Don’t get me wrong: that’s all good. I just assumed everyone at the Islanders was only reading Newsday. I’m simply trying to provide for fans my perspective of a franchise attempting to get things right in the first year of an overhaul.

But, oh baby, poke them for mishandling another aspect of the Rick DiPietro saga, and the texts come fast, furious and with layers of WAHHHHHHHHH. Most of the return fire references the Keystone Cops headline, like, ”I can’t answer your question. I’m at Keystone Cop Academy.” Oh, no. I might have to go for a while without official injury updates!

I thought about texting back that the blogger doesn’t write the headlines, but they might not find that funny.

Tomorrow: a look at the status of Bill Guerin. Comments.

1. The NHL wishes of John Tavares

With each Islanders loss, the emails of concerned fans on PB started to pile up. What if the Islanders won the Draft Lottery, took potential star John Tavares and then the kid decided he didn’t want to play for the team?

I decided to reach out yesterday to the gentleman I trust as a Hockey Insider on issues like this more than anyone in the game. Here was our exchange:

Point Blank: Is there any evidence that suggests John Tavares and his camp would ever force a trade to a preferred NHL franchise? Or, put more bluntly, force a trade away from a team he doesn’t want to play for?

Insider: “In the OHL? Maybe. There’s some buzz that when he’s traded in junior in the next few days that his camp might try to steer the deal to one team over another. In the NHL? No. John will happily play for the franchise that selects him.”

2. The ranking of Victor Hedman

Since the 6-7 defenseman from Team Sweden did not wow fans and media, the question over the last 24 hours has been if Hedman has slipped from the clear-cut 1-A and 1-B he shares with Tavares for the 2009 draft.

In a word, no.

In many words, NHL scouts still believe Hedman has the potential to be one of the best - if not the best - defenseman of his generation. Hedman’s defenders in the scouting community will point out how Team Canada in recent years made Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin look average, and Ovi and Geno turned out okay. Hedman’s biggest fans in the scouting community gushed over him stepping up his physical play when Canada took some liberties with his teammates.

So there you have it. Tavares will play for the Islanders, Atlanta, St. Louis, Toronto, whomever. Hedman is still locked in with Tavares as the cream of this year’s draft crop.

The team that finishes this season with the worst record in the NHL is guaranteed a shot at Tavares or Hedman.

For TSN, I’m Bob McKenzie.

(Sorry, I always wanted to do that).

Comments.

Really now, how difficult is it for a quartet (at most) of grown men to get on the same page?

On a Greg Logan blog entry posted last night, here’s Rick DiPietro explaining the “plan” when he was off the ice first at yesterday’s morning skate but didn’t start the Edmonton game:

“I think the plan all along was to let Joey play tonight, then have the extra two days off and then play in Calgary.”

And now here’s Joey MacDonald, saying he was only told after yesterday’s morning skate that he was getting the start against the Oilers.

“I was a little bit surprised. Every night I try to be ready. I came in and they said, ‘You’re playing.’ So I went on with my routine.”

MacDonald is the Jimmy Stewart character in this movie. He’s innocent - a terrific, stand-up gentleman playing his butt off for this team. I also don’t blame DiPietro. It’s his job to play, not direct.

Just about every team in the NHL does its best to inform their starting goalies the night before a game. It’s a tradition - it’s professionalism, it’s courtesy - that extends back to the days when goaltenders didn’t wear masks. The Islanders are run by a general manager and head coach who were both goalies.

This should not be that difficult. If there is any uncertainty whether DiPietro can start the next game, he should not.

Whether there’s some scamming going on or not, are any of the actors in this film talking to one another? Can someone take a leadership role so you can all be on message? Can you imagine what it would be like if this lack of communication was being covered by the press on a Yankees-like scale, instead of just Logie touring Western Canada by himself and posting on his blog at 3:46 am EST?

My wife and I have twin boys. They do a much better job of keeping their stories straight. They are 8 years old.

Where are the Islanders’ standards?

Comments.

12:02 am - In this age, show business is as big a part of coaching as, well, coaching. When you’re losing, sometimes it’s not a bad idea to go to outlandish lengths to show the fans you care. In New York, we’ve had some legendary actors: Billy Martin, Bill Parcells, Al Arbour. When Al compared Kevin Hatcher to Paul Bunyon, you think he really meant it?

The MSG Plus cameras almost never fail to show Scott Gordon after an opposing goal. Tonight for the 3-2 game-winning goal by Edmonton, the camera went from Andrew Cogliano to Joey MacDonald to Gordon in under five seconds.

When the calls are going horribly against your team - as they did tonight from Ontario to Alberta - Scott might want to consider drawing the cameras to him. There is no downside to freaking out on the officials. The refs will understand. The fans will see the heart beating.

That may be unfair, but it’s the truth. It’s the difference between Shrugging Eric Mangini and all the men Jets fans now want to coach their team.

(12:12 am, P.S.: Gordon did well in the post-game, showing some fire in his press briefing. Next up, he might need an Instant You Tube Classic wig-out within a game).

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I called Islanders European scouting director Vellu-Pekka Kautonen tonight with a few questions about 2008 fourth round pick David Ullstrom of Team Sweden and snuck in one about another guy.

Point Blank: Do you get the sense from David Ullstrom that playing in North America, playing in the NHL, is very much in his plans?

Kautonen: I’ll tell you what happened last night. I went with the rest of our scouts in Ottawa for the WJC out to dinner at The Keg (a sort of Friday’s in Canada). We get there, and it turns out David’s father, mother and sister are at the table next to us. His father told me that David is so excited about the opportunity to come to North America and be part of the Islanders organization.

David has been blown away by the incredible excitement at the WJC and he’s following all the hockey since he got here two weeks ago. His father said that David can’t stop talking about how much he wants to make it to the NHL. His dad told us he was going to do everything in his power to make sure his son is doing everything to get to this level. It was a real nice moment.

PB: Do you think Ullstrom’s style would be a good fit for the Islanders and at the NHL level? Is he what you would call an NHL-style player?

Kautonen: Absolutely. He already has the size (6-3, 205) and his skating gets better with each year. He has the willingness to pay the price and is not shy in traffic. He has very good potential at this level.

PB: There’s been a sense since you drafted him in the fourth round last summer that Ullstrom may have been the Islanders’ biggest steal.

Kautonen: You’re always happy with your picks in the days after, but it was nice when 4 or 5 of my European colleagues came up to me at the NHL Draft and said David was right in their sights with their team’s next pick.

Ullstrom’s a good player. Since we selected him, he has played in the Swedish Elite League and seen some time in the second league. (Former Islanders dynasty member and current scout) Anders Kallur sees him a lot and is very happy with him, and I know (Islanders scout) Eric Cairns was pleased with his progress when he traveled to Sweden last month to see Ullstrom and some of our other European draft picks.

PB: Any idea of a timeline for Ullstrom coming to play in North America?

Kautonen: Probably too early right now to be sure. I don’t think we can rule out him coming here next season, but I’ll also say that if he could play a regular shift on the third line of HV-71 of the Elite League next season, that would a very good option for his development. We’ll have a better idea of a good plan for David after this season.

PB: Okay, I fibbed about talking Ullstrom-only. I’m doing a bad job if I don’t ask the Islanders Director of European Scouting about Victor Hedman.

Kautonen: He’s real good. It’s been an interesting time for Hedman at this tournament. Because of the hype around Victor, people are disappointed when he’s not as flashy as they expect of him. That’s not the type of player he is. He may not ”wow” you every shift. He may not even “wow” you every game. It’s not fair for anyone to compare him to John Tavares. Hedman’s going to be fine. He is an outstanding prospect. 

PB: I’m curious. When NHL scouts go to the World Junior Championships, do they spend time with their draft picks or do you leave them alone to focus on the tournament?

In most cases, you don’t meet with them. You want them to be able to concentrate on the hockey, and you want to show respect to their teams. After David’s first game in Ottawa, Eric Cairns gave him a quick call on behalf of all of us to tell him we were proud of the strides he has made. David has always been very good with the puck, but now he has come a long way in his play without the puck. David appreciated the call and since then we have kept our proper distance. This was an important time for him and for Team Sweden.

PB: How did Ullstrom do in the final tonight?

Kautonen: It was Canada’s night tonight, but David played very, very hard. He had an excellent tournament and gave everything he had tonight. We’re proud of the way he played.

PB: Will you go visit with Ullstrom after the game?

Kautonen: Part of you wants to, but it’s always complete mayhem down there after the championship game. David knows we’re proud of him. We will definitely make contact with him soon.

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Since we’ve had to change our focus to The Big Picture about ten games ago, here’s your mid-season report.

Tonight’s loss in Edmonton takes the Islanders to 12-25-4 at the 41-game mark.

That’s 12 wins in 41 games. That’s 13 games under .500 just 41 games into a season in a league where only 7 of 30 teams are any games under .500.

In the interest of balanced journalism, the Islanders entered tonight’s game with an astounding 253 man-games lost to injury.

After 41 games, the Islanders have won only 8 of them in 60 minutes of regulation play.

Believe me, I wish it were different. I really was looking forward to writing about hockey games. But 12-25-4 is the answer to the question why our coverage will continue to focus on trade deadline and prospective UFA decisions, the Tavheduch Watch and the development of young players in the NHL, AHL, Europe and junior hockey. It is why one of tonight’s lead stories was about a fourth round draft pick from Sweden playing in the final of the World Junior Championships.

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Good point by Jiggs McDonald: when the rosters for the Young Stars Game on All-Star Weekend are announced on Friday, Kyle Okposo should be part of it. Here’s hoping the Islanders have campaigned to the league on behalf of Okposo. The Islanders assuming the NHL has got it covered would be a mistake.

Comments.

UPDATED 9:37 pm - Doug Weight (leg injury) out tonight and is listed as day-to-day. MSG Plus shows clip of slap shot deflecting off Weight in the win against Florida on New Year’s Eve, illustrating that the veteran center has played the last two games battling an injury.

Rick DiPietro was first off the ice at today’s morning skate. Joey MacDonald starts the game.

“Why should today be any different than any other day”? said Billy Jaffe on the MSG Plus broadcast.

The Jaff didn’t mean it in any cynical way, but geez…

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UPDATED 7:13 pm - Greg Logan has broken the news on his Cablevision-owned blog that Doug Weight declared himself out of tonight’s game in Edmonton after today’s morning skate.

When I asked for confirmation from the Islanders, I received a text from media relations honcho Seth Sylvan at 7:10 m EST that read: “His leg was hurting after practice. Game time decision.”

Regarding trade rumors, Greg reports that Islanders management told Weight that “nothing is brewing.” You mean Doug hadn’t already read that on our blog? Seems only the young players read PB.

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Streit Street, or Rue Streit: If Mark Streit was the leading scorer among NHL defensemen and was still with the Canadiens, the city of Montreal would have re-named the street outside the arena after him.

Instead, Streit is the league’s highest-scoring defenseman as a member of the 30th place New York Islanders, and there’s actually a hint of uncertainty if he’ll be selected for the NHL All Star Game later this month…in Montreal.

Streit has been outstanding. He’s been so good, there’s no way the Islanders will move him before the trade deadline. At $4.1 million per for four years, he’s been one of the best signings of last summer’s unrestricted free agent class. There isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t want him.

But such is the underrated life when you’re on a last place team. Only two issues stand in the way of the 30-year old Streit taking his rightful place at the All-Star Game: the league giving the nod to 1,000 point man Doug Weight for lifetime service (and darn good play this season), and some behind-the-scenes politicking by some touchy members of the Canadiens front office to keep him out of the game.

No, seriously, before my friends at the Habs freak out: I’m just kidding. The Canadiens would never do that.

The remainder of the Eastern Conference roster will be announced on Thursday. Did you know Mark Streit of the Islanders leads the NHL in points by a defenseman?

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(Robert's at right)

Robert Nilsson, temporarily out of Craig MacTavish’s doghouse, had an assist, was +2 and received 15 minutes of icetime in the Oilers’ 4-1 win over Dallas on Saturday. Since Robert’s always been one of those kids who could use a nudge to play his best, it wouldn’t surprise us if he has a 3-point game tonight against his former team.

Mike Comrie is back in Edmonton, where they will boo him when he touches the puck. I’m aware of the extenuating circumstances of the hometown boy and the Oilers, but doesn’t every fan base boo just about every former player when they return? They’re still booing Miro Satan in Buffalo, even though he’s on his second team since. Man, I remember even Pat LaFontaine getting booed at the Coliseum in his first game back as a Sabre, and Pat’s like the nicest human being ever. It just becomes sport after a while. It also gets kind of old. Perhaps it’s the best entertainment option on a Monday night in Edmonton. (Oh, relax).

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KO Reversal: Both Kyle Okposo and coach Scott Gordon trace the beginning of the rookie wing’s turnaround to a conversation they had a few games prior to Okposo suffering a wrist injury. The coach challenged Okposo, who was not producing. “You’re playing like you’re just happy to be here,” Gordon told the 20-year forward. “We need to spark more of a sense of urgency in your game.”

Okposo did not disagree. “I wasn’t doing the things that got me here,” said Okposo. “I wasn’t winning every battle. Coach was right to say what he did.”

For four games before the injury, Okposo showed that spark. Gordon told him after one game, “Where’s that skating been”?

Since then - with an intermission while Okposo was on the IR - the right wing has been one of the Islanders’ best players. In a season where the most important developments surround the growth of the Islanders’ young players, Okposo is showing the promise that had scouts drooling when he was a top-10 prospect in the 2006 draft.

Said Okposo: “I had a coach who used to tell me all the time, ‘The hockey gods look with favor on you if you’re working hard not some of the time, but all the time.”

Said Gordon: “He picked up where he left off with those impressive games before the injury. There’s no question that Kyle has the ability to be one of our best players for a long time.”

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They are the Worlds: The other big tilt tonight, of course, is Canada vs. Sweden for the championship of the world. David Ullstrom, an Islanders fourth round pick in the 2008 draft, scored a goal for Team Sweden in the semifinals. Ullstrom will play on a line with Matthias Tedenby (New Jersey first round pick) and Andre Pettersson (Ottawa 4th-rounder).

Other reasons for Islanders fans to watch: John Tavares of Canada and big talent/big mouth forward Magnus Svensson Paajarvi of Sweden.

Game predictions, etc. in Comments (guidelines).

Monday and Tuesday are the final days to support Steve Webb’s foundation and perhaps win an amazing trip for four to the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal.

Steve’s W20 Foundation, which he started to promote and support youth hockey in his adopted home of Long Island, is holding a fundraising raffle. And what a prize Steve has lined up. Raffle tickets are $25 each, but the winner gets a hockey fan weekend of a lifetime:

• 4 Tickets to the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal on January 25, 2009. (With the Canadiens’ 100th anniversary, these tickets are impossible to get).

• 4 Tickets to the NHL All-Star Skills Competition the night before.

• One night hotel accomodations for 4 on Saturday, January 24.

• And to top it off, travel in style with round-trip air transportation for your group of 4 out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale.

Raffle ticket sales are on-going through Jan. 6, 2009. The raffle will be held the next day.

When we first promoted this four weeks ago, several Point Blank readers stepped up big and made it a great day for the W20 Foundation. Let’s see if we can finish up strong.

To purchase tickets and learn more, click here or go to Steve’s foundation website at www.w20foundation.org.

When we first posted this, Webby himself responded in Comments with thanks to supporting readers. You never know…

The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is exactly two months from today. Although this may not have been how Garth Snow planned it, the ball is now entirely in the court of the Islanders GM.

Everything is in plain sight, right in front of him. There are no excuses. He knows what his team is. He knows staying above the salary cap floor is not a problem with each passing payday.

At the 40-game mark, the Islanders are 12-24-4, last in the Eastern Conference, last in the league. There is no uncertainty whether the Islanders are “buyers” or “sellers” as March 4 nears. Mike Bossy in the corporate office could sign up Best Buy as “the official sponsor of the Islanders’ trade deadline moves.”

The general manager knows exactly what he has on his roster. There are a pair of veterans in Doug Weight and Bill Guerin on the last years of their contracts at age 37 playing extremely well and leading by example and in word and deed. Guerin and Weight have beautiful young families, are sincerely committed to the Islanders and for good reason appear to have little interest in moving again. Whatever his decision, Snow has to prove he can make smart, tough moves for his team with his head, and not let his heart get in the way.

Snow has a productive center in Mike Comrie, a potential UFA on July 1. There will definitely be some interest in Comrie, re-energized by a combination of that voodoo stim machine in Minnesota and playing with Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau.

He has Brendan Witt, a top defenseman who seems far from a good fit with the current program and is on record saying he doesn’t completely buy into it. Last I checked, Brendan has not retracted his statement or said he regretted making it. On July 4, 2008 the San Jose Sharks traded defenseman Craig Rivet - with three years left on his contract at $3.5 mill per - to Buffalo for two second round draft picks. Witt has two years at $3 mill per left on his deal.

Snow knows Mike Sillinger is no longer an asset to bring back a draft pick.

Snow will get calls from at least a half-dozen teams about Richard Park, under contract for another year at more-than-fair value to the team. He will get offers of third round picks and so-so prospects. Snow will pass because there is no good reason to trade one of the most impressive men to wear the Islanders crest in the last 20 years for such a neglible haul. The decision only gets tough for Snow if teams insist on the inclusion of Park in a much bigger deal, a much better deal for the Islanders’ future.

The GM’s best assets, Okposo and the first round pick in 2009, are not on the table. Add Josh Bailey to the list and that’s about it. Snow is well aware the prospect pool still needs at least one more summer, probably two, of replenishing. Islanders scouts this season are not just looking at top-10 draft prospects. They’re looking at everybody.

With the season half-over and the Islanders only pretenders in the playoff hunt, there are still reasons to watch and support your local hockey club. But in truth, all eyes between January 4 and March 4 are on Garth Snow.

The Tavheduch Watch

The winner is guaranteed a shot at consensus No. 1 pick John Tavares (left) and No. 2 Victor Hedman. Second place gets you either Hedman or cut-above consolation prize Matt Duchene. Now that the Islanders have hit the 40-game mark, the Tavheduch Watch - it’s pronounced just as it’s spelled - will appear weekly on Point Blank.

1. Islanders 12-24-4  28 pts (40 games)

2. Tampa Bay 10-18-10  30 pts (38 games)

3. Atlanta 13-21-5  31 pts (39 games)

4. Ottawa 13-18-5  31 pts (36 games)

5. St. Louis 15-21-3  33 pts (39 games)

TW Notes: Ottawa with 4 games in hand on the Islanders, or is it the other way around?…Of the teams on the outside looking in, I would still not write off the Toronto Maple Leafs (38 points). Ron Wilson can defiantly coax a bunch of wins out of the needy Leafs all he wants, but wait ’til Brian (”descending rapidly”) Burke works his magic before the trade deadline…Of the 5 above, you can make the case that Tampa and Ottawa would take Hedman if they got the first pick. Atlanta needs D - don’t they all? - but the Thrashers would grab Tavares at No. 1.

Comments.

At the suggestion of a few readers, we’re going to try a semi-all-nighter tonight. Beginning at 10:00 pm and continuing through the Islanders-Sharks 10:30 EST matchup, we’ll be here at our laptop responding to your civil Comments during the game.

I think we can all agree that doing this on a late Saturday night, when the No. 30 Islanders are playing at No. 2 San Jose, is one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had (and second place is a battle among many doozies). But that’s what I like about it.

So whether it’s just two of you or perhaps a few more, drop your questions and thoughts in the Comments area on Saturday night and I’ll do my best to be informative or at least entertaining.

Just about the only thing I won’t turn it into is a “_____ sucks!” “Yeah, _____ sucks”! conference. Other than that, there aren’t any rules beyond the usual guidelines.

RSVP in Comments.

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Way too early in San Jose to find out if Rick DiPietro made it through last night’s game healthy enough to back up Joey MacDonald tonight. Or, heaven forbid, start against the Sharks. (Can we all agree that would be, um, unnecessary?). I’m heading into the city for a while. If any news breaks, we’ll try to get it on here and, as always, check out the mad bloggin’ Greg Logan.

I wonder if the Islanders had the energy for their comeback last night because, at the half-way mark of the third period, everyone in the lineup had each played at least 10 minutes?

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“New York Hockey This Week” with the “informative and entertaining” Don La Greca (so said Phil Mushnick) and me will be on 1050 ESPN Radio on Saturday from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Scheduled guests include Jiggs McDonald and Doug Weight.

RSVP in Feedback.

11:30 pm - Congratulations to Doug Weight on scoring his 1,000th National Hockey League point. Weight reached the milestone with an assist on Richard Park’s goal to make it 5-3 late in the third period.

Lovely touch by the Phoenix Coyotes organization for being on the ball and making the announcement, especially with Doug’s family in the crowd.

Weight later assisted on another Park goal to make it 5-4 with 28 seconds remaining.

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The Josh Bailey Goal Watch: Is over in game 25. Thankfully.

PB reader Peter F. proposed a hypothetical that did not happen but was still fascinating. Let’s say Doug Weight got his 1,000th point on an assist on Josh Bailey’s first NHL goal. Who would have taken home the puck?

Great question. Pretty sure Bailey would have graciously given it up.

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Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, Rick DiPietro is 100% healthy (I know, folks, I know). I’ve yet to find a sports medicine expert (not associated with the NYI) who’ll declare it makes any sense to completely shut him down for the season - as recommended by several PB readers and more than a few writers. But there is every reason to put the breaks on the self-proclaimed “impatient” Olympian.

Seriously, is there any case for playing DiPietro more than just every other game for the rest of the way?

Really, what would be the point of him playing any more - to get back in the playoff race, 14 points out of 8th place and with six teams between the Islanders and Pittsburgh?

Uh, I actually can’t think of any other possible reasons.

The Islanders have Joey MacDonald, who looks like he can be much more than a 15-game backup. If DiPietro - bad third goal tonight - or Mac get hurt and if there isn’t much faith in Yann Danis, last I checked Dubie was very much available.

Everything should be about the season after this, and the season after that. The rehabilitation of Rick DiPietro should be no different.

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A Rebuild Further Along: Congratulations to Don Maloney, Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes on a successful year 2 (or is it 3?) of their rebuild. With Peter Mueller (8-16-24), Martin Hanzel (9-11-20), Mikkel Boedker (7-11-18) and Kyle Turris (5-7-12) and solid defense and goaltending, they are on the way in a very tough Western Conference. Don’t know if it will be this year, but the Coyotes are very much on their way.

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Wasn’t Mueller: A source corrected a note I had recently that ex-Islanders GM Neil Smith had Peter Mueller rated just behind the chosen Kyle Okposo. The Islanders took Okposo 7th overall, while the Coyotes took Mueller 8th. Turns out the prospect Neil and the staff had ranked behind Okposo was not Mueller, but defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti, taken 21st overall by the Rangers.

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Low-Def: Was it just my TV, or did the game look like it was played under little lighting and before cameras from the 1970s?

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No Rush: Kirill Petrov, the Islanders’ celebrated third round pick from last June, is bound by contract to play in the Kontinental Hockey League for two more seasons. By the looks of his play in the World Junior Championships, Petrov is at least two years away from being ready for North America anyway.

In fairness to the kid, he’s just coming off an injury that kept him out of the lineup for two months. Petrov remains our No. 1-ranked Islanders prospect in terms of upside potential, but it appears the Islanders may have to wait on his availability and development.

Speaking of the WJC, one scout told me tonight that - great Slovakian goaltending notwithstanding - Team USA’s performance is their quarterfinal loss was “disgraceful.”

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Jiggs & Billy: Nice pairing on the Plus Minus broadcast with Jiggs McDonald and Billy Jaffe. Jiggs is, of course, an awesome Hall of Famer, but what really makes it work is his newness to the current club has him asking The Jaff a lot of questions. This brings out the best in Billy.

For example, in the first period Jaffe raved about a play Jeff Tambellini made and said “Islander fans have to be real happy about that.” Jiggs didn’t leave it at that. He asked, “How so”? and The Jaff gave a point-by-point anaylsis on what Tambellini did right. As Mariusz Czerkawski used to say, “That’s good s–t.”

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Saturday is Point Blank, Up All Night: At the suggestion of a few readers, we’re going to try a semi-all-nighter. Beginning at 10:00 pm on Saturday and continuing through the Islanders-Sharks matchup until about 1:00 am, we’ll be here at our laptop responding to your civil Comments during the game.

We’re calling it “Point Blank: Up All Night.” Stay tuned tomorrow for a few minor details.

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“New York Hockey This Week” with the “informative and entertaining” Don La Greca (so said Phil Mushnick) and me will be on Saturday from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Guests include Jiggs McDonald.

Comments.

At age 37, Sillinger attempted to play a 17th NHL season after rehabilitating from microfracture hip surgery. After playing a few games for the Islanders this season, he missed a week with a groin injury. But when he went on the IR on Tuesday, the club termed it “a hip injury.” You don’t have to be any kind of surgeon to know where this story is headed.

If the game on Monday night against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden proves to be Sillinger’s 1,049th and last, the record will show he left courageously. Trying to battle his way through the pain his Colorado surgeon told him he’d have to endure for a while, Sillinger scored the game’s opening goal off a feed from his young pal and protege Trent Hunter. For the superb faceoff man and two-way center, it was the 240th goal of his NHL career.

The Masterton Trophy was established 40 years ago to honor careers that exemplified dedication to hockey. But over the last 15 years or so - beginning with former Islanders goalie Mark Fitzpatrick - the sentiment has changed. While all of their comebacks were admirable and uplifting, players such as Bryan Berard, Jason Blake, Phil Kessel and Saku Koivu have received the Masterton by overcoming serious injuries and illnesses to continue their chosen careers. It makes you wonder how the Professional Hockey Writers Association got off-track and re-interpreted the meaning of the Masterton.

The award used to go to stalwarts such as Eddie Westfall and Butch Goring, Lanny McDonald and Dave Taylor, Jean Ratelle and Doug Jarvis. In other words, the Masterton Trophy was created to honor “perserverance, dedication and sportsmanship” with players like Mike Sillinger exactly in mind.

You know all about the league-record times Sillinger was traded. Now consider - look it up - that every time he was dealt his old team never had a bad word to say about him, or he about his team. Now that’s a record.

If his career is over, Sillinger’s 141 games on the Island will be just 14 shy of his most with any of his 12 NHL teams. He played 155 with Columbus. You want dedication? How about Sillinger agreeing to play three games this season on a conditioning stint in Bridgeport, his first trip to the American Hockey League in 15 years?

Quick story: when Sillinger last played in the “A,” in 1992-93, he had 30 points in 15 games. Before he left for Bridgeport, I kidded that he’d never keep up that scoring pace. In his first game with the Sound Tigers the old son-of-a-gun had three assists. “Take that! I exceeded my pace,” he said with the exuberance of a rookie.

His lack of a Stanley Cup ring does not take away from a career that has been remarkable in every sense of the word. Give Mike Sillinger the Masterton. And put his wife Karla’s name on there, too.

ETC: Joey MacDonald and Rick DiPietro are still the only two Islanders goalies in Phoenix…DiPietro practiced with the team Thursday. So did Trent Hunter, who told me after the game on Wednesday that he couldn’t breathe for several seconds after the hit and collision with the open door at the Garden…Mitch Fritz cleared waivers and is now with Bridgeport.

Greg Logan is the only reporter on this four-game Western swing. Between the travel and the time difference, there’s an excellent chance Greg’s going to get some news before I do. While I’ll do my best to stir it up from the home office, you’ll want to regularly check out Greg’s blog throughout the trip. Actually, you’ll always want to regularly check out Greg’s blog.

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New Year’s Day, 10:15 am - The hoopla of the Blackhawks-Red Wings tilt at Wrigley Field today has brought on a slew of emails and Comments about the possibility of the Islanders ever playing in an outdoor game. Since most of you understandably missed it in the first version of Point Blank, I’m re-printing it. This was written 19 days after I left the Islanders as their media relations VP. At the end, I follow it up with my brief take on where I feel the game stands now…CB

From Point Blank, Version 1.0

Take Me Out of the Ballgame

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Larry Brooks, now writing columns on the Yankees when in the good ol’ days of the early 2000s he might have been at the Stanley Cup Final, today in the Post has an update on the potential of an NHL game at Yankee Stadium.

Larry’s article is fact-filled and unbiased.

So is the following:

The New York Islanders, and only the New York Islanders, started the process of looking into the possibility of having a hockey game at Yankee Stadium. This process started more than a year before the first word was ever written about it in the press. It began before there were plans for the Penguins and Sabres to play an outdoor game in Buffalo.

The initial reaction of everyone else in the National Hockey League? A roaring, bordering on snickering, chorus of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Their issue wasn’t about the Islanders being part of the game. It was the naysayers - the ones who didn’t put in the effort to dream big and then try to make it happen - tsk-tsking, “The Yankees will never allow a hockey game at Yankee Stadium.”

Meetings between the Islanders and Yankees went deep enough that an all-hands-on-deck session with several executives from each team met at Yankee Stadium. This meeting, held a little more than two years ago, was hosted by Yankees COO Lonn Trost, quoted in today’s article in the Post.

I was at the meeting. I was blown away by Trost’s sincerity and the commitment of the Yankees staff to see the hockey game become a reality. As a lifelong Yankees fan, I walked into it wondering if real progress could be made. I walked out of it three hours later saying to myself, “Holy crap, we’re gonna play a frickin’ hockey game at the cathedral in the Bronx.”

It was always understood the Rangers would be part of the game.

And still, the reaction of everyone else in the game? It wasn’t, “Hey, slow down. The Islanders don’t have the right to move this process along.” It was more along the lines of, “C’mon boys, stop it. You’re killin’ us. Ain’t gonna happen.”

Bottom line: if anyone really believes Bruins-Rangers over Islanders-Rangers is a significant ratings difference-maker, I can’t help you there. But anyone with an ounce of fairness and decency in their soul knows the New York Islanders should be part of any NHL event at Yankee Stadium.

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An update: I’m not sure if the Yankees will ever be willing to host an NHL game at the new Yankee Stadium. But if they are, the talk of Rangers-Bruins has only become louder seven months after I wrote the post above. It will be a disgrace if the NHL shuts the Islanders out.

In all seriousness, I truly believe there’s only one thing that could happen at this point that might possibly move the needle in the Islanders’ direction.

The drafting of a superstar player. Just as today’s game at Wrigley is nothing without Kane, Toews and the revival of the Blackhawks, the Islanders have a much stronger case with the NHL and NBC with a John Tavares in the lineup.

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