Lighthouse Hockey: Try to fixate on something else.
The Islanders are headed West, where the Kings are falling but the Ducks are surging again. A few bounces here or there and they could be beginning this trip under a dark cloud, but the comebacks and magical individual efforts to win the last three games have them six points ahead of the next Metro […]
Mike and Dan are relaxed and excited as the Islanders win three in a row and put themselves in good position for both the playoffs and the NHL Trade Deadline. We were worried that going into two places they never win in – Montreal and Columbus – and coming back to face the rabid Panthers […]
The Islanders pulled off a third consecutive two-goal comeback win and this time they didn’t even need overtime, though Anders Lee’s winner was practically that, coming with 32 seconds left in regulation on a stunning individual play by the captain. Oh, also: Matthew Schaefer had another two-goal game, ho-hum, to bring his rookie season goal […]
No rest for the victors, as the Islanders return to Long Island to host the Florida Panthers after winning in Columbus last night. The Panthers are rested and might even be a little healthier, having lost at home to the Sabres on Friday night. The two-time defending champs are 30-26-3 on the season and sit […]
The Islanders pulled out yet another overtime win — their eighth in eight tries this season — and another two points from a game where they didn’t have their best and their opponent left feeling like they deserved better. Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, Ilya Sorokin kept the Isles in the game long […]
The Islanders remain on the road in Columbus before coming back home tomorrow for a meeting with the Panthers. Both opponent are chasing to get back in the wild card spots, though it’s looking bleak for the two-time defending Cup champs. The Blue Jackets have two games in hand on the Isles but trail by […]
Noah Dobson scored two fist-pumping goals in his first meeting against his old team, but Matthew Schaefer scored two of his own to erase those, then the Islanders tied the game late with a sixth attacker, which set the table for Canadiens-killer J-G Pageau to score the OT winner in Montreal. The 4-3 win gives […]
We’re back! Or rather, they’re back. The Islanders face a compressed post-Olympic schedule, with 24 games to go and re-entering play in third place in the Metro, with several teams nipping at their heels. Things begin tonight vs. the Canadiens in Montreal. Your picks for the First Islanders Goal in three weeks go here. Elsewhere […]
The NHL is back in action after its damn-near-monthlong Olympic break with eight games tonight, though the Islanders don’t resume until tomorrow night in Montreal, one of 12 games Thursday. That didn’t keep them from kicking off the looming trade frenzy, though, with a minor league swap of Julien Gauthier to the Blues/Springfield for Matt […]
Mike and Dan look ahead to the Islanders resuming their season with three huge games, and present a special Olympic version of Master Leaf Theatre. The Islanders’ final 24 games will be a brutal sprint, with lots of in-conference opponents, a road trip out west and seven back-to-backs. They get a taste of all of […]
In 1980, it was Jim Craig. In 1996, it was Mike Richter. In 2026, it was Connor Hellebuyck playing the role of goaltender spoiler keying a U.S. victory over a favored opponent. Deciding the gold medal via 3-on-3 overtime feels silly, but it’s at least an improvement over the shootout (Peter Forsberg, 1994, and Czechs […]
The U.S. and Canada battle for gold — the 8 a.m. EST game may be done by the time you read this — and the Olympics mercifully conclude Sunday. Then the Islanders will get their Olympians back and resume play Thursday in Montreal. Bo Horvat will return with either a gold or silver. Islanders News: […]
Along with comedian, podcaster and new author John Cullen, we remember Rob Davison, who had one major moment against a marquee opponent in his very short stint on Long Island. Like a lot of defensive defensemen, Rob Davison was not a player most people would remember. His job was preventing goals, not scoring them, for […]
The U.S. women fulfilled their destiny, completing their running of the table and medal rounds, though this time they needed a late equalizer and overtime to get past Canada to win gold. It’s almost always an epic battle between those two, even when one is a clear favorite as the U.S. were this time around. […]
The practically pre-ordained dream final of Canada vs. USA in Olympic men’s hockey is still on the table after both tournament favorites needed overtime to avoid disaster in the quarterfinals. Canada erased a late Czech one-goal lead (from current Islander Ondrej Palat, lest you forget) to then win on a Mitch Marner OT winner, while […]
Here we are! Well, sort of…almost. The Islanders are now legally allowed to reconvene, while Wednesday at the Olympics offers a full day of men’s ice hockey quarterfinals: The U.S. and Sweden likely gave themselves the toughest mutual matchup, thanks to Sweden’s round-robin slip and the U.S. failure to run up the score against each […]
The Olympic men’s hockey round robin is complete, with things generally playing out as expected save for a couple of exceptions. One of those is Sweden, though “didn’t win your group” is not exactly an emergency crisis like, say, losing to Latvia would be. Back on the home front, non-Olympic NHLers (including all Russians, heh) […]
Mike and Dan run down the Islanders lineup to say something positive about each player and how they’ve contributed to the good overall season they’ve had so far. We heard some feedback that the last episode came off a little too nervous or negative, so we challenged ourselves to accentuate the plusses of every position […]
He’s not ours anymore, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate Brocktober in February. The first couple of days in Olympics men’s hockey produced predictable results, with the top-rated teams rolling against less-heralded opponents. Canada brushed Czechia aside while Jordan Binnington pitched a shutout to temper concerns that his NHL season results would continue […]
The NHL break continues but men’s hockey begins today at the Olympics, with Group B featuring Slovakia-Finland (10:30 a.m. EST) and Sweden vs. hosts Italy (3:00 p.m. EST). There are three groups that will do round-robin in the preliminary round, and the U.S. has the relatively light Group C assignment with House of Frans Denmark, […]
Mike and Dan recap the Islanders’ wheezing last games and take stock of where the team sits at the Olympic break before enjoying a dessert of Ranger Piece Theater. The Islanders did what we asked last week and grabbed at least four points. Too bad they looked mostly lousy while doing it. So while their […]
Was Nassau Coliseum even louder during some 2000s Resurrection Moments than it was during the dynasty’s greatest moments? We’ll never know for sure, but a couple threads on Twitter elicited “loudest I ever heard that building” sentiments, though the Cup heyday and these other moments are a generation or two apart. There was a release, […]
Ever since a couple of friends who most often hosted Super Bowl parties each relocated out of town, I’ve…discovered the sheer joy and found time that comes with not following the NFL. An intense, grueling season of Sundays to myself and my family culminates in Super Bowl Sunday, when I can go wherever I want […]
Along with “Thrill of Defeat” host and Pittsburgh guy Dan Hopper, we remember Dick Tarnstrom, who turned getting waived by the Islanders into a starring role on some bad transitional Penguins teams. While the Penguins have had some all time great players in their history, the periods between those players were pretty dire. Bankruptcies, empty […]
Up until a little over 16 minutes into the third, this recap had a very different vibe. The Islanders did only register 14 shots on goal, apparently tying their lowest ever against the New Jersey Devils, last done in 2004. Ilya Sorokin needed to put in a Vezina-level (and frankly, Hart-level) performance to keep the […]