The boys are back in town...

FINALLY!!!....The New York Islanders are in town. I know, they may be lagging slightly behind in the standings but it will be the first time that I get to see them live this season, so I will be there with bells on. Tonight’s game will be an interesting one for sure. From the Islanders perspective, the Isles seem to be ready to start Bailey at center with Okposo and Hilbert. I will be looking forward to seeing these two youngsters together to see how they mesh. I am also primed to see Bergenheim create some havoc on the ice.

From the Senators perspective, it will be an intense one as they are on a two game losing streak and also lagging in the standings. There were quite a few blow outs at yesterday’s Senators practice...with players supposedly not putting any effort. Alfredsson busted a glass along the board and a few others got into shoving matches. After such a practice, tonight’s game will go one of two ways....a 5-0 blowout by the Sens or a 3-2 squeaker by the Isles... time will tell.

One thing is for sure, I will be there with my Isles jersey cheering them on....Let’s go Isles!!

What to do about rumours…

Hockey rumours seem to be the “soup du jour” on the net through various websites…. Innuendo simply appears to be part of the professional sports landscape in North America and I tend to not place much stock in them.

Having said all that…

Driving into work this morning while half listening to my local sports radio station (in my usual matinee fog), there was a discussion in regards to the Islanders involving the show hosts and Pierre Maguire. One of the hosts is apparently very good friends with Mike Comrie’s dad, and the host was stating that there is dissention in the room due in part to the fact that Weight and Guerin are “very” good friends with coach Gordon and that it’s causing a rift within the room...

i.e.- Comrie’s disinterested play for the most part this season…

Pierre Maguire all but confirmed this while explaining the history between Gordon, Weight and Guerin. Maguire even stated afterwards that the radio host had a very good source and should listen to it.

Needless to say, my ears tingled and my jaw simply dropped…. Could this be true??? I took the initiative to Email Chris Botta to see if he got such an impression from his extensive access to the team. His response confirmed my usual thought process towards rumours, as he stated he did not get that impression but it did not mean it was not true… Made me think that maybe he will be doing some digging on his own….Time will tell…

As most rumours, this is probably much ado about nothing, but a possible rift within the dressing room could explain why Comrie and a few others are playing like they would rather be in a Siberian prison then on the ice with an Islanders jersey this season.