Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday

Hello there NHL fans, I’m coming to you live from NHL Headquarters in New York City where the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Wednesday. The sixteen teams battling for Lord Stanley’s Cup include the Washington Capitals, the New York Islanders, the Pittsburg Penguins, the Boston Bruins,  the Toronto Maple leafs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Bluejackets to name a few. All of these teams have had phenomenal regular seasons but now the pressure ratchets up starting Wednesday night. We’ll see what these 16 teams are really made of. I am looking foreword to a fantastic playoff season. Who knows what could happen, miracles do happen so you have to lookout for that. Let’s hope these 16 teams put on a great show. I hope you tune in on Wednesday night for heart pounding and high flying action. I hope you know who I’m rooting for, Let’s go Islanders! Yes yes yes! That’s all for now, hockey fans, I hope you get as much enthusiasm out of these playoffs as I will.
Talk to you after first round is complete!

Signing off, Mr. Lightning

Islanders battle the B’s at Collisseum

Hello NY Islander faithful, I am coming to you live from NYCB where the Islanders look to break the tie between themselves and the Capitals and move into soul possession of first place. Coming into tonight’s action the Islanders have a record of 41-24-7 while the Capitals sport the same record, both teams tallying 91 points thus far. The Bruins have 93 points on the season and look to continue their success. The Isles coming into the action tonight are fresh off a 2-1 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. While the Bruins are fresh off a Win themselves and have been one of the most consistent teams in the league thus Far. With guys like David Pasternak and Brad Marchand the Islanders are certainly gonna have their hands full and will need to really step up on defense. Anders Lee has scored  in 2 straight games and has 26 goals on the season while Matt Barzal has been quiet as of late in the scoring department but provides an obvious spark when on the ice. Robin Lerlhner  and Rask will matchup in what should be a low scoring matchup considering the talent between the pipes on both ends of the ice. You can catch tonight’s action on MSG + with Shannon Hogan and Brendan Burke, Let’s go Islanders!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Islanders Host Carey Price at NYCB

Hello there Islander fans, I am coming to you live from NYCB where the New York Islanders take on the Montreal Canadiens.  Coming into tonight’s action both teams are coming off big wins as the Isles knocked off the surging Blue Jackets just the other night while the Canadiens themselves are looking to keep the momentum going and finish this late playoff push. The Islanders need to keep this going and build off of what they have started here this year if they have any hopes of making a deep playoff run. Currently the Canadiens are on the outside looking in, and need Wins. Let’s hope the Islanders can get the best of Carey Price this evening at NYCB. You can catch the action at 7pm on MSG Plus with Shannon Hogan and Brendan Burke. Let’s go Islanders, YES, YES, YES!!!

Islanders Battle New Look BlueJackets Tonight

Hello there NY Islander fans, I am coming to you live from NYCB live, where the Islanders look to gain some ground on the Washington Capitals.  Coming into tonight's action the Islanders have a record of 39-22-7 for a grand total of 85 points, while the Bluejackets come into tonight with a record of 38-27-3 tallying 79 sitting in 8th place in the Eastern Conference, which has them occupying the final playoff spot in the east for the time being.  The Islanders are looking to bounce back in a big way coming off a 5-2 disheartening loss to the Flyers.  I know we are all hoping that Barry Trotz can deliver a stern message to his team and that will reflect in their play.  On the other side the Bluejackets  all in at the trading deadline acquiring Matt Duchene, Adam McQuaid and Kincaid hoping that their big gamble would pay off in the end.  Thomas Greiss is looking for a better showing than what he showed us over this past weekend.  Let's hope that he can get the job done much to the satisfaction of the Islander faithful.  I am really looking forward to seeing if the Isles can bounce back in this one, you can catch all of the action tonight on MSG+, Lets go get a big win!! YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!

New York Islanders Look to End a Two Game Losing Streak and Wrap Up a Three Game Road Trip With a Win in Vancouver

Hello there NY Islander fans! I am coming to you live from Vancouver, British Columbia at Rogers Arena, where the NY Islanders look to snap a 2-game losing streak and pick up a huge 2 points in the Metropolitan Division standings. Coming into tonight’s action, the Islanders have a record of 35 wins, 18 losses and 7 overtime losses for a total of 77 points, which puts them in first place in their division. On the other hand, the Canucks have 26 wins, 27 losses and 8 overtime losses, for a total of 60 points. 

Even though the Islanders have lost their previous 2 games, they have been remarkably consistent this season and have a two point edge over the Washington Capitals for the Metro division crown. The Islanders have been spreading the scoring load around with Anders Lee leading the Islanders with 21 goals. A big surprise for the Islanders has to be their fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. Casey Cizikas has had a remarkable season so far with 16 goals. No one expected that from Cizikas. 

The Islanders’ opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, on the other hand, have had an up and down season. The bright spot for the Canucks is their #1 pick from this past summer, Elias Pettersson.  Through 50 games played in his rookie campaign, he has scored 26 goals and had 28 assists. The Islanders will have to keep an eye on this rookie phenom! Now let’s talk about the goal tending for tonight’s game. Robin Lehner will likely be between the pipes for the Islanders tonight. Lehner comes into tonight’s action with a record of 18 wins, 9 losses, and 5 overtime losses. For the Canucks, Jacob Markstrom is the confirmed starter, with a record of 22-17-7. 

Hopefully the Islanders offense will come to life tonight! In other NHL news, the Capitals are going to come up short against the Sabres,5-2, which helps the NY Islanders out because if they win tonight, they will have a 4-point cushion over the Capitals. That's all from Rogers Arena. You can catch tonight’s action on MSG+ network…or if 10pm is a bit late for you, you can catch all the action with Chris King on WRHU 88.7 FM tonight.

Islanders go to Buffalo to face off against the Sabres

Hello there NY Islander fans!!  The playoff push is approaching with the Islanders facing off against the Buffalo Sabres this evening.  Game time is set for 7pm from 1st Niagara Center.  Coming into tonight's action, the Islanders have a record of 33-16-6 adding up to 72 points, which puts them in the top spot in the Metropolitan division.  They are 3 points ahead of their closest threat being Washington, who also faces off tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.  On the Isles side of things, they are coming off of back to back wins over the weekend as they defeated the Kings and the Minnesota Wild.  Barry Trotz has fueled the fire that is the New York Islanders with his unique approach to coaching.  The Islanders players have completely bought in and for good reason.  Anders-Lee contributing has been helping to carry the Islanders along with Matt Barzal.  Not only has the Islanders offense been a force to reckon with, but their defense and goaltending has been nothing short of immaculate.  In-between the pipes tonight for the Islanders will be Robin Lenner, (unconfirmed).  Lenner comes into this evenings action with a record of 17-8-4 and a save % of 0.93%.  On the other side of the ice the Buffalo Sabres come in with a record of 27-21-7 tallying 61 points which is good enough for 4th in their respected division.  Although the Sabres have had their ups and downs this season they've got some pretty good talent on the roster. Which includes, Jack Eickel and Jeff Skinner.  The Islanders will certainly have to watch out for those two.  As long as the Islanders stick to Trotzs' game plan, the good times should keep rolling!!  Goodbye for now Islander faithful, and well see you at 7pm sharp from Buffalo!!  MSG+2 will be carrying the game, GO IsLES!!!!!!!

Islanders heading to Bean town

Hello there NY Islander fans!!!! I am coming to you live from the Boston Garden where the Islanders  continue their pursuit of the Stanley Cup!! Coming into tomorrow’s action the Islanders currently sit atop the Metropolitan division with 66 points and an overall record of 30-15-6.  Who would have thought that at this juncture in the season that the young up and coming islanders would have a firm handle on 1st place with a 5 point lead over their biggest threat in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Okay, coming into tomorrow’s action the Islanders are fresh off a 4-2 victory over the LA Kings. The Islanders offense keeps rolling along. Meanwhile, the Islanders next opponent the B’s are coming off a very impressive 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals and are sporting a 28-17-7 record tallying 63 points thus far. They’re gonna look to keep it moving as goaltender Tuka Rask is fresh off a shutout.  The matchups to keep an eye on are Anders-Lee of the Islanders and Brad Marchand of Boston as well as Patrice  Bergeron  and Matt Barzel from their respected teams. That’s all for now, we will see you tomorrow with the action on MSG+2  as the Islanders look to further assert themselves as Stanley Cup contenders.