DEVILS 6, ISLANDERS 1; Refs give phantom 5-on-3
Nielsen injured; Talk about the game all day here
JVR Enters Calder Race (written before JT scored GWG!)
FanHouse nods to the Islanders and the Country
The New Jersey Devils do find a way, don’t they? After a spotty first period with a few big saves from Martin Brodeur, they found their game. They also received some really friendly assistance by a quartet of clueless on-ice officials. Two invented calls gave New Jersey a 5-on-3 and put the game out of reach. The linesmen couldn’t even spot an obvious high stick before the goal to make it 3-1.
Nevertheless, the Islanders need to show more in closing out a game – win or lose.
Power plays: Devils 2-3, Islanders 0-4.
Shots: 42-23 for New Jersey, including 16-4 in the third. Richard Park and Trent Hunter had four each, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares three each. Getting no shots on goal: Matt Moulson, Jeff Tambellini and Josh Bailey.
Six goals ties a season high for an Islanders opponent. The Islanders have only scored one goal in each of their last three losses – in St. Louis, Wednesday to the Flyers and today.
Someone give a rosary or a rabbit’s foot or something to Marty Biron. “We certainly can’t fault Marty for this one, that’s for sure,” said Scott Gordon.
The Islanders’ post-game TV show on MSG Plus ended at 3:45 pm. The Devils’ post-game TV show on MSG ended at 4:00 pm.
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3:17 pm – The Devils get a 5-on-3 on not one, but two incredibly weak penalty calls. The second call, a hold on Richard Park with New Jersey already on a power play, is mind-boggling. It appears today’s referees decided to have the game be about them. Elias scores on the 5-on-3, Zach Parise and Rolston again make it 5-1. Three NJ goals in 2:02.
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2:35 pm – Would love to know Chris Rooney’s explanation for why he thought Andy Greene’s shot went through, when the ref was standing in perfect position. This time, NHL replay prevailed. Islanders continue to create offense, but allowed a lot more in the second period – a sign they have lost their game a bit.
Facing a beat-up Devils team, no reason why they can’t bounce one in and at least take the game to overtime. They were down 2-1 after two periods yesterday, too. Maybe the rallying cry can be Do it for Biron.
Icetime through two periods: John Tavares – 15:20 – Richard Park – 12:54, Josh Bailey – 8:36, Nate Thompson – 6:48.
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2:20 pm – Rolston on the power play for the lead after Mike Mottau gets a perfect pinball off the skates of Bergenheim and Streit to tie the game. Worse for the Islanders, cracks are showing in their team defense.
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1:52 pm – Frans Nielsen is out for the game (and maybe more) with what the Islanders have termed an upper-body injury. (See my comment about Doug Weight question earlier in thread).
1:41 pm – Both teams have excellent chances – Tavares gloved by Brodeur, the Devils hit the post on a wide-open net – but it’s a slapper over the blueline from Richard Park with too much room that goes in.
Mark Streit has a period where he looks like Denis Potvin. Kyle Okposo is a terror on the forecheck. Devils are missing six regulars and look like it.
Frans Nielsen may be injured.
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1:05 pm – Jack Hillen starts with Streit. MacDonald in for Sutton, who will have an MRI. Same forwards. Biron vs. Brodeur.
Colorado puts Tom Preissing on waivers. Would not be bad for depth, can move the puck. Unfortunately, Preissing seems to have lost his game two years ago. The scouts will discuss.
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11:15 am - Andrew MacDonald has been recalled from Bridgeport. Andy Sutton is out with a groin injury. The Islanders say Sutton will be evaluated today.
I would suggest checking the Islanders’ website for up-to-date lineup information, but the official team depth chart continues to have the following as your left wings: (in order of lines) 1. John Tavares 2. Blake Comeau 3. Jeff Tambellini 4. Sean Bergenheim 5. Jon Sim. Doug Weight is listed as the first-line center. When your organizational pride and professionalism is such that you’re giving out Bill Guerin and Alexei Yashin merchandise to your fans that win in-game contests, this is just being consistent. Good thing the hockey side is not afflicted.
Martin Biron vs. Martin Brodeur.
Scott Gordon should be meeting the press a little after his 11:30 am team meeting, so check Newsday around noon if you can and are interested.
The Devils will be without David Clarkson, who has a non-displaced fracture in his lower right leg, Dainus Zubrus, Jay Pandolfo and defensemen Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya, among others.
After today, the Islanders have a day off on Sunday and then have practices scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before leaving on a four-game trip.
In response to the Comments and email, who exits the lineup when Doug Weight returns? 1. It’s too early to ponder that. Doug has not even practiced with the team yet. 2. If the Islanders are playing well, it’s not a layup that Doug is immediately placed in the lineup the moment he’s ready. In his 11 games this season, Doug had no goals and six assists. 3. Don’t you think you’d know better by now to ask that question? Someone almost always goes down with an injury, taking the decision out of the coach’s hands.
Bridgeport defeated Albany last night, 3-0, behind 39 saves by Scott Munroe. Matt Martin scored a goal for the Sound Tigers. After player development director Bryan Trottier stood behind the bench on Friday, assistant development director Eric Cairns served as an assistant on Saturday.
Stat courtesy of SI’s Sarak Kwak: Of the 366 NHL games played this season, 17.6% have gone to a shootout. 65% of overtime games have gone to a shootout.
Since it’s a holiday weekend matinee, I’ll just do brief updates after each period in this thread. At least that’s the plan for now. You’re invited to talk about the game all day in Comments.
98 Responses to DEVILS 6, ISLANDERS 1; Refs give phantom 5-on-3
Nielsen injured; Talk about the game all day here
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beatlebailey says:
We cant have a complete nothing negative happens day..like yeterday was supposed to be until Sutton come up with a groin injury…F me!
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tommy says:
wow, Are they really giving out Guerin & Yashin merchandise to in-game contest winners? That’s pretty bad!
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kurvers28 says:
CB……when you say old Yashin and Guerin merchandise, are we talking the crappy t-shirts or an old lettered jersey? Still embarassing either way, but at least a jersey is decent.
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db says:
did i miss the article on prospects not in bridgeport or is it coming out next week.
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Bob Bassen says:
Giving away Guerin and Yashin swag?!? No!?
Please say it ain’t so!
Go Isles! -
admin says:
Thanks, as always, to my editors. Check out the game story from Wednesday and Comments for more on the old merchandise issue. It was a T-shirt and a banner. The “winning” fan wrote in to PB after I wrote about the boring contest where he had to guess whether the Dow was up or down. He could not believe the crap they dumped off on him.
Prospect rankings will be during the next road trip…CB
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Brian in VA says:
What no Peca and Kvasha swag??? I kid! It would be money if the Isles were to get two today! Sure hope the Lighthouse talks are progressing albeit underground! Haven’t gotten Center Ice yet BUT I might be getting close… The online radio feed is not half bad… Too bad real radio coverage was cut out of the budget… G
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Tell us how you really feel, Chris.
I was telling someone yesterday that the professionalism and promotion of the franchise and Tavares are so many steps behind another hockey organization that was in the same predicament as us a few years ago.
Let’s Go Islanders!
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gino says:
hey chris,i’m actually wearing a long sleave claude lapointe t-shirt today. maybe i’ll give it to the coliseum personnel to give away. bob boeggeman is gonna throw an email your way
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D-man says:
if they want to save money why not just upgrade seats… i think at least 1 might be avail.
@N: i think you need to give them time to promote tavares big time. at least wait for the team to win on a consistent basis. it’s been only 2 months now and the first month was a bit iffy
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Swan says:
The PR/Promotions expertise walked out the Franchise, when Chris Botta left. Any season ticket holder will tell you that this side of the Team is run more like a Division II college program. Very, very pathetic for a professional sports franchise in NY.
And very short-sighted. For instance, it wouldn’t take too much effort to update Team depth charts and prospect info, and it would pay off dividends down the road with fans.
As I mentioned to Snow personally more than once, I became a season ticket holder because of the extraordinary customer service efforts of one Christopher Botta many years ago. There is no one in the front office like that in the Organization now. Dey is a useless; a figurehead. You can tell he isn’t paying full attention when engaged in conversations.
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Frank nyc says:
Todays game will be as exciting as watching paint dry.
Just wanted to share something i noticed about this team going forward. First i really like our young forwards. Josh Bailey, KO, JT. 3 guys i hope are gonna be here for a while. But the point is that not only are these guys producing but they have been producing in the clutch. Im not sure about the numbers but it seems they are producing game winning goals or assisting on game winning goals. Its just something i think really shows something about the character and maturity of these young guys. GO ISLES! -
steven says:
If Biron falters in todays game, will Gordon finally be willing to ride Roloson for multiple starts in a row? I feel these games are too important to leave in the hands of Biron, who has been a shadow of himself.
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isles99 says:
the islanders customer service does stink…i went to the game yesterday and wanted a student discount. one of the reps didn’t give me one and told me the upper bowl was sold out while another rep. told me the opposite and got me the tiks i wanted….some of the ppl working for the isles are downright sleasy
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i know things are not great but sleazy? really? is that the right word?… why not be positive and concentrate on the person who helped you out and got you the tix?
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Priest says:
Quick Question about waivers… As I understand it, the order goes by current standings (reverse order), but since we already put in a claim do we go to last on the list? If someone could explain it, or give a good link I’d appreciate it!
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if lying to you and telling you something that isnt true and trying to get you to buy tickets that are twice as much as you’re looking for when the alternative is readily available isn’t sleazy, i dont know what is?
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on the radio: nothing… nothing… nothing… then suddenly he scored! argh!
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rob76 says:
Good period – PP doesn’t look good at all – The Devils clearly arent one of the teams that respects JT’s ability – they dont give him any space and I think b/c of that the Isles are having a lot of trouble setting anything up
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Alan says:
Cant wait to see Dehaan up here, as he will be greatly beneficial to Streit on the PP
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Tom Pressing makes $2.75 mil this year and next year…..no way Isles pay that kind of scratch
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i said it yesterday and i will say it again today if the isles dont fix their power play it will cost them big time. move okposo down low put gervais on point.
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Spartiarti-RVC says:
have people noticed that its impossible to knock down bergenheim. even then he gets checked, he doesn budge.
i hope it nothing serious with Franz.
How great are isles future centers looking. Tavares, bailey Nielsen.isles 4th line has been great
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What is it about injuries and playing in Jersey? Weight last year. Martinek this year. Nielsen now. Also, Asham and Zhitnik back in the day suffered major injuries in Jersey also. Crazy.
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TuxTax says:
Does Shremp get the call or does Comeau come back in? Woah Tamby’s got a nice shiner!
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bumper says:
How many times is Howie going to call Biron Brouduer then he calls a goal that doesn’t happen Wake up Howie
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miket239 says:
Jaffe just said the puck was stuck on Birons shoulder like a little friend…what?! LMAO
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eye on the island says:
@tuxtax, id say w/ the way go-go was using comeau and shremp when they actually played he’d go with shremp due to his play making ability
comeau’s used more as a grinder
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miket239 he also said something about taking a good dump before… but was hopefully referring to dumping the puck.
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how many games has Biron been unfortunate to have puck go off one of his own players for goal.
Why dont they every give him same goal support that roloson gets.
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think we can get a replay of hillens penalty?
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Exact same script as first game in Jersey. Isles up 1-0 after one, Devs tie it and take lead on a Rolston PP goal. Hmmm, I wonder if the Isles will score again???
Also, can MSG Plus relax with all the pre-game praise of the Isles PK. Philly was 1 for 1 on Weds. Devs are 1 for 1 today. -
mLem says:
and Frans was doomed by isles fans wondering where Weight would fit into the line up…also…I know the baby that won the crawl yesterday…interesting stuff
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this is a game where you hope weight was in to lead this young team. he is useless on the sidelines. when he gets back, build him up and send him packing and next year bring in a vet who will play more than 40 games. bruno gervais is also unwatchable
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Irish Isle says:
Is it just me or is Frans very injury plagued?
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Staten Islander says:
Ok, so I guess they dust off Schremp, when exactly was the last time he played?
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If Isles lose in regulation today, the team numbers would be that they get points in 86% of Roloson starts and 33% of Biron starts. Wow. A lot of loyalty to a goalie who will be gone in a couple months.
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schremp will get another chance. The injury to frans doesnt look to severe. maybe they just being pre-cautionary. Schremp is yet to show us anything.
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Jason says:
Chris Rooney is a typical Bostonian… always thinks he’s right, never really is, and he thinks he’s great. The natives of that city could sure use a little humility… not likely.
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IMO the big difference in the game so far is the PP – we got nothing done with 2 straight PP’s and a 1-0 lead. When the Devils got an opportunity to take a lead they had good puck movement – went to the net – and finished
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B says: ….well hate to be a complainer of officiating but like man they really seem to have it in for the Isles today.
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Can one of our Dmen hit somebody. Thank G-d Freddy Meyer is off this team at year’s end
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Wow, the bottom just fellout for the Isles in this game
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justin says:
I’m listening on the radio…..what a let down…..3 goals in as many minutes…..oh well
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well this has gotten pretty ugly pretty quickly
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yea CB….but Howie thought the Park call was legit, I’m shocked
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Islesin2010 says:
A great first period followed by 2 just awful periods. Nielsen was a big blow cause you could really se the guys tire but the Defense looks terrible without Sutton.
Where did Bruno’s speed go?? Guys just skate around him on a regular basis everywhere on the ice. It’s becoming a daily sidenote of these games: Gervais- worst d-man on the team.
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Ethan K says:
Those were very very very very bad calls. The guy loses his balance on the first one, fine, but that second call was not nearly a penalty. And then they miss the high stick pass during the 5 on 3… difference between a 2-1 game and a 5-1 game. Total nonsense.
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And hopefully Dipietro comes back early, and Biron gets traded. Roloson has been getting this team all of their points, but something always goes wrong with Biron in net. Not necessarily his fault, but they don’t do well when he’s the goalie.
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MT says:
Can’t wait for the Gordon/Carlin interview! They’re slowly becomming my new favorite feature to the games
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Fugly bad taste til thursday
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Jim Clark says: That was ugly.
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The question is, does Flash’s presser match the one from the other night? I can’t wait.
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Bob says:
Everyone keeps commenting on how well the Isles are doing and how they’ll hang around right to the end fighting for the last playoff spot. No team that has played .500 last season even sniffed the playoffs. The only reason the Isles are still hanging around is because they’ve played more games than every other team. If they’re a .500 team at the end of the season, it’ll be a step in the right direction and a huge improvement from last season.
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Dan says:
Why play Brion here? PLAY ROLI! He has been doing great and is finding ways to win games. I know this game was not all on Biron but please, he might of been able to make a few more saves. With all the posts hit and goals this was a blow out.
Why am I an Islander fan? Play great one day and go ICE COLD the next day.
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dave says:
im so sick of this team, sick of the refs, so sick of the lack of toughness, lack of heart. lack of effort. welcome to NYI in 2009. btw, SIM ON THE PP WILL KILL ANY TEAMS HEART.
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Yeah Marty made 36 saves I don’t blame him at all
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Captain Crunch says:
The only Plus: Scott Gordon restraining himself from channeling Roger Nielson in throwing a stick onto the ice to get the blind refs’ attention. That bogus 5-on-3 was inexcusable. The NHL equivalent of NCAA SEC officiating college football.
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DOug says:
Went to the game…I was wondering about the two non holding penalties…the officiating was bad news. I thought the Islanders played a good first period. They should have had two more goals but Brodeur was on his game. I think if they could get two big forwards that could score 20 goals and two big defenseman that can skate and clear the crease (the Devils were in Biron face most of the afternoon) they would make the playoffs.
I live in NJ but I hate the Devlis so this was the first time I saw the Rock and was very impressed. Easy to get to and inside was very nice. Two weeks ago,I took my son to Hofstra for a lax tournament and it was the first time I saw the Coliseum in a long time…what a dump from the outside. Now I know why they need a new arena…
The four days off should help….
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mrlbem says:
In 1977, the Rangers passed not once, but twice, on Mike Bossy in that year’s amateur draft. They were made to pay for that oversight over the better part of the next decade. I wonder how long Zach Parise is going to make us pay?
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19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
It’s games like this that make me totally lose faith in the system … especially in use against a tight defensive team like the Devils … it only seems to work against them.
4 goals in the final 10 minutes is horrible to say the least. Even though they weren’t holding onto a lead … they just fell apart.
Officiating aside (because awful doesn’t begin to describe it) … the Isles just seemed like they were going through the motions in the 3rd … almost a defeatest attitude once the bad calls came… followed by the 3rd goals … instead of getting angry and fighting back … they let the game come to them.
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John says:
Keep rotating the goalies. It’s year 2 of rebiuld. give teams a large sample of Biron it will come in handy at the trade deadline or sooner.
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Seth says:
tough game. new jersey has a good team and the islanders are still rebuilding with alot of holes to fill. better luck on thursday in atlanta.
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CJCB says:
Will Jackman ever fight the other teams tough guy? Why does this guy always pick fights with non fighters? Our 4th line stinks, real boring!
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toorude says:
i dont think gordon restraining himself is a plus – what does he have to lose in blowing up at the refs? maybe it might sink in a little bit that we are sick of the unfairness this league seems to project on to us. Snow says nothing, gordon says nothing. i do not like with other players bitch and moan to the refs instead of heading to the box – elias the troll did it today , crosby every day of his life – but maybe it has an impact. our players (and mgmta) seem to just take the BS and never say boo.
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eastonhockey says:
Playing Biron so Snow can trade him for a 2nd round pick at best rather then a 4th round pick if Biron sits, …is absurd for a team that missed the playoffs the last few seasons, is running out of fans..and hasnt won a playoff round in allmost 2 decades. Very Simple..Play Roleson=get points. GO GET THE POINTS ALREADY!!!! WHO CARES ABOUT A 2ND ROUND DRAFT PICK!!!
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Matt says:
Meyer Gervais and Macdonald are all minor league defensmem, and Witt is playing like a 5 or 6 man lately. when they pull the trigger on a Biron trade it better be for some help in the blue line.
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I hate watching Devils games especially when Lemaire is the coach. It stinks that Franz is going to be out. I would think that now would be a good time to put Shremp back in at center and see if he can produce some offense. The Isles also missed Sutton’s nastiness on D. On another note, I’d like to see the Isles take a flyer on Preissing. We could use another puck moving dman on the PP after Streit and Hillen.
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GParks says:
This is what happens when a team believes they are a 500 team
+ Park -
Islander says:
Gparks…must be Parks family
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Signit says:
as i posted in the philly thread:
Goals Scored by Isles in Games played by Biron:
2,1,1,1,2, (5) , 0,1, 4, 2, 1,1
they have only scored MORE than 2 goals for him twice, and those were his only wins…
Meanwhile when Rolo is in net the isles have scored:
3,3,3,4,2,3,4,3,6,4,4,4,1,4,3
they have scored LESS than 2 goals for rolo only TWICE
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So the question is, is that statistic a coincidence, or something about the play type?
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Looking at Biron’s game log on nhl.com, here’s the teams he has lost to (In order):
Senators (OT), Kings, Buffalo, Sharks, Canadiens, Canadiens (OT), Sabres, Devils, Wild, Flyers, Devils.
-With the exception of the Wild, all of these teams are solid playoff teams this year.
Wins: Buffalo, Hurricanes
-Hurricanes are the worst team in the league so far and I don’t think they had Cam Ward when they played us, and the Sabres were injured/tired the night we beat them.
So when you look at it more in depth, it just appears like Biron has been keeping us in the games, and the team hasn’t been up to the challenge.
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Mike Olivo says:
can we get off Marty Biron? The goals were the result of horrific defense. There are certain teams that the Islanders are simply not going to beat. Those teams are the ones that refuse to be outworked – ie the Devils. Pittsburgh didn’t seem to mind being outworked yesterday, so the boys won. The other night, the Flyers came out in the third and wouldn’t let our 5’6″ forwards cross the blue line.
Look at the schedule, and I bet if you really know hockey, you can find the games we might win, and the ones we probably won’t. This is where the state of the Islanders is at right now, we are way above the mark we all figured us for…be happy about it!
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#67, it’s not the same. This Parise thing was thrown right in our face within one second of the announcement. You would have thought that Pierre Maguire was the biggest Islander fan. I never heard anyone so pissed on the air. CB has the best first hand story. Felt bad for ya, Chris.
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RD says:
Dont forget the phantom unsportmanslike conduct call on Hillen that led to goal #2 for the boring Devils. Somehow Pikkaenen was excused for his offense. I guess Hillen was stick jousting with himself.
The officials in this league are a joke and so are their bosses.
Is it me or do we always end up with an injured player when we play in NJ? Maybe our team should send a message back to NJ when they come to LI to lose.
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gman says:
The Isles totally fell apart on their own in the second and third but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the refs were Tim Donaghy-ing the game.
From the terrible calls on the isles to the non-calls against the devils it was absurd and frustrating game to watch.
It really didn’t matter who was in goal for the isles there was no way they were going to win this game.
The loss of Frans hurt the Isles pretty bad and it showed when no one had any legs in the third. -
NYC says:
CB – what do you think of the goal song vote? i like bro hymn best of the options but I like the old school goal song from the early ’90′s
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Brian G says:
If everyone wants to get the old goal song back – since you cannot pick rock N roll by Gary Glitter on the Poll…just leave the choice as nickleback…then everyone fill out as their name, address, and so on…Gary Glitter Rock N Roll(in that form or another)- maybe they would get the point. I did it and it went through…..all of the choices are lame and have already been done by someone else….Islanders just go back to the song that pleased 98% of all of the fans. What Glitter did in no way reflects the organization – it is just a song…and PS it worked well. And did you ever hear, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
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jim in 226 says:
Just a little comment for those talking about how the Isles have played the most games…true, but they also have played the least number of home games in the conference (11) and with the next four on the road, will already have completed half their away games. To be where they are at now with a young team playing a lot of early road games, might bode well once the home games start coming in.
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Anthony says:
Hey, if you told me after 27 games we’d be 10-10-7, especially with all the road games, I’d take it in a heart-beat. For some reason, there’s lots of griping after losses…
Face it, the most important thing heading into this season was to hopefully see the younger guys on the team step up their games and grow together. We’ve seen that with JT, Bailey, Okie, Tambellini, Nielson… Moulson’s been a great find…
We’re in a good spot right now. We’re competing for a playoff spot; but we’re not too far away from the top 5 draft lottery either. If we make the playoffs, GREAT. If we don’t, but show signs of growth and actually get lucky in the lottery (like Chicago did with Patrick Kane) then this will be a team to reckon with next year! Imagine a #1 line with Tavares, okposo and Hall – it would be the best young line in the NHL…
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One note when DP comes back his puck handling ability makes the other team fwds have to adjust to that fact and really can’t get too deep becuz they don’t want to get caught. This will take pressure of our d and help us.
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Islebethere4u says:
Hoping to see a player in the Isles lineup is like “The Box” movie. Be careful what you wish for. Final score: Devils 6, Officials 4, Isles 1.
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JPinVA says:
This game, and maybe the next few, were lost in June and July when the Isles refused to add proven NHL depth to their roster.
When you are without your second best center and maybe your best defenseman you don’t stand much chance. When you do that with an especially thin roster to begin with, you are going to lose a few games no matter what.
10-10-7 is acceptable… but if Sutton and Nielsen are out for extended periods we’ll be talking True Value and Lottery position before the new year. -
Billy-no-not-Jaffe says:
So many fans have lost focus on what the purpose of this season is. Management is more realistic. The assembled team is nowhere close to a finished product that can or should be competitive for a playoff spot or more.
Our defense is bottom 5 or lower quality in the league. Our forward lines are filled with either young, hopefully developing players with little NHL experience, or with career 4th line grinders.
The real purpose of this season is not our record but to see which of our younger roster players can be developed or show NHL talent. If these players can be identified as future pieces, we can build from there. We are in year 2 of a possibly 5 year rebuilding program that can not be fast-forwarded by FAs. Let’s not obsess over losses (which piss me off as much as anyone) but keep our eyes on the prize. Some real progress from Bergie, Tambi, JT, Okposo, Nielsen, Bailey, Moulson, Hillen……..hope the prospects in system grow, and draft well this year. -
Hey, when an official tries to give a team a phantom goal, that’s special. When that phantom goal is overturned by the War Room, priceless. I was surprised that he didn’t figure out a way to allow it when the puck went in after the confusion ensued. Tell me again how qualified the the officials are in this league, because I’d really like to know.
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german islesfan says:
a typical off game yesterday. Nielsen in NJ is always a injurie unbeleavble..but we came out with one win this weekend and that’s really ok for me. also 10-10-7 is more then i have expected in front of the season.
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JoeRiverside says:
Some folks point to the record 10-10-7 and call it a .500% team. But that’s a bit decieving. The Isles are 6-10 in regulation games. They are 4-7 in OT. The Isles are definately exceeding my expectations and I am happy with the development of the young players, but still have a lot (and I mean a lot) of holes, especially defense).
And keep playing Biron, his stats before yesterday’s game, was identical to Rolie. Biron had little defensive support yesterday. IMHO
JoeRiverside -
Jerky says:
I was at the game yesterday at the Rock. The poor officiating was obvious but was bothers me most is that a fan can pay good money to see their team play a cross-town rival and they didn’t even bother to show up after the first 20 minutes. It was a pathetic effort all around and it really pissed me off. The team and many fans speak about how this is year 2 of the rebuild and we should all be patient – I am in total agreement on expectations in terms of wins and losses; however, I expect they come out every game and at least attempt to compete no matter the opponent. Their lack of effort in yesterday’s game and the second half of the game last Wednesday against Philly is disappointing to say the least. It’s time to hold either the lazy players accountable and remove them from the roster or call the coach’s system inadequate. Either way, as a fan who pays money to see this team, it’s unacceptable to go to two straight games where they show zero heart and look like an AHL team (keeping in mind I did not attend the Pitt game which I know they played well in).
Sorry for the rant … just a bit frustrated that I come back to LI for an extended Thanksgiving visit and attend two horrible efforts.
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SeaBass says:
I am very worried about something…If you remember, the Isles had a very similar record at this point last season. Albeit, this years version of the Isles is definitely a lot better (Tavares, Moulson, Hillen, both goalies). But, still, last seasons team was playing O.K. until around this point and then two major injuries happened that changed things in my opinion…Andy Sutton, who was playing some good hockey and looked like a true top four Dman went down for the season, and Franz Nielsen who was playing great hockey in all three zones and was our best player on a few nights (including the night he went down) went down long-term as well (ironically at the Rock against the Devils)…I think last years team could never recover from having those two guys knocked out around the same time…Can this years????…I am not sure because we are still just as thin on D….we cannot afford any more long term injuries there…
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Sorry for two comments in a row, I know this may be against policy but come on Botta, my comments are few and far between….In response to 96..I totally disagree. If there is one thing this team has shown this year it is heart and hustle..But, we must question either how much is left in the tank at the end of the game (especially for the D who I think get taxed the most in this system relative to other systems) or the coaching staffs ability to adjust in-game as well as our opponents…I suspect a mixture of the two but think just like the young players in the line-up, Gordon has some maturing to do in this area. sometimes I think he might be too evangelical with his system…One more thing…Sim is not worthy of a line-up spot night in and night out at the expense of sitting a young guy…Sim is a decent agitator but not good enough at it to make up for his lack of skill…
1st….
Gonna be a boring Devils game today, but they are ripe for the taking. 2 pts would be huge.