Monthly Archives: December 2010
CB at FanHouse: Gary Bettman speaks
NEXT “ISLANDERS INTERACTIVE”
CALL-IN SHOW: This Thursday at 12:15 pm
In response to so many Islanders fans who asked for a Point Blank Night when they were home for the holidays, we present…the 2010 Point Blank Holiday Party at SOCIAL. The date is December 23 from 7 – 10 pm at SOCIAL, across from the Coliseum. I know it’s a busy time, but see if you can come out for an hour or three. We’ve lined up some good stuff, so I think this will be the best one ever.
ALL AGES WELCOME! 21 and older to drink, of course.
FREE ADMISSION.
A FREE raffle – everyone gets one chance. Prizes include a John Tavares jersey, a Travis Hamonic jersey, the latest composite stick (valued at more than $200) from Easton and ten pairs of Islanders tickets.
Islanders at Devils on 24 screens.
Free buffet from Danny Gagnon of “Top Chef” and beer and drink specials from 7:00-8:00 pm.
Complimentary shots after each Islanders goal.
To add to the event - shhhhh…do not tell their fans that sold out Irving Plaza - Ryan Hunter and Brian Byrne of the great Long Island band Envy on the Coast will honor us with a two-song set during one of the intermissions. At my request, they will perform their fantastic cover version of a classic rock song almost everyone should know. Ryan (second from left) and Brian (last on the right) - huge Islanders fans – are also working on an Islanders-themed holiday song. Thanks, guys! Click here to see their music video filmed on the Coliseum ice surface.
And like every Point Blank night, you never know what else might happen – or who else might show up. Surprise guests in the past have included Steve Webb, Billy Jaffe, the incomparable Deb Placey and Wayne Chrebet of the New York Jets.
All ages welcome. 21 and over to drink. Valet parking available. SOCIAL is at 1002 Hempstead Turnpike across the street from the Coliseum. Before and after every home game, SOCIAL gives 10% off the bill to Islanders fans.
Who knows what the rest of the season will bring? So let’s raise a toast to the members of Islanders Country – and let’s finish 2010 strong.
Please confirm your attendance – YESSES ONLY, please – in the Comments space. Contact me via email at cb@islanderspointblank if you have questions. Looking forward to it.
Dec. 23 at Social – BEST POINT BLANK NIGHT EVER
Many scouts believe the 2011 draft features a clear-cut top three. E.J. McGuire, the director of the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, feels at least one more player warrants attention at the top. It’s still very early in the NHL season, but with the Islanders 16 points out of a playoff position, we’d like to thank E.J. for giving us something else to think about.
Comments on this video and the 2011 draft only, please.
FANHOUSE: The NHL Cycle (includes Islanders material)SAVE THE DATE: Point Blank Holiday Party Dec. 23
Good stuff here from the Hall of Fame center about the Islanders’ prospects, the first time he met Mike Bossy and his promise to Charles Wang to do whatever he can to help secure the Islanders’ future in Nassau County.
Comments on this interview are invited.
Kevin Schultz of FanHouse: At the game, on the NYI
“The Flyers played yesterday. We didn’t come out ready to play.”
Zenon Konopka during the first intermission on MSG
3:45 pm: There are times when there isn’t much more left to say, so you let the words and the actions of the athletes speak to you.
Konopka was right. Actually, he went easy on his team. The first period was a disgrace. After Konopka did his interview, the coaching staff roared at their players in the home team locker room.
But again, what is there left to say?
When the Islanders have lost 17 of 18.
When the Islanders host “Kids Day” and a season-low (for now) announced crowd of 7,773 shows up.
When the Islanders have not scored a power play goal in a month.
When the strongest voice in the New York hockey media goes to the extraordinary lengths to use his widely-read column to insist that the NHL take over the franchise.
When the Islanders have just 15 points in the standings, and are 16 points behind the eighth-place team in the Eastern Conference three weeks before Christmas.
When the Islanders, facing a supposed rival they “hate” in their first meeting since the blowout loss and resultant mayhem in Philadelphia last month, hardly lay a glove and don’t lay a fist on a Flyer.
The Islanders team, organization and fanbase spoke loudly enough today.
The Flyers sleepwalking for 30 minutes while BOB mishandled Frans Nielsen’s go-ahead goal does not constitute a stirring comeback. Peter Laviolette called another one of his timeouts…and presto. It played like Marian Gaborik’s winning goal, although it took a little more than 25 seconds for the Flyers to wake up.
(Is this an appropriate time to point out that when the Islanders had a healthy Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo last year, they finished 26th in the NHL?) Okposo is supposed to be back in January, but don’t be surprised if he comes back a little earlier.
No, there isn’t much left to say. When a collection of hockey players and assistant coaches is hurting like this, December doesn’t feel like the right time for piling on.
Let’s see what happens when the Islanders set their next course at the trade deadline. Let’s see if the Islanders change their minds and bring in someone experienced to run what will be another crucial draft. Let’s see if Garth Snow starts speaking with charismatic winners about the head coaching position.
Until then, listen and learn. Listen to what the players have to say. Learn about how they really feel through their actions on the ice.
And someday soon, maybe we’ll even get to hear something of substance from the general manager.
Someday soon, maybe we’ll get to hear something of substance from the owner.
Until then, there’s not much anyone can do.
Comments on this subject. See you tomorrow with the beginning of a run of SNY interviews. Best Point Blank Night ever will be Dec. 23. Let’s finish the calendar year strong.
Some fans have expressed disappointment that I have only linked to negative articles recently. I promise: as soon as the Islanders stop finishing last, stop losing 16 of 17 and turn the franchise around, I will link to some of the happiness as I have in the past. But this is what it has come to. As some other fans have requested in a letter-writing campaign to the league (see Islandermania and other message boards), now Larry Brooks of the Post is asking the NHL to step in and take over the Islanders. This stuff is sad beyond belief. If you want to comment, please do so under the Post article. Thank you.
Learning today, via Katie Strang, the good news of Kyle Okposo skating in full equipment brings to mind one of the final Islanders practices I attended. This was right before the Islanders, at the time losers of seven games in a row, were about to embark on the three-game California swing.
Prompted by a few requests from readers, I asked Scott Gordon if there was any update on Kyle’s health or a projected date for his return.
“They told me Kyle wouldn’t be back until December,” said Coach Gordon, “so I haven’t given it much thought.”
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After his team’s relative no-show at the Garden 5-on-5 and otherwise, interim coach Jack Capuano said he’ll strongly consider changing personnel on the power play. The Islanders have not scored a power play goal in a month. At this point, you can’t blame Capuano for changing anything up. They’re bound to bounce a goal in one of these days. But big picture, even with Okposo returning in a week or two, a coach still needs the horses. At the point on the power play – with Mark Streit injured and no one to replace him – Capuano doesn’t have the players.
No one ever said James Wisniewski was Al McInnis. Prior to becoming an Islander, he had never been relied on much as a point man. Coming into this season, with over 200 NHL games on his resume, Wisniewski had four power play goals. Despite his struggles on defense, he is still worth the third round pick Garth Snow surrended to acquire him. His $3 million also was the one big play to put the Islanders’ over the salary cap floor.
Like almost everyone else on this thinned out roster, Wisniewski has been asked to do more than the back of his hockey card suggests he can do. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, he’s going to have a solid NHL career. Like many coaches and players before him in the last decade, it’s not like Wisniewski suddenly lost his understanding of the game of hockey when he joined the Islanders.
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You know the drill: the Islanders haven’t beaten the Flyers in a while. However, the Flyers played a tough game Saturday against the Devils and then got on a bus for the thee-hour ride to Uniondale. Two or three goals and a clutch performance from Rick DiPietro or Dwayne Roloson, and there’s no reason the Islanders can’t put this 16-of-17 losing streak behind them.
Enjoy the game and your weekend. Relevant and unprofane comments are always encouraged.
10:25 pm: Madison Square Garden: After the game, Islanders starting goaltender Dwayne Roloson refused to criticize officials for some of the questionable calls in his team’s 2-0 loss to the Rangers.
“Our guys, they’re the best in the world,” Roloson told reporters after the game in the visitors’ locker room at Madison Square Garden. “They’re in this league for a reason. Especially you get a guy like Billy (McCreary), he’s been to the Olympics, Stanley Cup Finals. He’s one of the best. He calls the game the way he sees it and that’s the way it is. You have to give our guys credit for making calls and making decisions. It’s not an easy job. I wouldn’t want it.
Asked whether Ryan Callshan should have received more than two minutes for his elbow on Frans Nielsen, Roloson said, “That’s not my expertise. That’s their decision. Like I said, they’re making decisions. We can all sit back and watch video replay and critique what they’re doing, but they’re making calls instantly. They’ve got to make split-second decisions. That’s why these guys are in this league. They’re good.”
On the other hand, Roloson did not like what he saw from his team during parts of the game.
“As a team it’s frustrating. In the second period, a ten-minute stretch there, we just stopped playing. Well, we didn’t stop playing, but we weren’t making smart decisions with the puck. We got trapped out there, it didn’t cost us. But at the same time it might’ve cost us a goal at the other end – if we’re playing smart.”
John Tavares had nothing but praise for his team’s goaltender.
“I told (Roloson) after the game that he gave us a great opportunity,” said Tavares. “We can’t ask for more from him than what he gave us. As a group, the effort was there again. We just have to find a better solution and be better in some areas.”
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9:24 pm, Madison Square Garden: Like last night, writing for FanHouse. But here were some of my thoughts while taking in the game at MSG, and I encourage you to agree, disagree and cover everything I did not.
So let’s get this straight: Scott Gordon remains as a trusted advisor on the Islanders’ staff, taking down notes while watching the Islanders-Rangers game from a Coliseum suite on Thursday. Yet his team is now employing a completely passive trap, the opposite of Go-Go? Is that what Gordon was drawing up in the Islanders’ game-opening video played on the Coliseum scoreboard before the few games he got to coach there this season? This is what the Islanders meant by “playing the game the right way”?
Hey, whatever works. Panthers fans never had any trouble standing up and cheering Roger Neilson’s trappy ways en route to the Stanley Cup Final. But what a 180 from what the Islanders organization said it believed in and was going to stick to.
The Islanders had a much better start to tonight’s game than Thursday’s, but still failed to record a shot on goal in the first 15 minutes. Tonight’s second period looked more like last night’s first.
For a goaltender who hadn’t played in two weeks, Dwayne Roloson was impressively sharp. That’s the sign of a veteran who is still committed to his craft in practice while he waits his turn.
Ryan Callahan’s elbow was not with malicious intent to injure. However, Callahan’s elbow made direct contact with Frans Nielsen’s head – the exact sort of play Pat LaFontaine expressed concern about in our interview this week for FanHouse. Since Jesse Joensuu instigated a fight with Callahan, and has the smarts to wear a visor, the Rangers ended up with a power play.
Fascinating to see LaFontaine working the Rangers’ broadcasts on MSG Network. No blessing necessary.
The goaltender interference penalty call on Jon Sim, after he was checked from behind by a Ranger into Henrik Lundqvist…ludicrous, hilarious.
With games coming up against Philadelphia and Boston, the Islanders will likely be giving a lot of responsibility to young defensemen Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic. Even if it’s too much too soon, they’re mature enough to handle it.
While a bunch of folks are Beating Up on The Wiz, count me out. No one could have expected him to carry the load after Mark Streit went down, and they would have been very good together if Streit didn’t suffer a busted shoulder. Okay, so Wisniewski is not Ken Morrow in his own zone. The guy plays hard and wears his heart on his sleeve on and off the ice. If the Islanders end up moving him for another second-round pick before the trade deadline, they’ll miss him when Streit returns.
Only question I would have asked post-game: what took the Islanders so long to pull Dwayne Roloson near the end? They had Tavares and Moulson out there and the puck deep in the Rangers’ zone with about 1:20 left, but Roloson stayed put.
You take it from here. Thanks.
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