Isles make their point, one at a time

At the rate they're going, the Islanders will finish the season with 82 points -- not quite playoff-caliber, but a definite improvement over last season's last-place-overall finish.

Of course, at this rate, they'll be 0-0-82.

That's about as likely as Charles Wang and Kate Murray teaming up on "The Amazing Race," and while consecutive overtime/shootout losses isn't a trend you like to see continue, Thursday night's 3-2 loss to the Senators provided continued positives.

Like two points from Matt Moulson, who assisted on Kyle Okposo's second-period goal before scoring the equalizer for the Islanders in the third period, off a sweet pass from behind the net from Doug Weight, playing his first game of the season.

John Tavares assisted on that goal as well, giving him three points in the first two games of his career. Tavares had a terrific chance to score in the second period as well, but didn't get everything on the shot.

Okposo's goal, meanwhile, was a thing of beauty, as his displayed the kind of deft stickhandling that makes him so doubly dangerous as a power forward.

That's a fun line right now, the Okposo-Tavares-Moulson combo. What can we call it? The TOMahawk line? The TOM-tom Club? The OTM Machine? Suggestions are welcome.

Martin Biron had an uneven game, playing solid for the most part and dazzling in one sequence when he flat-out robbed Alexei Kovalev with about six minutes left. But he was sloppy on the Sens' first goal, a no-angle bank off the heel of his stick, and he should have gotten a piece of the game-winner by Mike Fisher.

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OK, it's time for my annual rant against Cablevision sticking the Islanders on the non-HD MSG Plus 2. Watching this game on my high-definition set was like watching it through a rusty old screen door. Immensely frustrating.

I think I have old VHS tapes of the 1984 playoffs that look clearer than what fans endured watching on MSGP2. Awful. And yet the Devils, the team from New Jersey, gets its road game in HD.

I continue to insist that there is no way on earth that the Devils get better ratings than the Islanders. No way. And you can't tell me Cablevision can't put the Islanders broadcast onto another HD channel.

It's just the owners of the Rangers sticking it to the Islanders fans. But the Isles have a pretty sweet TV deal with Cablevision, so I guess we shouldn't complain. Especially since the team gets screwed so badly by its current lease. Which will of course change with the new lease for the Lighthouse -- if it ever happens. Sigh.

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I'll never understand how people spend so much money on sports memorabilia. It's just not my thing. But the framed photo of Tavares with actual pieces of the netting from his NHL debut takes the cake. Are these really flying off the shelves?

The whole game-worn or game-used thing in memorabilia boggles the mind. Can I get a piece of Matt Moulson's socks from the Ottawa game to commemorate his first goal as an Islander? Sadly, I probably can.