2005 New York Islanders Preview
Welcome to the 2005 New York Islanders Preview page. The NHL Hockey Season is around the corner and what better way to remind the public how exciting the NHL can be with a 2005 season preview from Maddux Sports. Remember if you are betting on NHL hockey look no further, as we are one of the few sports handicapping services that offers NHL picks against the hockey betting line and can help you be a winner this NHL betting season.
2005 New York Islanders Hockey Season Preview
In 2003-04 after the team on Long Island managed to secure the final Eastern Conference playoff birth, they were eliminated by Tampa Bay, the Stanley Cup Champs-to-be, in lightning fashion 4 games to 1. It became evident in early August when the Islanders signed various quality players that GM Mike Milbury was not content with having his team playing golf while others were still playing hockey.
To help in the cause of getting the team to the next level, the Islanders brought prolific goal maker Miroslav Satan and veteran All-Star defenseman Alexei Zhitnik from the upstate Sabres. Satan is ninth on the NHL scoring list of active players with 194 goals over the past 5 seasons. In that same time he's assisted on 206 goals, making him a total goal-manufacturing package. In 11 NHL seasons Zhitnik has been to the Stanley Cup Finals twice. He's considered one of the best two-way defensemen in the league and for most of his career has logged between 30 and 40 assists per season.
The Islanders also find themselves with two strong goaltenders - Rick DiPietro and Garth Snow. DiPietro was the first overall draft pick in 2000 and management consider him such a formidable talent that they rushed him onto the ice. The result was disastrous with the rookie recording 15 loses in 20 starts and posting a 3.49 GAA. However during the last NHL season the young goalie seemed to hit his stride going 23-18-5 over fifty games with a 2.36 GAA, more than a goal less than his first season. In that same year Snow played 39 games and recorded a 14-15-5 mark with a GAA of 2.8. The play of these two goaltenders has made stability in the net commonplace on Long Island.
One more asset - the Islanders have a strong core and mix of returning players. When you add up everything, it seems as though Milbury may have given his team a good chance to play hockey and not golf during subsequent playoff rounds.
