The New York Islanders have their 54th home opener tonight, and some of you remember all 54 which means some of you (g’morning, Rick!) are really freaking old.
(I myself am a spring chicken, so I categorically deny pining for the days when there were rectangular goal creases and no ads on the boards, much less the ice, the glass, the jerseys and your iris once Alexa detects you are watching the game instead of staring at your betting* app.)
As the Isles look to rebound from an opening loss in what
is expected by many to be a pretty, pretty, not-so-good season, their official site touts new lines and new experiences at the arena. But what, really, can be a better game-watching experience than being interrupted* eight times to consider what the odds and payoff is for correctly guessing which team will score more than 2.5 goals?
Investing your emotions in who wins a sporting match is inherently silly, we know this — so why not also invest money, too? (Sorry, again. After a summer of blissful freedom from sports gambling ads, I’m bracing myself for the onslaught, as somebody left the gate open.)
The Islanders host the Devils and a Very Sensitive Jack Hughes tonight for their opener. First Islanders Goal picks go here. And remember, the beauty of our FIG contest is there won’t be any money, but for the winner, on your death bed you will receive total consciousness…which is nice.
Islanders News
- Peter DeBoer wants the Casey Cizikas line to play hockey, not just to bang and try to stir piles of Avery up for 10 minutes a night. Bless his heart. [Newsday]
- They changed their lines up a bit and, huh, Brayden Schenn is still not a center? Interesting, if only someone could’ve told them that at the trade deadline. [Isles]
- On-site experiences this year at Belmont: New this, new that, and lots of things with sponsor names on them. They also have the schedule for the as-yet-unreleased “hometown remix” jersey, Bossy help us. [Isles]
- Ilya Sorokin was gracious about his buddy Igor scoring a true goalie goal. [Post]
Elsewhere
Five games in the NHL last night, including the Capitals and Smurfs winning.
- Anders Lee scored in his Utah debut. [NHL]
- Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but there may be goaltending concerns in Edmonton. [Sportsnet]
- The Rangers have already played three games, one of them benefitting from the toxic atmosphere in Detroit. [Post]
