I just figured with nothing really on my writing palette today that I’d share an old story with all of you guys. This was the first real reporting I ever did covering the Islanders, way back in 2005. With all the problems on defense right now, I thought it would be interesting to see where the defense was a few years ago. Enjoy!

New Rule Changes Promoting Offense, Islanders Defense Ready To Play

With the bevy of new rule changes this year in the NHL, one can expect many teams to try and take advantage of them. Teams will be using their skilled skaters to make the most of the new spacious offensive zone; with defensive cores trying to find a way to stifle them.

“I think these new rules should really provide teams with more offense. Teams with good puck moving defensemen like the Islanders should really benefit too, creating more goals,” said Former Islander Sergei Nemchinov.

Nemchinov isn’t the only one that feels this way; NHL officials have been preaching that the new rules would lead to more offense for a game that thanks to the New Jersey Devils, Jacques Lemaire and the neutral zone trap, has become a lot more about strategy and a lot less about speed.

“I think it’s really going to open things up. Teams are going to start playing different systems and defenses are going to back up,” said Islanders Forward Kevin Colley. “The defense is going to have to make sure no one slips in behind them with all that extra room out there. It’s going to be exciting to watch.”

The Islanders, during the last NHL season in 2003-2004, were a team that deployed the neutral zone trap. But unlike many of the other teams that used the system, the Islanders were blessed to have defensemen like Kenny Jonsson, Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik and Janne Ninimaa that have the ability to play great defense and add some offense as well. With the new rules that basically eliminate the use of the trap and three of the Islanders top four defensemen no longer with the team, the new Islanders defensive core is going to have to step it up for the Islanders to succeed.

“It’s (The new rules) going to affect the game a little bit; the icing rule and the two-line pass most of all. You’re going to have go after the puck a lot more than previously,” said Islanders defenseman Janne Ninimaa. “The fact that the goalie can’t play the puck (outside the new trapezoidal zone behind the net where the goalie can play the puck) is big for us too because Ricky (Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro) likes to play the puck a lot, so we’re going to have to get it for him. I want to see how they (the referees) call these new rules. The game is going to be different, but it’s really hard to say how different. I don’t think though that it’s going to affect anyone’s numbers. I played with these kinds of rules back home and the game’s not that different because of them.”

“The game is going to be a lot quicker and it’s going to give the defense an opportunity to play some more offense. I think it’s going to cause an increased awareness in the game, no more lollygagging up and down the ice,” said Brad Lukowich, a member of the 2004 Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, whom the Islanders signed as a free agent in August to fill the void left by former Islander defenseman Kenny Jonsson deciding to stay in Sweden for the 2005-2006 season.

With new additions like Brent Sopel, Alexei Zhitnik and Brad Lukowich to the Islanders defense core, the Islanders will have to find a way to quickly come up with on-ice chemistry to provide the stability needed to limit opposing offences. This would usually be a bad sign for many teams, but the Islanders defense doesn’t seem staggered by the lack of time they’ve had to play together.

“I haven’t really thought about it yet (Who he’s playing with on defense), every time you bring in new guys it’s a challenge to make things work,” said Ninimaa. “The main thing is with all the new guys we have, we really have to find that way to make things work. Things are going to work; training camp will give us time for things to fall into place.”

The rest of the Islanders defense feels pretty much the same way.

“It doesn’t really matter who I’m paired with,” said Lukowich. Their all good players that have made names for themselves, I’m just looking forward to playing again really.”

Hockey fans are looking forward to it just as much.

The Islanders begin the regular season on October 5 against the Buffalo Sabres.