during his victorious postgame interview.
In any case, the network is a place for hockey fans to go without being put down for liking the sport. On the Fly is a highlights/'commentary/features show that is the NHL version of SportsCenter or Golf Channel's Golf Central. Last night, they cut in live to the Red Wings-Oilers game just before Henrik Zetterberg scored the first goal.
Bill Berg is the top analyst. I remember when he came up to stay with the Islanders in 1990-91--Great guy, very soft-spoken. I never figured him to be an outspoken commentator, but he has established a good reputation in Canada. In fact, that Islanders team had guys who could and still can talk the talk. Glenn Healy has become a well known commentator for the all-Maple Leafs channel (Canada's answer to the YES Network) and Ray Ferraro is an accomplished studio voice for NBC. No wonder that team was so much fun to cover.
Comments (53)
Over rated rickey- are you mad your goalie is leaving next year b/c you dont have enough money to pay him
or you mad that you guys had to buy a cup b/c you couldnt win one with out money.
or are you mad that we made better off season pick ups and our lines have more points
hmmmm. which one is it.. you have one win this week and you already lost to us...and we beat you last year..go back to your boards...
are you mad that we are the last and greatest dynasty or you mad we have more history than you raggady anne team of hockey..
which one is it tool box.
wait your mad b/c your goalie cant speak english and you guys have to call him hank to feel bettter
The NHL Network just lit up on DirecTV channel 215 this morning. And its in HD!
Loser whose posts keep getting deleted. If you want to understand why this keeps happening to you, I suggest you follow this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
By the way, the First Amendment does not apply to a privately owned forum like this one. Newsday is free to make whatever rules it likes about who may participate, what may be discussed, and so on.
thanks for proving my point....RAG...box head
Looks to me like the loser's got 5 of the 7 criteria for antisocial personality disorder mentioned in that article.
KH- you are correct.....and i think them and there team got 14mill worth of nothing.
i know i shouldn't provoke them, b/c there team sucks just like the fans
WOW...The troll boy is out of school today...Just ignore the little kid. He has never been to a hockey game in his life and could not tell you the difference between a hockey puck and a ring ding!
Congrats on one of your guys scoring 3 goals. You should be proud. Who did get 3 by the way? Gomez? Drury? Jagr? Duggay? Barry Beck? I missed the game, please fill me in!
He is the same guy that lives for Steve Sommers aka the old raisin. How is "Icelanders" a put down? I still do not get it!
Troll boy, please answer the following questions:
1) How many cups have you seen?
2) What is your payroll?
3) How many cups has your grandpa Mel seen?
4) What was your team predicted to finish?
5) How many cups has your uncle fred seen?
6) Who is the lowest scoring team in the NHL?
7) How many times do you post a day?
8) Why does Hollweg have a Koho tatoo?
9) Why can't you talk hockey? Clueless?
10) Why does your team now implement the trap?
Please have your mommy read you the post if there are any words you do not understand. Good day wee one!
The thing about sociopaths is that they have so little emotional intelligence that they can't even grasp the impression made on others by their own behavior. Thus you can't understand that your screeching about the Isles dynasty makes it obvious that you would trade the Rangers history for the Isles history in a heartbeat. Or for the Devils history, for that matter. One cup in 67 years accomplished by reassembling the cup winner from another city that could not afford to keep its players is no history at all. The Rangers literally have the worst record of winning championships of any NY team. 4 straight Cups (and arguably the most dominant dynasty in any sport ever given the record 19 straight playoff series wins - Isles) or 3 Cups in 9 years plus one additional finals appearance (Devils) is obviously better than the Rangers' ONE cup. (They also won 3 seven decades ago when there were six teams in the league... HAHAHA). So naturally, any Ranger fan would trade their history for either of the suburban teams if they could rewrite history. But most do not come and proclaim it on this blog.
It's simple... if the Islanders did not drive you absolutely crazy, you would not spend all day every day on this blog. Loser.
Just ignore the troll...simple enough - yes Lady Lundqvist made a typo. Yest, KH stands for "Kleenex Handy". Very clever. Moving along...
The funny thing KH, is this psycho reads and studies all our posts. He knows I travel a lot, he uses words I spelt wrong 7 threads ago to try and get me mad....It is actually scary. This kid writes back the second we post....Kind of wierd... I think we have a GROUPIE !!!
YES...troll boy I travel a lot. Jealous ? Go out and get a job and you can follow your beloved Rangers around and take your family on vacation also. I am sure your mom would love to get you out of the house!
p.s Honestly how jealous are you of the Isles? Why else would you be posting here? Sally dump you?
looks like someone is mad....
my point being: you are tool box rag head
and your team has really no history since being an original six team..but if you want to buy tickets to see a game...just go to Merrill Lynch on wall street they might let a fan go see a game .
we have no wins this week BECAUSE WE HAVENT PLAYED YET THIS WEEK..IDIOT...
WHO GAVE ATLANTA THE FIRST WIN? 5 GOALS FROM AN 0-6 TEAM.
EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT ANY GAME IF YOU LOSE BY 1 OR 6 YOU STILL LOSE 2 POINTS
ARE YOU MAD THAT YOU GUYS BROUGHT THE OILERS IN 1994..BY THE WAY EDMONTON LOST IN BETWEEN CUPS SO THEY ONLY WON 2 IN A ROW..THEN MTL THEN 2 MORE CUPS..SO LEARN HOCKEY ...
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Craig MacTavish)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Jeff Beukeboom)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Mark Messier)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Esa Tikkanen)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Kevin Lowe)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Glenn Anderson)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S RENT THE OILERS (Adam Graves)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS HAVE A GREAT DAY
Rag head:
Would you rather win 4 cups in 27 years or 1 in 67 years.......Please do the math and get back to me......Rangers have history ~ Now that is funny !!!
They are the worst team in NY out of all SPORTS!!! Do the math!
Steady -- Good point... Sort of an example of what I was saying about how sociopaths have no social instincts. So when they approach a girl, they have a creepy intensity or they know too much about her, which drives her away and they never understand why they were rejected. Similarly, it doesn't occur to the sociopath who posts here that he's giving away a lot about his own sorry existence by noticing that you travel a lot and bringing it up. Hope you won't need to get a temporary restraining order against this nut...
Troll:
Answer the questions these guys asked you:
1) All 10 from Steady
2) Why did you call the Oilers a Dynasty?
3) Why isn't your team scoring?
4) Would u rather 1 cup in 67 years or 4 in 27?
5) The Isles have not played this week so how could they win?
6) Why did Flukequest give up 5 goals to Atl. and 3 goals in 52 secs. to Ottawa?
defense wins...didnt the rags lose two games in a row with no goals..apparently offense plays a part.....rag doll
how funny is it that we beat them this year and now they come over after beating TB.lol
14 million on two players who played no part in your win...keep it up
LUNDYLADY- yest ....i think you need some phonics toolbox
rooting for the team...most of you became fans after they won...
better catch the ducks bandwagon
Mr. Clueless .... 90% of the people you are arguning with not only saw ALL FOUR CUPS, but were AT THE GAMES !!!
Thanks for telling us your age though wee one. Explains a lot.
Good luck on the PSAT's
Putrid hockey??? How about the Rags last TEN YEARS?? Before last year it was 9 years without you winning a playoff game !!!! That means in your 17 year life you saw an Edmonton Rags team win when you were 7 and NOTHING SINCE
Go back to the video stor and ask for your job back!
isles#5-sux----yes ,you are correct you rags are second class citizens
If the rags were so well liked and good enough, why were more teams created ????
Answer: The state of NY wanted a WINNER.
Good job NY and NJ you got 4 from the Isles and some 3 from the Devils!
rag fans
read it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_(sports)
funny i do not see the rangers on that list.
hey look we have another rags genious........why would popularity matter when a team would have more cups.......once again the retarts that are rags fan are comin out and oh by the way, are you guys parading down broadway if you score more than 3 goals next game let alone actually win it?
wait you play in a better arena so that makes your team better...lol.........you guys never cease to amaze me. ch ch ch ch.
Most of the time Isles fans will give the Rangers credit when they deserve it. But now is not the time for Ranger fans to boast. Your team is stinking it up. You can squeeze your butt cheeks together to hold in it, but we all know you stink!
Kevin T.
thank for cleaning this up .
why cant they set up a registration here
Wow. I feel sorry for you bro. I hope there is more to your life than this.
The psycho is back....Must of just got done at Citgo!
Mark,
Nice Promo for the Hockley Network. Here in VA there was no way to know that it even existed. The only way I found it was by accidentally hitting the UP channel button on my remote while watching the NFL network.
What a discovery though. AWESOME HOCKEY CONTENT.
As for the Troll(s). Wow... either mom hid her credit card, or dad hid those magazines... and the poor myte has nothing to stimulate his closest friend and the only MEMBER of his fan club.
So... here you go buddy... .
Jagr moves the puck up the wing, he moves towards the slot...drops it off.... drury fires through a screen.... RANGER GOAL... RANGER GOAL.... RANGER GOAL...
now go find some kleenex...
Yes, Isles fans were so proud of their Dynasty years that just a few short years later they were dead last in average attendance.
(see...http://andrewsstarspage.com/NHL-Business/NHL-attendance.htm). And those attendance figures got worse and worse and worse. The Islanders clearly have the worst fans in the NHL. In 02-03 the Isles made the semi finals, in 03-04 they still were third to last in attendance, LOL. Niiiiice fans, LOL!
Guys, hate to break this to you. But there is a slary cap, and if the Isles didn't BUY OUT Alexei Yashin, the Isles payroll would pretty much be the same exact as the Rangers. But they did buy Yashin out and in 3 years they will be paying him 4.5 million against the Cap. LOL!!! Have fun, boys and girls with that!!!
http://www.nhlnumbers.com/overview.php?team=NYI
What is with the Isles obsession with steroid abusers. They had Sean Hill last year who was suspended, and then they sign Bryan Berard who was previously suspended. Guess the Isles like cheaters.
Met to say in 92-93 the Isles made the semi's, and in 93-94 they were third to last.
And you have to remember, Isles attendance is boosted year after year by Rangers fans who take the Mausoleum over 4 games or so a year.,
Oh my God get life already....NO ONE CARES LOSER !
Can you imagine this losers ex girlfirend!
LOL...
10-1 odds he has been arrested for stalking!
The Rags employ white knight sniffing hoe chasers.....i.e. Stevens/Fleury. Pop a few quaaludes and sit in the corner troll-boy.
****************NO HOCKEY CONTENT**************
Steady,
As a matter of fact I can... she's curretly deflated, and he can't find enough duct tape to cover all the little holes he made in her with the his uncut fingernails....
It's a good thing his mom caught him with the cheese grater before that relationship got too far.
Boy, his brother will never use that mitt again.
"Mom... can a tree get pregnant"
JUNIOR!!!! Get away from the vacuum cleaner unless you're GOING TO VACUUM!!!!
Sorry honey, I was planning on making veal cutlets, but YOUR SON ruined that!!!
Shall I continue....
You have to wonder if the Isles won a few games last year beacuse Sean Hill was on steroids. Even with the blatant cheating (and that's what you call it Islander fans; the Isles were caught red handed CHEATING) they still couldn't win their first playoff series in a decade.
Now they sign Bryan Berard. No one wanted this cheater either. But the Isles signed him. What does that tell you about this franchise?
I think it is funny you spend your Halloween night posting to strangers and OBSESSING over what they talk about.
You are nothing more than a LOSER....Your own REAL fans like Mookie/John/Midnight all admit the hockey talk is better on this blog. You are simply pathetic. At least be funny the way our trolls are on your board!
So go run along now....You are the same Dungeons and Dragons playing loser....What's a matter, lose the dice their 3rd leverl Warrior?
LOL LOL LOL
What a LOSERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
In all our lifetime:
Isles 4 cups
Devils 3 Cups
Rangers 1 Cup
-------------------------------------------------------
In our lifetime:
Rangers highest payroll
Devils 2nd highest payroll
Islanders Lowest Payroll
Please get over your obsession and go post in your own blog, you stupid fixated little kid. And FYI, using dozens of different names to post your harassing stupidity does not fool anyone... we all know you are nothing but some dope with nothing better to do than to obsess over people who are not interested in you whatsoever.
Whats funny is that you dont go over to the Rangers blog and post 32849576234859 posts over THERE about hating the Islanders... because we wont see it, and the truth is that you have some kind of pathetic yearning for our attention.
******TRUE HOCKEY TALK ***************
Well, the Devils just put a beating on Tampa Bay. That makes Tampa 0-5 on the road. It is scary how much this upcoming game is like the one against the Hurricanes. We are playing another team that played the night before. We are playing another good team. We have had a long lay off.
Let's hope the results are not the same. Tampa is due...This one scares me. Then again it is Halloween.
p.s After 50 kids dressed like Brady, Paplebon, Veriteck, etc. etc. came trick-or-treating to my home, a kid came to my door as a NY JET........I FILLED HIS bag with the rest of the candy my wife and I were giving out!!! :)
Now I am on egg patrol for the older kids in the area that now I am a NYer! :) :)
A fan simply loves their teams. Not always about winning. It is about history, fun times, friends, memories.
Then again I wouldn't mind a win. :)
More importantly my fine feathered friend, why do know all about the teams I like????.....Real close to calling NYPD!!!! and since you know all about me, you know my bro is a detective and can find out who you are real quick!
so let's stick to hockey talk !!!!
p.s Mets were 86! Please get your facts right if you are going to try and keep up with us on this blog!
Steady, I agree that the Lightning are very dangerous, especially given their variety of offensive weapons. We need to come out PISSED OFF in order to pull out a win. Let's hope we can show some passion and pull out a win for Sillinger.
wow just got home from my trip back to NY and i gotta read that cr@p....wow someone needs to fix how we can post. anyways, great to be back home and can't wait to go to the game tomorrow. how has it been getting to the games and what kinds of things are going on b4 the game this year? i know a lot of ppl meet down behind the goals for warmups or down in the pub. LETS GET 2pts 2morw boys!! c ya at the game
Mets...86...against said sox...
Steady,
I was just looking at that. TB is always trouble for the Isles... and with everything pointing in the Isles favor... it's scary!
Something else that I noticed.
Rangers... 11 games 19 goals... and we are complainig about offense. Comrie has 11 points in 9 games... and I'm saying, "he needs to STEP UP".
Take away the two 8 game debacles with soft goaltending... one by a rusty Yoda, and the other by DP on an Jagermeister IV, and they have put up solid defensive numbers... even with the french-canadien-swiss cheese that is Marc Andre Bergeron (But the guy has one less goal than Drury and Gomez combined... in FIVE less games).
There is no reason this team can't rattle off 5-7 games where they get at least a point. They can also fall into a hole and go 1-5-1.
But they are fresh, have had adequate time to practice together and the next five are well spaced and against very important opponents. As stated before, there wasn't much of a letdown against the canes, just a spider web defending the goal.
things should turn for the better and if they can get points in the next 9 of 10 they will put themselves in contention to compete for the division. They need to take advantage of the lay-off instead of complaining about it... and I don't think any of the players have complained about it. the only REAL bad part about playing 3 games in 14 days is that there will be stretches where they will play 8 games in 15. They need to start fast tomorrow night, and take advantage of a team that may be a little rubber legged.
I'd still like to see Ben Walter get a shot... but I can wait 'til the suggested 20 game report card comes out. Who knows what will happen in the next 11 games.
I've also been surfing the IHDB and checking out some Islander Drafted 1000 game players... I think the most recent was Tom Fitzgerald, who retired two years ago with the B's. The GUTLESS PUKE will most likely be the next one, he has 970 games then McCabe... Scott Scissions just missed by 998.
Some Isles hwho have notched 1000
Trots....1279
Brent Sutter...1111
Denis Potvin...1060 and Denis' partner
Dave Lewis... 1008
Tonelli...1028 PLUS 224 in the WHA (WOW)
Notable guys who didn't make the 1000 game grind...
Lafontaine...865
Gillies.... 958
Billy Harris 897
Bobby Ny...900
All the ISLES 1999 draft picks have an amazing number of NHL games played...
Connelly 400
Pyatt 396
Mezei 191
Kudroc 26
Weinhandl 182
Collins 0.... what a slacker
Kolnik 240
Halvaryadayadayada 0... no NHL trainer wanted to sew his name on a jersey.
Mapletoft 38
Johnson 0
Melin 3
Martinek 262
Henning 0
1738 Total games played by a draft class... from one team ... and four players barring injury will have hundreds more.
and I need a life....
JPinVA -- Great stuff, very interesting. Actually, I have learned a lot from your posts, esp. about the X's and O's of the game. Much appreciated.
To LL, Nick and Merrick, who mentioned you're attending the Sat. night Arbour game -- I want to go to that game but would be going alone (usual game buddy not available). I hate going to sporting events alone so I was going to see if anyone wanted to meet up and say hi between periods.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Blue Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard apologized to his team and the Columbus fans Friday, saying he's "embarrassed" he's been suspended from international competition for two years after testing positive for a banned steroid.
"In life you learn from your mistakes and accepting it and just going forward," he said after practice.
The test the 28-year-old Berard failed wasn't part of the NHL's new testing program that began Sunday, so he will not be subject to league discipline.
A sample taken from Berard on Nov. 12 tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said. The steroid helps athletes add strength and muscle and lose weight. The sample was collected after his name was submitted by USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport, as a potential Olympic participant.
"No question, I'm embarrassed about it," Berard said. "There's nothing I can do about it now, other than accepting what I've done. We'll learn from it, it was a mistake and it won't happen again."
Berard wasn't chosen last month by USA Hockey for the team that will compete in the Turin Games in February. He played on the 1998 U.S. Olympic team in Nagano, Japan.
The suspension began Jan. 3, the day Berard accepted a provisional suspension.
Berard said the steroid was a supplement that he took to get ready for the NHL season during last year's lockout. He said he took another test "probably two weeks ago" that showed he was clean of any banned substances.
"I wanted to make sure that everything was fine from now on," he said.
He would not answer questions on how long he took the substance or how much he took.
His teammates were not permitted to discuss the suspension.
"He was quick to acknowledge that he made a really dumb mistake," said Travis Tygart, the USADA's general counsel.
Berard agreed to cooperate with USADA and participate in programs to inform athletes and the public about the dangers of taking steroids.
"I have spoken with Bryan and he expressed great remorse," said Ted Saskin, the players' association executive director, in a statement. "I remain confident that this is an isolated occurrence in our sport."
The NHL began testing for performance-enhancing drugs on Sunday for the first time after the league and the players' association came up with a plan in the new collective bargaining agreement that ended the season-long lockout.
"While today's announcement relating to Bryan Berard certainly is disappointing, it does nothing to change the fact that the use of steroids is not a pervasive problem facing the National Hockey League," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. "Mr. Berard is one of hundreds of players who, as a result of being identified as potential Olympic candidates, have been subject to random testing for the past several months.
"There have been dozens of tests administered to a wide cross-section of our players during this time period and Mr. Berard's is the only positive test of which we are aware."
Berard was asked if steroids were a part of the NHL.
"All I can speak to is what I did," he said. "It's a mistake. I don't know any other players that are using it or anything."
Stiff penalties have been established for players who fail NHL-administered drug testing. A first-time offender would be suspended for 20 games, a second positive test would result in a 60-game ban, while a three-time offender would be kicked out of the league.
Doug MacLean, Blue Jackets president and general manager, said the test results were a valuable lesson.
"People make mistakes. I make lots of them, we all make lots of them -- that's the way I'm approaching it and I'm going to support Bryan 100 percent," he said.
Should Berard fail an NHL test in the future he would be treated as a first-time offender.
Berard signed a two-year contract with Columbus in August after playing nine seasons for Toronto, the New York Rangers, Boston, Chicago and the New York Islanders. He was the 1997 NHL rookie of the year with the Islanders and won the Masterton Trophy in 2004 for best exemplifying the qualities of hockey. He was severely injured in 2000 when he was hit in the right eye with a stick. He missed the rest of that season and the following one and still has reduced vision in the eye.
In 2003-04, Berard had 13 goals and 34 assists with Chicago, giving him more points than any other Western Conference defenseman.
Berard is third on the Blue Jackets with 27 points, scoring nine goals with 18 assists in 40 games.
A cheater like Berard should not be playing for the Islanders.
What happened to this board being monitored. The low class trolls are starting to regroup.
Was it just Halloween or what on earth brought all the gremlins back to our blog????? Let's hope everyone brings their A games tonight because The Lightning should be fuming mad at their road efforts to date. DP should rebound nicely tonight after his sub par effort but then again, evrryone seemed off their games with the weeks rest. I'd still like to see the Beemer Line back together too. Their exhibition games showed enough chemistry to warrant them staying together for the 20 game assessment period. I think a young guy like Comrie feeds off a vet like Guerin so leaving that entire line intact makes sense. Any word on Berard's condition? He needs to come back and relieve MAB from the PP too.
KH, I'd be cool with meeting up....let me check my tickets when I get back to NY from my client site tomorrow and I'll let you know where I'm sitting. We'll figure it out from there.
Tonight? Does Bates Plays? How long before Berard comes back, we definatly do miss him not being in the line up.
JP- we always have had trouble with Tampa. This will be their 3rd game this week and they have lost previous two They are going to come out strong tonight, as long as we play our style hockey we should be alright. We need to shut down Vinny and get the Holmqvist with good shots on net but Denis might play after the two losses. We are a different team so I think we are gonna get the two points
The other thing was that the BMR line had a bad two games and was split up. but i think it needs to get back together. Even when guerin scored the hat trick, comrie was out there.
so we need to make an excuse for tonights game ..so we all have the full and hollpig did not take his flu shot.. so that is our excuse.