Philadelphia Flyers: 39-28-11, 89 points
New York Islanders: 34-37-7, 75 points
Antero Niittymaki v. Wade Dubielewicz
A night after being lucky to come away with a point against the Devils, the Flyers travel up the turnpike to take on the Islanders. Boston won earlier today, so the Flyers need to win to keep the pressure on everyone else. Boston will have a game in hand, so the Flyers can't give away any more points. I said they were lucky to get a point against New Jersey, but once they got to OT and the shootout, it's too bad they couldn't put the game away. They lost ground on New Jersey, and it's going to be tough to make it up.
Antero Niittymaki will get the start tonight. I don't know why Stevens didn't flip Biron and Niitty, but what are you going to do?
This will probably be pretty short because I honestly don't know what else to say. The Flyers have just dominated the Islanders all season, and they've gotten better and better against them as the season has gone on. The Islanders have gotten killed by the Flyers' PP, and if they continue to take bad penalties, they're going to keep losing games. They're banged up and very inexperienced.
If I have the time tonight, I'm going to try and talk about the Flyers' record in back to back games.
Bill Meltzer.
Showing posts with label new york islanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york islanders. Show all posts
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Game 76 and Hell Week Game 2: Islanders at Flyers
New York Islanders: 33-35-7, 73 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 37-28-10, 84 points
Wade Dubielewicz v. Martin Biron
After an exciting yet aggravating win over the Rangers on Friday, the Flyers will try to make it two in a row in Hell Week. The Flyers are 5-1-0 against the Islanders this season, with the games gradually becoming more lopsided as the season wears on. The first three wins have been decided by one and two goal margins, and the last two have been won by three goals.
Martin Biron will be in net tonight, and according to those who attended the season ticket holding meeting, that's where he'll be the rest of the season.
Rick DiPietro has suffered yet another season ending injury, so Dubie will get the start. Normally this would be the kind of thing that gives the Flyers an edge, but DiPietro has never been that good against Philadelphia. His career GAA is just under 3 with a sub-.900 SV%. Those numbers have been much worse just in this season. Dubie is 2-0-1 against the Flyers in his career, with an outstanding 1.82 GAA and .938 SV%. If they start Joey MacDonald, we smoked him twice last year, and it won't be a problem.
The power play will need to come up big again tonight. In the last meeting, all four Flyer goals were scored on the power play. The PP has been great all season long, but it's been a source of frustration as well. You'd like to see them take advantage of more 5 on 3 and 4 on 3 situations when there's a lot of open ice. We have a ton of skilled players, and it really shouldn't be a problem.
Bill Meltzer has scratches.
Philadelphia Flyers: 37-28-10, 84 points
Wade Dubielewicz v. Martin Biron
After an exciting yet aggravating win over the Rangers on Friday, the Flyers will try to make it two in a row in Hell Week. The Flyers are 5-1-0 against the Islanders this season, with the games gradually becoming more lopsided as the season wears on. The first three wins have been decided by one and two goal margins, and the last two have been won by three goals.
Martin Biron will be in net tonight, and according to those who attended the season ticket holding meeting, that's where he'll be the rest of the season.
Rick DiPietro has suffered yet another season ending injury, so Dubie will get the start. Normally this would be the kind of thing that gives the Flyers an edge, but DiPietro has never been that good against Philadelphia. His career GAA is just under 3 with a sub-.900 SV%. Those numbers have been much worse just in this season. Dubie is 2-0-1 against the Flyers in his career, with an outstanding 1.82 GAA and .938 SV%. If they start Joey MacDonald, we smoked him twice last year, and it won't be a problem.
The power play will need to come up big again tonight. In the last meeting, all four Flyer goals were scored on the power play. The PP has been great all season long, but it's been a source of frustration as well. You'd like to see them take advantage of more 5 on 3 and 4 on 3 situations when there's a lot of open ice. We have a ton of skilled players, and it really shouldn't be a problem.
Bill Meltzer has scratches.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Game 69: Islanders at Flyers
New York Islanders: 32-30-7, 71 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 34-26-8, 76 points
Rick DiPietro v. Martin Biron
One week after the Flyers won 4-1 on the Island, these two teams will get back at it, this time in Philadelphia. The Flyers are still hanging onto the 8 seed, while the Islanders are chasing at just 5 points behind. They are one of five teams within six points of the final playoff spot, so competition will be fierce coming down this home stretch.
Rick DiPietro v. Martin Biron
Martin Biron will get another start tonight after again being solid against Tampa on Thursday. He's going to be the guy in the playoffs, so he better get used to playing a lot.
It's important for the Flyers to put a lot of pressure on the Islanders early. DiPietro hasn't played since last Saturday against the Flyers due to a death in the family and Ted Nolan's decision in their last game. He's practiced recently, but he could still be rusty. If they can get to him early, they might be able to score some goals before he gets back into the flow of the game.
The Flyers are 3-1-1 in the last 5 games after ending the terrible losing streak. They're three points ahead of the 9th seed, so they're starting to build some breathing room and even potentially catch the Bruins or Rangers. This resurgence can almost directly be attributed to Jeff Carter, who has 4 goals, 1 assist and 1 shootout goal during that span. He's not just scoring, he's taking over games. He's winning battles, getting a ton of ice time and carrying the team. The game winner against Tampa was incredible. It reminded me a lot of that Buffalo playoff series where Peter Forsberg skated around in a giant circle until he found Desjardins wide open.
Bill Melzter has scratches. Derian Hatcher is expected back tonight.
Philadelphia Flyers: 34-26-8, 76 points
Rick DiPietro v. Martin Biron
One week after the Flyers won 4-1 on the Island, these two teams will get back at it, this time in Philadelphia. The Flyers are still hanging onto the 8 seed, while the Islanders are chasing at just 5 points behind. They are one of five teams within six points of the final playoff spot, so competition will be fierce coming down this home stretch.
Rick DiPietro v. Martin Biron
Martin Biron will get another start tonight after again being solid against Tampa on Thursday. He's going to be the guy in the playoffs, so he better get used to playing a lot.
It's important for the Flyers to put a lot of pressure on the Islanders early. DiPietro hasn't played since last Saturday against the Flyers due to a death in the family and Ted Nolan's decision in their last game. He's practiced recently, but he could still be rusty. If they can get to him early, they might be able to score some goals before he gets back into the flow of the game.
The Flyers are 3-1-1 in the last 5 games after ending the terrible losing streak. They're three points ahead of the 9th seed, so they're starting to build some breathing room and even potentially catch the Bruins or Rangers. This resurgence can almost directly be attributed to Jeff Carter, who has 4 goals, 1 assist and 1 shootout goal during that span. He's not just scoring, he's taking over games. He's winning battles, getting a ton of ice time and carrying the team. The game winner against Tampa was incredible. It reminded me a lot of that Buffalo playoff series where Peter Forsberg skated around in a giant circle until he found Desjardins wide open.
Bill Melzter has scratches. Derian Hatcher is expected back tonight.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Some Russian Politics; Islanders Trip
Today, Russia held an election to choose a successor to President Vladimir Putin. Putin has been in office since 1999, and over the course of his term, relations with the U.S. have been deteriorating. However, to the likely dismay of U.S. leaders, Putin essentially named a replacement who was expected to win the election and become the next President, but then the unexpected happened. A Villanova/Georgetown level upset: Stefan Valiquettov shocked the world and won the vote.
Valiquettov is a bit of an unknown in the realm of politics. He's bounced around from place to place a lot, and he's always been the second guy behind some more well known leaders. Despite his relatively obscurity, President Bush couldn't be happier.
"Obviously... we're pretty pleased with the election. As you know, here in America, we love democracy. And democracy has spoken today. Stefan- I call him Stefan, has great leadership skills. And if you ask the uh, that ice league, he has great five hole coverage."
Reaction from Russia has been decidedly mixed. Dmitry Medvedev, who was expected to become the next President, was obviously disappointed. Vladimir Putin, who claimed to not even know who Valiquettov is, vowed to take the opposite stance of whatever the United States said about him.
---
On an actual note, as my reader knows, I went on a bus trip to the Islanders game on Saturday. The game was great. The food was great. Nassau was okay. The people sucked, and as surprising as it might sound, the New York fans were better behaved than Philadelphia fans on that day.
In the emails I've been getting about the trip, drinking was permitted, but responsibility was demanded. That wasn't quite the case. Some people chose to get around that by getting completely drunk before the trip began... at 9 in the morning. Some chose to just completely bypass it and bring on giant coolers or cases that they had no intention of sharing. There were two coolers that completely blocked the aisle, and one guy couldn't even fit his case into one of those overhang compartments they have on coach buses and planes. This one woman was the most obnoxiously loud person I've ever seen. She screams incoherent things at other passengers and the television screen, almost starts a fight with someone else and then starts crying about it for half an hour. People were saying, "Man, she's the coolest chick I've ever met! She knows her sports! Awesome!" I couldn't believe it. I'm still a young dude and haven't met many people, but I'd prefer to never see her again. She didn't know a thing about sports. She would probably rather have a team of 20 Donald Brashears than a team of 20 Ovechkins. We were the movie Youngblood on the way back, and at times, she would scream "Yeah! That's hockey, yeah! Real hockey!" Well, no. That's a bad movie. Real hockey is big hits and skilled players making me feel like a dumbass sitting here at night writing a blog.
Once we got up to Nassau, it was pretty cool. The concourse got a bit packed because it's only one level. However, on that concourse, they have some great food. Sorry, Philly. They made a better cheesesteak there than I can get at Flyers games. The fries I had weren't too bad either. The Stanley Cup was there for you to take pictures with until the game started, and even though we were some of the first people through the gates, the line was too long.
The seats were okay. It's an older arena, so despite being in the 3rd to last row, it was still pretty close to the ice. The only problem was the large overhand that prevents most of the upper level from seeing the scoreboard. They had TV's on the overhand so you could still see what was on the scoreboard, but it was an inconvenience anyway. The best part about my seat? Winning an Islanders fan appreciation giveaway. It was an Islanders history DVD while some people were getting autographed sticks and tickets, so I gave it to the guy sitting next to me.
The atmosphere was pretty good. For the bad attendance they get, their fans can make some noise in the upper levels. It was weird not cheering when the goal horn came on, but it was an easy win and it didn't take long to get comfortable.
On the ride home, some other guys emerged as the most obnoxious people ever, but it still wasn't as bad as the way up. Overall, it was a fun time, and it was cool to enjoy a Flyers victory somewhere else.
Valiquettov is a bit of an unknown in the realm of politics. He's bounced around from place to place a lot, and he's always been the second guy behind some more well known leaders. Despite his relatively obscurity, President Bush couldn't be happier.
"Obviously... we're pretty pleased with the election. As you know, here in America, we love democracy. And democracy has spoken today. Stefan- I call him Stefan, has great leadership skills. And if you ask the uh, that ice league, he has great five hole coverage."
Reaction from Russia has been decidedly mixed. Dmitry Medvedev, who was expected to become the next President, was obviously disappointed. Vladimir Putin, who claimed to not even know who Valiquettov is, vowed to take the opposite stance of whatever the United States said about him.
---
On an actual note, as my reader knows, I went on a bus trip to the Islanders game on Saturday. The game was great. The food was great. Nassau was okay. The people sucked, and as surprising as it might sound, the New York fans were better behaved than Philadelphia fans on that day.
In the emails I've been getting about the trip, drinking was permitted, but responsibility was demanded. That wasn't quite the case. Some people chose to get around that by getting completely drunk before the trip began... at 9 in the morning. Some chose to just completely bypass it and bring on giant coolers or cases that they had no intention of sharing. There were two coolers that completely blocked the aisle, and one guy couldn't even fit his case into one of those overhang compartments they have on coach buses and planes. This one woman was the most obnoxiously loud person I've ever seen. She screams incoherent things at other passengers and the television screen, almost starts a fight with someone else and then starts crying about it for half an hour. People were saying, "Man, she's the coolest chick I've ever met! She knows her sports! Awesome!" I couldn't believe it. I'm still a young dude and haven't met many people, but I'd prefer to never see her again. She didn't know a thing about sports. She would probably rather have a team of 20 Donald Brashears than a team of 20 Ovechkins. We were the movie Youngblood on the way back, and at times, she would scream "Yeah! That's hockey, yeah! Real hockey!" Well, no. That's a bad movie. Real hockey is big hits and skilled players making me feel like a dumbass sitting here at night writing a blog.
Once we got up to Nassau, it was pretty cool. The concourse got a bit packed because it's only one level. However, on that concourse, they have some great food. Sorry, Philly. They made a better cheesesteak there than I can get at Flyers games. The fries I had weren't too bad either. The Stanley Cup was there for you to take pictures with until the game started, and even though we were some of the first people through the gates, the line was too long.
The seats were okay. It's an older arena, so despite being in the 3rd to last row, it was still pretty close to the ice. The only problem was the large overhand that prevents most of the upper level from seeing the scoreboard. They had TV's on the overhand so you could still see what was on the scoreboard, but it was an inconvenience anyway. The best part about my seat? Winning an Islanders fan appreciation giveaway. It was an Islanders history DVD while some people were getting autographed sticks and tickets, so I gave it to the guy sitting next to me.
The atmosphere was pretty good. For the bad attendance they get, their fans can make some noise in the upper levels. It was weird not cheering when the goal horn came on, but it was an easy win and it didn't take long to get comfortable.
On the ride home, some other guys emerged as the most obnoxious people ever, but it still wasn't as bad as the way up. Overall, it was a fun time, and it was cool to enjoy a Flyers victory somewhere else.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Game 65: Flyers at Islanders
I've been sick lately, so that's why there haven't been many updates. Obviously, there's some big news going on in Philadelphia sports that I'll try and get to tomorrow.
Philadelphia Flyers: 32-25-7, 71 points
New York Islanders: 31-27-7, 69 points
Martin Biron v. Rick DiPietro (I honestly don't know, but I'm not sure what else you could assume)
The Flyers begin a two day trip to New York tomorrow afternoon, when they take on the Islanders on Long Island. Fresh off a win against Ottawa last night, they'll try to further secure better playoff position in the crowded Eastern Conference. The Islanders are in the hunt too; they're just two points behind the Flyers and the 8 seed in the playoffs.
I expect Martin Biron to get another start. He played well against Ottawa and he might be finding a rhythm in net again. Ride the hot hand.
The Flyers are 3-1-0 in four meetings against New York this year. The most recent meeting, a 4-3 Islanders win, happened in the middle of that wretched losing streak. That was the Islanders first home win of 2008, and they were generally in control of the game the whole time. Despite the fact that Philadelphia has been ahead of New York for most of the year, all of their meetings have been close, with no game being decided by more than two goals.
They'll be excited to turn a page on their calendars after the month of February saw them go just 4-8-2 and fall out of the picture of elite teams. They got banged up and played bad hockey. After a couple moves and hopefully some more injured players coming back, things should start to come together again. Modry could be back as soon as tomorrow or Sunday, which means Kukkonen could be forced out of the lineup again. We have so much depth on the blue line, but really only a couple of high end guys.
Bill Meltzer will have scratches and lineup notes tomorrow, probably closer than 16 hours until gametime. I'm going up to New York for the game and have to leave very early. That's why this is up so soon.
Philadelphia Flyers: 32-25-7, 71 points
New York Islanders: 31-27-7, 69 points
Martin Biron v. Rick DiPietro (I honestly don't know, but I'm not sure what else you could assume)
The Flyers begin a two day trip to New York tomorrow afternoon, when they take on the Islanders on Long Island. Fresh off a win against Ottawa last night, they'll try to further secure better playoff position in the crowded Eastern Conference. The Islanders are in the hunt too; they're just two points behind the Flyers and the 8 seed in the playoffs.
I expect Martin Biron to get another start. He played well against Ottawa and he might be finding a rhythm in net again. Ride the hot hand.
The Flyers are 3-1-0 in four meetings against New York this year. The most recent meeting, a 4-3 Islanders win, happened in the middle of that wretched losing streak. That was the Islanders first home win of 2008, and they were generally in control of the game the whole time. Despite the fact that Philadelphia has been ahead of New York for most of the year, all of their meetings have been close, with no game being decided by more than two goals.
They'll be excited to turn a page on their calendars after the month of February saw them go just 4-8-2 and fall out of the picture of elite teams. They got banged up and played bad hockey. After a couple moves and hopefully some more injured players coming back, things should start to come together again. Modry could be back as soon as tomorrow or Sunday, which means Kukkonen could be forced out of the lineup again. We have so much depth on the blue line, but really only a couple of high end guys.
Bill Meltzer will have scratches and lineup notes tomorrow, probably closer than 16 hours until gametime. I'm going up to New York for the game and have to leave very early. That's why this is up so soon.
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