9:03 p.m. - And we're back to even strength. The Islanders are going to lose this game. They have their power play to blame for it. It's about as lifeless as DiPietro's grandmother.
Too soon?

9:04 p.m. - Satan misses the net on a terribly executed 3-on-1. It'll be a miracle if they get one goal tonight. 

9:04 p.m. (cont.) - Blake Comeau hit the post from the blue line as I wrote the last entry. Solid shift by the "kid line," but it's just not the Isles' night.

9:07 p.m. - Passing shot of the Islanders bench. Not one player looks like he knows where he is. Not exactly the attitude you want down two in a must-win game.

9:10 p.m. - Bergenheim rattles Upshall along the boards and gets two minutes for roughing. Upshall should've gotten one also, but hopefully the Flyers will put this game on ice and I can start watching the Duke-UNC game.

9:13 p.m. - My prayers are answered. Braydon Coburn scores from the point. 3-0 Flyers.

9:16 p.m. - They gave the goal to Hartnell. Oh no. Just as I went to change the channel to ESPN, the Islanders scored. Freddy Meyer's shot from the point eluded both the traffic in front and Biron. 3-1. Hm, traffic in front. I believe I've heard that before.

9:17 p.m. - Turns out the Islanders got a power play too. Upshall took a penalty after the goal for unsportsmanlike conduct. He shoved Meyer, but nothing was really necessary. Eh, he just got away with one on Bergenheim though. Interesting. Maybe the Isles aren't dead yet.

9:20 p.m. - Isles' power play fails them again. They're now 0-5 for the game.

9:21 p.m. - R.J. Umberger misses the net on another 2-on-1, his second of the game without registering a shot on goal. There should be an award given annually in his name to the NHLer who displays a knack for botching the most scoring chances over the course of the season: The R.J. Umberger Award. I like it.
Other players up for consideration: Andy Hilbert of the New York Islanders, Marcel Hossa, now with Phoenix and Michael Ryder of the Montreal Canadians. Feel free to let me know if you can think of a player worthy of consideration.

9:22 p.m. - Speaking of botched scoring chances, Patrick Thoresen just missed the net on a breakaway, but drew a penalty with 7:27 to play.

9:24 p.m. - Surprise! Flyers score again on the power play. Hartnell gets his second of the night with a nice deflection to squeeze it between DiPietro's legs. 4-1. Game, set, match.

9:25 p.m. - Thoresen just got denied on the doorstep after it looked like he hit the puck with his purse.

9:27 p.m. - I thought about changing the channel to the Duke-UNC game, but I can't watch the first half of a basketball game unless there's lots of alcohol and/or money involved. Speaking of basketball, beer and money, it is March and my favorite underdog punched their ticket to the Big Dance today for the fourth straight year. The Winthrop Eagles won the Big South conference tournament to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. You may remember them from last year, as they ousted Notre Dame in the first round of last year's tourney in a 6 vs. 11 matchup that was hardly an upset.

9:32 p.m. - 2:32 to play, and no other fights yet. Fingers are crossed. I don't expect much thought. This rivalry isn't as big as Rangers-Flyers anymore. Besides, since the Islanders traded their chief buffoon Chris Simon, who's their big enforcer now? Brendan Witt? I just laughed again. That make three so far, about 10 less than I thought I'd have by now.

9:34 p.m. - Howie Rose just hit it on the head. The Islanders look dead. They probably think their season's already over. There is no greater letdown as a fan to be able to see your team physically give up. This rag-tag group of guys whose identity was all about outworking more skilled opponents looks like they've finally thrown in the towel. Even the biggest of Islanders' haters such as myself think this is sad.

9:38 p.m. - You really don't need a post-game show after a game like this. They gave up once the Flyers scored the fourth goal. From then on, Rose and Jaffe went into painstaking detail about what went wrong with this team. Trouble is, they're just not that good. No doubt in my mind, I'm going to watch some of it anyway. I can only stay sympathetic to this team for so long. Besides, Duke-UNC is at half. What else is there to watch?

9:42 p.m. - Ooh, Ted Nolan's press conference. Who does he throw under the bus tonight?

9:44 p.m. - He praised Sean Bergenheim, but complained about the ref. Typical Nolan press conference, sans the cocky and crooked smile. He sounds as dejected as his team. Maybe even he knows it's over.

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