Semi-Final Predictions

It is now that time again, time to hear (or read) my predictions! As you see, my predictions have failed, so I felt I could start over with the second round.

EAST

Canadiens vs. Flyers

Canadiens in 6. Price didn't do the best he could against the Bruins, and the Flyers will be harder than the B's. But did you see him in game 7? And did you see the offense? The Habs have this locked up.


Penguins vs. Rangers

Penguins in 5.



WEST

Red Wings vs. Avalanche

Wings in 7. You can't mess with the Wings, right? As much as I want them out, it isn't going to happen anytime soon.


Sharks vs. Stars

Stars in 7. Did you see the effort needed by the Sharks to win? The Stars beat the Ducks, I think they have that underdog feel right now. I'm going with them.



I'll just do predictions round by round now. No need to make me look too silly.



Let's Go Isles!!!

RUMOR: McCabe Wants to Come Back (75%)

Well, this is the rumor I was talking about. I was going to go with the "McCabe to the Island?" title, but "McCabe Wants to Come Back" is much better. I am literally sick of hearing "McCabe to the Island?" Like, seriously. It makes me feel sick. So, to keep my keyboard clean, I'll go with the new title.

Rumor is that defenseman Bryan McCabe wants to come back to play for the Islanders. Most likely, the rumor is true. How will he get here? That is what we do not know. He will either have to be bought out, or traded here. Most likely, the trade talk will commence. I'm not sure it will take too much to get him here, but we will have to give up something. Good thing is, it probably won't be a young guy. Then again, it probably will be.

It is obvious that Snow and Nolan want to build the team through the youth. But I'm pretty sure the Leafs won't let the trade happen unless they get a solid prospect in return. The first people to pop in my head are Colliton, and, sadly, Tambellini. Throw in a draft pick or two with one of them and the trade is set.

We'll see what happens this summer with this rumor. I'll keep you posted (pun intended) on this one, and many others. For now, turn your head to the TV screen, and watch some of this year's playoffs. There is truly nothing better than playoff hockey. If you have watched any games from this year's playoffs, I'm sure you will agree with me. And then again, you will realize why the Islanders would just not fit in the playoffs. Easily, they'd get dominated. The pace is just too high now, so getting McCabe could be a huge step for us.

More posts to come in the next few days. I have to keep things going, so you will see some more two-posts-in-a-day.



Let's Go Islanders!!!

Playoffs Can't be Predicted

Well, as you can see, my predicions haven't been doing too well. I had the Wild winning the West, and they get eliminated in the 1st round. I have the Habs winning it all, and they're going to a game 7. Rangers beat the Devils as well, so my predictions have failed.

But do you think anyone will actually predict every single series, and get them all right? Probably not. Did anyone guess every game in the NCAA tourny? Nope. This world is unpredictable, and even though my picks were as silly as they were, it doesn't mean I know nothing about hockey. And damn, these playoffs have been just amazing. And here I find myself rooting for the Canadiens. Honestly, as an Isles fan, I never thought I would want the Canadiens to win. But there are too many historic reasons that they should win. Monday night, I'll be pulling for the Habs.

Also, I have some stuff coming for this blog. And I must say, rumors are already springing into action! So, I'll be covering every rumor I get this Summer. And the Spring, I guess. Things are already swirling around.

I probably won't finish up the game reviews I haven't done, I think they're too pointless to do now. I'll do my best to finish up the POTG Gallery, though.

Rumors are coming soon! I have a really good one for today.


Let's Go Isles!!! (and Canadiens!!!)

My Playoff Predictions

Well, I was seeing too many predictions out there, and figured I should join the party as well, before the playoffs kick off tonight.

QUARTERFINALS

EAST


Canadiens vs Bruins

Canadiens in 5. Sure, the B's can get a win. But come on, Montreal is 8-0 on them this season, the Habs are the easy choice for this one.

Penguins vs Senators

Penguins in 6. The Sens had a good start, but that means nothing now. They'll be lucky if they can pull out 2 wins in this series. Pens get this one.

Capitals vs Flyers

Capitals in 4. They are on fire right now, AO is too good, and with Huet in net, there's no way Briere and his Flying P's are going past the Capitals.

Devils vs Rangers

Devils in 7. Of course, an Isles fan would root against the Rags. But I think Brodeur will come up with some charm in a game 7 to beat the Rags. It'll be a great series, I think the Rangers will lead it most of the way, but the Devils will come back in the end. See ya next year Raggies.


WEST


Red Wings vs Predators

Red Wings in 5. Considering I don't know much about the west, I do know that the Wings are pretty damn good. Should be an easy one for them.

Sharks vs Flames

Sharks in 7. This will be another great series. Both have talent, both have goaltending, both have a will to win. But have you seen Nabakov in net? He'll lead the Sharks to victory.

Wild vs Avalanche

Wild in 6. I don't think the Avs will go far with their goaltending. They don't seem like a challenge for Gaborik, Rolston, and Backstrom. Wild will get this one. Good luck next year Smyth!

Ducks vs Stars

Duckies in 5. Stars can get a win or two, but against the past champs, they're not winning.


SEMIFINALS

EAST


Canadiens vs Devils

Canadiens in 6. They look too good this year, and Price > Brodeur in my opinion.

Penguins vs Capitals

Penguins in 6. This would be the best series of the playoffs. AO against Crosby, Malkin and Hossa. Sorry Caps, but that's a little hard to beat, no matter how good you are.


WEST


Red Wings vs Ducks

Ducks in 6. It'll be just like last year's Conference Finals. I'm sick of the Red Wings anyway.

Sharks vs Wild

Wild in 7. A good series will come out of this one, but I see the Wild somehow cracking through the Nabby-Wall.


CONFERENCE FINALS

EAST

Canadiens vs Penguins

Canadiens in 7. Again, Price is unbeatable. He can handle the pens. It'll be hard, though.


WEST

Wild vs Ducks

Wild in 7. I see an amazing series here, but I feel that the Wild can really pull off some upsets this year.


STANLEY CUP FINALS

Canadiens vs Wild

Canadiens in 4. It'll be the most dominated SCF that we've seen in years. Did you think I thought the Wild would beat everyone? Well, I didn't think that. So, the Montreal Canadiens will take it all this year.



Hmm..I don't think I've spent that much time on a post before. Honestly, this has taken me over a half an hour to do. Show's how devoted to this blog I am.

:winks:


Let's Go Isles!!!

Isles Sign Rob Hennigar

From newyorkislanders.com:

"The New York Islanders have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with center Rob Hennigar, the all-time points leader at the University of New Brunswick and the 2007-08 Canadian College Hockey Player of the Year.

A 25-year old native of Ontario, Hennigar just completed his fourth year at UNB. In 2007-08, Hennigar led the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) – Canada’s equivalent of the NCAA – in scoring, tallying 15 goals and 43 assists for 58 points. His 43 assists broke the school record for most in a single season and helped lead the Varsity Reds to a 26-2-0 record.

Hennigar helped lead UNB to the 2006-07 University Cup title and claim the Silver Medal at the 2007-08 CIS championship. His outstanding play earned him First Team honors on the 2007-08 CIS All-Canadian squad as well as the University Cup All-Tournament team. Over his career he tallied 37 goals and 122 assists for 159 points in 100 games.

Hennigar led Canada to the Gold Medal at the 2007 Winter Universiade in Italy, where he tied for the team lead with nine points in six outings.

Prior to joining the UNB Varsity Reds, Hennigar played four years with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League where he compiled 82 goals and 138 assists in 246 games."


Interesting to see another college signing. Hmmm. I wonder what the Isles have planned for this offseason.

Let's Go Isles!!!

Draft Lottery - TONIGHT, 8 PM on Versus

Well, I have been working on some good stuff for Islander Zone that I will announce later, but right now, it's about the Isles big day.

Tonight, the balls will be picked. Hopefully, the ones with Islanders identification will be picked up first. If this is so, the Isles will recieve the #1 pick in this year's Draft. Oh boy, you know what that would mean!

Mr. Steven Stamkos. Remember that name. He will most likely be the #1 pick this year. Who will get him? That may be decided tonight. And this is the guy the Isles need. A great, hardworking center and sniper. Isles GM Garth Snow has already said that he will pick him if the Isles get the #1 pick.

The Isles can pick #1, #5, or #6. We're slotted in the #5 position right now, but we all hope we can win the lottery tonight, giving us the #1 pick. We can also move down to #6 if a 6-9 team wins the lottery.

Please, oh please, let's start a new Isles era!


Let's Go Islanders!!!! (and Islanders ping-pong balls!)

Morrison Up, Joey Mac Down, Hillen to make NHL debut

Heh, I know you guys love the long titles. Good thing is, it describes everything I need to say, so I don't need to write much in the post.

But, I'll write anyway.

I guess Nolan can never be satisfied with a backup, as now Mike Morrison is with the team and Joey MacDonald is down to Bridgeport.

Matt Keith, who was acquired in a trade early in the season that gave the Anaheim Ducks Darryl Bootland, will play his second game with the Isles tonight against the Rangers. He made his debut on Tuesday, getting 1 shot on goal.

Jack Hillen, who agreed to terms with the Isles earlier this week, will make his NHL debut tonight. He was the Defensive Player Of The Year this year in NCAA Division 1 Hockey, with 6 goals and 31 assists.

The lines tonight may look something like this:

20 Sean Bergenheim - 63 Josef Vasicek - 13 Bill Guerin
81 Miro Satan - 51 Frans Nielsen - 7 Trent Hunter
57 Blake Comeau - 10 Richard Park - 21 Kyle Okposo
37 Kip Brennan - 72 Jeremy Colliton - 27 Matt Keith


38 Jack Hillen - 24 Radek Martinek
44 Freddy Meyer - 3 Rob Davison
4 Bryan Berard - 49 Drew Fata

34 Wade Dubielewicz
33 Mike Morrison

Let's Go Isles!!!

Joey Mac, Fata, Keith Called Up, Jackman, Spiller, Mole, Regier Down, Joey Mac Starting Tonight

Oh boy, sorry for the really long title. It appears that a very different Isles team will be playing tonight. Joey MacDonald, Drew Fata, and Matt Keith have all been called up from the Bridge. Tim Jackman, Matt Spiller, Mike Mole, and Steve Regier have all stayed with the Tigers to help their playoff push.

Joey MacDonald will be in goal tonight for the Isles, and the lines will look something like this:

Bergenheim - Vasicek - Guerin
Comeau - Park - Okposo
Satan - Nielsen - Hunter
Brennan - Colliton - Keith

Martinek - Meyer
Davison - Johnson
Berard - Fata

Joey MacDonald
Wade Dubielewicz



Let's Go Isles!!!

Isles Sign Jack Hillen

The New York Islanders have agreed to terms on a 2-year contract with Jack Hillen, the leading scorer among defensemen in NCAA Division I hockey.

No, this is not an April Fool's joke.

The 22-year old Hillen completed four years at Colorado College, and was named Defenseman of the Year in the WCHA this season. He will join the Islanders for practice on Wednesday and could make his NHL debut later this week.

In 41 games this season with Colorado College, Hillen had six goals and 31 assists.

"We are very proud that Jack made the decision to join the Islanders," said general manager Garth Snow. "He was one of the prized college free agents for good reason. He is an excellent puck-moving defenseman and our scouting staff is really impressed by his competitive spirit. Jack Hillen becomes a major addition to our list of top prospects."

“I liked the way Garth Snow and Islanders management came after me with honesty and a commitment,” Hillen said this afternoon, soon after signing his contract. “They are building a team around a core of exciting young players. I know Kyle Okposo well from playing against him and he had many glowing things to say about how the organization has treated him. The Islanders were the perfect fit for me.”


Let's Go Isles!!!