After a tough loss against the Maple Leafs, the Islanders now get a chance to redeem themselves against a tough Carolina Hurricanes team that features the likes of Rod Brind’amour, Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. Like I said yesterday, I expect a high scoring affair because the Hurricanes potent offense will force the Islanders to skate on defense and work equally as hard on offense.

Much like their last game against Toronto, the Isles can not afford to give up a few quick goals and play catch up the rest of the game; rather, they have to establish themselves in the offensive zone and play physically in the neutral zone, in effect forcing the Hurricanes to work for every inch of ice they skate on. The amount of grit players like Trent Hunter, Richard Park, Chris Simon and Arron Asham bring to the ice tonight will be a key ingredient in a victory. As well, Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake will have to continue their hot play as of late and will most likely find themselves matched up against Brind’amour, who is not only the team’s best defensive forward, but is also leading the team in scoring.

This is a great opportunity for the Islanders to reassert themselves after a sloppy game in Toronto, but they will have to play a smart game and not commit unnecessary penalties; that means you Alexei Zhitnik! The season is way too short to take penalties for doing things like slamming your stick against the back of the net because you don’t agree with a referee’s call. I can put up with a hooking penalty that is caused by not skating once in a while, but to do both, especially when your team is trying to claw its way back into a game against a conference rival is unbearable.

The Isles have the depth on defense and on the forward lines that many teams would die for; I mean c’mon, Miroslav Satan isn’t even a top line winger on this team, while anywhere else he’d be without a doubt. It’s time for the Islanders to stop showing flashes of brilliance and start playing consistent hockey. A win against the Hurricanes would keep them on the right track, because truth be told, they’ve been playing solid hockey as of late.

BY THE WAY…

For those of you who don’t know, Wednesday is considered the “hump” day of the week because it marks the middle of the week and tells us writers that we’ve gotten through the rough days and the weekend is almost here. To help add some more content on the site, every Wednesday I’m going to talk about players that are over the hump [meaning playing well] and players that are under it, in an effort to bring out the best and worst of the team for you, my readers.

OVER THE HUMP…

This one is obvious. Playing their hearts out the past four games, Jason Blake, Alexei Yashin and Rick DiPietro have been on top of their games and have kept the Islanders over the .500 mark for the majority of the season.

After suffering a groin injury early in the season, DiPietro has bounced back and played marvelous hockey during his past five games. Alexei Yashin has been hot since the first game of the season and has played extremely well on defense, in addition to bring out the best in Jason Blake. Despite putting up solid numbers the past two seasons, Jason Blake has finally began to get some exposure outside of the Long Island area and in spite of that has still produced a point a game, proving to everyone that he’s the real deal.
 
UNDER THE HUMP…

Through a quarter of the 2006-07 season, Andy Hilbert has failed to score a point. Need I say more? Unlike most of the Islanders, who have found at least one other line mate to consistently play with, Hilbert has been played with everyone from Yashin to Shawn Bates and still has yet to register a point. It’s so bad at this point that the only goal he’s scored this season has come during a shootout.

BACK TO THE GAME…

Take the body, play smart and stay out of the penalty box. I know I sound like a broken record, but if the Islanders can do that, they can play with any team in the league, even the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Let’s see what they do tonight.

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Pregame Musings