The Isles have played their first five games and each game has been exciting. Gordon’s aggressive forechecking style has opponents scrambling. Opening night started off with another appearance by the injury bug as John Tavares went off with a head injury in the 1st period. He ended up missing essentially the first four games. The Isles rallied from 4-2 in the 3rd to force OT and lose in the shootout. The rags came in and again the Isles came from behind, this time to win 6-4. After a tough road loss to the Caps 2-1, the boys came back from a 2-0 hole at Pittsburgh to fall in OT. Yesterday, the Isles finally took one somewhat comfortably by beating the Avs 5-2 on the island.

This group has already shown that it is a “never say die” group. A squad that can give you a solid sixty minutes. Something that could not be said of any Islander team in recent memory. The power play was 7th in the league coming into last night’s Avs game and the Isles have outshot their opponents 63-39 in 3rd periods. The real test begins Monday night against the 4-0-0 undefeated Maple Leafs up in Toronto. This will be a solid gutcheck and character builder for the team as 10 of the next 12 games are on the road. As long as they can compete and pick up points along the way, the latter half of the season will have bunches of home games and *fingers crossed* Okposo and Streit back in the fold.

Some player bulletpoints..

Josh Bailey has risen above and beyond. The young forward has looked like a grizzled veteran, showing awesome leadership qualities and an uncanny knack for knowing where his teammates are on the ice. This guy hasn’t taken a shift off and has arguably been the Isles top player.

Doug Weight looks like he has been bathing in the hot tub time machine. He’s got wheels we haven’t seen in years. An excellent choice for the captain’s “C”, Dougie has the cool calm demeanor that will be key in keeping the boys focused and relaxed during these long road stretches.

Blake Comeau is showing off his sniper skills early on. A surprisingly quick burst of speed and he has been the engineer of many odd-man breakouts. He can score the highlight reel goal and the dirty goal.

Nino Neiderreiter the 18 year old rook has already proved that he belongs. What I am impressed with most is this kid’s ability and presence of mind to get back on defense. I’ve seen a number of quick breakouts by opposing teams where Nino seemingly was caught deep in the attacking zone and BANG there he is breaking up the play! Very excited about this kid, to say the least.

Zenon Konopka hasn’t thrown down the gloves as much as I expected but, he has shown me something that I did not know he possessed and that’s his faceoff skills. Scott Gordon has called on him numerous times in must-win faceoff situations. He has even created a few scoring chances and shown that he is not just a brutish goon.

Andy MacDonald has become this writer’s favorite Islander. “Easy Mac” is as cool as the other side of the pillow. This guy just doesn’t make any mistakes. I don’t think he knows how to spell the word “turnover” and he rarely if ever, gets caught deep in the attacking zone. Andy is getting quality minutes and I wish we could clone him.

Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau have been the shakiest defensemen in my opinion. Both veterans but, they have shown a lack of speed and in Eaton’s case a lack of puck control. I don’t think the blueline situation is dire enough to have to make a trade but, with Martinek, Jurcina, MacDonald, Eaton, Mottau and Wisniewski the Isles should be able to get the minutes. I’d be interested in seeing what Calvin deHaan can do but, he’s probably better off spending the year on the farm.

Rick DiPietro has been shaky at times in the early going but, has also made some huge stops. He is our horse for better or worse and I believe that as the season wears on, he will catch his stride. Roloson has played wonderfully in his two starts versus the Caps and Avs.

Below is a video image of what James Wisniewski did to earn him a two-game suspension. It may have been a foolish thing to do but, it was against Sean Avery after all and it made him an instant fan favorite in my eyes. Welcome to the Isles Wiz, LOVE IT! Also, I’ve added a couple of pictures I took from opening night.

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