Monthly Archives: October 2010
FanHouse: Video of Briere and Carcillo on Nielsen
FanHouse: Konopka – Carcillo marathon brawl
1:00 pm: Rick DiPietro was not NHL No. 1-calibre again last night. Except for the third period in Tampa Bay, he hasn’t been so far in this young season. Among the 41 goalies to play in the NHL in October, DiPietro is 39th with a save percentage of .867. He is also 39th with a GAA of 3.75.
The second goal he allowed in Philadelphia, on a wrister by Jeff Carter, was a back-breaker for a team whose collective confidence – sorry Coach Gordon, I do know what you mean about that confidence nonsense – was fragile with three straight losses and already down 1-0 to the Flyers.
Still, the ganging up on DiPietro appears to be a distraction mechanism for a host of issues that ail the 11th-place Islanders.
Doug Weight is averaging 19 minutes a game and has three even strength points in 11 games.
Blake Comeau has not registered a point in six of his last seven games. In that span, he is averaging over 20 minutes a game.
All the rage for a week in the discussion on the merits of keeping 18-year-olds on the roster, Josh Bailey has no points and a total of three shots on goal in his last three games. Maybe his hip pointer is still bothering him, but Gordon giving him more than 20 minutes of icetime would suggest otherwise.
PA Parenteau has one even-strength point in eleven games. Let’s cool off on the Matt Moulson comparisons for a bit. He may get there, but he’s not there yet.
James Wisniewski has one even strength point and is minus-6 for the season. Good player, great energy, but coronation as a top-pair, huge-money defenseman is also premature.
Mark Eaton at $2.5 million for each of two years was a reach the day the contract was signed, and I’ve yet to see evidence to the contrary. For a third of the cost, Garth Snow got Mike Mottau. Yes, $2.5 million in the Islanders’ economy cannot be shrugged off.
John Tavares is minus-8 and has three even strength points in eight games.
Sean Bergenheim has no hockey sense, while Nate Thompson couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Oh right, they’re not on the team anymore. No more piling on them. They seem to be doing okay.
You get the point. The Islanders are missing key players. Even at full strength, this remains a shorthanded roster on the margins of the salary cap floor. They were not as good as 4-1-2 suggested, they’re not as bad as four regulation losses in a row would seem to illustrate.
Through eleven games, which players have done everything asked of them in their specific roles and within their skill sets?
Frans Nielsen
Matt Moulson
Dwayne Roloson
Radek Martinek
Zenon Konopka
Trevor Gillies
But for the most part, 4-5-2 has been a team effort.
*
The two-man mugging of Frans Nielsen last night by Daniel Briere and Daniel Carcillo was old-school, nasty, effective, dangerous and wrong. Briere is one of the game’s classiest people, which made it surprising – with his team up 6-1 and a minute remaining – that he would go Bobby Clarke on the usually mild-mannered Dane.
If Chris Simon was given 25 games for his blatant whack to the head of blindside hit-and-runner Ryan Hollweg, I have to believe Colin Campbell will give Briere, oh, at least one game.
Briere has a conference call – not an in-person hearing – with the NHL on Monday at 10:00 am, so we know the punishment will not be severe.
Comments on this post.
FanHouse: Konopka – Carcillo marathon brawl
Other than Frans Nielsen (penalty shot goal after out-working the Flyers, shorthanded 3-on-5) and Zenon Konopka (two fights with Daniel Carcillo), no one else on the Islanders can say they were better than their counterparts on Philadelphia tonight. This hasn’t been a great matchup for the Islanders for years. Fail to show up from the opening faceoff through most of two periods, allow a soft second goal, not get enough bodies in front of BOB…recipe for a disastrous night. At least the fury at the end makes for a must-see game Saturday, when the Islanders host the Flyers. For now, the Snow-Gordon era has yet to produce a single victory in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey.
Interactive Q & A and chat with Chris Botta begins tonight at 6:45 in the Comments space.
Noon: The Islanders have won four of their ten games this season – two of them in regulation, two on the strength of full 4-on-3 power plays in overtime. When I pointed out on Twitter that the hysteria was a bit over-ripe when the team was 3-1-2 – posting screen shots of the Eastern Conference standings…REALLY?! – I wasn’t being negative. Just trying to keep both feet on the ground. Others inside and outside the organization might be wise to do the same when the next winning streak comes around.
****
In an interview with Hockey Night in Canada radio yesterday, Garth Snow told co-hosts Jeff Marek and former teammate Brad May that he cannot predict what this season has in store for Rick DiPietro, but the early signs of good health for the comebacking goaltender have been enouraging.
“We haven’t put a number on it,” Snow said about a projected amount of starts for DiPietro. “This is a situation that’s different from the past two seasons where Rick has been able to come in from day one of training camp and participate in full practices. From that standpoint, it’s been an encouraging sign for Rick and our organization that he’s been part of the group on a full-time basis.
“As it’s played out, it’s been pretty even in terms of games played for both goalies. We view it that we have two No. 1 goalies that on any given night give us a great opportunity to win a hockey game.”
Notes: The Islanders are 0-9-1 in their last ten games in Philadelphia. DiPietro is 1-5 with a 3.37 GAA in his last six starts against the Flyers.
Milan Jurcina is sidelined tonight with a hamstring injury. The big defenseman, who did not play well in the team’s three-game losing streak, will be re-evaluated on Monday. Bruno Gervais is likely to move back to the blueline in Jurcina’s absence.
The AHL conditioning stint of Rob Schremp is apparently over after one strong game with the Sound Tigers. Mike Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post reports that Schremp was returning to New York today.
Bridgeport won in Manchester on Friday, 3-2, on an overtime goal by Travis Hamonic. Kevin Poulin made 25 saves for the victory. Poulin to Fornabaio on the three-goalie rotation: “It’s the first time I’ve experienced it in my career. You have to deal with it. When you play, you have to play your best.”
John Tavares on Matt Martin‘s first NHL goal, scored on Friday: “That’s his game. He gets in those dirty areas, plays hard, and he’s a real strong guy. It was great to see him get his first one. He deserves it.”
I’ll take any Islanders questions you may have and talk about tonight’s game beginning at 6:45 in a new Comments thread. See you then.
10:20 pm, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum: One breakdown was all it took, and now the Islanders have lost three straight games in regulation.
Struggling to keep up with the Canadiens for the first ten minutes of the game, the Islanders got their legs, turned it around and forced the majority of play for the next 40 minutes. But the Islanders’ failure to get back on defense led to a 3-on-2 for the Canadiens and a goal by Benoit Pouliot at 7:19 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie.
“Lack of backcheck,” Scott Gordon said about the game-winner that sunk his team to 4-4-2.
After creating space for himself by going after opponents and to the net hard, Matt Martin scored his first NHL goal when he converted a Frans Nielsen feed at the crease past Alex Auld at 16:45 of the second period. Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring with a power play goal just 2:42 into the game. Travis Moen closed it out with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
John Tavares drew back-to-back penalties 17 seconds apart to Hal Gill and PK Subban to give the Islanders a 5-on-3 mid-second period. However, the Islanders failed to score.
Summarized Gordon: “At the end of the day, we couldn’t find the back of the net.”
TONIGHT’S FIVE BEST
1. Alex Auld - You have to tip your hat to a backup goaltender for playing his first game of the season and stopping 30 of 31 shots.
2. Roman Hamrlik - The ex-Isle may have lost a step, but plays smarter than ever. Logged a team-high 24:05.
3. Matt Martin - First NHL goal and a physical presence for most of his eleven minutes.
4. Tomas Plekanec - One goal, 12-8 at the faceoff dot and smooth playmaking.
5. Frans Nielsen - Not sure why he only got 15 minutes, while some struggling teammates played more than 20.
Honorable Mention: Josh Gorges - Montreal’s stay-at-home dman is one of the game’s most underrated players and leaders.
(FRANS) NIELSEN RATINGS (1-10)
NYI Performance - 6: The latest heartbreaking lesson in the slow-and-steady rebuild: You can play great for two periods, but fail to finish and have one lazy breakdown, you can go home with zero points.
Special Teams - 3: The Islanders were 0-6 on the power play and allowed one power play goal on just two opportunities. As much as they moved the puck around well, failure to score on the 5-on-3 for 1:43 was a killer.
Goaltending - 6: Not the reason they lost, not good enough to help his team win, Dwayne Roloson stopped 23 of Montreal’s 26 shots.
Opponent - 7: Montreal went with their backup goaltender, who played well, and took two points on the road. They struggled to execute against the Islanders’ forecheck after the opening period, but they got what they came for.
Game/Event - 8: The influx of Canadiens fans the last few years have given these games a World Cup feel. Islanders fans can get their tickets for the next one, Dec. 26.
Crowd - The crowd of 11,922 included some loud and proud Canadiens fans close to the benches and penalty boxes and, it appeared, many Islanders fans still streaming into the Coliseum after the opening faceoff who took advantage of the $20 special.
NOTES
Scott Gordon revealed after the game that Rick DiPietro will start in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Islanders have not won there in a while with DiPietro on the shelf, so perhaps this will change the karma.
Career-long defenseman Bruno Gervais played right wing on the fourth line for 6:08 with Jon Sim and Zenon Konopka. The last time Gervais played as a forward, briefly, was 14 years ago.
Matt Martin stirred the crowd by knocking 6-6 Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill on his seat twice with hits in the first period. Martin crunched Jaroslav Spacek into the boards in the second period…Matt Moulson took a shot from a teammates off his arm in the third period, but later returned to action.
NYI first power play unit: Parenteau – Tavares – Comeau, Wisniewski/Weight
2nd: Bailey – Nielsen – Moulson; Mottau/Martinek
VIDS
Matt Martin
PA Parenteau
Comments on Friday’s game.
TALK ABOUT TONIGHT’S GAME AT ISLANDERMANIA
11:40 am: By the count of the coaching staff, the Islanders committed twelve turnovers on Wednesday in their 5-3 loss in Montreal. All twelve gaffes led directly to quality scoring chances for the Canadiens, who had a total of 21 for the game.
Since the start of training camp, the Islanders raised the bar for this season. No more talk of rebuilding. No excuses for youth or lack of experience. No more acceptance of coming close and just playing hard to the last shift, win or lose.
Let’s see if this season truly is different. The 4-3-2 Islanders have lost their last two games in regulation. Fact is, they haven’t performed at an acceptable level of quality since a 5-2 win over Colorado at home 13 days ago. Opportunistic play, strong goaltending and overtime power play goals in Toronto and Tampa Bay masked sloppy efforts, especially in 5-on-5 play.
Scott Gordon’s Islanders really do not want to let their play slide any further. Another loss tonight to the Canadiens would put them at NHL. 500, the very definition of mediocre.
The head coach called the 12-for-12 turnover/scoring chance ratio “a recipe for disaster.” The Islanders need much better against the faster Canadiens. They don’t have to skate as fast, as long as they think quickly.
“Sometimes there isn’t a play to be made,” said Gordon. “We need to give ourselves better odds in the risk/reward department so mistakes don’t end up toward our net.”
The Islanders only had an optional practice yesterday – attended by half the team – and a morning skate today. But the players have seen the video, and likely will see a few more clips before the game tonight. We’ll find out starting at 7:05 pm just how much they’ve learned.
Notes: With Nino Niederreiter gone and Michael Grabner (groin) out, the Islanders are playing one of their…let’s just say one of the most unique forward lineups in their history tonight. The Islanders have announced that Bruno Gervais will make his NHL debut as a forward against his hometown team. We also know Trent Hunter is playing, so someone has to sit.
Forwards (13): Moulson, Tavares, Comeau, Bailey, Weight, Hunter, Martin, Nielsen, Parenteau, Sim, Konopka, Gillies, Gervais. (Really now, they don’t want to at least recall Jesse Joensuu?)
Defense (6): Eaton, Hillen, Jurcina, Martinek, Mottau, Wisniewski
Goalies: DiPietro, Roloson
Dwayne Roloson is your expected starter this evening. Alex Auld makes his first start for the Canadiens, after Carey Price played every game up to this point. Trevor Gillies is a candidate to be the healthy scratch at forward.
The Islanders confirmed Rob Schremp‘s posted-and-deleted tweet last night about him beginning a conditioning assignment with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers today.
Supposedly only 2,000 loud Canadiens fans will be in attendance tonight at the Coliseum. Friday nights present a greater challenge for Quebecois making the journey and skipping work and school. The next meeting at the barn on Dec. 26? All bets are off.
Clips
Longtime Newsday columnist Joe Gergen gave me a call yesterday to check in on the hockey team in Nassau County. Here’s Joe’s story on the Islanders for the Wall Street Journal.
It was like Gretzky from Edmonton to LA. After Nino Niederreiter expressed sadness for having to depart New York, the people in Portland rejoiced. Steve Brandon’s view of the other side.
Check out my FanHouse colleague Bruce Ciskie’s weekly report on college hockey. This one focuses on the return of Garth Snow and Mike Dunham’s alma mater, Maine.
I would hope by now that all Islanders fans would have Mike Fornabaio’s blog on the Sound Tigers bookmarked.
Comments.
SNY Point Blank TV: Glenn Healy, Part I
CB at FanHouse: Shootout is Dead, Top 7 Goalies
(Editor’s Note: At the home opener, I wrote that the Islanders’ new goal song, as chosen by Zenon Konopka, was “Live is Life” by Opus. Then I quoted Phil Collins: “I don’t care anymore.” Turns out I do, enough for one final post on the subject…CB)
Zenon Konopka was five years old when an Austrian band named Opus had a No. 1 hit in Canada with “Live is Life.” At the start of this season, Konopka led the charge to have “Live is Life” become the song played after Islanders goals at Nassau Coliseum. As if that’s not enough, Konopka made an added request of the Islanders’ game operations staff for the team’s next home game on Friday night at the Coliseum: he wants a different version of the song.
“There’s a better version where it’s slowed down a bit,” Konopka told Point Blank of the “Na Na, Na Na-Na” that most observers of the Islanders’ second and third home games cannot get out of their heads. “We’re going to change it up for the Montreal game. It’s just a little slower. The crowd will chant it in unison. You’ll see a difference. You’ll see.”
Konopka has a personal history with the cheesy pop tune. Raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Konopka heard the song after goals scored by the neighborhood Junior B team, the Niagara Falls Canucks. Years later, playing for the Portland (Maine) Pirates of the American Hockey League…well, he should really tell the story.
“We’re in Portland in 2005 and we’ve got a good team, but we’re missing something,” said Konopka. He pointed at two of his Islanders teammates in the locker room. “My guys Pierre-Alexander Parenteau and Trevor Gillies were there with me. I played ‘Live is Life’ and said we should make it our theme, our rallying cry, our goal song. We did, and then we just kept scoring and scoring and winning games.”
Led by first-year coach Kevin Dineen, the Pirates finished 53-19-8 before losing in the deciding game of the conference final.
Konopka thought “Live is Life” would be perfect for the young and energetic Islanders. With the support of Parenteau and Gillies, he got the blessing of his teammates. Then he took it to the staff. Konopka couldn’t get the Goal Song change approved in time for the home opener, which the Islanders lost to Dallas in a shootout. “All I know is,” Konopka said with that pugilist’s grin of his, “someone on the staff cost us a point in the standings.” (I’m pretty sure Konopka was kidding).
So one of the more unlikely tunes for a hockey goal song in NHL history returns for its third game on Friday night against the iconic Montreal Canadiens. Konopka is convinced that the few Islanders fans that have not completely embraced the ditty yet will soon be on board.
“So many teams play the same old thing,” he said. “This song is unique to us in the NHL. By the time we scored a few goals when we debuted it, you could hear the fans doing the Na Nas. It’s fantastic. I know it’s only to get better. This team, these incredible fans…this is our song.”
Konopka was asked if the song has a personal meaning to him.
“Are you kidding,” he said. “Live is life, man.”
And if you think this wasn’t meant to be, how about the Islanders picking up Michael Grabner on waivers after Konopka played DJ? Like Opus, the guy’s from Austria. There you have it. Na Na, Na Na-Na.
****
Notes: As rumored, Kirill Kabanov was traded within the Quebec League by Moncton to Maine for four draft picks. Moncton getting rid of him after offering Kabanov a second chance is yet another wakeup call for the troubled Russian teenager.
After practice today, Scott Gordon said Michael Grabner (groin) was doubtful for both weekend games.
Hurry, hurry. Step right up and get in your final comments of the season on the goal song. See you Friday.
FanHouse: Niederreiter back to juniors
11:45 am, NVMC: Continuing their run of smart hockey decisions for the present and future, the Islanders have returned Nino Niederreiter to the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.
The Niederreiter case was a different one for the Islanders. Here is an 18-year-old hockey player from Switzerland with just one full year of icetime in North America under his belt. Unlike many top draft picks – Niederreiter was drafted fifth overall in June – the wing still has plenty to learn in the Western Hockey League.
In 65 games with the Winterhawks last season, the 6-2 Niederreiter had 60 points (36 goals and 24 assists). He was outstanding, not dominant. Now he can go back to Portland, where fourth overall pick Ryan Johansen has already returned, and try to be dominant. The Winterhawks can also challenge for a WHL and Memorial Cup title.
The move also makes a ton of sense for the 2010-11 Islanders. This is not the Josh Bailey decision of 2008, with a wafer-thin lineup, especially when it comes to potential top-nine forwards. Rob Schremp and Kyle Okposo are eventually coming back, likely limiting Niederreiter’s icetime.
Then there is the reality. For all his admirable size, strength, skating ability and maturity, Niederreiter often looked – understandably – like a player who had just turned 18 years old. In his nine games he had his positive moments, to be sure. In the final analysis, he had one goal, one assist and just 13 shots on goal while averaging over 13 minutes.
Niederreiter will be better in the long run, and so will the Islanders – who, once again, are doing the right thing for the development of their top young talent.
Comments? More to come.
← Older posts
