The Fifth Liners

Tyler Myers  At 24 years old, Myers is one of the few sparks that this deplorable Buffalo Sabres team has to offer. Winner of the Calder Trophy in 2010, he has so far notched up so great numbers including 42 goals and 144 points. Buffalo has a player who is coming into the prime of his career, for Myers it seems unfair that he is stranded in oblivion and on this team he is not going to get a Stanley Cup rings any time soon! The problem for the Sabres other teams presenting a trade that would be equally balanced (they will have trouble finding willing candidates). Alex Ovechkin  Three Hart Trophies and no Stanley Cups? Alex Ovechkin is possibly the most dedicated man to his continually misfiring Washington Capitals team. How on earth he has stuck like out in DC remains a bigger mystery than who killed JFK! The Caps are a team with one Stanley Cup final to their name which predates even Ovi, this season his 23 points have been about the only exciting thing at the Verizon c...

After looking like they had finally reached a break through, last season was nothing short of a disaster for the New York Islanders franchise. Mid season it looked as if GM Garth Snow had lost his mind after surprisingly trading star winger Matt Moulson to Buffalo in exchange for Thomas Vanek . Soon after Vanek became disgruntled and was then traded to Montreal! After limping across the finish line in 8th place in the Metropolitan Division, Islanders fans had only a move to the Barclays Centre to look forward to! But in the off season, a couple of moves have seen this team being pushed back into spotlight. Problem last season was that the Islanders were not a rounded team and aside from the star power of captain John Tavares and Kyle Okposo , the lower lines were not stocked with quality. In this off season alone they have in an amazing move acquired Boston D-Man Johnny Boychuk and Chicago Centre Nick Leddy who will aid both their scoring ability and will assist in adding qualit...

Last season the New York Islanders seemed to have reached a breakthrough. Speared by their main man John Tavares, they made the playoffs for the first time in over five years by finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference and they pushed Pittsburgh to six games in the playoffs first round! But so far this season it seems normal lousy service has resumed!  Currently the Islanders lie 15th in the Eastern and so far have a low 9 wins and a high 121 goals against! So what had caused this sudden drop in form? Well lack of goals hasn't been the cause, it's the lack of players scoring them! Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Frans Neilsen have been the Islanders' only really consistent players and their high points scores reflect their efforts, but the nearest player to them is Tomas Vanek with 13 points. Ah yes, that one, recently GM Garth Snow made the utterly bizarre decision to trade star winger Matt Moulson to the Buffalo Sabres for Tomas Vanek. While the hockey world sat in shock, the ...

On Sunday, New York Islanders GM Garth Snow made a shock announcement when it was reveal that Islanders future star Matt Moulson had been traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a  Tomas Vanek! Despite the Islanders going 4-4-3 so far and gaining 8 points, Snow has decided the shake the tree and this decision has left widespread shock amongs each member of the Nassau Coliseum- particularly captain John Tavares who was close friend with Moulson. Moulson has made a great star to new life in upstate New York and last night he bagged two goals on his Sabres debut in a 4-3 loss to Dallas Stars! But Islander fans have been demanding an explanation for Snow's actions, finally now the GM has broken his silence. Click here to see Snows explanation

Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere on one of Jupiter's moons, you'll know that John Tavares has been the best thing to hit the New York Islanders since Denis Potvin.  In a move that surprised nobody, Tavares was today named as the Isles' new captain. A position made vacant after Mark Streit was traded to the Flyers.  This is a pretty good move cos Tavares is a superstar. That is all. 

Ever since 1994 when the New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks over seven games to claim their first Stanley cup since 1940- glory has now been absent from the Big Apple ever since! The big question now is which team in this fine city has better shot at victory in the coming seasons as the Rangers are continually expected to push for it but their counterparts the New York Islanders have been dismissed as underdogs in previous seasons despite having more cup wins than their rivals. This question will require some big considerations as as always... Lets go to war! New York Rangers  This team is still held in high regard by many people and the Rangers are among the highest spending teams in the league. But money doesnt always guarantee success and for the Rangers this has been painfully true in recent seasons. Take for example last year when Rick Nash finally joined the team and alongside big scoring Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards, many expected this line to be the one t...

It was a big night for Alexander Ovechkin on Saturday at the NHL awards as he beat Sidney Crosby and John Tavares to claim a third Hart Memorial Trophy in 10 years! He also took home the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard scoring trophy after scoring an amazing 24 goals in his final 23 games! Sergei Bobrovsky edged out Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie- the Russian has proven to be a wall for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year but it would seem his future there is currently in doubt! Montreal Canadiens , rookie defenseman P.K Subban won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenseman in the league, his form this year has proven impressive and it would seem the Habs have an interesting prospect on the horizon. The Florida Panthers’ dire season was given a ray of light as Jonathan Huberdeau claimed the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. Sidney Crosby was awarded the Ted Lindsay trophy by his fellow profess...

The voting for the new cover man for NHL 14 continues and it seems someone must have been listening to Mike's wise words about a goalie gracing the cover as we have not one- but two potential men in net who could grace it! Hockey Fans, I give you the final contenders! Martin Brodeur Sergei Bobrovsky  Pavel Datsyuk  John Tavares Voting is still open for this better get voting on Twitter, my personal vote shall go to Brodeur, purely because he deserves a cover after all he's achieved in net! Go to NHL.com to find out how! Shame that Handzus didn't make the list though, oh well we both still love you here Michal! Mike says 'vote Datsyuk!'

The Hart Trophy names are in, here are your three candidates Sidney Crosby Alexander Ovechkin John Tavares Not a great deal of surprise here and Crosby as it stands will still be the hot favourite as he has made a remarkable comeback, though Ovechkin in a two time winner of the crown and he will be keen to make it hat trick this year! Nice to John Tavares get a mention as he has been brilliantly consistent for the Islanders this year and has been a key factor in their resurgence in form this year. The 2012-13 NHL awards will be one of the most contested of years gone by!

The New York Islanders haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1983 and when they finished 8th in the conference, I doubt any Isles fan was happy about being drawn against the Pittsburgh Penguins . Expecting a quick end to their playoff campaign. I know I did. But those plucky Islanders are determined to cost me money (I bet on the Pens winning the series) and staged a mighty comeback to draw the series again. The Islanders netted 6 times with Brian Strait , Mark Streit , Kyle Okposo , John Tavares and Casey Cizikas all lighting the lamp. 3 of the goals came in the last 16 minutes of the game. James Neal , Evgeni Malkin , Brandon Sutter and Pascal Dupuis all scored for the Penguins. Playmaker Sidney Crosby managed a single assist for his team. Is this a resurgence from the 4 time cup winning Islanders? Can the Pens' new high profile trades make the difference and fight back? Watch this space.