Monthly Archives: November 2010
CLICK HERE: Chris Botta’s weekly column at FanHouse
This video with John Tavares, focused on his work habits at practice (with footage) and new life in New York, was shot on Tuesday afternoon.
For loss No. 6, we entered the zone of “Every mistake they make ends up in the back of the net,” talk of missed opportunities and counting the shots that hit posts. Just. Stop. It.
Just three minutes into the game, the Islanders were given a five-minute power play when Ottawa forward Zack Smith boarded Trevor Gillies. The Islanders failed to score on the power play, then Sergei Gonchar scored four minutes later. A softie allowed to David Hale, this time by the usually sure-handed Dwayne Roloson, was followed by a goal by Jason Spezza (4-point night). By the middle of the second period, the Islanders were already trailing 3-0. Matt Moulson scored a power play goal early in the third off a great pass from John Tavares. Breakaways were missed by Frans Nielsen and Blake Comeau, and it was over.
First, the Islanders said they weren’t talking of rebuilding anymore and would not offer excuses. Then came four wins in their first seven games (4-1-2) and a few way-too-premature smirks of, “I told you so.” And now, in the league where everyone earns points in the standings, the Islanders have lost six games in a row in regulation.
This is the sixth losing streak of six games or more in the two-seasons-plus-one-month Garth Snow-Scott Gordon Era.
Comments.
You’ll see here why I admire young Joshua. Although he is pointless in four games, I cut him some slack by mentioning how BOB robbed him on that scoring attempt in front in Philly. Instead, he puts the blame on himself. Good stuff. Recorded Tuesday afternoon.
Islanders Therapy continues in Carolina postgame thread. This thread is for the Bailey video and looking ahead to tonight in Ottawa. Next up: 1-on-1 with John Tavares.
“Our play away from the puck was horrendous,” said Scott Gordon, and he could have been talking about his forwards, defensemen and goaltender. A total team disaster, an organizational embarassment, leads to the Islanders’ fifth loss in a row in regulation. “We’re leaving too many things to chance,” said the coach, who was upset about his team’s failure to backcheck and the lesson he thought they were taught in Philadelphia. Gordon is done talking about it with his players. The next solution? “We’ll address it by playing time.” Let’s see if he backs up his words Thursday in Ottawa. The bad news: you really do not want to review this Live Chat. The good news: the Islanders’ extraordinary fanbase lives. Readership was in the thousands. I could not keep up. Thank you, and thanks also to Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy.
Live Chat tonight during Islanders-Hurricanes beginning at 7:00 with CB and with Sean Leahy of Yahoo! Puck Daddy. Frank talk about the Islanders and the game all night.
12:05 pm: Here’s Rob Schremp on his season debut tonight, losing his mind while watching the first eleven games, his new linemates and what he does for fun in New York.
As first reported in Carolina this morning by Katie Strang of Newsday, Rick DiPietro starts tonight in goal. As you know, Michael Grabner also returns to the lineup. Check yesterday’s practice post for the line combinations against the Hurricanes.
Pre-game interview with Scott Gordon is below. Comments on this interview and tonight’s game are invited. Goalie talk is back on hiatus, for the health of us all. Thank you. See you in the live chat tonight with Long Island’s own Sean Leahy. Let’s pack the chat room and show Leahy the pulse of Islanders Country.
Live Chat tonight during Islanders-Hurricanes beginning at 7:00 with CB and with Sean Leahy of Yahoo! Puck Daddy. Frank talk about the Islanders and the game all night.
I asked Scott Gordon after practice Tuesday for some detail on how the coaching staff and video coordinator prep the team for back-to-back games. I’m grateful to the coach for taking the time to shed some light on the process.
Comments specific to this interview are invited. The SNY Pre-Game show continues later Wednesday.
FanHouse 2-on-1: NHL goaltending battles
CB at FanHouse on the new-look Blackhawks
1:50 pm: Rob Schremp and Michael Grabner will re-join the lineup when the Islanders play in Carolina on Wednesday. Well aware of the self-confidence of the center, Gordon joked, “With Schrempy, you just hope he doesn’t try to win us a Stanley Cup in one night. The confidence is always there.” The coach wants to see what he saw from Schremp during the second half of last season: creative playmaking on the power play and 5-on-5.
Asked after practice (at around noon) what pissed him off the most about the 6-1 loss in Philadelphia, Gordon cracked, “I’ve got a plane to catch at 2:30.” Turning serious, he was most irritated by the way the Islanders looked in the opening minutes through the soft goal allowed by Rick DiPietro to Jeff Carter to make it 2-0.
On DiPietro, Gordon said that he knew it would take time for the goalie to get in a groove after playing so few games the last two seasons. “Obviously, he still has some rust,” said Gordon. “There is no question about that.”
According to the coach, DiPietro and Dwayne Roloson will split the back-to-backs in Carolina and Ottawa.
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10:50 am, Iceworks: The Islanders are in the midst of an hour-long practice before departing this afternoon for their two-game road swing to Carolina and Ottawa. The team has a new look as it attempts to end its four-game losing streak:
Moulson – Tavares – Parenteau
Bailey – Schremp – Comeau
Weight – Nielsen – Grabner
Martin – Konopka – Hunter/Gillies
Same six defenseman and two goaltenders as Philadelphia.
More to come from practice. Comments.
Pierre McGuire with high praise for Scott Gordon, optimism over six youngsters – Tavares, Bailey, Niederreiter, Petrov, Hamonic, de Haan – and where the NYI match up with his seven-player profile for contending teams. Watch what he says about Tavares’ future and how a new building ties in.
For all of their work on our SNY PB TV segments, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the following:
Fred Harner – General Manager, SNY Digital Media
Jeff Goldman – Supervising Producer
Jason Potere – Associate Producer, Multimedia Editor
Jake Gidich – Studio Operations
Josh Ohayon – Asst. Studio Operations
Feedback on this piece is encouraged.
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