ATLANTA 5, ISLANDERS 1
Gordon OK with effort; Ice Breaker fires back
10:15 pm, The NVMC - The Game: Playing a reeling Atlanta squad, losers of 8 of 9 and potentially on the verge of major changes, the Islanders could not finish on offense or defense and kept the home crowd sitting on its hands after the first minute in a demoralizing 5-1 defeat. In the third period, the loudest noise on the rink was the slamming of the Islanders bench door in frustration.
Yes, the Islanders hit two posts seconds before the Thrashers went down the other end and scored to make it 5-1. You could point out that the Thrashers incredibly scored on their only two shots on goal of the period 18 minutes into the third. There was also the total shots on goal: Islanders 29, Thrashers 17. But none of this would sum up the Islanders’ bad luck as much as illustrate their inability to finish, or disguise the defensive breakdowns on three of the first four goals.
The Islanders are now just two points behind Tampa Bay and one point behind the Thrashers in the battle for last place in the National Hockey League.
POST-GAME SOUND
In his post-game press briefing, Scott Gordon was more flabbergasted than pissed. He said he had no problem with his team’s effort. He said, “There’s not too many guys I could criticize for their overall play.” He pointed out how much time the Islanders spent in the Atlanta zone.
There was no talk from Coach Gordon about a 5-1 loss at home against the team with the worst record in the NHL being unacceptable.
In the Islanders’ dressing room, Joey MacDonald expressed frustration over the bounces but also showed accountability. “It was one of those nights where the harder you worked, the worse it got,” said MacDonald. “I let them down tonight.”
STORYLINES
Blake Comeau made his NHL season debut after being recalled this morning from Bridgeport. Said Gordon, “He played well.”
On his second shift he went right to the front of the net, had two good scoring chances and then buried Garnet Exelby along the boards. Late in the second period with his team down 3-1, Comeau destroyed Todd White at center ice. Midway through the third, Comeau clanged a post so loudly you could hear it at the Starbucks across Hempstead Turnpike.
“We wanted Blake excelling within the system and being our best player night in and night out,” Sound Tigers coach Jack Capuano told Point Blank before his team faced Norfolk tonight. “For the last few weeks, Blake was. He earned the promotion. He was distributing the puck, keeping his feet moving, standing up for teammates and, most importantly, going to the net. He did everything we asked of him.”
Jeff Tambellini started a conditioning stint in Bridgeport tonight, after agreeing with his team that it was for the best. Capuano played the left wing on a top line with center Ben Walter and right wing Jesse Joensuu in the Sound Tigers’ 6-3 loss to Norfolk. Tambellini had 8 shots on goal.
“I met with Jeff when he arrived here this morning and he was relaxed, positive,” said Capuano. “He knows what he has to do. We want to make sure he’s getting to the net, getting to the greasy areas. Although he’ll see power play time and we want to put him in position to find his scoring touch, it’s imperative he does it within our team concept.”
Honorable Mention: Perhaps he’s standing out at a down time for his team, but again you really have to give it up for Tim Jackman. He made more happen in his fourth-line shifts than several Islanders combined did in theirs.
Just Sayin’: Marian Gaborik? No thank you. Ilya Kovalchuk? We’d gladly tear a few sheets out of a rebuilding plan for some of that.
Game Rating (out of 5 stars): 1.5 - No offense to the Thrash, who came here and did exactly what they needed to do. But man, that was ugly.
Islanders Performance: 1.0 - If you subscribe to the theory that winning - and only winning - sells tickets, this one is not gonna help.
Event Rating: 3.0 - We received an email from one of the Ice Breakers in response to our criticism of the whole enterprise last Saturday. Very politely, she let me know that they are still a team of FireDancers, the dance squad from the AFL Dragons - even though Charles Wang no longer owns the arena football team.
She said the Ice Breakers are waiting for a “large rug” to be delivered to the Coliseum to serve as a dance floor and they hope to perform a major routine in the near future. She said her team is comprised of outstanding professional dancers. “You will be blown away by what we can do,” she wrote, concluding with, “It is a work in progress. Please do not bash us just yet”!
Since the young lady did not go all Avery on me, I felt it was fair to give equal time.
Official Attendance: 14,174
Courtesy of Kinger: After scoring 6 shorthanded goals in their first 12 games, the Islanders do not have any shorties in their last 14 games.
Scouts in Attendance: Rangers, Calgary (playing in the Garden tomorrow), Philadelphia.
Thumbs Up: The Islanders donated $19,000 to Schneider’s Childrens Hospital as part of the team’s “Hockey With A Heart” campaign. The players will make their annual holiday visits to area hospitals later this month.
Next Up: The Islanders leave tomorrow for a four-game road trip: Monday in Toronto, Tuesday in Philadelphia, Thursday in Pittsburgh and Saturday in Columbus.
For Thursday’s Penguins game, there is an Islanders Viewing Party at Dave and Buster’s in the Source Mall in Westbury. The special guest will be defenseman Bruno Gervais, who’s a fun guy to watch a game with. Although my note says “Player subject to change,” the announcement would seem to confirm Gervais will still be on IR while the Islanders are on the road this week.
Comments.
78 Responses to “ATLANTA 5, ISLANDERS 1
Gordon OK with effort; Ice Breaker fires back”
Please Wait
1) GARTH SNOW,IF YOU READ THIS WHY ARE YOU BEING SO STUBBORN BY NOT ADDRESSING THE LACK OF TOUGHNESS THAT HAS PLAGUED THIS TEAM SINCE YOU TOOK OVER? WILL YOU NOT BE HAPPY UNTIL YOU ARE ABLE TO WATCH THE GAMES WITH COMEAU, OKPOSO, BAILEY, NEILSEN AND DIPETRO IN THE SKY BOX WITH YOU? IT IS BEYOND THE POINT OF BEING RIDICIOULOUS.
2)Bridgeport game got nasty at the end.
3)I didn’t get to watch the entire game yet because I was watching my Florida Gators lock up their spot in the National Championship Game but I was watching ATL and saying this is the worst team in hockey, except maybe Toronto. Yet some how the Isles lost big to them.
4) Talent just isn’t there. Get DiPietro, Okposo, and Nielsen back and it will help. Get toughness and it will really help. Fix the defense and they’ll get much better fast.
Agreed Strummer.
We need Kovalchuck. It’s evident after tonight. 1st round 09, second round 09? maybe a 4th? or 2nd in 2010? reluctantly, but i guess okposo as well. I mean we need a superstar who already is a superstar. Not okposo or bailey or tamby, or neilson or any of these guys who MIGHT be superstars. We need one who already is. We saw tonight what he can do. I will personally welcome him at the airport. And who says 26 year olds are not part of a youth movement. Lets get real. Do the right thing Garth.
MacDonald was a nice story but he is wearing down from workload, and the talent is not there…the effort is but we have minor league talent. What is the third period goal differential? Top of my head we have blown 4 or 5 3rd period leads..some teams don;t blow 5 third period leads in two years…weve done it in about 2 months
I agree Nyles. There are a few good things to look forward too.
Honestly, I think our defense is terrible. I think Snow needs to take a good look at a few of these guys. I can’t stand Sutton. I think he is terrible. He refuses to fight and only shows physical presence when he desides to cross check someone or do something dirty. Enough of this guy. Campoli, Witt and Streit are very good. Besides that, the isles have wayyyy too many defense breakdowns.
People have been high on Joey Mac, he has been solid. But he is a backup. He looks a bit worn down. His GAA and SVPCT in the third period must be the worst in the NHL. You can kill him for a lot of games they blew leads but he never made a big save in them either.
Strummer, What lack of toughness occured tonight? Guys stuck up for each other, Campoli fought Crabb for going after Bailey and Hilbert went after him too. I dont want Mitch Fritz up here to play 59 seconds a game. Jackman fought tonight. What do you want him to do? Injuries are all over the league this season.
Just back from the game …a few thoughts …
After the Jackman fight what song was played? No, not Eye of the Tiger or something of that nature …you guess it …a Pink song …I’m sad I even knew that!
Sutton - 2 awful penalties …enough with him already - tough guy, but can’t skate and takes lazy selfish penalties
Hillbert - plus in my book for sticking up for Bailey …proving that you don’t need to be a goon to show “toughness”
Comeau - right places …making things happen
Streit - continues to be a great pick up by Snow
I could go on, but i’d like to chime in on the whole “bring up more toughness” debate …I would rather see more youth with skill braught up and not have the score be 5-1 than having a lineup full of 3rd and 4th liners that are old, get my lunch handed to me, thus making it needed to have a bench of goons ….do people think Fritz would have stopped the beating?
I think if this goes on, Snow needs to bring every kid with a future up and have them play. Trade any veterans not signed past this year for whatever they can get in return, even if it’s not much.
It is not like th ebuilding is full , if Snow came out to the fan base and said…”We hung in as long as we could , but our franchise goalie is going to sit out the year, get healthy and we are focusing on 2009 ” I doubt anyone would get angry, hell the Knicks cleared out space for 2010 and you would have thought they won a title the way people reacted
AZS, you are right on. I dont think lack of toughness was an issue at all today. They played team tough. Jackman fought, (I thought the same thing about the Pink song, jesus) Campoli fought Crabb and Sutton is a joke. All he does is give up the puck and play like he is 5 foot 5 instead of 6 foot 6. He crosschecks from behind, slashes, all this after the whistle half the time. I can’t stand him.
Nyles, they cant just unload guys because they would be under the cap floor. They need to get salary back in return at some point. I do agree with you, but they are about 7 million over the cap floor so say they trade Guerin and Comrie, they would need a player with about a million in salary to come back just to keep the floor.
All in all I think Tambellini played well tonight….
What?
Oh..that was Comeau?
Oooooooooopppppppssssssss
Let’s clear something up real fast. There are plenty of guys with skill who can play the game at very high levels (much higher then most of the guys on this Islander team) and who will hit and can fight well. Garth Snow has taken every opportunity (except in the last draft where he did add some size and grit but also added more very small players) to add more soft and small players.
Teams play like gentlemen when Fritz is dressed. Buffalo has never acted so much like a bunch of choir boys as they did after Fritz destroyed Peters. NJ did give Neilsen the very dirty hit with Fritz dressed but it was when Gordon had glued his butt to the bench.
Snow could easily and in a way that would help his roster jam add good players who would keep the other team honest. He chooses not to. He and Gordon choose not to use Mitch Fritz properly.
Guys, Campoli and Hilbert coming after you isn’t really gonna stop anyone from running the Isles players. I admire what Campoli did, Hilbert’s effort after the Bailey hit was beyond lacking.
Fact is when Fritz was playing the other teams didn’t go after the top young players. Okposo and Neilsen would be playing today if other teams had a reason to worry.
I am a baffled at Snow and Gordon. All summer long we heard how the organization was going to force Rick to take breaks and not play so much that it was better for him. Rick even said that is a good idea. Gordon and Snow are both former goalies. How many straight games do you intend on playing a mentally (if not physically exhausted) MacDonald? His play has dropped off as a result of being mishandled. Thought this wasn’t gonna be an issue this year. Could you imagine if Rick just played 16 straight how everyone would be up in arms. It is to the point now Danis might be on his way down for his next conditioning assignment.
Fritz couldnt leave the bench agaisnt the devils because Mottau didnt get on the ice until there was less than 5 minutes in the game. If Fritz gets an instigator penalty then he and Gordon get a suspension. What would that accomplish? Fritz isn’t the answer. The Sabres have been choir boys all season if you haven’t noticed. Ruff is freaking out up there.
CB…….Isles have 22 points, Tampa has 20, they are not tied
Wherever I look, theres a few Isles fans hysterical regarding “toughness”. Well “toughness” was not the problem tonight at all… not one bit. My advice is to save the toughness hysteria for the games in which such complaints actually apply.
Fritz was in the lineup when Neilson got creamed so your argument holds no water.
As for the goalie situation, a lot of people were up in arms because they didn’t sign a quality backup goalie after Dubie left. Macdonald has shown he can be a good back up and play a lot. 16 starts in a row is too much for almost any goalie.
316 I wrote that Fritz was in the game when Nielsen was head hunted but it was only after it was clear that Gordon planned on not using him again. If youhave watched all the games like I have (and almost every one here agrees) when Fritz is in the line up teams don’t take the same liberties with the Islanders.
The Sabres have been choir boys all season you say? Your joking. You need to do some research on the Sabres. They have never been choir boys since Ruff took over and they definetly were not when they played the Isles the first game of the year.
I watch just about every game. The Sabres at the time we played them were in a huge slump. Lindy Ruff is a tough guy and even two seasons ago when we played them in the playoffs they lacked toughness so I don’t want to hear the Sabres argument. In the first game Craig Rivet fought. He never fights, something annoyed him so don’t give the Sabres game argument when it was 5-0 halfway through the game.
If anything, having Jackman here fills the purpose. He plays regular shifts, adds 500% more than Fritz can, and he sticks up for teammates. If Fritz is up here, I think it’s a waste that he rarely plays. If you want to put that on Gordon for not using him, I won’t argue that.
Did anyone else watch the Sabres Isles game at the beginning of the season where we were pushed around and beaten in fights? The sabres have at least 3 guys who are willing fighters who are tough. When we dressed fritz the game was different. They were much cleaner, peters was skating away from fritz until he finally got him to go. Fritz put a beat down on him in the 2nd period and the ice opened up even more. We didnt lose tonight 5-1 because of toughness but you can certainly make the argument that we would have more opportunities if we had some legitimate muscle to strike a little fear into opponents.
Fritz is more beneficial to the team then about 5 or 6 other guys who play regular and don’t make positive impacts. I am not saying the toughness has to be Fritz just that Snow has to fix it. He has had 3 years to get it right and he hasn’t. I do want to place the mismanagement of Fritz, MacDonald and several others on Gordon.
I’m not crying about losing. I hate to see it but this year it is necessary. We should still see more growth of all the players, that the team is protected, that the other teams don’t feel free to intentionally try to injure the players, that our coach and GM fully get it. That would make for a good year despite the record. The misuse of the goalies is getting as alarming as the lack of toughness.
Prtichett I am with you and so are most here. Other want to pretend that and all the other things didn’t happen this year. At any time tonight Atl could have tore the Isles up. Jackman did a very good job and glad to see Camps go but when the skirmishes happened Atl often had Valabik, Exleby, Boulton and othes on the ice. If they didn’t stay cool the players on the Isles couldnt’ have handled them.
I dont disagree with you strummer that is has been an issue. I feel however that tonight for the first time in a while that the Isles did it right when it came to being tough.
I think the toughness issue goes back 5 or 6 years. Seeing Neilson get run was terrible, and watching Bailey get run tonight wasnt much better but they went after Crabb and Campoli got him in the end.
I hear you about the toughness factor and it frustrates me as well. I think most of us know what we are getting into this season with this team and watching them get pushed around makes it tough to watch. At least a team that is losing and young that can stand up for each other is easier to take.
Strummer, Atlanta is awful. They are the worst run team in the league. They are worse than us. So if they want to have Boulton, Crabb, Valabik, Exelby then fine. They stink, they have nothing positive to look forward too except Brian Little and it looks like Kovalchuck is gone.
Thompson, Fritz, Jackman as a line combo doesn’t excite me, and it isn’t needed.
we should have a poll on who thinks we need more toughness (i.e. fritz or heavyweight thats not hilbert or campoli) my vote is for toughness. we have nothing to look forward to too so let us have fritz
we had godard and cairns and webb 5-6 years. godard came later though. more like 3-4 years but stll toughness wasnt a prob.
If Mitch Fritz was capable of playing 6 minutes or so a night and play a decent two way game then sure. He doesn’t get off the bench after the first period so what is the point of him being up here?
Kevin, I see it the exact opposite way. If this season won’t end in a Cup or even the playoffs I want to see how many young guys with skill and/or potential are currently residing in the system. It’s not feasible to bring them all up due to the cap floor, but I think between the Bridge and seeing guys up with the big club we’ll have a good idea.
I like the idea of a guy like Joensuu, who can fight but also do other things. From what I’ve seen of the kid he looks like he’s in the Lucic mode. That’s why, despite how much I like Fritz as a player, I don’t think his presence helps the team. Sending him out there to play a minute a game and spend 7 minutes in the penalty box takes a spot away from a more skilled player and prevents the Islanders from rolling 4 lines.
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: I want an enforcer on this team, but I want an enforcer who can do other things.
It was because Godard never got off the bench at times. How many times did DP get nailed when Godard wasn’t out there and the defense stand around and do nothing. Jonsson, Niinimaa, Hamrlik…those guys did NOTHING. Martinek? forget it. The forwards never did a thing to stand up for each other.
Godard fought and played a decent two way game. I liked him. Tim Jackman is a good version of Godard.
Nick, we have that guy now. Tim Jackman. The Isles rolled 4 lines tonight and I thought the forwards played well. The defense needs to get their heads out of their rears.
I agree with you, 316. Jackman deserves to stay because he can fight and do other things. Fritz either can’t do other things or the coach doesn’t trust him to do other things. The result is the same either way.
Let’s put it this way: given all the wailing and beating of breasts that’s gone on over Comeau this year, would you rather see Comeau in the lineup or Fritz? No-brainer for me.
i would like to see that too nick but its not going to happen but fights are gong to happen. i was just responding to isles316 on exelby crabb valabik and boulton and thorburn . besides nick only 2 guys can do that. laraque and neil
Atlanta can have all the goons they want and they can finish in the bottom 5 every year. Even when they made the playoffs they were awful. I’d rather watch Comeau be the best forward on the ice tonight for the Isles, then Mitch Fritz fight someone.
1- Tavares or BUST
2- Sutton is big and useless
3- I wish Wang would hire someone with REAL credentials as a President of hockey operations
Well, all I gotta say is……
THERE’S COMEAU!!!
Finally, thank God.
He had 3 more scoring chances tonight than Tambellini has seen all year.
(damn, I woulda laughed my ass off if he converted on that one right after Guerin’s goal)
Now, let’s figure out a way to get Joenssu, Smith and Iggulden up here (and I wouldn’t have a problem with Colliton either).
LET THE YOUTH MOVEMENT BEGIN.
Can’t wait to see Bailey, Comeau, KO on the PP play by the end of the year.
And yes, I wouldn’t mind seeing Wang open up the checkbook for Kovalchuck…the SECOND best player in the league behind Ovechkin.
Screw Tavares and the other guy. Trade the pick (as part of a package) to Atlanta for him.
I’ll take a proven commodity every time.
(Just keep him away from the Project Runway models).
Just my opinion
Trade the pick?
way to go -another bonehead mike milburyesque move…that makes lots of sense….
lets get kovalchuk…and thats all we will have…just kovalchuk…and he will be as ineffective as ever…with no one around him worth a damm…
this team needs to suck for a while and stock the system with some legitimate prospects..not this crap being sold to us as filet mignon…you can put a tuxedo on a pig..but at the end of the day..its still a pig
TAVARES or BUST
how is kovie the second best in the nhl? just wait the year and a half then overpay him
Atlanta is not going to trade Kovalchuk to the Isles, because we don’t have any blue chip prospects. Okposo, Neilson and Bailey aren’t elite prospects so there’s no match there. And I don’t want to hear about trading a No. 1 pick, that’s just insane.
we need a stable of horses to come up to the big club together.
Pittsburgh Penguins is the model we need to emulate
strong play by comeau tonight. did we really need to beat atlanta tonight? no.
“how is kovie the second best in the nhl?”
Just my opinion Kevin, don’t get your knickers in a twist.
Get him a passing center of the caliber that Bailey will be in 2 years (from what I have seen he’s better than most NOW) and Kovalchuck is a 60-70 goal scorer.
Again, JUST my opinion.
And Jon,
I predict that the Thrashers WILL trade Kovie this year. They are a franchise in serious financial doo-doo.
They may very well take a couple of bags of pucks for him just to unload the salary and make the eventual sale of the franchise more attractive.
Just sayin.
Joenssu would look great with Bergy. Maybe throw in Nielsen down the middle and that’s a hell of an energy line. They might not score a ton of goals, but looks to me like it can be a great line in the future.
You are right Islander505, I think they will trade Kovalchuk, I just don’t think the Isles can put together a package they would like and one that would be better than all the other teams. I do think they will get good value for him, more than they got for Hossa.
Forget the game, nice job CB throwing in TWO Ice Girl pictures.
Why do people continure to say that the Islanders are a young team. They are not a young team.
Also, reading the coaches comments in Newsday, never saw a coach so satisfied with a 5-1 lose to a last place team beore.
Lookat the bright side,The game was broadcast in Manderin Chinese for all those Chinese Islander fans. How can Howie say that on TV without cracking up? This franchise has to be the BIGGEST JOKE in ALL of sport!
LAst nights game was a stinker, however. Aren’t we getting kinda what we want. Some nice moments throughout the game. Comeau with a big hit, Jackman wins a fight Guerin scores right off the bat, then we lose. As much as I would love to make the playoffs win the cup, etc. We are not this year so stink it up get Tavares, move on. We have some nice young players in the system, like we are all thinking lets get that top draft pick can’t miss player that scouts are saying is going to be good and take it from there Agree with above comments to get Jonseuu, Iggulden, and Smith in here at some point. Lastly, Fritz will never work on the island unless he can skate more than Icegirls do when cleaning the crease of ice between shifts
COMEAU….Best islander out there last night by far.
Screw Kovalchuk. We need to start from the beginning with a young star. Kovie probably has 4 or 5 more good seasons in him but the Islanders need more time to build a supporting cast. Otherwise we will just be the Atlanta Thrashers Part II. No Thanks.
what else would sell tickets besides winning? Sparky or maybe knuckleheads?..lol
Kudos Chris for giving Jackman some credit - he’s played his tail off for this team and been fun to watch when he’s on the ice. Comeau was throwing his body around with reckless abandon last night, which was nice to see. He certainly didn’t look ‘lost’ in the system.
Glad to see Tambellini wasted no time firing pucks at the net. Hopefully they start going in for him & he can come back up with some confidence.
Finally, it’s time we stop thinking the Isles won’t be in contention for Tavares or Hedman. This team shouldn’t make the playoffs - another 1st round exit is exactly what they don’t need. A stud player like Tavares or Hedman is what we need.
People saying if we traded the pick for Kovulchuk, we’d have him and nothing…how would that differ if we drafted Tavares? We’d have Tavares or nothing.
I really have no strong opinion one way or another. We could use a legit number one center, which Tavares is PROJECTED to be. And we need a pure talent scoring winger, which Kovulchuk clearly is. Either way, we’d be served well.
Considering that Ilya will be a UFA at the end of the ‘09-’10 season it would be unbelievably foolish to trade what could very well be the top pick (or 2nd pick) in this draft for him.
I can see it now …the Isles trade the pick which turns into Hedman or Tavares for Kovulchuk …Kovie leaves after 2 seasons via free agency …those 2 players that could have been Islanders go on to have amazing careers and then we have to hear the whinning about what could have been …
Keep the pick …and lets start using our heads here people …
The biggest scandal to me - was that last night Jack Capuano SCRATCHED the great Mitch Fritz !!! HOW DARE HE ! I read in the Conn. Post that we lost the fights there. Now to the poster who asked who would you rather have - Comeau or Fritz - I say COMEAU. I was at the game and he looked pretty damned good.
That said - my “obsession” with Fritz is geared towards a need for a HAMMERING HEAVYWEIGHT on this team. I know Fritz can’t much skate or play hockey. But I sure want to protect our players and I want to be entertained ( since we ain’t going to win the cup this year or likely make the playoffs)
Also, for us who INSIST on the isles getting that last place finish to secure the future of the franchise, last night’s game was a “4 point game” - in that Atlanta is certainly a competitor to us for that last place slot.
Pat
Whenever it comes to potential trades, I play the game, “What Would Mikey Do?” I figure what Mike Milbury would do and then I realize that the opposite would be the right thing to do. Would I trade our first round pick for Kovulchuck? Hmmm….what would Mikey do? He’d make the trade. Therefore, I say don’t make the trade. Keep the pick.
Terrible game last night. I don’t think the effort was great despite what Gordon says. The perception as a viewer was that the effort was less than maximal on a team wide basis except for a few individuals.
The usual suspects that give effort every night include:
MacDonald: you can tell this guy really cares about the fortunes of the tema.
Hilbert: Gutsy effort every night.
Witt: Somewhat overmatched these days, but still high intensity effort.
Campoli: I just like his game. Not perfect, makes some mistakes… but you have to live with it.
Comeau: Best player on the ice for the Islanders last night… and I’ve been saying this since his debut last year!
Others: Streit, Park, Jackman, Meyer, Weight, Guerin, Bailey (gifted, and showed he can take a hit)
DOC
Face It, We don’t have skill players. This has been going on when you put Claude Lapointe, Shawn Bates, and now Richard Park, Andy Hilbert, Jon Sim, Nate Thompson, and Tim Jackman on the power play. These are not guys who create their own shots. These are players who get the garbage goals every once in a while and its good to have one or two on the team, but when we have so many of these types and few guys who can create chances and score, its a problem, and one that we’ve had for a long time. Look at these guys career track records…There’s a reason for it.
Bring up Smith, Iggluden. Give PP time to Comeau. Bring up Tambellini and put him with guys who can create their own scoring chances and then you can see if he’s the real deal or not. Don’t put him with grinders.
I dont think its that Gordon thinks the effort was great per se, I think that he is not interested in discussing these kinds of things with the media. He doesnt seem to want to pick it apart for the media before he picks it apart for the team, and intead just stays vague. Thats how it looks to me, anyway.
Gonna be a loooooooooooonnnnnngggggg season.
Chris Botta said:
The Ice Breakers are waiting for a “large rug” to be delivered to the Coliseum to serve as a dance floor and they hope to perform a major routine in the near future. She said her team is comprised of outstanding professional dancers. “You will be blown away by what we can do,” she wrote, concluding with, “It is a work in progress. Please do not bash us just yet”!
Sigh. OK, you are professional dancers. Thats nice.
But we are there to see professional hockey players. At least the Ice girls are skaters, and they do something that is necessary.
Professioanl dancers jumping around on a large rug is NOT needed in any way. The Ice at NVMC is bad enough!
now if we added a few poles to that rug that might boost attendance…just joking!!..lol
Finally just finished my Tivo version of last night’s game. Reading the comments as I was watching the game I had the impression that they played the worst game of the year. After watching I see it as just some bad breaks, and J-Mac just not able to make up for the defensive breakdowns. Aside from the score it was somewhat entertaining, but proof positive the Isles need a lot more help.
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Trading 1st pick + prospects (as mid level as they may be right now) for Kovalchuk would be nothing but a page from Mad Mike’s playbook and make us more a laughing stock… We’d get 1.5 seasons out of him before he’s off on his merry way looking for $$$ and line mates on a team ready to WIN NOW. The Isles will not be with him. As Bill said … the Isles would be Atlanta version II.
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Blake … Good Game … he contributed on every shift except for the score sheet. He’ll break through on the road. Glad he’s up.
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Fritz … Look … I want an enforcer too. But does the Isles no good if he’s on the bench and Gordo doesn’t use him over the course of a game. The other team is on to that, and then Gordo can’t put him out in the last 5 of a game, b/c Fritz has no skating legs by then and Gordo would be setting himself up for a suspension. Need an enforcer who can play 10 mins a game and play NHL level.
you can have your opinion, i wasnt taking it away, i just wanted to know why. ovie is first and we can agree on that but i see sid the kid or malkin or even lidstrom before kovie. and 70 goals might be a push but 60 with a good centerman is possible
o and i didnt have my ‘ knickers in a bunch’. was comeau really the best player in that game. grranted he did really well but not the best in that game.
AZS - Point taken on the free agency bit. Probably better if it came with a long term extension. I don’t see Kovy as a Mad Mike trade though. This isn’t Yashin, or Kvasha. Kovy’s a legit star. I’d hate to see them give up a number one draft pick in any scenario. But I would consider Kovy a respectable return. He’s everything you would hope a number one pick would turn into. Either way, keep the pick or trade for Kovy, I’d be OK. Gaborik on the other hand…I’d be ticked if they did that.
Yashin had multiple 80-point seasons in Ottawa and was considered a top player when the Islanders acquired him.
I’m with AZS and others - Milbury would trade the pick, which means it’s a very bad idea.
If Milbury traded the pick it wouldn’t be for Kovalchuk type player an established star it would be for someone like Kvasha or some guy that held out a year from hockey that isn’t that passionate about the game.
Ya, the Tigers did lose all the fights last night. I just watched the videos of them. Seem to be a much smaller team then Norfolk.
Just think not long ago CB was saying how we didn’t have much of a shot at Taveras/Hedman! LOL! Maybe jumped the gun a bit?
the ship is sinking…they cant hold their own anymore they played over their for a while its over OVER
I didn’t see the Soundtiger’s game last night, but while they may have lost the fights their record is sooo far superior to Norfolk’s.
I think that there are some people who would rather watch a team lose a game, but win a fight …I think it should be the other way around …both would be nice though
I definately do not think the problem last night was a lack of toughness. I actually think the Isles were the harder hitting team of the two. They more than held there own in the toughness department. The problem is they have so little room for error that a couple of bad plays put them in a hole they don’t have the talent to get out of. Jackman played a nice two-way game last night. The Isles missed a lot of possible scores including, but not limited to, the back-to-back shifts where they nailed the post. Mac Donald is a capable back-up but probably not able to steal games when the team is flat like last night. That’s where you need a guy like DiPietro. This group is trying and playing hard. That’s really all we can ask at this point.
I don’t know why so many female fans have a problem with the Ice Breakers. (I know some male fans do as well, but the majority of negative comments that I have read are from females) I even saw in Islanders Illustrated that female fans have a problem with Shawna Ryan. Are you kidding me? Why? I think it is a bit of jealousy.
The Ice breakers were there last season as the fire dancers, as Botta said. They do their little dance and then they go sit in loudville and let the kids wave the pom poms dance w/ them and are generally crowd friendly. What is the problem with that??? Is that taking away from the hockey game? I don’t think so. If you don’t like them, don’t pay attention to them. It’s as simple as that.
1-It shows that Gordon is a rookie coach not blasting a brutal loss at home to an awful team.
So this “ICE BREAKER” lady believes we will be “blown away?
Between periods, we fight our way through crowd to use the restroom,
get crappy food/drink or maybe souvenirs for our kids.
The last thing on our minds is watching a cheap rendition of MTV like Britney Spears
video dancing even though it is from “professional dancers”.
Live bands, more famous and prolific in their careers have played before,
during and after games and while many of them failed to “blow us away”,
they barely left an impression on us. Why would dancers?
Get over yourselves girls. Do your thing, but please get over yourselves.
The only way they could blow me away is if I see some wardrobe malfunctions.
I am sorry but the Ice breakers are one step away from strippers. Watching kids dance with them is disturbing. They are out of place, if people want that Hooters is across the street.
Maybe if they danced on ice, but gyrating in the aisles is unsettling.