Stan Fischler & Captain Michael Peca @MSGNetworks When -- during the 1960's -- Punch Imlach was leading his Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups in seven years, one of his deathless quotes was, "The 'real' season begins in January.. A good 60 years later -- meaning NOW -- the season that Punch was pontificating about starts tonight in Elmont when Sidney Crosby leads his Penguins into UBS Center. Islanders Play Penguins At this time last year, the Isles had begun to eliminate eight teams to get to the postseason. That was accomplished at the eleventh hour, but the point is they made it! Guaranteed, it won't be easy this time around. That explains why beating Pitt tonight and Washington on Friday night rates in the "Very Good Idea" category because, as Punch so aptly put it, the real season starts now! ISLES NOTES: * The revitalized Noah Dobson has moved into an MVP category on defense; there's no question about that. A Norris Trophy is not out of the question. * Moving forward, the question comes down to The Dobber's ability to sustain an average of 27 minutes of playing time per game. * And that's conditioned on the return -- whenever, since no one but the high command knows -- of Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, and Ryan Pulock. * In the meantime, we can be grateful that newcomers Mike Reilly and Robert Bortuzzo have so smoothly adjusted to the Lane Lambert defense system. Kudos to both. * That said, the D-Corps overall needs tightening so that those nerve-wracking third-period finishes can be less wracking and more easily winning. * Overlooked in the successful run so far has been the excellent shot-blocking up and down the line by the blueliners and forwards. * Both Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov will second that motion in English and Russian; take your pick * Definition of a captain playing like a CAPTAIN=Anders Lee, * The Maven's personal guess -- based on no prior knowledge -- is that Zach Parise's return to the roster will depend on need. * This is another way of saying that it could be in a week, a month, or not at all. * The ascent of Simon Holmstrom as a scoring penalty-killer has to be the biggest surprise of all the splendid scoring that's come over the team. * I'm banking on Alexander Romanov having a super second-half season. * While I hate to see old pal-great-team-guy Matt Martin sitting in the press box, it's refreshing that Hudson Fasching has played well enough to gain a spot on the Identity Line. * Not to worry, Double M will be back because he still has the goods. * Pitt has "The Goods," too, because Sidney Crosby is playing well enough to win the Hart Trophy. * Mike Sullivan still knows how to coach, and Erik Karlsson has been a good get for new boss Kyle Dubas. * So why are the Penguins trailing the Isles? (Though Not by much.) So far, the answer is a lack of depth beyond Gino, Rust, and Jake. * Definition of the Met Division race=A magnificent melee. TOP STORIES
