GAME DAY: Maple Leafs at Islanders, 7pm
Last Chance to Gain Ground Before the Break
As you can see from the graphic above, the Islanders currently sit nine points out of the playoffs with 35 games left to play. That may sound like a lot of time but in the Everybody Gets A Point NHL, it’s likely not enough. There are five teams sandwiched together at the bottom of the standings, all of them looking more and more like pretenders and not contenders every day. Each of those teams has one game left before the break except Carolina, who has none. Everyone else plays tonight with the exception of Montreal who has Detroit tomorrow.
A regulation win tonight leaves the Islanders seven out. Not a insurmountable gap but one they would still need a hot streak to overcome. If the Isles lose and Washington, Florida and New Jersey all earn points — none of which are playing each other — they could be as many as 11 back. That’s a four point swing the other way and a much more difficult hurdle.
Tonight’s lineup after the jump.
TONIGHT’S LINEUP
Moulson – Tavares – Okposo
Grabner – Nielsen – Parenteau
Rolston – Bailey – Martin
Niederreiter – Pandolfo – Wallace
Streit – Reese
Hamonic – MacDonald
Jurcina – Eaton
Nabokov
Montoya
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 →132 Responses to GAME DAY: Maple Leafs at Islanders, 7pm
Last Chance to Gain Ground Before the Break
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bryang says:
This game is a must win. It is a test if they can win high pressure games and if they can turn it around after one bad game not these several game slumps they have between playing well.
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Greg says:
Brian, you’ve got no clue, chief. First of all, Wang isn’t involved in hockey operations at all. All he does is sink $20M a year for us so that the team can stay on long island. You’re welcome. I agree that Pandolfo and Rolston are dead weight, but you cant just trade for players that can score, the Islanders don’t have pieces they are willing to/are worth moving. This is the mindset that brought in players like Yashin and Palfy, the mindset that sent the team into oblivion for 10 years
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The Sick one Six says:
Greg what are you talking about??? Palffy was drafted by the islanders and was awesome. He was traded away because they didn’t want to pay him! we got nothing in return. Before Tavares he was the last quality player the isles had!!!
P.S. i agreed with everything esle you said.
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true, swing and a miss there. that being said, i just dont think you can blame garth snow. Lets be serious, what does he have to work with?
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Agreed – He is given nothing to work with. I really beleive he is a scapegoat for Wanger!
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I dont understand how people want to blame wang either though. This guy has been the most loyal islander for years now and fans want his head? makes no sense. Ok, he made the mistake with dipietro, but like i said the guy sinks $20M a year into the shotty coliseum and team, give the man a break.
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Hock says:
DP contract was a gamble and had he stayed healthy and played well, Wang’s move would have been a stroke of genius. Instead, we have a mess (a big mess!!!) but at least Wang had the balls to commit to something he believed in. Just proves he is willing to spend if it seems justified. Team is actually sitting pretty to spend when the time is right…could be now if not for the Coli situation and reputation of the team.
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Greg,
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mike gallant says:
New York Islanders trade Zigmund Palffy, their high-scoring forward, to Los Angeles Kings in deal that includes Kings highly touted center Olli Jokinen; Islanders also send center Bryan Smolinski, minor league goalie Marcel Cousineau and fourth-round draft pick to Kings and receive defenseman Mathieu Biron, forward Josh Green and No 8 pick in draft. The isles picked Taylor Pyatt with the 8th pick and later packaged him along with T Connelly for Mike Peca.
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Brian says:
Wang isn’t involved in hockey operations? I hope that is sarcasm. As long as Wang is owner, he will dictate what Garth does. Successful sports franchise owners are hands-off. You know why? Because they know NOTHING about the sport.
You heard it last night from Capuano, he has to check with Garth even with his LINE COMBINATIONS. Garth is just Wang’s lackey. What’s Garth going to do? He’s going to ask Wang.
Gee thanks Charles for dumping 20 million a year into this team only to solidify our status as an embarrassment to the league year after year. At this point I have to wonder, what would be better? Having the team move off of LI or perpetually suck?
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Tony says:
did capuano really say he checks with garth snow about the line combos?
if so then Kevin should write up an article about that speculating if garth has been showcasing guys like nielsen and rolston (and others who should be on lower lines) all along…now that i think abt it that ciukd be genius…trade deadline he trades nielsen, parenteau, and rolston for a star dman like weber or suter hence move bailey and nino up to second line
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BanGarth says:
Going nowhere with the excessive garbage , Rolston , Pandalfo etc. Thanks Garth , keep up the great work you clown.
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BanGarth, please read the comment above, as you also have absolutely no clue.
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Greg , you are either Garth’s assistant , wait they are too cheap to have a position like that , or you fell asleep in 1983 and just woke up. Garth is clueless , had no prior experience before being handed this job and continues to prove everyday he is in over his head.
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He pulled Matt Moulson and Grabs out of thin air. All you do is continue to say that he has no clue what he is doing by providing no facts or evidence. Also, nobody finds your prose comical, so do us all a favor and stop trying so hard.
The fact of the matter is that Garth has no budget to work with and no current allure in the commodity that is Long Island. He was put in a difficult spot from the get go, but has done a good job. Would you rather have Milbury back?-
caber09 says:
Snow pretty much is MM reincarnated
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Hishutzi Skorz says:
Please enlighten me. Exactly which young prospect has Snow traded away in a bad deal?
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No evidence ? Rolston 5 Million , Reasoner 2 for 2.7, Pandalfo, guys who could care less where they are jsut as long as they can collect one last paycheck and we can be at the cap floor. We are in year 5 , year 5 of the rebuild and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t have one defenseman that will check an opponent coming into the zone and overall have to be one of the softest teams in the history of the NHL. The JT pick was a no brainer , without him this team without question would be the worst in the league. How are you ok with this in year 5 of a rebuild ?
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BanGarth, it is evident that you are a very passionate, yet impulsive hockey fan. No light at the end of the tunnel? Tavares signed for 6 years, Moulson resigned, Grabs is signed, and the islanders have the best, yes i said it, the BEST farm system in the league. As far as the blue line goes, Travis Hamonic and A-Mac have proven they can shut down top lines in the league. Like I said about the vets before, they bring experience. You can’t expect the young guys to know how to be professionals at the age of 20-24, they have to be shown. These are the guys to do it. Granted, they don’t have much skill, the aura they bring off the ice is worth it. I don’t think they should be making nino wait on the 4th line, but that’s beside the point. Whether you like it or not, the islanders NEED guys like Reasoner, Pandalfo, Rolston and Mottau. I encourage you to think about this rationally, not impulsively
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I understand that they need veteran leadership , not disagreeing with you. You lead by example , if you leave nothing on the ice who is going to take you seriously off the ice ? Reasoner and Rolston do not give it 100% on the ice , they are barely noticeable. These are the guys that we want infleuncing the core ? Rolston was brought us here to get us to the floor , end of story.
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did capuano really say he checks with garth snow about the line combos?
if so then Kevin should write up an article about that speculating if garth has been showcasing guys like nielsen and rolston (and others who should be on lower lines) all along…now that i think abt it that ciukd be genius…trade deadline he trades nielsen, parenteau, and rolston for a star dman like weber or suter hence move bailey and nino up to second line
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LongSufferingIslesFan says:
Teams buried at the bottom of the standings are not “pretenders.” They are losers.
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moonshine says:
last night all we saw was some good shifts by the first line, but as soon as they left the ice the islanders’ game collapsed. to say the isles played poorly in the neutral zone would be to imply that aspect of their game actually existed. sadly, it didn’t.
imo let’s forget about playoff talk. nabokov can’t be superman every night and as soon as he’s average, the islanders aren’t even in the game. he says he likes to play every night, but it’d be reasonable to give montoya a start tonight (last night might have been even wiser).
all that being said, tonight is an interesting match-up. the team needs to learn in any case to flush a loss and come right back against the same opponent. that’s part of planting a playoff mentality for the future, hopefully.
and of course, could we finally get some secondary production, even if it means demoting rolston? and since toronto is supposed to be so bad on defense, could they please give up a few?
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Brian G says:
if those other teams win and Isles lose tonight…start gutting the roster and let Cizikas, Ullstrom, and Rakhshani play the rest of the year…what do they have to lose, they are in the bottom 5 in the whole NHL.
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MarioCT says:
Brian, why would you wanna bring up the guys in Bridgeport when they are winning and getting chemistry together. I have said this before, leave them there and let them win. If we cant make the playoffs with this team then lets get this season over and bring in all the kids next year.
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Jaymz27 says:
I love the people who bash Snow. He said he was rebuilding this franchise through the draft and has stuck to his plan unlike past GM’s. He has stockpiled a lot of talent and allowed most of them to develop properly. He has no budget to work with, and no free agent wants to sign here yet he has found players like Parenteau, Moulson and Grabner who have produced at bargain basement prices. What more can he do?
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Snow is the worst GM in the NHL
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Teams dont rebuild for 6+ years, zzzzzzzz
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braksahniam says:
Hasn’t been 6+ years since Garth committed to the rebuild but in a couple years your comment will make sense. Save it till then so we can all read it and go “Wow, what a great comment.”
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CM says:
Just want to be competitive and play some meaningful games.
Wang is still running this team without a sail. If I was a player I’d find it hard getting up for a game too. Despite being a professional…being the laughing stock and constant bottom feeder it has to take a toll on you. Every media outlet always says the Isles are an easy 2 pts. After a while that attitute gets in your head.
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Bob E. says:
im pretty deflated by the loss last night. not that it was one game. It was the effort the put in a Huge Must win game. With exception of Tavares line, they played like it was just another day in the office.
If i was Garth i make statement, Waiver Rolston. Fire Cappy, Make it known its not ok to just treat a game like its irrelevant.
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Snow has been the among the most underrated GM’s in the league. People bash him for not being able to sign free agents, but look at it realistically; what prized UFA wants to sign with a team that has a losing culture and no certain future? Also, Kevin, my question is at what point will the coaching staff move Nino up to the third or second line? I understand he is young, and personally I agree with letting him learn the game and progress naturally. That being said, I also believe that they need to give him a shot at more than 6 and a half minutes of duster ice time with his AHL linemates.
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Again he is the worst GM in the NHL, he will never get another GM job after this…he signed eaton for 2.5 mil per year, Reasoner = bad signing, Rolston = bad trade, Mike Mottau, there is more stupidity moves and non moves by Snow….not getting anything for Biron – Konopka – martinek when they didn’t plan on keeping them, Roloson for Wishart= great move….it goes on and on with him….can’t wait til we get a 5th rounder for Nabokov.
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While I agree that these veterans have not had the expected positive impact on the ice, it is what they bring off the ice that is worth paying them for. Ask any player, the leadership and example they set forward is something the Islanders have lacked, and would not have if we ditched them all. There’s a reason why successful teams have a balance of vets and young guns. Although, how could I expect someone like you who never played to understand such a concept?
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Dan C. says:
Leaders only lead when they can still play well. You can’t just say, ‘hey this guy is pushing 40, so he’ll be a good leader.” Niklas Lidstrom at 40+ and still Norris-calibre is a good leader. Brian Rolston pushing 40, no longer a fast skater, takes forever to shoot the puck and still gets totally unmerited ice time is not a good leader. He is taking away ice time from younger players who will be a part of this team beyond this season.
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Dan, I agree. Just because the guys is aged doesnt mean he is a good player. Brian Roslton, who is no longer fast and has a slower release, is also a stanley cup champion. He knows how to get it done, night in and night out. I agree, his ice time is questionable and younger guys probably could do better for the team with that much time, but we still need guys like this on the roster. He is a guy that knows how to be a pro, something that goes completely forgotten amongst many a fan who are upset with his ice time.
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Over the hill scrubs, don’t matter…they are only hear for their cap space. If no fan sees that…..keep drinking the WangSnow Kool-Aid….Snow is not a good GM, keep not spending money, oh wait I mean rebuilding
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isleopine says:
Hey Brian G,
All the trades/acquisitions you mention do stink no doubt. However as bad as Rolston is (clearly in the twilight of his very good NHL career), look at what we shipped out for him: Trent Hunter who now plays for LA has two goals and 5 helpers. ANd Trent has not been productive for quite some time so that’s a wash and they needed to get to a cap floor. Reasoner has been a huge disappointment. He is injured, but when he was in the line up, I referred to him as the “cellophane man” he was so invisible. The good news: Rolston, Eaton are gone after this year. Mottau will not be resigned (I hope), and they will have quite a few bucks to spend to get to the floor. let’s see what happens.-
Big deal….Hunter for Rolston, not good either way – they are the same player – same numbers and how did Snow benefit by taking on more salary – what is really future considerations. Snow never makes any trades and when he does they are not good – no one can justify that, where is the great Ty Wishart – he sucks. I would love to see Rolston & Hunter race, that would be funny – they are both slower than sh**.
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I have seen Hunter on the Kings this season and he is not much slower than Rolston at this point, plays with much more tenacity along the boards and is a quality 4th liner. I would much rather have Hunter than Rolston right now.
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Bean322 says:
can we get a 9th rounder for snow? or is that asking too much?
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Paul says:
Making one or two trades, does not make one a MM. Stop with the pathetic excuses for this do nothing GM.
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Yea, he his record shows that. ROFL!!!
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isles101 says:
Good Point, Jaymz27. I tend to listen to all the naysayers a lot here, most of it makes sense….but u make a very valid point about the bargain basement prices!
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The only thing this team is gaining ground on is last place in the conference..
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mike says:
Y is Nino being punished.they r messing up his development.PUT HIM ON THE 2nd line already
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jdun89 says:
All the people who are saying to bring up the young guys from Bridgeport are the same people who would be complaining that we’re rushing our prospects if we did bring them up and they weren’t producing. You complain about how Bailey was rushed and his development was ruined but then you wanna bring up every teenager we have in the system. Make up your minds people. As much as you wanna whine and complain about how we’ve been bad for so long and blame Wang and Snow for everything, you have to remember that this current rebuild really isn’t so old. 2007-2008 was the first season of this rebuild. But for some reason people want to blame the team’s failures since 1993 all on Wang and Snow. I thank God every time I come on this website that its not you people who are running this team. Bridgeport is on fire right now. Let those kids learn and grow together. Like pretty much all of you, I would LOVE for guys like Rolston, Staios, Reasoner, etc. to be off this team. But that’s not gonna happen right now. So show your team some support because they are moving in the right direction. People in here say “we’re the oldest rebuilding team ever.” That’s very misleading as most of the older guys on this team will be gone very soon and most of our talent is down in the system developing. Obviously we want to win now and our arena situation makes things complicated, but we should be excited that most of our talent is still on its way. And that makes me excited because as a fan of this team I firmly believe that something will be done to keep the team here. I do have to say that its really disheartening that so many Islander fans bash the Islanders on a very regular basis. Its not right. These guys are playing hard. They deserve our support.
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actually if this were a playoff push last night’s loss wouldn’t be so bad. if you won three out of the last four you’re making the right pace. that’s why for anyone thinking playoff run, it’s not so much last night’s game that was ‘big,’ as it is tonight’s game.
personally i’d just like to see them learn to bounce back, without any gibberish about playoffs.-
Lets give them some credit. Over the last couple of weeks they beat the Red Wings, Flyers, Buf, Wash, and Carolina. Their loss to Flyers on LI was a good game. Last night they simply did not bring it. To my mind this is a coaching issue. Sometimes I look at Cappy and I see that DEER IN HEADLIGHTS STARE>
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upstateisles says:
love the picture to this article..i have the wayne gretzky rod-hockey game that has those little figurines..loved it
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Adrian says:
Winning cures everything. If the team learns to win games and become more consistent, the Islanders will attract better players.
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the truth says:
@mike why is nino being punished.Why else,To play with his head his confidence will be so low he will leave the island first chance he gets. just when this kid becomes Spezza,Bertuzzi,Chara,Luongo,brewer,and on and on and on they will trade him .look at that list.You can field an elite allstar lineup with traded islanders.
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ozzie says:
There really is someone left who will defend Wang and Snow? I’m shocked! I thought there was enough evidence by now. Wang has run this franchise into the ground and it one of worst owners in sports.
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snowang must go says:
Capuano is annoying the crap out of me. Same lines night after night. Move Nino up!!!!!!
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GarthmisreadMoneyball says:
I can t tell if this Greg guy is serious or he is being sarcastic. He can t really be defending Garth Snow as a good GM.
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Dead serious, guy. I never said he was a great GM, I just don’t think that the blame for the current state of the team should fall on him. We watched the Isles stick it to the caps, flyers, and wings in a stretch of a week, but then fail against the Maple Leafs. This is a team that needs to bring its A-game night in and night out. Failure to do so shouldn’t fall on the GM.
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Here is a clue. This is the time of year when most other teams do not bring their A game vs Isles. Same garbage as last year.
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Stan Fischler says:
Greg…I really do not think you know much about hockey or how to run an organization.
First off if you drank the Wang Kool-ade that he’s losing money and he’s loyal to the fans then you’re a bigger fool than anyone can imagine. If Wang opened the books you would see he’s in the black just from the cable contract alone. As for him being loyal, if that was true he would not be at the cap floor.
Second, you claim that we NEED guys like Pandolfo and Rolston? Do you realize the only free agents that the moron as GM tries to sign are cast-offs and players that can’t get signed anywhere else. You speak like these guys are Mark Messier or Denis Potvin because the piggy backed on Marty Broduers coattails. These are not the players I want my kids learning from.
They need to be creative and open the purse when it comes to UFA’s. I bet you honestly believe that Erhoff went to the Sabres because of losing culture or a bad NVMC?
He was offered a ONE year deal…That’s right only a one year deal, he turned it down and was traded. Paul Martin was another one. They lie and say he took less money to play for the Pens because of the NVMC…BS; they offered him 2 years $5 million. They go on the cheap and that’s why they don’t win.
Has Snow done a good job drafting? That’s questionable, but if you’re constantly picking top 5 you will get top prospects.
Taking Josh Bailey over Tyler Myers was a bad move. Taking Calvin De Haan over Kulikov was a bad move. You couldn’t lose with the #1 pick and taking JT.
Pick up a helmet and get in the game and stop waving your pom poms.-
Pretty much this entire post is complete garbage.
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Truth usually hurts the ignorant and blind.
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dork says:
True, Snow doesn’t have much to work with but he screwed up big time last off-season. He decided Streits partner will be a slow foot try-out Dmam. He put together the softest team in the league. If only our dmen could skate and we were a tough team we would be 10x better or exciting to watch. Major fail be Garth. How can one have the audacity to phone ticket holder to renew plan and promise hes not done yet. slap in da face. lies after lies, slap in the face, disrespecting fans. either he is incompetent or a conniving clown
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NYI says:
Garth definately is not the problem. If he would have the same budget other GM’s have, he would do fine.
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He does have budgets as some others. They are ahead of Isles. Snow is a pathetic excuse for a GM, and part of the reason players do not want to come here.
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snow is allowed to spend as much as he wants…he always says that his hands are not ited financially, right?
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tied*
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snow should find a way to acquire Jeff Carter since he feels he nobody will play here. Trade the pick since we’ll end up with #5 with grabs, ko.
Perhaps Carter and JT will be enticing enough for FA wingers to sign with the isles. Enough with this nonsense rebuild. try something new. -
DaGiants says:
The Blue Jackets and Sabres decided to spend big this offseason and brought in a bunch of talent and look where they are now. Guys you have to think. The smart move would be to be patient and develop the kids in our system. Guys like rolston and pandolfo are just placeholders until the kids are ready to play. This was a lost season from the get-go, and playing the kids earlier would not have salvaged the season. The owner will not spend on a team that is on the verge of moving and is not making money. The Isles remind me of the KC Royals. A once dominant team in the 80s who now is a perennial doormat but has insane talent in the farm system.
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D in Big D says:
How people can defend the ownership way of doing things is beyond me.All the comparisons have been made & still people defend ownership/management.Like one poster stated “its not rocket science”.Agreed.Step 1 would be bring in some experienced hockey staff in ANY dept that would improve the teams on ice performance.Who can argue that point?That in itself would attract some FA.Neil Smith had no problems bringing in a few in 1 mos. as GM.Enough said.Being a fan of this team is like banging your head against a brick wall.As for Garth getting credit for Grabs..he was a waiver p/u,Moulson was exposed to Garth by JT & PA was wanted by no one.GM talent/ability not needed in ANY of these signings.Garths moves that he should be judged on are as follows…Jurcina,Mottau,Rolston,Panawful,Staios,Montoya,Wallace(w/ Haley kept in Bridge),Bailey,Dehann(those are his guys),Nilsson,Koskinen.I’m sure there are many I left out.Not a great track record in my opinion.Left Nabby out cause another waiver player.Hey Garth we are not an expansion team.Oh yeah forgot Cappy.Great job!!Keep up the good work.
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Frank DiPietro says:
Likely not to make the playoffs, but hopefully they win enough to keep it close to the end so this young team gets used to playing high pressure games (and keep it a little more exciting for the fans!). This is experience they need and could be of great value next year!
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we stink says:
boooooooooooooooooooring….
this team sucks. sorry, no way they’re making the playoffs…let’s just try to enjoy watching Tavares – everything else is a waste. -
the islanders played great at washington. they played well at philly but also they were hanging by nabby’s thread. played flat against carolina and were bailed out by jt+nabby. in toronto nabby had a flat game, the leafs blanket jt, and the islanders were unwatchable.
add it all up. this team does not bring it every night. it does not bounce back promptly, but seems instead to stay in a rut until any faint hope is extinguished. then they wake up for a few days. they soon fade again and cycle starts over, with more downs than ups.
it’s not the gm’s fault they don’t bring it every night? i thought they drafted character… and as for ‘learning to be a pro,’ i just hope the other players learn from jt instead of rolston/reasoner etc.-
Rob hock says:
How can you say nabby played flat last night? First goal street knocked in then shut them out for rest of game…last 2 weren’t really on him either bc team was pushing so hard in offensive zone
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i agree that the d-men got too close to him as they always do (remember roloson at msg shoving his own d-men away?)
but the second was a juicy rebound and on a good night he catches the third one, imo.
interested to see if he plays tonight. i’d give montoya a shot, but cappy has that ‘every game is game seven’ mentality.
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Who is in goal tonight? who are the scratches? anyone know
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Montoya & Staios are playing tonight
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Matt says:
Moulson should replace Ovechkin on the All-Star roster!
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Hartnell replaced Ovechkin
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isles73 says:
That rolston deal was a about the 5 million to get to the floor- at least when Hunter was healthy he hit people- I’m really curious to see how he manages to get to the floor this summer- I guess paranteau and nielson will help there- but as a former player- I have to say that two solid d-men who can clean the corners and the crease who can make a nice first pass will create soooo much more offense- the forwards need to get the puck cleanly more often so they can utilize their speed- Al Arbour always said offense is created in the offensive zone- this is what he was talking about- I’m not sure who is available this summer but he really needs to fill this glaring hole in the lineup-
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how about Boychuck & Gleason….2 decent freee agent dmen….or pay Suter 6.25 per year
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offense is created in the defensive zone:) I miss radar
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Greg, CA made $870 Million in fiscal 2011. The Islanders are Wangs Tax shelter. $20 Million is peanuts for Wanger. If he wants to hide behind the loss year over year I could put together a Venture Group in a matter of Days to take the isles off his hands for $2 Million. This way he could walk away and stop the bleeding. If he is losing that much money and he has yet to try to sell or take on a partner he is losing it for a reason. Think about it if you make $1 million investment and you lose 100K per year when would you sell to stop the bleeding??? He is either keeping them for a tax benefit, he is huge philanthropist or the worlds dumbest business man. Take your pick but i wouldn’t want any of those choices to run my Team!!!
I’d rather have John Spano who was broke, he put a better team on the ice!
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KasierVanIslander says:
Why does a team that really needs scoring put a 5th overall pick on the fourth line? At the very least give him a chance at the 3rd line.
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Frank the Tank says:
Booyaa!!!! Bingo!!!! Wang is a fraud. The NHL should step in and call him out!
P.S. Why is Wallace on the team? Oh yeah he is a nice guy!
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to me the point is that although they beat carolina, they played so poorly that performance-wise they should have played a bounce-back game against toronto, instead of which they looked (as too often happens) like the worst team in the league. that’s why tonight is a ‘must’ performance for improvement, as in a win.
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somebody mentioned this above…
did capuano really say he checks with garth snow about the line combos?
if so then Kevin should write up an article about that speculating if garth has been showcasing guys like nielsen and rolston (and others who should be on lower lines) all along…now that i think abt it that ciukd be genius…trade deadline he trades nielsen, parenteau, and rolston for a star dman like weber or suter hence move bailey and nino up to second line
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kingdm9 says:
people people take it easy..
Isles need a win tonight to end on a high note plus they need the same passion as last year second half.
I didn’t expect this team to make the playoff’s but I did expect them to compete and fight hard to the last game by just falling short and to make these kids hungry for next year.
With that said I didn’t think the sabers would suck or tampa,+ caps. to me the weakest link was montreal . Isles have a chance and until the season is over or until they are eliminated out of the playoffs. shut up!!!!Now, could snow make a move yes!! big time and a blockbuster. why? isles are stacked with kids and a package deal could land the right guy.
whats holding up snow? the nhl might lower the salary cap instead of rising it next year. believe that $hit. but they never talk about it
snow tried to sign a d-man but he said no way to isles. isles could have tried for richards but with their luck he could have turn in to yashin.
snow is holding on to one queen and that is Naby. If he plays well Isles could get what they want. Like a top 3 d-man. Just make sure he does not turn into wishart . and that would have been snows big move for 2012 plus maybe 3 more top prospects in this years draft.
If I was snow I would buy out R.D for starters then release . pando rolston staios eaton motts reasoner. Thats a chunk of change. Then try a land the best free agent with a 2 year deal at 30mil. why? because this opens up tons of spots that can be filled with prospects plus gives us flexibility to bring up and down kids. This also accelerates the Isles management staff to figure out if they got what it takes in the talent pool. lets try that for starters
COME ON ISLANDERS LETS GET A WIN TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hintonio says:
I’ll be at the game tonight. Can’t wait to see Nino get a whole 6 minutes of ice time! It’s gonna be awesome to see those great veterans Rolston and Pandolfo tear it up out there! Go Isles!
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Snow is the farthest thing from M Milbury! If Snow was like MM we wouldn’t have Bailey, K.O. or Neilsen at this juncter. And Tavares would be on his way out too.
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Stop making these C level prospects out to be better than they are. Baily should be gone and if I got a decent offer I’d part ways with KO too.
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Dk says:
Bailey should be playing deck hockey in Farmingdale tonight
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Anthony says:
Wow we really shook up the lines ha lol. Rolston and Pandolfo are garbage and dont deserve to play. For people saying there here for one yr and gone you are right but Snow will replace them with new washed up players. If you follow the team see the trend. Weight ,Sim,Park replaced by Rolston, Pandolfo, Reasoner. Next yr there will be 3 old washed up guys to replace them and take roster spots from young players. Some rebuild we dont need 8 guys who are over 34.A couple yes.
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Guys like u should be banned and never be able to post agsin on this site
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Tony please tell me one thing I said that is not true.Didnt know you moderate this site and can tell who can post and who cant.. This is a blog for people to state there opinions if you dont like it then dont read.
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Guys like you should be banned from being an Islander fan. If you think Pandolfo and Rolston bring something to this team then you have no clue.Been a fan since the 70′s and former season ticket holder. Keep being happy that we are in the basement every yr. I like the young core we have and the core we have coming up but we need to surround them with quality veterans not washed up garbage ones.
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Sorry i misread what u wrote…thought u wrote the team is here for this year and will be gone the next…my blood boils anytime someone says were moving
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And i thought u were the guy who keeps bashing the team using different usernames…i wont be so wuick to judge next time…my apologies
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Hey no problem, I hear you.
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Sign John Scott , make Zack an offer he can’t refuse and sign two forwards that can do a pushup and check.
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I blame wang more than snow but snow is not blameless in the problems with this franchise. He’s basically wang’s puppet that will do whatever wangs asks (see DP’s contract). There needs to be a hockey staff in charge so there is some accountability. This way, Snow can’t just sit back and say, “I believe in this team” every year and collect a paycheck for doing nothing.
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Phil L says:
It all begins and ends with WANG, he is the owner. I have to think Garth, is not as clueless and Cappy not an inept as they appear. This team is the laughing stock of Pro sports,and its all Wang’s fault. Yes, he inherited a mess and got burnt on some contracts, but suck it up and move on. Not only is the on ice product a disgrace, but even the quality of concessions/arena seats is a disgrace. He’s not the only owner losing money on a pro team, and frankly, he knew what he was getting when he bought the team.
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I agree. One can only imagine where the Isles would be if owned by Jerry Jones or Mark Cuban. They would not stand for this losing and lack of clarity on a new building.
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Orange&Blue says:
As for tonights game, must win! Simple as that. Awful performance last night.
As for ownership, or lack thereof, its up to us to get Wang out if we dont want him. Only one way to do that. Boycott games and picket outside games.
Final note, time for Bailey to take his annual trip to Bport and send back Cizikas for good.
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I bet buffalo fans want to throw up in their mouth when they see their team is dead last, especially with alllllll that money spent! Next year is our year. Rhett, donovan, Strome, Cizikas and possibly Katic and Dahaan will help this team get to the next level. I bet buffalo fans wish they had our prospects. So maybe Garth does know what he is doing?
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He has drafted in the top 5 for 5 years straight there better be a pipeline developing. Let’s hope Strome, Kabanov, Nelson, etc turn out better than Bailey, Trivino, Koskinen, etc who were all picked in the top 35.
And since Rolston’s 5m is about up (rather than signing Asham and Versteeg?) let’s hope he doesn’t look to Gomez or Redden. Then again he did get a valuable pick thrown in to accept Rolston’s money …. Oh right, he got nothing else.
Maybe he let’s Montoya walk along with Nabby and replace them with DP like his brilliant Konopka for reasoner swap too. Maybe he could parter Streit with another training camp walk on like Staios because that worked well.
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Let’s not forget either that he fired Nolan for not kissing the ring. We haven’t had a legit coach since nor will we with the two puppet masters running the show.
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Gordon Bombay says:
Anyone know what channel number the game is on for cablevision peeps in long island?? Can’t find it anywhere this is crazy.
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Does anyone know what channel the game is on tonight.Every night is different .
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@gordanbombay crazy isnt it? I wouldnt be suprised with the dolans if their on the food channel
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Channel 66. Just found it. It’s cspan2 no joke.
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@gordonbombay thank you .pretty close to my guess l.o.l.
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Christian says:
Of course the game’s on CSPAN2! I’m such an idiot… And the picture quality is remarkable!
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Michael says:
Channel 460 has the HD feed…
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Thanks man… much appreciated!
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Steve says:
I’m curious as to why the Islanders and Leafs both wore their road jerseys at home and home on the road? I thought it was the Leafs alternate at first but research showed that they changed the white alternate for a blue one for this season, so why is this? Kevin?
Anyways all the people whining about Snow… keep in mind he is probably on order to keep the team at the floor. I like to think its until he sees the youngsters mature to the point that he can go out and spend some money, but its probably just until the arena situation is settled. Garth has done a good job on such a limited budget.
And for the people bashing Wang… he spent money. Plenty in the years 2000-2007. And the results ranged from mediocre to terrible. You can’t blame him for being cheap until he gets a more favorable arena deal (or sells), at which point Wang/new owner will probably put more money into the team.
I do think we probably need a better coach (I miss Nolan), but we’ll see what happens the rest of this and next year.
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Danfromouteast says: My god rolston sucks. I don’t even think he could get an empty netter
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Rolston has 4 goals, and I know at least done of those is an empty netter. You would never guess he was playing 2nd line most of the year and getting lots of Power Play minutes… just stupid
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Will O'Connor says:
CSPAN2….feels like the Isles are paying the price for Tim Thomas’ actions. thanks Obama
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RICH L says:
To some of you people here who keep repeating that the Isles are stocked with talented prospects,only time will tell if that is true, also remember, probably only 1 in every 20 D’men ever get a sniff in the NHL, so just wait to evaluate them when they get here. Anyone think that the Greg guy, may be the Don guy , no posts by Don, who posts on every thread and both have the same verbiage it seems. Just saying
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Jon in Chicago says: I’m stunned that the Isles have blown a lead. I’m not stunned that they’ve gone almost 6 periods against the Leafs without a power-play opportunity.
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Danfromouteast says:
How many damn highsticks are the refs going to miss. I don’t know who has worst eyesight the refs or rolston
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Jon in Chicago says:
Team really looked motivated in the third period. Just what is this team’s goal differential in the third period this season? It must be like minus 40.
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Danfromouteast says:
These refs need to be investigated! Sadly this BS wouldn’t happen if haley or gillies was patrolling the ice.ice
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Jon in Chicago says:
Minus 39.
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Danfromouteast says:
?
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Danfromouteast says:
Anybody knock PA should take a puck to the mouth
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Toronto is the cleanest and most honorable team in the history of the game apparently.
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Streit caught up ice about 4 times tonight
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Wang is running this team, exactly as the country is being run, haphazardly, and off course.
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Agreed to both Rich
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Too little too late. This team will go nowhere as long as Wang is involved.
Send Pandolfo and Rolston down. Put Nino on the 2nd line. Trade for a player who can score. This is not rocket science.