Monthly Archives: November 2011
Please accept this post as your combined news round up and game preview.
NABOKOV TO START
Evgeni Nabokov will get the start in Vancouver tonight and will be backed up by Al Montyoa.
NINO RETURNS
Nino Niederreiter’s conditioning stint in Bridgeport finish up tomorrow. Expect him to be on the roster for Tuesday’s game against the Rangers. Where he fits into the lineup and who will sit still remains to be seen. As usual, Capuano has nothing to say on the subject.
DE HAAN INJURED
From Michael Fornabaio:
Nothing right away on Calvin de Haan, who was injured early in the third period of what somehow became a team-record ninth consecutive one-goal game. He took a hit up high, might’ve been to the head, from Dane Byers along the boards on the power play. Went right to the room. Hopefully we get some kind of update tomorrow.
KOSKINEN ON HIS WAY TO FINLAND
Google translator isn’t perfect, but I believe this article is saying that Mikko Koskinen is now with a team in Finland. Koskinen was getting the least playing time of the three goalies in Bridgeport this season. The move is likely a loan so the Islanders do still own the goalie’s NHL rights.
THE BIGGEST ISLANDER FAN IN THE HISTORY OF EVER
This video is a Moment of Zen that has all the makings of an internet superstar. This is a true fan vicariously summoning the spirits of Comeau and Bailey and teaching them to score. Chris Botta called it “riveting, kinda touching.” Keith Quinn thinks “he’s doing his part to show the Isles where the ‘dirty areas’ are… Thank you for finally breaking that confounding Devil trap!”
Today Magicking788, we salute you and your dedication to the New York Islanders. We thank you for envisioning them beating down the New Jersey Devils by a score of 8-2 and beating up Colin White. We hope that the real Islanders can summon the energy you did and accomplish the same feat in the home-and-home this Thanksgiving.
Chris connects with one of the writers he respects most, Dominik of Lighthouse Hockey, for a discussion on the state of the Islanders.
The trade rumor involving Nabokov that was and then wasn’t on Thursday night picked up so much steam not because of the… Err… “Source” it came from but because it was so believable. The Blue Jackets need goaltending and are wildly overspending their money while the Islanders need a big, hulking defenseman like Fedor Tyutin. Is that an even trade skill wise? Not really. Not for what would likely be a one-year rental in Nabokov. But if the Jackets wanted to get away from Tyutin’s contract — and the Islanders and Nabokov need to get away from each other — it was a good fit.
But this is the kind of thing that will happen when a team is actively trying to get rid of a player who has no interest in being here. Make no mistake, Nabokov didn’t all of a sudden change his tune this summer when deciding to report to the Islanders. This is about a 36-year old taking one last shot at the NHL and the elusive pot of gold at the end of the playoff rainbow. He made a mistake not reporting last year, which would have allowed him to find another team for this season. Somewhere along the line he realized that until he bit the bullet and came to Long Island, there was no way he was going to get what he wanted — another team and another shot at a Cup. Nabokov owes the Islanders a year of service unless the Islanders say otherwise and you can’t wrong Garth Snow for not blinking when Nabokov tried to have things his way. The Islanders, as we know, do not care much for what others want them to do. They’re going to do what they want, when they want, how they want.
Now, it’s time to do what needs to be done. The Islanders need to send Nabokov on his merry way, even if that means getting a measly return for him. They have a wealth of goaltenders — five not including Nabby — that all need to find playing time to prove themselves or develop into NHL netminders. A 36-year old does a team with such young depth no good. The Islanders also have much bigger concerns right now then something that shouldn’t be a distraction, but now is a distraction. The constant questions, debate and rumor mongering that has been a sideshow took center stage on Thursday night. The focus should have been on the team that wilted on the ice in a key third period on the road, not on the goalie in the press box.
The Islanders have been lucky that the three-headed goalie monster has not been an issue on the ice.
The fact is that it has not significantly affected the outcome of games is excellent. Off the ice, however, is a different story and that’s the problem. It’s an unnecessary distraction, is keeping a player on Long Island who has no interest being here and is taking reps away from all three players involved.
When responding to a question at practice on Wednesday about why Al Montoya hasn’t played much, here’s what Capuano had to say:
“To give you a concrete answer is tough for me to do.”
The coach who never gives an answer for his roster decisions sort of gave one. It alludes to a coach who either: had an odd choice of words for saying ‘no comment’, or has to keep mum on the subject. It could certainly be the former. If it’s the latter, then we can open a rather large can of worms and make assumptions about who is calling the shots about who minds the net.
Regardless of what the reasoning is or if it was just a coach giving reporters a quirky ‘no comment’ the point is that the conversation shouldn’t be happening in the first place. The discussion should be on why the team is sputtering, what is being done to spark a fire in certain players and the like. Instead — and I’m going to get meta — the media is left to write blog posts like this one, talking about a player who doesn’t want to be here, the team is actively shopping and is a distraction that has played a grand total of four games.
“There’s a lot of good there, but they could use some tweakage.” “They don’t have an identity.” “It wouldn’t hurt to make a call-up or two.” “Let’s get them a little more physical.” “They have to figure this goaltending thing out.” “Part of the downfall of hype is that (other teams) are reading about them.” This and a lot more from The Jaff. Watch and let us know if you agree.
The refereeing tonight in Denver was atrocious. Late in the third of a close game, Marty Reasoner skated off after being injured away from the play. A nasty cross-check missed by the referees was the culprit. With Al Montoya getting run all night, the referees took matters into their own hand with a bizarre high sticking penalty against the Islanders netminder in overtime. That would decide the game as the Avs cashed in on the ensuing power play.
However, the Islanders dug the hole for themselves. An iffy penalty call on Jay Pandolfo late in the second created a 5-on-3 that the Avalanche took advantage of cutting the lead to 3-1 at the second intermission. The Islanders would surrender the rest of the lead during a third period that saw them hemmed into their own zone for the vast majority of the period. Two goals that Al Montoya would like to have back later and the lead was gone. As nice as the first two periods were where the Isles jumped all over the home team, the tables got turned in the third as the team completely wilted on the road.
THE MEDIA COLLAPSED UNDER PRESSURE, TOO
The post-game was just as erroneous and bizarre for the Long Island crew on the ice as it was in the broadcast booth and on Twitter. An eager twitterer started a rumor of a potential trade which was retweeted by the team’s beat writer and then quoted on the MSG post-game broadcast. The broadcast team had Jiggs McDonald cite the two persons above on air at the conclusion of the game. After the ensuing commercial break and on the internet, there was an awkward back pedaling from all parties involved. Hard to believe where folks so close to the team are getting their info.
PLUS/MINUS
5 minuses- Referees, see above.
10 Minuses- The entire third period for the Isles. After two solid periods, it was absolutely inexcusable. It reeked of a lack of leadership and energy.
+ Josh Bailey winning an offensive zone face off then going to the net and finding Gandalf Mark Streit the power play wizard’s shot-pass for the goal. Should be a nice confidence boost for a guy who needs it.
- That 13 games in Josh Bailey has more goals than Kyle Okposo.
+ The sort of reappearance of Kyle Okposo. The Comeau-Reasoner-Okposo line, while not on the scoresheet, has some great possession shifts during the first two periods.
+ 1-800-BIG-CUBANO with and unbelievable 47 saves. Yes, the middle two goals against were bad goals to give up and let the Avs back in it. It’s hard to fault him too much on a night when he was allowed faced 51 shots.
- Keep in mind the Islanders also were credited with blocking 24 shots. Allowing 75 attempts is way, way, way too many.
+ Matt Martin fully embracing the tough guy role on the team by coming to John Tavares’ aid. The play on Tavares’ wasn’t anything particularly outlandish until Wilson decided he needed to get on top on JT91.
- The unfortunate part of Martin picking up this role is that he ends up spending a solid portion on the game in the box.
+ Michael Grabner with numerous solo breakaways, scoring a goal on a 3-on-1 on a pretty feed from Matt Moulson.
- Michael Grabner not cashing in on aforementioned solo breakaways.
- The entire third period. Did I mention is was awful?
Tonight the Islanders are in Denver for a late 9pm start against the Avalanche. They’re 1-5-2 in their last eight and shirt collars are getting sweaty. The host Avs are similarly middling, 7-7-1 on the year and on a 1-5-1 slide of their own that practically mimics the Isles’ run. Like the Isles, the Avs are having issues with their defense. Erik Johnson is sort of alone on an Island and Jan Hejda is -12 through 15 games (small sample but yikes). Goalie Semyon Varlamov who was acquired from the Capitals for a first rounder over the summer has been decent, not great. All that adds up to the Avs 25th in the league in goals against. I’m not saying anyone on the Islanders roster is going to break through tonight but if they play hard, it’s certainly a good opportunity to do it.
THE MONTOYA HOTLINE IS ON HIGH ALERT
Al Montoya gets the call from Capuano and will be in net tonight. Please do not flood the 1-800-BIG-CUBANO hotline with calls that you’ve found Montoya. The proper authorities are already aware of the situation and have it under control. Your support in helping find Al and getting him back in the net as the starting goalie has been greatly appreciated by many all over Islander Country.
MIKE MOTTAU DOES NOT HAVE A HOTLINE
After a week plus in the press box, Mike Mottau will get the start on defense in place of Milan Jurcina. After Monday’s defensive disaster, the least that can be done is shuffling the cards.
NINO’S RETURN
El Nino, as you have probably noticed, is still in Bridgeport. With on game left on the west coast trip Sunday in Vancouver Nino will spend the full two weeks in Bridgeport with a return likely for Tuesday at home against the Rangers. That’s quite the proverbial trial by fire for the kid. At that point, we’ll finally see some kind of a maneuver. Whether it is Pandolfo/Mottau/etc to the Bridge or a Nabokov move of some kind, the Islanders will finally have a forward spot to scratch (and use as a message sender HINT HINT NUDGE NUDGE). My feeling is a Pandolfo move to the Bridge. As Chris said in today’s video, he was in the minors last year and an outright move of other, younger, players who may not make it through waivers is still to early to complete. The Islanders can still return Nino to his junior team after nine NHL games if they so choose, however unlikely.
AND THE NOMINEES ARE…
Per Puck Daddy, the NHL All-Star Ballot. The Isles reps are Michael Grabner, Mark Streit and John Tavares. Get your automated voting programs clicking fingers ready.
TEMPORARY IPHONE VIDEO FIX
The SNY techies are aware that the videos on the site aren’t compatible with the iPhone. Please be patient while they find a permanent remedy for the videos. In the meantime, there is a roundabout way to get the video working on your phone. Download SkyFire brower (free in the app store) and use it to navigate to Point Blank. The videos won’t load from the homepage. However, if you click on a specific post, the video will load and is playable on that screen.
The finale of this week’s segment, featuring Pete McCarthy and Chris Botta, who offers up a few ideas for moves the Islanders should ponder if they don’t fix themselves by the 20-game mark.
