THE TOP 5 CHALLENGES FOR THE ISLES IN 2011-12
Keys to success in the coming year
written by Kevin Schultz
The Islanders open the 2011-12 season tomorrow night at the Coliseum against the Florida Panthers. Before they take the ice, let’s discuss some of the biggest obstacles and unknowns that lie ahead of them.
5. Fighting the Injury Bug — It’s not news to anyone that the Islanders have faced some, ahem, troubles with injuries the last few years. Last year claimed a large portion of the roster and the team had by far the most man games lost in the entire league. 2009-10 wasn’t much better as the Islanders had the ninth most man games lost in the NHL. As we saw last year, when you lose your #1 defender and #2 winger in the pre-season, you have every right to complain but most years, injuries are something every team is going to have to deal with. Whether it’s better conditioning, better facilities or something else entirely the Islanders are going to have to be healthier. There’s not a ton of depth on this team except in net so losing significant contributors for long stretches will bury this team again. It’s not something that’s exactly in their control but it’s going to loom large this season.
4. How does the defense hold up? — To sort of piggy back on the previous bullet point, this season is going to depend largely on the ability of the defense to, well, defend. This was the 27th best team in the NHL a year ago and it is returning five 20-goal scorers. Eric Hornick is going to have to tell us the last time a team that bad returned that many scorers, but the point is the Islanders are going to have no problem scoring goals. How they defend their own end is going to be a key to their success. They surrendered the most goals in the Eastern Conference a year ago and sure, a healthy Mark Streit is an addition without technically being an addition, but this is a defensive corps that just added training camp tryout Steve Staios to its top six and is returning three different starters from serious injury. Streit and Andy McDonald have proven to be solid but it still remains to be seen how well everyone else holds up physically and performance-wise on the ice.
3. Step up in the division – There’s a whole post on this subject sitting in drafts so I won’t spoil it all right here. I’m sure you’ve read all the stories about how the Islanders can’t win in Pittsburgh and haven’t beaten the Flyers since ever and, yes, I’m sure the players are just as tired of hearing about it as we are reading about it.
So do it. Win big-time divisional matches.
This team cannot and will not progress, reach the playoffs or go deep in said playoffs, until they take care of business in their own backyard. When you see these teams six times a year, you cannot afford to give away 12 points to a divisional rival. It doesn’t matter what you do otherwise, that’s an extremely tough hill to climb. Divisional games are as close to a playoff atmosphere as you’ll get in the regular season and if you can’t cut it against your biggest rivals, you may not be ready for prime time (hold that thought).
2. Jugging three netminders — Coach Jack Capuano has said he’s going to ride the hot glove this year. Let’s hope he does because that’s going to be this team’s best chance to win and with three different chances, I like those odds. All systems are go for Rick DiPietro being #1 out of the gates but with two capable NHL netminders squarely in Rick’s rearview mirror, he should be on a short leash. Regardless of loyalty, contract, expectations… Whatever the reason… The leash should be short with not only Rick but each and every one of them. Each has something to prove and should be hungry to prove it. DiPietro’s knock is that he’s brittle, Nabby’s that he’s over the hill. Montoya was solid last year but people are doubtful that it could have been a fluke. As pure competitiors, each one should be absolutely pumped to have a chance to silence his doubters.
Another challenge for Capuano will be to keep as many of them warm as possible. They’ll all go through all of the practices of course, but when it comes down to real in-game playing time on a regular basis, there won’t be nearly enough time to go around. Sometimes it can be hard to keep one backup sharp and ready to go in this league. Capuano is going to have to handle two. How he juggles them will show us a lot about his skills as a coach.
1. Can this team win meaningful games? – That’s a question the majority of this roster has not had to answer for most of their NHL careers. Taking a quick look at the opening night roster only the newly acquired vets (Brian Rolston, Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo, Evgeni Nabokov) have any serious playoff experience. Streit had one run with the Habs a few years back and DiPietro is the only player who played in the Islanders last playoff series in 2007. The vast majority of the roster and all of the key young players are going to be tested early on in the season. There’s no more looking to next year or the next big draft pick. It’s finally time to say “this year.” The games are going to matter in October and November with all 30 teams starting on equal footing. This team needs to get out of the gates and perform. Then, hopefully, we’ll be able to see if they can win meaningful games in the spring.
About Kevin Schultz
Kevin was formerly an NHL blogger for the now defunct AOL Fanhouse and was the creator of the hockey comedy blog Barry Melrose Rocks. He now covers the Isles for Islanders Point Blank. You can follow him for instant updates on the team and talk hockey with him on Twitter @schultz88. View all posts by Kevin Schultz →42 Responses to THE TOP 5 CHALLENGES FOR THE ISLES IN 2011-12
Keys to success in the coming year
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Brian says:
My stomach flip flops every time I read that Ricky is still the #1 choice. Even when healthy the only thing he can do consistently is cough up terrible goals and get caught out of the crease. This guy has more lives than a cat.
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Kevin. Good read. Too many expectations to “take that next step” coupled with the need to stay healthy and the lack of depth on defense will be huge reasons why our Isles will finish no higher than 10th in the conference. There are just too many team’s who improved themselves more and added to their depth. It’s admirable for the young core to be upbeat, positive and setting their sites on a playoff spot with no excuses. But when your owner circumvents the cap floor by over 7 million dollars there’s only so much they can do with what they have. We’ll be far more entertaining than the last few years. At least we have that.
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Erika says:
I am holding my breath and giving Ricky D. one more chance. I am not confident in him, or his floppy, out of position goalie style. He seems more interested in showing off than stopping the puck. What’s with the dumb beard? Will someone tell him we did not make the playoffs yet!!! Now that I have vented, I truly want nothing more than for him to have a solid year. If he is letting 5 goals in every time he plays, he is OUT! It’s now or never, Rick, you can no longer be allowed to hold this team back. I hope and pray you have a great season, we will give you the love and respect one more time.
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ay stool says:
it’s mind bottling that the only player left from the ’07 playoff team is dipi
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DD says:
LETS GO ISLANDERS WOOO! Can’t wait!
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juniorjunior says:
at last we get to add a comment ffs…I almost gave up on this blog as all the comment threads have been closed and there was no real insight in the posts- thank you Kevin, please keep the site alive- Lets say prayers and give offerings to the hockey gods to bless the isles with god fortune this season.
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Awesome job Kevin…been reading all morning like the good ol days!
every point is..on point.
i got the division game pack and better not be attending all losses!!if there were a #6 i’d say it’s moves before the deadline…i think something will come about and i hope it’s something to put us into better position to make some noise.
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Hope Cappy is True to his word and keeps all the goalies on a short leash (or longer) if they’re hot. Team cannot afford to get off to a slow start. Looking forward to the start of the season and an improve product on the ice!
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Isles Fan in VA says:
Kevin
Keep it coming…….
I need my IPB……….
Great job!
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Brian G says:
Unless eveyone out does their output on the top 3 lines by at least 5 goals each – this team does not stand a chance to get a playoff spot….I’m sorry but Reasoner, Rolston, Staios, & Pandolfo are not much of an upgrade to help get us in the playoffs. Enough of the patchwork lineup changes by Snow/Wang – they need to spend more money on the roster….the biggest wildcard is Nabakov, hopefully he plays more games than DP….Capuano still has much to prove and the roster needs to show it can win meaningful games.
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PA ISlanders says:
Ahg The thought of icky starting for this team this year just makes me cringe,no faith in dp, would like to see al, nabakov didn’t impress to much in pre season.
The biggest ? is the goalie sitttion as it has been for the past few yrs.
That being said we will find out Sat night who gets the nod.
Let’s go islanders!!!
As for the previouse article, The goal song last years kind of grew on me it fun twards the end of the season when the team was having fun winning.
Lets just hope it something we all can get into and chant and hear alot. -
Sumo Goalie says:
Nice job, Kevin. Keep it coming.
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Numbers65 in Ohio says:
OK now to comment on the excellent topics:
5)I think we already are tied with Vancouver (before their game last night) for the lead in injuries thus far this year and there are several teams with ZERO so we need to work on this.
4)The D still has potential to be better than last year.
3)Yes not having divisional success is too big of a mountain to climb to make the playoffs, and we batter beat the Rangers!
2)I don’t like the way Cappy said hot “glove”, b/c isn’t Ricky known for his glove hand, he may have just said we will ride Ricky in a tricky way-lol. I hope you are right ACTUALLY riding the TRUE hot glove or hand will be the key AND should we have any HOT glove for an extended period, one of the 3 will have to go somewhere eventually…
1)I think at this stage of our young cores developement and the good leaders we have it is time to take that next step and make this a good season. -
Jzimm says:
I can assure you that the Islanders most definitely will not make the playoffs in 2010-11. They’ll struggle at the beginning of the year, Grabner will get off to a slow start, and Moulson and Tavares will have another nice offensive year. Nino will play 9 games and be a little disappointed when he gets sent back to Portland. But come February, the team will look much different after an absolute drubbing of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s going to be an important year for this team in 20101-11, but they will fall short of the playoffs again. Look for Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald to have real strong years on the blue line. But with Kyle Okposo being out for half the season and Mark Streit being out the entire year, 2010-11 is a very rough year for this team on paper.
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Dr Phil says:
Pandolfo? What? Eddie Westfall wasn’t available?
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Bob E. says:
that pretty much says it. Have these 5 and we more than just and 8 SEED.
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gary91922 says:
in my mind only two things stop this team from succeding..
1 – goal, no teams wins with a #1 to hold down the fort
2 – durability – fully healthy and all things being equal I think we are somewhere from the 7th to 9th best team in the east. The question I have is our ability for our smaller than average lineup to take a beating game in agame out. Once we troops start to go down we have a limited ability to replace with NHL calibur players.
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Stumpy32 says:
Defense, defense, defense. No question. We have enough goaltending to get by. I really believe Nabakov will be out to prove something, and Ricky and Montoya will be solid, not great. But the defense is awfully thin. Relying on guys like Staios, Eaton, and Mottau to play big minutes could spell disaster. I like the latter two, and was a fan of getting them last year. If they survive the season, we could be in good shape. But more likely than not, we’ll see whether Donovan, Ness, and De Haan can play clutch games down the stretch for us when the older guys invariably need to sit for a few games.
If our defense is ok, not great, but ok…we’ll be in the playoffs. If our top four – Streit, AMac, Hamonic, and Jurcina – don’t play like a top four, we’re in deep, deep trouble. No question we’ll improve from last season, but how much depends on this.
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John says:
Isn’t it the 2011-12 season?
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bob beers says:
Keep it coming Kevin!!!!
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corey says: It was great to come home from school and read these posts. Thanks for the great read
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jeff says:
Has a three-goalie system ever worked? Has a system with DP involved ever worked? Teams win from the goal out and this team is built from the forwards in.
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TimQ says:
Jzimm – What are the winning numbers in MegaMillions for 10/8/10?
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Kevin Schultz says:
@#20: D’oh I’m a year behind!
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okpososcores21 says:
I agree the sucess of this team is going to solely rest on the D. Goaltending should be good DP looked good durring the pre season albeit 2 games. Montoya also looked sharp. Nabby made some nice saves as well. We have the offense in our current core group tavares moulson grabner etc. Garth never shored up the D after failing to sign Erhoff. I honestly believe this team was that one big signing on D from a definite playoff birth. Bottom line he couldn’t get it done and i see the isles falling just short of the playoffs this season. They are going to compete we know that. Cappy is definitly the man for the job and will have them going on all cylinders most nights. The question is is it going to be enough? The only thing we really could hope for is a stand out defense man in the A that immediately stands out and forces the isles management to bring him up to the big club. Or a trade/pickup early in the season.
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jon from nj says:
Color me a jaded Isles fan. This team will succumb to injuries, bad defense and spotty goaltending. As a result, I agree with some prognosticators…no higher than 10th. Another typical year.
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AngryPete says:
IF YOU HAVE THREE GOALIES, YOU HAVE NONE!!
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Not high on Nabakov. Just because he is a new shiny toy for us, does not mean he will be any good. He is about 5 yrs removed from being a good goalie. If the Isles want to win, Montoya and Poulin are our future and should be our present. I hope it doesn’t take them half the year before they figure that out!…..Excited about tomorrow! Go Isles!!!!!
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Paul says:
I agree 100% with your list. Let’s see them win when something is on the line.
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the isles have 2 chances of making the playoffs. slim and none. with d.p. the number 1 appointed goalie even though at best he is a poor ahl goalie with wang and snow doing nothing to get a big tough d man that they sorely need because that costs money plus with no protection at all to protect the young kids, you can be sure the isles will fall like dominos. to waste a roster spot so strome can just watch games when he could do that anyway if he was not on the roster shows how sick and delusional wang and snow continue to do things. you can be sure wang and snow will also rush nino back and of course he will be out soon after for a very long time due to him being rushed back. the more things change, the more they remain the same.
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Whaaaaaaaaaaaat says:
Ill admit I was skeptical about the thought of dipietro starting on opening, but while he may have not had the best numbers statistically in the preseason he faced the most shots, made the most saves faced the toughest competition while playing with the weakest group and he’s numbers have been very good looking at his preseason performance he has earned a shot(but then again so has Montoya) so I wouldn’t be totally opposed to him playing while I would still prefer Montoya
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T-bone says:
UGHHH…D PEE !?!? Are we seriously reliving this nightmare all over again…when he plays good he’s not even a #2 in this league.
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booten326 says:
thank god for kevin
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JKP in Halifax says:
MacDonald not McDonald. There are lots of both in Cape Breton, so make sure you get it right.
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Jim Clark says: Biggest challenge is for the team to get off to a good start in order to induce cynical fools like me into getting deeper in debt by buying tickets. You can say the young fruit is ripening and Streit is back.
But I want to see results on the ice. -
Islanders1932 says:
Thank you Kevin!!! The key is health…Islanders need to stay healthy this year.
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Bjorn Holland says:
If DP is’n't a good goalie then why does every coach give him the nr. 1 job?? And don’t tell me because he is a friend of Wang.
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Chris18 says:
Didn’t Eaton win a Cup with Pittsburgh? And lose in the Finals with them the year before? I’d count that as serious playoff experience. Not that I like him, or trust his ability to remain healthy.
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@36…..that is exactly why. If he was such a good goalie, why did he have the worst stats in the league last year?
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This is a topic close to my heart cheers, where are your contact details though?
Haven’t even read it yet but my mouth is watering- lol! THANKS KEVIN! You are exceeding my expectations already. I can tell already this will be a phat and juicy read. Thanks for keeping our Isles vibe alive!!!! We really need this and I am getting a feeling you are going to be on the case!