Archive Page 2
UPDATED 5:55 pm - The Islanders were scheduled to leave on a 6:00 pm flight tonight. It was bound for Phoenix, so no one’s feeling sorry for them.
The talk of the postgame was the line of Comeau-Comrie-Okposo. Raves all around, from Go-Go to their teammates. The coach said Comrie has been a completely different player since taking more time for rest and treatment on his hip.
Rick DiPietro looked like he was packed to make the trip. Yann Danis, I couldn’t tell. He could always fly all day commercial on Friday.
Catch you tomorrow with some outdoor game talk.
4:29 pm - Happy Thoughts: A healthy Mike Comrie, a happy Mike Comrie leading by example for Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau, is a very, very good thing for both Mike Comrie and the Islanders - no matter how this turns out.
Good, really good, for Joey MacDonald. Happy New Year to everyone in Pictou County, Nova Scotia - the home of Mac and Jon Sim.
Classy, heady move by Go-Go giving Doug Weight every opportunity to get his 1,000th NHL point today with his family in the stands and before the NYI leave for a 4-game road trip.
On Kyle Okposo: can I change my prospect evaluation from a B+ to an A-?
Mark Streit, don’t make plans for All-Star Weekend. Unless, that is, the NHL decides to honor Doug Weight.
And congrats to Trevor Smith, who made UNH and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers proud today.
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No Joshin’: As much as I maintain the Islanders blew it bigtime not sending Josh Bailey to the World Junior Championships, in the interests of fair play I will submit the following:
1. An NHL scout I trust sent me a text today to report that, the wonderments of John Tavares and Victor Hedman and a few other prospects aside, the quality of play at the tourney so far has been suck city.
2. Even if Bailey does not score a goal for another month, I’m not the least bit worried about the kid.
Backup Plan: The Islanders have now recalled Yann Danis on an emergency basis three times in the last three games to sit on the bench for Rick DiPietro.
Could it be…naaaah…could it be that the Islanders are conceding that dressing DiPietro as the MacBackup earlier this season was a sham, irresponsible and potentially dangerous?
No, of course they’re not.
Official Attendance: 12,211
Scouts In Attendance: Phoenix, Philadelphia
The word from Big Eric of Bellmore: While visiting with a friend in Section 218 Row C, I met for the second time a huge Islanders fan - Eric of Bellmore. He’s a very large man, sometimes angry but also with a big smile and his arms always around the two of his four kids he takes to many of the games. I figured I’d get Angry Eric’s take on the team.
He surprised me a bit, saying he was totally on board with Garth Snow’s rebuild. Eric said the team is doing it the right way and he and his two kids - yes, they are very young - plan on being along for the ride. “We have a developing team,” he said. “We’re still paying the price fro some awful draft picks and trades. But we’re gonna be all right in a few years.”
Bolted: The Tampa Bay Lightning have lost 10 points this season by either losing a shootout or in overtime. That’s 3 points more than “second-place” Philadelphia and Chicago. Darn them.
Wish I had a happy recap on the Lighthouse Project. Only thing I’ve heard is that the Town of Hempstead has been slow to return phone calls.
Heading down to the locker room and then will update from home if any news comes out of it. Comments.
UPDATED 1:55 pm - The Mitchell Fritz experiment appears to be over. The Islanders have placed the 6-8 enforcer on waivers with the intention of sending him to Bridgeport when he clears.
Trent Hunter out with general body soreness, aka general BS. I think Teddy and I were the first to make that one up!
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10:25 am - As they say, injuries lead to opportunities. Are you sitting down? We’ll start with the good stuff and work our way down.
Trevor Smith will make his NHL debut today when the Islanders host the Panthers at 2:05 at the NVMC.
Yann Danis recalled from Bridgeport on an emergency basis. No word from the Islanders who Danis is sitting in for today, although our money is on Rick DiPietro.
Mike Sillinger has been placed on IR. What makes this extra-sad is this time it’s a hip injury.
If Trent Hunter can’t go (a likely scenario), expect Jon Sim in his place. You can probably also count on Sean Bergenheim’s release from the doghouse and Mitch Fritz sitting this one out.
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Who knows what lies ahead for Point Blank beyond this season, but one thing’s for sure: I should have started a trade rumors blog.
And if I had a trade rumors blog, you could be sure it would be loaded with Islanders trade rumors. Why? Because the franchise may be, ya know, struggling, but the intensity of Islanders fans on the information superhighway is extraordinary. All you have to do is look at the Visit numbers on this little jeans-and-laptop operation to understand the ferocity of fans of the Orange and Blue.
If I had a trade rumors blog, I’d drudge up some Islanders crap at least once a week. I’d talk about the Islanders getting Cam Barker plus sweeteners for hipster Mike Comrie. (Can’t believe Snow didn’t push for the other Toews).
Then I’d follow it up with a beaut about the Los Angeles Kings trading Dustin Brown to the Islanders. The Islanders fans who still believed my creative writing would freak and link my story all over the place. The Kings fans might wonder why Dean Lombardi would trade their young captain, but it’s all in good fun!
And for the holiday hat trick, I will pound home the rumor of the Islanders making the best offer to obtain Marian Gaborik. Oh man, the buzz will be off the charts.
Okay, you get my point. Here’s the deal, friends. I spoke yesterday with impeccable front office sources in Uniondale and in Minnesota. The Islanders are not the front-runners to acquire Marian Gaborik.
How do I know this? Because both sources made it blunty clear there hasn’t been a single discussion between Garth Snow and Doug Risebrough about Gaborik since an initial, brief fact-finding chat. The Islanders are not even a little bit interested in Gaborik at his and the Wild’s pricetag, and the world-class sniper’s injury history. The Wild are realistic enough to know the Islanders are not parting with Kyle Okposo, plus, plus. There is no offer from the Islanders. There never was an offer.
Just about everything over there is all fiction, folks. To some, it’s very entertaining stuff. Enjoy it, but I’ll ask one last time: please spare me.
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As the Islanders get ready to face Caber and the Florida Panthers in today’s matinee, and my kids get pumped to see all the Marvel Comics dudes, if there’s any news on goalers, Trent Hunter or any other roster moves, I’ll drop it in this space. Enjoy the game, and have fun and be safe tonight.
Comments.
6:15 pm - As an unrestricted free agent on a one-year deal, Doug Weight can begin negotiating a new contract with the Islanders beginning on January 1, 2009, aka Friday. That is unlikely to happen.
What’s more likely is that between now and the March 4 trade deadline, Islanders general manager Garth Snow will consider all trade offers for the veteran center. If the GM gets his price, Weight will be traded to a team that feels it can make a run at a championship.
Whether Snow extracts that price remains to be seen, and we probably won’t know for at least a month and quite possibly the full two months between now and the deadline.
Weight, who turns 38 in January, has made quite a comeback this season with the Islanders after a nightmarish 2007-08 split between St. Louis and Anaheim. In a 15-minute discussion with reporters today after practice, he made the following points:
- In a perfect world, he does not want to be traded - although he has understood for a very long time that it is part of the business.
- If he were traded, Weight said he was unsure what he would do. He said, “That’s not a threat,” and he would be open to evaluating all opportunities.
- Although he enjoyed the trip from St. Louis to winning the Stanley Cup as a three-month rental with Carolina and then back to the Blues as a free agent, today Weight made it crystal clear in the gentlest way that he had no interest in doing that again. He all but ruled out re-signing here if the Islanders dealt him. He wants to be part of the solution with his current team, not a player going and coming.
- He credits his revival, in part, to Islanders head coach Scott Gordon for “inspiring” him in a pre-season meeting and throughout the season. He also raved about Garth Snow, the organization, Long Island and Islanders fans. Weight said he feels better and is playing better than he has in years.
I pointed out to Weight the irony of it all. He doesn’t want to be traded, wants to stay with the Islanders and is playing his best hockey in years. But just as Weight knows he’s skating well, so do the visiting pro scouts frequenting the Coliseum press box.
Weight believes his play is only going to improve, now that he has recovered from a groin injury and is more acquainted with his team’s system and his teammates. If so, his value as an asset only increases.
Viewpoint: This is going to be an interesting storyline over the next two months. An NHL source told Point Blank today that the Islanders have yet to have any significant discussions about the framework of a Weight trade.
If the Islanders could get a second round pick and a B-level prospect for Weight - as of now, a reasonable bounty for a deal whether consummated this week or on March 4 - they would have to do it. Same if they could package Weight and one of their later 2s for a potential mid-to-late 2009 first-rounder. (They will not get a first-round pick or a team’s top prospect straight-up for Weight, of that you can be sure).
If the Islanders don’t get what they deem a fair price, they could discuss a one-year extension with Weight. At a time when the Islanders are on the receiving end of plenty of criticism - including from their own respected dman Brendan Witt about Gordon’s style of play - you have to wonder if it’s worth it to Gordon and Snow to trade a good player and significant advocate for a third round draft pick.
Comments.
3:35 pm - As I battle some laptop issues, let’s get some news and notes from today’s practice out first.
Joey MacDonald took a puck in the neck while putting in some extra time with his teammates at the end of practice. He left the ice immediately. While it did not appear to be very serious, the Islanders did not have an update on MacDonald’s status.
Trent Hunter had a doctor’s appointment. As of 3:30 pm, the Islanders had not provided an update on the right wing. Radek Martinek practiced, but Scott Gordon did not make it seem as if the defenseman’s return will be tomorrow when the Islanders host Florida in a New Year’s Eve matinee.
Rick DiPietro took the full practice and a little extra work. After practice, both DiPietro and Gordon spoke with reporters but said nothing of substance about his health.
On the other hand, a very introspective Doug Weight met with the same reporters and said a lot. I’ll have more on this later today, but I will cut to the chase: he loves Gordon and said he feels better and is playing his best hockey in more than five years thanks, in part, to the head coach. Weight also expressed his love for and faith in Garth Snow and the organization and spoke of how well Long Island and Islanders fans have treated him and his family.
And in a perfect world, Weight does not want to be traded. His preference is to stay with the Islanders and be part of the solution to turn things around. More later.
Comments.
10:10 pm - Some notes from the visitor’s dressing room and some final thoughts before I take the train home to read more than 100 Comments. Do I feel a new Comment-ary record coming on? If anything would do it, it would be a loss to the Rangers.
Trent Hunter, according to Scott Gordon, is “okay.” The coach said Hunter “does not have a concussion.” He added, “We will know more tomorrow.” I spoke with Trent briefly about 15 minutes after the game. The best way I could describe him is that he looks beat up, but everything seems to be working. Later on, Trent told the press that for a brief while, he had trouble catching his breath but that he did not suffer a concussion.
To the readers who Commented about the Islanders looking flustered in giving up two quick goals after Hunter’s injury, I say Trent skated off without any assistance. They’ve all seen far worse. I blame crappy play, not concerned hearts.
I asked Gordon for his overall view of the game. “The Rangers played really well,” he said. “They brought a lot of speed. They won a lot of battles. We didn’t generate enough on our attack.” The coach said he thought it was one of the Rangers’ best games that he has seen this season, but also “there was a lot we didn’t do well.”
Joey MacDonald, straight shooter, declined to blame the uncertainty of the DiPietro situation for anything. He said that since the exhibition season, he has prepared himself as if he is starting every game.
I asked Gordon about Josh Bailey’s Lack O’ Minutes. The coach said that once Hunter went down, he had “4 centers but only 3 lines.” He seemed to want to make a point of saying he wasn’t down on Bailey’s performance.
On a final note, Butch Goring informed me that he will be working every Islanders home game the rest of the season on The Plus. On Saturday nights, he’ll be in the MSG studio. For all other home games, he’ll be at the rink where he won four Cups.
9:32 pm - The Islanders, no matter what the lineup looked like, had been winning these games at the Garden.
Mike Comrie makes it 5-4 with 18 seconds left. Going down to locker room for reaction. (The Hockey) Newsday represented by Logie and Mark Herrmann and Arthur Staple.
Josh Bailey, under 7 minutes tonight. Discuss.
9:24 pm - More sloppy play in front of the Islanders’ net leads to a Nigel Dawes goal to make it 5-3. Unless the Islanders have some last-minute magic left in them from Buffalo, that should do it.
9:22: Petr Prucha, the Rangers’ ‘08-09 version of Blake Comeau, has now inspired chants of PET-R PRU-CHA! The barn is rocking. Good stuff. Still 4-3.
9:15 pm - For the second time this period, the Islanders lose a faceoff in their own end and it leads to a Rangers goal. 4-3 for the home team. Wild period. This sure beats the NBA.
9:05 pm - About ten seconds after play resumes after Trent Hunter is injured (more after the game), the Rangers tie the game on a goal by Petr Prucha. A half minute later, Joey MacDonald gives up a deadly soft goal to Michal Rozsival and the home team takes a 3-2 lead.
Oh, about 15 seconds after that (they haven’t announced the goals yet, folks!), Blake Comeau puts in a rebound to tie the game.
Other than that, nothing’s happened in the first three minutes of the third period.
8:55 pm - Steve S. asks a very fair question in Comments:
CB, I love your blog, I really do, but why don’t you tell us again about how great the training staff is! How many guys does that make who are cleared to play and then instantly injured?
The answer is a simple one, Steve, and thanks for loving the blog. Respectfully, if you think head trainer Garrett Timms is the young man responsible for making the ultimate call to allow Rick DiPietro to play on Friday, you’re wrong. Of course, that doesn’t make what the Islanders did right. I’m still shaking my head on this one.
When you’re talking about the return from the injured list of the franchise goalie, for the decision-makers look much higher than Mr. Timms in the team’s management directory.
8:40 pm - The second period ends with back-to-back shifts providing a window to the Islanders’ possible future. First Blake Comeau intercepts a bad clear at the blueline and sets up a few scoring chances, and then with just 11 seconds left in the period Kyle Okposo gorgeously deflects a blueline wrister for a goal to make it 2-1 Islanders.
Prior to the final quarter of the second, it was the Rangers’ period. They out-shot and out-chanced the Islanders and had the far superior forecheck.
Clearly on the advice of Scott Gordon, the Islanders are shooting high on the butterflying King every chance they get - which isn’t often.
The team told me during the period that Andy Hilbert (hairline fracture in his foot) will be out 2-4 weeks.
In the season-long discussion of the Islanders’ need for a cornerstone player in the next draft (my words, not necessarily yours), I watch this game and think about how important it would be for the Islanders to have a franchise forward or defenseman. Maybe it’s just the World’s Most Famous Arena causing me to day-dream, but I stand by my feeling that the Islanders need a stud to take the next step.
7:47 pm - Islanders get the all-important first goal in this building on a giveaway that leads to a Trent Hunter dish to Mike Sillinger for the tally.
Mitch Fritz and Colton Orr have the inevitable heavyweight scrap. I thought Fritz won early, and Orr gets points for the take-down. My suspicion that Fritz won (I’m far away from the ice) seems confirmed by the Garden not replaying the fight on the scoreboard.
Mike Comrie stands up for his linemate and goes toe-to-toe with Nigel Dawes in the flyweight division. I wrote here a few weeks ago that Comrie is one of the Islanders’ best fighters. It’s not that he’s Joey Kocur or anything, but you can’t say his tilts aren’t exciting. If Dawes wasn’t wearing a shield, Comrie might have had a knock-down.
Much more big hits being thrown by the Islanders. Need to find a way to bring that level of physicality when playing Columbus and Minnesota, and not crosstown rival.
Wade Redden…not a Garden favorite. Now the MSG faithful are down on Wade, Kalinin and Rozsival. That could be a record, and the Rangers are 22-13-3. Now that’s accountability.
So who does tonight’s game mean more to?
7:03 - A few words about the blocking of Comment-ators. This blog was born about a hundred days ago and so far we’ve had to take the unfortunate step of blocking 5 readers, most of them beloved. Two of them were for inarguably, completely over-the-line posts about people’s personal business. Three were regular readers who refused my repeated, friendly requests that they stop dominating the Comments space. They were sent emails pleading with them to stop.
If anyone is ever blocked and would like to return, just send me an email. I don’t care whether you rip me, the blog or just about anything. But I’m done with asking readers to follow the guidelines. As I’ve written before, if I lose readers, I’m okay with it. I’ve seen too many blogs destroyed by some of the garbage that goes on.
6:50 pm - Now we know the key to The King’s amazing success in shootouts. Before he leaves the ice after pre-game warmups (just finished), Henrik Lundqvist has about ten of his teammates take breakaways on him.
6:25 pm - The Islanders still have yet to disclose a timeframe for Andy Hilbert, who suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot on Friday. In light of the recent wacky prognosis for Kyle Okposo - day-to-day, then 6-8 weeks, then miraculous recovery for Minnesota game - the team might want to consider labeling all of their players “week-to-week.”
(This is your groin, when strained).
5:35 pm - In light of the Rick DiPietro news (”groin strain” still there, Yann Danis now here), Scott Gordon met with the press again. Dan Martin of the Post and I looked at each other and said, “Here we go again.”
Instead of his recent root canal visits, this time Gordon was completely relaxed, almost as if he’s thinking “WTF, Ricky’s out again and we’ve got a big game in Madison Square Garden tonight, so really WTF - I can talk to these humps again.”
The coach called the DiPietro injury “disappointing.” He compared it to the Mike Sillinger situation, where the 37-year old Sillinger returned from hip surgery a few weeks ago and then suffered a setback in the groinal region. Gordon said DiPietro’s setback is “the kind of injury you get in training camp.”
Against mild second-guessing from the media scrum about starting DiPietro on Friday against Toronto after little practice time, the coach waved it off. He said the goalie had been “on the ice for two weeks.” Gordon clearly had no regrets, or did a tremendous job of pretending that he had no regrets. Going out on a limb here, I would expect some less-than-mild criticism in your local newspapers tomorrow.
(Let me be clear where I stand on this. When I heard in West Virginia that DiPietro was getting the start Friday, I shook my head for about 60 seconds and then went back to pounding the Greg Norman wine).
For now, DiPietro is listed as day-to-day. Gordon would not rule out anything, set a timeline or say when the injury was suffered. What we do know is this morning the intention was for DiPietro to start tonight’s game.
Hey, what’s this rumor about Wade Dubielewicz leaving Ak Bars? No, I don’t see him coming here. Besides, last thing you want is him stealing games!
Comments.
3:55pm, Long Island - BD checking in while Chris Botta wanders the city without his laptop. Per Chris, Yann Danis has been emergency recalled from Bridgeport. As Chris said below, I guess you can never be to sure, indeed. No other announcements have been made beyond this. A good guess is one of the two of DP and Joe Mac will not be available. I will leave it to you to guess.
12:25 pm, MSG - Rick DiPietro was here, took the full skate and was the first to leave the ice. All the signs would seem to point to him starting tonight against the Rangers, but this season you could never be sure of that. I would not call Vegas. Dan Martin of the Post asked Scott Gordon, but the coach declined to name his starting goaltender.
As reported exclusively last night by the readers of Point Blank, Yann Danis and Jeremy Colliton were sent to Bridgeport (AHL) yesterday.
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Sean Bergenheim may finally pay the price for all those minor penalties. When the morning skate got into the let’s-futz-around mode, it was Bergenheim who joined Jon Sim for some extra work in one end of the rink with assistant coach John Chabot.
Yes, Mitch Fritz Fan Club Presidents, this would indicate the Big Guy is in tonight’s lineup for your New York islanders.
Doug Weight, two points shy of 1,000 for his NHL career, is back in. Would be a pretty neat place for Doug to get the milestone, I’m sure. So would the New Year’s Eve matinee at home against Florida.
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One man’s guesstimate at Gordon’s lines to start:
Tambellini - Weight - Guerin
Comeau - Comrie - Okposo
Park - Bailey - Hunter
Fritz - Sillinger - Jackman
Geez, it’s like Comeau’s a regular now! (I really shouldn’t jinx the kid).
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Lots of teaching at today’s skate. Gordon had an extended one-on-one with Bruno Gervais that appeared to focus on defensive posture in the neutral zone. Dan Lacroix spent some bonus time with (perhaps future linemates) Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo - or it could have been simply the trio of kids doing the respectful thing and staying on the ice late after practice.
After the skate, the coaches hosted a video session with Comeau, Bailey, Okposo, Mike Comrie and a few others. With three points in the last two games - an impressive win over Toronto and wonderful comeback in Buffalo - the mood today was noticeably lighter while still focused.
Gordon on Jeff Tambellini’s successful stint in Bridgeport: “He doesn’t seem to be panicking as much with the puck. He got game conditioning and plenty of icetime. He’s definitely more relaxed.”
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Something you might not know. While the Islanders are no doubt excited to be featured on VERSUS a lot lately and partake in the league’s generous television contract with the cable network, the team loses money off its local cable deal for every game MSG does not broadcast.
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Eric Mangini was fired today. Tonight there’s a game between the two New York hockey rivals. One team is 9 games over .500. The other is 10 games under .500. One of the hockey head coaches is very much on the hot seat, and it’s not the one who’s 10 games under .500. And to be clear, I’m perfectly fine with that.
As reported here a few times, Gordon’s going to be around these parts for a while.
Comments.
A source close to Rick DiPietro told me the goaltender was simply “just a little sore” in the aftermath of the Islanders’ win on Friday. This is to be expected after such a long layoff, and playing a game after very little practice - including none 48 hours prior to return. As Howie Rose theorized on the broadcast last night, the “groin strain” announcement could be what’s called ”NHL housekeeping” because you have to list a specific injury for the league office if you want to call up Yann Danis to back up Joey Mac.
On the other hand, a few PB readers reported DiPietro grimacing during the third period. One email pointed out that DiPietro changed his positioning to only get up using his left leg. Whether DiPietro’s injury is significant, we’ll know tomorrow. My plan is to blog from the Islanders’ morning skate at the Garden and stay for the game. I hope everyone had a nice first week of the holiday season…CB
by Chris Botta
That’s an important distinction. Without it, this is mostly a list of dynasty players. With it, this is a chance to acknowledge some of those who paved the way.
1. Ed Westfall: The first Captain and one of the two most important men to wear the C in franchise history. “18” deserves to be inducted (soon) in the Islanders Hall of Fame.
2. Billy Harris: 623 games in the decade for the first overall pick in 1972, 184 goals and 443 points. He finished top-five in scoring in the franchise’s first five seasons. Another deserving NYI HOF inductee from the early ’70s followed by…
3. Gerry Hart: 476 games of some of the gutsiest and grittiest blueline play you ever saw.
4. J.P. Parise: Three straight seasons of more than 20 goals, plus that playoff overtime tally against the Rangers in ’75 to put the franchise on the map.
5. Dave Lewis: 514 games as a defensive stalwart in the ’70s, only to come a few months short of winning the Cup when he joined Harris in the trade to LA for Butch Goring.
6. Jude Drouin: Played four pretty good regular seasons with Islanders, but check out these playoffs numbers: 48 games, 17-27-44, including two game-winning goals – one in overtime.
7. Bert Marshall: Credited by many who were there for being a magnificent veteran tutor to the young defensemen, including a kid named Denis.
8. Richie Hansen: A local exemption. The pride of Northport was the first Long Islander to play for the Islanders.
9. Gerry Desjardins: Deserves a medal for being a goaltender on the first two Islanders teams.
Your nominees, in Comments…
When the Isles tied the game, the look on Lindy Ruff’s face, longtime coach of the Sabres, was priceless. The Isles fell behind Buffalo and seemed to keep pace, and even when down by two goals, they went all-out in that third period. The result was two goals within the final 2 minutes. After watching the Isles for a month disappear for the final period or when the game was thought to be out-of-reach, this seemed like another team imposing their will and making it happen. However, in the shootout, Ales Kotalik and then Drew Stafford were the only scorers, sealing a Buffalo win.
Jeff Tambellini scored his first of the year. Since his call-up from his play-better-or-else conditioning stint at Bridgeport, he has still had some hiccups, but overall, he has made himself far more visible in the last two games.
Mike Comrie also scored, improving since his return slowly but surely. After all, this is a guy who scored quite a bit last season. With only 3 goals notched this one, many wished if only a goal happened for each toe drag.
Chris Campoli has also been emerging recharged. His score with only two seconds left gave the Isles the tie. For a while there in December, he was in freefall along with Brendan Witt in poise, play, and plus/minus. Speaking of Witt, he was far more effective lately, including some key plays down the stretch. Sure, everyone rightfully were all over his public statements for an internal issue, but he has responded just the same. This is what professional vet players do.
Yes, it is true, that the Islanders announced that Rick DiPietro has a strained groin. However, Howie Rose made a point to say that the Isles might have had to assign him “injured” in order to let him stay home so they could recall Yann Danis for the Buffalo trip. OR, they are trying to soften criticism for Ricky’s start without any kind of conditioning stint. We will know better soon enough at Monday’s Ranger game on just how “strained” it is.
So when are the Isles going to stop going to the box with stupid penalities???They have played better on defense, yet a big reason they were behind this game was due to handing Buffalo powerplay opportunities. Sean Bergenheim, who has been called out here by yours truly once before, still has not improved. His penalty minutes this season are on their way to more than doubling from last season. The same is true of Bruno Gervais who took an elbowing penalty this game. He has also increased his PIM exponentially.
Simply said, this is not the type of team that can offset penalities with prolific scoring or a bruising defense. Hockey is a simple game. You shoot, you pass, control the tempo . . . and you stay out of the box. The Isles have managed to shore up the defense that was coming apart, but still need to get some kids from constantly putting opposing teams at the advantage time and time again.
So what is next for this new-look Isles? The rivalry. They head to MSG to face the NY Rangers on Monday night for a 7:05pm start-time.
Hope you enjoyed my subbing for Chris these past few days. You know where to find my day-to-day activities, besides my work here. I will now leave you back in his capable hands.
Please have a happy and healthy holiday season and new year.
UPDATED at 5:25 pm by CB: Greetings from Huntington, West Virginia…where We Are Not All Islanders, but We Are Marshall.
The Islanders have confirmed what Greg Logan reported earlier today: Jeremy Colliton has been recalled, hopefully to win a few faceoffs. Andy Hilbert out with hairline fracture of left foot. Logie also has some nice stuff on 400-goal man Bill Guerin.
Yann Danis is up to be No. 2 behind Joey MacDonald. Rick DiPietro did not make the trip. Whether the plan all along was for DiPietro to play Friday and not travel to Buffalo, I wouldn’t be so sure.
Some of the fiction on DiPietro in Comments has been entertaining. I would never tell a fan who to like or not to like, and I understand the fans who don’t want to wrap their arms around DiPietro and his contract - especially with his run of injuries. But some of the reasons stated in Comments for not liking him - he got Neil Smith fired! he whined when Dubie started! he’s why they didn’t re-sign Arron (effective in about 7 games all season for Ted) Asham - oh my. Ya gotta bring better urban legends than that.
Thank you, B.D., for subbing. Forecheck hard tonight, everyone. Hope to catch up with you tomorrow if the plane’s on time…CB
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The Isles flew to Buffalo last night without the 2-ton gorilla in the room. Rick DiPietro’s full practice first start since the surgery has been a success, whether anyone thinks it a risky gamble or not. Well, as they say, a win is a win is a win. And, well, they won.
They face a team tonight who is also desperate for a bunch of wins. The Sabres have won only two games out of their last seven. They also have played last night like the Isles, with a different result, a loss against the Washington Capitals.
Both Jon Sim and Mitch Fritz were healthy scratches last night. So, with the loss of Andy Hilbert for an indefinate amount of time (usually 2 to 4 weeks depending), will one of these two be activated? My bet is on Sim, who is capable of playing the same type of game, except for the offensive prowess Hilbert was showing this season which will be missed, especially if Doug Weight is still out with his day-to-day groin injury.
So, does The Rick start again? Or will he sit on a more careful rotation to get him back to the NHL grind shape and have Joey MacDonald start instead. One would think it would be the latter than the former. However, it seems anything is possible.
The question remains on how fragile solid this feel-good buoyancy really is. If the Sabres score a couple of goals, can the Isles regroup instead of splintering off the game plan? How about after a loss? The win is well and good, and there was bevy of pressure that was released last night, but they have a ways to go. One focused goalie, even if the team feeds off it, will not be starting every game. The way to winning and equilibrium is a focused team all feeding off one another for success.
Stay tuned for updates in this blog through-out the day if there is anything to report. Tonight, once again, I will provide the game recap. Chris returns tomorrow.
The holiday crowd at the Coliseum was surprised as we were. Arthur Staple of Newsday who was subbing for a vacationing Greg Logan said “Hmmmmm” at practice as Rick DiPietro took a majority of the work. Then at warm-ups, DP is out first. Then, the pre-game interviews seal it as they interview Bill Guerin about how important DP’s return is.
I have even noted here and elsewhere about concerns over even the coach’s demeanor and the team’s mindset during rough times. But, I am still surprised and slightly concerned in DP not getting a bit more practice work and at least a conditioning stint in Bridgeport. After all, isn’t about the future and the health of their franchise goaltender?
Hey, I’m just the guy writing the blog, but here is a goalie who has had a rash of injuries and a lack of playing time. Why rush it? Did someone upstairs blink? Either way, that roll of the dice seemed to be what the Isles needed. They played far better and showed poise as a team.
These questions despite the win will not fade away because they bely a deeper sense of priorities beneath the longterm plans for the Islanders and their star goalies well-being. Obviously organizationally, they were comfortable doing this. They also felt the importance to win now, and less attentive, despite some fans focus, to the upcoming draft.
There is no question that the Islanders came out far more focused and skating hard to start the game. There was a jump in their step and a change in their demeanor. That and there seems to be a renewed commitment to their system. The Isles cycled strongly and created lots of opportunities, despite being outshot the first two periods. They have also been far better on transitional play. It has led to 4 goals and a 3rd period lead that was held.
Josh Bailey takes home a Xmas gift. His first goal, and gets a warm reception from the home crowd. Nope, changed between the 2nd and 3rd period to be a Bill Guerin goal. Bailey gets the assist along with Jeff Tambellini. Guerin then scores another for his 400 goal. Congrats Bill.
There is not a doubt, whatever anyone thinks of the DP goalie move, that this was a different team tonight. There was confidence, energy, moxy, and . . . YES . . . Overspeed. They took it to Toronto for a full 60 minutes, and it was Toronto who blinked. It was in the 3rd period, bane of Isles fans, that they took charge and close the Leafs out.
Not much of a Yuletide gift for Toronto fans, eh?
POST-GAME UPDATE:
Andy Hilbert has a hairline fracture in his foot. Expect him to be another guy on the injury parade.
Coach Scott Gordon stood less slouched, with his shoulders straight. You could see that a great weight was off of him. He felt that Rick played well. He felt the difference in having him in goal is cutting down on 2nd opportunities. Plus, he forces players to take more low percentage shots. He seemed happy with the effort and with DP’s return.
When asked on how they came to the decision to start DP he stated that it had been an ongoing discussion between them. It had to do where Ricky is right now and the lack of hard practice time. Gordon wanted to find a way to get these guys back in, including also Mike Sillinger and Bruno Gervais
Rick DiPietro was asked on how it felt to be out and watching games. He said it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of growing up and maturity to sit out.
Bill Guerin on DP’s return, as well as Gervais and Sillinger: “Big uplift to get a couple of guys back”. Of DP, he said he was focused as ever and they as a team, fed off of that.
So ends our feel good story this holiday season. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s pre-game as the Isles head up to Buffalo for a 7:05pm tilt.
6:40pm UPDATE: Yes, in a mindboggling move, Rick DiPietro is taking the bulk of shots in warmups and would appear to be the starter, which has been a hot rumor when I got the Coliseum. No stop at Bridgeport. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. But do start in goal.
3:40pm UPDATE: Per the always excellent Mike Fornabaio, the Isles have returned Ben Walter and Joe Callahan back to Bridgeport. Evidently, Mike Sillinger and Bruno Gervais are ready to return to the lineup tonight.
I hope everyone had a good holiday, whatever you celebrate.
Well, it’s no great secret on what GM Garth Snow might have asked Santa this Xmas. These are difficult days on Long Island and the air is thick with the hope for fans, players, coach and GM that they can snap out of it. Well, unless you are are focused on the next draft picks. It was only a month ago when some were wondering if we can reach .500. Since then, it has been a steady drop with many questions, injuries, and a lot of soul-searching.
LOSING THE MENTAL GAME: The last two games were closer affairs with the Isles keeping within arm’s length of their competition. This is some good news as compared to some of the more disturbing crash and burns like versus the Penguins and the Wild. If this string of losses had all been close games, with the team going all out playing as if it was November, there would be a lot less questions. Instead, we have seen a myriad of injuries, a defense that has looked gaping, an offense unable to score, and some sniping on the system itself. Coach Scott Gordon has seemed to become stiffer and acting as if besieged by press and situation. This tightening and almost wounded visage by the Isles might be indicative of losing the mental game even before they play the physical one.
“Our last two losses were tight games. We have to stay loose and stay ready to work. Our biggest asset is our work ethic. We don’t come in and mope around. We keep it loose, and we keep focused.”
- Bill Guerin
As Bill Guerin alluded to in his post-games comments versus the Thrashers earlier this week, it is supremely important not to come into this game stuck on their December malaise. The mental capitulations will only leave them tight, anguished, and just waiting for another wheel to come off.
The Maple Leafs come to town winning their 5 of their last 7 games. That streak was started with their last win over the Isles, coming off a three-game skid. Their last game, however, was a 8-2 drubbing courtesy of the Dallas Stars. So the Leafs come in looking to make things right against the Isles who have been in freefall. The Toronto press has written that the game against the Isles “might be a Yuletide gift.“
Doug Weight did not play Tuesday, and I will try to find out if he is going to play today. Stay tuned here for updates later on, plus I will be on-hand tonight for the recap.
For your reading enjoyment, here is my news item about the Lighthouse Project which caused a bit of stir.
REMINDER: Please adhere new-look Comments space wishes of Chris’s
More later…BD
