At first, it looked like the Islanders were going to be in for another shutdown performance against the Thrashers. Sloppy defense and sometimes erratic goaltending by Rick DiPietro however, made the game very interesting. Have to say though that when a team is behind you in the standings and playing as badly as the Thrashers have been lately, it doesn’t matter if the game goes to overtime or not. The important thing is that the Isles came out with two points.

If Atlanta decides to get hot over the last 15 or so games however, this could come back and bite them. Over the last stretch of the season, the Isles have eight games against the Flyers and Rangers remaining. If they make a habit of winning games like this against those teams, their season is pretty much finished. However, if they can find a way to get back to the things that made them so successful down the stretch, like shutting down opposing offenses and getting solid goaltending, they may be able to surprise a few teams.

Like I said, last night started off well, with every line showing some kind of passion and moxie. Mike Comrie played a very solid game, netting two goals and was yapping at referees and opposing players all night. That tells me he knows this team has to start maintaining some type of consistency and that he wants to be the catalyst. Anyone else see the beard that’s starting to grow in on his face? Hopefully, if the rest of the team can take a not from Mr. Duff, they’ll be growing them in a few weeks.

Josef Vasicek and Trent Hunter had their A-game’s last night as well, with Vasicek scoring a nifty goal in the first period and winning the face-offs he had to in the offensive zone. With an assist on Vasicek’s goal last night, Hunter now has 27 for the season, which is a new career high. Things like that may not mean much to some of you, but it just goes to show that Hunter is not the defensive forward many NHL analysts make him out to be. His shooting percentage is deplorable this season, [.050] but he has 179 shots on goal and is one of the league leaders in hits. By season’s end, he’ll have a dozen goals and while it’s not impressive for a guy that scored 25 in his rookie season, it doesn’t show how important Hunter is to this team and what he exemplifies on the ice.
However, none of that means anything if this team can’t get good goaltending on a consistent basis.

Speaking of goaltending, DP hasn’t been himself lately. Eric Perrin made an ugly move on his penalty shot and DP went down entirely way too early. That I believe got in the goaltender’s head and ruined what would have otherwise been a pretty good first period and change. I don’t know if Ken Klee’s shot hit off of anyone, but from the view I saw, it looked like one he should have stopped. The guy has 54 career goals in 13 and a half seasons in the NHL, he’s not a sniper. If DP got the look at the goal I thought he did, that puck should have been stopped. The same thing goes for the Zhitnik goal. A one timer that he got a good look at, DP should have been able to fall asleep on that one. Sure, Zhitnik has a solid slapper, but DP is supposed to be a top-tier goalie [or pretty damn close to one], he has to stop those pucks.

If he doesn’t, this team will revel in inconsistency and mediocrity for much longer than the rest of this season.

I know some of you guys are still a little teed off that the Islanders didn’t make a huge deal at the deadline and didn’t trade away players like Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek. Some of you are even mad that the Isles traded Marc-Andre Bergeron. I know this because I received more e-mails about this site yesterday than ever before. Before I get started with today’s post, I want to thank all of you guys for sharing your opinions with me and being so cool about it. Not one person was a creep about it and in all honesty, your comments and e-mails are really what keep me at this. Sometimes I’m so tired from a long day of college and work that I have to literally summon all of my energy to the keyboard in order to write my daily post. Thanks for my making me feel appreciated.

Okay, here’s the think. The Islanders may have cut some of the fat on the team by trading Marc-Andre Bergeron and Chris Simon, but I believe the real fat cutting is beginning right now. Depending on how well players like Fedotenko, Satan and Vasicek play down the stretch, they could in fact play themselves off the team. The Isles have a few extra draft picks now and still have plenty of cap space. I feel that not many people really understand what can be done with this team in the offseason. All that cap space and a handful of players that the Isles can either sign or part ways with, coupled with a host of young players that are proving more and more that they’re NHL ready… I don’t know, seems like fun times to me. They already have a top-tier goalie and a great coach

That doesn’t mean I am giving up on this season though. This team has been consistently inconsistent this season, but they’ve had their moments. When they play solid defense and get the kind of goaltending Rick DiPietro can give them when he’s on, this team gets results. Sure, the powerplay is broken and is partly responsible for the team being on the outside of a playoff spot looking in, but they could have things much worse. I mean seriously, they could be the Los Angeles Kings or the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’re not.

They just have to establish some sort of consistency. At this point in the season, I don’t care if it’s a winning streak or they tank it. I just don’t want to do through another crazy season. Wait, who am I kidding? I’d love to see them make the playoffs on the last day. It would be nuts. However, it shouldn’t have to be that way. They should go into the playoff playing the best hockey of the year and not get in on the skin of their arses.

The way they’ve played the past two games, showing glimpses of what it takes to be a playoff team, but not being able to finish, you can guess where I think they are right now.

To make matters worse, DiPietro wasn’t sharp the other night against the Pens and he’s going to have to be in order to get this team to the playoffs. Is he playing hurt and the media isn’t aware? Mike Sillinger was playing with a hip injury all season and no one knew. His production went down and the media was all over him, wondering why his production was down. DP hasn’t been sharp over the past two games and wasn’t exactly stellar in a few of the games during the recent win streak. I’m not trying to stir the pot here, but it’s definitely a possibility.

Anyway, the Isles have a huge game against the new look Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow that is a must-win. Four points out of a playoff spot and five points out of sixth place, the Isles have to start winning games anyway they can.

It’s go time.

Are the Isles ready?

Rather than waste time talking about last night’s game, which exemplified the fact that the Islanders need to finish more [especially on the powerplay], I figured I’d discuss the deals that went down yesterday.

First off, I, like my other people watching this team, knew that Marc-Andre Bergeron to be traded. He just had to go. Despite his impressive offensive numbers with the team, 15 goals and 39 points in 69 games, he needed to be on a team with a deeper defense that could cover up his mistakes. Sure it would have been nicer to get a second round pick for him, but Bergeron could flake out there as well and Anaheim could still end up the loser in the deal.

If anyone who thought the Isles could have gotten more for Bergeron, they had to be happy to get Rob Davison, a scrappy defenseman, who may remind some of a younger, tougher Brendan Witt, for a measly seventh round pick. He’s not the shot blocker and pest that Witt is, but this guy doesn’t have a problem dropping the gloves with anyone. With Blake Comeau and a few other players getting taken advantage of lately and Witt and Andy Sutton out of the lineup, the Isles needed another tough guy on the team. It also helps that Davison isn’t a bad stay at home defenseman in his own right. With all the injuries lately, he’s definitely an upgrade over Aaron Johnson and will provide the Isles team with some much needed depth.

Lastly, Chris Simon was also dealt today, making Minnesota a scarier team than ever. Now, in addition to Todd Fedoruk and Eric Boogaard, they now have another animal in Simon. Seems to me the Wild want to destroy every team that is in their way now and with Simon in the lineup, they have three heavyweights. How they are going to fit them into the lineup all at once seems like a big problem to me. Anyway, for the Islanders, this was another move that had to be made. There was a time last season where Simon was playing great hockey, but now, it seems his career is close to being over. His quick return wasn’t Ted Nolan showing faith in him. Rather, it was him being shopped. Luckily the Wild just got scammed out of a pick.

I’ll say it before the Islanders do: “No take backs!”

With Simon gone, Jeff Tambellini now has another opportunity to stick around. With the kid line playing a strong game and Sean Bergenheim getting there, the Isles youth movement is catching steam. With a healthy Chris Campoli back next season and hopefully Kyle Okposo getting a shot, the Isles should be younger and hungrier than ever. That is going to be fun to watch.

Like I said a few days ago, while I’d love to see this team make the playoffs, I’d rather let the youngsters develop so they can build a consistent winner.

Now that will be really fun to watch.

When I think of the trading deadline, I usually think of the 80s band Crowded House. Not because they kick arse and I’ll use any excuse to talk about them, but because two of their best songs epitomize the feelings felt by fans during the trading deadline.

“Don’t Dream, It’s Over.”

As Islander fans, this is what we’ve usually come to see the trading deadline as, regardless of how many times the team has made the playoffs over the past six seasons. It’s the time of the year, to stop dreaming and realize that the season is over. A time to give up on young players because they’ll want too much money in a few years or a fan favorite who could nab the team a pick in an attempt to rebuild. Things were so bad at one point with this team that long time fans still kind of have this hatred or fear of the deadline. That kind of ‘Ah crap, here it comes again approach,’ where regardless of what you do, you can’t stop the inevitable feces storm that is headed your way.

“Know We’re Getting Somewhere.”

This has been a feeling that the fans that were around during the Dynasty understand better than anyone. Bill Torrey made numerous little upgrades before, during and after the run that fortified the team down the stretch and quite possibly put the team over the top. Guys like Butch Goring immediately come to mind when you think of trades that lifted this team up to the next level, but the acquisition of Ryan Smyth last season did as well. If Radek Martinek and Rick DiPietro don’t get hurt down the stretch and Chris Simon doesn’t go bananas, that trade might have been one of the most important in the team’s recent history. But as fate would have it, it was just another rental in a league that was full of them last season.

This season is kind of in between these two sentiments though. It’s obvious the team is depleted on both offense and defense, but they’re so close to making the playoffs that you don’t want to mess with what you have. At the same time, guys like Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek have been playing great hockey as of late and while you don’t want to trade them when they’re playing like this, it’s better to trade them while their value is high, rather than get nothing for them at the end of the season.

Snow will be the conductor once again this trading deadline though and only he knows how the song will end. All we can do is wait and see what he presses on the jukebox.

With no game today and having already discussed my thoughts on the trading deadline, I figured I’d bring back another old segment on the website.

”When I’m old and gray, I’ll probably look back on two moments in my career. I’ll remember how nervous I was in my first NHL game and how great things turned out in my first game as an Islander.”

It might have been March 19, 1997, but I still remember that night like it was yesterday. I was so pissed off that the Isles gave up on Marty McInnis that I didn’t care who they got back for him.

Before I get discussing my memories of this former Islander, who by the way is Robert Reichel, if you lack the proper intelligence in Islanders history or have problems reading titles of web pages you click on, let me take you into my 13-year old subconscious at the time of the trade that brought Reichel to the Island.

“First, they shipped off Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakov and then they gave up on both Glenn Healy and Mark Fitzpatrick. Then, they traded Steve Thomas and treated Bryan Berard like a piece of garbage [remember when Milbury made him play forward because he wasn’t coming back on defense?]. Why did they take Marty away? He’s a great penalty killer and still has upside. I bet he scores 20 goals a few more times before his career is finished. [Did I drop the ball on that or what?] What is going on with this team?

“I think that I have a curse or something. Every Islander that I get attached to is traded or given up on.. Anyone remember Jamie McLennan? Is this my fault? Brett Lindros? Again, am I responsible for this? Benoit Hogue? Where did he go? Plus, they haven’t won a cup since I was born. July 13, 1983 might have been the worst day in Islanders history. I hope Milbury knows what he’s doing. I swear if they take Ziggy out of here, I’m going to buy a Niklas Sundstrom jersey and say screw it.”

Ok, back in the present day. [Just for your reference, I never bought that Sundstrom jersey after Palffy was dealt. And for some crazy reason, I’m happy I didn’t]

Reichel, for a short time, combined with Bryan Smolinski and Palffy, gave the Islanders a legitimate first line, but they still couldn’t make the playoffs. The goaltending was too weak and it didn’t matter that Palffy and Reichel obviously had chemistry. The next season, Reichel was again solid, scoring 65 points and was on his way to another one before he was dealt for Brad Isbister. [Looking back, that deal was a bust for both sides] After Travis Green and Palffy, the Islanders other offensive threats were eventually traded, the team was so bad offensively that I used to pray every night for someone to come from the minors that could pass the puck to Mariusz Czerkawski.

Regardless of how it all eventually turned out though, Reichel’s first night, where he scored a goal and added two assists, was a fun one that turned the dimmer switch way up and made me think this team might make the playoffs…if only for a second.

In my 15 plus years of watching the Islanders, I’ve usually found myself on the short end of the stick during the trading deadline. Seeing guys like Pierre Turgeon, Bryan McCabe, Todd Bertuzzi, Derek King, Marty McInnis and at least a half dozen more useful and talented players traded away for picks or players way past their prime has put a whole in my hockey loving heart and has been partly responsible for consistently getting my posterior partially stuck in the seats in Nassau Coliseum. It didn’t matter who the GM was, things just never went to see to go the Islanders way at the trading deadline.

Last season was different though. I know what I’m about to say may piss some people off, but let’s me honest, Robert Nilsson has seven goals and only 18 assists this season [Anyone else think the Isles should have drafted Zach Parise, Patrice Bergeron or Ryan Getzlaf instead?] and Ryan O’Marra can’t even average a point a game in the ECHL. For a while last season, the Isles rose above the mediocrity they’ve got themselves stick in and garnered more positive headlines than they had in years. Sure, they got into the playoffs on the last day of the season and didn’t exactly wow anyone once they got there, but I had the feeling that this team was building towards something besides another first place ouster.

That all changed this offseason though as guys like Tom Poti, Jason Blake, blah blah blah, you guys know this story already. So now, despite a month or two of thinking with the glass half-full, I have reverted to my glass-half empty approach. Nonetheless, I know that Snowie is doing what is best for the franchise and isn’t trying to make a huge splash like Milbury used to try to do, he’s trying to make this team better. It’s kind of like Milbury had the Isiah Thomas thing going on way before Zeke got the opportunity to become a GM in the NBA. Rather than develop talent, he would make a quick trade and before it was able to develop into something either disastrous or wonderful, he’d trade those guys for someone else.

Now with Snow, you at least get the feeling that he’s willing to wait until the pieces fall where they should. I think the way guys like Blake, Poti, Kozlov, Zednik, Asham, Hill, Robitaille and even Smyth have played this season [under expectations at inflated costs] has proven that Snow has made the best moves he could for the franchise. Despite still not having a first line and a legitimate number one defenseman, the Islanders are still in the mix. Again, are they gearing for a Stanley Cup run? No. However, that hasn’t stopped them from being competitive and playing hard. As a fan, that’s the most important thing to me. Winning would be great, but watching a team that doesn’t give up despite what ever obstacles stand in the way [the Isles have had plenty this season] has been a fun experience.

So what is the point of this whole diatribe? I think Snow is going to get rid of the players that he think he can’t keep in the offseason to avoid what happened to him last year. Then he’s going to tweak the defense. After that, he may make a small move to get another dependable forward. That’s a far cry from getting Ryan Smyth, but it’s going to be even farther from anything Milbury did before him. I really think Islander fans don’t have to be worried about this team being run like utter crap anymore and while they may be very far away from challenging for a Cup, they’re not dying a slow death. This may come to bite me in the arse later, but I’ll take the risk.

In Garth I trust.

Well, it happened. The Islanders lost one. It was bound to happen, but it was fun while it lasted, right? While the need to keep a winning streak is obviously an exhilarating one for athletes and fans alike, with today’s loss the Islanders can get back to business. They won a few games this past week without putting a 60-minute effort in and they did the same thing today. However, today it cost them.

Over the past week and a half, the Islanders were limiting the number of quality scoring opportunities in front of Rick DiPietro and in the third period of today’s game that didn’t happen. The entire Islanders defense seemed to take a collective nap during the final 20 minutes and the offense was stagnant. Any period when you’re out shot as badly as the Islanders were in the third simply doesn’t deserve to win.

Okay, on to other things.

I’m sure that plenty of Islander fans were thrilled today when the news broke that Trent Hunter, the poster boy of this site and one of the only real Islanders left on this team was signed to a five-year, $10 million contract. His goal numbers may be down, but he has twice as many assists as he had last year and is one of the league leaders in hits. He’s also leading the Islanders in shots on goal and is third in ice-time among forwards. I don’t know how the rest of you guys feel about this, but I think his decreased goal totals have nothing to do with his effort. He started off slow last season as well and ended up with another 20-goal season under his belt. Earlier in the season I predicted the same thing, and it may be a long shot, but I think he could definitely end the season with over a dozen markers under his belt, especially if his line with Ruslan Fedotenko and Joe Vasicek are allowed to stay together and gel.

And lastly,

The trading deadline is only a few days away and with Mike Sillinger out for the season, the Islanders may be looking to fill a few gaps on both ends of the ice. Miroslav Satan has a no-trade clause and I don’t think he’d approve a trade anywhere and I don’t think the Isles could afford to trade Vasicek and Fedotenko right now. Two weeks ago, I would have pulled the trigger on both of them in a heartbeat, but right now they’re a part of the Islanders best line. The only people I can really see this team giving up on is Marc-Andre Bergeron and Chris Simon. Powerplay quarterbacks with a shot like Bergeron don’t grow on trees and there may be a team out there that will be willing to take a risk on him. Simon will be a UFA this offseason and may generate some interest in a team looking to add depth and toughness to their fourth line. Again, they’d be taking a big risk, but that’s what this time of the year does to teams.

Regardless of my gut feelings though, Mike Comrie, Fedotenko and Vasicek will be very attractive players to a variety of different teams. Garth Snow has promised to build this team to a contender and while these guys are all effective players in one way or another, the Isles may be able to benefit more in the long run by parting ways with them.

Something tells me Tuesday is going to be very interesting.