Big game against the Sabres tomorrow that could almost right the team’s ship and end the run they’ve been on lately. I know it’s still pretty early in the season, but I think this could be one of the games that if the Islanders pull out a victory, they might be able to start to establish an identity.

As of right now, the Isles don’t have one. Sure they work hard on defense, block a lot of shots and take the body, but so do half the other teams in the NHL. In order for this team to make the playoffs and possibly make it past the first round for the first time in 15 years, they have to get a combined effort from everyone on the team.

All season, guys like Brendan Witt, Richard Park, Rick DiPietro and Josef Vasicek have busted their humps and done everything necessary to help the team on the ice. Then you have guys like Andy Sutton, Chris Campoli [who was amazing early in the season and disappeared] and Radek Martinek that have shown flashes, but are just now starting to really play the way the team needs them to. Then lastly, you have the rest of the team, players like Mike Sillinger, Mike Comrie, Chris Simon, Trent Hunter, Andy Hilbert, Bill Guerin, Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko [did I miss anybody?] that can’t finish.

If half of these guys could get a few offensive streaks going, this team would be much better than 14-12-2.The thing that probably grinds my gears about this entire situation though is that combined, these guys have over a dozen 20-goal seasons under their belts. It’s not like they don’t have a history of scoring goals. Hilbert is probably the only player on the list that should be expected to struggle because he’s never been a consistent offensive player in the NHL. Everyone else simply has no excuses.

While the Isles are struggling as of late, the Sabres are a far cry from the team they were last year. This is a team that the Islanders can beat if they play smart on defense are don’t waste time on offense. During their last game, the Islanders were much better on the powerplay and were taking more shots from the point. If they keep that up and the big bodies like Simon, Hunter and Vasicek plant themselves in front of the net, the garbage goals will come. Then the space will start to open up again and Satan, Comrie and Guerin will have the room they need to shoot.

If not, DiPietro is going to have to continue to be the straw that stirs the drink.

Posted under Pregame Musings

During the 15-year span that I have watched the Islanders, I’ve seen some great players. Guys like Pierre Turgeon and Ziggy Palffy immediately come to mind, but it’s usually the players that went on to be great players after they left the team that stick out more. Every time I hear the names of players like Roberto Luongo, Todd Bertuzzi and Zdeno Chara, a knife goes in my back.

However, when I hear another name every once in a while, I don’t feel the bit bad at all.

His name is Jason Blake.

Over the past few days, I’ve been getting e-mails and comments left on the site about how Mike Comrie isn’t Jason Blake. I remember saying that very same thing much early in the season. These two guys are completely different players. I think Blake was a great fit on this team, despite his knack for hogging the puck. His drive and effort on the ice personified what a Ted Nolan run team should play like and that’s why I thought he was absolutely crazy for going to the Maple Leafs. I didn’t think any other team in the NHL was going to give him a chance to take 300 shots. It was the best thing for him to stay with the Islanders and prove he could score 40 goals again.

I said it earlier in the season and I’ll say it again: Jason Blake doesn’t crack 30 goals this season. Not happening. Right now, he’s on pace for 56 points, but only 13 goals. I thought my eyes weren’t working properly at first, but he’s also on pace for 341 shots. That means his shooting percentage is absolutely deplorable [3.9 to be exact]. It also means he’s not picking his shots the same way he was last season when he was playing with Alexei Yashin. In all honesty, I feel that last season was Jason Blake at his absolute best and away from the Islanders, a team that depended on him more than anyone down the stretch last season, he’s not the same player.

Mike Comrie on the other hand, despite his horrible play over the past two weeks, can be a much better offensive player than Blake. He just has to stop doing the thing that made Blake so successful here. He has to stop holding on to the puck. A few of you have mentioned his “toe-drag” move a few times in comments: I totally agree with that. Early in the season, Comrie was getting the puck and shooting. He scored a few nice goals and when he wasn’t shooting, was finding the open man. Now it seems like he’s trying to do too much with the puck and has committed more turnovers than the New York Jets.

I know it’s a tired cliché, but sometimes less is more. If you’re going to shoot, then do it. But holding on to the puck and not doing anything with it doesn’t help anyone. If I was the Islanders coaching staff, I’d sit Comrie down and make him watch the six goals he scored early in the season. Target-locked, fire. That’s what he did. Now it looks like he’s trying to make the perfect play.

The way things have panned out on offense as of late, it’s obvious that hasn’t happened.

On pace for a 26-goal season and 64 points, which would be a career year for him, Comrie started to prove earlier in the season that he could handle the pressure of being a number one center in the NHL. However, if he continues on this path of selfishness with the puck, he may not even last a season. Remember, he only signed a one-year contract with this team. If they don’t look like they’re headed to the playoffs, I’d imagine that the Isles would trade him before he goes and signs somewhere else.

The way I feel about this is that no player can look as good as Comrie did early in the season and then not be able to find it again, especially at his age. An older player I might be a little worried about, but Comrie is 27. He just needs to realize what he’s been doing on the ice and find the right linemates.

Let’s hope it happens sooner than later.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Well, it wasn’t exactly perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m sure the Islanders will take the two points. If there was ever a must win game for the Islanders this season, last night was it. Riding a four game skid, I would have loved to see them come out and score five goals and get a great performance from the defense, but like most Islander fans and the team right now, I’ll take what I can get.

Despite the win though, things in Islanderland are still in flux. All three goals the Islanders scored last night were far from looking like goals that could have been scored on any goalie in the league. Simply put, they got three garbage goals and used screens and deflections to make up for their lack of cycling and getting quality shots through. Aside from Bryan Berard and Chris Campoli, the rest of the Islanders defense looked extremely pensive in the offensive zone and as a result, shots weren’t getting through and the Isles were having problems scoring. If the Isles are going to get out of this funk, they have to get more shots on net from the point and they have to work harder in the corners and make sure they get to loose pucks at the blue line [how many times in the past two week have the Isles D failed to keep the puck in during power plays and when the team was starting to get cooking in the offensive zone?] and anywhere else on the ice.

On a positive note, it was great to see three guys struggling get some goals. Even though they’re struggling, Bill Guerin, Andy Hilbert and Mike Sillinger are only a hot streak away from being right where they should be production-wise. By the All-Star break, I think Guerin should have anywhere from 15-18 goals, while Sillinger should have about12-15. I know some might think I’m crazy, but I really do think that considering all of the chances he gets, Andy Hilbert should be able to net 15-20 goals. However, I am a realist and think he should net score a dozen times this season.

Enough about the offense though.

Anyone else think that Andy Sutton has started to step up his game on defense? I haven’t heard Billy Jaffe exclaim over a hit like that, well, ever. If he keeps doing that, then he may find himself quickly become a fan favorite on this team.

Speaking of fan favorites, what can be said about Rick DiPietro’s performance last night? If this team got to loose pucks and started doing the little things on the ice that they were doing in the beginning of the season, this guy’s GAA would be even lower than it is right now. If the Islanders managed to win a few of those one-goal games they squandered a few weeks ago as well, DP would be leading the league in wins and would be an early season MVP candidate. But enough of my wishful thinking, there will be plenty of off days this season where I can praise the players on this team that deserve it [Aside from Richard Park, Josef Vasicek and DP, are there any that give praise worthy performances every night?].

With a few days off, the Isles will be homebound before taking on the Sabres on Wednesday. Then we’ll see if this team can put something really interesting together, a winning streak.

Posted under Post Game Rants

I remember when I was eight years old and just started playing hockey. While it felt great to have a stick in my hands and skating, it was so frustrating playing with other people because I wasn’t good enough to stick handle around anyone. I was a good skater, having had skates since I was about four, but I couldn’t shoot, stickhandle or pass at all. It wasn’t until I was about 10 that I started being able to hold my own on the roller hockey rink.

Watching last night’s game reminded me of that. It was almost as if the Florida Panthers were a much better team and the Islanders had absolutely no chance at winning, regardless of how hard they tried. This isn’t the Red Wings we’re talking about either. This team has problems like every other team in the league, but came into last night’s game with a very strong powerplay. All the Isles had to do was play disciplined, stay out of the box and establish a forecheck. That obviously didn’t happen.

Over the past two weeks, this team has fallen apart. Before the game, Chris Campoli told Billy Jaffe that the team is confident that they’ll come out of this funk. At this point however, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen unless a few players get hot. In addition, players like Mike Comrie [who is reminding me more of Jason “I hog the puck and make bad passes in the neutral zone” Blake more and more every game] Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko need to get going already. Miroslav Satan needs to start finishing too. Holy crap, at this point, I sound like a goddamn broken record.

17 goals in the past 11 games says it all though.

The lines have been mixed up a million times and the scoring still isn’t coming. Is a trade in the works? You have to think so. This anemic offense is really starting to scare me and I’m sure that I’m not the only one who feels this way. Take away two bad games and Rick DiPietro has kept the Islanders in every game they’ve played so far this season. There is nothing else this guy could do on the ice to help his team win. This has got to be a frustrating situation for any goaltender to be in, but for a guy playing as well as DP has this season, it’s got to be giving him an ulcer.

Tonight, the Isles face off against the Lightning. Will they be able to light the lamp one time for old time sake? The jury is still out on that one.

Posted under Post Game Rants

After reading New York Newsday Islanders beat writer Greg Logan’s blog yesterday, I felt like this was the beginning of something happening with the team. I mentioned the other day [or for the past few days] that I think a shake up of sorts is needed in order to get this team back to where they were just two short weeks ago. Marc-Andre Bergeron’s mouth may have jump started that process.

All season, Bergeron hasn’t been playing well in his own end and Bryan Berard has been forced to share time with him. Looking at their stats, you’d think they were very similar, but in fact, I believe they’re quite different.

Bergeron has 8 points in 18 games and Berard has 5 points in 15 games. On the surface, both look like offensive D-men that are struggling to find their games. While that is obviously the case between the both of them, Berard I believe can play much better in his own end if the Islanders allow him to get back into the rotation and can and will be a better physical presence on the ice than Bergeron ever will. A few times this season, Berard has laid people out [most notably Bruins forward Milan Lucic] and has played with more passion and desire than Bergeron has. I’d rather have that in the lineup than a guy with a big slapshot and an even bigger mouth.

Everyone understands how Bergeron must feel though, sitting on the bench in overtime during a five on three powerplay, but you don’t yell at your assistant coach in the middle of the game. With the team struggling for offense, Bergeron may now find himself on the healthy scratch list because the team needs to try and develop chemistry, rather than worry about individual players moaning because of their lack of ice-time.

I also think that Berard is a better influence on the Isles young defensemen like Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais. On top of that, he’s a former number one draft pick that has been through a lot in his career and can share that wealth of experience with these players and help them through this rough patch. As good a slapshot Bergeron has, he can’t do that. Additionally, being selfish when you’re team can’t score goals is an easy way to find yourself in the coaches doghouse. We’ll see just how long Ted Nolan plans to keep him there in the next few weeks.

For my money, I’d trade Bergeron and throw in Andy Hilbert and a third round pick to any team that had a under-30 20-goal scorer they wanted to get rid of. I know it’s not too cool to trade in our own conference, but what about Ryan Malone? His name seems to pop up in trade rumors every day and need I say that Mark Recchi just cleared waivers. If the Pens try and call him up, he’ll have to clear waivers again. If the Isles then decide to pick him up, they’d only have to pay half his contract.

Sounds like a bargain to me.

We’ll have to wait to see if anything transpires though.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Two shorthanded goals almost broke the spirit of an already beleaguered Islander team, but thanks to timely goals from Mike Sillinger and Trent Hunter, the Isles were able to get back in last night’s game with the Thrashers. Nevertheless, they fell short in the shootout and lost 4-3.

For the billionth time this season, the Islanders failed to make the most out several opportunities on the powerplay and made several mistakes in their own end, two of course leading to shorthanded goals. The first one was a softie of uber proportions that a drunk Rick DiPietro should have been able to stop. It also deflated the team after Mike Comrie finished for the first time in a few games, sending a wrister past Thrashers netminder Kari Lehtonen.

The second Atlanta goal though was an absolute laser of the stick of the under-achieving Pascal Dupuis that I don’t think many goaltenders would have been able to handle. After those two heart-breakers, I really didn’t think this team had the moxie to get back into the game. However, they proved they still have some resiliency.

For all the smack I talk about Andy Hilbert, I will never, ever engage in a conversation regarding his work ethic. It’s obvious when watching him on the ice that he works his tail off and last night was another instance of that. He fought to keep the puck in the zone and Andy Sutton, who has been turning his game around as of late, fired a slapshot that Sillinger got a piece of.

Trent Hunter is another one of those players as well. Everyone who watches this team knows how good he is in the shootout and what a good shot he has. The only problem is after his rookie year, he hasn’t been shooting as much. Sure, he’s a much better defensive player and takes the body more than he did in his freshman season, but I’d love to see another 25-goal, 50-plus point season from him again. If I ever live to see that though is beyond me.

Regardless, Hunter deposited a slapper in the net and all of a sudden, the game was tied. The team then managed to play a pretty solid third period, but again, couldn’t finish the Thrashers off. I’m sure that many fans are happy to see the team come back and get a point when they were down by two goals, but I think that coming back like that and outplaying the Thrashers in the third, the Isles should have come out with a win. There are no excuses there. This team needs to start finishing on offense, bottom line.

The Isles play the Panthers tomorrow, who are coming off a tough 5-4 loss against the Senators. Maybe, just maybe the Isles can get a few goals off Tomas Vokoun, who has been facing more shots this season than he was in Nashville over the past few years. They have a good young team with plenty of speed and creativity, so they might be able to force the Islanders to start skating more and play instinctually, rather than clutch the sticks all game.

Posted under Post Game Rants

The week and change the Islanders had off earlier in the season gave them a great opportunity to win some games in hand on the rest of the Eastern Conference. However, over their last 10 games, the team is 4-5-1. Not exactly a horrible record [they’re not the Washington Capitals yet], but not the record you want to see if you think this team is capable of making the playoffs. Simply put, something needs to be done in order for this team to get back on track.

Yesterday afternoon, Ted Nolan announced that he was putting the team’s opening night line combinations back together in order to spark their offense attack. I don’t know how you guys feel about this [I haven’t been getting as many comments as of late], but nothing grinds my gears than watching a team that can’t score.

Seeing a team with proven mid-level scorers like Bill Guerin, Miroslav Satan and Mike Sillinger not produce boggles my mind. Then on top of that you have players like Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Sean Bergenheim getting more ice-time than they’ve ever gotten before in this league and still the offense is not coming. If this “new” shake up doesn’t pan out, I’m almost positive something is going to be done. It was around this time last season that Mike York got traded for Randy Robitaille. This season, I can definitely see players like Andy Hilbert, Chris Simon, Marc-Andre Bergeron and some picks being swapped for an answer. It may sound a bit extreme, but something needs to be done about this team’s offense.

As I mentioned a few days ago as well, Mark Recchi is sitting at home waiting for a team to pick him up. What exactly do the Islanders have to lose by putting Andy Hilbert or Jeff Tambellini on the bench and giving Recchi a few games to see where he is? Nothing, that’s what. Just his presence alone on the powerplay could possibly get the team going. If it works out, they just got a huge bargain. If it doesn’t, just release him and try something else.

At this point in the season, the Isles need to do whatever it to takes to get back into contention. Last week, they were in sixth place in the Atlantic. Now, they find themselves on the outside looking in. A win tonight against Atlanta will help, but they need something else to keep themselves over the hump.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

It was almost like the Islanders were doing their best to impersonate their performance the other night against Atlanta. They had chances on the powerplay and didn’t take full advantage of them, again. They out shot their opponents again, but couldn’t put the puck in the net when they had to. They played physical and stood up for themselves, again.

In the end, it wasn’t enough, again.

During one of the plethora of chances the Islanders didn’t cash in on, Trent Hunter had a golden opportunity to slap in a rebound. There was just one problem: the puck was in his skates. That, for me, pretty much summed up the game.

Rick DiPietro made 19 saves on 22 shots; not a marvelous night by any means, but when you take away the two powerplay goals, the game was pretty much even. Well, not exactly. The Isles may have out shot the Bruins 34-22, but at least half of those shots weren’t solid scoring chances.

There’s a reason why Tim Thomas is one of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL right now; he’s stopping the puck a lot. Instead of simply peppering the net, the Islanders should have been getting a cycle going and getting shots to the front of the net with traffic. Some more shots from the point would have helped them as well. The only problem is Boston was also blocking a lot of shots as well.

When all of that happens [or in this case, fails to happen] your chances of ending the night with two points are close to impossible.

Like I said, the Islanders had chances to get back on track in this game, but they just couldn’t finish. The sad part is it’s not that they’re playing horrible either, they’re just doing the little things they were earlier in the season and it’s starting to catch up to them. A few weeks ago, one of the big hockey websites said the Isles were overachieving. When it was originally published, I thought they were crazy. Now, if they don’t start to get back on track, I’d have to agree with them. This needs to be shaked up in some way right now, the only problem is how?

Jeff Tambellini was supposed to help in the shake up process, but what can you really expect from a 24-year old who has been playing in the AHL most of his career. He played a surprisingly physical game and was around the puck a little, but overall, he wasn’t the sparkplug the team needed. Is it his fault? Absolutely not. Anyone expecting Tambellini to score a hat trick in their first game in the NHL in two months is out of their mind. However, after a few more games, I think Tambellini may start to help the team and get his bearings. If this kid gets a chance, I really think he could score 25-30 points in the last 55 or so games. Is that huge? Not really, but it is something more than you’ve been getting out of most of the other players on the team.

We’ll what else the team has planned before their next game against Atlanta.

Posted under Post Game Rants

Wow, did I just read someone’s mind?

Jeff Tambellini was called up yesterday afternoon and was slotted on a line with Miroslav Satan and Mike Comrie. Simply put, chances like this don’t come along too often. Tambellini, who again this season is scoring at a point a game pace for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, may be the spark the Islanders need to get going offensively. If he is, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

As of right now, the Isles offense is anemic as it could possibly get. One of the reasons I think why is because they haven’t been running four complete lines and have been putting pressure on the top three lines to produce. Now, for one of the first times this season, the Isles will be running four lines that all bring something different to the ice. Additionally, for the first time this season, Andy Hilbert is playing where he belongs, the fourth line. With Richard Park and Chris Simon, Hilbert won’t have the pressure of scoring added to his defensive responsibilities, making him more of an asset to the team and making the offense he does contribute more helpful than necessary.

But back to Tambellini…this new line with Comrie and Satan has some pretty interesting possibilities. With Comrie’s passing ability and Satan’s shot, Tamby may have more open ice than he’s ever had in the NHL before. Everyone knows what a good skater he is and that combined with his grit and good hands, this line should be one to look out for.

With that move, the Isles have spiced up their other lines, putting Mike Sillinger on a line with Sean Bergenheim and Trent Hunter and Josef Vasicek with Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin. Not the most conventional line combinations, but they’re different. That’s what I think this team needs right now. Things just aren’t working right now and every one needs a fresh start. Vasicek’s big body and the work of Fedotenko in the corners should give Guerin some space and adding Bergenheim with Sillinger and Hunter give the Isles a hard working line that can play well on both ends of the ice.

However despite the changes, the Islanders will have to play better defense and get better goaltending than they got the other night against the Thrashers. If they don’t, it won’t matter whose playing with whom. They’ve gotten some mixed results against the Bruins and Tim Thomas this season, so tonight’s new look should provide some interesting hockey.

Posted under Pregame Musings

Wow, now that was bad.

Why is it that every time Ted Nolan decides to give Rick DiPietro the night off that the Islanders defense takes one too?

After the first minute, it was painfully obvious that the Thrashers were ready for the Islanders. It’s not like the Isles didn’t have a plethora of chances to get back in the game though. They had five chances with the man advantage and again, come up with nothing to show for it. I know it’s still early in the season, but this team needs to start mixing up the lines more and possibly even make the trade for another third line player.

Shawn Bates is out again with a sore hip and at this point, what are the Islanders going to do as far as putting four competent lines out on the ice? I said it earlier in the season, but I feel like the season-ending knee injury to Jon Sim may hurt a lot more than anyone thinks. Especially considering how Sim was expected to score 20 goals in a second line role for the team. Now, with Andy Hilbert taking his spot, the Isles second line isn’t producing. As a matter of fact, there aren’t many players on the team that have been producing lately.

Seeing Bill Guerin throwing punches at a bunch of Thrashers in front of Kari Lehtonen last night just made that point abundantly clear. Last time I heard, Mark Recchi is available, at this point, why not offer up a pair of third round picks for him or something else? Pittsburgh told him to basically find a situation that works for him and having the guy around could jump start the offense. He had a good season last year and even though he’s finishing up his career, I still think he could have a 20-goal season if he got some ice time.

If that doesn’t work for you guys, how about giving someone like Jeff Tambellini or Blake Comeau a shot? These guys can’t stay in Bridgeport forever and even though player like Bates and Hilbert have more experience, this team can’t wait forever for offense. Something else needs to be done so this team starts to put some more pucks in the net.

Right now, the Islanders are three games over .500. However, if they don’t find a way to get some garbage goals and help out their defense, they’ll be three games under in a few weeks.

Posted under Post Game Rants