FLORIDA 2, ISLANDERS 0
The facts: team-wide slump leads to 5th L in a row
Chris Botta on Twitter
In the paranoid, police-state Country of Islanders, where even an honest, straight-forward discussion of facts that aren’t shiny-happy is met with disdain from the rulers, you might not hear about the following these days.
The Islanders have the 28th-ranked power play in the NHL.
They have the 28th-ranked penalty kill in the league.
The Islanders are 28th in the NHL in goals scored per game.
They are 23rd in goals-against per game.
Trent Hunter does not have a power play goal in 19 games and has done little 5-on-5. John Tavares has no power play goals in 25 straight, yet the coaching staff continues to place the 19-year-old on the first unit. It’s tough to point out most other slumps because you cannot expect too much of many of the players - Doug Weight, for example.
On Sunday the Islanders had a brief 5-on-3 and a long 4-on-3 in the third period and Tomas Vokoun did not have to stretch. Rob Schremp had a telling line about the opposition goalie before the third: “If he is standing up all the time, we’re not making him work hard enough.”
The talk from coaches about how the Islanders “out-played” a team in this period but not in that period, or “had the better of play 5-on-5″ or “played three games in four days” is getting awkward. It’s time the bar was raised.
For reasons we can argue til Thursday - the sidelining of MVP Dwayne Roloson, the lack of depth on defense, the over-reliance of young players - the Islanders have temporarily lost their mojo. Coincidentally or not, it began two weeks ago when the organization started thinking big and hanging up the playoff standings in the locker room.
They had a heartwarming run in January until then. They’re certainly capable of having another one. The way the bottom of the East is playing, the Islanders will be in the playoff race at the Olympic break no matter how they fare the next two weeks. (There will be no draft watch - not when they’re a lot closer to the playoffs than one of the three worst records in the league).
The Islanders are just one of five teams in the league that are below NHL .500. They have won 23 of 56 games. Of those 56 games, the Islanders have won just 12 in regulation.
For now, they are what their record says they are.
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283 Responses to “FLORIDA 2, ISLANDERS 0
The facts: team-wide slump leads to 5th L in a row”
Please Wait
Let’s Go Islanders! Let’s get back on the horse!
well one thing is for sure with toronto getting dion phaneuf the islanders toronto rivalry will be back on the map. after phaneuf hit okposo with that hit in preseason i could see those games becoming very very chippy.
So depressing to see the Islanders have lost 14 straight to the Flyers and then to see they haven’t beaten Florida on the road since Dunham outplayed Belfour on Nov. 18, 2006. C’mon guys, law of averages maybe?
This is the most important game of the season to date.
Any chance Biron is getting the start, to possibly raise his trade value? I’d prefer DP, but if we can get something for MB at this point I’d be willing to watch him play a game.
Hey CB your the greatest, love you!
I hope Comeau isn’t a healthy scratch today, wonder why he and tamby are Gordon’s scratch boys. Maybe it’s because they were here before Scott? Don’t get me wrong, I like Gordon, but Blake and Tamby should be part of the future.
If we dont play Blake and Tamby, are we trying to win the Taylor Hall sweepstakes?
Big game!! Time to snap the streak. They need to play with more confidence. They are a better team than the past 4 games. I do think Roloson has to get more playing time if they want to make the playoffs. DP may be the future, but we need to win now!
Comeau and Tamby should play. Florida is not a very physical or tough team, but they are mobile. We can use Comeau’s size and speed plus Tamby’s speed and shot.
Sitting: Gillies and Weight/Sim.
Another big game today- let’s hope the Isles end a rough week with a big win!
It seems to me that fans are really waiting for the roof to cave in since the Isles are overachieving this season, and some are hitting the panic button a little early.
Thankfully, the East is still extremely wide open and the Isles are certainly in the mix after a dismal week. It was obvious the Isles could have played better but in all fairness they were playing some hot tough teams:
Caps- won 9 in row
Devils- 3-2-1 in last 6
Carolina- 5-1 in last 6
Flyers- 4-2 in last 6
I’m not trying to make excuses here, but this losing streak is definitely putting the Isles under a microscope.
Let’s Go Islanders!
Win today = 3 way tie for 7th place
Lets Go Islanders!!! Gotta get 2 points today.
isles desperatly need a win today.
I thought only game isles deserved to lose on this losing streak was against Washington.
Against devils while poor 3rd. they hit 3 post that were all shots that beat Broduer.
Carolina loss was DP’s fault. He let in 2 softies.
Even yesterday against Philly, I thought were were better team. We just were sleeping for first 10 mins of the game. Spotted the flyers a 2 goal lead. thats is pretty much all the needed.
LETS GO ISLES. Bench Sim, Play Tambellini.
Let face it we dont have a checking line.
we have 4 very good skating lines. that is what lead to our win streak.
CB do you know any background info on this substitute play-by-play guy?
Go for a couple of dueces, 2pts for the Isles, and 2 for JT
I want a W today but I also hope someone drops the gloves (other than Bruno). As much fun as it is watching skilled play, this team has become beyond boring to watch and there nothing is more energizing than seeing your team battle physically from time to time. And I’m not necessarily talking about an enforcer dropping the gloves - anyone on the team should be willing and able during the heat of the game.
I think if Rob Carlin inhales too heavily, he might swallow a small child.
The replacement play by play guy clearly doesnt know the Isles, not that i’msurprised
snow isnt smart enough to give up 2nd and 3rd line players for a player like phaneuf!! we have 3 great young players, the rest could be traded!! wake the heck up snow and move our rebuild forward.. faster.. oh by the way power play coming up.. lets see tavares score here!!
STAY IN YOUR DAMN NET DP!!!
what was dp thinking?
Yes, lets discuss booth as the surefire olympic sub on the *Isles* telecast. Grr who is this guy.
damn it ricky
How is Tambellini NOT in this game???? Just free Jeff already. The team has lost 4 in a row and looked terrible while doing it!! Mix it up!! Let the kid play or let him play somewhere else!!!
Any other team has a player who defends DiPi after that. No matter what…
We have Gervais, who as usual is useless.
This Play by Play guy stinks!! Why won’t they give King-er a shot!! He’s a true Islander…
Hmmm 2PIM..I guess that’s one way for Ricky to get me some fantasy points…
I’m watching the florida broadcast….who is calling the isles game?
Not exactly testing Vokoun alot in this one. He’s tough enough to beat when he faces a lot of shots.
nicely flowing game…. lets not let this become another heartbreaker boys
Wow, is it just me or has DP let up a rebound on every single shot? Is that just rust still or what?
rick dipietro is the reason why the isles dont make the playoffs this year. we were rollin with roli and ricky messed up the flow . . you couldnt just sit another year?
horrible coverage on the goal… need to rebound before the second half of the game for once
1 goal against and 2 posts for Ricky so far. I have to say that as of now i agree with James(23).
why is dp coming out of his crease so far?
DP is sucking the life out of this team right now.
I have a hard time blaming this on any goalie…when we haven’t scored more than 2 goals in a game since this losing streak started…we really need to get some offensive production
bryan: its called cutting down the angle… most goalies utilize this
This has nothing to do with Dipietro. If you’ve been watching this first period, we have spent NO time in the offensive zone. None. That’s why we keep losing.
Craig Minervini
FSN Florida Host/In-Game Reporter
Minervini is in his eighth season as pregame host/in-game reporter for Marlins games on Fox Sports Florida. He also has handled play-by-play for select Marlins games on TV/radio and hosts FS Florida’s INSIDE THE MARLINS series.
During the winter season, Minervini serves as host for Florida Panthers (NHL) hockey on FS Florida and has called several Panthers games on radio.
Why only 30 foot wrist shots. Somebody make a pass or crash the net. Lots of shots but all low percentage scoring ops.
that was clearly DP’s fault, it had nothing to do with everyone behind the net and not covering anyone in front
Guys, you realize you can’t win a hockey game by scoring zero goals right?
agreed you can’t kill dp. however when goalies play poorly or give up a softie it deflates the entire team.
Yeah definitely not dps fault just seems like he always comes out further than most goalies.
For as good as the Islanders were playing…. They’re playing that bad right now. Boring boring hockey. ZZZZZZzzzzz
hard to deflate something that is already so flat
Rolo was plaing great as a clear #1. That status changed when DP came back. As a result, Rolo’s level of play has decreased, and in hs starts, DP has been mediocre. Not a formula for reaching a playoff berth. Just sayin’.
TWO POINTS ARE A MUST!
OR WE ARE DONE!
Katie Strang is reporting that the Islanders might not get Phaneuf..Hey Katie maybe you should stop clubbing all night & read the papers or internet–PHANEUF WAS TRADED TODAY!
Wow how lucky are we to have her as our beat reporter???Unreal
No radio station & a clueless beat reporter
this isles team looks exhausted!!!! this olympic break cannot come soon enough!!!!!!
Got news for you guys, we’re not a cup contender. We’re in a rebuild, building for the future. ROLLI IS 40!. He’s gone next year, and Dipietro is our goalie. So he’s going to play till he gets back into a grove.
Did DP’s return also deflate the offense? Roloson is just reverting to what he’s always been..a decent goalie but he’s no Martin Brodeur.
Its almost not worth discussing - DP is here for the next century, and he’s not going to be a backup.
Goalies are always some of the streakiest, hot/cold type players from year to year. You just don’t draft them high, or sign them long. I’m sorry. How hard was it to get good FA goaltending this summer? To come to LI no less.
Either way, DP is your franchise goaltender and thats not changing any time soon. Lets just hope gordo is tweaking his playbook to accommodate his stickhandling and maybe we’ll have an extra goal or two to offset the rust.
All that said, I’m still more upset Bruno and Park are on the ice than DP.
It seems if the Isles don’t get the first goal they’re done for. They were blowing leads earlier in the season but now the offense isn’t good enough to get the team a lead. They had 15 shots in the first and maybe two or three scoring chances.
and the wrap around last night against Rolo was also DP fault ? hmm
This play by play guy is distractingly bad.
yes the soft goals rick gave up, surely cost the islanders a win..it had nothing to do with the fact the team had only scored just one goal..wow, it really sucks to have to live in reality and witness the truth about the god awfulness of this defense..wake up islander country. It ain’t the goalie’s. Get a better defense..
its embarrasing how they have treated roloson. he has earned to be the number 1, and to take it away to let a goalie who has not played in one year, and has never achieved anything in his career.
No Problem. It’s just being a realist. We have a good core, a young talented core. DP is off of a two year break from professional NHL hockey, the best players in the world. Yea he’s going to be rusty, but if we ever want to be talked about in the future, he needs to play and get the rust off. Nd he’ll be our goalie in 4 years when rollison is 40+ and retired.
I think Gordo had a brainfart when making his lines today.
Roloson signed here knowing full well there was already a goalie signed for 12 more years and that he would be attempting to make a comeback this season. I don’t think it is reasonable for him to think he was going to be anything more than a “back up” as in an insurance policy or stop gap. He was rewarded with an extra year and more cash than he would have gotten anywhere else.
I am not saying DP shouldn’t play, but the 50/50 or 60/40 split is a bad idea. Commit one as the starter for 80% of the remaining games. The other guy is the backup. I say if you want to try and make the playoffs, Rolo should be the #1. But, if you are interested more in developing the team for the future go with DP. Either way, pick one of them.
theses shots from the blue line aren’t doing it.
1 shot in the 2nd period on goal. DP’s Fault?
I missed the 20-minute penalty call — why are the Panthers on the power play the entire second period?
actually i see the old “quick” dp for the first time in a while… more of the same from the rest of the team
Uh oh Bailey.
In the meantime put Matty and Tav back together.
Everyone bashing DP for the recent losses is clearly looking for someone to blame for the whole team playing like garbage. So because DP is in net, and the Islanders generate 1 goal of offense per game, it is his fault when they lose? The whole team should be held responsible. They went from playing the best hockey in recent years to playing some all around awful hockey.
We are really going to need a turnaround quickly this game to get any points…I know they looked bad at times during this stretch but I feel like this point they have just been completely outplayed everywhere thus far…
time to shake something up here..tamby?, cut someone?, scratch a big name?..dare I say trade?
Here’s hoping for a lucky bounce to get this one going…Go Isles!
2 shots 12 minutes into the 2nd pd. what does that tell you
Vokoun has never lost a home game to the Isles…just sayin it’s not looking good.
It’s a real shame. I posted something a week or so ago to the effect that, for the first time in a while, I felt like we were winning on talent, rather than being “gutty” or “gritty” or whatever. We’ve now gone back to looking outclassed against everyone, where an Isles goal is entirely based on feats of super-herculean strength, and a bunch of weird bounces.
Oh, and who in the hell is this announcer? Maybe I missed it…but Howie was back yesterday, and is gone again. Is he ok?
# 67 it tells you we need another top 5 pick
did anyone see that slash, take down of mcdonald just now??? and these announcers didnt even pick that up!! what are the refs watching!!!!
Oh, also…weak, weak passes. Again. Ever since that Florida game at the Coliseum, where everything (on both sides) was crisp, we’ve been playing off the puck, back on our heels, and both outlet passes and the passes just to get the puck out of our own end have been off the end of the stick with nothing on it. Why?
I love the Isles but don’t feel this team is a future contender. They r 28th in PP, PK, GF; 24th in FaceOffs; 23rd in GA. They have to be the smallest and softest team in league. They’ve won only 12 games in regulation. Bridgeport is second to last in scoring in AHL. Where is the bright future? Is this a problem with the system, the coaching or the level of talent? It can’t be age/experience b/c Colorado is just as young and lacks the veteran presence that we do. I hope Gillies stays for awhile and I hope the Isles win the rest of their games. And bring up Haley to replace Sim.
Howie got sick again. We’re borrowing a Florida announcer
How many late period goals can one team give up?
2-0, goal with less than 10 seconds in the 2nd period. Game over.
It’s impossible to be a Islander’s fan
why bother coming out for the 3rd? this isn’t a comeback team. lately it hasn’t even been a start off team either.
This team is looking more and more like last years’ team
They need something to wake them up, big hit, a fight, anything
I doubt we see .500 again this season.
bad to worst
Taylor Hall sweepstakes, here we come.
start rooting for Taylor Halls boys
Please just sell at the deadline
I am sorry, but I am unsure how Jeff T. can not crack this lineup…..Look, you gave Schremp a shot and look, I am sorry, but there is no reason he should not be playing, and given a “REAL” shot. PP time, Top line minutes….
The sad part is if we lose we are still well in this playoff race. However, why bother when the Capitals will destroy us.
Schremp at this moment is one of their better players….moulson is the same….what are you tlaking about…its not the fowards that suck its the defense. Meyer Gervais they add nothing to this line-up….the future of Harmonic and DeHann on this will make them a contender. The islanders now need 2-3 SOLID defenseman and maybe 1-2 more good forwards
No offense, no muscle, no special teams = lottery.
LOL. Who else feels like a loser watching this #@^%?!
I support DP but man oh man watching him is giving me FRIGHTENING FLASHBACKS!!
If the Isles were REALLY thinking play-offs they would be riding Rolo! Period. Maybe they just feel like with the loss of so many D-Man they need Ricky-one-man-team!
Oh well.
76- Colorado has Hejduk, Stastny, Wolski as a core of offensive players that Duchene and O’Reilly were added too, they were much further ahead then we were or are. The only veteran type players we have up front are Weight, Sim, Hunter and Park at none of them are top 6 forwards
seasons over fellow isles fans
might as well look to the draft
these last 5 games remind me of the first
10
this team has no heart , no fight in them
thanks garth for improving the team ,we
just needed 1 dman and 1 forward to fortify what we had but no - great going
hell with leaving dehaan and hamonic and donovan in the minors - let them play next year - look at the coyotes and their young core and also look at floridas kulikov - hes 19 - would be better than that defensive core we have now
were spiraling downward - this sucks
losing streak continues as of 2nd period
these guys havent shown up to play in five games
hate watching these games - really frustrating
later
It is unbelievable if you were born in 1983 {last cup year]you have witnessed and appreciated one year 1993 in which the Islanders won a playoff series.And there is absolutely no end in sight to this drought.I am lucky I am 53 years old.I got to see the glory years,but more of the GORY years.
Will making the playoffs and getting smashed first round really satisfy anyone? Rolli will be gone and we will have a team that made the 8 spot and got destroyed.That’s awesome
What does it matter of which goalie is playing….
The Islanders are not scoring..Has nothing to do who is in goal..
This has been a painful stretch of games. In terms of both entertainemnt and outcome. It’s not suprising given the roster, but we got a little taste during that nice run we had which makes this hurt a bit more.
If you guys think this is all DP then you gotta rewatch this game.
Bob what has rick done to make us lose this game? He had defenseman jump in the play with cross ice passes. Should he be out watching the point also? What have we generated on offense to keep us in these games? NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matty(43) sure you can win hockey games by not scoring, as long as the other team doesnt score, and then win it in the shootout.
I don’t think DP has been too sharp since he returned, which is to be expected, but I don’t fault him for either goal today. It is certainly going to take him a while to hopefully regain his form given how little he has played since 07-08. Would riding Rollie give us a better chance to sqeeze into the playoffs? Probably. Is that the smart thing long-term. I doubt it. They have to find out if Rick can be a #1 again. And he can’t play in Bridgeport anymore under the CBA so can that be retired please.
And let’s stop with the “DP’s best is still nothing compared to Rollie”. Rolson had 2 seasons where he put up all-star numbers. 02-03 and 03-04. Both years he was part of a platoon and he played behind Lemaire’s trapping Wild. Ricks 06-07 season on a mediocre Isles team is far more impressive in my POV. Getting him back at that level would go a long way towards this team becoming a contender.
they neeed to get dough weight off the power play…he done!
no goals in what 40 games…what a waste
Larry, sadly that’s the best hope this team has of winning a game
ANY Canadien team would have gotten a much longer look at that replay and an ALLOWED goal.
everyone please relax. yes the team looks terrible right now but almost every team goes thru a losing streak. the future is bright. the defense is the issue long term
oooooo 5 on 3 anybody scared.
our PP is God Aweful!!!
cb is it still to early to start the draft watch?
I agree- Weight shouldnt be on the 1st team power play. Its also time to replace Hunter with Moulson on the powerplay too.
The Isles need to sell. This is NOT a playoff team. They need a lottery pick and begin to make one or 2 key free agent acquisitions. Marleau would be a great pick up. They also need a top 2 D-man. The team has overachieved this year and as teams have picked up their play the talent mismatch is showing. I would look to move Hunter, Bergenheim, Comeau, and if the right deal is there Roloson. These guys wont be on the team when the team is ready to compete for a championship.
Islander games are getting harder and harder to watch.
Andre, moving hunter would be a mistake. With Witt, Weight and Park potentially all gone next season look to Hunter to get an “A.” Streit or Okposo for the “C.” Whichever one doesnt get it, is the other alternate. No more of this four alternate captain crap.
1st team PP unit
Bailey-Tavares- KO
Streit-Frans
Hit the net…
Is it that hard!!!!!!!!!
That is coaching!!!!!!!
2 points.
-I have been a Sim supporter all year, but now he’s been playing like a ghost. When he does what he does best he’s essential. Right now he’s taking up a roster space.
-This is where we miss thompson. He may not have the skill, but he had great energy and was constantly creating offensive opportunities. Since he has been gone I have seen markedly less offensive zone posession and i think this is due to a lack of the forecheck and true energy line. Anyone agree?
if you can’t score on the 5 on 3 you will not win the game. in this case 4 on 3 but who’s counting.
Yes and no….
Freddy Meyer has been our best forward…enough said
To those complaining about a small slump, stop things will get better they are young and still maturing this isn’t the Jets where young guys take you to within a half of the Super Bowl. The core of this team is in its late teens and early twenties stop being so fickle.
Agreed. Sell the vets for whatever we can get, stock up the draft picks and bring up the next round of potentially nhl ready young talent in the system for next season. I figured we wouldn’t make the playoffs until year four of the rebuild. It was nice to flirt with a chance at the playoffs this late in the season. I’d love to see a playoff series this season but we just can’t match up with the caps, devils, sabres, and pens yet. We’re simply better off with a top ten pick. It wasn’t long ago that the black hawks and capitals were horrible and now they both lead their conference. Garth is handling the rebuild the right way. With that thought… the future is bright indeed.
They’re picking a very bad time to stop scoring or is it the other teams raising their level of play trying to get into the playoffs.
DP is playing fine today, and he’s been playing as expected for a guy coming off such a lengthy absence. The issue for me though is the Isles messed with the overall consistency and confidence they had in net with Roli. And yes, it does have an indirect impact on the ability to generate offense - with Roli in net the majority of the time they were scoring almost 3 goals per game over his starts. This should still be a starter/backup situation, with DP playing every 4th game or so, not a tandem split.
Comeau laying in the fetal position after getting put there then taking a punch and staying in that position is exactly the make up of this team. That’s embarrasing. He should sit the rest of season for that.
Absolutely about Sim, couldnt agree with you less on Thompson. Thompson brought nothing to the table, this team is just in a bad funk right now. It seems simple, if their forecheck is effective they are very difficult to beat.
some great pp’s to get back into this game and they cannot hit the net with a shot. Special teams are awful - i would have thought weight would have fixed this but he has not.
All in all this is still a much better team than i expected in October. Injuries have hurt the D - Hillen and Martinek instead of Kohn and Meyer and this team is allot better w/o them they are not a playoff team.
i dont think i’ve ever seen tavares pass it on an odd man rush. 3 on 2 just now with man wide open on other side and he shoots and gets blocked.
I see a lot of people saying that the Isles need to be deadline sellers, but I have to ask, aside from Marty Biron, who are the Isles going to give up? Andy Sutton? Trent Hunter? Witt’s barely tradable, and with the possible exception of Doug Weight I’m pretty sure that the vets the Isles do have would bring back nothing. Not to mention that the Isles would still need to hit the cap floor. Marty Biron is more or less the only tradable asset that the Isles have unless they want to deal some youth or the two vets that have contributed well this season in Sutton and Hunter. I guess if the Isles do become “sellers” they could try to take on another team’s big contracts for a higher draft pick, but short of that I don’t see a lot happening. Given that, the team should kick themselves in the butt, try to score some goals, and maybe make the playoffs.
Florida is playing a modified trap…..
That is why it is soo boring…The Islanders are not helping right now..but Florida are dropping 5 back..thats what makes it sooo boring..
hit the net! every team that beats us gets grabage pp goals by standing in front and putting home rebounds. kinda hard when nobody puts it on goal and we spend half of a pp chasing pucks
@Islesin2010
Yeah and again the thing is that right now we are having real trouble scoring and Tambellini who has a wicked shot has been the healthy scratch for how long. I think Gordon has to let him give it a go here.
(sidenote) did anyone see the bowling segment during pregame? Tamby gets a question from hillen about his bowling skills and he just says “I need to get better!!”
Also Meyer has strung together a couple good games now.
This team just simply does not have enough skill yet to put together a playoff run. The isles have certainly shown glimpses of a bright future but another top 3-5 pick at the draft in june would be HUGE.
PLEASE
Pathetic
Remember when we use to put Witt in front of the net to screen the goalie, id love to see gordo place sutts in front of the net like that to help out….Billy J keeps talking about the line of sight the isles are leaving their goalie
#116…I fail to see how Gordon can be blamed for guys missing the net. That’s on the players.
Pathetic effort by this team, and that has been much of the sentiment from me the last 2 weeks
Yesterday against Philly was our best game, the 3rd period against NJ and the games against WSH, CAR and FLA were all pethetic performances
And anyone who is blaming the goaltending, you are smoking some expenisve stuff, cuz you were out of it. DP and Rollie are the only reasons we dont get blown out every single night. The offense has become pathetic and the D is too. Our goalies are under siege and we cannot recover from it.
I’ve been in a friendly argument with my buddy over the Isles (both of us huge Isles fans) and I’ve been sticking up for them this past week…Washington game, Carolina game etc…but this game has swayed my opinion, this was one of the worst games Ive seen them play all season,just embarassing….
I’m not unrealistic where I know we have a bright future (doesn’t every team think they do?) and we could go on a 3 game winning streak right after this…but things are not looking good at all lately, and even worse they just aren’t fun to watch anymore…I’m really bummed, sorry for the rant haha…goodnight fellas…
Im guessing there wont be a write up after this game
Now we can hear Gordo talk about all the bright spots of the game.
As a fan-many of us are excited about the future of this team.
But-how can things fall apart this quickly?!
they might be able to hit a soccer net!
it’s not DP’s fault.
Regarding DP, I just wonder if the vibe and CONTINUITY within the team has been rattled with him coming back and taking Rolo out of the net for the Isles.
Who knows? Maybe it is just the fact that the Isles aint that good.
I mean it isn’t just losing Hillen. Although that was huge.
#136..
It has to do with teaching angles and positioning..and they are never in good spots to shoot. That is coaching
if you cant score on the power play you dont deserve to be in the playoffs!!! when you take away ice time from your leading scorer you are not going to win games!!. cant accept these loses when there is no desire and no desperation!! terrible terrible effort. cant even say it was a bad loss, just embarrasing and frustrating.
Young teams are streaky because young players are streaky. Whether they make the playoffs or not this season was a success. You want to see growth and that is what you have seen from this team. Although i will admit i am frustrated like everyone else with this teams inability to score lately.
That was some bad shooting. Give Tambellini a chance already, he can hit the net!!!
The team should sell sell sell, and end up where expected - in the bottom 3 with a good draft pic
Each game becomes the worst game.
I agree 137. The losing has nothing to do with the goaltending. I knew DP would be the fall guy. The team has too many holes no matter who is in net. This is still year 2 of the rebuild. The D needs lots of work and we need some skilled big guys up front.
I know this is out of frustration but trade (if someone would take them) Weight, Park, Sutton, Witt, and ANY GOALIE.
Islesphan25 is spot on. Hockey is a game of positioning. Being in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time. As I tell my Squirt team (9 and 10 year olds) when in the slot, take the shot.
#144, they are NHL players, been playing there whole life. HIT THE NETTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!! You think every team in the league is coached specifically to hit the net, no, the players shoot and hit the net because they are NHL players
Comeau curling up like a girl on the ice when Mccabe comes at him, he should be ashamed. What a soft team.
Tavares is so over- hyped and over-rated… How can somebody with his skillset be a number one overall pick? He looks like a project, that needs to improve his skating,shot, conditioning, etc. Maybe he will be able to do it and be a good player in a few years, but he is more a third round pick than first overall with those skills. The fact that anybody would take him over duchesene boggles my mind, now there is a future star.
We got so robbed of our future by taking Tavares…We needed a superstar and we got a dud…He actually makes his linemates worse…
Stick a Fork in this team -they are done. the annual January Swoon of losses. Hopeful Snow will trade whatever he can…it is sad to see this team always looking to next year…and doing some sort of rebuilding. Other teams could use some of their pieces:
Weight? Sutton? Park? Biron? Witt?
Even Sim?
anyone notice that this losing streak coincides with Howie Rose being out of the booth for the Isles. Haha, just saying…
Anyway, I am a staunch defender of Hunter. It doesn’t matter if he is in a goal streak. He, like Okposo, does so many little things to benefit the team. He works hard, is good with the puck and creates many scoring opportunities in the offensive zone through his play in the corners and dishing the puck to others.
The funny thing is that we are close to the playoffs and close to the lottery. Either one is a plus. Imagine we somehow win the lottery. Hall and Tavares are the next Crosby/Malkin with Okposo being Jordan Staal.
package hunter,comeau,tambellini and weight for any forward who can find the back of the net and a big mobile defenseman
You need a major trade to shake up this team
schremp looked better than taveres on the okposo line
bergenheim cannot control a moving puck
I feel this going to be the big slide to the basement.
and frankly I am tired of watching this team struggle
Story updated…Hall and Tavares are the next Crosby/Malkin? Eeeeeeeeeeasy does it there…CB
Another top 5 pick in the 2010 NHL draft would not be the worst thing in the world. I would like to see this team make the playoffs this year but I still think there is to much dead wood on this team.
Our defense needs to be reshaped big time. Outside of Streit and Macdonald, I would not be unhappy to never see the rest of the guys back next year.
And the manic depression of Isles fans continues.
Logic, people. Young kids leading the team. Condensed schedule because of the Olympics. Franchise goalie working his way back in from long-term injury. Year two of tearing it all down and starting over.
Come off it. You saw a glimpse of what they could do against the Devs, Red Wings, and Pens. Let them take the two-week break and see what happens.
And finally, the complaining over Tavares… what a joke. Get over yourself.
This is becoming really hard to watch.We cant score,we don’t hit,we don’t fight.Its time to shake up the lineup after losing 4 straight.Bring someone up who will play with fire,bench someone,cut someone or make a trade.Do something I am really losing interest in watching this team play.
I know what Howies’ illness is, he is sick of calling these losing games and trying to keep positive
12 regulation wins in 56 games pretty much says it all. That’s hard to comprehend. Isles are the perfect example of a team that has benefited from that extra point, without it, we were toast months ago.
The only A I’d give Hunter would be A ticket off the Island.
Comeau you disgust me! Your going to lay down in the fetal position taking it? Geez your a big boy get on your feet and at least fight back. You disgraced the Isles sweater acting like such a wus today. Not too mention all your turn overs and your overall horrible play in what should have been a statement game for you. I want Comeau traded NOW!!!
All these soft guys, who let teams push them around, don’t hit, don’t fight, don’t stand up for each other, don’t battle or compete have to go, they are going to pass their disease onto the young guys.
Isles hockey is so boring! No fights, no goals, no competiting.
It is hard to watch the team, it’s no fun! Geravis is not a prospect and he’s not developing! He’s a 6 year vet and gets worse very year. His best year was his first.
Tough to be an Isles fan, when you see other teams making moves to improve their team and we keep getting Geravis, Martinek, Sim, Hilbet, more crap shoved down our throats. Every summer you think they will jettisson the guys who aren’t NHL caliber but they keep coming back with them and telling us what great guys they are. There a bunch of soft losers! You haven’t won crap in the time Geravis, Martinek, Hunter, and SIm have been here.
DP played fine today. Both goals were poor positioning by the skaters. I’m sick of people that hate DP for no reason and try to blame him for everything, their hair loss, the bad economy, their cat dying, etc.
Trent Hunter flat out stinks. Talk about a guy who can’t get it on net, he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Everytime he shoots it’s hard a and wide by ten feet and he winds up clearing the zone…he’s a mess.
I’m not ready to give up on the season, I think that a lot of these guys are starting to show their potential but they ARE making strides - they are not there yet.
As CB states, they are what their record says they are…on the playoff and draft lottery bubble at the same time. In fact as of right now, they WOULD be in the draft lottery.
does it really matter what we say or think what should be done. its up to snow to fix this we have 3 days off to are next game if snow is going to change something this is the time. if he does nothing in the next 3 days it safe to say this is the team he is going with the rest of the year.
It’s so funny people are killing Tavares, some even labeling him as a bust. It’s crazy what a losing streak does to this fanbase. This is year two of a massive rebuild, we are nowhere near contending yet this team has over achieved(Roloson’s play and shootouts have been the main reason) They could still make playoffs this year but probably we are better off long term with the lottery pick.
Before anyone gets totally crazy about the first overall pick: Take a look at the up to date NHL standings.The Edmonton Oilers have been in the El Stinko tank mode for quite some time. The fans in Alberta are fantasizing about uniting Canadian Jr. whiz kids Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall.For the Islanders the highest overall draft pick plus a fire sale of all the previously mentioned veterans is the best prescription for the future.
What we have found out about this team this year is we have a pretty good core of young forwards(Okposo, Bailey, Tavares, Moulson & Neilsen) What they need is a more veteran presence on top 3 lines(Hunter is only veteran forward capable of playing in top 9 on this team) and they need to revamp the entire D beyond Streit, Hillen and Macdonald. I would consider keeping Sutton at right price, Witt and Martinek both have contracts also for next year so maybe they trade sutton at deadline to open up a spot to try and acquire a top 4 guy this offseason.
it is what it is fellas. we have shallow depth, and depend on young players up front. JT is cold, JB has cooled, and KO is playing his guts out, every second. we lost 3 of our starting 6 defenders, and just for the hell of it, we are rotating in our franchise goal tender whos missed what feels like most of the 21 century.
highs and lows, hot and cold. its a long season, and the team is progressing fine. they will get it squared away, and get rolling again. JT o nthe powerplay, cause hes our main offensive threat in the future. not unlike JB last season, experience is gained by playing. sometimes it pretty, sometimes its pretty ugly.
People need to calm down and realize that we are in year TWO of a massive organizational rebuild. It is a young team, and with youth comes inconsistency. The team has made great strides this year and has battled hard for the most part. Our young players are inconsistent, but many have continued to improve this year. I’ve been following this team too long to get upset by games like this. Garth just needs to stay patient and stick to his plan. Hopefully he will get the green light from Wang to add some pieces this summer.
Isles84, I’ve been one of the biggest Tamby supporters this year. I don’t understand what Gordon wants out of him that he’s not trying to give him. This team is lacking speed and scoring ability and that IS Tambellini’s game. I think if you have to sacrifice a little size and defensive responsibility for some fresh legs that can score you do it and don’t think twice
People here boggle my mind. The person above who said Tavares is a 3rd round pick should get their head examined. If he doesn’t score another goal for the rest of the year it should be considered a successful rookie season. 95% of rookies will not score 18 goals in their first season. Also, Comeau ducking on McCabe was the right play. He took a penalty and then drew a penalty by taking a hit. If the ref calls McCabe for punching him in the face then he just turned a penalty into a power play. People on here need to realize that fighting does nothing unless it is done at the right time. Gillies playing against the Flyers did absolutely nothing except make our bench shorter. Have patience with this team.
Agree with 118, but I think the loss of Jackman hurts as well. Another guy who has his engine running all the time. What happens when he is healthy? Is he another victim of the overall “talent” on the team rising as what a good many people were saying when Nate was waived. You still need role players to make a team!
Matt NYC- Explain your views on Comeau, Sim, Martinek, Hunter, and Gervais. They are all doing nothing to help the team win. Every year we do expect them gone, but it never does happen. Strummer’s points were all 100% accurate. Blaming the entire losing streak on Rick DiPietro is insane, especially games he HASN’T PLAYED IN.
Also, labeling Tavares as a bust is ridiculous. He is a rookie. He is on pace for a 25 goal season on a team that is bottom 5 in goals scored. Be patient with him.
Mikey / 169, dead on. If we had won tonight we would have been in 8th spot. People chalking 3rd pick is ridiculous. Everyone calm down.
will all the naysayers relax. Plenty of Hockey left. The improvement over last year is a positive; the team is in a collective scoring drought at the moment;
McDonald’s play has been a pleasant surprize. our future is alot brighter than oh say Toronto, and the team that plays in Manhattan.
Frustrating loss, but its a young team, and I’m writing this latest stretch off as growing pains.
the one thing that sticks out in my mind so far this year is their misuse or should i say,nouse,of tambellini. just do this kids carreer a favor and trade,waive,release whatever you have to do. snow and gordon are killing this kids career
i think part of being an isles fan means you have to be ready for the bottom to fall out/ shoe to drop/ whatever phrase tickles your fancy. im 28 and didnt get to really witness the glory days. but since i could really follow hockey,(including the business end) the organization has been in turmoil. here we are how many years after milbury and ownership bs, and fans including myself, i think find it hard to have faith. nothing good has happened for this franchise in a while, and it doenst take much to swing the fans back to being jaded/pessimistic or whatever. we can only hope that the decisions are being made to put the best product on the ice.
maybe the patience of isles country is just wearing thin…maybe not
Ok Folks:
Did anyone really believe that this team is ready yet for prime time? Effort without skill is still mediocrity!
But they still in the hunt for both the playoffs and a lottery pick too! Come March after the break, sit all those unproductive vets (Gervais, Hunter, Meyer, Sims, Park and Weight) and play the kids like Joensuu and Martin.
Also I would send Ricky down to Bridgeport for the rest of the season and play Roli the rest of the way. Ricky still has no mojo working yet, and that’s not helpful. He’s not stealing games, especially during this current scoring drought.
The future does look bright! Sign Donovan, Hamonic and Kessel, get Petrov out of Russia and maybe give Kovalahuk a blank sheet of paper to fill out.
Let’s Go Islanders!
ps: they’re kicking back in Fort Lauderdale the rest of the week….
Thompson was willing to fight; had lots of energy; was good on faceoffs….brought intangibles to the game…right now they are boring, boring, boring. Hopefully Jackman will have a spot when he returns. Another guy willing to give up his body for the team, but he will probabaly be gone too.
I’m not rooting for the boys to lose but it wouldn’t be so bad to finish bottom 3 or 4 again. This team needs another blue chip talent - to go along with the young guys coming - before it’s ready to compete with playoff-bound teams on a nightly basis.
174 I couldn’t agree more> It’s frustrating to watch this team. Everyone on this team makes dopey plays but they insist on hurting themselves by not playing Tamby.
Here is a list of Isles fwds who have been in a funk.
Comeau, Hunter, Sim, PARK, Bergenheim, Tavares, Weight and Moulson. How can Gordon not play Tamby over any of these guys. What the hell is the story! Someone get Gordon some therapy so he get his head out of his ass!
hypothetically if we finish in the bottom 3 do we go after the top defenseman like fowler even though we have dehaan and hamonic comin up or do we take the offensive talent like hall or seguin. i guess if we were 1 we take hall. but interesting if we were 2 you could make the case we still need offense and take seguin over fowler. after looking at doughtys numberss and the goal he just scored to beat the devils it cant hurt to take fowler. it will definitely be interesting.
not gonna get into everything here but i just want to comment on Isles44 (#175) comment on Tavares. you say 95% of rookies won’t score 18 goals. well 95% of rookies aren’t the 1st overall pick and hyped as a star. it’s not about his goal total right now. we all can live with that. if his season was reverse and he started slow and then picked it up (like Stamkos last season), things would seem a lot better. but mostly its his poor skating (no explosiveness at all. it’s like he’s skating in slush), poor balance (he’s always on the ice. more than just about any player i’ve ever seen in 30 years of watching hockey) and his game seems to have no energy or fight in it. he has the hands and hockey mind to get in the right place (he’s missed a lot of great chances after putting himself there, but that will get better with time), but the rest of the physical tools aren’t there. that’s whats worrying about one of the main pieces that we are building around.
K, good point…you are right.
We have tap danced around it enough. Tavares may not be a bust, but is utterly and compeletely a dissapointment. Why tank the season if we get another Tavares, is this what we really need?
CB as you stated, with the PP being at the bottom 3rd of the league when will Gordon change it up. Tavares has been invisable. at the moment Schremp is the best offensive center on this team. Gordon, I know u read our comments on PB so take notes. Take Sutton on the PP and park his ass in front of the goalie. Let Schremp center the first PP unit with Tamby and Weight. The point men should be Okposo and Streit. Okposo needs to unleash the bomb!
I think Gordon is getting panicked also. Just get back to the basics of what we were doing. He has changed the lines so much and everyone looks lost. Lets get back to the basics, change the PP strategy and PK. If we did it before why did we change. C’mon ISLES get it back. We win 3 or 4 games and were back in and the confidence is up again.
Davy 191, you are correct. Everybody keeps looking for excuses for tavares, but lets face it we got screwed with him. He is definetly not worthy of a first overall pick.
Maybe this was mentioned in the above comments, and, it is a topic which always comes up, and CB does not like it, but, can we please put Tambs in the lineup? He is not a savior, but, really, what is anyone else doing that makes them play over him?
Hollywood, that would be great but that is a 6 man line you put out there and to be honest Weight has absolutely no offensive capabilities anymore from what I can see. His decision making is slow and his shot is mediocre. Id leave JT on that line with schremp and park Sutton in front of the net as you said (3 “forwards”) and then have Okposo and Streit at the point.
The problem is there really are no insights therefore there is nothing to share. We all know what’s going on here, 2nd year of a rebuild (through the draft with young guys), team is too young and inexperienced to play against experienced teams. We knew what we had coming into this season and got excited when we saw some progress. People got their hopes up for a cinderella story season and now it looks like it won’t happen so people are upset at themselves for hoping. We should be happy we’re seeing progress and revert back to realizing this is a long term plan for consistent success and stop hoping that we make a couple of trades so we can get the 8th seed and repeat the mistakes of the past.
CB- Thank you for straightening out the people who don’t understand what this blog is for. My question, or bone, with you is the following:
We were getting a lot of applause from you in the directions of Gordon and Snow during their strong play. Now they have lost 6 of 7 and 5 straight. Would you like to perhaps take back some of the accolades you gave them. Gordon’s bunch lately has been playing without an edge, and like you said the standings in the lockerroom has coincidentally led to a struggling bunch, that was a coaching decision.
What happened to the days of benching a player during the game. It seems like every game there is a player or two (or three) that seem invisible out there. BENCH THEM for a shift or two, make them know that they need to be giving more.
I’m not going to get down on this team. They have given us fans a lot of bright spots in what was expected to be a very bad season. Things are never as bad as they seem when things are going back. The guys have to get back to doing what made them successful, which was playing hard and establishing a relentless forecheck
If Gordon is reading this site and “taking notes” we have HUGE problems that have nothing to do with a young team on a losing streak. That was too funny.
….well we are having a problem scoring. Need some offense. Not getting it from anyone really. Sooooooooooo……well why dont we start ummmm well yeah start Tambellini. Unless of course your feel like the Islanders just cant win with out the intagebles Jon Sim provides.
I agree that Islander Country is a bit paranoid. However, the Isles are very much in it. We have to remind ourselves that we are only in year two of the rebuild and we don’t have a Kovulchuk,Ovechkin,Gaborik or Crosby to pull us out of these low-times. Whether not we sign Kovulchuck this summer should not be talked about until this summer. Right now the team should focus on play hard for 60 mins, improving their power play and earning those 2 points. It’s going to be a long and exciting spring…
Ill make it short and sweet, its NOT mourning over Thompson, its that he brought something that is lacking VERY much to this team and thats a pulse rate. Hockey teams need grinders, and some energy guys as well as scorers and finesse players and D-man - u need all types!
This team is not producing and thats understandable (there lite on talent and are re-building, we get that part!!) but we should not be expected is low energy, lifeless, not showing up efforts, by the team — its become the norm for this team to sorta be ‘ho-hum’ about things, thats the not acceptable!!
Give me a guy with a lil less talent but hell run through a brickwall for ya, then a guy with some talent but he walks on eggshells.
….oh and also I would go hard for Kovalchuk in free agency….lol.
comeau needs to go. it was embarrassing to watch big bad bryan mccabe make him wet himself on the ice. sorry got go.
People calling Tavares a bust already, love it. Maybe we should ship he 19yr old off for a bag of puck? The stupidity in this comment section is epic. Relax folks, no one here thought this team was a serious contender yet. Snow, Wang, Gordon, and the rest of the front office can pat themselves on the back all the want. Now, another losing streak shows that this team still has tremendous glaring weaknesses. We need a sniper, we need offensemen with speed, we need 2 shut down d-man. We need a big time improvement to our PP and PK. We need alot more before we are remotly close to being a contender.
During the time Thompson was here all I saw him do was block shots. He never stood up for teammates, never was an energy guy, poor play on PK and rarely fought. Bring up Haley and then you will see a guy stick up for his teammates, throw hits, crash the net and give the team some life as well as produce 0 points. Give the fans something to cheer for, which is a win in the fight column. Thompson never did that, either. 4 games in TB and he has 0 points and 0 fights. Play Gillies and Haley on 4th line. That will be fun to watch.
All I know is I was watching the USA/Canada WJC’s today on NHL network, and Taylor Hall looks like the real deal. Thanks for the excitement this year, Isles, but maybe tanking is what’s best for the future.
Just got back from the sleeper in Sunrise, FL. A few Islanders showed up. Macdonald, Sutton, Schremp and Okposo. Other then that it seemed like the team was going through the motions. They out shot the Panthers but it never seemed as if they really challenged Voukon. Tavares looks frustrated and also took several cheap shots behind the scenes. A jab here, a whack there.
I will say, in all honesty that one statement that has made me stop and think throughout this Season is : ” A team the Isles should beat…”. ?!?!? I can’t think of ANY team that the Isles are THAT much better than. (CB’s stats speak volumes too) And that’s OK. The team is rebuilding, the league is still digesting the Salary Cap, etc. etc. and quite frankly it has been a pretty fun season and I would prefer management to not make knee-jerk player/personnal decisions. Also, despite all the losing and hanging-on-for-dear-life victories I ‘m still glad that they didn’t sign, Higgins, Komi, Gilroy, Orr and so on. (Rupp, I STILL wished they had signed!) Anyway, except for the 5 or 6 borderline players on this team that might have to go overseas to find work next season, everyones job on this team (including coaches) are pretty safe…doesn’t mean they are not trying to win…jus saying.
Go Isles!
have to tip your hat to the panthers defense and goaltending today .tons of blocked shots and blocked lanes , interrupted passes with good sticks and so on
andy mack keeps getting better out there for us and Rick is still standing on two legs
everyone needs to calm down. less than 60 games into the career of JT and we got people calling him a bust?? The kid is second in the league in rookie scorng.He is a rookie. give him time. He is slumping, yes. But just like many young players he just needs some time to figure it out and he will break out. Jeez.
Boy would the Flyers and Voukun love it if the Islanders ever made the playoffs and faced them in a playoff round.
CB,
I’m going to be optimistic at least on the defensive end…they gave up only 4 goals this weekend. If they could find someone who could play the point on the powerplay…it would really help. How about Cullen from Carolina?
This team could use a shakeup if they really want to make a playoff push. Sometimes I wonder if they really want to make the playoffs this year. I think Snow wants some more high drafts picks…they need to bring in some more NHL players and give up on some of these guys that aren’t cutting it…
I’m in Tampa this week, does anyone know where they stay when they are there? Maybe I can pick up some autographs…
they’ve scored 8 goals in the last 6 games.
Bingo! 8 goals in 6 games won’t win you anything. We do not have enough finishers on this team! This losing streak cannot be blamed on Defense and goaltending!
Wang obviously follows every game and then huddles with Snow to get his take. It’s essentially advise and consent. About now Wang is asking,:do we have a shot at the playoffs?: My guess is that Snow says its a long shot. But the real question now is, who do we try to unload?, are we looking for piks or badly needed new bodies to replace the many faces that will be leaving the team. Snows paid to have the ideas and plan and Wang listens and pays the tab if he likes what the waiter suggests. Then the real final question is how big is Wang’s budjet? - Is it going to be just micro waved hordoerves or is it going to be a banquet?
Boooooooooooooooooooooooo
who is going to be scratched so that Tambellini will get a shot?
CB-Lately, I believe one of the factors to contribute to the lack of scoring is this…
has anyone noticed how long it takes for most Isles to pass or shoot a puck?!
Also-CB nailed it-enough with the feel-good-plays. A loss is a loss.
Go Isles. Bailey is going to be special.
Forget the losing… The scary part is the players who will lead the isles to NHL cup contenders are 16 n 17 years old. In other words not drafted yet. I’m sorry but if Tavares n baily n okiposo are your 3 main guys to lead you to the cup u r in big trouble. Okiposo is nice player who won’t score more then 22 goals most years. Tavares will likely be 5 years away from being a top 30 foward on the NHL. What about when Tavares hits 30 years old n starts slowing down? Lol could you imagine. Baily? I have no idea. Let’s hope he has a Ray Ferraro career.
I think we all agree that Kyle Okposo is just beginning to scratch the surface of his immense talents…in the fourth season after he was drafted. To put that in context as it pertains to Tavares…it 2012-2013 before Tavares has had the same amount of time to develop as Okposo has had up to right now, when we’re just beginning to see what he can do. Let’s give him some time. It’s draft and develop. Not draft and dominate instantly.
Okposo and Bailey are going to be studs on this team and in the NHL for a long time. Tavares has been a little disappointing. For a while now he has looked lethargic on the ice. Have not seen his playmaking ability, the strength he is suppose to have on the puck, and the most deceiving part of all the skill hype, his shot. His shot seems aweful. Can’t put one by a goalie on odd man rushes, shootouts, power plays, etc. He seems to be built to put in rebounds and such. Kinda disappointing considering how everyone said he was a natural goal scorer, I thought that would include a mean shot.
I posted that on yesterdays page about the PP and PK. Thanks for noticing. wink wink.
The problem is, they are TOO SLOW!
Make quicker passes!
They hold on to the puck too long and wait for the opposition to get back!
GET SOMEONE IN FRONT OF THE NET!
Sim is the only guy who does and he’s probably the smallest guy on the team.
Skate into the zone with a little more speed!
Stop faking shots and take them!
Slap shots from the point, not wrist shots!
And coach, you should have taken a time out when you had 14 seconds of 5 on 3. I’m sure you have a play in the playbook to get a quick goal or at least a scoring chance. Then you still have a 5 on 4 to try and tie it.
We’ll be OK. Get stronger, get quicker, get bigger, and we’ll have a chance every year for years to come. GO ISLES!!
Any one other than me think that Ricky’s return and the Isles losing streak coinciding is a coincidence?
Wasn’t it 2 weeks ago that we thought any game we took the ice that we had a great chance to win?
Just curious!
#223 it has not gone unnoticed! Rolo deserves to be the #1 goaltender!!!
THIS TEAM missed so many open nets in the 3rd period with those powerplays. It really got me sick. It figures that this team will get so close to making things interesting and then lose 5 in a row. Back to the loto pick again. It would do our team wonders if we could pick up cam fowler in the draft. Then we could dump fredy “i stink” meyer.
This team does not get dirty in front of the net, Do not drive to the net. How many times coming down the wings have they stayed to the outside. They seem to be afraid of contact.To say JT is a bust I agree is too early BUT he is looking awfully soft and as I have commented in the past is VERY easy to knock off his skates. If he worked as hard as KO then it would be a slump. BUT….
#223 I don’t think it’s any coincidence. I mean, it certainly isn’t the only reason — 3 of the top dmen are injured, and weight and park just aren’t contributing — but I can’t help but be frustrated with DPs return in the middle of the playoff hunt when they were really showing promise. Rollie needs to be the #1 starter, consistently, where he’s at his best. Just give DP a few games in between. It’s like throwing a stick into the spokes of a moving bicycle. Very frustrating.
“The Islanders are just one of five teams in the NHL that are five games below .500. They have won 23 of 56 games. Of those 56 games, the Islanders have won just 12 in regulation.”
Ok CB, how can these facts be true and you and everyone in Islander country continue to praise Snow and Gordon for the job they’ve done? Either, or preferably both, need to go before progress can be made. Being in the bottom of the NHL 3 years in a row is not progress.
Just once I would love to hear Gordon say we played terribly! At least Torts says it like it is….
I agree, where is our difference-makers after all these years of being bad? We will not win a cup if Bailey/Tavares/Okposo is leading our offense?
I like Okposo and Bailey, but I dont see either as a gamebreaker.
Tavares, the first overall was suppossed to be that–but I dont care what excuses anybody gives for him. He will never be that, just doesnt have the talent or skating and maybe not even the desire to be that guy. He doesnt even have the great shot–he was advertised to have. How many times has the puck rolled off his stick in scoring position or like today shooting a one timer way wide with a open net. Nothing about him is fun to watch, in fact the more you watch him–the more ugly and boring his game seems.
Check out Stamkos goal tonight, now that guy is a true future star. Those are the goals Tavares was suppossed to score for us. The only goals he can score are wide open empty nets from 5 feet in sometimes. Good luck making a career of that in the NHL, he will be a bust if he doesnt evolve his game from that. Problem is, the only way I see him evolving his game is if he improved his skating/slapshot. He needs to at least improve his slapshot if he is going to be a 40 goal scorer in this league. He is young and has time, but boy is he a dissapointment for a first overall…
Give me stamkos or Duchesne any day…
#223: dp’s appearance hasn’t caused the team to score 8 goals in 6 games. again that’s 8 goals in 6 games. the prior 6 games they scored 25 goals. so the team scored 25 in 6 games then 8 goals in 6 games. that’s not goaltending
Snow needs to explore all trade options..including Sutton & Weight…I would trade Sutton if you can’t sign him for 2 yrs at 3.2 per….you could probably get a prospect & a 2nd Rd pick for him….if this team goes 2 and 4 before the break…all of the UFA’s should go…then bring up some bodies from Bridgeport, Joensuu & Trevor Smith should be given a chance if this team is out of it.
Great point about Trent Hunter CB!!! Maybe we can swap him to Anaheim for Jason Blake?! and I still say the rushed return of DP has cooled the chemistry the team had at one point. Roloson had the team and DP took it away. As a business move, I think the best thing the Isles could do with DP is buy him out. Thats just my opinion, but it would end it all sooner rather than later. Give the team to Rolson for as long as he can go…he was doing fine, very well even. The Isles are screwed…already have Yashins contract and DP looks to be following that road. Its unreal, but I just dont see DP ever being able to be a 60, even 50, games played goalie. I cant fathom that at all. But hey, I dont mind being proved wrong…but at this point that will take some time.
Lets go Islanders!
#223/#224 I believe that this is the same as earlier in the season when Biron played the team clearly didn’t play the same as in front of Roli. Since DP came back the team is once again playing Biron style. DP played ok today, the goals weren’t his fault. I just wish he could stay in his crease.
FYI:
DP is 2 and 4 in his 6 decisions this year.
Roli is 2 and 3 since DP came back and Roli was 6-0-1 in the prior 7 before DP came back. If they are interested in the playoffs, Roli is the goalie ! !(this year anyway)
Really #220??? When Taveres is 30? That’s eleven years from now. Did you all expect Crosby or Malkin in his first year? He’s 19 on a team with very little scoring threat around him…Please.
The team isn’t playing the same in front of Roli either. The problems in this losing streak are not goaltending. The team hasn’t scored more than 2 goals since losing to the Pens and prior to that scored no less than 3 during their hot streak. What does that say? The offense sputtered.
Why would Gordon post the standings in the locker room? What kind of former goalie is he that he doesn’t see that as a huge superstition disaster? I used to talk to my posts.
“Mama said ther’d be days like this…!”
We have a team that has a former goalie as its GM, a former goalie as its coach and a former first overall pick as its current goalie.
We have the third worst power pay and the third worst PK in the league. The poor PP and PK sit squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Maybe it’s time for the team to realize that the game is played outside the crease and get some folks who know how to run a team.
Some of you need to relax about JT!
He’s 19! Give him a year or 2 to get a little stronger and then we can talk about him not playing up to his expectations.
a) I can’t recall watching a game where a team missed the net more - felt like a team full of Andy Hilbert’s out there.
b) I saw absolutely zero passion from the team.
c) I can’t understand why some players stop doing what made them successful. For example, Jon Sim was hitting, relentless on the forecheck and standing in front of the net and annoying the opponent for a month and he really turned his game around. Why did that change? Not to pick on Sim - the same can be said for many of the players right now and I can’t figure out why this would happen for more than one game before being addressed and corrected.
d) My last rant about Bruno for the season because this is getting old and repetitive - what exactly does he bring to the table? He doesn’t seem to carry the puck up ice and rarely handles the puck for more than one second before dishing it off. He is afraid of taking a hit to move the puck forward. He can’t shoot a lick. For someone with decent speed, he seems to be beaten an awful lot which I think demonstrates his awful hockey sense/defensive awareness more than anything else. Should he not be scratched long-term when Witt comes back and be bought out for the final year of his contract at the end of the season? I’d rather see Kohn stay up at this point or the acquisition/claiming of another d-man.
When we were winning everyone had a different attitude. I will enjoy the playoffs if we make it. If not I will enjoy the draft all the more. We are where we are in a rebuild. I thought we’d be dead last all year, so I’ll enjoy all the positive surprises for now.
my brother said it best “Small puck, big net” shouldnt be that hard
Apparently losing just one player, Jack Hillen, is enough to totally destroy this team.
The Country makes a lot more noise when the team is losing than when it’s winning. That’s for sure.
Well … here is one major reason for the losses. Keying on on what CB brought up at the end of his write up.
Of their 23 wins they have only won 12 in regulation. That means that they’ve hung around in games long enough to get the loser point or the OT/SO 2 point conversion. It doesn’t mean that they were necessarilly good enough to win. It meant they were good enough to survive and grind out some points. Which in today’s NHL is good enough to stay in the PO race. Good for them… it’s something we can look positive on.
What’s negative is that the Isles just aren’t good enough to string together some good 5 on 5 and specialty teams efforts to win out right. In the playoffs there is no 4 on 4 OT or shootout. The solution is changes in the roster. That means adding talent … trade, draft and FA … this isn’t the year folks … but we can enjoy the ride.
196, U R right. Sit Weight. Amazing how all the good things this team did for a month have been turned to crap. The Hillen injury is a HUGE blow. Hard to imagine this team having such a poor PP with the guys they have. I still believe that they will snap out of it when they finish this road trip. If I was Gordon I would play primarily 3 lines until they dump Park and Sim. Snow should begin moving the dead weight. Not many untouchables in this lineup. If they aren’t going to play Tamby then just cut him. Isles Mgmt is holding him back for no good reason!
I was at the game last night and as listless and useless as the offense looked the blame goes to DP. I watched him the whole game and he’s constantly out of position, plays the puck when he shouldn’t and doesn’t when he should. His side to side was very slow, which led to the second goal. He needs more time playing at BP to get us to speed.
CB are you flip flopping?lol
This team isn’t as great as PB thought a month ago and they aren’t as bad as they have looked for the last month.
This team is going to have its peaks & valleys and we should remember that if or when they go on another tear. The team is in rebuild year 2, not 3 or 4. I expected this and so should any reasonable thinking fan.
Gordo needs to put the scorers on the top two lines. Putting Bergie and Comeau with JT will not help his game. If he is going to shuffle the deck, he needs to do it right and he needs to shuffle the special teams units as well. And I know the defense has had its problems but the one thing that always bites this team in the butt is its inability to put the puck in the net consistently. This team needs more pure dkill and finish. Heck, I’d sign Sykora and see if he can help. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
What hockey fans don’t get these days is it just doesn’t happen like the Penguins did it. Not every team just so happens to get a crosby and a Malkin back to back. There aren’t hundreds of Ovie’s in the world for teams to draft. It’s a rebuild people, rebuild. We are better than last year, but we aren’t going to the cup, so relax.
Tavares has NOBODY to work with. Stamkos had St.Luis, Vincent Lecavalier,Malone,… he has ummm.. . Trent Hunter? he is 19 years old and playing with a minor league cast. he will have 80 points next year easy if Garth Snow makes an attempt to sign any NHL caliber players.
I think Weight is a wonderful guy but his lack of production isn’t gonna help his leadership qualities. I hope he can get a goal and get that monkey off his back.
Why are Isles fans upset??? The team was supposed to be bad this year… Maybe next year… I will go back to following the games on espn box score and forget about it. Snow draft/sign UFA/Acquire Young D-men. Our D-men BLOW! Pitchers and Catchers report soon. Lets go Marlins!
Bumped for the morning crew, respectfully…
Readers: if you don’t have anything to bring to the table other than telling other fans they’re whiny or flip-floppers, please don’t bother to comment. And, again, if someone wants to cite what they THINK I wrote on a particular subject months ago, please use the Search engine and have your facts right. Thank you.
I appreciate everyone’s participation on the blog, but too many times during big winning and long losing streaks the comments space can be too much to handle.
Instead of talking about someone else’s thoughts, share some passion and some insights of your own. Thanks…CB
246 very nicely put. You start winning somes games and people expect Lord Stanley. Stop blaming DP or Roli or Gordon. They are on a losing streak. The Rags have experienced players and the lost 5 straight. Look at the Bruins. Lets just get it back together and win some games and make it fun again. GO ISLES!!!!
I can’t believe we’re blaming this on DP. He let up 2 goals. That’s good enough to win. In fact its very good. Get off DP, its the lack of scoring that’s the problem
Rob-255. Normally I’d agree with you but I watched him the whole game and he was constantly out of position. He was slow and he gave up way too many soft rebounds. Saying he let up 2 goals against the Pens or Washington would be a win, letting up only two against the Cats is a different story. He let up 1 goal on only 5 first period shots.
The fact is regardless of DP’s importance to the Islanders in the long run, he’s not the current solution to the team’s troubles. As talented as a goalie as he may be, been, or one day become, Dwane Roloson has proven that he deserves the #1 spot. The more Gordon flip flops the two goalies, the more he gets in their heads and I believe it effects their play. Once Roloson got most of the starts during the season and Biron was back-up, Roloson played some of his best hockey in years. For whatever the reason is, this current Islander Roster plays its best games when Rolo is in net. A great goaltender like Biron could only get 2 wins for the team during his games. I think we need to establish Rolo as the main guy so he can get back on his game and used DP sparingly for now. DP is an important future piece of the puzzle, but for now he just isn’t sharp enough to lead us to a playoff run.
We have been losing for a few reasons. The biggest reason is we are way 2 soft. We need 2 big players in the lineup. We need a player like Rupp and a player like Laich. We just need 2 top 9 forwrds with major size.
the best thing for this team going forward would be to trade guys like sutton and biron. get anything you can for them. this losing streak shouldn’t really be a surprise because outside of the OTB line and streit, this team isn’t really that good. it is imperative the isles finish in the bottom 3 and draft a guy like fowler, seguin, or hall. my preference is fowler. think about it, streit is our number 2, de haan and hamonic will be our 3 and 4, mcdonald, one of hillen/donovan, etc. can be our 5 and 6. fowler can be the no.1 guy for us. as far as the offense goes, we have our bottom 6 with guys like hunter, bergenheim, schremp, nielsen, comeou, etc. as of right now, we only have 4 top 6 forwards in my opinion, they would be okposo, tavares, bailey, and moulson. if we draft fowler this year and draft another stud forwad the following year by stinking and then maybe sign a top 6 forward in free agency, we will be a complete team with dp in net and a guy like koskinen backing up. dp will be our goalie, weather you like it or not because of his contract. if you look at from this pov, we are really not that far from completing the rebuild. so don’t be upset by the losses. honestly, we really aren’t that good and its only in our best long term interest to get a top 3 pick.
I think its time for kyle okposo to be given the Captaincy…he works hard everynight, all the players know it. He constantly creates chances for his teammates, he has become more vocal this year. Doug Weight needs to step down and have it given to Kyle. Then let Doug become the coach..
The JT bashing has to end, the kid is 19 and our expectations are ridiculous. He needs to develop physically in the off season and he will be a perennial 40 goal scorer. He needs to work out in the offseason with Ovechkins and Drago and put on the 15lbs of muscle that seems to come so easy. I used to be a fan of Blake Comeau , his fetal position cop out was a disgrace to anyone who has ever put on a hockey uniform. It sums up this team. He should be cut , send a message that was sickening.
I cant help but laugh at the panic-laden posts comparing players and saying Tavares is no good, but Stamkos is a true future star. Did you people pay attention to the NHL last year? People said the exact same things about Stamkos… that he wasnt very good, a bust, etc. It was ridiculous and reactionary then about SS and its the same now about JT. People are WAY too in to instant gratification when it comes to players- and whether you like it or not 99.99999% of the time it just doesnt work like that.
Isles Nation,
Let’s not all panic, the ISlanders are following the normal learning curb of a team in full rebuild mode. I know it was fun to watch the team have brief success, and that will pay off in a year or two. But let’s not be surprised by the team’s play, we are still 2 years away from being a player, not simply a pretender.
This is NOT a DP bash, but I think the team played with more confidence and energy in front of Rolo. They know DP wanders, lets in a soft goal almost every game, etc. Plus I think everyone underestimated how important Hillen was to the D corps although MacDonald has stepped up tremendously. We really dont have anyone at B’Port to step in and Kohn doesnt look NHL ready yet. Some veteran depth via trade would do good for the team’s confidence
Everyone here talks about pleasant surprises. The fact is that if guys didn’t get hurt these pleasant surprises would either be in the press box or across the sound in Bridgeport. Snow is a horrible GM, and Gordon is a pathetic AHL coach. Anyone one of us could have drafted Tavares, but to rent Smyth by selling 3 previous 1st round draft picks showed me Snows complete incompatence. I can’t help but laugh everytime I see those buzz word commercials. Gordon = Tactician… HAHA
I agree with Tyler.
Roli deserves the starts. Lets see if that turns around anything.
I wouldn’t over analyse Taveras or any of the other teenagers. It wasn’t that long ago when KO looked weak on the puck but after a year under his belt he’s gotten bigger figured and has figured it out. It wasn’t that long ago when Bailey also was invisible but he added size and has seemingly learned allot and is figuring it out right before our eyes…
Taveras is 19 and has been weak on the puck and has looked ultra frustrated which is good because he wants to succeed so bad. On the other side of that coin he looked like a kid stomping his feet after missing a chance, that’s due to lack of maturity. He will grow and learn and mature after a full season and an off season of building his physique, I’m sure he will begin to figure it out as well.
I have to admit, reading the posts giving up on JT is depressing to say the least.
Fans need to support these kids or don’t complain when they leave for greener pastures where they thrive and we will be here blaming Snow for letting our #1 draft pick go to become a super star someplace else. I don’t think we deserve a good team if we’re gonna be this fickle, just my thoughts.
FOR #230 living in jersey , you must be a giants fan - i guess you expected eli manning to lead the giants to the promised land in his first year as well
Give the kid a breal - JT’s 19 and just learning this aint juniors , games faster , guys tougher
say what your saying at the END of next year if hes not better then this year
as it is it looks like the kids hard on himself and he doesnt need isles nation to lose faith him already
this is a rebuild and we’ll be okay -
just growing pains
The biggest concern for me with this team are the veterans. Where are they? What have they been doing? Weight, Park, Streit, Hunter need to step it up or they should sit.
266 msolo, AMEN, brotha. I was majug the same point. Good to see some of us can be reasonable.
I just don’t understand the signing of Gilles and paying him 3 minutes against the Phillies.
Insights? Not sure but I wanted to at least get something out instead of bottling it up inside.
Goalie issue doesn’t matter to me since I think they’ll be fine with either one. Right now though, they are way off kilter and I have no idea why and how they can get back to form.
As far as being “soft”, I am not denying that they are not “a tough team” but again, I don’t think that matters as much as some of you do.
When they were playing well and winning, what were they doing differently (than now)?
They were passing well and quickly, being in the right positions to back up someone, supporting each other, and also the offense was being very responsible on D as well. They would come over the blue line as a group of at least 3, maybe even 4 - and this would make it hard for the other team’s defense because they all had to take a man. So this way the Islanders had more room and it worked well for them as they confused to other team and didn’t allow them to stop them.
They are having a hard time getting into the zone now because (IMO) they aren’t doing the support thing now. Every guy who starts in is crowded by 3 opposing! So now you have one strike and then he is supposed to “pass” to someone else? The closest person is on the other side by the boards and there are 2 opposing in between.
Anyway, they have really lost confidence at this point, you can see it by how they either pass quickly without looking (resulting in a turnover) or the hesitation that I noticed the past 2 games from everywhere. Also I think this feeling like they are being suffocated is causing the shots to go wide as well.
Its a downward spiral and they as well as we need Scotty Gordon to see this and take them out of it. Inexperience is one thing but its time to get on with the moving forward stuff now.
And finally, although I can’t stand this saying I think it is very appropriate - THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
(sorry CB for the length)
On the issue of Tanbellini…not right what they are doing to him. He should be gone or playing…one or the other. No player deserves this treatment.
If we had true media coverage we would get the answers to Tambys status. You wouldn’t see the Yankees getting away with benching guys without being held accountable to the fans. How hard is it for Rob Carlin to ask the questions fans want answered. All Carlin does is ask loaded questions and he even throws in excuses for the coach before his soft ball questions are even answered.
I really feel like this losing streak is not the biggest shocker to me. Over the past few games we’ve been outskilled every game. I understand there are a handful of superstars who weve battled against in the past bunch of games but its our depth up front that is a joke. When the flyers can roll Van Riemsdyk on the third line when he was a top 2 pick 3 years ago you know thats a sign. Looking at names like briere richards gagne hartnell giroux pronger carle coyburn, how are you going to win with sim, hunter, comeau on your top 3 lines. Bottom line is we need to start spending some of the cap room we have and build around our players. When you don’t have players like malkin and crosby it’s tough to win with only young talent.
So if we have or have had(thompson) all these great PKers or guys that do more than fight like playing on the PK unit, why do wee have the 28th best PK in the leagus? Gilles played 3min because the Islanders dont know how to utilize toughness during a game. Dont worry about Tavares he will be fine as will the rest of the kids Bailey and such, just look at Stamkos in Tampa. Patience!! They have been getting beat up playing with the softest team in the league and have basically caried this team to really overachive at this point. we need new life on the 3rd and 4th lines, and we need to play Gilles all the time to get rid of the softest team ever label, just playing him a game here and a game there just doesnt do it. Get rid of Gervais, this guy does nothing and is probably holding back our next Hillen or Mcdonald somewhere in the organization.
I’ll say it again…Tavares needs to get some confidence back. Three games in a row now he did what he needs to do…sneak in unnoticed at the right time for a pass in front…and he’s either fanned or missed the net each time. That doesn’t happen if he’s playing with confidence. Sitting out a game may help. Taking him off the top line and putting the lion’s share of the pressure on Bailey-Schremp-KO also may help. He’ll figure it out.
Story in Star Phoenix of Saskatchewan saying Isles will be in Saskatoon for a SEP 29 exhibition vs. Calgary. Seems like they will do both China and Sask.
Islanders fans won’t have faith in the team until the owner has faith in the team.
As long as Mr. Wang intentionally underfunds the payroll, currently $16 million below what half of the teams are spending, then fans will will continue to doubt his intentions.
Mr. Wang: You can’t just tell your customers that you are rebuilding whenever your real estate deals don’t go the way you’d like.
Jeff Tambellini has played 168 NHL games and has 18 goals. so lets stop acting like he never got a chance to show his skills. he’s 25 years old, thats middle age for an NHL athlete these days. he was drafted SEVEN years ago.
The only way you score goals and get into the flow of the NHL or any league for that matter is playing consistently. In and out of the line up takes the edge off your timing. Refer back to Carlins interview with Andrew Macdonald for further explanation. Tambs has been surrounded with garbage teams in his NHL past. 18 goals isn’t alot but a few things need to be taken into account (ice time, # of shifts, supporting Cast, etc…) Richard Parks 15 year career -40 w/ 90 goals in 659 games definetly deserves more ice time.
I think JT is frustrated because he continually makes some beautiful backhand passes to the net–and no one is there!! Yes this is a good young core. But they would be so much better off with good, real, N.H.L talent to help the young guys with. A rebuild does not mean draft picks only. There are solid players out there, go get them, Garth! Help our boys. The players will pay for themselves. You see what winning does for attendance!