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2013 Years Old • Male

I'm Not Touching This One!

Posted 11:39 AM ET | Comments 7
I <i><b>knew </b></i>it would come, of course ... eventually ... (and I'm not talking about the Islanders next game, though it does seem like, oh, I don't know, <i>ABOUT SIX <b>YEARS </b>SINCE THEIR LAST ONE</i>!) I digress ...

I knew that, inevitably, the first Isles/Lightning game of the year would arrive and that I may have to field all sorts of questions about my allegiance(s) once again. You see, through and through, I am an Islander fan - always have been. This was chronicled in my <a href="http://www.hockeybuzz.com...">first</a> and <a href="http://www.hockeybuzz.com...quot;>second</a> Lightning blogs and was made blatantly obvious, though I wasn't exactly trying to hide anything, when I <b><i>forgot </i></b>to change my avatar from the Isles logo to my - <i>ahem </i>- pretty face. <i><b>Doh</b></i>!

All I can say is that my triumverate hierarchy of hockey priorites goes like this: Hockey in general, the Islanders (from a fan's perspective) and the Lightning (professionally, with the slight twinkle of a fan's eye as well.)

So, when a night like tonight pops up - Lightning at Islanders, 7:00 pm - at least a part of me <i><b>cringes </b></i>...

Fans of both teams have reason to be optimistic about tonight's contest.

For the Islanders, for starters, they're simply happy to be <i><b>playing</b></i>. The schedule finally heats up a bit in November after just 9 October contests. Other than that:

***Tonight will be Mike Sillinger's 1,000th National Hockey League game and, surely, the boys will want to make it a 'W' for Silly.

***The Isles were drubbed in their last game (way back in October of 1974, so it seems) 8-3 at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes and will look to rebound.

***This being the second of back-to-back games for Tampa, the idea of Marc Denis in the opposing goal is always appetizing.

***Despite the second of two long layoffs between games, the Isles are just 4 points behind Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia.

***Finally, the Lightning are now 0-5 on the road this season.

While the Isles might be licking their chops to pounce on a reeling foe, this Bolts team will be hungry for their first road win, so I'd hesitate to put this one <i><b>solely </b></i>in the positive column for the Islanders.

On the other hand, that's where we lead off, from a Lightning perspective, as far as optimism for this evening goes:

***Let's face it, they'll <i><b>have </b></i>to win a road game at some point and the night after getting <i><b>shellacked </b></i>in New Jersey is probably as good as any.

***Plus, the Islanders just keep getting <i><b>trounced </b></i>by teams a night or two after their opposition has been <i><b>slaughtered </b></i>by someone else. Toronto got <i><b>killed </b></i>7-1 by Carolina on October 9th and then <i><b>hammered </b></i>the Isles 8-1 a couple of nights later. The 'Canes were <i><b>dusted </b></i>by Montreal 7-4 just 24 hours before their 8-3 Islander beatdown. Now the Bolts come to town after a whooping in New Jersey looking to get back home with their first road win in tow.

Aside from that:

***Vinny Lecavalier continues to pile up points, scoring in his last 4 games, raising his season totals to 7-6-13.

***And Dan Boyle is back, playing a tad over 20 minutes last night.

***Despite their road woes, the Lightning remains in 2nd place in the Southeast division, though some significant breathing room is beginning to develop between 1st and 2nd, with Carolina 6 points ahead of Tampa.

So, now that both teams are coming off of one-sided losses in their last games, what can we expect? A great hockey game with some real solid, gutsy play from both sides, I hope!

My prediction, you ask?

Nah ... I'm not touching that one ... no way ...

Enjoy the game!

<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>

<i><b>AND</b></i>

<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>
November 1, 2007 12:16 PM ET | Delete
Tampa always has been the Isles bane. However, they are still having problems on D and the goalie is always has been in question his Bulin left. Tampa comes off a loss, the Isles also off an embarrassment last Sat. So should be a good game either way..
November 1, 2007 1:20 PM ET | Delete
Come on and "man up" JJ. ISLANDERS 5-2. See that wasn't so hard.
November 1, 2007 7:25 PM ET | Delete
geat job buddy s always enjoyed would of liked a prediction
November 1, 2007 8:31 PM ET | Delete
I think we can all read between the lines. Notice in the title is written the word one. Then in the body of this piece he writes the number 13. He predicts the Islanders will win 13-1. Nice job, I agree.
TKC
November 3, 2007 12:27 AM ET | Delete
Notice the Islanders blogger riding the fence up there :P Nice blog JJ
November 3, 2007 9:35 AM ET | Delete
Heh heh ... 13-1 ... 4-0 ... was I close? Hmm ... (Glad that game's over with.)
November 5, 2007 5:36 PM ET | Delete
Real strong game against the lightning. Fun to watch.Anyone think the Isles will try to get Forsberg?http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/nhl/?eref=sixtra_newsletter
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