LIVE! TB @ NYI - FINAL (1-0 NYI)

9:24 - Bergeron will toy with it in his end...Berard dumps it...Vinny is cheating....he wants a breakaway...Tampa pulled Ramo...Vinny broke his stick...and that's the game folks! Six in a row! What a gutsy win by this team. I swear, I throw my hands up...I dont know what to do with them anymore! This will be a fun post game...FINAL NYI WINS 1-0

9:23 - Guerin RIGHT IN FRONT...and he missed the net...ONE MINUTE WARNING

9:21 - What a surprise...the big guns are out again...and Tampa gets a penalty...Tank drew it...and now Vinny is trying to mess with Vasicek...O'Brien is getting 4 MINUTES ...2 minutes of holding the stick...2 for unsportsmanlike

9:20 - Tampa cross ice pass deflected by an Isles stick goes right to ricky...very close...too close for comfort for Isles fans...

9:19 - Gratton is toying with Aaron Johnson...bullying him around...Comrie had a close call down on the other end...2:45 left

9:18 - Now they're a "refs suck" chant..how wonderful...big boys are out again for Tampa...Torts wants this...Satan is chasing it...he'sll be met by Kuba in the Tamp zone

9:16 - Big guns are back out there...Hunter shot on Ramo...he stops it...apparently loose puck and the Isles knock it in but the ref blows the whistle REAL QUICK...bad bad bad call...

9:14 - Why do I have to sit in between Dee and Frank...Oh god! Vinny Lecavalier just RANG ONE OFF THE POST...Good lord...Ricky falls down on top of it...close call with 5:08 left

9:13 - Ricky with some close calls....letting some pucks slide through..defense is strong...and Bergie picks the puck up and goes coast to coast...firing a shot to Ramo's head...great job by Bergie

9:11 - Tampa's big guns are out there again...Vasicek line out...Ricky is shutting the door...wholesale change for both teams as the whistle blows

9:10 - Berard and Bergeron have done a real good job at shooting the puck....into the legs of the Lightning forwards...

9:09 - Nice little stickhandling display by Comrie...created a nice chance...no dice...

9:08 - The penalty isn't up on the board...now it is...

9:07 - We've got 9:33 left...Isles are looking good...

9:05 - Isles doing some good forechecking here...Ramo is thinking he's DiPietro with some diving pokecheck...and the Isles are going to the powerplay...looks like Ranger for tripping..

9:03 - Isles are gonna get called for an icing right now..

9:02 - Thanks to Jenn notifying Melissa of my appearance on the big screen who in turn notified me...Mel, you'll get it next time I see you...

8:59 - With the Tampa top guns out...they'll go offside...good news for the Isles...and everyone changes...

8:57 - Assists go to Bergenheim and Drew Fata!

8:56 - The Coliseum is pumped...love to hear it this loud..

8:55 - Bergenheim using the legs....spin move...passes it off to Satan...he's got plenty of room and FIRES a wrist shot past Ramo...HUGE goal for the Isles...NYI LEADS 1-0

8:54 - Whoo...this has not been the most exciting of periods so far...14:42 left..

8:53 - Hunter tried to lead a rush in the Tampa zone...but he got pokedchecked and that led the Isles offsides..

8:52 - Puck disappears into the Isles bench...faceoff in the Isles zone momentarily as the linesmen fix a hole in the ice...

8:51 - Fransie with a nice little takeaway...fourth line buzzing a bit....they'll head off...offsides on Tampa..

8:50 - Little hot potato so far to start the third period...nothing exciting...

8:49 - Good to see Berard out on the ice...guess its not that serious...

8:48 - Isles need to get more shots on Ramo...he's giving up so many rebounds...

8:47 - Alright...here we go...Isles win the faceoff to start the third

8:44 - WOW! Dan Boyle has already gotten 19:48 of ice time?!

8:31 - END OF PERIOD 2: Well it looked like Tampa controlled most of that period...Isles had some chances, but most of it consisted of Tampa in the Isles zone. But it's scoreless, been a while since I've seen the Isles play a scoreless game into the second intermission for quite a while. Its a one period game....

8:30 - Bergeron misses the net...again...

8:29 - Comrie almost had a breakaway...but the puck was bouncing on him...and he couldn't get a hold....ONE MINUTE WARNING

8:28 - Ricky's looking good tonight. He's been strong in net facing a barrage of shots...Miro is out of the box, yet Tampa still buzzes

8:26 - Isles dump it out after Ricky stops a few up close...

8:25 - Wow, the Coliseum just promoted us and put us on the video board! They're telling fans to come talk to us...do we look lonely?!

8:23 - Miro throws it to the net with Bergie and Park in front...Ramo with the kick save...and with Park circling the net...Miro is gonna get nabbed for an interference penalty...bad penalty to take

8:22 - Tampa has been buzzing in the Isles end for a good minute so it seems...now the Isles will dump out...but here comes the Bolts again...two quick shots on Ricky, he turns them aside

8:21 - Shot looked like it deflected off of Richards helmet...goes into the netting..faceoff in the Tampa zone

8:20 - Icing on the Isles...it looked like an attempted pass...what happened to that rule? It seems like the linesmen forgot about it.

8:17 - Now Berard is down...what the hell is going on here??? He's trying to skate it off...its his knee...we'll see how he is...Matt Spiller, get ready!!

8:16 - After all of this confusion in front of the net with the puck at Bergie's feet, Park gets it to Berard who had a good shot...but couldn't trigger it...and Comrie had a glorious chance in front...

8:15 - The Vasicek is working hard in the Tampa zone...they'll be replaced by the Park line....

8:14 - Johnson and Meyer getting PP time...which is just about up...now...

8:13 - The PP works better when you're not running into your own teammates...

8:12 - What a weird bounce off the glass! Popped right in the crease with Ramo behind.....Isles couldn't net it though...

8:11 - I hear boo's...Simon must be back out...I feel bad for Comeau and Nielsen that they have to endure all of this...it's not fair to them...and Comeau just gets tripped by O'Brien and the Isles will have another PP

8:10 - False faceoff...we'll do it again...

8:08 - PP is over...I think a shot or two made it to Ramo....could've been better...Ramo shoots it into the Isles bench, and we'll have a stoppage.

8:07 - Bergeron finally got a shot on Ramo, but Comrie couldn't hold the rebound...and now Guerin drop passes it to...no one...

8:06 - "The Wonder Twins", Berard and Bergeron are manning the points for the PP...which doesn't look like its doing much right now.

8:05 - Great work by Bergenheim to draw a penalty as he streaked through the Tampa zone...Boyle off for high sticking...Isles to their first power play

8:04 - Shot by Martinek from the blueline looks like it rang off the crossbar...it did...faceoff outside of the zone

8:03 - Hunter again stopped by O'Brien at the boards...

8:02 - There are times where the Isles have looked a bit sluggish...I don't blame them...it just seems like the Bolts have been skating circles around them so far in the period.

8:00 - Great passing by Park to Satan..one timer fought off with a skate save by Ramo

7:59 - Ramo is hearing it from LOUDVILLE...and there's this weird lion mascot by us...I have no idea where its from...

7:58 - Isles started off shorthanded...Fata will come out of the box...NOW

7:57 - I decided to join Dee and the NYIC crew for the meet and greet this time...great to see everyone!

7:40 - END OF PERIOD 1 And that's the buzzer...Isles survive a late flurry on the PK...but that's about it. Not a bad period for the Isles, they just need to get closer in on Ramo in order to create any type of scoring opportunities. Ramo looks to be having trouble fighting pucks off...

7:39 - Vinny was carrying a broken stick with him...doesn't he have to drop it? Gotta check the rule on that...

7:38 - WEAK LATE call on Fata...TB goes to another PP

7:37 - Simon with a touch pass to Nielsen, and Fransie lets off a good shot on Ramo

7:36 - Comeau is out...he'll dump it...good killing..nice power move by Berard along the Isles net...he looks motivated tonight..

7:35 - Fata getting PK time...Hunter deflects one into the netting...

7:34 - Ricky is looking strong against the Vinny-Marty attack on the PP....28 seconds left on the Comeau penalty.

7:33 - So far so good on the PK

7:32 - One shot already on Ricky...Gratton is a wall in front of Ricky

7:30 - Comeau just dumped the puck out of the ice from his zone...he'll go off...TB to the PP

7:29 - Bold promises by Dee here...I'll hold her to it...will we see a number change??

7:28 - Why exactly is Radek Martinek looking like a forward out there...

7:27 - Isles are getting shots to Ramo...and he seems like to be giving up a lot of rebounds...nice move by Guerin...another shot...Ramo has trouble holding it, but the whistle blows..

7:24 - Nice swinging stick check by Berard from behind the Isles net...

7:23 - Sean...not a smart move...but thankfully Ricky and Radek are there...

7:22 - Berard, I don't know what you're doing sliding over Tampa players, but the last thing we need is for you to get hurt...

7:21 - the Vasicek line will get a lot of minutes tonight...they stay out after the TV timeout...nice stepup by Johnson to break a Tampa play up..

7:20 - 12:00 left...SOG are 5-1 NYI

7:17 - Simon is coming off...Tampa top line back out, the Vasicek line will be back out...and the Isles dodged a bullet off a turnover...3-on-1 for Tampa na dVinny missed the net

7:16 - Satan creating a good scoring chance with Berard....where was Ricky thinking about passing that puck?? Fourth line out there, and the boo's are coming...

7:15 - Hilbert is working hard deep...his work-ethic has really improved as of late...Guerin gets a shot off from the blue line and Ramo will hold...

7:14 - Just as we thought...the top Tampa line out = Vasicek line and the MArtinek - Meyer pairing...good scoring chance up close to the Tampa net...just couldn't handle a cross ice pass...

7:13 - Hunter finally gets a shot off

7:12 - Nielsen and Comeau are looking quick...and a good shot by Comeau on Ward

7:11 - So far 3:00 in....no shots...Simon is out on the ice...and we've got boos from the crowd, and he hasn't even touched the puck

7:10 - Bergeron just dumped it....hit off the dasher where the glass and the boards meet, and it popped up pretty funnily off the boards

7:09 - Tampa Bay wins the opening faceoff...Hunter - Vasicek - Fedotenko -- Martinek - Meyer starting for the Isles

7:06 - Time for the Star Spangled Banner, sung by the Molloy College Choir

7:04 - This is a little staggered than normal, I know...it'll get better during the game.

6:57 - Scratch Andre Roy for the Bolts.

6:43 - Goaltenders Tale of the Tape...

NYI - Rick DiPietro: 54 GP; 24-21-7; 2.67 GAA; .906 SV %
TB - Karri Ramo: 14 GP; 4-8-1; 3.21 GAA; .887 SV%

6:38 - Here we go...

Hilbert - Comrie - Guerin
Fedotenko - Vasicek - Hunter
Bergenheim - Park - Satan
Simon - Nielsen - Comeau

Martinek - Meyer
Fata - Johnson
Bergeron - Berard

6:33 - It'll be fun to see how Teddy switches up the lines...I wonder if Simon will just replace Tamby on the kid line. I figure he will seem out of place....I'll update you accodingly...

6:31 - Bruno Gervais is not on the ice tonight. I didn't expect him to play, but I thought it was worth mentioning...

6:29 - Here come the Lightning, led by Karri Ramo....Rick DiPietro leads the Isles out on the ice..

6:28 - Looks like an OK crowd tonight for a Thursday. I can see a good 12,000 here...but of course I've been wrong many times before.

6:13 - Both Frank Trovato and Dee Karl are both here....literally arriving about 5 seconds apart

6:07 - I dont know if anyone caught this, but last night, Drew MacIntyre of the Manitoba Moose became the ninth goaltender to get credit for a goal in the AHL. The interesting fact? It happened in OT, and on a delayed penalty against the Moose when Chicago forward Steve Martins' pass ended up in the empty net! Watch it for yourself...


6:00 - It's 6:00 and that means fans are filing in as I type...

5:50 - For those interested, tonight's referees are Kerry Fraser and Ian Walsh

5:35 - Hey all, I'm back at the Coliseum tonight...fifth game in six nights for me, so I'm beyond tired. But of course, I'm here doing what I love and bringing you all the news I can possibly gather in the position I'm in.

The big news tonight is that Chris Simon is officially back in the line up tonight, and Jeff Tambellini has been sent back down to Bridgeport. I can't say that I particularly approve of this move due to my love of the kids, but it's obvious Ted wants to play Chris so someone has to pay for it. Unfortunately, it's Tambo. The good news is Tamby can go back to his goal-scoring ways down in Bridgeport and get top-line minutes again. I just can't see how much this will last. And if you're looking at official game notes, scratch Tambo off.

Tonight will be interesting to see how this depleted Isles defense can handle the Tampa Bay top line of St. Louis - Lecavalier - Richards tonight. Martinek and Meyer both did a fantastic job of neutralizing Ovechkin whenever they could. Yes, he hit the post a numerous amount of times, but Radek was simply a beast against Alex, and tonight, both him and The King need to step it up even more. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hunter - Vasicek - Fedotenko line out on the ice whenever the TB top line is out there. Nolan's got the last change, so that will help.

I'll catch you soon as we anticipate tonight's matchup...