Monthly Archives: December 2008
UPDATED, 6:31 pm: Jeff Tambellini in. Jon Sim out.
12:25 pm, NVMC: Could not care less if Wade Flaherty was in goal tonight.
Or if Niklas Andersson was the first line left wing.
Or if Barry Richter was on the point of the power play.
There’s the reasonable notion that a hockey team has a lot of injuries, but there’s also decades of evidence of teams with seemingly little talent in their lineups winning the occasional game – especially at home.
Can the Islanders show some frickin’ inspiration tonight?
The Islanders host Atlanta. Scott Gordon’s team is without a bunch of players, some of them pretty darn good ones. But the Islanders are also icing a team of 20 professionals tonight before their home fans. Many of them – such as Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Brendan Witt and Mark Streit – have real good resumes. All of them have done something to make it to the League de National Hockey.
I swear, is there any good reason not to win this game tonight?
The good people coming out to the barn on Hempstead Turnpike during this holiday week are the die-est of the die-hards. They are coming out to support. Sure, mail it in or grip the sticks too tight executing the system, and the booing will come later. But how about a big hit or three to open the game? (Didn’t see any on the two-game lost weekend, unless they were from the other team).
How about an early goal and sustained pressure after that? Hey, here’s a thought: how about just blowing the Thrashers out of the building?
Really, is that so impossible? Is that so unfair of your fan base to ask?
How about some leadership? It’s perfectly fine that Gordon may be more of a teacher and strategist than a master motivator, but maybe it’s time for the coach to rock the room pre-game and at each intermission if necessary. Captain Guerin, A man Witt, Richard Park, Comrie, Streit…show us that somebody’s home. Shoot, don’t show us. Show Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo.
I don’t want to hear about the impact of the loss of Doug Weight. Great guy having a pretty amazing season, but stop it…please. You signed him to a one-year contract. Doug’s going to be 38 next month and certain to be attractive at the trade deadline. Get used to not having him around.
Atlanta played (and lost again) last night, this time to the dynamo known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. Atlanta is 11-18-4. The Islanders have lost 9 games in a row, and yet still have only one less victory than Atlanta. The Thrashers have one great player, four or five pretty good ones and…well, that’s about it. The Islanders are not playing the Soviet Red Army team tonight.
The Islanders lost to the Thrashers at the Coliseum, 5-1, just 17 days ago. After the game, Gordon said he didn’t have a problem with his players’ effort. The Islanders haven’t won since.
You say it’s injuries, personnel and fitting the system. I say it’s 50% that, and 50% attitude.
Screw the 9 straight losses. Prove that attitude is not the problem. Leave it all on the ice tonight; you’re off for the next two days. Win a game.
Even the baddest of the bad Islanders teams found a way to win games. With Niklas Andersson on the top line, Barry Richter QBing the power play and Wade Flaherty in goal.
If the Islanders were ever going to go through a wall for their coach, and for each other, you’d think it would be tonight.
AM Skate ETC: I took a shot and asked Coach Gordon for his line combinations for tonight. He told me he didn’t have them set yet for him to give…
What we do know is that of the groin boys, only Trent Hunter is likely to return, while day-to-dayers Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger are out. Bruno Gervais, listed as day-to-day with a leg injury a long time ago, will miss his 13th consecutive game tonight. Gervais did skate this morning.
And so did Frans Nielsen, perhaps proving that stim thingy in Minnesota has got some voodoo magic to it.
With Weight out, Chris Campoli will join Streit as the pointmen on the first-unit power play.
Gordon said Rick DiPietro “looks better” than at any point in his first attempt to return to the lineup. The coach on what he’d like to see more of from Josh Bailey: “Consistency of intensity.”
Enjoy the game tonight. Safe travels. My best to you and yours.
Comments.
With an Islanders game tomorrow and family flight early Christmas Eve, I wanted to take the time to wish you the happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons.
It is all of you that have made Point Blank the success it has become in three short months. I continue to be blown away by the response to this blog. Not a day goes by when I don’t hear from someone in my past with a friend who was reading Point Blank off their Blackberry – or on the desktop next to them at work.
Whether you are one of the hundreds of regular Comment-ators or one of the thousands stopping by the site several times daily, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Who knows what the second half will bring for the Islanders, but no matter what it’s on me to keep you engaged in the blog. Here’s an idea – I’ll make up some trade rumors! Just kidding.
My hunch is that whatever the team’s record, there will be plenty to write about. Stick with Point Blank and we’ll do our best to earn your clicks.
After Tuesday’s game, I’ll be away for a while but I will have a few posts from the road. In addition, B.D. Gallof has been recalled to carry the day on any breaking news and also coverage of the Islanders’ games on Friday against Toronto and on Saturday in Buffalo.
The quantity and quality of Comments, the emails, the links from fellow bloggers, the sheer volume of numbers of Visits, spreading the word around to other hockey fans about Point Blank…my gratitude to all of you is endless.
From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!
CB
1:30 pm, Iceworks - The Islanders have just announced the following injury updates:
Andy Sutton (broken foot), out 6-8 weeks.
Doug Weight (groin strain) did not practice, day-to-day.
Trent Hunter (groin strain) did not practice, day-to-day.
Jeff Tambellini has returned after his two-week stint in Bridgeport. Joe Callahan, Mitch Fritz and the rest of the crew from the road trip are all still with the team.
Gordon would not commit to Tambellini playing tomorrow when the Islanders host Atlanta. He made it clear twice that he had no timetable for Rick DiPietro’s return and that there’s still no talk of a Bridgeport conditioning stint for his No. 1 goaltender.
And that’s all we’ve got for now.
10:45 pm - In a brief phone interview with Point Blank late Sunday night, Islanders GM Garth Snow expressed complete support for Scott Gordon and said that as discouraging as the team’s recent 9-game losing streak has become, do not expect him to make any band-aid moves that could damage his long-range plans.
Of his first-year coach, Snow said “I stand by Scott and everything he is trying to instill in our team. He is an outstanding coach and our partnership is going to be a long one. His style of play works and I’m 100% confident it will work for us. Over time, as we continue to develop our young players and make the necessary changes to become a better team, you’ll see why I believe so much in Scott.”
On the recent comments of Brendan Witt about Gordon’s style, Snow responded, “My respect for Brendan is boundless, everyone knows that. He’s a great defenseman and leader. My only criticism is that it was a family matter, and Brendan should have kept it in the family. We discussed it internally and now we’re moving on.”
Snow ruled out stop-gap measures to improve his ailing, struggling hockey team. The GM acknowledged he has been working the phones hard for weeks, but not in search of quick fixes.
“When you’re in a losing streak, you get lots of offers of help from your fellow GMs,” Snow said with a slight laugh. “I listen to everything and I’ve made plenty of calls of my own, but you’re not going to see us make a trade to plug a few holes left by our injuries.
“We’re not going to use injuries as an excuse and we’re not going to rush out to make a shortsighted trade. I could have done that already but I have no interest in those types of deals. The injuries are unfortunate, but they give us a chance to look at other players in the system.
“We set out on a program in the summer and told our fans about our vision and our goals. We’re not in this to contend for 8th place – we’re committed to a plan that will have us contending for the Stanley Cup. As disappointing as the results have been the last few weeks, our focus will not change.”
Reaction?
In dealing Ryan Smyth and sliding the rest of the 2006-07 season into hockey hell – including the overshadowing of their Mark Messier Night – the Oilers received the following package from the Islanders:
- A first round pick in 2007 (15th overall) which Edmonton reached with to take stay-at-home defenseman Alex Plante, who projects as a No. 5 defenseman at best.
- Former Islanders prospect (and recent first-rounder) Ryan O’Marra, who played half of last season in the East Coast Hockey League and this year is a stunning 0-3-3 in 23 games with Springfield (AHL).
- Robert Nilsson, who after cashing in with a three-year, $5-5 million contract, has reverted to the player-on-the-periphery Pierre Maguire and others had him pegged. Last night he was benched by coach Craig MacTavish for “non-competition – he had no competition. I’ve had enough of that and seen enough.”
Of course, the Islanders wish they had that first round draft pick back. Maybe they would have taken Colton Gillies (who went 16th) or Angelo Esposito (20). But that was the price they had to pay to get Ryan Smyth and try to make a run. (Remember Brian Burke complaining that he would have given up more to Edmonton?)
Garth Snow was called the “GM of the Year” by Sports Illustrated for the trade and he says he doesn’t regret the move and never will. I can understand that.
But it’s a good thing the Oilers didn’t burn him. In addition to craving the credibility of Smyth and Ted Nolan having zero use for Nilsson, maybe Snow knew which draft picks from the old regime to move before it was too late.
And yes, the new Islanders scouting staff is going to have to do a lot better than taking Robert Nilsson (2003) and Ryan O’Marra (2005) in the first round.
Comments.
How is Sidney Crosby not getting suspended for this?
Comments.
Doug Weight misses second half of the game with a groin strain. Jeff Tambellini completes Bridgeport stint tonight with third goal in as many games. Blake Comeau plays okay. Howie and The Jaff reference Fiddler on the Roof mid-third.
After the game Scott Gordon says he’s good with the effort of his broken-down lineup, which is fair. Among his other comments to C.J. Papa, the coach says, “We’re thin right now,” “We’re not physically imposing,” “We don’t have a lot of speed” and “At this point right now, we don’t have the personnel that are gonna bury their chances.”
Those points are not inaccurate, but – as beat up as your team may be – a head coach making those points out loud is not recommended in a league where the fans pay to see the games and where you never want your players to give up.
Talk about it in Comments. Your chance to pick the ’09-10 lineup continues in the next thread.
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