Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Reaves isn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about his former team.

For the first time since being traded in November by the New York Rangers, the soon-to-be 36-year-old will face the Blueshirts tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

While Reaves was a popular player in the Rangers’ locker room, he wasn’t too happy about the lack of transparency the front office showed when he was scratched.

He claimed that the original six franchises shopped him before he insisted on being traded.

“I talked to my agent and he found out that there was a trade that was being worked on for a while already with Minnesota,” Reaves said.

“If you’re trying to trade me, you don’t want me, so then I’m going to push it forward and ask for a trade. But I’m not the one who put it in motion, we’ll put it that way.”

But Reaves didn’t stop there and said he would be “happy to go 2-on-1” with his former teammates.

He added, “That’s what it’s gonna take. You can write that wherever you want to write it.”

Throughout Reaves’ NHL career, he has made a living as a big 4th line player, who is recognized for working hard and dropping the mitts when he needs to.

He is also recognized for his off-ice personality.

While some argue the Rangers gave up too much to get him (a third-round draft pick), he helped build a new identity that helped the team get back in the playoffs following a rebuild.

But his time in New York was short-lived, as he was no longer needed with the team back as post-season contenders and other players have outperformed him.

Last year, Reaves played 69 games with the Rangers, registering 13 points and 43 penalty minutes.

This time, the Wild will hope the Winnipeg, Canadian native will help give the team some energy down the line as it looks poised to make the playoffs again.

The Wild currently sit in third place in the Central Division with 47 points.

But Reaves’ comments today could set the stage for interesting theatrics for the game.

The Rangers and Wild tonight can be watched on ESPN+ or locally on Bally Sports North and MSG Network.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter by a jury on Tuesday afternoon. He was convicted based on his actions and role in the murder of George Floyd last year outside a convenience store.

After 10.5 hours of deliberation over a two-day period, the jury rendered its verdict. Chauvin faces a 40-year maximum sentence for the second-degree unintentional murder conviction, a 25-year sentence for third-degree murder and a 10-year sentence for second-degree manslaughter. The former police officer’s bail was revoked, and he will be officially sentenced in eight weeks.

Floyd’s death in the May of 2020 sparked a massive movement. The death of Floyd, who was Black, and the video that showed a white cop kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes was excruciating and painful to watch. Anyone who watched that video literally watched a murder. However, the moment also became a turning point in the United States. It sparked a racial and social justice movement, with athletes and influential people in the sports world speaking up more than usual.

“One year ago, George Floyd was murdered, causing unimaginable pain and trauma for his family, the Minneapolis community, and communities across the nation,” the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx said in a joint statement. “Our deepest thoughts have been with the Floyd family since this unjust tragedy. Throughout our history, racial and social inequalities have been ingrained in our society.

“We are hopeful that today’s decision will serve as a step forward, but it does not ease the physical and emotional pain that continues in an environment where systemic racism exists.”

The Wolves dedicated Tuesday night’s game ball to Floyd’s family, according to Minnesota’s small forward Josh Okogie.

Floyd’s death prompted athletes to speak up about social and racial injustice. Former NBA player Stephen Jackson traveled to Minnesota last summer the week that Floyd was murdered. Jackson had been a long-time friend of Floyd. “I’m hurt, I’m angry, but I ain’t scared,” Jackson said during a very moving speech with Okogie and fellow T-Wolves player Karl-Anthony Towns by his side.

After such an emotional roller coaster, many believe that justice has finally been served. On Tuesday, LeBron James tweeted one simple world: “ACCOUNTABILITY.”

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association issued a joint statement Tuesday. “We are pleased that justice appears to have been served” while also adding that “there is much work to be done.” The WNBA said the verdict was “a step toward justice.”

Atlanta Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan expressed doubts about whether his Hawks would have even suited up against the Magic Tuesday night had the verdict been different.

“We, as a league, we really didn’t know if we were going to play this game,” McMillan said. “I feel that the jury did their jobs. You got to hold everybody accountable for their actions. The jury found him guilty on all three charges. I thought they did their jobs.”

Individuals and representatives of teams and leagues spoke out about Tuesday’s verdict all over social media.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered when Minneapolis police officers responded to a call about a possible forgery at a convenience store. As officers tried to place Floyd under arrest and place him in the squad car, he tried to tell them that he was claustrophobic. That is when he ended up face-down in the street, handcuffed, with a white police officer’s knee on the back of his neck.

“I can’t breathe,” was muttered multiple times by Floyd before eventually going limp. Floyd was then taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was 46 years old.

Hopefully Chauvin’s trial provided the much-needed closure that our nation deserves.

Paul Fenton‘s short-lived stint as the Minnesota Wild general manger ended abruptly this week, as the team asked him to clean out his office after hiring him just over a year ago.

“Our organization and our culture were a little different than the way Paul wanted to handle things. We just felt this was the time to do it,” said owner Craig Leipold. The team owner went on to call Fenton a “bad fit” and insisted that the his visions simply contradicted the future that Leipold himself saw for the team.

When Fenton initially replaced former GM Chuck Fletcher, Leipold admitted a strategy involving a commitment to competing for a championship, rather than tearing things down and entering a full rebuild. Fenton’s hiring came to hopefully bump the team up a notch into contention. However, Fenton failed to make the small changes that Minnesota’s owners envisioned.

Most notably, Fenton failed to make any major trades to benefit the team. Both forwards acquired under Fenton, Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala, essentially failed to elevate the team’s play, as the Wild missed the playoffs. In his final move as general manager, Fenton signed longtime New York Ranger Mats Zuccarello to a questionable five-year, $30 million contract with a no–trade clause attached.

IN MEMORIAM: SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

However, Leipold assured the public that these issues failed to factor into this decision regarding Fenton’s firing. Leipold stated, “It was the other portion of being a general manager, the organizational part, the strategic part, the management of people, the hiring and motivating of the departments.”

For now, the team’s assistant GM, Tom Kurves, plans to serve as interim general manger. Leipold mentioned no timetable for the team to elect a new, permanent general manager.

Both the younger players and the veterans of the Detroit Red Wings displayed great skill in Thursday’s home opening 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

NHL Opening Night games scores

The game marked the Wings’ first contest at the new $863 million Little Caesars Arena, and former defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom made an appearance for the ceremonial puck drop.

Anthony Mantha scored the team’s first goal at the venue, and Dylan Larkin netted 23 seconds later. Captain Henrik Zetterberg and Czech winger Martin Frk also scored.

Meanwhile, the New York Rangers suffered a 4-2 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche in their opener on Thursday. Mika Zibanejad scored both goals — both on power plays in the last 2:30 of the first period — for New York, which blew several late chances.

“I think honestly on most nights if we make some of those mistakes that we did tonight, we will be on the wrong side of things,” said defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who was making his debut with the Rangers after one season with the Washington Capitals. “I think we saw firsthand the level of play was much higher than it was in the preseason. They came out to play. We fed into what they do well — transition hockey, making skilled plays. They are a fast team and we just kind of fed them in the wrong areas and they were able to capitalize.”

The Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4, the Boston Bruins beat the Nashville Predators 4-3, and the Chicago Blackhawks thrashed the Pittsburgh Penguins 10-1.

The Islanders visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for their season opener on Friday at 7 pm EST.

The brand-new Vegas Golden Knights will visit the Dallas Stars on Friday at 8:30 pm EST for their opener.

DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 5: Nick Jensen #3 of the Detroit Red Wings clears the puck under pressure from Daniel Winnik #26 of the Minnesota Wild during the third period at Little Caesars Arena on October 5, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Red Wings defeated the Wild 4-2. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Anaheim Ducks center Antoine Vermette was ejected from his team’s 1-0 road victory against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night for an abuse of an official.

Ducks Center Antoine Vermette Ejected, Suspended 10 Games For Slashing Official

Vermette, 34, slashed lineman Shandor Alphonso in the leg after losing a face-off at 7:33 of the third period to draw a 10-minute penalty for game misconduct.

It’s not completely clear how severe the slashing was from the video, although it was noticeable enough for officials to toss Vermette from the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zN-V-hZ_x8

The Canadian star could face further punishment.

According to NHL Rule 40.3, deliberately applying physical force to an official in any way results in an automatic 10-game suspension.

Per TSN’s Bob McKenzie, this ban has already been handed down to Vermette, while Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist is attending a hearing for hitting Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon in the face with his stick earlier this week. McKenzie added that Vermette could appeal his suspension, which would be given by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Anthony DeAngelo of the Arizona Coyotes already received a three-game suspension earlier this season for abuse of an official.

Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman was suspended 20 games for the same reason last season, after cross-checking a referee on his way back to the bench. Wideman’s suspension was later reduced to 10 games through an appeal.

In his first season with the Ducks, Vermette has eight goals and 14 assists in 57 games. The 13th-year NHL veteran was a critical member of the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2015 playoff run.

The Ducks next host the Florida Panthers on Friday.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 16: Antoine Vermette #50 of the Anaheim Ducks skates against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on October 16, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Ducks 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has offered Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist an in-person hearing following his high-stick on Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon.

Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist High-Sticks Wilds’ Jared Spurgeon In the Face

The vicious hit came with 5:49 remaining int the first period of the Wild’s 6-3 home win on Sunday. It all began with a scramble for the puck along the boards. Scurgeon hit Nyquist with a cross-check from behind into the boards, and the Detroit forward– understandably unhappy– retaliated by flinging his stick up and whacking Scurgeon straight in the face with the blade.

The Minnesota defenseman instantly fell to the ice, and a scuffle between the two teams quickly ensued that led officials to join the melee to break opponents up.

Spurgeon got a few stitches and returned to the game just minutes later. Nyquist received a minor penalty for high-sticking, while many wondered why he wasn’t ejected from the game altogether.

An in-person hearing means the NHL has the option to suspend Nyquist six games or more. The Department of Player Safety stated a date and time for the hearing had yet to be determined. Nyquist could also choose a phone hearing.

“(It was) completely accidental,” Nyquist told reporters after Sunday’s game. “Obviously didn’t mean to do that. My stick gets caught. I’m trying to get body position on him and I’m happy he was out there again. Obviously had no intention of doing that, so my stick gets caught and it looks bad but I’m happy he’s OK.”

He added: “That’s just a battle, that’s just the way it goes. Along the boards, then after that I’m trying to get body position on him and my stick gets caught, so it was good to see him out there right after.”

Spurgeon played 22:16 and recorded an assist in the win.

“I haven’t really seen a replay or anything. I’m sure something will happen and the league will do something” Spurgeon said according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I’m just happy it didn’t go in my eye or something like that.”

Spurgeon’s teammates also wondered why Nyquist didn’t receive a harsher punishment from officials.

“I just don’t understand how that’s not a five-minute penalty. Obviously he’s not a player that is going to, I want to say do it on purpose except anybody watching the game, … it’s a five-minute penalty regardless,” Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk said. “There’s four guys out there that didn’t see it. But it’s good on us to go get one and make sure that we didn’t let it bother us. but it’s a dangerous play. Again, it’s not a guy that’s trying to do it, but it’s a retaliatory thing and it should be a five-minute penalty.”

Nyquist doesn’t have many previous dirty plays on his NHL record, aside from a $2,000 fine for diving/embellishment last season.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie referenced the six-game suspension Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith received last season for high-sticking Wild forward Charlie Coyle as a potential similar punishment Nyquist could receive.

OTTAWA, ON – DECEMBER 29: Gustav Nyquist #14 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on December 29, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Patrick Kane called Wednesday’s game in Minnesota the Chicago Blackhawks’ “biggest game of the season.”

Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews Scores Game-Winning Goal vs Wild

The Blackhawks manage to secure the 4-3 overtime victory against the Wild thanks to Jonathan Toews’ game-winning goal 3:09 into overtime.

Toews also recorded two assists and has four goals and seven assists in his past seven games.

“There was some added meaning to [this game], for our team anyways,” he said. “We hadn’t played since Saturday night, so it’s not always easy to get back for those when you get a break. … We had some energy and tried to wear them down, but obviously it’s a team that works pretty hard. They didn’t go away. Nice for us to find that resiliency and find a way to get a power-play goal at the end.”

Corey Crawford made 35 saves for the Blackhawks (33-17-5), who had lost eight consecutive games to the Wild.

Chicago, who have won three straight, are now within five points of Minnesota (35-12-6) for the Central Division lead.

Wild forward Erik Haula tied the game 3-3 at with 3:03 remaining in the third period. Minnesota trailed 2-0 1:09 into the second period.

Vinnie Hinostroza skated up the slot and assisted Ryan Hartman for a one-timer at 10:54 of the first period to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.

Nick Schmaltz doubled the lead at 1:09 of the second, and Jared Spurgeon opened scoring for the Wild 37 seconds later with a wrist shot off the crossbar.

Zach Parise then tied it 2-2 at 7:15 of the second, and Chicago requested a coach’s challenge for offsides; the review, which took approximately six minutes to resolve, was inconclusive and the goal stood.

The replay review took so long that at one point linesman Ryan Daisy used an iPhone, presumably to communicate with NHL officials. The league said in a statement that replays were inconclusive that Parise was offside the moment puck touched Wild center Charlie Coyle’s stick.

Richard Panik gave Chicago a 3-2 lead at 17:24 of the second.

Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves starting in place of Devan Dubnyk. 

“It was a pretty even game,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. “In the end someone has to win, someone has to lose. We take a penalty in overtime and that’s a pretty good team to have on the power play 4-on-3 for two minutes.”

The Wild next host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, when the Blackhawks visit the Winnipeg Jets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C1JAwTaoCU

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith won’t appeal his suspension and apologized to Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle for hitting him in the face with his stick on March 25.

Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith Won’t AppeAl Suspension

Keith’s suspension includes the last five games of the regular season and the first playoff game. He missed Friday’s 5-4 road win against the Winnipeg Jets. Keith stated that he “accepted” the NHL’s decision and would not appeal it, and also said he called Coyle to apologize for the infraction and for causing a gash on his face. After being pushed to the ice by Coyle, from his back Keith swung his stick with one hand, catching Coyle right across the face.

“It was obviously a reaction and one that I need to be disciplined [for],” Keith said before the Blackhawks played the Bruins on Sunday afternoon, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We talked about that as a team and things like that. Obviously there’s a limit and I [have] to know that. I will.”

This is not the first incident of an infraction Keith has committed and that caused him to lose his temper. Keith was suspended for a game during the Western Conference finals in 2013 for high-sticking the Los Angeles Kings’ Jeff Carter, and in 2012 he was suspended five games for elbowing the Vancouver Canucks’ Daniel Sedin.

Keith has stated that he will work towards preventing similar incidents in the future.

“I’m going to have to,” Keith said. “It’s just knowing that line, and I feel I’m a competitive person but I don’t think that’s something that I can’t stop. I think I can stop that. Move on and move forward and when I come back be as good as I can be.”

Keith called Coyle to apologize, but his call went to voicemail. After leaving a message, Coyle called Keith back to discuss the incident.

“I was appreciative of that,” Keith said. “It says a lot about the player and type of guy he is. That’s about it. They’ve got a good team and they’re playing well. I wished him the best after.

“It’s a dangerous play and I was glad to see he came back and it wasn’t worse,” he then added.

Keith, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, says he is confident his team can win their first playoff game without him.

In a video announcing the suspension, the NHL department of player safety called Keith’s action “an intentional and retaliatory act of violence by a player with a history of using his stick as a weapon.”

Keith will also forfeit $148,883.35 under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, based on his average annual salary.The Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champions, have clinched a playoff berth and are third in the Central Division, at 45-26-7 with four games left to play. The Blackhawks defeated the Bruins at home 6-4 on Sunday, and will next host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n62zhRM0Paw

Caption:CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 28: Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks to pass against the Washington Capitals at the United Center on February 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Capitals 3-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

For the past three years, the Chicago Blackhawks have eliminated the Minnesota Wild from the NHL playoffs.

Wild Skate Past Blackhawks 4-1 For Sixth Straight Win

The Wild surged past the Blackhawks 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday night to extend Minnesota’s season-high winning streak to six games. Jared Spurgeon, Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter all scored in the third period.

“When you have that confidence going into the playoffs, if you do happen to play in them, it’s huge,” Spurgeon said.

Marian Hossa scored the lone goal for the Blackhawks, who played without their top two defensemen: Brent Seabrook, who was out with an illness, and Duncan Keith, who was charged with a game penalty in the first period for swinging his stick at the Wild’s Charlie Coyle.

Although the Blackhawks have already clinched their spot in the playoffs, they have now fallen to 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. They snagged only one point in five games against the Wild, in a shootout loss at home last week. The Wild (38-28-11) have now won all five games against the Blackhawks (44-26-7) this season, marking the first time a team has swept the Blackhawks in a series of five or more games since the Boston Bruins in 1939.

Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves during the game. Jarret Stoll opened up scoring just 2:37 into the game on a break.

“When it counts is the playoffs. It’s great that we got that (sweep) in the regular season. I wasn’t here for the first two (wins), but we know how to play them,” Wild coach John Torchetti said. “They’ve played them [many] times plus the three years in the playoffs. We should know how to play them. Now if we get a chance and are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, that’s got to be our marker.”

Defenseman Spurgeon scored his career-high 11th goal on a breakaway at 4:07 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie. The Wild captain took a slick lead pass from Mikko Koivu and then maneuvered around Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to shoot the puck between Chicago goalie Scott Darling’s arm and leg and into the back of the net.

Darling made 18 saves for the Blackhawks, who have been without regular goalie Corey Crawford for the last seven games due to an upper-body injury.

“It’s not fun to look back and have a record like that against a team in your division, especially a team like Minnesota,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “It’s not something we’re happy about.”

The Blackhawks failed to score on three power plays, falling to 0 for 26 over their last nine games, while the Wild have killed 27 of their last 28 penalties in their last 11 games.

Niederreiter scored an empty-net goal with 1:19 remaining.

The Wild will next host the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, while the Blackhawks will visit the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgfZSrjFvVY

Caption:DENVER, CO – MARCH 26: Mikkel Boedker #89 of the Colorado Avalanche controls the puck against Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center on March 26, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 4-0. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Wild have fired head coach Mike Yeo following the team’s eighth straight loss. John Torchetti has been named the interim replacement.

Minnesota Wild Fire Coach Mike Yeo

Yeo had a 173-132-44 record over the course of his five seasons as coach for the Wild. Minnesota made the playoffs the past three seasons. Yeo was 11-17 in the playoffs, taking the team to the Western Conference semifinals each of the past two seasons.

Torchetti has been coaching the team’s AHL affiliate, also called the Wild, in Iowa, and has nine seasons of NHL coaching experience, including stints with the Florida Panthers in 2004 and with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006.

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher had previously told the press that Yeo wouldn’t be fired.

“I knew what he said the other day, and I’m a realist,” Yeo told the media regarding Fletcher’s comments. “You can’t lose every game and expect to think that there’s not going to be changes. I’m operating under the assumption that I’m going to be the coach tomorrow, and I know what I’m going to do, and it’s going to be something different from what we’ve done.”

The Wild has not provided any additional statement regarding the possible dismissal of other members of the coaching staff.

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were signed to 13-year, $98 million contracts four years ago, although simply making the second round wasn’t going to be good enough for very long.

The Wild lost to the Boston Bruins 4-2 at home on Saturday, and now rest at 23-22-10 and in 11th place in the Western Conference. Minnesota has gone 3-12-4 in its past 19 games and has the fewest points in the NHL (10) in that span.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjrcI0abVrg

Caption:GLENDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 15: Head coach Mike Yeo of the Minnesota Wild watches from the bench during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on October 15, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Wild defeated the Coyotes 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The game in question was Tuesday’s bout between the Minnesota Wild and the Edmonton Oilers: deep in the first period, the Oilers were in Minnesota’s zone. As the Wild attempted to clear the puck by wrapping it around the boards, Zach Parise was unintentionally hit, resulting him to keel over in pain as blood dripped from his mouth.

And as he got up and skated off the rink, he realized he left one important thing on the ice, his tooth. So he picked it up, handed it to the trainer and then proceeded to the bench for medical attention. But did you think one lousy tooth was going to prevent him from playing: no, as most hockey fans know a lost tooth is nothing in one of the toughest sports in the world.

https://twitter.com/robertomcoppola/status/520714786242592768

Minnesota Wild beat the Oilers 2-1.

In what may be the most ridiculous display of fandom ever, diehard Minnesota Vikings fan Ryan Rhody used a Minnesota Wild game to troll the Green Bay Packers heartbreaking NFC Championship loss. As the above picture shows, he sat behind the Wild bench and had a sign saying “HAHAHAHA Packer Fans.”

Now, the main question you may be asking, why would someone do this at a Minnesota Wild game? Well, the Star Tribune caught up with Rhody and he explained: “I hate the Packers fans more than anything. So I will do anything to chirp them in any way possible. With the amount of texts and Facebook messages I got when they were [ahead on Sunday], this was my way to laugh right back at them.”

However, he did not expect for the photo to go viral: “I had easlily 20,000 tweets or retweets. I couldn’t even keep up with my Twitter. My phone went from 70 percent battery down to 7 percent like nothing.” The only thing he thinks about now is how will he top this: he plans on going to Super Bowl XLIX and has his next stunt already planned. As for the actual game, the Minnesota Wild lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1.

The New York Islanders have been the talk of the town: with their 4-3 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals, the Isles are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place — it is the first time the team on the island has had a share of first place this late in the season since 1990, nearly 25 years.

At the same time, December has been one of the weaker months for the Islanders: they will finish the month on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, but at the moment they are 7-4-1. Now, this record does not look poor on the surface — especially with the most recent four game slide by the Pittsburgh Penguins who are 6-4-3 — but it hides a sinister secret that has hindered the Islanders in the past: goaltending and defense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7scLoU7dhw

The team that has seemingly been on fire has blown three goal leads in four separate games: the most recent during the aforementioned Monday’s night win against the Washington Capitals. They also did it during the December 6 loss to the St. Louis Blues, the following loss to Minnesota Wild and Saturday’s shootout loss to Buffalo.

Now, this could partially be blamed on the back up goaltending: lets face it, besides Jaroslav Halak the Islanders’ goaltending has been severely lacking. Compared to back up Chad Johnson, Halak’s numbers look MVP caliber: Chad Johnson gives up 3.54 GAA and has an abysmal save percentage of .867 — yet somehow New York is 5-5 when he is in net. And this Saturday, the Islanders decided to bring back Kevin Poulin from the minors: despite going up early, Poulin’s aggressive play waned in the third, letting in a savable short hand goal that in retrospect meant the game.

However, the back ups can only account for two of the four games, with the other blown leads coming from star goaltender Halak: who is sporting 2.27 GAA and a save percentage of .917, which is 19th in the league. Perhaps, one can say both the Blues and the Capitals have a top ten offense; but it is very rare for teams to go up three goals and lose the game, let alone do it four times in one month. So while goaltending has not been the greatest — despite Halak’s numbers he has picked up pace from November on — the other half of the blame has to be put on the defense.

Even with Poulin in the net, the defense seemed to be nonexistent against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday: allowing them to skate freely through the crease or down the middle of their zone — basically they were allowing the team ranked dead last in goals per game to get back into the contest. Yes, the Islanders have been playing increasingly better than last season: winning one goal games shows that Garth Snow somewhat addressed their defensive issues with the acquisition of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. At the same time, blowing four leads does cause one to worry; are they tired therefore these games are flukes or are they showing a lack of discipline — the latter has plagued Coach Capuano’s career.

So should Islander fans be in full panic mode: no, it is an 82 game season and the Isles still happen to be in first going into January. But it is important to be aware of this problem because blowing leads is something that could severely affect them down the road.