WASHINGTON 5, ISLANDERS 2: Another Layoff Loss
Plus: 5 ups and downs at the 25-game mark
PRACTICE?!
9:50 pm - Tonight was the third time this season the Islanders played a game after at least three days without games. They are now 0-3 after long breaks:
Oct. 23 vs. Dallas, a 5-3 loss (5-1 after two periods) after four days without games.
Nov. 21 at New Jersey, a 5-2 loss after three days without games.
Dec. 4 at Washington, a 5-2 loss after four days without games. Out-shot 47-29. On The Plus, Billy Jaffe estimated that the Islanders were effective tonight for 30 minutes.
Said Scott Gordon in the post-game: “There’s no excuse for it. We cut corners. We didn’t compete at the same level.”
Makes all that talk from coaches about how there’s never enough practice time seem kind of hollow, you know?
THE 25-GAME MINI-REPORT
Twenty-five games into the season, a snapshot look at the Plus and Minus players in an entertainingly rocky Islanders season.
The 5 Most Valuable
1. Joey MacDonald - The goalie saved the Islanders’ first quarter of the season. He will more than likely be expected to save the first half, and possibly more.
2. Mark Streit - Dollar for dollar, one of the best free agent signings in the NHL. It’s a compliment to Streit that now everyone’s saying, “Yeah, but can he keep this level of play up for the rest of the season”?
3. Doug Weight - The wooing of Weight to New York has been credited to Bill Guerin, but to be candid the rest of the league wasn’t exactly knocking on Weight’s door. The veteran center has reason to be very, very proud of himself.
4. Trent Hunter - 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points in 25 games, but his value transcends his statistics. One thing you knew the Islanders didn’t have to worry about - Hunter not being motivated in the first of a 5-year deal. Says one of his teammates, “Hunts is good people.”
5. Andy Hilbert - There’s the concern the versatile Hilbert has become so effective, the coaching staff might lean too much on him - a la Shawn Bates four years ago. (Icetime of 18:44 tonight is what we mean). For now, enjoy the rise of a good all-around hockey player who worked his tail off to get to this point.
5 Disappointments
1. Jeff Tambellini - We’ve covered this more than we’d ever want to. Have to believe resolution one way or the other arrives in the next ten days.
2. Bruno Gervais - Plenty of icetime when the blueline was decimated, but minus-10 and really struggling before his recent injury.
3. Mike Comrie - He made a point last Saturday to say it was the hip and not the Overspeed. Whether he is cured in Minnesota or Montauk, for a lot of reasons the team needs him back at his best.
4. Kyle Okposo - Not the player, but the development. The kid would be the first to tell you 2-3-5 in 18 games is not what he had in mind. Whenever he returns from his secret ailment, Okposo’s play is one of the most important stories the rest of the way.
5. Blake Comeau - Every season has its mystery, and this year’s is What the Bleep is Up with Comeau and the Islanders? Not to be demanding and all, but we’d like some answers by the trade deadline.
Of the five, only Tambellini played tonight - a scoreless and shot-less 12:29, with 5 seconds on the power play.
NOTABLE
Mike Sillinger played his first game of the season, logging 13 minutes with two shots, even plus/minus and winning 11 of 19 faceoffs.
Good stuff from Tim Jackman tonight. When you’re getting fourth-line minutes and Ovechkin knows your name and number by the end of the first period, you’re doing your job.
Bryan Helmer feathers a wrist shot toward the goal, and at first glance one of two Caps about ten feet in front of the net reach up with their sticks to deflect it in (turns out it was 6-5 Vik Kozlov). And yet no signal from the war room in Toronto to at least make sure it wasn’t knocked in with a high stick.
Nice to hear Howie Rose’s late-game anecdote about Ovechkin taking the time before the game to talk hockey with a smile to the media. Then the superstar selflessly set Backstrom up for an empty-netter to seal the victory. When it was over and Ovechkin - playing injured - had a goal and two assists, Jaffe was moved to call No. 8 “one of the best players in all of professional sports. Not just hockey, but all of pro sports.” We refuse to bring up the discussion of the Islanders’ overwhelming need for a John Tavares again, even as Howie went out of his way in the post-game to talk about how an early pick “doesn’t guarantee you anything.”
The Islanders don’t know what to do with Mitch Fritz. They recall the 6-8 heavyweight on Tuesday, have him for two practices, play him 1:26 in the first period and then he never sees the ice again. This has been the case all season for Fritz, who has averaged 2 minutes in his 10 games with the Islanders. To magnify the issue, Caps enforcer Donald Brashear scored the winning goal. The Islanders need to decide if they believe Fritz can play with the big-leaguers or not. We refuse to bring up the subject of Blake Comeau again…tonight.
Best of The Jaff - Billy Jaffe in the first period, with Alexander Ovechkin off the ice with an injury but Washington still dominating the play while leading 2-0: “The Capitals look like the team playing with their regulars right now, while the Islanders look like the team decimated by injuries.”
First post-game reaction thread with the new Comments guidelines. Please, please don’t keep me up all night!
55 Responses to “WASHINGTON 5, ISLANDERS 2: Another Layoff Loss
Plus: 5 ups and downs at the 25-game mark”
Please Wait
Great take on Comeau. Great lines about Jackman. Alexander IS Gr8.
Good night Chris.
We keep playing like we did tonight and we might see for ourselves if Tavares is our superstar in the making
Saw on tv that Washington is something like 10-1 at home this year. Impressive. Billy says its becoming a tougher ticket to get - which is good for them.
We just did not play 60 mins of hockey and we cannot do that and expect to win too often.
Pat
Love the crossed out part about Tavares. This franchise needs a player like him so badly. I’ll never cheer against them, but I definitely want the #1 overall pick. And they aren’t going to get it by being just good enough to barely miss the playoffs. Picks in the 8-12 range won’t do much for us.
Love the point on Frtiz and Comeau.
Good post CB…
I can’t judge the Isles until DP gets back…I know Joey Mac has been great and he’s gonna be an awesome backup goalie but he just isn’t DP. (And I’m not saying it was MacDonald’s fault they lost tonight.)
I wanna see DP back healthy and see how the Isles do in his first 10 games and judge how they are playing.
Guerin, Weight, Sillinger, Sim….looked like a very old and tired team tonight.
How ’bout a youth movement?
Jackman continues to impress.
PP sucked tonight.
Tambellini’s highlight reel as recounted from my memory of the Cap’s announcer Benneenomocomovolia or whatever tonight:
“Tambellini set up nicely in the slot with a SLAPPER!!! OHHHHHHH….5 feet wide.”
Where’s Comeau?
Excellent take on the game and the MV5… but I think I’d replace Hilbert with Bailey. Bailey gives them hope, and HOPE is always more important than 18 minutes of solid 2-way hockey… Park is just as important as Hilbert, nobody bashes him, so nobody has to bulster him and you almost NEVER see him in the net.
I think the rope-a-dope works even better than “overspeed”. the caps gave the Isles 8 powerplays…. leaving little time to employ a pressure forecheck… so they killed themselves anyway… and were DEAD with 10 minutes left.
Once again outclassed. Which is fine… This was the first Isle
game I’ve missed at the Verizon Center in a while. It’s a great place to watch a game, EXCELLENT ACCESS, and they have OVECHKIN… we can only hope to be them someday.
505,
as a fellow center ice customer, that one hit home… Also, the fact that they bring up AHL lifer Aucoin and he gives them QUALITY shifts.
Two year deal for tambellini… given to him on the weight of mis-use by a coach you planned on firing. Meanwhile Comeau sits on a bus…
Let’s hope Snow grows from this.
How about the 50 (my estimate of Islander fans actually watching this one) heart beats skipping when Streit went down.
(Okay CB… that’s two.. I’m sorry… I’m going away now)
SOO is there PRACTICE tomorrow??..if so full force or video of what we did wrong? and lets BRING BACK COMEAU
Tamby did have at least shots on goal and was extremely noticable tonight. If he has a couple more nights like tonight the goals will finally happen.
I love Baily’s passing. It is soooo much fun to watch.
Sorry…i meant 3 shots….he also had a few takeaways and was involved in the play.
The sloppy 1st period was frustrating to watch, and I skipped most of the 3rd by fast forwarding the TiVo recording. Were the effective 30 minutes the last 5 of the 1st, all of the 2nd, and 5 minutes of the 3rd? And exactly who was effective? I saw a mess instead.
I still get disappointed when the Islanders are tied after 2 periods and lose by 2-3 goals. Guess I should get on the Tavares/Hedman bandwagon and just shrug it off.
It seemed at one point that the Isles would manage to do the same thing they did in Montreal when they tied it but the problem was the garbage goals, Brashier’s was a rebound that went off Mac’s stick and in front of the crease and the fourth goal was after a few swipes. If the Isles don’t get 20 pts. this month then the Tavares talk can officially begin.
I hate these 3-4 day layoffs, I don’t care how hard you practice, nothing compares to game speed and it was very noticable how the layoff effects the team.
I think on Saturday we should all start a WE WANT COMEAU chant, maybe that’ll send the message home!!!
Report form the Isles offensive end at the game tonight.
- Weight and Guerin definitely bring serious class to the team. It didn’t hurt that Weight flipped me a puck. Thanks Dougie.
- The PP looked good from up close, but looking at the stats… ouch. That said, puck movement was there.
- WTF w/ the no goal off the official? Who knew that there was Rule 39.4(v)… but they didn’t even review it.
- Another good 40 minutes and then they flopped. No point having Fritz in the lineup with so few seconds and bad penalties. He really could have helped the tone after the Brashear goal.
- As long as Tamby stays with the team, I’d use him instead of Sim on the PP.
- See y’all on the Island on 12/16!
I’d also use Tamby or just about anyone on the PP except Sim.
Dear Chris Botta,
while the Isles were not on top of their game tonight you Sir were!
I can’t figure out the misuse (no use) of Fritz. I loved seeing him give Brashear a love tap to his nose. My friend attends about 20 BP games per year and has seen Fritz play for and against the Tigers the past few years. He says he is capable of more and I’ve seen it from him when given the chance. What about sending him out to take Brashear to wake this team up?
Anyway, I am not as concerned about Comeaus if Gordon is right. He says Capauno says Comeau is improving but still doesn’t fully get it and when Capuano tells him he does, they will recall Comeau.
Chris Botta, why did you say “in the next 10 days” to get the Tamby thing resolved?
Very nice to see Mr. Sillinger back. You have to like that guy.
Although I never root against this team when it became apparent they wouldn’t win I told myself it is for the best.
Strummer, I’m guessing Okposo is back within 10 days and they’ll have to make another roster decision.
Brashear had a good game tonight, and he is living proof of my belief that an enforcer like Fritz is not the answer. In the New NHL an enforcer like Brashear who can do things besides fighting is paramount, and I hope to see the Isles get a guy like that. I’m fully in favor of fighting, but Gordon has to have confidence to send an enforcer out for a regular shift.
I also agree with you on the Comeau fixation. I don’t want him to get yo-yo’ed into the lineup to cover injuries. I want him to fully grasp the system and find his identity as an NHL player so the next time he comes up it’s on a 1-way ticket. If you need to replace Tamby in the lineup I could call up Trevor Smith to give him a taste of the big leagues and get him hungry for another opportunity. Comeau will be fine, and once he’s up here he’s never going back. No cause for worry.
Hey didn’t we want to give tambellini a fair chance to show us what he’s got? The last few years he’s been up and down, but we always wanted someone to keep him up for an extended period of time. I say give him more time.
Tamby was obviously productive in the AHL…I think for him to be successful in the NHL he needs to be used like he is in the AHL. That’s first line minutes and on the first pp unit…now will they do it? No. But its worth a try.
I agree with all you said Nick. The problem is Snow has been on the job a long time and really messed up on his evaluation of the enforcer situation and the defense.
Botta brought up Brashear because he is a guy who usually only plays a few minutes per night but the coach put him out there more because of injuries and he produced. I think Botta wondered like us, what if you gave Fritz more minutes?
If the Isles do end up with one of the top 2 picks, they’ll be in great shape because Toronto is taking. Isles would have 2 very early 2nd round picks and a later one in Boston’s. That is a receipe for success.
That Hunter goal was probably the prettiest goal I’ve seen all season. What Sutton did to make that play and having Hunter take that quick shot is exactly what this system is all about.
Blockness monster…
Tambellini had ZERO shots on goal.
At least 2-3 times tonight in EACH zone I saw him FOLLOWING other Isles skaters around the ice. I’ve seen caddies with better positioning than that.
He’s lost. Like he’s been in just about every game so far this year.
I can’t imagine that Comeau was THAT far off of Gordon’s system. Or is right now.
The Tambellini 2 year one way contract is gonna go down as Snow’s biggest blunder.
EVER (I Hope)
Cut your losses Garth.
BTW….speaking of “following Isles skaters”…..did anyone notice who was trailing right behind Hunter on that pretty pass from Sutton, who veered to the left of the goalie looking for a potential rebound on Hunter’s shot?
Josh Bailey.
The same kid that I saw at least 4 times tonight on PP and 5 on 5 pressure situations get himself into good scoring positions, but there was no one out there to get him the puck.
To his detriment, he made a coupla of bad passes tonight (first time this year I saw more than one–which is probably why it stood out to me), BUT THE KID HAS GOT THE TOOLS.
GET HIM SOME MUTUALLY SKILLED HELP!!
Where’s Comeau?
Comeau had another fight last night. He is strong for sure. He doesn’t get many punches for or against and he always gets the take down. He seems more concerned with tying the other guy up. Hopefully he keeps learning and adds it to his skill set.
If the Isles would like to ensure getting the top pick all they have to do is maintain status quo and then trade Weight. That should do it.
Ya, that Bailey is just awesome. It will be nice when Okposo and Nielsen are back.
How about the play making skills of Andy Sutton who has racked up a lot of assists the past few games?
If the Isles return to the classic jerseys next season in blue and white, what do you guys suggest for a new third jersey? I’d like to see something radically different.
Streit has looked super, no doubt about it.
I really hope Tambellini gets it going….heck, have a puck bounce off his head….just get it in the net.
Hey Strummer’s Army…The “10 Days” for Tamby that CB mentioned is in regard to the holiday freeze on roster moves until the holidays are over.
Just once I’d like ot see our boys carry the puck up from our own end on the PP and keep the legs moving throught the neutral zone. Every time they begin to carry it, they hit our own blueline and then coast throught he neutral zone to either dump in or pass to a play who is stationary at the attacking blue line. It’s just dishearting to see such an inept PP.
blockness:
I really don’t know what game you were watching, but Tambellini was awful again tonight. He has no sense of the puck or anticipation. Doesn’t carry the puck, doesn’t go to the front of the net, dishes off when he should shoot and shoots when he should dish.
DOC
What I don’t understand and haven’t heard anyone mention yet, is what was said about Comeau last year. When Nolan was trying to decide who would get called up last year everyone was thinking it would be I think tambellini. If not it was someone with very good stats at bport. BUT instead they called up comeau which was a curious decision based on his lack of jaw dropping stats. I believe it was explained later by Nolan that Blake was a player who was more prepared to show his true skills at the NHL level. While down in the AHL he wasn’t learning what he needed to. Sure enough he got the promotion and showed us that maybe there are guys that just play better in the NHL then they do in the AHL. It’s certainly possible considering how apparent it is the opposite way (aka tamby). I just really think we need to get Blake up here and give him a decent shot to show us whether or not he “gets” the system.
FREE COMEAU
Good stuff as always. That MacDonald comment was a little ominous. Chris, do you know something about that? When do you think DiPietro will be back to carrying the load as a #1 goalie?
Although Howie is correct about an early pick not being a guarantee for anything. Someone needs to tell him that a later pick guarantees even LESS.
Not to beat a dead horse on the COMEAU subject,but i still cant really understand how he hasnt grasped the system of Scott Gordan,he has good skill(better than alot of others on the roster) and was one of our better players down the stretch last year in the second half!I dont buy it !!There has to be some kind of falling out or something!how does a player fall of that quick and not get a second chance when Tambellini is a non factor nite after nite !Jeremy collinton isnt impressive either,so why not COMEAU?
I was at the game last night! If it wasn’t for Joey we would have lost 10-2! Joey is awesome! DP has to go! Tambo is terrible lost my voice yelling at him! Bailey looks good! Weight and Guerin need to be extended now! Meyer played well! Witt is a beast!
Another thing Ovie is the BEST; we left him open on the Powerplay! Man I wish we had him! He is not only the best player but he is down to earth and a good guy actually saw him and Backstrom at an IHOP they frequent in Arlington, VA a few weeks back.
My son, who is 15, has played youth hockey for 6 years and is also a hockey fan. Although he roots for the Islanders, his favorite player is Ovie. Uses a photo of him as his screen saver. CB, do the Islanders realize how much of a difference a player like that would mean to them marketing-wise? It’s difficult to market a young star goalie in that fashion–you need a scorer.
“DP has to go!”? With an exclamation point? Really? That sounds like a great idea. What is the trade proposal on that one? No one will take him. He has a 15 year contract and hip problems. Come on, get real.
Lets not get too down on Okposo yet. He is a power forward and power forwards need more time to bulk up before they can be judged. At age 20 he has already shown on numerous occasions that he can force his way throught the opposing teams d. Just wait til this kid is a few years older and a few pounds heavier. He will be a tough player to stop.
I usually try to avoid praising/blaming coaches when a team appears either up or down, fired up or flat, because I think it’s more on the individual players. But the way this team plays after these long layoffs cannot be coincidence, and certainly has me wondering. Way too many of the Islanders looked like they hadn’t so much as touched a puck in the previous four days.
On the plus side, at least the “tank the season” crowd should be happy for another couple of days.
Free Comeau
I really like what I have seen from Josh Bailey so far. I also think it is unfair to critisize Kyle Okposo’s early issues putting the puck in the net. This is his first full NHL season so he will come around. As for Jeff Tambellini, lost cause in my eyes. I do not know if he can catch on somewhere else and produce but I think I speak for all Islanders fans when I say I would much rather see Blake Comeau.
Anyone remembers Gordon’s words that if everyone on the ice is commited to win and playing the system, we will have results. From yesterday’s game it came crystal clear: only small number of players wanted to win (leading witm JMac). Looked like most of the team had no desire to work and win. All loose pucks were picked up by Caps. 80% of the game Caps had puck possession. Unacceptable! I starting to duobt Gordon’s ability to be the Leader. Looked like he has no power over players. If he just could be a little tougher. “Cutting a lot of corners, chasing the puck…” is not the plroblem! Isles can play great, if they want to. And Tamby could play good and score if he had only two choices: You either producing, or you OUT!
Man up, Gordon and start to make some strong moves.
CB , Okposo’s “mysterious” injury is a hand injury. What’s the mystery?
CB…one of your best blogs yet. Right on with everything!
Losing to Washington is no sin. In the first two periods they played hard enough to get 8 PP opps. They were really just outclassed. I think this is a pretty good group of guys, but there are two problems that are pretty obvious every night.
At some point they are gassed. Some games it happens in the 2nd, and sometimes in the third. Last night it looked like at about 10:00 of the third somebody flipped a switch and nobody skated at all. When you’re down by 1 and you can’t make a stride past your own blue line… you’re dead.
The other thing is that an aggressive forecheck works better AGAINST them then it does FOR them. When the pens pressed them they fell apart like a house of cards… the same thing happed to them in MTL.
This whole overspeed, or whatever you want to call it is great in doses… and it will make a team laden with mediocrity entertaining at times… But either it has to evolve into something that will work full time… or go-go will be gone-gone in a year year. Probably not, becasue Snow has a hard time admitting his mistakes. (see Jeff tambellini).
Why not have Fritz dance at some point? Gordon is really on his way to losing this team, if he hasn’t already.
For all those calling for Comeau & how great he was last year it was a totally different style of play. they played a mixed bag of boring slow hockey. This year is more uptempo & he may not be grasping it. Hell if we keep on yo-yoing him up & down like Tambs was last year we will get same results. Like Brian B. said above maybe they should use him like they did in the AHL. I don’t get it I saw him play so much in the AHL with confidence & here he looks like he is scared to make a mistake. Nolan must have really killed any confidence he had. 2 years ago when he & franz were up they played well. I hope he gets going anything off his head, leg skate just somethin.
Marc, couldn’t agree more. Good coaches take advantage of time off, and you can see it in their players. Guys like Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin come to mind - people hated playing the patriots when they had so much time to prepare.
Btw, anyone have any thoughts on Tambellini? Just kidding
Good article and thumbs up for finally acknowledging the big secret.
I don’t have the answer to the “1st game back from breaks” losses but it seems like they just always need one game to get in psync. I might be wrong but I think they regularly have much more spunk in their “next” game.
I only got to see the 3rd period last night. No comments necessary on it.
He hasn’t “earned” it, but put Tambellini on 2nd PP unit, already. How many more games do we need to see redundant Sim-Hilbert-Park there? I like hard work, too, but this is a PP? Tambellini hasn’t shown it in NHL, but being on PP might help bring out the scorer in him. Use him correctly or not at all.
And re: Fritz… 10 games “played”, ave TOI < 2 min/gm… 4W, 5L, 1OTL… Might not look bad, but closer look shows only 2 regulation wins in those 10 games. Also, GA in the 5 losses: 5,4,5,5,5. The numbers don’t lie: This team CANNOT play with less than 4 full lines being rolled.
Why is Mitch Fritz in the NHL? He could be the worst skater in the league, what exactly does he even bring to the club?
Tamby was on the PP earlier in the year. Probably got taken off because he did nothing out there.
JohnnyC - While I recognize stats don’t say it all, Comeau has 17 points in 18 games at the Bridge, and is a +2. He has to have some sort of handle on the system, I’d think.
I love this team to death but we dont need Fritz plating 2-3min a game & then taking bad penalty’s.
I also on my way home from work yesterday put in my GPS to look for Blake Comeau and sadly it shows in Bridgeport.
C’mon guys your soooo much better then last night!!!
Let’s pull a Carolina and bring back Peter Laviolette. It was a mistake letting him go in the first place.
The islanders lose nearly every third period because they play 3 lines in an aggressive 3 man forecheck system with constant pressure up ice from the d.no matter how much time off they have or don’t have, the 3 lines and top 3 d men are worn down after 2.periods. Its pretty simple to see.
Hmmm… a fire… where’s the gas?
In Nolan’s exit interview he stated that he would walk into the locker room on game days and see some folks he wasn’t expecting (most likely tambellini). Well we all know how he was treated.
Maybe Garth is forcing Fritz on Gordon, and Gordon is a pacifist. So he’s doubley punishing his team. First their getting beat up on the ice, and their gassed becasue they are only rolling three lines in a system some are ill equipped to handle.
How much more of this do we have to take?
Queue circus music…
Oh yeah… Comeau’s pic is on milk carton’s here in VA…hmmm… there’s an idea for a promotion…
MILK CARTON NIGHT.
Before the game they can give out carton’s with Comeau’s picture, and then in the third period they can shoot cartons with the whole team’s picture out of an air cannon to random fans.
Chris, Islander fans shouldn’t feel guilty about recognizing what a guy like Tavares would mean to us. So what, we are trying to avoid saying “tank”? Tank tank tank! Look, I have lived and died with the wins and losses of this team over the years but am willing to exchange what will inevitably be a .500 season at best for one where we find ourselves drafting that much higher. Its the blowing of the 3 goal leads in the 3rd that still gets my blood boiling but I’ve learned to live with results like the one last night. I’d rather see Tavares in an Islanders sweater than a Columbus one. Call me cynical but this and a new building in the next few years would turn this thing around faster than Steve McQueen’s Mustang.