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One point for the Isles, TWO for John Tavares |
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**Author's Note: And for those who are interested in the Polical side of this game, please see my http://www.7thwoman.blogspot.com site.
It was a successful opening night for the NY Islanders, even if they did only garner one point for the game. (And we know, as Denis Potvin says “Every point lost in October is worth THREE in March.”) But even the weather didn’t dampen the exuberance of the die-hard fan-base that braved the gray skies and set up their tents for tailgating by 1 pm. Hockey is back on Long Island. This was John Tavares’ “Welcome Home” party.
Outside the Coliseum Kristen McElroy gathered a crowd of Lighthouse supporters to request their votes in the upcoming Town of Hempstead Supervisor election. The post currently held by Republican Kate Murray who has been less than supportive to Charles Wang and Scott Rechler. Ms. McElroy has a lot of ground to cover in a few short weeks, but she can make headway as this debate rages on and the possibility of losing the team is no longer out of the question.
Inside the Coliseum, high up in the press area, Charles Wang held his own press conference to issue his official statement regarding Kate Murray’s much publicized last minute call to “negotiate” before the October 3rd deadline. If you read between the lines, the statement was basically, “Stop playing games Kate.” That’s all that phone call was, a game being played out in the press by the Town of Hempstead Supervisor.
A few minutes later, Tom Suozzi addressed the press to express his dissatisfaction with the entire ordeal as well. His frustration was evident. He was hen whisked away to center ice to drop the puck. They had to do that or he would have stood and talked for a half hour. That’s how angry he is over this situation. (And he does talk a lot.)
So the game begins with a roar of a welcome for young John Tavares. The house is packed, the barn is loud, there are signs everywhere encouraging the Town of Hempstead to say Yes or No, and they drop the puck. The clock on the Isles new season has starting ticking.
The game itself was a good one. I think the Isles were very lucky to have played the Stanley Cup champs the day AFTER their celebration. But they do have to remember, never let Sidney Crosby have the puck or he WILL find the back of the net. He did at only 8:50 into the first.
Roloson did a fine job, although to me, his playing style is reminiscent of Glenn Healy, flopping around on the ice in dramatic fashion. Bruno Gervais, celebrating his 25th birthday, had a chance or two at a Birthday goal, but fell short. Brendan Witt showed that he still has it with an early game match-up against Jay McKee for an open ice hit on ex-Islander Ruslan Fedotenko that Malkin didn’t take kindly to. Mark Streit capitalized on their mistake as he scored to tie the game at during their five on three power play. John Tavares received his first REAL NHL point for an assist.
But the big story of the night was John Tavares’ first goal in the NHL which came at 7:09 of the second to put the Isles up 2 – 1. The goal celebration was enjoyed by everyone in attendance, but none more than Matt Moulson, who couldn’t contain his joy for his friend.
After the game, the press converged on John Tavares once again as if he was handing out $100s. You couldn’t get near him. All the other players were quietly getting undressed in their stalls. Right next to John was a very sweaty, seemingly shy Matt Moulson. I decided here was my chance, so I asked him about his first NHL game as an Islander playing with his friend John Tavares.
“I know how hard he’s worked to get to where he is right now. It was just a good, happy moment. Good to get the monkey off his back. “ Matt and JT have trained together and skated together for the last seven years playing shiny at home in Mississauga. John actually played hockey more with Matt’s brother.
At only 25, Matt bears the scars of a hockey player on his mouth, but that mouth broke into a huge smile when I asked him how he liked Long Island. “I love it! I do I love it!! I think I like it better now that I’ve been here for awhile. It’s real nice. The atmosphere here is more laid back. “ The most pleasant surprise from our very brief conversation came when he told me that the atmosphere in the barn for home opener was “pretty comparable to some of the Canadian rinks.” NICE!
Birthday boy, Bruno Gervais didn’t get a birthday goal, but he wasn’t completely disappointed “Well, one point. We’ll get it back next game.”
Considering the feisty nature that Scott Gordon has developed in these New York Islanders, I think they will. If nothing else, they will be wildly entertaining to watch. Keep an eye on them.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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