Final Notes of 2007

As 2007 comes to an end, the Islanders face the Hurricane's tonight. The trio of Ricky, Radek and Sillinger all stayed home on Long Island to nurse injuries. Word is that all three should return thursday at home, or very shortly after that. Another one of our young favorites, Ben Walter has been called up to replace Sillinger's spot in the lineup. He has been placed on the 4th line to center Comeau and Jackman. Hilbert has been moved up to the third line to center Hunter and Ruslan. While we have all hated on Hilbert early through the season, he is certainly starting to win me over little by little with his hard work and somewhat new found ability to actually put some points on the scoresheet. Let's finish off 2007 and get 2 more points from a Carolina team that is in the ruts right now.

Justin and I want to wish everyone a happy new year as well as thank both the regulars, GG, Bill, shinkdew, nyisles, frank, andy norway and those who read for joining and contributing with us here on Bleeding Blue & Orange.

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Update: Isles win 4-1! Happy New Year from B&O!
-justin

Welcome Kyle & An Update on Ricky

Yesterday, the Islanders officially welcomed Kyle Okposo to the organization, signing him to a three year deal at 2.55 million, the rookie max. So far Okposo is living up to his billing performing nicely at the World Junior Championships with a goal and 2 assists so far in the tourney.

Another Isles prospect, Robin Figren is also putting his skills on display. Check out this clip of his goal from yesterdays game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFcTfDuaBxY

It looks as if Ricky will not miss any significant time, as MRI results were negative and he just has slight swelling of the knee. While we all can probably agree that Dubie is not as reliable as we would like our backup to be, I personally would not mind seeing either him or Joey Mac between the pipes tomorrow as well as on New Year's eve against the Canes to give Rick a week of rest before the schedule get real tough in January. Having Rick rest for a week to get back to 100% is much better then having him miss a few weeks or months to completely nail the coffin on any playoff chances this team has this year.

A Holiday Present Delivered Early

Yesterday, both the Islanders and University of Minnesota confirmed that Kyle Okposo would be leaving the Golden Gophers and will join the Islanders organization after playing in the Under-20 World Junior Championships.

This can only be a good thing for our Islanders, who are dead last in scoring in the NHL. After last night's game, where we outplayed Buffalo and still lost, it is clear this team needs a scorer who can actually put the puck in the net. While the team was able to put 40+ shots on goal last night, many of those shots were from far outside or from poor angles. Of those 40+, I would say roughly 10 were actually good shots on net. The addition of Okposo could change the face of this team dramatically. It would allow the Isles to take the wonderboy Andy Hilbert or Tim Jackman (who actually is filling in nicely to the role that Simon should have been playing) out of the lineup. I would then put Okposo with Comrie and Ruslan to give Comrie move room to handle the puck and let Okposo use his big frame in front of the net. Comrie had one of his better games last night and I feel one of the main reasons was because he actually kept his head up while skating and puck handling.

While I agree with Nolan not to play MAB after 2 horrible games on the defensive end, I can't justify playing FMIV. He is clearly nothing better then a decent AHL dman. Where has Berard been? I realize he played poorly prior to his benching but Nolan loves to give Hilbert and others (namely Simon) more than second chances, so where is Berard?

Time for Ted to Show Up (Part Deux)

It's time for Ted to show up...once and for all. If he's not going to help improve the Isles on the Ice, then he's got to at least help them off the ice. And that starts with cutting Chris Simon for his inexcusable selfish attack on Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu. Chris Simon has now clearly established that he goes by the motto "I only do what's good for me." And even worse than a selfish agenda is a one that involves continuous deliberate attempts to injure other players.

Chris Simon has cost the Isles two inter-division games with blatantly dangerous attacks. Last season he declared himself a lumberjack as he attempted to decapitate Ryan Hollweg of the Rags in a tied game late last season. The points lost in that game (as the Rags scored on the ensuing 5 minute major) probably should have cost the Isles the season. Less than one year later, Simon has found himself in a similar situation. He cost the team a comeback attempt, and lost the respect of his entire organization. By using the bottom of his skate as a weapon, Simon should not only be banned from hockey, but he should face criminal charges for his attack with a deadly weapon.

And that's that. Chris Simon should be banned from hockey, although he probably won't. Colin Campbell will probably issue more than the 25 that Simon received last season being that he's a repeat offender. But that shouldn't matter, as the Isles need to immediately cut ties with Simon. If not, the Isles risk losing fans who might have a hard time cheering on an organization that condones vicious attempts to inflict bodily harm on other players. And if Simon ever dons an Isles jersey again, that's exactly what the Isles will be doing--condoning violence on the ice.

It's time for Ted to step up and say that he was wrong. It's time for him to say that he made a mistake when he persuaded Garth Snow to bring Simon back after last season's incident. It's time for Ted to admit that Chris Simon's NHL career is not worth fixing. It's time for Ted to step up and be a man.

A New Age Theory on the Isles' Recent Struggles

Something has definitively happened to the New York Islanders over the last few weeks. The Isles started the season on top of the world, sweeping Buffalo in a home-and-home (avenging last year's playoff defeat) and then winning 3 games each from the rival Rangers and Devils, on route to an extraordinary 13-8-1 start to the 2007-2008 season. The critics had counted the Isles out before they first set foot on the ice in Buffalo, but the Isles were making believers out of the hockey world. But then something happened. Something took the wind out of the Isles' sail that set this team back to resembling that low-scoring lethargic group of fringe players that all Isles fans feared would step forward. The turning point was two home games against first place teams: the Dallas Stars and the Ottawa Senators.

The Isles lost to Dallas in OT and beat the senators in a shootout, in two of the most entertaining hard fought battles Isles fans can remember. The problem? No one was there to see it. In those two games, the Isles average attendance was less than 9,000! In the two biggest challenges the Isles had faced thus far, the fans deserted the Isles, which must have left the players wondering what they had done wrong. It has been from that point that the Isles have seemed to lose their desire to battle, focus, and play a complete 60 minute hockey game. I thought at the time that the Isles' players would be quite disheartened to see a half empty building for those two important games, but I had hoped the building would fill back up. That has not been the case, and the result has been a continued stretch of poor hockey.

And it's not like the building had been empty all year. During the Isles' first 11 home games, the Isles' average attendance was 14,740, and the Isles were rolling at 5 games over .500. Then Dallas came to Long Island, and pathetically only 8,161 fans showed. Two days later, Ottawa was welcomed by a mere 9,211 Isles fans. The fans who did show were treated to quite a show, but the problem seems to be rooted in the Isles players' heads, who had to rationalize why their fans suddenly stopped caring.

After averaging 14,740 fans for the first 11 games, the Isles have averaged 10,736 fans over the last 5 home games. That's a 4,000 drop in attendance in quite a brief period of time. Since that Ottawa game, the Isles are 2-5-1, and have played mostly a lackadaisical unmotivated game that has many fans questioning the loyalty of this team. The Isles players must be questioning why Isles fans "started it."

Longing for Alexei

In a post game interview with Isles' coach Ted Nolan, when asked about Jeff Tambellini's limited role thus far, Nolan remarked that he benched Tambellini for much of the latter part of last night's game because the Isles first line of Tambellini-Comrie-Gurein "couldn't get out of their own zone for half the game." This utterance highlights Nolan's one true accomplishment thus far this season: apportioning blame among those who are probably the least deserving. If Nolan actually wants to resolve the struggles of the Islanders, he need not look farther than his number one center: Mike Comrie.

With Mike Comrie's -3 performance last night, he is now in dead LAST in the league with a -14 plus/minus rating. I didn't think there could ever be a "number one" center on the Isles who could make me long for Alexei Yashin. At least Yashin was a plus rated player a year ago, finishing the season as a +6. Comrie also finds other ways to hurt the Isles, in addition to his inability to play defense. As of last night, Comrie has just about equaled the penalty minutes accumulated by Yashin in all of last season, during the Isles first 29 games. Further, Comrie's penalties are usually poorly timed and are often the result of laziness. Yet Nolan continues to reward Comrie with a regular shift (20 minutes last night), while Tambellini sees his time reduced on a continual basis.

Last week, Nolan claimed he recalled Tambellini because the Isles were starved for goals. However, he isn't giving him the opportunity to score, which makes you wonder if Nolan actually believes anything that comes from his own mouth. Why not play Tambellini on the power play--is that such an absurd idea? Why not demote Comrie to the 4th line after, I don't know, a long stretch of games filled with lackadaisical, foolhardy efforts? MAB was benched for ONE play early on this season. Comrie turned the puck over TWICE on the same play last week, and still received his regular shift. Nolan will proceed to lose this team if such obvious notions of favoritism continue.

There's no doubt that a player like Alex Yashin would help this team. At least Yashin was a capable power play contributor, was strong on the puck, and had a blistering shot (that is when Yash decided to play). So what it comes down to is that both of these enigmatic centers drift in and out of consciousness during the season, but I'd rather have a conscious Yashin over a conscious Comrie any day.

Did I really just write that?

Side notes: J Picker has finally fallen into the new Isles trap. For the first time this season, he fell asleep during an Isles game. All I can say is, welcome to the crew!

Time for Ted to Show Up

Nyisles has made a very good point about Ted Nolan. An excerpt from his most recent post reads as follows:

"To an outsider, I see the team frustrated on the inside beyond belief, but outwardly they're pretending it isn't there. I attribute this to Nolan's leadership style. He's the calmest person I've ever seen coach a sport, and I'd put money on the fact that he spends a lot of his locker room talks calming the guys down and telling them not to panic. Which is fine, except the guys are panicking!"

Very good point about Nolan. There are times when a coach needs to remain relaxed and cool in order to keep the guys at ease. But there are others when the coach needs to show a little emotion, to show there are times when he's not content with the effort on the ice. This is the perfect transition into another one of my NY Mets analogies.

During the recent historic collapse, where the NY Mets proceeded to lose a 7 game lead with 17 games to go, Mets' Manager Willie Randolph played the "I'm relaxed and cool" card. He repeatedly told the press (and the players I presume) that he was not worried, that he believed in this team, and that when push comes to shove they would get the job done. Sound a little familiar?

Not once during this landslide did Randolph seem upset or angry or fearful of what all Mets fans could see was looming. If he just would have thrown a water bottle or got himself objected for arguing a borderline call, the Mets might have woken up in time to right their ship.

Willie Randolph couldn't stop the Mets snowball. Let's just hope Ted Nolan can pull his head out of the snow (no innuendo I assure you) and right this ship.

Game Notes:

Bryan Berard created a horrendous turnover when he attempted a behind-the-back pass on a 5 on 3 power play that led to another breakaway for the Lightning. MAB was benched for 3 games, then 5 games for similar if not less horrendous plays. Further, MAB has been benched for the last two games for showing a little fire on the bench. If Berard is in the lineup, then we can all be assured that Nolan does indeed play favorites.

Jeff Tambellini has been told that this is his shot to make it. Yet he again received less than 10 minutes of ice time last night. So much for a legitimate shot.

The Isles passed on Mark Recchi, a player who is a future hall of famer, and who has been a power play specialist over his excellent career. Recchi has always had good wheels, so it's not like he would resemble the Silingers and Simons already employed by the Isles. Where's Garth Snow?

If the Isles can use a pick and a prospect to get Schneider, then Snow better be all over this. Tambellini and a second rounder might get it done. We will most likely be able to restock on picks at this year's trade deadline anyway. It would also allow us the flexibility to include either Gervais or Campoli in a package for a scorer, if the Isles choose to go down this road.

Snowballing Islanders

That snowball effect that I grazed over a few days ago is starting to get bigger and bigger. The New York Islanders have now dropped their 5th consecutive game and are on the verge of watching their season spin out of control. Even more strange is that the Isles still boast a winning record and are a mere 6 points out of first place in the Atlantic Division and two points out of 8th in the East with a game in hand. But the recent lack of offense is more than alarming. In the Isles last 12 games, they have scored only 16 goals! That's 1.3 goals per game for 12 games!

I can't even recall an Isles team from the dreadful years from 1995-2000 that scored less goals than this group. You remember that game in which the present-day Isles were supposed to break out? Well it happened 4 games ago when we first played Atlanta. From that game on, we have scored a mere 4 goals in 4 games and have been shut out twice.

I've been through to exhaustion all the quick fixes that might help this group. Removing Silinger from the PP, benching Comrie for a game, giving Vasicek more ice time, calling up Walter, etc., but none of that will truly solve what is intrinsically wrong with this group. Anyone who knows the game of hockey can spot that the Isles struggles stem from their lack of desire to crash the net in order to create strong scoring chances.

How many times over the recent weeks did the Isles go through a game with less than 5 scoring chances per game? That's less than 5 opportunities to score a goal in a game! A good team should generate about 10 scoring chances per night, in hopes of capitalizing on 3-4 of them. If you get lucky or the opposing goalie is off his game, then there's a chance at 5-6. But with the Isles generating roughly 3-4 scoring chances per game, it's not surprising that we average 1.3 goals per game over this recent slide.

Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe repeatedly pointed out how the Isles have been content cycling behind the net, around the perimeter, in the corners, while no one pays the price to crash the net. When was the last time an Islander player scored a goal on a rebound? You know, a hard earned rebound goal like the one Bergenheim almost had tonight. When was the last time an Islander scored on a one timer from the slot? Not any time recently because no Islander has been willing to put himself in a position to score that type of goal. This problem stands out so much that even the most casual fan can spot what's wrong. The Isles have been lucky to score the 1.3 goals per game that they average over the last 12 games. We didn't score tonight so we can't look for an example of some lucky goals here. But Wednesday night saw Comrie take advantage of an awkward deflection and Sutton throw a prayer from the point. That is the only way the Isles have been scoring goals. What is most upsetting to Isles fans is that they feel like they are in a twisted version of Groundhog Day--where every game is the same old story of a team not willing to make the sacrifices to score at the NHL level.

Some might argue that this team is not skilled enough to compete in the NHL. They might stress that the Isles simply don't have the offensive firepower to score 3-4 goals per game. Well right now I'm only asking for 2 goals. The Isles would have needed 8 more goals over their past 12 games just to average 2 goals per game! Those 8 goals could have probably generated 2-3 more wins.


Al and Stan's post game quote: "We have to get the Isles a platinum card because the way they are trying to buy goals right now isn't working."

The Blame Game

By: Frank Mazzola
(Guest Columnist)

(With apologies to mope rockers The Smiths)
"Panic on the streets of Lynbrook
Panic on the streets of Manhasset
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?"

The Islanders are in the midst of a goal-scoring, power play efficiency drought of Biblical proportions and the frustration is starting to mount. The question is: Who and/or what is to blame?

Unfortunately, there's plenty of places to point the oversized novelty "We're # 1" finger at.

The Players- Regardless of what anyone else feels about the culture of the team, the planning, the strategy or any other factor, the primary place the blame must go is to the team who takes the ice every night. Their lack of passion in during the home stand was inexcusable. We as fans were sold a bill of goods that has not delivered. The philosophy of this team, comprised of "Ted Nolan-type players", was supposed to be: "We may be short on talent, but we're full of pride, energy and determination." Opposing teams were going to have to earn every point against us by sacrificing blood. Sadly, this hasn't been the case as teams like Atlanta walked into "Fort Neverlose" (which henceforth shall be known as "Camp No-One-Comes") and waltzed out with two easy points. There has been an unacceptable effort exhibited by too many players to name here. Brendan Witt commented the other night that "We just gave up." Gave up? How many of us would keep our jobs if we just "gave up"?

Ted Nolan- If the players are not playing with pride and determination, the finger must be pointed at their coach for not properly motivating them. Nolan has shown a stubborn streak in regards to not benching underperforming players that is as big a part of the problem as any other reason. His refusal to infuse a youth movement into this lineup cannot be allowed to continue. He must learn that, when your veterans are struggling and show no signs of putting extra effort into breaking a slump, you bring up hungry, skilled kids who are desperate to earn a spot on an NHL roster. Oh, and you give them more than three minutes of ice time per game to do so.

Garth Snow- Some people blame Snow most of all. I don't, though I won't exactly give him a free pass either. Fans are clamoring for a big trade to happen. Well, I hope they're not holding their breath because help via the trade front is not coming. Snow simply has no assets that any other team would want to acquire in exchange for their top line scoring. While that's not all his fault (thanks, Mad Mike), he is charged with righting this sinking ship and has done precious little to do so. Josef Vasicek is looking like his biggest coup right now.

So, what can be done?

- Snow must demand that Nolan keep Tambellini on a permanent basis, give Bergenheim more ice time and start bringing up more youth (Nielsen, Comeau, etc.) so we can see exactly what we have. He then must sign players who are considered essential the long term success of the team to multi-year contracts and trade those who are not for picks and prospects.

- Nolan must take a hard line with his players, threaten to replace them with youth if they do not perform and then follow through. Everyone wants to be liked, but the Nice Guy routine is clearly not working. He must channel his Inner Mike Keenan for a bit.

- The players need to realize that drawing a paycheck from an NHL franchise is privilege, not a God given right. Lack of talent is no excuse for not working hard. Either they play with pride or they should be gone.

-The fans need to temper their expectations. If the youth movement is implemented, it may result in a losing season (This point can be argued indefinitely, but it is my contention that players adjusting to the big league will go through growing pains, resulting in lost games...though, really, what's the difference between that and what's going on now?) Fans also need to show patience and realize that rebuilding is the only way to go.

As Margaret Thatcher once told the people of England who were upset about the government's cost cutting measures in a time of economic crisis: "You may not like the medicine, but it's the only way the patient will get well.
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Game Recap: Thrashers 4 Isles 3 (SO)

Undisciplined

By: Geoffrey Gottlieb

I am in complete disgust after this loss. I am more then disappointed with only getting 1 point. This was a game in which we outplayed Atlanta and should of easily walked away with 2 points. 18 Minutes in the penalty box is completely undisciplined and unacceptable. It's a sign of laziness. We might have killed all 9 penalties, however those were times we could have been playing at even strength and trying to score goals. It also takes a toll on many of our players, especially our defenseman. Mike Comire reminds me of Jason Blake last year (expect he might be worse.) I have always been a big Comire supporter but his turnovers are starting to sway my opinion. Not only did he turn the puck over on one of Atlanta’s shorthanded goals, but he turned the puck over about 10 seconds before that only to get the puck back and turn it over once again.

Brandon Witt is the heart and soul of this team. Every night he comes to play and lays his body on the line. Tonight once again he was brilliant defensively, blocking shots and making outstanding plays. The Islanders need to generate more shots on the power play from scoring positions. They throw the puck threw the slot and it never seems to work. They take long shots from the point, which are usually ineffective. When they actually take shots from inside the circles they generate chances and score goals.

The shootout was awful. DP looked off, especially on the first goal where Kozlov made DP looked completely foolish after he made a slow move to the right in which DP just lay sprawled out on the ice. DP knew that wasn’t a good goal and you could tell was flustered when Kovalchuk scored. When things are going right for DP, he has so much confidence and can easily be compared to some of the best goalies of today. However, once he lets in a bad goal, his confidence begins to dwindle. DP is definitely one of the best goalies in the league and should not be blamed for this loss. Guerin skated in on Lehtonen 2 miles per hour and then took a soft shot looking 5 hole. We learn when we are 5 years old not to skate slowly on a penalty shot because it gives the goalies too much time to stick with the shooter.

For a supposedly well coach disciplined team we looked anything but that tonight. Taking bad penalty after bad penalty and having terrible power plays, we might have actually been lucky to get a point tonight. We are the only team in the league that can’t convert on 4-minute power play span in which part is a 5-3. We held Atlanta to 3 shots in the third period and outplayed them for most of the game, but the score sheet says it all.

Take a Deep Breath

One week ago I proclaimed that us fans should not doubt this team after I had witnessed a tremendous effort against the Ottawa Senators. Today, I'm going to stick by that notion. This team proved for a long period of time that it could compete with some of the best teams in the NHL. We are 3-0 against last year's conference finalists, and 6-1 against the Rangers and Devils, two of the best teams in the East. Now it's easy to jump on the wholesale change/fire Nolan bandwagon, but as fans it would be time better spent if we continue to point out the flaws in the Isles' system. The Isles are in a state of extreme lack of confidence--they resemble a group that seemingly doesn't expect to score more than twice on a nightly basis. The lack of goal scoring has a lot to do with the fact that the Isles don't really have any legitimate high scoring players, even though this group should be able to concoct an average of three goals per game. The question still remains: why can't this group start scoring?

First, Mike Comrie needs to be benched. He is the only player on the Isles who is constantly rewarded with more ice time each time he turns over the puck. If there was ever an example of Nolan playing favorites, Comrie certainly fits that mold. In addition, Trent Hunter should be (1) removed from the power play, and (2) demoted to the fourth line. Hunter took TWO absolutely inexcusable penalties in the game last night, the second of which was an immature retaliation penalty taken in the offensive zone with 4 minutes left in the game (when the score was still 2-0 and within reach). Hunter attempts to cycle the puck on the power play, so while he and Silinger move the puck around the boards and around the perimeter, the penalty clock ticks away until we can add another missed opportunity to the nightly power play stats. Hunter has proven this season that he's too slow for the new NHL, and his duties should be restricted to PK duties and 3rd/4th line action a la Andy Hilbert.

I tried counting how many times Silinger turned the puck over on the PP last night, and I stopped after I reached about 5 times on the first 3 PPs. Why Vasicek does not play the PP is beyond me. It's very strange to see a coach stick with something that has not worked for quite some time.

Tambellini added some edge to the first line, and they had plenty of opportunities to score early on. However, as the game progressed, I saw Tambellini's ice time reduced in favor of players like Simon and Hilbert. Now we all know how loyal Ted Nolan has been to Simon, but it's come to the point where this blind loyalty needs to be questioned. This whole "I would go to war with Chris Simon" mentality isn't helping the Isles on the ice. I personally would not go to war with an under-skilled aging slow-footed warrior.

The defense has not really been a problem, and DP has been consistently good thus far. Boston netted its first goal on a weird bouncing puck, and netted a second goal on a weird giveaway by Sutton. For the most part, the Isles outplayed the Bruins. But hard work won't translate into wins unless we start scoring some goals. The Isles need one game to break out (a solid 5 goal effort) and this streak could be put to rest. In reality, this streak of 13 games of scoring 2 goals or less has highlighted that the Isles are probably going to be a middle of the pack team at this rate, and will hope to squeeze into the 7th or 8th seed. Some don't even believe the Isles have the potential to endure this season at that level. But let's remember the Isles still have a winning record of 13-11-1 and will have every opportunity to right this ship.

On that note, I couldn't agree more with those of you who have suggested infusing this group with some youth and passion. The Hilberts, Simons, Parks, and Bates of the world are boring us to sleep, and with our inability to score, there doesn't seem to be much harm that could come from bringing up Walter as well. I don't know if it was just me, but I was excited every time Tambellini was on the ice. I would love to see what Walter could do with significant ice time.

All is not lost yet, but these things have a way of snow balling out of control if these flaws are not addressed very soon.

To Whom it May Concern

To whom it may concern:

The New York Islanders are in a great deal of trouble. While they tease their fans with big wins while their goaltending and defense stands on its head, the Islanders do not possess the offesnsive capabilities to compete in the NHL. This is not about being pessimistic or optimistic, but it is about panicking. Isles fans are panicking because they have seen their beloved team score an average of 1.7 goals per game over the last 10 games. They are panicking because their top line produces a scoring chance once every 3 games. They are in disarray because the head coach rewards players who are undeserving and demotes the players that are needed to build a successful program.


Ben Walter showed in his 4 minutes of ice time per game that he can play in the NHL. Andy Hilbert has showed in his 15 minutes of ice time per game that he cannot. What is obvious to some is apparenlty very confuusing to others. This is an easy swap and it should be done immediately.

The Isles' powerplay has been rendered worthless and major changes need to be made. Mike Silinger still sees plenty of powerplay time, yet has failed miserably to resemble a PP forward. Trent Hunter should be positioned in front of the net on the PP, yet he is usually found losing battles along the boards. The last time I ripped Bill Guerin he scored a hat trick the following game. Well Bill Guerin not only doesn't score, he doesn't come close to scoring. He repeatedly misses the net as he is always shooting for corners instead of worrying about getting shots on goal. Mike Comrie is too soft on the puck and his dipsy doodles are not fooling anyone.

Wade Dubielwiscz is not an NHL goaltender. Even though he was often deserted last night, he could not come up with a big save the entire game. The Isles players must sense this and I'm sure it's no coincidence the Isles D has disappeared in both games that Dubie has started. It must be hard to stay focused while fearing your goaltender won't stop a 30 foot wrister.

The Islanders need to work their younger players into the lineup by trusting them with significant ice time. As of now, this is not a Stanley Cup team, and the Isles should focus more on developing their prospects instead of allowing their "spare parts" to eat important minutes. While the Isles are surely capable of stealing wins on occassion, the jury is out on the offense this year. So unless Snow can pull a significant trade, it's time to demote some of the regulars and bring up each of Walter, Tambellini, and Nielson.

Sincerely,

Islanders Country

No Doubt

Let last night be the last time we doubt the New York Islanders and of what they are capable. In the first meeting of the year with the Ottawa Senators (on paper a far superior team and a team that has dominated the Isles over the years), the Isles stuck with the Sens and managed to pull out a 3-2 shootout victory. The Isles not only competed with the Sens, but they finally looked like they belonged on the ice with the perennial Canadian powerhouse. The Isles are among the top defensive teams in the league, and if Rick DiPietro continues his solid play, there won’t be many teams that the Isles can’t handle.

The Sens had the Isles running around for the first 10 minutes or so, but after the Isles were able to withstand the barrage of shots, they were able to regain their composure and implement Ted Nolan’s strong fore-checking defense-first system. DP was solid in net, but he did not have to be spectacular until the shootout. He allowed two strange goals, but was more than solid over the course of the game. There are few goaltenders I would trust in a shootout over Rick DiPietro.

Silinger has had two good games this season: his 1,000th game a few weeks back and last night’s contest. Silinger looked at ease on the rink, his skating looking smoother, and his shot harder and more accurate. He actually looked more adept than Mike Comrie as the center on the PP because he was successfully moving the puck to his teammates and getting quick shots off on Emery. He chipped in a go-ahead goal and scored the deciding goal in the shootout. Yet what most reflects that Silinger had an edge last night was his dominant faceoff percentage that saw him win 17 out of 23 draws, good for over 70% faceoff percentage. It’s not like I don’t like Mike Silinger—it’s more that Isles fans became accustomed to consistent solid play last season and thus expect that consistent play to carry over into this season.

Simon is a waste of a 1st line forward and I was happy when Nolan reduced his ice time and sent him back to 4th line duty. The 1st line cannot seem to get going, having expelled all of their magic during the first weeks of the season. By first line I mean Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin, both of whom cannot find the score sheet on a consistent basis. The Isles are desperate for a new first line winger, one who can skate and finish on a more regular basis.

It has now been 10 straight games in which the Isles have scored 2 goals or less. I repeat that’s 10 straight games in which the Isles have not had at least 3 goals in a game (last night’s shootout ceremonial goal does not count). Even more strange is that the Isles are now 5-4-1 over that stretch. Most teams that manage a mere 17 goals over 10 games without scoring more than 2 goals in a game would probably have a record of 2-8 or worse. This is a tribute to the Isles strong defensive play that has seen them only allow 20 goals over that same span.

I thought MAB looked particularly strong in his own end last night and I am hoping Nolan will reward him with more playing time. Last night MAB received more ice time than Sutton, Gervais, and Campoli and look for Nolan to continue to ride MAB until the latter causes Nolan to decide otherwise.

Quarterly Grades

20 games into the season, and it's time to hand out the B&O first quarter grades. The Isles are currently 12-8 and have much to be proud of after most predicted the Isles to be near or around the bottom of the NHL after many core players bolted last summer. After losing Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake, Victor Kozlov, & Tom Poti, Garth Snow revamped the roster wit the additions of new Blood like Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Josef Vasicek, & Andy Sutton, the Isles under coach Ted Nolan are surprising the league once again.

Mike Comrie -- Comrie started his Isles career with a bang, notching 2 goals in each of the Isles first two games of the year. Although a gifted playmaker, fans finally thought the Isles had landed that game breaking player who could score the big goal late in a game. So far, Comrie has put up respectable numbers for a #1 center with 7 goals and 11 assists, good for 18 points. However, Comrie's plus/minus of -8 is rather alarming, considering how much ice time he gets (almost 20 minutes a game). Comrie is prone to defensive lapses and often turns over the puck when he should be looking to shoot. He seems to have lost his confidence in his shot, as we see night in and night out a player who dishes the puck to a teammate even though he is in the best shooting lane. He only has 2 goals in the Isles last 10 games. In addition, he has amassed 24 penalty minutes thus far, which is too much for a player as quick as Comrie; he needs to learn to rely on his speed and not his stick while back checking.
B&O gives Mike Comrie a B-.

Ruslan Fedotenko -- Tank has shown he can score the big goal and he certainly has a nose for the net. He is not afraid to get involved in the rough stuff either, and he can be seen on most nights battling in the corner for loose pucks. However, Tank has never been a first line winger, and his inconsistent numbers are not surprising. Thus far, Tank has 6 goals and 7 assists, which are respectable 2nd line numbers. But also with only 2 goals in the Isles' last 10 games, Tank highlights the Isles' need for a true number one winger.
B&O gives Ruslan Fedotenko a B.

Miroslav Satan -- Miro had a tremendous steak this season in which he scored the game winning goal in three straight games. That seemed to sprinkle memory dust on Isles fans regarding Miro's first 10 games which he only scored 1 goal. However, Miro has played a huge part on a line with Josef Vasicek to give the Isles a better than average second scoring line. Further, Miro leads the isles with a plus/minus of +6, while taking only 3 penalties so far. I don't think Miro is quite the 35-40 goal scorer he once was, but if he can notch a clutch goal every now and then, while keeping the opponents off the score sheet more times than none, then I'm pretty comfortable with Miro as the second line winger.
B&O gives Miroslav Satan a B+.

Bill Guerin -- What Bill Guerin has not done on the score sheet, he has definitely done off of it. Although Guerin has only 5 goals and 6 assists on the season (and NO POINTS IN HIS LAST 9 GAMES) he has provided the Isles with the leadership and stability the Isles have lacked in perhaps 15 years. Alex Yashin is a distant memory and Guerin has this team ready to go on a nightly basis. Although we thought we were getting a perennial 30 goal scorer, instead we got a player who has stabilized the franchise, with the ability to chip in every now and then.
B&O gives Bill Guerin a B.

Josef Vasicek -- For under a million dollars per year, the Isles found their leading goal scorer after 20 games. Vasicek is also a +4 on the season, and has one of the highest shooting percentages in the entire NHL. With more power play time, Vasicek's numbers should soar. The question still remains however will Ted Nolan finally realize that this guy belongs out there on the PP over Mike Silinger?
B&O gives Josef Vasicek an A-.

Chris Campoli -- Campoli has made me eat my words, and I couldn't be happier that he has done just that. After I predicted another terrible season for Camps, he came out flying, racking up 11 points so far. He has become much more adept at the physical game an NHL defenseman needs to embody. Camps and D partner Bruno Gervais have established themselves as very reliable 3-4 defenseman. While Campoli does possess strong offensive skills, Nolan should leave the PP duty to MAB and Berard.
B&O gives Chris Campoli a B+.

Mike Silinger -- On paper, Silinger is pretty much doing his job: 3 goals, 5 assists, a -1 rating, and a better than average faceoff percentage. However, anyone who has watched Mike play this year, knows the Isles made a mistake when they signed him to a 3 year deal. His decision making is slow, his reaction time even slower, and his feet even slower than that. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with Silinger if I weren't forced to watch him screw up the PP on a nightly basis.
B&O gives Mike Silinger a C-.

Trent Hunter -- It feels like deja vu, the yearly wait for Trent Hunter to get his game going. I've never been a big Trent Hunter fan, and this season surely hasn't changed my perspective. For a guy who gets as much PP time as Trent and as many first line minutes, he needs to have more than 4 goals, especially with the shot that he has. Trent has taken 64 shots, so it's not like he's not getting it off--it's just that he isn't scoring. He is BY FAR the slowest player on the Isles, and quite possibly the league. He is a -6 on the year, which is strange for a strong defensive player. Although a somewhat effective penalty killer, Trent needs to turn up the offense if he wants to prove he's worth more than the Isles are paying him this year. Otherwise, I'd let him walk. (Although no other team would give him the PP and first line time he gets on the Isles and I have a hard time imagining him topping 10 goals on another team).
B&O gives Trent Hunter a C.

Richard Park -- Richard Park won fans over completely by scoring two goals in the last and most important game of the season last year against the Devils. This season, Park has done everything right. He has successfully filled in on each of the Isles' second, third, and fourth lines. He has put up similar offensive numbers to that of Silinger and Hunter it almost half the ice time. He is one of four Islanders who have a plus rating so far.
B&O gives Richard Park a B+.

Bruno Gervais -- Bruno has certainly come into his own and is undoubtedly a reliable defensive defenseman, even with his small frame. He battles hard and is rarely caught out of position or trapped in the offensive zone. He has an even +/- rating so far, and his consistent solid play has him close to untouchable status on the Isles roster.
B&O gives Bruno Gervais an A-.

Marc-Andre Bergeron -- In only 12 games MAB has put up 6 points, which is disappointing after he had almost a point per game is 23 games as an Islander last year. MAB has often been the scapegoat of the Isles struggles, as he has been benched for 3 games, then 5 games after making poor decisions with the puck during Isles losses. However, the Isles are indeed 8-4 with MAB in the lineup and 4-4 without him. In last night's game against Boston, Nolan finally got it right by dressing 7 defenseman and sitting Tim Jackman and his meaningless 3 minutes of ice time. Dressing 7 defenseman keeps everyone fresh and is tremendous insurance in case of an injury. While MAB is hardly a reliable defensive defenseman, he rarely makes mistakes in the defensive zone, and has ZERO penalty minutes this season. To me, it's one of those 'you can't put your finger on it, but you know you want him in there' things.
B&O gives Marc-Andre Bergeron a B.

Sean Bergenheim -- Bergie has fit in nicely on the Isles' second line, although the Isles probably need a winger who could contribute more offensively than Bergie and his 1 goal so far. If Tambellini isn't ready for this role, I strongly believe Ben Walter could handle this position. Although a natural center, BW has shown himself to be a smart two-way player and I do not believe he would have any trouble adjusting. Bergie is best suited as a 3rd line checking winger.
B&O gives Sean Bergenheim a B-.

Bryan Berard -- We will always love Berard in some way because he came into the NHL as an Islander and won the Calder Trophy in his rookie campaign. Berard is a more than capable PP quarterback, but he does miss the net too often and needs to limit his mistakes in the Isles' defensive zone. I would enjoy both Berard and MAB more if they were used as a platoon as the 6th defenseman while sharing PP time.
B&O gives Bryan Berard a B-.

Andy Sutton -- Sutton can hand out some pretty devastating hits, but he really is nothing more than a 5-6 defenseman. He eats quality minutes, and if he can do that without making any costly errors, than I'm all for keeping him around.
B&O gives Andy Sutton a B.

Brendan Witt -- Is there any defenseman you'd rather have out there against an elite NHL player? Witt has been able to neutralize some extraordinary talents this year--just ask Jaromir Jagr. He is a +2 on the year, and is the backbone and the heart of the franchise. I would sign Witt to a 2-3 year extension ASAP.
B&O gives Brendan Witt an A.

Radek Martinek -- Radek hasn't put up those tremendous +/- numbers as he did last season, but that should not be interpreted to discredit his strong defensive play. He breaks up 2-on-1s, blocks shots, and could probably quarterback the PP if he were asked to. The Isles have given up more than 2 goals only 3 times in the last 10 games, and much of that has to do with the strong play of Martinek and Witt.
B&O gives Radek Martinek an A-.

Chris Simon -- good role player, good teammate, not so good hockey player. He's older and slower than ever, and should be limited to 4th line or emergency PP duty. With an even +/- he certainly hasn't hurt the Isles this year.
B&O gives Chris Simon a B.

Andy Hilbert -- Finally Andy got his goal and finally we can adjust his projected goal totals without simply saying ZERO! Hilbert is NOT the problem on this team, although he is FAR from the solution. He is a very strong penalty killer and a smart two-way player. Although a player who sees almost 15 of ice time per night definitely should have more than 1 goal, Andy Hilbert contributes to the Isles every night by killing penalties, which is more than I could say about Chris Simon, Tim Jackman, or Aaron Johnson, who all had brief stints with the club this season. I'm on board the Hilbert train, LET'S GO ANDY!!!!
B&O gives Andy Hilbert a B-. (C+ before last night).

Wade Dubielewicz -- Not given much action, Dubie proved useful by playing steady and allowing the Isles to come back against Pittsburgh during Al Arbour night. Although his numbers are alarming (5.08 GAA & .836 save %), we all know Dubie is capable of stealing a win. And with DP on pace to play around 75 games, Dubie should be able to provide a steady hand however rarely he is needed.
B&O gives Wade Dubielewicz a C+.

Rick DiPietro -- The face of the franchise has established himself as a top-5 goaltender. If you were going to trade DP straight up for another netminder, who would you pull the trigger for? Lundqvist, of course, Luongo, you bet. Brodeur? Not at his age. Kiprusoff? Having a terrible year? At 26 years of age and $4.5 million for the next 14 years, you're not going to get much more bang for your buck. DP steals games--he makes saves that no other goaltender can make and he disrupts the opponents' forecheck with his uncanny ability to play the puck. Personally, I think the trapezoid rule behind the net has a lot to do with DP's success; it has forced him to remain in the net on plays he more than likely might turn the puck over. He has given up a few softies this year, and he did get shellacked against Carolina, but the Isles haven't had this kind of stellar consistent goaltending in a long long time.
B&O gives Rick DiPietro an A-.

SUMMARY: The Isles are off to a good start in a long season. The main problem has been the Isles inability to score goals on a nightly basis. Surprisingly, the Isles have NOT scored more than 2 goals for the past 8 games in a row!. And somehow the isles are 4-4 over that span. Snow should be on the lookout for offensive help, even if it costs the Isles more draft picks and prospects. I am ready to part with Tambellini and a first rounder if it meant the Isles could land someone significant. But all in all, a solid beginning to the 2007-2008 New York Islanders season.

Beyond Frustrated

By: Geoffrey Gottlieb

Today’s 12pm game was beyond sickening. I might be the least liked writer on this site after this article but the truth is the Islanders flat out stink. Let's start with the power play.

I don’t get how Nolan hasn’t seen in the past few games that we cant score on the power play. Tell me why Vasicek who has been our best forward night in and night out isn’t on the power play? I don’t understand how he isn’t out their on the 6-4 at the end of the game or the 5-3 or on any power play. Clearly by now we know he is a top forward on this team and needs to see power play time. His big frame would be much more valuable in front of the net than Sillinger's old slow body. In addition, as we say everyday, we need Bergeron for the power play. There isn’t any other team in the NHL that would look that lost on a two man advantage. We couldn’t convert last game on two 5-3s and tonight on a long 5-3 and 6-4.

Andy Hilbert's time on Long Island better be coming to an end. I don’t care if he skates hard and has a lot of chances. He cant score goals, and when you are playing 14 minutes a night for a quarter of the season and not producing at all, a change must be made. Andy Hilbert is not talented enough to play in the NHL. (END OF STORY)

Hunter clearly overachieved last year. The guy is a 3rd line winger (you can possibly make the case for a 2nd line winger on a struggling team). 4 goals and 4 assist and a -7 doesn’t deserve 18 minutes of ice time. On any other team in the league Hunter wouldn’t be on the power play. The 5 forwards that need to be on the power play are Comrie, Fedotenko,Guerin, Satan, and Vasicek.

Nolan is making terrible coaching decisions night after night and it makes me sick. Maybe after today he will notice a change needs to be made. This team isn’t very talented offensively and are going to struggle scoring goals all year. Nolan does a terrible job with his line combinations and unfortunately I wouldn’t be very surprised if the Islanders find themselves well under .500 by the all star break. Wait till Ottawa on Wednesday. Then Islanders fans will see the Islanders true colors.
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My thoughts: MAB needs to be out there on the PP and in the lineup on a nightly basis. The Isles are 7-4 when MAB plays and 4-4 when he's out of the lineup. You do the math.

Silinger is getting worse. He is old and slow and his line is the most ineffective checking line in hockey, Hunter (-7), Silinger (-3) and Hilbert (-4) are clearly not getting the job done offensively or defensively. Satan and Vasicek have been the best two forwards on the team, yet are an afterthought on the PP. Jackman proved today how useless he is by getting demolished in a fight this afternoon.

Natives Are Too Much

Last night was the first game of the season in which I attended and what a disappointment it turned out to be.  With the NVMC at about 75% capacity, the team came out in the first very flat and the Habs jumped all over it after Berard floated the puck in front of Ricky, has no shot of stopping Berard's mistake.  

The two native Long Islanders, Chris Higgins and Mike Komisarek, both had outstanding games.  Higgins was flying around the ice all night, and made his most impressive play when he scored on a Montreal PP after beating Campoli from the corner.  Campoli was one of many Islanders who had a terrible night.  Komisarek played tough on D and I have much respect for him after willing to throw down with Witt, who right before their fight looked like he was possessed and fed up with the teams lackluster effort during the game.

The team had 44 shots on goal but many where from the perimeter and the few good shots either hit the post or flubbed by Hilbert or Sillinger.

I realize Sillinger is one of the best faceoff men in the league but does he need to see large amounts of power play time?  The powerplay lines should be Guerin-Comrie-Tank and Hunter-Vasicek-Satan.  I did like when Nolan put Simon on the powerplay as he is a big body to just put in front of the net for screens.  Also its time to bring MAB back in the lineup.  Sit Jackman, dress MAB even if he doesn't play a regular shift on D or 4th line, at least we know he will shot the puck on the PP, which has fallen flat on its face in recent games.  Campoli and Berard just love to pass back and forth to each other, Sutton seemed to take more shots in his limited PP time then either Berard or Campoli.  

ISLES 2 RANGERS 1

By: Bill (Guest Columnist)

Boy, I like the look of that. Outstanding TEAM effort tonight. This was the best game the Isles have played all year. Some thoughts:

Why can't DP play Lundqvist or Broduer every night? If he played with the focus that he brings to these games he would be unbeatable.

Snow needs to sign Vasicek to a long term deal on Jan 1 st.

Hunter was everywhere in the offensive zone. So was Satan.

Witt took Jagr out of the game completely. He and Martinek were great in the corners and in front of the net.

The Rangers really miss Straka. They are a different team with him in there.

Not to beat a dead horse, but did you guys count the times Berard missed the net on the PP? Bring back MAB.

Campoli is not the answer on the point. When we had a 2-0 lead and were on the PP we could have buried them right there. Instead we give up a shortie and let them right back in the game.


The PP needs to work on the 5 on 3.
Winning teams convert those chances.

Simon played his best game of the year. Hopefully, he is rounding into game form.

That little punk Avery tried to land on DP again. DP slugged him and got called. The refs blew that call. It is obvious that Avery attempts to injure the opposing goaltender whenever he can.
Good for DP. I guess he remembers last year all too well.

Enough of the "Ranger Hangover." Let's knuckle down and take two from the Canadians......Bill
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My thoughts: I was outraged when Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe criticized DP for punching Avery, calling it an unnecessary retaliation. They seemingly failed to remember that Avery had previously taken shots at DP in the head, contributing to his late season concussions last year.

Who’s Your Favorite Islander?

By: Geoffrey Gottlieb

Although Ted Nolan might be a great motivator, I strongly dislike and disagree with many of his in game “hockey” decisions. I know this might be overkill, but bare with me as we go back to last season. I agreed about demoting Yashin due to his poor work ethic; there were times when he didn’t back check and other times when he seemingly went through the motions of the game without any determination to score or set up a teammate. But, let’s also remember he was the reason for Jason Blake’s goal scoring explosion and the Islanders strong first half of last season. Yashin had 50 points in only 58 games last season and clearly was the most talented forward on the team. However, when it came to playoff time, Ted Nolan decided to demote Yashin to the fourth line and to significantly reduce his ice time. In turn, Nolan gave Randy Robitaille 16:26 and 18:33 minutes of ice time in the first two-playoff games. Robitaille was the worst player on the ice every night. He had a minus rating in every game of the series except one totaling a –5 in 5 games. RR constantly turned over the puck and managed to play less defense than the defensively challenged Yashin. It’s baffling that Robitaille, who had 6 goals 17 assists in 50 games for the islanders, would get over 18 minutes of ice time and Yashin, who had 18 goals and 32 assists, would get 7 minutes in the same game. It’s even more baffling that Nolan broke up the combo of Yashin-Blake, which seemed to be unstoppable all season long. Let us also not forget Nolan almost blowing the season by sticking with Dunham for 4 straight games when he couldn’t stop a beach ball.

Nolan tends to favor some players and dislike others. The players he favors can do no wrong and they receive blocks of ice time. On the contrary, the players he dislikes don’t see the ice even if their production is encouraging. Once again Sillinger led the forwards in ice time for the past 2 games. In Pittsburgh with 19:38 and last night against the Devils with 21:28. Sillinger also received 2:08 of power play time against Pittsburgh 1 second behind Bill Guerin for most power play time for any Islander forward and 2:15 last night tied for most time by a forward. Why is Sillinger getting so much time when he clearly isn’t contributing? Sillinger 2 goals on the season 2:15 of PP time and the red-hot Vasicek who can’t stop scoring 2 seconds last night? The one positive of Sillinger’s game is that he wins (barely) a majority of his face-offs. Although winning face offs is very valuable, Sillinger doesn’t provide anything but that. He looks every bit his age and most nights is one of the worst players on the ice. Simply put he is too slow and can’t score.

Further, Nolan would rather play Tim Jackman than have MAB available for power play time. When you have been scoring 1 or 2 goals for the past 3 games, and losing two heartbreaking games, don’t you think you need MAB to spark the power play and provide some offense to a team that is recently having trouble scoring? It just doesn’t make sense. If I were the coach, I would combine Satan, Vasicek, & Hunter. Vasicek has been awesome recording a point in 8 of the last 9 games. His 6-5 214 frame is very difficult to defend. I would also combine Comrie, Guerin, and Tank as another line (Nolan finally reunited this line against NJ). This would leave you with 2 solid lines. The other 6 would obviously depend on whose in the roster tonight but should look something like- Bergenheim, Silinger, Bates (a pretty decent checking line) and thus leaving us with the overly skilled group of Hilbert Jackman and Simon on the 4th line. To be honest I would like to completely get rid of that entire 4th line and see more of Tambellini and Walter, and perhaps one of either Simon or Jackman.

On to another one of Nolan’s favorites: Andy Hilbert. Now 0 goals and 0 assists in 16 games. But yet is averaging 14:24 of ice time? Zero points but yet 14:24 of ice time? Why won’t Nolan give Tambellini a chance when Hilbert hasn’t produced? As Justin has repeatedly said, since we have an enforcer in Simon do we really need Tim Jackman? I think Nolan really needs to look at his ability to set lines and proportion ice time.

Stop playing favorites your job is to win games. We are 10-6 but if Nolan was making better coaching decisions we might be even better.

Pennsylvania Recap

After being swept on their two-game journey through Pennsylvania, the Isles and coach Ted Nolan must take a hard look at some of the reasons these two games felt like two of the most agonizing defeats. Even though these were only two games out of an 82 game season, they highlighted what the Isles need to do in order to take that leap from a competitive blue collar team to a true Stanley Cup contender. And don’t think that is too far beyond the capabilities of this group—the 2007-2008 New York Islanders might be 2-3 players away from actually being an elite team once again.

These two games first highlighted that Silinger is at best a 3rd line checking center and a PK specialist, although his recent play suggests he might actually be best suited for 4th line duty. What this guy is doing out there on the power play, I don’t think any rational hockey fan can fathom. Silinger almost hit 30 goals in each of the last two seasons, yet after 15 games this year, he has a mere two goals. It’s not as if this guy is even getting chances that he’s missing (shout out to Andy Hilbert). Rather his play is uninspiring and consistently lackadaisical. I think he’s the goat of the offense this season and he’ll be lucky to hit double digits in goals.

Once again the Isles got a PP opportunity in the final minutes of a game in which they were down by one goal, and once again the Isles failed to register a shot, let alone a decent scoring chance. Say what you want about MAB’s defensive lapses, the Isles PP looked lost without his poise and shot threat. Berard is not some magical PP wonder boy who can immediately ignite a faltering PP by simply showing up. Nolan should have MAB and Berard work the points and rotate his two top scoring lines at forward. This Silinger nonsense is quite pathetic for a very good NHL coach.

For the past two games, the Isles offense let them down. And this isn’t because Snow failed to sign a top rate sniper. It’s more because the Isles seem content to throw outside perimeter shots at the opposing goalie while hoping some freak play goes their way. It took Vasicek knocking a puck down out of midair, then maintaining control of the puck before flipping it over a flopping Biron to get the Isles back in the game. Nine times out of ten, that play does not lead to a goal. In addition, I rarely see Trent Hunter crashing the net. He’s too busy cycling the puck along the boards with Fedotenko and Comrie to realize his value is in front of the net, as the three continute to work over the opposing team’s D only to settle for a low percentage shot. Times like these make me long for Mark Parrish—at least he could take a beating if it meant scoring a goal.

Brendan Witt did make a bone head play last night and it cost the Isles the game. But it’s hard to come down hard on Witt who is undoubtedly the heart and soul of this franchise. He represents everything the Isles should represent: sacrifice, determination, motivation, hard work, etc. One accident doesn’t make the player. The Isles should have found a way to make up for this lapse.

Bill had it dead on: Ben Walter showed in his limited ice time that he was willing to crash the net and pay the price. It’s pretty much a waste to have both Tim Jackman and Chris Simon in the same NHL lineup. Why have a 4th line at all? Why bother holding onto Tambellini if Nolan is determined to never give him a fair shot?

Tim Jackman. Tim Jackman. Say it to yourself repeatedly. Tim Jackman. Speechless.

Half Full or Half Empty

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UPDATE: Berard set to return against Pittsburgh
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There were some good signs last night during the Isles’ loss to the Flyers at the Wachovia Center, yet there were also some causes for concern. For the most part, the Isles outplayed the Flyers as evident by a majority of the game being played in the Flyers’ defensive zone. On the other hand, the Flyers kept the Isles to the outside of their zone, which led to 26 low percentage shots by the Isles. Silinger scored his second of the season on a nifty backhander and Simon was able to drive through a loose rebound, but for the most part, the Isles had a difficult time generating consistent scoring chances. Biron was able to see most shots he faced, including both the Isles’ goals. In a game like last night’s, the Isles must learn to get more traffic in front of the opposing goaltender and learn to collect some harder fought garbage goals. They can cycle for 10 minutes straight, but if you don’t get the puck toward the net with some pressure, it’s going to be extremely hard to come from behind on a nightly basis.

Rick DiPietro was not the problem last night. He could not be faulted on the first goal where Ruslan Fedotenko pretty much gave Scottie Upshall a perfect one-time pass in front of the net. Likewise, Upshall was later given a full ice breakaway where he showed some great poise faking to the forehand and stopping short to slip the puck in on the backhand. The Flyers got their third goal on yet another breakaway, where DP made the initial save and yet had no help on the rebound. With only 17 shots against, DP was not a factor in the decision of the game, but he was certainly not at fault. We have been spoiled with a goaltender that can steal games. But merely because he could not steal this one, it does not follow that he was to blame.

Mike Silinger has got to be the worst power play center in all of hockey. The Isles had a power play with 4 minutes remaining and a solid chance to tie up the game. Silinger was on for about 45 seconds of that PP. First he made a lazy pass in the offensive zone which led to a Flyers’ clear, then as the Isles tried to generate one final rush, Silinger misplayed a pass and turned the puck over in the neutral zone. He won less than half of his faceoffs last night, so if that’s the reason why Silinger sees time on the PP then Nolan better get his eyes checked. I thought Silinger was better last night overall (possibly because he wore the “C”) but he clogs up the PP and needs to be replaced by a better playmaker. The Isles really miss Berard on the PP.

Giveaways were the Isles’ Achilles heal last night. Tank’s giveaway to Upshall, a defensive breakdown leading Upshall’s breakaway, and Vasicek’s lazy backpass leading to the third goal were the differences last night. Marc-Andre Bergeron showed glimpses of his inner soul, making numerous poor decisions with and without the puck. However, MAB has been pretty consistent since his benching two weeks ago, so I am confident Nolan will stick with him for the time being. MAB needs to learn when to press and when to sit back and allow the play to come to him. He was pretty well covered last night on the PP so Berard’s eventual return should free up MAB’s shot.

Let’s shrug this one off.

Brodeur Discredits Isles' Strong Performance

A game in which the Isles took no penalties and gave up merely one goal when Brendan Witt accidentally deflected the puck past DP, Martin Brodeur had this to say:

"I don't think they beat us. Look at the two goals they got."

Wow!

Look at the one goal the Devils got Marty. You're team couldn't manage to score on its own and needed to rely on an Islander basically shooting the puck past DP. Shame on Marty for allowing his frustration of not winning game 500 to discredit a tremendous Isles effort.

Now to the game...

Yes Miro Satan's PP goal was gift-wrapped, but his game winning goal tonight gives him the game winner in three straight games. That's pretty tough to beat. Silinger continued to 'unimpress' me with his lackadaisical play, spotty face off percentage, and poor decision making on the powerplay. (Why does Silinger see PP time?)

The Vasicek-Satan-Park combination produced again, but I still believe this line would be even better suited if a more skilled player were substituted for Park. I'm very disappointed that Ben Walter hasn't been given much of a chance to play above the fourth line. He would seem like a logical choice to fill Park's role on this line, which would allow Park to concentrate on killing penalties. But Nolan probably won't mess with a good thing at this point.

Campoli added two more assists tonight giving him 11 points in 13 games thus far. But after Campoli's rookie year, we all knew he had the offensive instincts to contribute on the PP and the skating ability to join the rush. What most of us couldn't have predicted was that Campoli would bee capable of stepping up his defensive game in order to become one of the most reliable young defenseman the Isles have had in quite some time.

Contract Talk

With an 8-4 record after 12 games thus far, the New York Islanders have managed to elicit both a feeling of euphoria and of paranoia among the Isles community. The euphoria is an easy one to discern—competing with elite teams, sporting a top winning percentage, and beating the Rags twice will surely give fans their money’s worth. But a hot start for the Isles is a double edged sword because it begs the question: Will this be the only year we get to see this group together?

After Garth Snow offered a plethora of one year contracts, this may in fact be the lone year this particular group is allowed to remain intact. Let’s look at some of those players whose contracts expire at the end of this season.

1. Mike Comrie – With 5 goals & 10 assists in the team’s first 15, Comrie has certainly proved to the east coast that he’s the real deal. A very shifty and quick natural center, Comrie has all the tools to be a point-per-game guy for years to come. He’s not going to blast through any goaltenders a la Miro Satan, but Comrie has shown he has a knack for scoring big goals in big spots late in the game. His playmaking skills make any one of the lucky players to get a shift with him that much better. Yet with only 26 shots on goal so far, I’d like to see him get a few more shots off per game. Comrie is superb at making a quick move before releasing a deceptive shot, which keeps goaltenders on edge whenever the puck is on his stick. His contract situation is tricky—he signed a 1 year deal to play alongside his Edmonton buddy Bill Guerin for $3.375 million. We all know Comrie has a boat load of money waiting for him back in Canada, so it’s refreshing to see a player compete at such a high level knowing money is far from a priority. At 27 years old, Comrie is entering the prime of his career. And now that he has proven he can handle the responsibility of being the number one center, Snow needs to lock this guy up for 4-5 years. I would say a ballpark offer should be around $20 million over four years. He would probably command much more than that if he were allowed to test the free agent waters this summer.

2. Ruslan Fedotenko – What Isles fan this year hasn’t been impressed with the play of Ruslan Fedotenko? This guy works his rear off every shift, banging, cycling, shooting, and scoring. His two goal effort in Tampa’s Stanley Cup decisive game 7 victory in 2004 carries a resume of being a big game clutch performer. Tank’s huge tying goal against the Rags this past Tuesday proved that he can play in the big spot in New York. The Tank bashers have been on his case for years, claiming he’s just another prospect bust who will never amount to his potential. On the other hand, the Tank supporters have been commending this guy for years, claiming he’s been playing in the shadows of elite players like Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Good thing Tank has proven the latter to be correct. The hockey world ripped Snow for signing Tank to $2.9 million one year contract after a mere 12 goal effort last year—a 14 goal drop from his previous season’s total of 26 goals. I believe ESPN rated this signing as the WORST of the off season. Thus far, Ruslan has put up better numbers than each of Tomas Vanek, Chris Drury, and Scott Gomez. Each of those players makes more than double what Tank makes. At 28 years old, Tank is the type of guy you go to war with. He seems to be a natural fit with Comrie. My offer is for a 3 year extension at $3.5 million per season.

3. Josef Vasicek – There’s something about this guy that makes you want to root for him. At 27 year’s old, Vasicek is also entering the prime of his NHL career. And with four goals and a plus rating as the team’s number two center, I’d say the Isles are getting their money’s worth here as Vasicek makes less than $1 million per year. He’s crafty, quick, and huge, and you can tell he’s really enjoying his time on Long Island. Radek Martinek, who is Vasicek’s best friend in hockey, is signed through the 2010-2011 season which makes me think Vasicek will be looking for a commitment from Snow. This guy might not end up with as many goals as Victor Kozlov did a year ago, but he sure isn’t prone to as many defensive lapses. I would offer Josef a 2 year extension worth $2-2.5 million per season.

4. Trent Hunter – Good old Trent has been scoring clutch goals for the Isles ever since he arrived on the scene back in the Leafs series of 2002. I’m never going to be a big Hunter advocate, but this guy has shown he can score the big goal in an Isles uniform. Although not blessed with great speed, Hunter makes up for it with a quick release and an uncanny ability to deflect pucks past goaltenders. He battles hard and at 27 years of age, has his best years ahead of him. As one of the longest tenured Islanders, Hunter is worthy of an extension. My offer is for 5 years at $2.5-3 million per season. That would nearly double his salary from this season and keep Trent on Long Island for the foreseeable future.

5. Miro Satan – Miro has seen it all and has played with them all. After a hot start to his Isles career as Alex Yashin’s wingman, Satan has only recently seemed to find his game again. He’s battling, shooting, scoring—scoring the way Miro Satan can score. Not many wingers in the NHL can come from a straight on angle and beat the NHL’s best goaltender with a wrist shot from 30 feet out as Miro did on Tuesday against Lundqvist. Now it’s too early to be thinking long term with Miro, but if February comes around and he’s on pace for a 30+ goal season, then a 3 year extension is a must. Guys who can score consistently in this league don’t grow on trees. We found one and we should keep him. Miro is making $4.5 million this year and will probably not accept a pay cut. I would offer 2 years for $10 million, but my gut is that Miro will test the waters this summer looking for a 4 year deal. I’m not sure the Isles want Miro locked up till he’s 37 years old. Tough call.

Final thoughts: Although Brendan Witt’s contract is not up until after the 2009-2010 season, he has proven to be the heart and soul of the Isles. At that time he will be 34 year’s old. I think Witt has earned himself a 2-3 year extension. He doesn’t rely on speed so I don’t see his age being too much of a factor in his mid thirties, and anyone who has watched Witt play hockey knows he isn’t going to be any less tough the older he becomes. Witt does all the little things—blocks shots, draws penalties, and plays a solid defensive game in front of DP. Speaking of DP, how nice is it (for now) to have an elite NHL goaltender locked up at $4.5 million per year. Charles Wang put his faith in DP and DP has returned the favor. Last but not least is Bruno Gervais. This kid has shown he can play at this level, something we all were unsure of before the season started. Bruno is a RFA this summer, so look for Snow to offer Gervais a multi year contract. My offer is for 5 years at $2 million per season.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,

-Justin

A Very Big Win

By: Geoffrey Gottlieb

Tonight’s game was a huge win for the Islanders. Not only did they beat their arch rival in the Rangers, but they have also improved their record to 8-4 and have moved into a tie for first place with the Philadelphia Flyers (with one game in hand). I have always been a huge Mike Comrie fan. I really enjoyed watching him play for Ottawa last year, and although he clearly didn’t play that the role of the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line did, he was a solid part of that team's offense. Comrie works hard every night and every shift. His pass to Fedotenko was absolutely incredible. He was all over the ice and now has 15 points on the season.

Rick Dipietro was awesome as usual. He had 28 saves and many were spectacular especially the game saver on Chris Drury in the final minutes of the game. Fedotenko was great again as well. Lately it really seems that he is feeling more and more comfortable on the ice and really starting to generate solid scoring chances each shift. Although starting slow, Hunter has a goal in each of the last 3 games. Although he did make a terrible play tonight on the 2 on 1 in which he held the puck way too long, he made up for it with a tremendous shot over Lundqvist’s shoulder. He needs to do just that—make faster decisions and shoot the puck quicker.

The defense played pretty well tonight, and with Berard coming back on Saturday an excellent power play will be even more improved. My only problem tonight was Hilbert and Silinger. Hilbert gets way too much ice time. I don’t understand how a guy with 0 points and a –8 on a first place team is getting 16:51 of ice time. I don’t care if Hilbert skates hard, he isn’t talented enough to get that much time despite how hard he skates and his defensive attributes. He can’t score and tonight I believe he screened DP on Drury’s power play goal. As for Sillinger, to me right now he is the worst player on the team. He is 36 years old and I honestly think it’s time for him to hang up his skates. He had a great career playing in over 1,000 games and recording 525 points. However, no part of his game looks remotely decent. He is averaging 18:53, which I think is ludicrous. The best part of his game over his entire career was his ability to win face-offs. Tonight he lost 9 out of 15 face-offs. I hope I am wrong and he can turn his game around but I doubt that after a horribly lethargic start to this season. On a more positive note the team continues to play well and with the solid goaltending of DP, the Islanders can beat any team in the league on any given night right now.

First and 10

After the first 10 games the Isles are 6-4, which seems to be a tremendous start to the season after the league's expectations werre so low.  I am happy with the record but not as happy with what is actually happening on the ice itself.

Goaltending:

Ricky has been everything we could have asked for and more, basically picking up where he left off from last year giving this team a chance to win every night, aside from that one fluke against Carolina.  Doobie is still a question mark in my eyes. As we all know he carried us into the playoffs last year, but his one game against Toronto this year indicated that he may still be operating at an AHL level and just caught fire last season.  I also believe that Nolan playing Doobie in that game was a mistake, especially considering all this downtime our team has had. The Toronto game I will say was half Doobie's fault and half Nolan's as he should have realized that Ricky probably wouldnt have been tired after merely 10 games in a month.

Defense:

Witt, Marty and Sutton have all played as we expected they would.  MAB, while a great weapon on the PP, has clearly shown us in these games that he is at best a number 6 defenseman in the NHL (Please Nolan move MAB to Aaron Johnson's spot on the 4th and Johnson to the D).  

The best news so far from the blue line is the progress that Campoli and Gervais have made from last season to this season.  If they continue this play for the remainder of the season (knock on wood) I believe we will be doing some damage in Lord Stanley's playoffs compared to our previous years of 1 and done.

Offense:  The forwards so far have overall been a disappointment in my eyes.  Comrie, Tank, Vasicek, Park, Guerin have all played at least up to expectations so far.  During times Silinger and Hunter as well as a few others have been lost on the ice, but towards the end of these first 10 games, have shown some sparks that they are finding their legs.

Coaching:  Questionable starting Doobie in the one game he started, as well as Aaron Johnson playing the 4th line with Simon for 3 minutes a game.  If this team is going to go anywhere we are going to need 4 full lines and can't just rely on two or three lines as the team has done so far.  If Nolan would trust some of the younger players more, we would be able to roll 4 lines that could all probably contribute.  Even if they got 7-9 minutes a game on the 4th line, it would be a huge learning experience for Tambellini, Walter, or anyone else in the Bridge that can make the jump for a test drive in the NHL.

Notes:  Not sure how many of you have Directv but NHL network has recently been launched and it has easily become my favorite channel.  Within the last two days alone they have played such vintage games from the dynasty years including the cup clinchers of '82 and '83 as well as game 7 against the Rangers from '84.

Taking Out the Garbage – Isles Weather the Storm

After looking lost in an 8-3 rout to the Canes last weekend, Rick DiPietro and the Isles put in just enough to pull away with a 4-0 victory on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In what seemed like complete domination on the score sheet, Ted Nolan should be the first to tell you that the score did not necessarily depict how the game progressed. The Isles ran around like headless chickens throughout the entire first period and only heroics by DP kept the Lightning from jumping out to a two or three goal lead. The Lightning players were swarming around the Isles’ crease, yet insisted on attempting the perfect play which led to many missed opportunities. When a member of the Lightning decided to actually shoot, DP was there making a number of key saves including a tremendous glove save on Jan Hlavac’s breakaway. DP seemed confident in his puck handling decisions including one play where he paddled the puck out of the Isles’ zone before smashing Andy Hilbert across the face. (Come on who didn’t laugh at that?!) On that same play Bill Guerin was able to slap a rolling puck that knuckled through Marc Denis’ pads. I wouldn’t exactly call it a blast as did some other local paper, ahemmm Newsday ahemmm.

So the very fortunate Isles were able to escape the first period with a one goal lead instead of a two or three goal deficit. The Isles were able to tighten their play around DP for most of the second period and finally collected a garbage goal, the type of goal we expected the Isles to be cashing in on all season long. Josef Vasicek failed on his attempt to swat home a lose puck into an empty net, but the wind created by Vasicek’s wiff seemed to provide the puck with enough momentum to ricochet off the skate of a Lightning defenseman and into the net. But the Isles were at that dangerous point in the game holding onto a fragile two-goal lead, the same lead that they managed to squander the two previous times they had one. But not this time. Not on Mike Silinger’s 1000th game night. Seven minutes later, Mike Comrie made a nice play toward the net and Ruslan Fedotenko used some nice stick work to put home the rebound. What Isles’ fan wasn’t happy for Tank after seeing him stick it to his former team? DP continued to come up big for the Isles while notching his first shutout of the season.

This game was the epitome of a team going only as far as its goaltender will take them. If DP’s play had been spotty last night, the box score in the paper would have read something like Lightning 5 Isles 2. Heck, if DP would have been average last night the score probably would have read Lightning 3 Isles 1. But DP kept his team in the game long enough so that his teammates could get their legs going after another lengthy lapse between games. Now the Isles can maintain a positive atmosphere heading into Saturday night’s battle against Pittsburgh.

Some might say you have to be lucky to be good and you have to be good to be lucky. The former surely applied to the Isles' effort last night. Sorry NYISLES, I’m with Bill on this one. This probably has more to do with the fact that you hadn’t seen the game footage at the time of your post.

GAME NOTES:

Hilbert still looks perplexed when given any opportunity to score. (Grenade line best line of the month!) Watching Andy send his breakaway attempt 8 feet over the net was surely comical, especially with a four goal lead in the third. I was hoping DP’s smack across his face would knock some feeling back into his hands, but it didn’t work out. Maybe Chris Simon should take a whack.

Silinger seemed to get his legs back last night, probably because he was playing in front of his family and friends. Nolan might consider chaining Mrs. Sil to a Coliseum seat if it means her hub will show up on a nightly basis.

I agree that Campoli and Gervais really are beginning to look like a top-4 defense pairing, something I don’t think any one of us would have predicted at the beginning of the season based on last year’s performance.

MAB seemed poised and under control for most of the game. He made good decisions with the puck and rarely found himself too deep in the offensive zone. However, last night he couldn’t hit the ocean if he were standing on a beach.

I have seen enough of Hunter on the first line. He’s too slow and he clogs up the speedy duo of Comrie and Tank. That line did score twice last night, but I’d still rather see Guerin back with Comrie and Tank.

We Stink

The month of October has concluded for the Isles, and somehow we boast a winning record with a mark of 5-4. But one thing is pretty clear after tonight's shellacking—this is going to be one long season. For all the times this team has allowed its fans to feel like it could compete with the big boys, there have been equal moments when this team has generated a feeling that would have us fans long for the days of the late 90’s. And for those of you who plan on rebutting with some bogus notion that before the season we would have been happy with a 5-4 record in October, you can save your breath. No one should have anything positive to say about the Isles right now.

A lot of what transpired Saturday night at the Coliseum had to do with some very spotty play from goaltender Rick DiPietro. He was awful—just about the worst game of DP’s young career. He actually looked like he didn’t belong in the NHL, which is incredible for a goaltender who had been backing up his record breaking contract by proving to the world that he actually is a top five goaltender. But tonight DP couldn’t control a rebound if his life depended on it. His stick handling was terrible, his decision making even more terrible, and his goaltending even more terrible than that. There was nothing he could do about the first goal, but a poor misplay behind his own goal put the Isles in an early 2-goal hole. Poor positioning and a lack of focus gave the Canes 4 more goals, none of which should have gone in. Out of respect for his goaltender Ted Nolan tried to hold off pulling DP, but after the third goal everyone knew a Dubie sighting was inevitable. That being said, DP is the man and he will be fine. But tonight was a joke of a performance.

Now let’s rip on some of the players because obviously it’s never entirely the goaltender’s fault. And we will focus mostly on my least favorite line—the most overrated line in all of hockey: the “minus” line of Silinger-Hunter-Hilbert. Although they didn’t start the game together, Nolan quickly reunited them in order to show each of us how horrible each one of them has been this year. Let’s take them one at a time…

1. Silinger – Is it just me or does it seem like Mike Silinger has aged five years since last season? He really looks like a 44-year-old veteran who should retire right now, one game short of his 1,000th NHL game. Silinger, who somehow is supposed to reach close to 30 goals, is on pace for about 8 goals (only b/c he netted a lucky goal with five seconds left tonight or his pace would have been zero). He is a minus 7 (-7) for the season and only has value to the Isles because he happens to be a very good face-off man, even at his growing age of 59. I was kidding about having Silinger retire, but Nolan has got to stop playing this guy on the power play because he’s completely killing us.

2. Hunter – Trent Hunter hasn’t done much to make the Isles or any other team want to sign him to a long-term deal. Currently Hunter is a minus 5 (-5) through 9 games and can't seem to keep up in a fast-paced NHL. Hunter with his one goal this year is also on pace for 8 goals, but has largely been a non-factor on the score sheet this season. I’m tired of waiting each season for him to get going.

3. Hilbert – I saved the best for last. Oh Andy please find a defroster to unfreeze your stone-cold hands. Hilbert is a minus 8 (-8) and has no goals and no assists, which gives him a pace for…yes zero goals and zero assists.

I’ve been saying it for a while now—if this line is not going to do the job offensively, then it MUST do the job defensively. The “minus” line now has a combined +/- of minus 20 (-20) through the team’s first 9 games. Ouch! Can someone say Tambellini? Bates? Nielson? Anyone???!!!!

Campoli to me is the one bright spot so far this season, averaging a point-per-game with a much stronger defensive effort in his own zone. However, he did seem to force the issue way too much at times tonight which led to some bad turnovers.

Ok, the Isles really aren’t as bad as I’ve made them out to be tonight. A 5-4 record is very respectable month’s worth of work, but having two games in a month where you give up 8 goals is not a good omen. DP put the Isles in a hole tonight and it seemed to snowball out of control. The Isles need to shake this one off and come out strong against Tampa on Thursday.

But as great of a feeling as it was a week ago to know they could sit for a week on a nice win, that’s how horrible the feeling must be now in the Islander locker-room knowing they have 5 days to contemplate a fun fulfilled night of garbage.

I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic but...

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UPDATE: Berard out 2-4 weeks
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Some things still concern me...

1. For the second consecutive game the Isles squandered a 2 goal lead in the third. As alarming as that is, we also have the distinction of being 2-0 when squandering 2 goal leads in the third, which is undoubtedly tops in the NHL.

2. For the second straight game Nolan makes a fool of himself by starting an offensively worthless Aaron Johnson at forward. What's worse is that Nolan probably sees this as a smart move because he had an extra defenseman available after Berard was forced to leave the game early.

3. Where is MAB? I could understand punishing MAB for one game (two at the most) but three games is overkill. MAB proved to be a more than valuable asset to the PP, and if we are not going to consider him for the long haul, then we better get him in the lineup so we can maximize his trade value. Personally I think Nolan needs to show MAB a little more loyalty than he has thus far. There have been many players who have blown some plays in worse ways than MAB has. I always go back to Dunham. Mike Dunham played horribly in the most important games of the season for the Isles last year, yet Nolan tried to push him through it. MAB had ONE horrible game in a MEANINGLESS game against the Leafs where we lost 8-1. MAB was hardly the lone culprit that game, yet has been singled out as the lone scapegoat.

The Isles did a fantastic job responding to two quick goals by the Devils in the third period in last night’s game. Guerin has really picked up his play and Campoli is in all-star form. Comrie and Guerin seemed to be the happiest when they are playing together so I would put them back on the top line together. The second line now has life with the addition of Bergenheim. I am hoping Bates can finally come back and play on the 3rd line with Silinger and Hunter. Nolan should then move Hilbert to the fourth line with Park and Simon and we can move away from this ridiculous notion of starting Aaron Johnson at forward. Hilbert has been a serviceable penalty killer, as has Park, so they should continue to see PK time as well as some time on the fourth line.