SINCE I WON'T BE AT THE GAME

This has been a really stressful week. My uncle passed on Tuesday afternoon and the wake, funeral arrangements and proceedings have dominated my thoughts this week. I haven't even really been able to watch any games let along blog about them. I had intended to go to Point Blank Night but that little sojourn was promptly replaced by the wake hours on Thursday night. So considering I haven't been around hockey too much this week I figured that I'd just blog a little about the trials and tribulations of our favorite team and go into this latest trend of surrendering 3-4 goals in the third period 3 out of the last 4 games.



"Here we go again" say the fans of these New York Islanders every time that 3 goes up on the scoreboard to indicate the beginning of the 3rd period. Boys and girls are in their seats celebrating after two periods an imminent Islanders victory with only 20 minutes to go. Then...all hell breaks loose! Opposing players are sailing through seams fans and players haven't seen for the first 40 minutes. Turnovers come in bunches, penalties are all aplenty. Then before you know it the opposing team has already tied it up and the Isles are back on their heels. Sounds like a horror story right?

Well if you've been leaving in Isles Country for the past 2 weeks this is the scenario you've seen 75% of the time. I touched on how penalties were the downfall in the Montreal game and they are still present now with this latest loss to a Thrashers team that is just as bad as the Islanders this season. The blame however, in my opinion, does not lie with the coaching staff. They have done an exceptional job of getting the team ready for the challenges that lay ahead. Where the blame does have residence is with the players in the locker room. There are certain players in this locker room that are slowly turning into a cancer for this "younger" team . I will call out one whom I really believe does not belong in Scott Gordon's system: Mike Comrie.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem if MC is interested at any point in games this season. He glides around the ice, not moving his feet and circling around the perimeter waiting for others to do the work for him. It's this kind of attitude that will destroy the psyche's of the young players on this team. This is not a veteran that they should look up to. I'm not sure what steps Coach Gordon has taken to quell the negative attitude of someone like MC on the team but I do know that something has to be done soon. Either through trade or personality adjustment. The latter doesn't just involve the coaching staff, it involves the teammates in the room as well.

Tonight, they face the powerful Penguins, Crosby-less apparently. So a battered Isles team that has figured out how to play 40 minutes still is trying to figure out how to play a full 60. It should interesting to see how the team responds after the latest 3rd period collapse. Enjoy the game tonight folks.

For Questions, Comments or Bonehead Calls e-mail me at DougD84@optonline.net.