NHL 2008: The new look New York Islanders look to breakout this year

I love sports for many reasons.

Aside from the obvious drama of triumph and tragedy, there are the visceral aspects that assault my senses. In football, it’s the roar of the crowd; the chants, cheers, and euphoria of a ball meeting the net. In basketball, it’s the squeak of sneakers, the snap of a rim after a dunk, and the sweet sound of a ball swishing through the net. In baseball, it’s the crack of a bat, the roar of a crowd, and the sound of munching on cracker jacks and nachos. There’s even the smell of leather.

There’s another sport that captured my imagination as a child. Hockey. It’s funny because it’s way below the radar in our tropical country but it’s a sport I once played and learned at the age of 35. But I love the slap of a puck on those composite sticks, the sound of someone checking a player on the boards, the screech of skates on ice. Shrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhshhhh.

I loved the New York Islanders, the underdogs of hockey in the Empire State. Going to Nassau Veterans in Long Island; well it’s a long long trip and once you get there, clearly, the arena has seen better days. I imagine the habitués of the old Boston Garden can appreciate the place. After all, it’s on hallowed ground where the Isles won four straight Stanley Cups in the 1980’s that caught my attention as a child.

The Islanders, well, I love them and am still holding a torch for cup number five and am excited about the season to come.

This team isn’t balanced at all. Their vets are pushing 40 while the youth movement still need plenty of seasoning. But they’ll certainly be exciting to watch.

Most figure that after a fifth place finish in the Atlantic Division, they’ll stay put this year. I’m not going to let my biasness for this team get the better of me, but I figure they’ll climb to #3 in the standings.

They’ve got talented young guns in Richard Park and Kyle Okposo to help Jeff Tambelinni, Bill Guerin, Blake Comeau, Mike Comrie, and Andy Hilbert to find the back of the net. With Miroslav Satan now in Pittsburgh, the team has handed the starting right wing slot to Okposo who should get a dose of confidence. Expect him to provide scoring relief for Tambellini.

The Isles will play an uptempo offense as installed by Scott Gordon who replaced the fired Ted Nolan. Their defense right now is suspect what with Guerin, Mike Sillinger, Andy Sutton, and Chris Campoli nursing or out with injuries. General Manager Garth Snow claimed former Rangers defenseman Thomas Pock to shore up the now depleted defense line. If goal keeper Rick DiPietro isn’t ready after all those injuries the past two years, it’s going to be a long season for this team.

Unfortunately, this is one team that believes that the best defense is a fantastic offense so they acquired defenseman Mark Streit who fits the new scheme for this team is one of the best at moving the puck up on the counter. If this team gets healthy, they’ll make another post-season run.

Right now, Gordon has the Isles thinking big. "There's a huge light at the end of the tunnel, but that being said, the first step is that our team has to understand from Day 1 that you have to have the belief that you're going to win the Stanley Cup, and to do that, believe you can win every game," said Gordon, the 14^th head coach in Islanders history.

The Isles will face their tough conference neighbor the New Jersey Red Devils during the season opener on October 10.