RANGERS 4, ISLANDERS 2 EN
Defensive Breakdowns Lead to Garden Loss
NEW YORK — The Islanders lost 4-2 at the Garden tonight, off some good looking shots from the Rangers and defensive breakdowns of their own volition. The breakdowns didn’t come from the defensemen, though. It was noticeably the forwards at fault, leading to a 3-1 hole heading into the third that the Islanders wouldn’t recover from.
For much of the first half of the game, the Islanders were up to the challenge and played toe-to-toe with the Rangers, despite falling behind 1-0 early. Brandon Dubinsky scored his second of the year in the first going the length of the ice, blowing by John Tavares and PA Parenteau on his way to beating Evgeni Nabokov high blocker side. If you need a ‘what not to do’ lesson on neutral zone defense, look no further than this play as Dubinsky sped through the neutral zone catching the pair of forwards flatfooted.
The Islanders responded in the second with Ryan McDonagh off for slashing, ex-Ranger PA Parenteau cashed in on a rebound of a point shot from Mark Streit. Things were going pretty well for the Islanders at that point and could have been completely different, if not for a kick save (and a beauty from Del Zotto). Midway through the second, the line of Tim Wallace, Josh Bailey and Matt Martin started off a 2-on-1 rush that ended with multiple chances and shots on net. One puck would scoot by goalie Martin Biron, being stopped only by Del Zotto at the goal line. The Rangers came back with a chance of their own, with Artem Anisimov feeding Marian Gaborik off an offensive zone face off that caught Michael Grabner napping.
“To me, the whole turning point is the face off goal,” said coach Jack Capuano. “That’s something we, as coaches, take pride in. That’s something, as coaches, we show them before the game. It was exactly the same two guys that set up against us last time and we knew it could have been coming.”
From there, the Islanders didn’t look the same, with the Rangers getting the majority of chances the rest of the period. They would make it 3-1 on a Del Zotto shot that beat a screened Nabokov five-hole.
Matt Martin, who threw out a ton of hits to add to his league-leading total, fought Stu Bickel early in the third to try and get things going.
“We had a lot of guys who stuck up for the team tonight in key situations,” said Capuano after the game, referencing Martin and Wallace.
The momentum was partially squashed by a unnecessary tripping penalty from Nino Niederreiter and things looked to be going the Rangers way until things got a bit unraveled, thanks again to Martin. A big 5-on-5 scrum occurred, with Martin and Boyle tangoing and Bickel goading Tim Wallace into a fight. For his part, Bickel got a double minor leading to an Islanders power play and Matt Moulson goal to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Islanders weren’t able to get a whole lot going late in the game though and after a bad penalty away from the puck, they found themselves killing a penalty with six minutes to go. There were one or two more chances, but nothing very strong. With a minunte and a half left, the Rangers would add an empty netter to make it 4-2.
Notes:
- Josh Bailey and Milan Jurcina (among others) throwing their bodies around is a great sight.
- Matt Moulson took a hand pass to the face in the first period. He returned soon after. No word on if his protective Moulstache helped in any way.
- Travis Hamonic is the Isles best defender right now? Travis Hamonic is the Isles best defender right now.
- Evgeni Nabokov looked good, not great. The players in front of him seemed liable for the second and third goals, but he seemed to have trouble tracking the puck on more than one occasion.
- The Islanders had their share of chances in the first half of the game. They seemed to fall off a bit when things didn’t quite go their way.
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 →144 Responses to RANGERS 4, ISLANDERS 2 EN
Defensive Breakdowns Lead to Garden Loss
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jo says:
Nino is not impressive to me. I’ve seen 19 year old kids that are impressive, Nino is not one of them.
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GeneF says:
absolutely
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Madchef says:
yeah I mean 9 games, that sums it up we should trade/release him, wow maybe you guys should run the team, dopes
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myisles says:
exactly..
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mikeg says:
come on he’s on the 4th line and very little ice time. I bet if they put nino on the top 2 lines he would be impressive. But he would make defensive mistakes though.
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Same thing happened when Ziggy Palffy first came up. was so sick of Rick Bowness playing Palffy 3-4 shifts a game on 4th line. They finally gave him a chance and we all know what happened…a star was born. Nino will never develop on 4th line.Agreed, he will make mistakes, but what are our other choices?
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Walt says:
Same old story! Team is soft, slow and boring
Bad combination. Lottery pick confirmed. -
J.B says:
What do you expect??Just another draft reach by this pathetic franchise.
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Wes says:
Add Nino to the list of Snow busts: DeHaan, KO, Bailey
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crazy j says:
Garth didn’t draft KO
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Rob h says:
Who are you? He’s played 18 games in the NHL and is 19…really? Did you not see his play prior to the confusion? Sweet goal in Chi and showed really really great hands in the shootout…you must a Yankee fan aka doosh
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What does being a Yankee fan have to do with with anything? I’ve been a die hard Islander since ’89. Two playoff round wins in 22 years is tough to take. This team is the Pitt Pirates of hockey.
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isleopine says:
You are premature about Nino. Reserve your judgment as I am reserving mine, until you see this kid play a full season.
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Not saying Niño is going to be a bust. The problem is they took him 5th overall, you expect an impact talent picking that high. Sorry I don’t see any special qualities about Niño’s game.
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Joe says:
Remind me who is Nino playing with? Oh thats right Haley and Reasoner. Capuano should get fired already, hes fucking horrible. Pulling the goalie with 1:30 without having control of the puck. Its hard to say Nino is a bust when he hasnt played with anybody good. He played with Bailey last game and had 2 really good chances to score.
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Paul says:
He looks lost out there.
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Smart play by Nino when he was penalized for tripping (sarcasm). Everyone stop the who is he playing with. Who does Martin play with. Does Nino hit, make good defensive plays, get some shots, play smart hockey? He is lost!
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Tom D in NJ says:
I thought the Winnipeg game was more entertaining than this so called “rival game”. Just not enough talent on our side to win this game. Once again Reasoner not found in the boxscore. Why wasnt Capuano questioned in the post game on the early pull and empty net goal?
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Jon in Chicago says: I hate to pile on Nino, but can we see something, anything from him? Even a nice rush would be good to see at this point. One goal in 18 NHL games. Where are those hands that helped him score so often in junior.
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He has one goal more than Reasoner.
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Stephen says:
Also, can Nino get more than 10 minutes of ice time. In order to see what he can really do we need to see regular shifts, some Power Play time and away from Reasoner, Wallace, etc…
If JT was drafted and Caps was the coach he probably would have started on Line 3.
Team has become boring but I still think biggest issue is the D. They rarely pinch, they rarely step up and there is no toughness outside of Hamonic who looks great. Streit is slumping right now, but they MUST upgrade the 4th, 5th, and 6th defenseman in the off-season.-
Like all the upgrades they made this past off-season?
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jonj77 says:
Dude… did you watch the game against Winnipeg? It was actually quite exciting! Bottom line is that the Rangers are WAY better than the Isles.
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I think if Grabner hit the top 70% off open net in first isles win this game. Will th real Milan Jurcina please stand up? I’ve been pretty quiet about Mattau to this point but he definetly looked like the most out of place player on the ice. Very very weak clearing attempts and break out passes, although i felt we had a ton if weak outlet passes that were easily picked off…put some sauce on them boys
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Take it easy on Nino. He hasn’t been great, but he’s had a pretty rough first season with the injuries. Give him a little time!
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That said… I still don’t love what I’ve seen from him so far. He hasn’t even shown flashes of all the talent we’ve heard he has.
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christian says:
Kevin, were you at the same game as me? Jurcina is the softest 6’5 defensemen I’ve ever seen. Mottau and Eaton is also the worst defensive pair in the league. Streit is washed up. With the exception of JT, Hammer, and Matty Marts this team is devoid of any heart. The 4th line Nino experiment needs to end. Play him in on the top 6 or send him back to junior. Thanks Charles and Garth!
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softest 6’5 defenseman? I guess you haven’t been watching the last 8 games. He has been very physical. His problem is his speed.
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LOL! What Islander fans fail to understand that it does not take much at all to stand out on this team.Under Wang this team has no future.
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Joe, actually I have been watching the last 8 games. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. If Jurcina played with any edge to his game then he’d still be a Bruin or Cap.
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Winning says:
I watched ten minutes because they had the real islander jerseys n they look good when the rangers r playing them. Im talking bout the jerseys. Fios hd msg also looked good. I probably wont watch more then 40 minutes total the rest of the season but 5 years from now when i start watching its good to have fios msg hd.
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nyi 16 says:
I agree Nino looked awful but I noticed Bailey taking the body and making some nice plays with the puck. I think it’s time to switch him with Nielson, at this point what do you have to lose? Grabner and Okposo were bad tonight to. Way to go Matt Martin, another solid game.
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dvl says:
How many times does the Islander defenseman allow someone to skate around them? Gaborik’s goal was seen many times this year, everyone is skating to the puck; no one is taking the man. Tonight Capuano proved that he is not an NHL coach. I cant wait until next weeks 24/7 to hear what the Rangers would have to say about this game. This team is moving backwards!!!
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Jurcina did knock some Rags down tonight..I thought his physical play was good. Garth just had to have Marty Reasoner on August 2..really makes you wonder..
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goislesgo105 says:
+ Marty Reasoner continuing his goaless
streak and being invisible out there.
+ Michael Grabner checking out the eye candy
in the second row while Gaborik scores the
Rags second goal.
+ First pick in the draft John Tavares not
scoring the tying goal,or any goal lately.
+ Cappy pulling the goalie with 1:30 left and
the Isles not in control of the puck
leading immediately to a Rangers empty
net goal
+ Cappy happy with the effort in another
loss
- P.A. and Moulson scoring goals. What
are they doing? Are they
trying to show up the other forwards??? -
Jim Clark says:
The remake of Roshomon dealing with tonight’s game.
Snowang sees it as a tough game against a Ranger team likely to go to the Stanley Cup finals. This will earn them respect on “24/7″
The few fans remaining of the lowly Islanders see the 29th worst offensive team lower its
scoring average against yet another back up goalie. This will earn them “24/7″ derision as the Washington Generals of the NHL and suffer even more as the Rangers, with a coach the Snowang team passed over to hire Scott Gordon, will get even more air time from NBC and advertisers.Time to see if Columbus can blow it’s lead over Nashville and stay ahead in the “fail for Nail” sweepstakes.
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Yeah, great that would do. Caps would move him to the 4th line with Reasoner and play him 9 minutes a nigh (signed for another yr). Figure Nino moves up to 3rd line. Ohhhhhh the pain!!!!
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jisles says:
This team needs to fire their entire coaching staff. Get some Canadian coaches–please! Mottau out there at the end of the game after he’d played terribly and those goalie pulls! Shit, man, Hamonic was right to through his hands in the air when they scored, because it was ridiculous and embarrassing!
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Is there a worse defense in the league? If so will someone tell me who it is. Apologies to Hammer.
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islesrock73 says:
Calling Nino a bust now is just plain stupid. This is coming from an an extremely disgruntled Islander fan too. He is 19, coming off a serious groin injury and a concussion in his rookie season. The Islanders also don’t have him surrounded by very talented players for support.
Reasoner is another story. That was a BUST of a signing. He brings nothing, zero, nada. I would rather have Kavasha then Reasoner.
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hoser14 says:
I agree, I would rather have Kavasha then Reasoner!
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GooodziZle says:
Wow that’s a tough one. That’s like choosing the Swedish super model it the Italian one. Depends what flavor you like!
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caber09 says:
I laugh at you people who keep saying Snow needs to address this and that in the offseason…which offseason is that 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,2011 or 2012?, because that excuse/promise/suggestion has been used every year.
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I am more fed up with reading 90% of the posts on this site then the actual teams play this year, great write ups by the guys here keep it up but some of these posts are seriously like a 5 year old who has to go to bed.
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danfromouteast says: Lol
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Cm says:
YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE NOT BEEN A FAN LONG. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP.
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if 30 years is not long enough well than yes I haven’t been a fan long
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Turgeiton says:
Nice job pulling the goalie there coach! You wait till the puck is deep! Not when being carried to center ice with a minute 30 left!!
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Anthony says:
Its the same old story with this team. A lot of missing pieces. The mixture of players do not fit together. If you look at the Ranger team who I hate or any of the top teams, they have a mixture of players with skill,size,speed,grit and toughness(and oh yeah a real coach). We have a bunch of soft small players. I could make a long list of players who are straight up awful and wouldnt be in any other starting lineup. We over value a lot of our top guys who honestly are over rated.
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dork says:
boring game. madison rat garden wasnt loud. i suppose rags fans like to come to our barn to cause havoc.
Cappy looked like a lost cause with no options while Torts played his usually chess game and won.
my late grandma can play goalie for the rags and win for Torterella. This is how i judge goalies that play for good teams or coached. their awesome stats mean nothing to me and therefore i will never vote on a allstar ballot for this reason. -
nightbite21 says:
Can’t harp too much on JT and Parenteau lately but that rush by Dubinsky set the tone and sums up a lot of the disease that’s allowed to fester on this team. Weakass stickchecks….he should have been DESTROYED cruising up the boards like that. If Cappy had any, and I do mean any balls or control he’d make Martin and Hamonics physical play a requirement or you sit. NO EXCUSES!!! Jurcina, Bailey, Wallace are taking the body as well but way too many players pulling up last minute.
Well thank the lord Eaton is back. This guy is on par or worse than Mottau. F’in joke.
Oh yeah…was there a Reasoner sighting???
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Hollywood says:
What I saw was a pathetic effort! Yes Martin and Hamonic played the usual physical game. Where is Frans, the second line is horrible. It’s time to split them up. This team has no offense, hard to imagine. If they don’t beat Toronto then we can throw in the towel. Maybe I’m the only one but the 2 shootout wins weren’t anything to get excited about, especially after tonight’s effort.
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StevieL says:
Right on Hollywood! Somehow Frans is flying under the radar .Nice shootout contributor has been horrible during regulation. Might be a guy to move before the deadline! Can’t see resigning him!
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Fire Capuano already and get a real coach. This team can never clear the puck, they were in the defensive zone the whole game. Jurcinia played well and Hamonic was awesome as usual. The 3rd and 4th line can never contribute, idk capuano how about we change it up and put bailey on the second line with grabner and KO. 3rd line Nino, Nielsen, and martin(Ullstrom when he comes back.)
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Also, I would like to add that Capuano isn’t getting the best out of the players he has. I like Okposo, but he could be a much better player if he used his body and stays on his feet.
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bc says:
getting on nino is insane… he’s playing on a line with reasoner and haley! he’s also getting about 9 minutes of ice time every night. not many guys could produce under those circumstances.
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Thank you!!!
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The Haley Hammer says:
Someone (Snow/Wang) must have castrated Haley. No passion or fire, just looks like he’s going through the motions out there. He is now as uninspired as the rest of the team. Shame shame. Oh well, thank god Eaton is back…we need all the solid defenders we can get(sarcasm font).
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John says:
has anyone noticed that john tavares has scored a goal in a grand total of seven–count’em–SEVEN games this season. to get even more current he has scored a grand total of two times in his last 21 games. so back out the five times he scored in the isles first four contests and you begin to realize this his performance when it comes to scoring he has done so five times in the last 28 games. talk all you want about the lack of talent that he’s surrounded by but mr. tavares, the number one overall pick of 2009 is putting up very pedestrian numbers. the time has comes for mr. tavares to held accountable for two months of action in which he put up numbers more consistent with a third line forward. the trend is getting quite disturbing, if you ask me.
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T-Ho26 says:
Did anyone else see Del Zotto absolutley own Reasoner in the corner in the 2nd? BTW Reasoner is -16 on the year averaging only 11 minutes of ice time per game. That has to be a NHL record. He is the biggest waste of a uniform. Rangers have it all. Balanced lines, size, skill and coaching. Isles are weak in every area, especially defense. Eaton? Mottau? Horrible. Streit? Not a captain, and worst of all can’t defend anyone. I know he missed an entire year, but his best hockey is behind him. While the PP had some success today, it is usually a disaster. Doug Weight is a scrub, Cappy is not a reach coach. Time to seriously consider trading some of these assets for real damn players. Grabner needs to wake up. Perhaps it was bad signing him and KO to long term deals. These players have obviously become complacent and are not as hungry…Can JT show some scoring ability? He has about 3 legit chances per game. Time to bury some. Overall, this team will finish close to last, AGAIN, and of course we will pick some scrub in the 5 spot who should be picked in the 2nd round at best (see Nino, Bailey, De Hann. Time to get real scouts. If the flyers can land a player like Giroux in the first round @ #22 (while we picked KO @ 7) then obviously we are doing something wrong. Snow, do yourself a favor and just leave the game. You are worthless!!!!
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I saw it, should have been a penalty since reasoner didn’t have the puck. How do you not do anything when you get cross-checked 6 times in a row.
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Strummer's Army says:
Travis Hamonic has been the Isles best defender for the past 2 seasons.
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Yea he has, he’s the only one who uses the body and gets the puck and passes it to his forwards/clears it out of the zone. When Mottau and Eaton are out there, the puck is in the islanders zone for at least a minute.
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Anyone notice how bad we are vs Rangers and vs the division since the pretenders Gordon and Crapuano have been coaches..brings in a real NHL coach with a reputation!
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danfromouteast says:
Can we all pray together that wang chokes on a ham sandwich or something than we get a real owner who cleans house. This whole organization from front office to fourth line sucks a bag of dicks! And wang should be hogtied and forced to work a gloryhole being he screwed all of us already
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EJ1SINCE40 says:
” Hail Mary, full of grace……………..”
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-Nino needs to play with better players.
-I think Capuano is a nice guy, but is clueless as a coach. Pulling the goalie without real possession is proof.
-I don’t care that J.T. is not scoring, his line mates are. in fact, they are the only ones thanks to J.T.
-Just can’t understand why Grabner does not use that blazing speed of his much, much more.
-Matt Martin is awesome!
-Travis Hamonic is awesome!
-Marty Reasoner should not be playing. I don’t think I have ever seen a more invisible presence on the ice. Why not give a young guy a chance?
-I miss Montoya!
-Is Nail really that good?!? -
jonsson3 says:
I agree with alot of these comments but also disagree with some.
Capuano showed absolutely no passion what so ever. Gordon seemed always pissed off and this guy never seems mad about anything.
We need a real coach!
Give nino a break! he’s been hurt and he’s playing with scrubs.
move him to the neilsen grabner line,move KO with bailey and martin
Reasoner is a waste of space!
The defense is older than the colesium( except hammer and amac) use reese, call up wishart, do something.
I couldn,t wait for this season to start and now its already over. Please wang do something, hire some real hockey personnel or sell the team!!! -
Can it be more discouraging to see that after we have been rebuilding for somewhere around 20 years that the Rangers have more young talent than us? Garth must go!!!
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THE PORK CHOP EXPRESS says:
This game did not have the isles vs ranger mentality. Once again the isles are weak in their defensive zone. The forwards just dont know how play defense.
JT’s line is the only line that can forecheck. The rest stay in the zone for about 3 seconds. Time to mix the other 9 forwards up.
Matt Martin hustles every night.
Where is the passion??? The JT line, MMartin, Wallace (which he could show some offense) and Hamonic are the only ones who show effort. Why??
Another long range goal.
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The problem is simple, except for a few players, the entire organization sucks.
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Peter says:
If Nabby doesn’t let that long distance slap shot through his legs, it would have been tied and a lot of these comments would be different.
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Did you happen to look at the standings lately? They suck, and Rangers would have just picked up the pace.
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Jeff wall says:
Kevin was cappys pulling of nabby without control of the puck and without the tavaras line on the ice with 1:30 left so obvious of a mistake that you thought it didn’t need to be mentioned in the recap? This coa Hing staff can’t even loose properly. I think it’s time to for snow to fire them all and change things up. Keep sudsie m.
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Nick M says:
People speaking about nino as a bust are insane, he’s play fourth line with the worse two players on the roster. Put him on JTs wing or nielsens wing and see what happens.
Problems-capuano is CLUELESS. Defense( eaton and Mottau) are the worst pair i have ever seen. They were on for at least 2 goals. The team has the capitalize on prime chances. You can get 10 chance but if you only score on 1 then your inviting the other team to take control of the game. -
Chris says:
Goring had me shaking my head tonight. First goal, as Butch is saying Dubinsky used his strength to skate up the right side??? Man, all they did was poke check and try to pick his pocket… meaning JT and PA. You have to play the body! It’s hockey! And I don’t get it because both of those guys will go into the corners in the offensive zone, but on defense you just can’t lose the physical aspect. And I know they scored 2 pp goals, but I can’t grasp what is so difficult about entering the zone with speed. No one has any momentum. They are all stagnant on the blue line waiting for the dump or skate in. And the end result is usually a quick clear.
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getting on a NINO, 19 year old, in his first season, who missed a ton of preseason with a groin strain and coming off a slight concussion. REALLY? thats your *itch?
Frans is a third line center, trying to play the second spot. hes a 10-20 goal scorer and a great asset on the PK. hes miscast. the second line center is called RYAN STROME, as in the second half of next season.
Many of the isles players are playing up to much. Jurchina is a #5/6 on the blue line, not a #1-2. ownership has tried to correct this, and offered more money then the defensemen signed for in SOME cases. what else can be done? the fair, silly and insane offers. you want ehrhoff for that much, til 2021. we did that once, rick depietro.
our 3 best defenders, and all our important fowards except Frans and PAP are signed for next season. that makes for $30 million in cap room.
reasoner is playing poor. we arent the weakest offensive team, weak defensively, cause our FOURTH line center is poor. hes holding a place for that ciskisas(common spelling) kid.
that puck slides past del zotto into the net, and the game goes different. thems the breaks. team lost 3-2, on the road, to a top team in the East. liten up! dubinsky scored his second, and boyle has 2 goals in 31 games. the rags should, kill, cut, trade or release these bums, right? nazim kadri, the seventh pick in the 2009 draft( a year before NINO) has 3 goals in 33 games. hang him!. cam fowler( another local “i wish we had him” favorite) is on his way to 30 points and a -26. h sedin didnt crack 50 points til his fifth NHL season, and his brother didnt pot 20 goals til his fifth NHL season, 6 years after they were drafted. man, they sucked as kids. how’d they turn out anyhow_ they still in the league? get some perspective-
Try Todd Bertuzzi, Roberto Luongo, Ziggy Palffy and Zedeno Chara. All were great players who did not show much of anything until they were in the league at least 3 years. And, oh by the way, we gave them all up, except Ziggy, for practically nothing, because of Milbury’s impatience. Crosby and Ovetkin were the exceptions. How many of them are around?
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okpososcores21 says:
As much as I hate to admit it the Rangers are a serious cup contender this year the perfect blend of veterans that produce gaboric richards calahan Girardii perrfecrt mix of young skilled hungry forwards stepan anisimov del zotto . secondary scoreing Boyle Prust Woiwitca when he returns. Lets not forget one of the elite goalies in the league in Lunquivst. Rangers finally figured out the recipe for success and its the same throughout the league isles continue to expect too much from the young guys and continue to get veterans who can no longer produce at the NHL lvl Isles better get a stud Dman in the draft this year. Enough with relying on cheap young talent to make the playoffs its not going to happen. These young guys grabner okposo shouldnt have gotten what they got. Untill they proved they were worth it, like moulson had to. Moulson continues to prove hes worth the investment and is grateful to the organization.
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As for the Rangers being cup contenders this year… you. are dead wrong… Might win a round or 2 in the playoffs but they don’t have enough experience on D and you really think they can beat the Bruins in a best of 7 series or a healthy Penguins team? I think not! If they prove me wrong I will shut my mouth!
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I do tho agree with you tho that the Rangers are building the team the right way and everything you said about the Isles tho! No hard feelings on my opinion of the Rangers as cup contenders! And yes the Isles need to get a big solid young D man! in the draft..
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This ranger roster is no cup contender. The rangers success is because they bought into Torts system. Torterella deserves all the credit.Lunquist should be thankful to Torterell for probably winning another Vezina.
The rags play a north/south blue-collar grinding, shot blocking game which result in a lot of opportunistic goals. which 24 players bought into. The rags dont need superstars on the roster to play the way they do. It’s a amazing what a real coach can do to a club.
Thanks for 9 years of misery Mr. Wang. U clueless son of a -
TimQ says:
Disagree. As soon as Gaborik gets his annual season ending injury their house of cards will fall apart. They’re obviously better than the Islanders but not in the same class as Philly or Boston
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Matthew DeMarco says:
Can I just sum up the Isles here we go first line tabards great talent great playmaker makes moulson kill like all star assist on 13 of moulson 16 goals pa best player this year on islanders no complaints second line Nielson playing terrible never steps up in offended to conservative okposo always kills great but just can’t score grabs horrible worst passer on team turnover machine can’t score on breakaways overrated. 3rd and 4th line who cares all stink besides 4 Martin and baily sometimes. NEED Gillies enough with this Marty reasoner Tim Wallace bull crap 4th line should be Martin Haley gillies if were not gonna win games at least be films out there D sucks besides 4 harmonic solid goalies not the problem end of story terrible on paper and I’ve but at least make right decisions to try and win can I be coach?
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The problem with Trevor Gillies, is that he not really able to do much hockey-wise other than look mean and putting on the foil. His skill-set isn’t up to NHL, he can’t skate or shoot. His hockey talent is more LNAH (aka the Quebec Fight League) than NHL.
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Tabards is tavAres kills is play and goons out there stylus phone and auto spell check
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RICH L says:
People, people, why bother I know we all need to vent about our team, but as it stands now Wang, and Snow are not going to do a damn thing to improve this team, and to the people who go to the games you have no business to come on here and bitch, you are part of the problem, by supporting Wang he laughs at you, all the way to the bank, why care if he moves this team, are you really that much of a sadist that you will take 4 more years of this crap being shoveled, and spoon fed to you by Wang,and Snow? And I have been a fan since their second season and as fervent as they come, my old 25 inch Magnavox floor model TV can attest to that, the point being, I am not trying to disparage any of you, but where does it go from here? When is enough, enough, many of you are probably still believing that the team is heading in the right direction, well most of us do not believe that, and the actions, or non actions of Wang, and Snow is a testament to what I just posted.
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And Why are we refering to the Emperor, as Mr. Wang???? Does he deserve a Mr.??
I would rather sit with the in-laws (SOBER)for hours and hours than lose to the Rag$..
It was inspring to See Eaton back out there, LOL..another bum back IN and Reese abck down!! And why the hell isn’t Wishart up this year??!!
Anyone see our fourth line Center last night, or actually, since the season started??
Oh well, good thing Pandolfo, Rolston, and DP are getting healthier by the day..
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claude says:
You feel like this team is going to cough up puck every time in defensive zone
Nino is always stride and half behind and looks ordinary
The Rangers are a well built, well coached team,kudos
KO is always falling down on forecheck
Gaboriks goal is a set play that the Isles were aware of
NIce stick check on Dubinsky, PA…Geez…
Tavares, Hamonic and Moulson are keepers the rest…expendable
GO ISLES!!! -
Nyifan11 says:
Why were Eaton and Mottau playing and Reese who has been steady scratched?
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justin says:
This team is close to beig a contender, the top 2 lines need a revamping. Why tougness is not added here is mind boggling. Every good team has it. Next years prioritys should be this, put letters on the right guys.The youth should be wearing them, Martin,Tav,Hammonic these are the guys that go to war.
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You might want to check the standings, there is not progress whatsoever. They will never go anywhere without the proper veteran support, and that is not coming.
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Chris J says:
Martin and Bailey should be playing with Okposo now. Grabner and Nielsen kill penalties and 3rd line. Double shift Taveres occasionally with Martin and Okposo.
Most embarrassing thing about the game last night…Rangers slept through most of it and easily won. Been a Islander fan since 1975. That was the most disinterested game by the Rangers and their fans against the Islanders I’ve ever seen. That says it all!
Team reflects the attitude of the owner…Acceptance of a below par product year after year. Declare bankruptcy, put the fans and players out of their misery.
Happy new year to all….and thanks for this blog..a little place to vent to those who also feel the pain!!
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Amerks44 says:
If I was Tavares I would request a trade!! He has no support and gets killed out there. He and Martin have more heart than the rest bunched together. Nabakov to blame for 2 goals.
How does Dubi skate thru the team. Did you hear Keenan on the post game, he was laughing at the Isles!! Embarassing!! Only bright side was I didn’t have to listen to Howie and Butch, Sam and Joe put those 2 to shame. They are the worst in the league as is the Islanders…..PAINFUL!! -
One more thing – The face off goal by Gabby was almost a carbon copy of the disallowed goal vs the Devils!!!!
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upstateIsles says:
good point…thats happened twice now in key moments…pathetic coverage.
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I dont understand the love affair with parenteau!All he had to do was get in Dubinskys way,hockey 101,take the body,that is the first thing you are taught.He turns the puck over all the time!!!!He was let go by the Rangers because of his skating,he cant skate,so he cant backcheck,HELLO,another important part of hockey!To keep sending the same lines,same powerplay units on and expect different results,its madness!WE have 28 points,the other teams are approaching 50!!!What a joke,we have 4 coaches standing behind the bench,and no one on the team plays basic simple hockey!!!Al Arbor did it all by himself.Year after year we get softer and softer,and nobody seems to care,what they had after the pittsburg game last year is all gone!!!At least we had some fight.To be honest,no legit NHL coach would take this job!!MISERY MISERY,the life of a ISLANDER fan!THANKS GARTH F—-N SNOW!
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What’s up with this little biotch Bickell. Haley, I want his head on Tuesday! That low life jumped Wallace when he was undoing his chinstrap like a REAL man. If you see a guy taking his helmet off you should take your helmet off too for starters and if you’re too much of a bitttch to take off your helmet and scrap atleast allow those brave enough to a moment to get situated…anybody can sucker punch a guy while he has two hands on his chinstrap.. Bickel better have a target the size of the one on Wangs back come Tuesday.
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Jisles says:
its as simple as this… name 1 team the isles have a better D than? Answer… No one! Streit on a good team is a #3 who is great on the PP. Hamonic is the real deal. Amac & Jurcina are a #6 on a good team. Everyone else is NOT an NHL dman. Plain and simple. There is very little D in the pipeline and they cant sign anyone. If Garth doesnt trade for it (which he wont) the “rebuild” will be a perpetual rebuild.
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isles71 says:
First, how can you really tell what Nino can do playing 8 mins/game with no talent? Second…they scratched Reese to play Eaton? Really? Eaton skates like he forgot to take his skateguards off. Half the time he looks like something an icefisherman just pulled out of Lake Wannamakemepukee, floppin’ around like a crappy or wat not! And lastly, kidding, but not…Reasoner could be in a coma for 3 days before they scratch him (he plays like he has one!). God we get so close only to fall 3 steps back…we need just a little consistency!
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Snowstorm says:
What good is finishing near last overall, having a high pick, and picking scrubs? Its pathetic. BTW Panthers near top of the league…what did they do this off season??? SPENT FREAKIN MONEY!!! Got REAL players in here not the Reasoners and Pandolfos of the world
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twocents says:
I’m not sure where Christian up there is coming from on Jurcina. I’m far from that guy’s biggest fan, mostly because of his history of NOT using his size and strength, but he clearly HAS been more physical in the last few weeks and his play overall has been solid. I do agree with Christian though when he singles out Tavares, Hamonic and Martin. On the current roster, those 3 guys are THE future of this team in terms of foundation and leadership 3, 4 years from now. With the possible exception of Moulson, there’s not one other guy certain to still be here then.
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jisles says:
This team just doesnt play smart simple hockey. All the goals the rangers scored except del rotto come from unforced errors by the islanders. This team just makes too many errors. Bad postioning, poor passing, poor decision making, trying to stick handle past 4 dmen at the blue line(nielson, ko. Trying to make a 50ft cross ice pass in your own end, standing still in the neutral zone. Lets face it the islnaders arent a “great” team we know this, but they do have ability and some talent. They just make so many mistakes that IMO are basic. They really need to go back and play a simple game it seems they over think the game. On the offensive rush if you dont have a play dump it get on the Forecheck and recover the puck. Even if you dont create a chance it keeps the other team in their dzone. Small, but crisp passes in your own d zone to get out, I am tired of seeing streit act like Eli Manning trying to throw a bomb down field. Its a to waiting to happen. Shorten up the passes in the dzone. This is SIMPLE HOCKEY 101. LETS GO ISLANDERS.
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ohio says:
Besides the d this team has 1 top tier forward and maybe 4 lower second tier guys. Thats why we score 2 goals a game most nights. All the top teams have at least double those and even triple.
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terry b says:
soft,slow and boring ,rupp felt like king kong out there,,he was hiding like a sissy when we had simon and asham in our lineup…i want to hear what clark gillies has to say about this team,kevin get that interview please..
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mayhem sucks says:
Parrenteau’s neutral zone defense was so bad he should be a healthy scratch for three games. Put Nino with Tavares and Moulson and make Matt Martin the captain. Only player with heart!!
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Martin and Hammer are the only guys that look like they really want to win
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rpchief2 says:
Nino has two goals, one from last year,lay off the kid. Injuries have slowed him this year. He will be a good player. And it does matter who you play with. Would Moulson have all these goals last three years if not for JT. Nino needs to play top two line minutes to be truly evaluated
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Jason says:
Watching this game last night made me sick. i thought the Isles played with no energy. To come out the way they did against your arch rival is ridiculous!!!! This team has no heart. Also, another great move by Cappy pulling the goalie way to early. Even the teammates were surprised.
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D in Big D says:
There you all go again.Bashing Reasoner??!!Really???C’mon guys/gals HE IS A 4TH LINER!What about our so called DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST Panzy…I mean Franzy boy.This guy absolutely sucks & for the few of you actually coming around on this thought to think he can be traded is absolute insanity.This guy has 0 market value.Same goes for KO.People bitching about the scoring how does letting Comeau go look now.Yeah he had issues but was at least a streaky scorer.27 goals & 49 points is what it is and he played w/ the scrubs.Other than PA & Moulson we have no scorers.The toughness issue we all know about but the one post about Haley looking disinterested is dead on.Isles managed to finally break him.Also am tired of counting the amount of hits they pass on for a stick check.The guilty are as follows,A-Mac,Franzy,KO,PA,JT,OVERHILL GANG,Moulson.Heck thats the entire team.I would love for someone to ask Garth what is his direction in this rebuild and don’t hand me the hard working crap.Wang SELL!!I also agree w/ the bust take on NINO.He was a top 5 pick & brings NOTHING.I don’t think you need to watch 200 games to realize he probably is another 3rd liner.Can’t skate,doesn’t hit w/ authority,doesn’t fight,doesn’t seem to be able to work corners,can’t play d(cause of his skating).For those using the excuse of who he’s playing w/ I have this take….Nino should be making THEM better Not the other way around.In fairness to Nino he is still a kid & shouldn’t even be in the NHL.He is raw @ best & needs to develop to have any chance of making it.So the bust talk might be a little premature but leave it to Garth & co they’ll turn him into one.
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Joe in Massapequa says:
Painful game. I would love to hear what the Isles players have to say about the timing of Nabby being pulled. Nothing screams minor league more than that. There are maybe 5 guys on this team who deserve to be in the NHL. The remaining either deserve to play in the A or should be retired. I am sick of the rebuild that is going nowhere. JT needs a legit line mate who can create space for him. He is pressing and trying to do too much. It is a shame we are wasting his world class talent with Moulson and PAP. No offense to these guys but one is a garbage goal scorer which is fine and the other is best served only on the PP.
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AJAX says:
Well, my Islander season just about ended today. I have not, nor will I pay a dime to go to a game. I was pretty pumped that Fios now has them in HD, but now the NBA begins, which means there will be no HD channel for them and it will once again become a project trying to find out what channel they are bumped to night after night.
I enjoy watching them, but its losing its enjoyment for me, quite frankly, its painful.
Enjoy the rest of the season guys! -
Cayman says:
This blog is garbage. You allow posts from the same people saying the same thing and you moderate others. A holes.
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john says:
pulling the goailie that early wouldnt look as bad if frans dumps the puck instead of stickhandling along the blueline. if he gets the puck deep we arent having this conversation. the surprising thing is…. why wasnt reasoner on the ice??? he might have been the leader who yelled for him to dump it…or maybe if he did dump it reasoner could watch and peal off the hit as the D dumps it back out… i heard that they are rushing pandolfo back , nino needs more help , thank goodness eaton got himself healthy, we really need these guys to lead the kids….whew. just frustrating!!!!!
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Stumpy32 says:
Last night was frustrating on a couple of levels. One, we actually outplayed and outskated them for most of the game, and Biron made a couple of huge saves for them. Wasn’t like we were run around the rink, and frankly, for a team as hot as the Rangers, in their own building, that says a lot. I hate moral victories, and I don’t take any solace in losing last night, but we did outplay them.
The difference was that Nabby was completely average. Made only a couple nice saves, the rest were of the standard variety. The two slapshot goals by the Rangers were weak in my mind, barely any screening, Nabby just missed it, slow to the glove side.
That last goal was ridiculous. For the minute or so prior to pulling the goalie, we never had a sustained rush into their zone. How in the hell then do you pull the goalie? It’s as if the coaching staff has a time in which they pull the goalie, by rule, rather than allowing play to dictate it. That was a joke – almost out of the playbook of an old Sega Genesis game.
Frustrating. We had 2 points sitting there for us. Good that there’s a quick turnaround tonight, go into the short weekend break happy.
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CM says:
This blog and the rest of the media need to step it up and start pointing more fingers at Wang. We need more pressure on him, rather than all the griping on this blog and any other place where fans can post comments. This need NHL and local media attention. He has to be exposed.
Really??.. who cares at this point on the game analysis if the Isles win or lose. Team is dead with Wang.
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Flux Capacitor says:
CM,
I have written emails to the Islanders voicing my displeasure as a long time fan and have never once gotten a reply! The organization will do what it wants no matter what the media, fans, or league wants it to do. I always hear how Wang wants his guys to think outside the box. Frankly, I am sick of hearing that expression because mostly every thing they do defies logic!
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danfromouteast says:
It is a drought if one of yourthe top players isn’t producing but when it the offense all together the blame falls on the coach for not having them prepared. Crapuano needs to be axed
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Tom says:
Upper management as a whole needs to be axed. If this was a hospital, I’d sue for medical malpratice. Too bad one can’t do so when it comes to professional sports because this organization seems to be run in a manner that is anything but professional.
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giz says:
Team is not going anywhere till we get a top 6 foward an top 4 veteran dman.Time to make trades are now we got plenty of prospects! Ryan, Nash, Iginla on market I would gladly give up a #1 pick nino an prospect.
Columbus an Carolina will be get rid of players soon dmen like Gleason an Tuytin should be on block for mid round picks.
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Jim says:
Since the Rangers are contending for a Stanley Cup and the Isles are contending for a top 5 pick I thought the Isles did a good job of staying with the Rangers. They finally played a more physical game and seemed particularly protective of their goalie for once.
Sad thing is they are mismanaging Nino and still have a very long way to go to being competitive on a regular basis. And this is after Wang has owned the team for over 10 years!
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IslanderFAN says:
Some people already have doubt about Nino? really…really…really? im sorry but thats pathetic! c’mon how can a guy showcase his talent playing on the 4th line?? i would not hired some of you GM.
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Rangers cup contender?? well thats funny lol please lets be serious.
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kevo says:
capuano is playing nino, who is a 5th overall pick, on the 4th line with reasoner and martin. and then you wonder why he isnt producing????? add capuano to the list of bums that run this team
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The only way to build a good playoff team with the lowest payroll is do ace the draft. Instead of nino you draft skinner. Instead of bailey you draft that big defensmen on buffalo. Instead of strome you draft cartier on philly. Also requires an owner who grew up in america/canada/russia. A owner who never played hockey as a teenager (wang) doesnt understand how fear/ intimidation are a big part of the game. If wang owned the dynsty islanders he would of forced arbour to put gillies n nystrom in the AHL.
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eaton & mottau have got to be the worst D pairing in NHL history
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I think the most appropriate nickname for Reasoner is Mr. Cellophane Man.
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the truth says:
I commented the other night on this blog about streit not shooting , guess what he gets the puck in the first period and shoots and they score. Then he goes back to his old self and holds on to the puck to long. also commented faceoff killing them presto lose game on jr hockey set play should never happen.Christmas wish Fire Capuano put Ullstrom at center. In the short time with isles when he faces off looks good.4 lines.1.Moulson Taveras Parenteau.2.Baily Ullstrom Martin3.Grabner Nielsen Niederietter.4.haley rolston okposo.de Hamonic,reese de haan Wishart streit macdonald.Trade for hockey pucks or release reasoner,mottau,jurcina to slow,keep. staios in case someone gets hurt.release the rest.
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just because the coach says its time for the goalie to come out , the goalie needs to read the play better. Let Nabby go already. Once Al is back just let him go. Unload some of those vets that are here for experience, keep one for in the locker room and start trading a few prospects and stop worrying about them becoming good down the road elsewhere. We are only a couple of legit players away from actually competing more. Al can carry us with a Poulin backing him up. We have some good yound dmen but we need another PP guy and a physical presence as well. If we had a legit finisher (we lack this so much other than 15 and 26)we can start getting some momentum. youth project is done, time to juggle some players around and get some tradesd happening…any other GM would have created something more out of this group by now.Players that are stagnent right now may wake up with a different player on his line. Season still has potential!!!!
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pruggier says:
Plain and simple we are too small on defense any talented team with size we just cannot handle-more than scoring we need size on defense-painful to watch as we get pushed around, offensively we also need size but it is not as glaring
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Look man I don’t care what anybody says our real problem is that we don’t have big time defenseman. Most teams that are good have great d-men. We have ok guys but we need game changing defensemen. Snow tried this summer to get Christian Erhoff or whatever his name is. Not saying he’s the guy we need but it would have been a start. We only have 3 decent guys-Streit, hamonic, and macdonald. And they are good not great. Eaton, Jurcina, and Mottou…come on are you kidding me!
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exSection307 says:
I think it is very simple….they are leaving Long Island. Look at the facts
1- Wang is making no effort for a new building anymore
2- They will not spend 10 cents more than they have to. They reach the salary floor with contract tricks and gimmicks ( paying Yashin, for example )
3- They don’t speak to the press to talk about what’s going on other than the “this team has the talent” nonsense.
4- AHL coach ( not even a good AHL coach ), silly puppet GM1 thru 4 lead to
5) almost no fanbase left that cares.
New 20,000 seat arena going up outside of Toronto ( last week’s Hockey News ) with no team for it as yet.
Bye, see ya
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doggyondown says:
1st and 3rd goals were stoppable shots and that’s the difference. wasn’t impressed by either team last night. The difference is the Rags find ways to win and we find ways to lose.
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Rob says:
Parenteau and Grabner were awful on the first two goals. Would it kill Parenteau to actually play the body on Dubinsky and take him out of the play instead of just stick checking? And defensive zone faceoffs are always the best time for players to take naps, great one Grabner.
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Dr Phil says:
Pin this loss on the “coach.” Pulling the goalie when you don’t control the puck…UGH!
Sign Jacques Martin NOW! I agree that Nino hasn’t shown much, but try putting on the 2nd line and move Okposo to the third line.
KO was a wasted first rounder, no matter who drafted him. -
Bean322 says:
At least will have our two minutes of fame on HBO…
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Sign Jacques Martin?? are you crazy this guy is a boring coach who likes only a defense system…look at him behind a bench he has no emotions (he looks dead) the Islanders would be a lot worst with Martin.
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Wang never saved this frachise from what he wants you to belive. Team has been gone since he bought it.
Org as it stands has no hope with Wang as the owner. Wikipedipa needs to be updated to include the Isle as his latest disaster.
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The Sick one Six says:
A couple of days ago people were posting sit Montoya and ride Nabby for the rest of the calendar year…Now these same people are saying that its Nabbys fault!!! Also anyone that has a negitive comment about JT knows nothing about hockey so please spare them the embarrassment and edit there posts…
Also when will the NHL step in and force Wang to field an NHL team – this is terrible!
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Adam from Astoria says:
This is SO BAD! The chances of this team making the playoffs are terrible if you just do the math. They’ve played 32 games already. IF they reverse the # of wins and losses in the next 32 games– meaning they go 15-11-6, they’ll have 58 points with 18 games left to play. Then they’d have to go 16-2 just to get to 90 points! I think their chances of NOT being in the lottery again, not just playing out the string are terrible.
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All right everybody, get set go, WE’RE Number 27, We’re #27, We’re #27. Reading some of the comments on this thread leaves me to believe that what Wang believes is correct, some postors are NUTS.
Matt Martin = Hockey!