Isles opener a thrilling contest

It's only Game 1 and it resulted in a loss, but the Islanders put on a good show for opening night at the Coliseum.

John Tavares had a heck of a debut, scoring his first career NHL goal and recording his first assist. He also missed a key breakaway, flubbed a shot in the sudden death shootout and whiffed on two shots from the left flank on power play situations. The good thing is that he was able to get himself in those situations and through time, he'll make good on those opportunities.

The crowd was electric - more so than any other regular season game at the Coliseum in the last five years. That was expected.

As for the game, no one was expecting the Islanders to pull out a win, but for most of the contest- all while surprisingly being out shot - it seemed like they were going to prevail. But just when the win started to sink in, with 3:45 left the Penguins scored to tie it at 3. And so it goes, the Islanders will have a long season as always. It might not be as bad as last year, but don't expect fireworks.

On a positive note, Kyle Okposo looked great - no signs of a concussion from two weeks ago. The team's physicality was remarkable, especially after many ripped the organization for not going after tough guys in the off-season. There were two fights, two scrums that were almost fights and numerous big hits from Islanders.

During the game I got an email from the organization saying weekend game tickets are buy one, get one free for the first half of the season (Only if you received this special email). I don't know if that's a good thing to see, or not, but if every game was like last night's I'll be happy.

The Lighthouse

Charles Wang announced that he'll be looking into other options for the Islanders, officially after not hearing by the October 3 deadline about the Lighthouse Project. Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray said she will be having a discussion with Wang on Monday afternoon to talk about amending the proposed plan. Wang was not happy and 2015 could be the last year of the Islanders if something doesn't change drastically.

Isles add scoring threat

With the season starting very soon, the Islanders, lacking in all categories but in goal, decided to add a scoring threat to the roster.

They claimed former first round draft pick Rob Schremp off waivers from the Oilers yesterday. Schremp, 23, was chosen in the 2004 draft, but has never made the big club's roster. In junior hockey, he was a major offensive threat and the Islanders are hoping he can turn his game around.

"He's a highly skilled, offensively gifted player with great vision. He's at an age where he is still maturing as a hockey player and a person, so there's upside there for our organization," Islanders general manager Garth Snow told Newsday. "To take a chance on a player like this, it seemed like it was a no-brainer to claim Rob."

"It's exciting. It's a new situation and I can't wait to get back on the ice," Schremp said by phone to Newsday. "I'm not expecting anything. I'm going in with open arms and am ready to learn. I just want to stick around and see what happens."

During his final season in the OHL (2005-06), Schremp scored 145 points in 57 games. Don't expect him to put up those numbers in the NHL - or anywhere near them - but he is in a fresh situation on a beautiful island that seems ready for some strong hockey.

(Photo courtesy NHL)

Isles weak by NHL.com preview standards

The NHL.com staff has been previewing teams for the past couple of weeks and when it came time for the Islanders to get some love - they got anything but that. Could you expect less? No, because that's how bad they really are.

The Isles were almost dead last in all major offensive categories in the Eastern Conference last season. Writing previews that hold John Taveres on a pedestal is nice for the fans, giving them hope for the future, but will he really make a difference? Let's hope so Islanders faithful.

The Canadian scoring prodigy, who broke Gretzky's records at one point in junior hockey, has the weight of the world on him - and that's no pun since Doug Weight has been his mentor with the Isles through training camp.

The Isles need to improve on face-off percentage, road wins, defensive scoring, power play and penalty kill efficiency, and just about everything in between. With thousands of tickets still available for the season-opener this Saturday against the Penguins, nothing has really changed on the island. The Lighthouse hasn't been agreed upon, the Islanders are still the bottom-feeders of the NHL and John Tavares hasn't done anything yet. Call me a pessimist or feel the pain of being an Islanders fan. Maybe things will change on Saturday.

(Photo from FanHouse)

The tale of three goalies

Most Islanders fans are anxious to see what will happen with the goaltending situation this season. Rick Dipietro, the first overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft, and a fan favorite on the island, has been plagued by injuries conveniently after signing a record 15-year, $67.5 million contract in 2006. General manager Garth Snow - a former Islanders goalie himself - brought in two viable candidates to fill the spot between the posts until Dipietro can actually play consistently. It is unknown when he'll be back full-time after rehabbing his knee.

For insurance, Snow brought in Martin Biron, 32, and Dwayne Roloson, 39. Biron is 199-162 in 12 NHL seasons and sports an impressive 2.59 career Goals Against Average (GAA). He played for Buffalo from 1995-2007 and Philly from part of the 2006-2007 season until last year. Roloson is 167-198 since he broke into the league in 1996 with Calgary. He's played for the Flames, Sabres, Blues, Wild and most recently the Oilers and has a career GAA of 2.62.

Both goalies will help answer any questions about depth at the position and give the team a much-needed veteran presence in the locker room and on the ice. Dipietro or not, the Islanders will be set in net.

(Photos courtesy NYI: Biron (l.), Roloson (r.))

Journeyman Sillinger retires

Mike Sillinger is the epitome of the journeyman hockey player. Last week, Sillinger, after 17 seasons in the NHL, retired. He played 141 games with the Islanders and finished his career on the island.

He was drafted by the Red Wings back in 1989 and played with a record 12 teams: Anaheim, Vancouver, Philly, Tampa, Florida, Ottawa, Columbus, Phoenix, St. Louis, Nashville and New York. He played in 1,049 games, scored 240 goals and assisted on 308 others.

Had the Islanders not been in such a devastating state, his final seasons in the league may have been more fruitful, but that was not the case.

(Photo Courtesy Islanders)

Isles send out game operations survey

If you subscribe to the Islanders Insider email service - which rarely sends interesting emails - this week you got a note asking you to fill out a "game operations" survey. So, here are the questions and my answers to each one:

They are rated on a scale of 1-5 (1 being very dissatisfied and 5 being very satisfied).

1. The music played at Islanders games, such as warm-up music, songs on whistles, audio prompts, and pump-up songs: I said 4, which is satisfied. It's fine. The experience is good because it's a hockey game of NHL quality. It's not mind-blowing and I've seen better, but it is sufficient.

2. The quality and frequency of the live organ: I said 3, neutral. It's good, but I could always use a little more. I was at Citi Field for a Mets game the other day and the organist was amazing, playing 70s and 80s songs with the natural organ flair. We need more of that at the Nassau Coliseum.

3. The intermission t-shirt giveaways, such as the t-shirt guns and the 12-barrel gatling cannon: I said 2. Once again, just fine. I just caught a t-shirt in the Pepsi Porch upperdeck area of Citi Field's right field. It was a real blast from the on-field gun. The Coliseum Ice Girls, who are responsible for the t-shirt throws, need to bring more shirts, take bigger blasts and spread the wealth. People love swag, especially after paying the disgustingly high prices for tickets nowadays.

4. The 1st intermission Ball Blaster cannon: I said 3. Why? Because I don't even know what this is. This means get rid of it. There is no need for ball blasting in the NHL - or anywhere for that matter.

5. The usage, quality, and frequency of replays on the video board: 5. I always enjoy a good replay and the Coliseum staff is usually on the mark with their visualization queues.

6. The pre-game opening sequence, from the Ice Girls with Islanders flags to the open video, to the National Anthem with the giant American flag: 5. This is good. They could pick better people to sing the National Anthem sometimes, but of the 41 home games almost each one features someone decent.

7. In-arena host, Rich Barrabi, and the pre-game and intermission game analysis and player interviews: 3. I'm only neutral because C.J. Papa did the in-game video interviews for the last two seasons and rumor has it that he is no longer with the team. So, I need to see Rich a little more before I got and give him a 4 or 5.

8. The usage and frequency of noise meters, noise prompts, and the general atmosphere at Islanders games: 4. The meters are used enough. I could care less about what they say. For years, crowds were able to make noise and be sufficient without an electronic meter on a fancy scoreboard telling us that the crowd is cheering loud. That's what my ears are used for.

9. The exposure of the NHL out-of-town scores and the NHL highlights shown pre-game and during both intermissions on the video board: 5. This has gotten better in recent years with various smaller video boards being placed around the Coliseum.

10. The intermission on-ice games, such as the Human Puck Shoot, Nathan's Hot Dog Race, and the American Airlines' Fly Away game: 2. Generally, people are interested, but I'm not. It's the same stuff over and over again, every game, for years. I really want to see something new and fresh. These events are not major parts of the Coliseum or Islanders culture - they're just space fillers that no one cares about.

11. The Kid's Day game experience and the NHL and local mascots in attendance: 2. I've never seen "local mascots" at an Islanders game. I've seen the Islanders' sorry excuse for a mascot - Sparky the Dragon - but nothing else. I also don't see much for kids to do.

12. The in-game texting features, such as text-2-screen, pix-2-screen, and the second intermission song poll: 2. I've tried this feature - both good and bad texts, but have never had one appear on the screen. Sometimes, I feel like it's all an intricate way the team can get money from the phone companies. So many of the texts keep reappearing from time to time, like it never was meant to add new texts in the first place.

13. The in-game trivia contests, such as Tongue Twister Trivia, Hollywood Line Trivia, and Name That Islander: 5. Half the time an average fan gets an easy question and still manages to screw it up.

14. The overall Islanders game entertainment experience: 3. Maybe I am being generous with a 3, but the Islanders and everything about the organization is really anything but top-notch. Things should be different this season with John Tavares on the ice and a core of solid goal tenders (we'll get to them in the weeks to come), but in recent years I have not had much enthusiasm to attend games.

Good job by the organization to ask these survey questions, but let's see if the answers die-hard fans provide actually help change policy.

Anxiously waiting for NHL season to start

How many of you are anxiously waiting for the new hockey season to begin? Maybe it's just me because my beloved Mets are God-awful and the boys of summer from Queens just don't cut it anymore. Perhaps it's the desire to see John Tavares suit up for the Isles and bring some credibility back to the ice (the Draft Party was amazing by the way). Perhaps it's the uneasy tension from the Lighthouse situation - with the ever-so-possible idea of the Islanders actually moving off Long Island - to Kansas of all places?!

There are so many on-ice and off-ice situations plaguing the organization that it creates for some interesting story lines. Through it all, the true die-hard Islanders fans have stuck by their team and will continue to do so, no matter what.

With that, I will try and give my honest opinion about the Islanders with this blog. I will bring a citizenly report on all the happenings of the team. It helps that I am a sportswriter from Long Island and have connections to the team, but will still be objective as much as possible.