Mike and Dan come out of the NHL All Star Break with no idea how the Islanders will fare in the crucial next few games and with an epic edition of Master Leaf Theatre. While the team was on break (sans Mathew Barzal, who was part of the winning All Star team), Lou Lamoriello was making moves, including (officially) hiring Patrick Roy's new assistant coach, waiving frustrating forward Julien Gauthier and activating both Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, who might be in the lineup on Monday in...

Mike and Dan catch up with NHL.com editor and all around Islanders luminary Brian Compton and remember Michael Dal Colle, a high first round pick who took the long road to become a fine defensive forward. With a pedigree that included bushels of goals and a Memorial Cup, Dal Colle seemed like the perfect pick for the still building Islanders. But before he could take his place on John Tavares’s wing, the young forward would experience a series of demoralizing setbacks. Whether it was...

With a bye week for the Islanders looming, Mike and Dan look at a potpourri of topics including more irritating losses, small strides and the team's big picture outlook. New coach Patrick Roy is trying to get his players on the same page, but hasn't had much time. And so many of the problems that plagued his predecessor are still costing the Islanders points. With a tough but not insurmountable deficit staring at them when they resume play, it makes us wonder about both the present and the...

Mike and Dan recap the first game of the Islanders' Patrick Roy experience, and reflect on some of the bigger stories at play in this new era. While their 3-2 overtime win over Dallas featured a lot of the same mistakes they've been making all season (as well as a fantastic game-winning goal by Bo Horvat), there was a noticeable uptick in energy. That might be just players trying to make a good first impression, but with post game comments from both them and the new coach, it's hard not to be...

Mike is back from Mexico, Lane Lambert is finally out and Patrick Roy is the Islanders' new coach. We try to unpack it all in a special emergency episode. After a dreadful, dreary loss in overtime a barely AHL-quality Blackhawks squad and some pointed comments afterward, Lou Lamoriello finally decided that his team needed a new voice. So on a Saturday afternoon, he decided to not only pull the trigger but bring in a big name that's spent years in Junior after a short, mixed NHL coaching...

Joined by producer and podcaster Tyler Gildin, we remember forward Peter Regin, who came to Long Island to play with his countryman Frans Nielsen and left soon in a deal that quietly remade a few teams. Signed as a budget free agent with a small chance of upside, Regin started the 2013-14 season with a great goal and high hopes, then quickly went cold for months. Even depth and good vibes seemed too much to ask from him, and he faded into the background of a disappointing team going nowhere....

Dan is joined by Nassaumen Hockey podcast co-host Jon Zella to recap a week of ugly losses and thrilling wins with the Islanders still missing something halfway through the season. In a complete loss to the Canucks and a gut-wrenching last second defeat in Nashville, the Islanders showed the problems of inconsistency and undisciplined play still haven't gone away. Whether it's never checking into a game against a good team or throwing away a game against a beatable one, they continue to...

Mike and Dan recap missed opportunities on a Southwestern road trip, look ahead to an annoying week and make a MONUMENTAL ANNOUNCEMENT. In an overtime loss in Denver and a collapse in Las Vegas, the Islanders left points on the table with self-inflicted wounds, which has become a hallmark of the season. A full marks win in Arizona felt great, but the team continues to be plagued by the same issues week after week. And no amount of complaining to the refs is going to change it. They need more...

Along with Skates at the Stakes podcast host AJ DeVito, Mike and Dan remember Tom Kuhnhackl, a depth winger capable of unforgettable goals and non-goals alike. Coming over as a free agent in the first year under Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, Kuhnhackl provided the Islanders with the kind of no frills veteran experience they didn't always have before. And in the Islanders' first playoff series Game 1 at home in many years, Kuhnhackl blew the roof off of Nassau Coliseum with a goal... that...

On the first day of 2024, Mike and Dan recap two losses to Pittsburgh and one complete win over Washington, which left the Islanders in a precarious place as they head out west. Despite the fanbase (aka "us") brimming with confidence going into their games against the Penguins, the Islanders fell on their faces both times - once in a 7-0 disaster and again in a 3-1 loss featuring a number of strange coaching decisions. A feel good victory over the Caps was one step forward, but the team keeps...

Mike and Dan recap a productive Christmas week for the Islanders and reflect on how they keep picking points despite significant injuries. With wins over the Oilers and Hurricanes and an overtime loss to the Capitals, the Islanders put some distance between themselves and some Metro rivals, and took tentative control of second place in the division. Still without minute munchers Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield, several have stepped up to make the Islanders defense work well enough...

Joined by longtime Lighthouse Hockey contributor Travis Flynn, a.k.a. North Dakota Red Eagle, Mike and Dan remember Cliff Ronning, a star player who, against all odds, ended up an Islander for half a season. Thanks to great seasons in Vancouver, Phoenix, Nashville and a number of other cities (and one iconic video game), Ronning had built a cult following around his speedy, shifty game and knack for big goals. But after a run to the conference finals with the Minnesota Wild in 2003, Ronning...

Mike and Dan recap an eventful week of four games with highs, lows, history and heroics that kept the Islanders in the fight in the Metro. Each game could have been its own podcast, but we take an overview of where the team is after 30 games and how they got here - both good and bad. While some players have emerged as better than expected, others are showing why they're not ready for Prime Time. And with big games against close division rivals on the horizon, it's on the Islanders to fix the...

In a short bonus clip, Mike and Dan answer questions from Patrons. Sign up for our Country Club tier to hear more Monthly Mail Bag podcasts and receive other exclusives. This month, we cover the Islanders' overtime win over the Maple Leafs and the avalanche of booing that ensued (directed at one particular player), as well as what to actually make of this crazy team, whether they should trade their first rounder for help near the deadline or whether a rebuild should have been considered. We...

Mike and Dan recap the Islanders' two big wins after their disastrous loss to San Jose, and prepare for a tough week against the Leafs, Ducks, Bruins and Habs. In beating the Blue Jackets and Kings, the latter of whom was on a record-setting 11-game road winning streak, the Islanders reversed their trend of blowing leads late, taking over each game in the third period. The wins also revived the fortunes of Anders Lee, JG Pageau and Sam Bolduc, all of whom had seen their share of criticisms...

Joined by Marc Sabourin, aka Sab, aka the creator of one of the best Islanders channels on YouTube, Mike and Dan remember goalie Kevin Poulin, who played less and won more internationally than most realize. Poulin was pressed into duty on multiple iterations of the Islanders, few of them good. But he was capable of having outstanding games and standing on his head trying to keep the often undermanned or unstructured Isles afloat. After six seasons, many injuries, and a run-in with a future...

The title is meant to be ironic. We have plenty of words to describe the Islanders' latest third period disasterpiece, a 5-4 OT loss to the San Jose Sharks that's left everyone angry and beyond frustrated. Their 11th blown third period lead of the season is just the tip of the iceberg. Careless play, inexplicable coaching and another joyless experience have us wondering how much more we can possibly take of this iteration of the Islanders. There's plenty of blame to go around so we had to get...

Getting Mathew Barzal to Long Island took a long series of moves, hubris and dumb luck, and his start as an NHL player was delayed by a couple of seasons. But once he got his chance on an Islanders team on shaky ground on and off the ice, Barzal fulfilled the promise of his sparkling junior hockey days and showed that his inherent cockiness was both warranted and a major part of his game. While Barzal was the only consistent player on the roster, the Islanders were seemingly falling apart at...

Mike and Dan react to a wild week in which the Islanders won two of three on the road despite continuing their bad habits. Listen for a few important announcements as well. After an excruciating, infuriating last second loss in New Jersey, the Islanders faced daunting games in Raleigh and Sunrise. They won both while still coughing up leads, failing to clear their own zone and generally playing like assholes. The points kept them afloat in the Eastern Conference, but remind the guys of other...

So far in this series, we’ve seen Denis Potvin win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie after helping transform a hapless team into something resembling a professional one. We’ve seen him rocket up the charts of the league’s best defensemen, capturing his first Norris Trophy at just 22-years-old. We’ve seen him win a second Norris after pissing off the entire hockey world, learning to open up emotionally, and climbing back to the mountaintop after a inconsistent follow-up season. Today...

Mike and Dan recap (and differ) on the Islanders last week, which saw them pick up five of six points, play a game with just four defensemen and acquire a player they advocated for years ago. Wins against the Flyers and Senators weren't perfect, but were huge nonetheless, especially considering the losses of Adam Pelech (now on long term injured reserve) and Sebastian Aho. Getting a point on a back-to-back also against Philadelphia, mainly courtesy of Ilya Sorokin, was also enormous and kept...

Joined by Gotham Sports Network founder and Giants podcaster Ethan, Mike and Dan remember Mike Comrie, who brought a lot of skill and a very famous significant other to a downtrodden Islanders club. After 30-goal seasons in Edmonton and Phoenix and a run to the Stanley Cup final with Ottawa, Comrie signed with a mercenary Islanders team looking for all the skill it could find. The forward added just that in his first season, but an injury-plagued second year spelled the end of his time on...

By winning the Calder Trophy in 1974 and the Norris in 1976, Denis Potvin had already established himself as one of the best defensemen in the NHL. That was the good news. The bad news was that his mouth and idiosyncratic disposition separated him from many of his peers and even his own teammates. An inflammatory series of diaries written during the 1976 Canada Cup tournament made many in and out of the game think of him as a petulant grouch or an outright villain. But by beginning his...

Mike and Dan try to make sense of the Islanders' bizarre road trip through Western Canada and discuss a possible change behind the bench. In eventful losses to the Oilers, Canucks and Kraken and a shootout win in Calgary, the Islanders followed similar scripts: play okay, take a lead, then disintegrate in the third period with careless penalties and all around unstructured play. While gaining four out of eight points is better than none, this team's established "insanely psychotic" way of...

Attention: This episode immediately follows the Billy Smith/Roland Melanson Jennings Trophy episode posted last week. If you have not yet, please stop this episode and listen to that one. For much of the 1982-83 regular season, the Islanders did not look like three-time defending Stanley Cup champions, let alone a team that could win the Cup again. They were old and occasionally leaky, and sometimes they seemed downright disinterested. But once the playoffs started, the “real” Islanders...