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

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

Over the past 11 games, the Islanders have played in nine one-goal games. Win or lose, that makes for some interesting hockey. Over the past decade and a half, interesting hockey on Long Island isn’t something that many fans are used to watching. Seeing great young players getting traded before getting a chance to blossom or watching playoff hockey with your head in between your legs like an Indian contortionist, now that’s what being an Islander fan has usually been about.

This season however, has been like something out of an episode of the Honeymooners, with the Islanders playing the part of Ralph Kramden. Remember the episode where Ralph loses his job? The very next episode was like he never lost it, things just somehow went back to normal. Regardless of how bad that corpulent, sarcastic and close-minded bus driver came to losing his wife and apartment in Bensonhurst, he always kept what he had and made it out of every get-rich quick scheme a better person.

While the Islanders would be the last team anyone in the NHL would ever call close-minded, playing a hybrid system designed to get the most out of their offense and defense, they do have their own version of Ralph Kramden. His name is Rick DiPietro. Showing the resiliency of a household cockroach this season and the cockiness and confidence of Brett Michaels, DP has been a force to be reckoned with on the ice.

Additionally, his team also hasn’t let injuries to Bill Guerin, and Bryan Berard and the early season incompetence of Andy Sutton and Marc-Andre Bergeron stop them on the ice. Players like Josef Vasicek, Richard Park, Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek have stepped up and kept this team in the playoff mix, much to chagrin of the matchmakers around the league that had no faith in Islanders owner Charles Wang or General Manager Garth Snow this offseason.

With a 12-8 record through 20 games, the Isles have proved that in spite of losing virtually half their team to free agency last season that they could put a quality team on the ice.

I hear hockey writers all over North America scrumaging through their pockets for Tums as we speak.

However, despite the team’s record so far this season, the finger is still awfully close to the panic button. These Islanders, who would make the playoffs if the season ended today, have a ton of problems. For one, they’ve only scored four or more goals four times this season. Secondly, they haven’t been producing on the powerplay as late either, converting only three times in their last 40 times with the man advantage.

In the new-look Eastern Conference, things can revert back to normal as fast as an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The Islanders need to stay focused and continue to do what’s worked for them so far this season. Through a quarter of the season, that has been staying out of the penalty box and getting good goaltending.

Of the 30 teams in the NHL, the Islanders currently have the 11^th best GAA. Take away two disaster-filled games against Toronto and Carolina, where the team gave up eight goals in each contest, and the Isles would easily have one of the top five goaltending numbers in the league. Say what you will about the 15-year contract of DiPietro, but 11 wins and a 2.28 GAA say more than any sportswriter you pay 50 cents to read everyday can say in a month..

As of today as well, the Islanders have committed the least amount of penalties in the league. Staying out of the penalty box has helped DiPietro face seven less shots a game [last season DiPietro faced a league high 33 shots a game] than he was facing last season. Rocket science is used to launch rockets into space. Common sense tells you that any quality goaltender that faces fewer shots will produce more, regardless of what team he plays on.

While the Islanders have had problems scoring goals as of late, the newly acquired quartet of Vasicek, Mike Comrie, Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko are the Islanders top four goal scorers. Like last season, Trent Hunter, Mike Sillinger Andy Hilbert and Miroslav Satan have been slow starters offensively. Will they regain their scoring touch as the season goes on? Your guess is as good as mine.

If they don’t, the Islanders will have to continue to do what they’ve been doing all season, rely on DiPietro.

Never before has a goalie in the Isles organization wanted to be the straw that stirs the drink. If things keep up the way they’ve been lately, he may be the straw that stirs his own drink.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Yesterday’s game to me was a wake up call. This team has the talent to win, but when they stray from their game plan, they run into trouble. They were obviously the more physical team on the ice, as Bryan Berard landed another big hit and Chris Campoli continued to assert himself on the ice, but that wasn’t enough.

Overall, it just felt like the Isles were holding their sticks too tight. On top of all of that, Tim Thomas just played a really strong game and made the Islanders work for any offense they were going to get. Add in the fact that the Islanders consistently made mistakes on defense that gave the Bruins opportunities on the powerplay and it was a formula for a game they had no chance in winning.

What can they do to fix these problems on the ice? To me, it’s simple. Play smarter and skate. Stop using the stick to stop defenders and use your legs and play their game. The Isles have the talent on defense, with players like Richard Park, Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek, that they have to take the play to the opposition. If they stay on task and don’t get lazy, the tight defense they’re capable of playing will open up chances in the offensive end.

Prior to the seven one-goal games over the past two and a half weeks, that was what was happening. Now, the team finds themselves searching for offense because they’re not working as hard as they were in the corners and making the little plays on defense that they have to.

These little things, like making the smart pass out of the defensive zone, forcing the opposition to make cross ice passes, clogging up the front of the oppositions net, usually go unnoticed by the average fan and when a team starts losing all of a sudden, it’s easy to get shell shocked about it. The Islanders coaching staff is well aware of this because if you caught the post-game show yesterday, Ted Nolan said basically the same thing I’m saying now and said that players like Andy Hilbert, who do a bunch of different things on the ice and aren’t there solely to provide offense, need to finish.

As I’ve said before, good teams find ways to pick up the slack and if the Isles are going to make it out of this offensive slump, players besides Josef Vasicek, Miroslav Satan and Mike Comrie are going to have to start producing more. With another game against the Bruins today, there’s not a better time to start than now.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

When the Islanders drafted Chris Campoli in the seventh round of the 2004 draft, they envisioned that one day the 20-year old would be able to quarterback the powerplay and play important minutes on both ends of the ice. After 14 games of his third season with the Isles, Campoli is finally starting to show that he can be a complete NHL defenseman.

Scoring 11 points while establishing himself as a physical presence, Campoli has successfully rebounded after an injury-plagued 2007 that limited him to only 51 games and 14 points.

“My role has changed this year,” said Campoli. “I’m playing more and with more confidence. “All that matters is that we keep winning and I do what I can to contribute.”

Scoring 34 points in an impressive rookie season, Campoli came into training camp last season assured of a spot on the Islanders blue line. New Islanders head coach Ted Nolan however, thought that the youngster could use more seasoning in the AHL with the team’s affiliate in Bridgeport. Despite the view of his coach however, Campoli looked as if he was going to make the team out of camp as the seventh defenseman. However, after a groin injury a week before opening night, Campoli was forced to rehab and earn his stripes again.

Finally getting back in the lineup before the All-Star break, it took Campoli nearly 50 games to look like a steady NHL defenseman again. Scoring four points and playing excellent defense in the playoff series with the Buffalo Sabres, Campoli earned himself a three-year, $1.9 million dollar contract and hasn’t looked back since.

However, despite his reinvigorated play, the 23-year-old doesn’t see anything different with his game.

“It’s just me playing my game and recognizing the opportunities to jump into the play,” said Campoli. “I don’t think I’m jumping into the play anymore often than I did last year or the year before. When opportunities come I just want to take advantage of them.”

With more playing time, Campoli has become an influential part of the Islanders defense. Additionally, with injuries to Bryan Berard and the streaky play of Marc-Andre Bergeron, the young defenseman’s role may get even bigger before the season is through. Regardless of that though, Campoli is just happy to be on a winning team and is focused on getting the team past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

“All that matters is that we keep winning and I do what I can to contribute.”

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

After a disappointing loss to the Flyers on Monday, the Isles now have another solid Eastern Conference team to deal with in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Loaded with offensive depth, the Pens are going to be a solid team for years to come. Nevertheless, they do have a few weaknesses. Marc-Andre Fleury may have won 40 games last season, but is still a ways away from being an elite goaltender in the NHL. If the Islanders pepper the net with shots, they should be able to get a few past Fleury.

Considering how offensive-minded the team is, they make plenty of mistakes in transition and if the Isles continue to work hard in both ends of the ice, they should be more than capable of holding their own. However, if the Islanders make mistakes in their own end and don’t work hard on the boards, similarly to the way they played against Philly, the Isles are doomed to suffer a miserable fate.

The game against Philly proved in my mind that the Islanders can hold their own with any team in the NHL, as long as they stick to their game plan that is. Even without Bill Guerin in the lineup, the Isles were strong on the puck most of the time, and stayed in the game throughout. Not many teams would have been able to play against a team like the Flyers without their captain, and a talented offensive defenseman like Bryan Berard in the lineup, but the Isles did. Like I’ve said a few times already, I don’t think this team has the kind of team that can win a cup obviously, but I do think they can make the playoffs playing this way.

Once they get in the playoffs, everything is different though. With a solid goalie like DP, they could surprise a few people, but then again, I’m absolutely out of mind for talking about the playoffs after 14 games.

Continuing to focus on the current developments of the team, Andy Sutton and Marc-Andre Bergeron’s play in their own end has gotten noticeably better. Ted Nolan said something on the pre-game show the other night that the competition on defense has brought out the best of Bergeron. You have to wonder what’s going to happen once Berard comes back. For my money, I’d start a seven man rotation and depending on what team I was playing, I’d shift around Berard, Sutton, Bergeron and Bruno Gervais. Chris Campoli, Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek do too much on both ends of the ice to be taken out of the lineup, while Sutton, MAB and Bruno are much more one-dimensional.

Anyway, we’ll see how the team comes out against the Penguins. I’m expecting a lot of goals. We’ll see though.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007, Pregame Musings

Tonight will be an interesting night. Not because the Isles face off against the Devils, but because chances are that Bryan Berard will make his return to the lineup. The only question is who gets scratched?

For my money, I’d sit Bergeron until Berard or Bruno Gervais play their way out of the lineup. Andy Sutton, Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek and Chris Campoli all have multi-year contracts and need playing time. Their play hasn’t been fantastic this season, but they’ve all played better in the defensive end than Bergeron. Sure the guy is great on the powerplay [when he hits the net] and has six points in nine games, but as I’ve already said countless times already this season, his sloppy play on defense needs to be improved. Especially considering all the depth the Isles have on the blue line.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the fourth line of Ben Walter, Chris Simon and Tim Jackman play again tonight. I seriously hope their solid play against the Rangers wasn’t a fluke. This team needs the fourth line to eat up minutes and grind. Everyone saw how all three other lines had jump against the Rangers when they needed to. That’s because they didn’t have to play the whole game and weren’t asked to play tough in the corners. The fourth line took care of that and played quality minutes.

That kind of play from your role players can only help a team. I’m happy that they’re finally starting to get that kind of play from the fourth line. The only question is if the formation of the line will change once Shawn Bates comes back [when is he coming back?]. As of now, I like the way Walter has played and if Bates did come back, I don’t know if I’d scratch a hungry young player for a guy that hasn’t played in almost a year.

As far as Jackman goes, I like having two physical players on the fourth line. The guy has also shown that he can score in the minor leagues; hopefully he can translate some of that success to the NHL and finally shake his high draft pick flop status. At any rate, I’d probably rather have him in the lineup if he’s taking the body than a rusty Bates.

If Bates to ready to go though, I think his speed, combined with Simon’s toughness and Walter’s two-way play could bode well for the Isles.

I guess that’s why Te Nolan gets paid six figures to make decisions like this.

Last season in Islander Country: http://www.thedriveforfive.com/?p=80

I actually had the audacity to tell my readers that Alexei Yashin was the real deal last season. I also start to stop my daily rants on DP and talk about how well Jason Blake was playing.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

This should be on NYSportsDay tomorrow, enjoy.

Expected to finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division this season, the New York Islanders have surprised their competition by playing hard-working and team-oriented hockey. Going 8-4 through their first 12 games, the Isles, as of press time, sit in third pace in the division with 16-points, behind the revamped Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

How they have managed to succeed this season, without having a superstar scorer or legitimate number one defenseman has baffled the league. However, in doing so, the Isles have shown that character and plenty of depth can produce a quality that that plays hard every night.

Through the first ten games, the team relied on new arrivals like Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko to provide scoring. Through the last two games however, veterans Trent Hunter and Miroslav Satan have gotten hot, giving the team the extra jump that they need in order to win and has taken the pressure of the new arrivals.

Both getting off to slow starts, both Hunter and Satan have played their best hockey over the past two games, scoring a five combined goals and helping the team finish off two good teams in the Penguins and the Rangers. In order to continue to stay in the thick of the division, the Islanders will have to continue to get solid performances from players like Hunter and Satan.

For Satan, who is coming off of a disappointing 27-goal season, after scoring 35 in his first season with the team, there’s no time like the present. With the team taking his lead, the Isles have looked like they’ve shaken off the mediocre games they played against Toronto and Carolina last week.

“We’re a resilient little bunch,” said DiPietro.

Also helping matters for the Islanders is the play of Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro. Currently second in the league with seven wins and has a goals against average of 2.56, despite giving up six goals in a period and a half against Carolina last week, DiPietro continues to prove he was worth every penny of the monumental 15-year contract he signed a year ago.

With the reinvigorated play of Hunter and Satan, along with the consistent play of DiPietro and the new arrivals, the Islanders may have enough depth to capture a playoff spot this season. The only question is if their play through the first 12 games this season will continue when the games become more important in April and May.

Islanders coach Ted Nolan doesn’t see that as a problem and is looking forward to the team establishing themselves as the season goes on.

“This is a real good character kind of team that doesn’t quit,” Nolan told the Associated Press.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Big win against the Rangers the other night, which in my opinion, should personify the way this team plays the rest of the season. Against the Rangers, the Isles rolled four lines and used a myriad of players in a variety of situations.

That’s what good teams do.

At this point in the season, it may be a little early to say that the Islanders are on their way to becoming a good team, but the stats don’t lie. On special teams, they’re in the top 10 in both the powerplay and penalty kill. Rick DiPietro is second in the NHL in wins and Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan are scoring a point a game or are pretty close to.

To me, those are pretty damn good indicators that this team is doing what it needs to on the ice for the most part. However, like I’ve said in other posts, the Islanders defense has been suspect at times and need to step up their play. Last season, DP faced way too many shots and had to stand on his head at times to keep the team in the playoff hunt. This season hasn’t been as bad, but the Isles still give the opposition way too many quality scoring opportunities.

Andy Sutton has started to step up his physical play as of late and has slowly started to turn around his game, which will definitely help the Isles as the season progresses. When Bryan Berard comes back, most likely on Saturday, it’s going to be very interesting to see what Ted Nolan does with the defense. Bruno Gervais has been solid this season has continued to develop into a calming, two-way presence on the Isles blue line. Marc-Andre can contribute on offense, but he still remains the biggest liability on the Isles blue line, which may signal his exit to the scratched list.

The way the fourth line played the other night against the Rangers, I think Nolan would have to be out of his mind to go back to a seven defensemen rotation. This is a really tough decision to make, but if Berard is healthy and the team would rather have him in the lineup, then I think they should do it and part ways with MAB. The guy is a talented offensive defenseman, but he seems to be on the outside looking in. Another team could use his talents and the Isles could get a good third line winger to play with Bill Guerin and Mike Sillinger, which would give Richard Park and Chris Simon a good linemate in Andy Hilbert once Sean Bergenheim comes back.

Maybe too much thinking on my part, but when you have good young defensemen like Jamie Fraser, Drew Fata and Andrew McDonald in Bridgeport that could easily come up and fill in for someone, why they’re wasting away Bergeron’s offensive talent is very perplexing to me.

Last season in Islander Country: http://www.thedriveforfive.com/?p=76

On this day last season, I spoke at length about the chemistry between Jason Blake and Alexei Yashin, while stating that Sean Hill and Brendan Witt needed to start skating.

I also made a comment about how Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke were playing golf.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Big game against the Rangers tonight that may turn nasty very quickly if both teams aren’t careful.

The Post reported today that Rick DiPietro’s eye injury isn’t a serious one. What was that? I thought I just heard a big sigh of relief from Islander fans all over the tri-state area. I guess I did. If DP misses a few games, I really don’t think it’s all that big of a deal. At this point in the season, the Isles really need to get focused on defense and having Dubie in the lineup will force them to be. Additionally, Dubielewicz will get some extra work and in all honesty, I’d like to make sure that he’s sharp. While DP is the kind of guy that loves to have all the pressure on him and would love to play 70 games a season, if he gets injured, the team is screwed.

Look at what happened last season with Dunham, he sat on the bench all season and couldn’t do a thing when he was called upon during the playoff stretch when DP got hurt. To stop this from ever happening again, I’d give DP a 60 game max start quota or something along those lines that made sure the Isles had two goalies that were relatively fresh. Some may think I’m crazy for saying that and while I think DP can play 70 games a season, the risk of injury is extremely high and him playing in that many games could ruin him come playoff time.

In addition, look at the goalies that played that many games and you’ll see most of them have a short shelf life, minus Grant Fuhr and Martin Brodeur.

Where’s Tim Cheveldae now? I have no idea. But I know this much, it isn’t playing every day like he used to.

In addition to DP’s injury, the Post reported that Aaron Johnson is going to be out for six weeks nursing an injury that occurred after he bumped into Brendan Witt during a drill. I guess my voodoo doll is working.

That means someone has to be called up from Bridgeport to take his spot. With Ben Walter already with the team and Sean Bergenheim still nursing an injury, it’s going to be interesting who they decide to call up. My money is on Blake Comeau.

Last Year in Islander Country- http://www.thedriveforfive.com//?p=72

Despite solid play by both Jason Blake and Alexei Yashin, I complain some more, after a few flat games, Plus, some reminiscing on the good ole days.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007