Updated 2:30pm:
Patroit-News: Tim Leone reports the Bears have yet to announce a game one starter with some injury concerns in goal with Michal Neuvirth, but does have their projected line combination's.
Updated 7pm:
Patroit-News: Reports Braden Holtby will start game one for Hershey on Wednesday.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio had latest comments from head coach Jack Capuano, Matt Martin and Trevor Smith as they discussed the very tough series ahead.
NYIFC Comments:
Jyri Niemi needs to be signed by June 1st or he can re-enter the draft, he was fighting with tape on his hands in Saskatoon's playoffs Friday according to the Star Phoenix but the Blades were eliminated on Monday.
Quick Hits/Notables:
* For those wondering my viewpoint is New York Islander fans are not entitled to Bridgeport games at the Nassau Coliseum because Sound Tigers fans followed that team and paid for tickets all year at Harbor Yard, what happened a year ago was not acceptable on any level.
* It's going to be quite an interesting little sidebar show watching Msg forced to showcase the Devils vs Flyers after Wednesday (of course Knicks go on prime Msg over Devil playoff hockey Wednesday) with absolutely nothing else to put on television in terms of hockey or basketball, hiding them on Msg2/+2 is not going to fly and their hockey night show if it appears will have to be Devil-centric.
The Devils signed their television contract a few years ago and wanted a little more (with money) which led to that brutal Metro channel being eliminated and a fair share of Devils game on Msg prime channel. This was something apparently Isles had no control of when John Spano signed the Isles extension back in the 90's and for a while took eighteen percent of all Msg television revenue before that was renegotiated and the deal extended to 2030 here while the Garden was pushing for a more competitive New York Islander team.
* It would be great to see Bridgeport Sound Tigers game televised this weekend and you can bet the Hartford Wolfpack would be on prime Msg before the Devils if they had qualified for a game or two.
I'm going to do all I can to drive up Devil ratings because it will only enhance the message that covering all local teams equally are good for hockey and all should receive year-round with classic games/features plus anything else to help showcase hockey in a market where hockey is virtually invisible with the general public.
On the national playoff front Ed Snider/Comcast version of newly purchased NBC will not be showcasing Flyer-Devil hockey on Dick Ebersol/Sam Flood's watch in the opening round to a point even Phoenix will appear on NBC against Detroit before Martin Brodeur, Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk are showcased in a market where three teams fan bases can only inflate low hockey ratings.
Anything Canada? Comcast/NBC want no part of so no Crosby-Ottawa/Ovechkin/Montreal, not about teams or records but markets.
* Perhaps Kenny Albert if Cablevision wants him to be on television calling Islander hockey can head to Harbor Yard with Chris King? Steve Albert older fans will recall did Islander hockey on channel nine in 1980 and on the radio.
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Quick Hits:
Great stuff from Sheldon Souray of the Edmonton Oilers pulling no punches on team management Sportsnet with a disgraceful display out of Edmonton Journalhere here with their guarded/protect the Oilers management/coverage/ad revenue in Journal blaming Souray for his part and one newspaper sponsored blog suggested Souray should not have been so reckless.
NYIFC Comments:
I'm not saying who is right or wrong here but there is a point to be made.
This is why I was so critical with all the anonymous quotes/rhetoric the last few years coming out of the Islanders invisible print media. If a player or coach says something on the record it should be reported with no punches pulled. Our team is barely covered locally, however if when they are to dig up dirt when no player puts his name to it to me is just something written to stir things up.
The Edmonton Journal proved by their coverage/analysis it is nothing more than an extension of team management and the Oilers advertising department protecting the club by criticizing Souray. You can bet if this happened here those same reporters in Edmonton would be roasting Charles Wang and Garth Snow (cue the ten year history repeated and not four playoffs in six years) that was selling Eric Brewer as Ray Bourque when he was traded for Roman Hamrlik over a decade ago.
On the other side of the media fence is the outstanding work by the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Chris Vivlamore with Slava Kozlov's harsh criticism of head coach John Anderson and his staff here with the coaches response to his player here.
NYIFC Comments:
Mr Vivlamore makes it clear in his blog " I will let you decide what you think " as he posts both Kozlov/Anderson comments and gets out of the way to let both men tell their side and that is exactly the way it should be.
None of this backhanded anonymous garbage we get here from a paper that did not do twenty four interviews as this writer for Thrasher fans here did in their newspapers blog.
Great job.
* On the hockey playoff front I root more for players vs teams as we watch the countless New York Islander retrospectives on their incredible history filter into so many series story lines. I would like to see Andy Sutton, Chris Campoli or Adrian Aucoin in Phoenix who have silenced a avalanche of negative media win a cup.
On the ice I think all the Eastern Conference teams have significant weaknesses with the Devils, a sub-five hundred team for a good part of the season who did their best work decimated by injuries, who scored less goals than the Islanders and it's wide open top to bottom.
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