5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Haven’t seen a guy on fire like this since Ray Ferraro in the 1993 playoffs. With nine goals in five games (11 points total), Grabner is currently the hottest player in the NHL. Some analysts have even placed in some small talk for a possible winner of the Calder trophy. If Grabner keeps these numbers up, the Isles will have themselves a 40 goal scorer this season. During the offseason, Grabner (a former 2006 1st round pick) was traded from Vancouver to Florida. But during training camp, the Panthers put him on waivers and intended for Grabner to head to their AHL affiliate in Rochester. But Isles’ GM Garth Snow had other ideas. Snow would claim him off waivers to make the former first rounder a New York Islander. 24 goals and 9 assists later, Grabner has found himself a potential superstar in the NHL. Also, let’s not forget his victory in the Fastest Skater Challenge in the NHL Skills Competition during the All-Star Break.

Now for the other Islanders tonight. Great game by Kyle Okposo (four assists) and John Tavares (goal and assist). This was one of those games that was similar to the Canadians game a couple of days ago. Midway through the second period, I had no expectations of an Islanders victory. But for the third straight game, this team fought back and forced overtime. Luckily, the Sabres gave us some stupid penalties which gave the Isles some much needed power plays. After the score was tied at six after regulation, Grabner made sure no shootout would be needed. His fastbreak, top-shelf goal gave the young forward a hat trick, a victory, and an Islanders’ winning streak. If you told me the Isles would win three straight games (two on the road) with Mikko Koskinen and Al Montoya as the two goaltenders, I would think you’re crazy. But with the exception of this afternoon’s game, Mikko has had a strong week and Montoya made a crucial save in the final seconds of regulation today to force OT. Click this link for highlights of today’s game.

Islanders head to Ottawa for a match of the Eastern Conference cellar dwellers on Tuesday at 7pm.

One other thing- what did I guys tell you about the suspensions for the Pens-Isles game on Friday night? All the Penguins received was an Eric Godard suspension for 10 games (it’s an NHL rule that if you come off the bench to fight it’s an automatic 10 game suspension). And what do the Isles get? Trevor Gillies – 9 game suspension, Matt Martin – 4 games, and a franchise fine of $100,000. Wow! I didn’t know the NHL punishes a team for retaliation. So you’re telling me the Islanders get whacked by the NHL, but back when Talbot blind-sided Comeau, he gets nothing? Bettman’s got to stop this favoritism. Plus, Mario Lemieux should shut the hell up. Leave the NHL for all I care. Check out Konopka’s interview with TSN today. The dude speaks the truth.

This entry was posted on February 14, 2011 at 2:12 am and is filed under Islanders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.