This Day in NYI History

On this day in 1985 Bryan Trottier became the first player in NHL history to get 25 goals in each of his first 10 NHL seasons, when he scored twice as the Islanders won 4-1 over the Penguins, on Long Island.

Trotts was one of a couple of Islanders who have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. Signed copies of this cover and others are for sale every game night at the Game Night Auction located by Gate 16 on the Coliseum’s concourse.

A Founding Father in Tampa

Al Arbour, one of the ultimate Islanders' fathers, is in town tonight for the game with his wife Claire and some friends.

It always great to have Al around. He didn't want come down to the room before the game, but will stop by after. Scott Gordon is looking forward to meeting Al.

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Yup, that was a canon

Sometimes, you can’t make something up this good if you tried.

Today is the annual Gasparilla Pirate Invasion in Tampa. What that means is, the harbor outside of our hotel is full of boats, pirates and drunken people all there to have a good time. Oh yeah, and canons that are going off every other minute.

It’s one big party, which started before we even woke up today. It’s the Mardi Gras of Florida with beads, booze and everything else.

Between the loud music, the cheering, the fireworks and the canons – have I mentioned those yet? -- so much for the pre-game nap!

Oh yeah, there’s at least two boats that keep blowing their horns.

When I stepped into the elevator this morning for breakfast, I rode down with a pirate and two of his lady friends - also dressed up in pirate-eque garb. Very interesting trip for the buffet.

This is quite the experience. At least the dads are enjoying themselves!

(Pictures are 2 views from outside of our hotel...)

This day in NYI history

On this day in 1978, Islanders' rookie Mike Bossy recorded the first hat trick of his NHL career as New York won 6-1 over Washington.

The photo to the left was taken by should-be and hopefully one day NHL Hall-of-Fame photographer Bruce Bennett. Bruce lists it as one of his favorite photos that he took.

And no folks, that's not Photoshop. The stick was actually on fire for that shoot.

NHL Anthems

Watching Jennifer Hudson’s wonderful rendition of the US National Anthem last night before the Super Bowl got me thinking about the best anthems in NHL rinks.

Only a handful of teams have one anthem singer who regular sings on an every-game basis. And three of them just so happen to be the tops in the league. Here they are:

Lauren Hart – Philadelphia Flyers
Lyndon Slewidge – Ottawa Senators
John Amarante – NY Rangers

There hasn’t been a better anthem sung in the Coliseum since Carl Dixon did it for the 2002 playoff games versus Toronto. Did the amazing atmosphere help? Yeah, but I also think his anthem added to the atmosphere of that series even more.

It’s all up for debate because everyone has their own taste and opinion.

If you ask hockey fans what there greatest hockey memory is, some will say it was the 1991 NHL All-Star Game in Chicago when Wayne Messmer sang the Anthem at Chicago Stadium. It occurred just a few days after the United States went into Iraq at the start of the Gulf War. The crowd reaction was so great, his voice was nearly drowned out by the fans.

Anthems are always great when the crowd really gets into by themselves and can carry the song by themselves. Alanis Morissette sang ‘O Canada in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 with crowd support. Edmonton did the same thing the year before and it was just as amazing. (6:50 into the clip)

Lauren Hart’s rendition is my favorite because not only is it spectacular, but she sings it for almost every game. Consistency has a large part to do with it. It’s something I always wished the Islanders had. Fans really get behind an anthem singer they hear every game. Flyers fans often think of Lauren as just as important piece of the team as the starting goaltender that there's booing.

I really like what we’re doing with the Organist (and no vocals) at the Coliseum. I think it can catch on and if the fans get behind it, it would have the potential to be tops in the league.

But again, an anthem is all about personal taste. Someone in the office just said they though Whitney Houston sounded horrible at Super Bowl 25.

OK Shannon… I don’t think you get it…

Back on December 16th when the Islanders hosted the Washington Capitals at the Coliseum, the team agreed to participate in an ESPN the Magazine feature called "Fan Army Goes to Work"where a casual fan works a game night position for a team. There as someone who was an “Assistant Coach” at an NCAA men’s basketball game, a game operations assistant for an NBA game, etc. A young, 27-year old lady named Shannon Patinkin, whose boyfriend is apparently an Islander fan, was an Ice Girl for a night for the magazine’s feature.

You can read the story here. It’s also on page 72 of the February 9th edition.

I personally don’t understand what Shannon was expecting of the experience. She clearly didn’t get it.



She said: “Speaking of players, we were not allowed contact with the Islanders. We even entered the rink from the visitors' tunnel and always had to keep a distance from the home team.”

Response: Was she expecting to set up dinner plans for after the game? And half the squad enters through the visitors side, the other half does in fact enter through the Islanders' entrance.

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She said: “We weren't allowed to do tricks, because the NHL says using our picks creates big holes in the ice. Bummer.”

Response: Who cares about the health of the players if they get a skate caught in a divot or rut.

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She said: “Before the game, we ran over to a season ticket-holder event and took photos. The fans clearly didn't think we had any brains at all. And there was a little too much hugging.”

Response: So she wanted to get to know the players, but not interact with the fans.

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She said: “They didn't even let me keep the ugly outfit.”

Response: Her personal taste aside, the costumes aren’t cheap. People just love free things. See this.

There's an accompanying video to her experience. The funny thing is, if you just watched the video, you'd think she had a great time. After reading the story, not so much.

Island Snapshots: Streit Pre-Game Stretch

Haven't posted any pictures in a long, long time, but I thought this was too good to pass up...

This picture (a Corey Witt original) was taken about 45 minutes ago right outside the Islanders/visiting team dressing room at Phillips Arena. Mark Streit was going through his pre-game stretching routine and the Thrashers mascot, Thrash, decided to join in for a few minutes. It was a comedic 90 seconds to say the least.

Phillips Arena

Phillips Arena is one of the more unique arenas in the NHL. Opened in the fall of 1999, it’s the home of the Atlanta Thrashers and Hawks. It sits on the same footprint as the old Omni Coliseum, which plays a big part in its unique design.

Three quarters of the Phillips Arena looks like every other new arena. But the fourth side of the building is almost completely vertical. The suites are located on this vertical or flat side of the building with about six levels all directly on top of each other.

Imagine you’re at the Nassau Coliseum and looking at the penalty box side of the building. Leave the ¾ of the lower bowl of the 100s and 200s sections and then above that is five levels of suites and a press box on top of that. The view from the suites are close and on top of the action.

The Arena was built this way because the developers needed to fit a 20,000 seat building with 100 luxury boxes where a 15,000 seat building with 16 boxes was previously. Using the same footprint that Omni Coliseum sat on, Phillips Arena was squeezed into. Developers figured out if one side of the building was more vertical then the others, they could build it. And it was built.

It’s one of the more unique/newer buildings in the NHL and it’s a real nice place.

Yo, Fabian!

The Dallas Stars assigned forward Fabian Brunnstrom to the AHL's Manitoba Moose. On TSN.ca, it was called “a quick fall from grace.”

Unfortunately for TSN, the story does not mention that Fabbi hasn’t played since Dec. 27 when he suffered a lower body injury and that this could be a simple rehab for the young forward who is on pace to score 20+ goals while going for the Cy Young (current stats: 10 g – 4 a).

Even the reliable TSN of Canada can make mistakes. Just a reminder to not take everything you read in the media as 100 percent fact.

SBD on Versus Telecast of ASG

Below is a media recap from SportsBusiness Daily on Versus’ telecast of All-Star Weekend:

POOR GAME PLAN:

In N.Y., Stu Hackel wrote during Versus' broadcast of Sunday's NHL All-Star Game, there was "endless conversation about many things, but little of it focused on where the puck was, who had it and what they were doing with it." Versus' Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom, who called the All-Star Game, and analyst Ed Olzcyk are "expertly capable of providing precise and lively accounts of what's going on during games and why."

Hackel: "However, when you see and hear a Versus game, and an NBC game as well, that standard is abandoned for nonstop conversation that too often ignores the game's action. Most likely, that's not the decision of the guys behind the mic but the guys behind the scenes, who instruct the announcers to 'tell stories' at the expense of providing clear descriptions and analysis. They do hockey a massive disservice" (NYTIMES.com, 1/26).


NHL Network’s Billy Jaffe (also of MSG Plus and Islanders TV) said of Versus’ coverage of the All-Star Game, “Is it perfect? No. Are they striving to do everything better? Absolutely. … They are doing their best and they are open to suggestions” (“NHL Live!,” NHL Network, 1/26).

I’ve never had a reason not to believe Billy Jaffe, and in saying that, I hope he’s right.