Somebody better pay for last night - Islanders Game Preview and Open Thread

No word of a lie, but this pic came up when I googled "Islander Girls".  Even the slutty ice cleaners get dissed on Long Island

(Ed's note - this post was written by HF10, who is having computer / Fuck Blogger issues)

Look, I don't care who pays for it - the Islanders and their fifth string goalie, the cheapshot Bruins, Scott Gomez, that comatose fucktard Chocula, Pierre Gauthier, Pierre Maguire, I DON'T FUCKING CARE. But someone, somewhere, needs to answer for this team. Talk all you want about not backing down, or fighting back, or scoring six goals, or whatever.  Tell me "once PK, Price, Eller, Leblanc, Tinordi and Pacioretty have experience ..." it'll be Cups galore. 

No, it won't. Not with Jacques Martin's "system",  unless one of the forward prospects morphs into a game changing superstar whose offensive talents can simply overwhelm the "system".  Because otherwise, your lot in life as a Habs fan until Chocula is gone is watching the Ottawa Senators circa 2004 but minus Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson.  An entire team of Mike Fishers/Chris Kellys/Tomas Plekanecs/Tom Pyatts/Peter Schaefers/lobotomized Andrei Kostitsyns. Solid? Sure. Playoff bound? Yep.  Gonna get run out of the second round every year unless the goaltending is otherworldly? Guaranteed. 

Fuck that. 

I've seen that show most years since 1993 and it sucks.  To top it off, when this team gets out of Chocula's comfort zone like last night, it doesn't have the muscle, offensive or defensive talent to win anything resembling a slugfest or shootout.  Great news in an Eastern Conference full of young, stacked teams full of scorers and head crackers. Can't wait for Dustin Byfuglien, Bryan Little, Zach Bogosian and Ondrei Pavelec to be 2.5 hours down the road from the Bell Centre wearing fleur de lys jerseys.

Don't even get me started on Scott Gomez today. 29 already covered it in the TMS. I can't believe I agree with Jack Todd at the moment, but so help me, I do. 

Thank Christ Charles Wang isn't going anywhere on Long Island yet. There's still the Islanders. Hey, let's talk about them!

The details:  Game time at 7:30 at the Centre Bell.  Isles coming off loss the the Leafs that featured their fifth string goalie. Habs have been fairly good lately, but last night's mess could leave them broken and tired tonight. 

Who's hot:  Isles speedster Michael Grabner has 8 goals in his past 11.  Wunderkind John Tavares is leading the Isles in scoring, has 4 points in 4 but is still a -22.  Is Captain Gio hot?  He seems to be the only one scoring at a regular clip.  Max Pac is also looking good.  Hmm, both of them have been playing with Plekanec, not Gomez. Hot tip of the hat to Benny Pouliot, who dropped David Krejci last night.  Man, if he ever puts everything together, look out.  Hey, anyone else want to give Gomez's wingers to David Desharnais and see what happens?  I sure as hell do. 

Who's not:  Look, I could tell you I don't want to pile on Scott Gomez, but that wouldn't be true.  He takes stupid penalties, he looks disinterested, and all the little good things people say he does get lost in the big numbers that sit beside his name.  I'm quite certain Scott Gomez has value as an NHL player, but right now, to my eye, he looks like a huge liability more often than not.  The defence looked awful last night, and Price alternated between sublime and - what?  Tired?  Fed up?  Bad Carey?  Dunno.  For New York, well, if they aren't hurt, they're terrible.  So they've got that going for them. 

Who's hurt:  Markov. Cammy. Gorges. Is Tommy Pyatt alright after getting cheapshotted a dozen times by whiny sucky baby Greg Campbell, who is going to hide behind his Daddy and escape all punishment? Is Jaro 2.0 going to be more dazed after taking 20 uncontested shots to the noggin? Islanders can't field a competitive team when healthy, so losing (deep breath) Marc Streit, Doug Weight, Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Mark Eaton, Blake Comeau, rookies Rhett Rhakshani and Jeremy Colliton and goalies Rick DiPietro, Kevin Poulin and Nathan Lawson does not help. 

Who?: Fun fact - the Isles traded for former Ranger bust Al Montoya (picked 6th overall in 2004) to shore up their goalie depth since the NY crease is becoming some sort of Spinal Tap drummer's chair. Montoya was THE BACKUP for Phoenix's AHL team. Ladies and gentlemen, your New York Islanders!!!!

Who's watching:  Despite the wisecracks and the half-empty rink, the Isles still have some hardcore fanatics, including the folks at Lighthouse Hockey.

Who's that:  Why, it's the stripper at one of Montreal's finest establishments after the game, that's who.