PRE-GAME: Atlanta at Islanders, 7:05 pm
Where is the bar set for tonight? Tamby in…Sim out
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.
71 Responses to “PRE-GAME: Atlanta at Islanders, 7:05 pm
Where is the bar set for tonight? Tamby in…Sim out”
Please Wait
As much as it kills me, if a loss means John Tavares then so be it
I’m going to say 7,000 in attendance for this barnburner tonight and I will be one of them.
I could never root against the Islanders. But a loss to the Thrashers does have the advantage of yes, helping to solidify our bottom-dwelling position in the draft. It’s like a balm that soothes the defeats.
Ill be there, is the fourth line going to have Jackman and Fritz? Last meeting the game was pretty rough.
5,000 - 7,000 probably about right - yet somehow they’ll find a way to jack the announced attendance up to 10,000+. .
Great that Neilsen is skating already. Mottau’s hit and his development - stunting injury bother me more than anything else this season.
Any shot DP makes a surprise start in nets tonight?
Yes, I’ll be one of the few thousand at the old barn tonight, too.
I don’t know about the attendance…I feel like a holiday weekend, tons of kids home from college - we usually do better than the normal Tuesday night crowd. I’m not expecting SRO, but somewhere around 12k announced, 10k in the building, is probable.
Boy I gotta shake me head at some of the things Gordon has said and done. The 1st Fritz debacle vs NJD, Fritz II (dressed but benched the whole game while Comeau watches from the stands)… Getting beat 5-1 at home vs a bad ATL team and saying he was happy with the effort. Sandbagging JMAC in the press. Agreeing with WITT in the newspapers? C’mon the guy (i love Witt as much as the next guy) calls you out in the press. The whole Blake Comeau saga. I know its barely been half a season but this guy has had enough head scratchers to fill 3 seasons already.
Let’s just hope this game tonight is entertaining. I’m running out of reasons to watch on television, much less actually go to a game.
“Consistency of intensity.” I’d like to see some of that from you, Coach.
This guy looks like a young Steve Stirling back there. And I’m not talking about facial features.
No joke. He reminds me of Terry Simnpson year two.
Without the gum.
Or the talent.
Or the depth given our one and only technique……power play game for 60:00.
Give that boy some chewing gum.
I have to agree with Snowy that the system works, but I keep asking myself how come Brideports record is sooo much better then Isles. Is the difference the players or the Coaches? It’s a really bad cituation when the players don’t want to play for the coach. Hopefully they’ll show me wrong tonight.
They may have a halfway decent crowd tonight - they gave away many tickets to season ticket holders as a gift ( this game and the NOV Vancouver game - we had a choice) - and I will be sitting in different seats tonight. I say 12k in the house tonight - not sure how many paid.
Any type of hit would be nice. I keep hearing Billie Jaffe say tha Jon Sim is an instigator and a “Sean Avery” type player, let’s see it from him tonight.
Oh come on CB, Niklas Andersson was a star on the isles for the whole 17 games he played for them lol. Seriously though I thought he was pretty good for that short term
Chris, we all know that isnt true, lets not see him at all tonight.
Glad to see that Hunter should play tonight. That should help.
I will be there tonight also (got good seats cheap on Stubhub).
I will be at the Game as ALWAYS! And to Add to what CB said, What Happened to the Heart with this Club! What Happened to being “Competitive” and Competing every night. I Know i saw it last year i had season Tickets and saw that bunch Compete under Nolan every Night. Nolan was never the problem, the problem still Exists.
Hey CB, you kept your patience for a long time. Finaly, it got under your skin too.
This is exactly what I have been braging about all this time. Effort, guts, and some hard b*lls. That is what we are trying to see from our beloved. I’ll be there tonight. Hope for good(brilliant) performance. The time has come!
“Is there any good reason not to win this game tonight?”
There are, two of them, next June…:)
Happy Holidays to BD and CB and PB(no J) and all of you nutso Islanders fans.
Would a good Christmas present be a win or a loss tonight? I don’t know the answer! How about we just wish for NO MORE INJURIES.
Thrashers have one great player. Isles have none. There’s one reason.
Yes, Chris- YES. I couldnt agree more!
Wade Flaherty? and I’ll raise you a Mark Lawrence, Aris Brimanis and a David Harlock.
The real excitement is if Dolan puts us on the MSG2/TV Guide Channel with no sound and a blurred picture or not…
Gordon? Play Okposo and Bailey at least 15–17 minutes, please. Why the Joba Rules?
At least Niklas Andersson would play well for 2 weeks and then disappear for 3 years again. I’m flashing back to the “CIA” line with Connolly between Andersson and Isbister now…
As for the game, no excuses, we need a win, and they need to come out with some passion.
did you say frans actually skated today ?
Hey - that great CIA line played in front of Felix Potvin and Roberto Luongo. Hmmmm.
Lest we forget Vladimir Chebaturkin. We used to call him chubby Turkey - this team might be just as bad, so I dont know wht I’m poking fun at that 2000 team
Hey DP’s hips, Scott Gordon could learn a ton from Terry Simpson. Starting with some passion and emotion, continuing with punishing skates until most of them vomited (except Vukota, who yelled at his teamates for complaining about vomiting, and ending with, coincidentally, understanding how to use your tough guy and get some respect for your team.
Rebuild or not, this guy is a lousy coach who is not ready for the NHL. For more proof if you need it, look at toronto who lost a star player, gained a real coach, and are competitive this year. Snow decides it’s best to build with youth on the ice (not a bad plan, even though they’re still not executing it) and behind the bench (a more risky proposition, seeming worse each day). I would love to see Terry working that gum on the bench as opposed to this mope any day.
happy holidays.
Play it on an outdoor rink in Eisenhower Park and bill it as the NHL Winter Unclassic.
and CB has once again found the vodka. It’s about time.
Isles win huge tonight…..BLOWOUT CITY….
I’m feeling, I’m calling it.
Now….where’s my vodka?
All I want for Christmas….two days early….is a 1st line PP unit of Comeau/Bailey/KO.
PLEASE…PLEASE…PLEASE…PLEASE????
i would love to see that line also
what do u have to lose comeau/bailey/okposo
GOOOOO Tavares!!!
hey chris i have a question.
If the isles get the #1 pick overall, who do they take?
do they ruin everything and trade out or do they take tavares like they should or do they take hedman??
Frank, I think all of us fans are over-simplifying it. I think they’ll take whichever player they honestly think is better, just like if we’d picked 2nd this year the pick would’ve been Doughty or Bogosian. Whichever player they think is better will be the one they take.
Of course, they could always end up picking 2nd and have the decision made for them.
And for clarification I’m doing it too. I want Tavares but it’s possible that I might be overly influenced by our need for a top scoring center. Simply saying we should pick Hedman because they need a defenseman is as foolish as saying pick Tavares just because he’s a forward. I would pick Tavares if I ran the team, but since I don’t I just hope they pick the better player.
Nice. It is just Atlanta, after all. It’s a simple game: You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball …:)
So just go out there and play some hockey!
Yanks got Texiera!!!
now is not the time for wins…its a little too late for that…
TAVARES OR BUST
Randy Boyd….miss that guy like I miss Hubie.
Terry Simpson just didn’t push the defense game enough. He was solid in generating offense and getting the guys working and I was a fan but he just didn’t get the players to play 100% of the game.
And Garth Snow’s coach for life idea Gorton doesn’t get the players to play 50% of the game.
My GOD he’s probably gonna dress up Rosie O’Donnel to swing a purse as his idea for an enforcer. (mandatory Fritz related swipe)
Any plan is great if you stick to it. Just hope it’s a well thought out and solid plan with capable people ensuring it happens. Carrot Top has the wherewithall to keep a plan going…..if that says something.
Hilbert-Bailey-Guerin
Comeau-Comrie-Okposo
Bergenheim-Park-Hunter
Tambellini-Walter-Jackman
Callahan-Streit
Campoli-Pock
Witt-Meyer
MacDonald
Danis
12,673 in attendance, look for a decent turnout tonight becuse of the holidays and also the bring-a-friend free night for us season ticket holders.
just my predictions. yup Tambellini is back, here we go again. i realy do hope he can score if he dose play, and i figure Sim and Fritz would be the scratchs. Also with Weight out it would be nice to see Bailey step up and fill his shoes.
Gordon needs to teach himself how to motivate the players. he is a rookie coach so its understandable as of right now, but if he is going to be with us for years then he must learn to motivate the players.
last game between these two was rough on the scoreboard and physically too. i want to get the first pick regardless of who we pick but we still need to win some games. i want to beat these guys badly too becuase it seems like we never do. can’t make the game because im sick =(. we need a win badly!GO ISLES
GO GO looks like a deer in the headlights. How bad can this get? I thought the team could have a chance if Okposo, Tambellini and Comeau scored 50 goals between them… what do they have? 3 At least the Titanic had a band…..
Who wrote this? It doesn’t have that CB feel to it.
Maybe BD Gallof
As far as motivation goes there were times in the past when I think the players gave up with Goring, Laviolette, and Stirling. They might be doing it with Gordon now. I wouldn’t blame them. The offensive style isn’t working. Personally, I thought the Isles had a good coach in Brad Shaw.
I’d like to see a win just so I know that these guys care about what they do out there, at the very least. Just because we have a shot at a top draft pick doesn’t mean we can forget about the 50-odd games we still have to play. Give us fans a reason to keep tuning in!
Go-go works much better in Bridgeport, primarily because AHL teams aren’t usually stocked with players who can punish you for making mistakes in the system. In the NHL the passes are crisper, the decision-making is smarter, and everything happens more quickly.
A lesser-talented team usually tries to slow the game down, clog up space, and counterpunch when they can. The Isles are committed to the opposite approach. It’s not a bad choice per se, but the players need to make the right choices, and the moreso if they don’t have the raw talent to undress defenders the way Koivu and Bouchard did in the Minny game.
If the Isles are going to grow with the system, so be it; but Witt’s got a point. This may not be the team to toss out there to play this aggressively for 60 full minutes. Pick your spots to play some good defensive hockey, frustrate your opponents into pressing and making mistakes, and then crank up the speed…
Pre Original on post #24 is so right. Why are the Islanders kicked to some outback non-HiDef station thats so blurrry… while the JERSEY team gets MSG2. Last I looked Cablevision is a long island based company..why are they thumbing there nose in our face?
Great post here, but who wrote this one? CB or Mad Dog Russo? Really, read the whole thing again, except, this time, do it with Russo’s voice in your head. Especially this part, “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.”
I wrote the frickin’ thing…CB
Need a win badly (obviously). Need to play the kids and have THEM break this streak understated in importance. I don’t care about Wins & Losses this season—I want ice time for the youngsters and trading of the 35+ old veterans to commence shortly after the Winter Classic………a STUD top-notch D as a franchise blueliner is what this team needs—see what MIKE GREEN has done in DC.
hallelujah…
cb i take back any lackey wisecracks i have made about you since October…lets see some passion tonite….
Has there been any indication as to when DP will return to the lineup? And when he comes back, what can we expect his work load to be like? Is Gordon going to play him every day, as he does Joey? This team needs DP back!! have the Isles ever lost 9 in a row with DP?
agreed Since 72…i vote for hedman as a start…makes me wish we tryed for schenn instead of dibenedetto and the like…we would be a year ahead in the rebuild…..
see what ovechkin and crosby and malkin have done in there teams SINCE 72. not that i am comparing tavares to them but what they did to the franchise. if we had to chose between hedman and tavares i would take tavares. i would be more than fine if we took hedman though. the only thing i dont like is thatt he is soft and there is always that possibility that he may go back to sweden. i cannot stand when ppl say that tavares may be a bust. do they realize that anyone can be a bust. even hedman
tambs better prove his worth to this org. tonight. poor sim. what are the line-ups. is it possible fritz can still play? nice emotion in this article CB
A win? Really? Seriously? How about a goal first, then maybe a win is within the realm of possibility.
Aww CB you’re making me nostalgic for the good ol’ days. 3000-4000 fans, plenty of leg room, Kevin Weekes/Wade Flaherty in net, booing “No-chance La-chance” ever time the old #7 stepped on the ice, watching the offensive threat that was Jorgen Jonsson. I kid, of course, about the “good ol’ days,” but it was kinda fun, especially the few bright spots - Ziggy, KJ, a Jamie Rivers hip check… *sigh*
Will this team win another game this season?
I know Gordon’s job is safe and I think it should be, but just because I’m curious, would his job be in jeopardy if the losing streak reached say 15 or 16? Is there a point where you have to make a change?
Anyone know what the NHL record for consecutive losses is, because I got to tell ya, looking at the schedule, with this squad as currently constructed, a west coast swing coming up, I think the NYI could challenge that record. There just aren’t any “winnable” games on the horizon.
18 games by Washington in 74-75 and by San Jose in 92-93.
Just wanted to chime in that so far tonight, I thought the effort was awful UNTIL, a shift by Jeff Tambellini where he went hard in on a forecheck and did a great job knocking a much larger d-man off the puck. He was not backed up by a second forechecker, which was noticed by me, Billy Jaffe, and probably Go-go. After that, the forecheck got relentless and showed some real grit down low, and of course it leads to the first goal in over 2 full games worth of time. Hope that this is the effort which continues in the third
… that much closer to Hedman (or Tavares) … I’m just saying
Agreed. Thought the effort was better tonight in the third and end of the 2nd. Bring on the 1st draft pick!
Don’t criticize this game they fought harder than I’ve seen them fight in a long time and it might be ten in a row but I’m proud of this team.
the Detroit Lions of the NHL, your doing a hellva job snowy.
what could snow do? honestly. even with an all-star coach, do you think we would be playoff contenders? good effort tonight. rags lost 5-4 in OT after being up 4-0. ovie had 13 shots that game with 2 goals and an assist
I totally agree with you Chris, this team is not bad for what it is.
P.S. I really, really, really would love to see Kovalchuk in an Islanders jersey! (I know its never going to happen
) … I’m just saying
Nice period and a half. Okposo-Comrie-Comeau line was awesome.Three more lines like this and we can bring back four more Cups to The Island.
About Kovalchuck… I used to work for his uncle in Brooklyn, who goes to every game Kovalchuck is in town, so he told me guy is dying to move to New York (especially his wife. Just saying…
was at the game,team looked like they were sleepwalking.probably the most unimaginative offensive game i have ever seen.and for the love of god how many times did hilbert miss the net? the next time gordon sits comeau, i’m gonna kick his ass.tambellini=invisible.