Ah the sad existence that is being a fan of the New York Islanders.

It’s really tough when the only thing (and I mean ONLY thing) to get excited about regarding the upcoming season is the signing of 2 players who can fight (Zenon Konopka and Jeremy Yablonsky) in addition to fighter Trevor Gilles (who can be seen in that previous clip fighting Yablonsky).  This turn of physical events is exciting to me because I’m tired of seeing players smaller than I am constantly getting tossed around on the ice like a bunch of wimpy Canadian rag dolls lol – I’d love to see a 4th line of Konopka between Yablonsky and Gilles, and apparently so does Konopka.  This will make Islander Rangers games what they are supposed to be – tough – physical – and once again entertaining.

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How a 23 win team that is in the midst of a 5 game losing streak can still be in great playoff positioning on February 3rd is beyond my realm of belief.  So it goes in the “New NHL.”  I’ve always been against “loser points” that award a team that loses in overtime a point in the standings, as well as losing in a shoot-out (skills-competition).  I’m sorry, this isn’t kindergarten . . . you shouldn’t get anything for losing in a professional sport (except an earful from the coaching staff).  However, as an Islander fan, it is the loser point that has actually given this team some hope early on in their rebuild process (for those that think Tavares was anything close to the final piece, get real – the rebuilding is far from done).  Besides the loser point, however, and maybe more importantly, is that the teams directly around the Islanders in the Eastern Conference standings simply aren’t that good (that’s right, I’m talking about YOU New York Rangers!  YOU SUCK!).

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