Mike and Dan look ahead to the Islanders resuming their season with three huge games, and present a special Olympic version of Master Leaf Theatre.<\/p>\n
The Islanders\u2019 final 24 games will be a brutal sprint, with lots of in-conference opponents, a road trip out west and seven back-to-backs. They get a taste of all of those in the first week and a half starting with games in Montreal and Columbus before returning home to face a wounded Florida squad. It\u2019s vital they get off on the right foot because there\u2019s no time to feel things out. They need points to keep teams like the Blue Jackets and Panthers off their heels and solidify their playoff berth. And if they – and especially Ilya Sorokin – are not ready to go, this resumption of the season may be short-lived.<\/p>\n
We devote the second half to something we didn\u2019t anticipate – a Master Leaf Theatre focused on Team USA\u2019s gold medal win over Team Canada in the men\u2019s hockey tournament. There were enough sour grapes flowing and weird things said that we needed to commemorate them in our signature style. From furious forwards to whiny radio hosts to taking shots at the Maple Leafs media machine, this Olympic edition of Master Leaf Theatre is as varied as The Games themselves.<\/p>\n
Along the way we salute both the US men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams, Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, Kimber Auerbach and the guy who wore the Simon Holmstrom shirt to the Season Ticket Holder event at UBS Arena on Sunday.<\/p>\n