New York Islanders News

Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Washington's Alex Ovechkin are once again finalists for the Hart Trophy, while John Tavares of the New York Islanders is also in the running for the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

We've had some technical hiccups over the last few days , so apologies to readers and regular commenters if things haven't worked as well.

What you see is not so much an NHL hockey player as it is a metaphor for one of the oldest debates in the sport.

The award annually honors players who are good at hockey and remarkably tolerant of tools who are not good at hockey doing stupid things to try to get such players to be less good at hockey.

Now that their season is over, the New York Islanders have time to reflect on how far the franchise has come the past few seasons.

I thought this ESPN article was awesome because of how anonymously sourced it was .

New York Islanders forward Matt Moulson, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St.

The Rangers will take on the New Jersey Devils Jan. 26 and the New York Islanders Jan.

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save as New York Islanders center Josh Bailey and right wing Kyle Okposo , of Switzerland, look on in the first period of Game 4 of their first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoffs hockey series at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

It was locker room cleanout and exit interview day on Long Island yesterday, as the players, coaches and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum maintenance crew officially closed the books on the lockout-shortened 2013 NHL season.

So the WHL's top 2013 bantam draft pick will wait a season before joining the Vancouver Giants on a permanent basis.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen and goalie Tomas Vokoun defend the crease from New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin in the second period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey series in Uniondale, N.Y., Saturday, May 11, 2013.

With the Canadiens out, EOTP takes a look at the second round of matchups, and who is likely to inch closer to the Stanley Cup finals.

Apr 26, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; New York Islanders center John Tavares during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center.

For all the accolades the New York Islanders received during their first-round series with heavily favored Pittsburgh, the one area of their game that didn't shine was goaltending.

There are two Games 7 in the Eastern Conference tonight in the NHL, but as quickly as those commence the second round will begin.

That statement is not surprising to anyone. What was surprising was how the series played out.

The New York Islanders were eliminated from the first playoff appearance in quite some time over the weekend, falling in Game 6 to the Pittsburgh Penguins .

The Old Barn was thirsty, and the young team was ready to give them something to cheer for.

PHT's Morning Skate takes a look around the world of hockey to see what's happening and what we'll be talking about around the NHL world and beyond.