Game recap: Canadiens 4, Islanders 1

I'm in a holiday mood, so I'll pass on breaking down Wednesday night's dismal effort against Montreal, only to say that the Isles were flatter than Hempstead Turnpike. You can't win every home game and you're gonna have nights like this, but you should beat Montreal.

Instead, I have a question for Cablevision and Fox Sports NY:

I live on Long Island. I also have an HDTV, and I enjoy the high-def programming that Optimum delivers, particularly sports and especially the Islanders.

So imagine my surprise and disappointment when I discovered that the Islanders-Canadiens game - broadcast by Fox Sports NY - had been relegated to C-SPAN2 (channel 79), and was NOT available on ANY of the high-def channels. WTF?

This was an Islanders HOME game. Instead, the Devils were on regular Fox Sports NY and on FSNHD. Couldn't Fox Sports have broadcast the Islanders game in HD, with Cablevision putting it on MSGHD (the Rangers were on the road and not in HD) or on Mojo 701 or one of the other less-popular HD channels?

As a Long Island cable subscriber, I expect MY LOCAL TEAM to be in HD, not a team from New Jersey. And if you want to blame FSNY, fine -- ALL home games should be broadcast in HD, even when two teams are on at the same time.

Utterly ridiculous. I ended up watching the game on a 19-inch set in my office because I can't stomach watching a game that should be in HD on an HD set when it's not in HD.

The question is why FSNY chose to broadcast the Devils in HD and not the Islanders, and you get the sense that this is always the way it is going to be. Don't tell me the Devils attract more viewers. People in New Jersey don't care about the Devils. And if there is a difference, it has to be negligible. Either broadcast all games in HD and have the cable companies find a home for them (which they can) or alternate between the teams so one fan base doesn't get screwed.

I think we're going to be screwed. We'll see.