Monthly Archives: November 2010
CB at FanHouse on Devils-Oilers
Losers of nine straight, the Islanders face the 11-3-0 Kings tonight in Los Angeles. The Kings will attempt to set a franchise record by winning their eighth consecutive home game. The Islanders will complete a stretch of 12 of 15 games on the road, and look to make the long flight home a pleasant one.
Check Katie Strang’s Twitter feed later this afternoon after the NYI morning skate (2:30 pm ET) to see who is in and out tonight. Since Scott Gordon seemed to be pleased with the Islanders’ efforts in Anaheim and San Jose, perhaps he will stick with the same lineup. With the Islanders so badly needing a win, there is no case to start anyone other than Dwayne Roloson in goal tonight. However, that’s a lot different than knowing whom Gordon actually will decide to start.
Naturally, the stats are pretty for Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar has 13 points in his last 13 games while defenseman Jack Johnson has ten points in eight games. For the Islanders, Josh Bailey is pointless in nine games, Tavares goal-less in seven games. Doug Weight has just one point in his last seven games, Michael Grabner one in his last six, Blake Comeau one in his last eight. This is what happens when a team has scored a total of five goals in its last five games.
Here’s a telling stat. Of the 16 hat tricks scored in the NHL this season, 15 were scored by members of the winning team. The exception, of course, was when John Tavares scored three goals in Florida in an Islanders loss three weeks ago today. Still hard to believe the Islanders haven’t won a game since 200 of us on Point Blank Night waited out the ruling for Matt Moulson’s overtime goal in Tampa 23 days ago.
NOTES
Since his return to Portland (WHL), 2010 fifth overall draft pick Nino Niederreiter has just one goal and three assists in seven games for the Winterhawks. Defenseman Calvin de Haan is averaging a point a game in Oshawa (OHL).
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers fell to 5-9 on the season after a 6-5 loss in Charlotte last night. Kevin Poulin had his first subpar outing of the season.
Miroslav Satan is signing with an NHL club this week. Doesn’t look like it will be the Islanders, who continue to talk playoffs and no excuses this season.
Congratulations all around to the family of Daily News writer Peter Botte. Peter’s son Tyler, a freshman, scored his first collegiate goal Friday night as Hofstra beat Virginia Commonwealth to come within one win of advancing to the NCAA men’s soccer tournament. Tyler’s goal came with four minutes left in regulation to tie the game. Hofstra won on penalty kicks.
Comments on this post and tonight’s game are welcomed. I’ll see you in Comments starting around 10:00 pm ET. Puck-drop is 10:30.
3:45 pm: The Islanders have two names on this year’s all-star ballot: Mark Streit and John Tavares. Streit is a bit of a surprise considering he’s out for most of the season with a shoulder injury. Every team has at least two nominees. The Blackhawks lead the league with six. Comments.
The 4-9-3 Islanders have lost nine games in a row and are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoff spot. Help should arrive in the next few weeks (Andrew MacDonald and Milan Jurcina) and next month (Kyle Okposo). For now, one-fifth of the way into the regular season, we can only grade them on performance based on individual expectations.
Today, we start with the defense and goaltending.
DEFENSEMEN
Mark Eaton (B-) – A smart player with a good stick who has earned Dean Chynoweth’s confidence enough – and yes, the depth chart has been shortened by injuries – to play more than 27 minutes last night. You just wish Eaton could contribute on offense (no points in 16 games) and play more physically, but that’s not his game and the Islanders knew what they were buying. Highly-respected among his teammates.
Bruno Gervais (C) – A healthy scratch for the first nine games of the season, he played the tenth as a fourth-line forward. For game 15, back on defense, he was the extra attacker as the Islanders tried to tie the game late in Anaheim. When everyone is healthy, Gervais is No. 8 among the team’s eight defensemen on one-way contracts. He’s the Jon Sim of Islanders defensemen, a target of fans despite residing nowhere near the top of the organization’s list of failings.
Jack Hillen (C-) – The still-young defenseman was Comeau-ed from almost the beginning of training camp and is just now starting to show signs of finding his game. Possessing great wheels and hockey sense, Hillen should be successful. Only trouble is, when Jurcina and MacDonald return – and if everyone else stays healthy – Hillen and Gervais are the overwhelming candidates to head back to the press box.
Milan Jurcina (B-) – As Providence’s Shawn Bates was to Peter Laviolette, this previously under-achieving big dman is to Coach Gordon. The coach likes him and the player is inspired to play better than he has anywhere else. Jurcina is a third-pair dman, but could be a good one for the Islanders. On a blueline without any size, Jurcina is valuable.
Andrew MacDonald (B-) – The Islanders have not won a game since he was injured, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that MacDonald was only okay for the first seven games of the season. With Mark Streit out, the Islanders asked more of MacDonald than he was ready for. Still, the potential is there to be a quality 4 or 5 dman for many years.
Radek Martinek (B) – Sixteen games down, and Martinek isn’t. He is what we remembered he was.
Mike Mottau (B-) – For those wondering if the veteran would be exposed outside of the Devils’ system, the answer came quickly. Nope. The Devils miss him badly. Smart move by Garth Snow getting him to sign for two years. The -11 is not pretty. But again, because of the lack of depth on the blue line, Mottau is being asked to do more than should be expected.
James Wisniewski (B) – The Wiz has been better on the power play than perhaps the Blackhawks and Ducks wanted to give him credit for. Defensively, Wisniewski needs to step it up. Overall, he remains a great find for Snow. The Islanders could use a lot more of the Wiz’s energy and emotion. After the loss in Anaheim, he looked like he was either going to scream or cry before cutting off his session with reporters. It was beautiful to see.
GOALTENDERS
Rick DiPietro (D) – The good news for the comebacking goaltender is the season still has at least five months left, and DiPietro continues to work hard with coach Sudarshan Maharaj to reclaim his status as a No. 1. But we can only judge him on how he has played so far, not what the Islanders hope from him after he gets game-sharp. So far, as his 4.21 GAA and .854 save percentage illustrate, he’s not there yet. Not even close. Making life more difficult for himself and his team, DiPietro confoundingly continues to over-handle the puck. As I said on “Islanders Interactive” on Thursday, give the project another week or two before beginning the discussion of a stint in the minors. Starting the year there was never an option in this management’s eyes. Maybe, just maybe, DiPietro will pull out the stops.
Dwayne Roloson (A) – It was shocking to see the TV broadcast last night call the decision to start Roloson a “surprise.” To get out of an endless losing streak, is there really any other choice? Despite playing on the NHL’s 28th-place team, Roloson has a 2.10 GAA and .924 save percentage. If he keeps this up – and the Islanders don’t start playing over NHL .500 hockey to stay in the playoff chase – Roloson will be one of the few gems available at the trade deadline. Worth at least a second round pick, although it’s still too early to go there.
Your comments on the D and G and these grades are welcomed. If you haven’t lately, please familiarize yourself with the site’s Comment Guidelines. There are no exceptions. Thank you.
CB’s weekly NHL column at FH: NYI crack the bottom 4
The Islanders lose their ninth consecutive game as San Jose wins the skills competition. Dwayne Roloson earned the Islanders’ first point in three weeks by stopping 37 of 38 shots. PA Parenteau gave the NYI their first lead in over 500 minutes of hockey with an even-strength goal in the second. Dan Boyle tied it with a 5-on-3 goal. “No cause for celebration,” Scott Gordon told MSG, adding, “We’ve still gotta do a better job of getting pucks to the net.”
Justin Bourne posted on Twitter last night, “Billy Jaffe just made everyone else on NHL On The Fly look bad by having a personality and being normal. This guy is money.”
And yet, for reasons I can assure you were not monumental or unforgivable but instead of paranoia, insecurity and a pathetic desire to control, the Islanders decided they didn’t want Jaffe around anymore and ripped up his agreed-to multi-year contract with MSG Network. For four years, all he did was try to help sell the very slow and often unsteady rebuild with passion and by educating the fans. Without condescension, without insulting anyone. But unfortunately, it appears at least one person’s feelings were hurt along the way.
On the bright side, many employers lined up, more than happy to fill Jaffe’s open schedule. To be sure, I do not pay him. That gravy train won’t last long, I’m sure, but I’ll take advantage of it as long as I can. Here’s The Jaff with his thoughts on the Islanders’ struggles, and who is not to blame.
Comments on this post are welcomed. Thanks for sticking with Point Blank through this tough stretch. Talk to you later.
The Ducks played an overtime game in San Jose on Tuesday and had little against the Islanders – 14 shots on goal – but still managed to win. Anaheim started backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, who made 27 saves for the shutout, but none where he had to break a sweat. Despite Scott Gordon’s urging at practice this week, his players are still not going hard enough to the net.
The Islanders were 0-6 on the power play. Radek Martinek engaged in his first NHL fight. Matt Martin hit a lot of opponents. Zenon Konopka got a five-minute misconduct and a game misconduct for getting into it verbally with Saku Koivu. PA Parenteau and Doug Weight did not record a shot on goal. Rob Schremp and Trevor Gillies were healthy scratches.
Out of a possible 16 points, the Islanders have earned zero in the standings over the last eight games. At 4-9-2 and with ten points after 15 games, the Islanders are tied with New Jersey and Edmonton for last place in the NHL. The last time the Islanders had a lead in a game was 21 days ago.
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To the readers who think my post from last night was some sort of hissy fit because Garth Snow turned down an interview request, I would like to respectfully recommend that you might want to turn elsewhere for your Islanders reading. To the best of my knowledge, my column about the Islanders’ failure to improve their offensive attack only had accurate facts and statistical information.
I wrote two stories on Tuesday. One was a positive article about the locker room not splintering. The other was a statistically-driven piece about the Islanders having a -15 goal differential, which is 29th in the league. The Islanders were coming off seven losses in a row, going on eight.
If you think that column was a reaction to Garth turning down my interview request last weekend – we have not spoken on the record in over a year, so this is not new news (all I can do is make the request when necessary) – you might want to consider looking away for a little while. This has been a tough stretch for the team. It won’t all be sunshine.
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“Islanders Interactive”: So we tried this SNY/Islanders Point Blank reader call-in show today, and everyone – except two fans – wanted to discuss Rick DiPietro. I still believe it turned out pretty well. Thank you to Brian Compton of nhl.com for joining me in studio, Jeff Goldman, Jason Petere and the great crew at SNY and especially the fans for calling in. We’ll aim for more of a variety of calls and a longer segment next time!
Comments on this post and Wednesday’s game are welcomed..
CB at FanHouse: Expanded video replay a bad idea
Entering Wednesday night’s game in Anaheim, the Islanders are 29th in the league in goal differential. They are -15 in that department, having scored 35 goals in 14 games while allowing 50. Since Islanders management has consistently declared that the team’s defense has been significantly upgraded – even with the long-term injury to Mark Streit – let’s take a pre-game look at the offense.
Through 14 games, they are last in the league with 14 goals scored when the play is 5-on-5. They have also given up the most during 5-on-5, with 35.
Everyone knew the Islanders needed to add offense this season to reach their publicly-stated goal of making the playoffs – no excuses, no more using the crutch of “rebuilding.” Yet Islanders management did nothing about it except reach for an NHL breakout season from PA Parenteau by giving him a one-way contract.
Through a combined 87 games, this year’s roster additions have a combined 11 points at even-strength and have a combined plus/minus ratio of -44
Here are the new Islanders acquired by Garth Snow for 2010-11, along with their even-strength and shorthanded points and plus/minus ratio:
Michael Grabner: 4 points, -2
Milan Jurcina: 3 points, -1
Mike Mottau: 2 points, -11
PA Parenteau: 1 point, -9
James Wisniewski: 1 point, -12
Mark Eaton: 0 points, -4
Zenon Konopka: 0 points, -5
Of course, it would be unrealistic to expect too much from the above seven in the offensive end on 5-on-5 situations. But that’s the point.
The Islanders, only a hair over the salary cap floor and with buyout Alexei Yashin as their highest-paid player, did not even try to get better on offense. Counting on youngsters like John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Nino Niederreiter to step up with little veteran assistance was unfair and unrealistic. It may also hinder their development
As a result, the Islanders are currently 4-8-2. They have been unproductive when the game is played 5-on-5. But here we are, and it’s the head coach who is feeling the heat while everyone else is hardly touched. Such is life in the NHL coaching fraternity. Such is the life of an Islanders head coach since 1995.
JUST ASKIN’
Any word on that “Hard Knocks,” all-access, warts-and-all documentary we were told the Islanders were filming?
Wasn’t freeing up Anton Klementyev to be the seventh defenseman for Russia at the World Junior Championship supposed to be the golden ticket to freeing up Kirill Petrov? (That one was a classic).
Besides the gift of John Tavares, have the Islanders maximized their run of top-five draft picks?
Any word yet on that new job for Trotts?
More later. I’ll open up a new Comments thread at 9:30 and will be there throughout the game in Anaheim.
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