Game 5 Preview: TK and Vitale are in; Do Islanders fans deserve this?

By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)

It looks like Tyler Kennedy and Joe Vitale are in tonight. Jussi Jokinen and Tanner Glass are out.  Moves like this won't win the series for the Pens, but they can make it a lot less likely that they'll lose the series.  If the coaching staff is only comfortable playing Glass for 6 minutes/night -- and even that seems like a lot -- then he's a net negative to the team.  But we -- meaning every single person who has watched a Penguin game this season except Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero -- already knew that.

Tyler Kennedy can't be worse than Glass.

Mmmmm, TK.

As for the Vitale/Jokinen swap, it makes sense just to get a fresh body out there who can skate.  This could have been Vitale for Sutter and we'd have felt the same way.

With TK back, it might be time to consider bumping Morrow down to the 4th line.  Or maybe Cooke.  The point is, Sutter-Morrow-Cooke has been a terrible line.  Kennedy would bring a new energy to that line and maybe be able to help establish some time in the offensive zone.  Sutter-Cooke-Kennedy would be fine.  Morrow could take some spins through all the other lines and play on the second power play.

After the jump, a few Islanders links and some Ovechkin talk ...

- Islanders' fans feel that they deserve this.  We don't know what this is or why they deserve this.  Do they deserve this because they showed up to playoff games?  Is this the act of showing up for playoff games?  Which came first, this or deserving this?

The Isles' crowds were terrific in Games 3 and 4 and clearly they had an impact on Fleury.  But the only thing they deserve is a wider concourse so they can go to the bathroom quicker.  I hear they have that at the Barclays Center.

Brooklyn hipsters, you deserve this. Whatever this is.

- Here's an Islanders blog saying Vokoun is good against the Islanders but also isn't. Artistry sent this to me to post.  Here are his thoughts: "Two takeaways for this next link: 1) No one has any idea how Vokoun will perform tonight; and 2) Opposing fan bases think even less of Fleury's play than we do."  Amen.

- JK about writing anything on Ovechkin.  If you think we're posting about him on this site while the Caps are still in the playoffs, then you haven't been paying attention.