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