Monthly Archives: October 2009
CB on the infamous Georges Laraque video spot
UPDATED at 1:45 pm – Latest I’m hearing is that Jack Hillen may make his regular season debut tonight and that slow-starting Bruno Gervais could be a healthy scratch.
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12:30 pm - Reminder: Live Islanders Hockey Chat tonight during the game in Buffalo – 7:30 pm to whenever overtime or the shootout ends.
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Although the Islanders have insisted they do not want one-dimensional players playing only a few minutes a game, Joel Rechlicz has been recalled. Perhaps he’ll get a regular shift tonight.
But here’s the bigger issue. If the team was going to have Rechlicz back for the weekend, why on earth would the Islanders not have him with the big club and practicing under Scott Gordon this week? The Sound Tigers also did not have any games.
You cannot – cannot – tell me it’s to save money and cap space while Joel gets AHL pay for three days. That doesn’t make any sense. That couldn’t possibly trump Rechlicz developing under the NHL coaching staff.
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Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron both played for the Sabres. Roloson gets the start tonight against his old team. Rotation will likely contine with Biron playing the Saturday night home match against San Jose.
Jeff Tambellini and Jack Hillen Bruno Gervais appear to be the healthy scratches. If Rechlicz plays, someone else will have to sit. No word yet, but Nate Thompson or Tim Jackman would appear to be candidates.
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In a story in today’s Newsday about Doug Weight shifting from center to left wing, Scott Gordon tells Katie Strang the following:
“If you look at the big picture, you make yourself more versatile and more attractive to our team and 29 other teams down the road. If we have four skilled centermen (next season) and Doug is just locked into center, it makes it harder to bring him back because he’s eventually going to take ice time away from those guys.”
Katie then reports:
“Those guys – Tavares, Bailey, Schremp and Nielsen – are players that Gordon wants to groom at the center position and form into a force up the middle.”
So that there can be no claims of second-guessing, I want to go on record. A center corps of John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Rob Schremp and Frans Nielsen is not going to get it done. That collection will not fulfill the Islanders’ plans to become a “consistent contender.” The franchise is going to need some size, some grit, someone to win a faceoff, someone who can defend other top centers.
Do you agree? In comments.
This is kinda funny. In an updated story about Charles Wang denying he’s turned out the Lighthouse, Kate Murray tells Newsday that she called Wang and details what she told him. The ToH also reveals details of a letter sent to Wang. Guess the Supervisor has chosen not to respect Wang’s plea – stated at the home opener – to keep their conversations out of the media. Lighthouse comments here.
This was posted two weeks ago, over a weekend – so many of you may have missed it. I’m posting it again because the Comments section is not what it should be. It appears we have a few dozen readers who only bring to the table some variation of “You are all morons,” “When are you people going to wake up”? and “You people just don’t get it.”
Write something smart about the entry posted. Write something creative and heartfelt. Raise the game. Elevate the discussion. Don’t just write for the sake of writing. Instead of commenting on other people’s comments, write something original. If not, write somewhere else.
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October 2 - We haven’t done this in a while and we’ve added thousands of new readers since. Please read the Comment Guidelines. For better or worse, whether some of you like it or not, Point Blank has been designed as a blog in which readers may comment on the subject at hand after each entry. This is the only way the blog works.
Point Blank is not a message board. There are dozens of Islanders message boards where fans can conveniently talk to one another all day and all night. PB is not a space for readers to start their own conversations by posting the equivalent of a blog in the Comments space. This is also not a place where readers call each other idiots or morons or - since we all have washboard stomachs, of course – get into the personal appearances of politicians, broadcasters, writers, bloggers or other readers.
If none of the above works for you, or you are offended by it, please do not comment. If all these silly Comment Guidelines tick you off, please do not even come to the site.
If you want to ask a question or make an appeal on the Comment Guidelines, you’re welcome to do so in the Comments space in this entry. If you choose to reply disrespectfully, it will be your last one. With the season starting Saturday, it’s time to clean up the blog so everyone can read the solid contributions and feel like they can participate in at least a semi-intelligent website.
Here are the Comment Guidelines. Your choice. Thank you for hearing me out.
12:50 pm - Charles Wang just released this statement: “Yesterday’s report on the Lighthouse project which appeared in the Long Island Press is untrue. There are no plans to abandon this project which is so vital to the future of Nassau County and Long Island as a whole.
“As far as the status of the Lighthouse project, we have submitted to The Town of Hempstead and Supervisor Kate Murray all the studies and required documents. A lease has been negotiated. Supervisor Murray and the Town Board need to make a decision on the zoning. Long Island stands in this defining moment waiting for an answer. Yes or no. Moving forward, we will not discuss any meetings in the media. Any reports of meetings should be considered untrue.
“My heart is still on Long Island. I love Long Island. This is where the Islanders belong. Let’s play hockey.” The hockey talk, including the latest lines and info on a live chat, continues in next thread.
12:45 pm - It’s a Friday night game, but with everything going on, I think it’s time for a live Islanders Hockey chat tomorrow at 7:30 pm. Game will be over by 10:00, so the night will still be young. That work?
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Moulson – Tavares – Okposo
Weight – Schremp – Sim
Bergenheim – Bailey – Comeau
Park – Thompson – Jackman
Tambellini
Streit – Martinek
Witt – Gervais
Sutton – Meyer
Hillen
Roloson
Biron
Had a brief talk with Scott Gordon after practice on a few subjects:
Bruno Gervais: The coach acknowledged the defenseman is not off to a great start, but sounded very confident he’ll turn it around. “I know Bruno can be better and will be better,” said Gordon. “It’s just a matter of getting him back to where he should be. It will happen.”
Jeff Tambellini: He’s the odd forward out for now. That could change. PB take: if a few players don’t step up Friday, you could see him on Saturday against San Jose.
Matt Moulson: Gordon provided some background on the signing of Moulson . Kerry Gwydir, the assistant to the GM, ran a list of free agents – potential “call-up” players from the AHL – by the coach. Two of the names were Greg Moore and Matt Moulson.
“I knew Greg Moore as an opposing coach and had him at the AHL All-Star Game and I knew Matt from facing him so many times in Manchester,” said Gordon. “I felt both were good players who needed opportunities.” As part of the recruitment process, Gordon called Moulson and Moore.
The coach described what he likes about Moulson: “He goes to the traffic areas, goes to the net and shoots.”
His team: “We were not off by a lot, but it was enough to make us look like a different team,” said Gordon. Over the last two days of practice, the coaching staff worked to fix it.
More later, probably.
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