The Penguins got Sidney Crosby back; the Isles were forced to play with Alexei Yashin for the first time this season, it happens. In any case, many don’t expect the Islanders to keep up their winning ways without Yashin, but at times last night this team showed they can play well without their captain.

Well, as Foghorn Leghorn used to do say every time he was down and out:
“I say, I say, fortunately, I number my feathers in case of such an emergency.”

Even without Alexei Yashin, the Islanders still have enough skilled players on offense to win hockey games. It’s hilarious to me sometimes how short the memory is of the media in this city. Ever since Yashin has been on the team, he’s never been a part of the team’s most dominant line, well until this year. Anyone remember the Peca-Parrish and Bates line a few years back; or what about Wiemer-Scatchard and Blake the year before the lockout? Last year, it was whoever was paired with Satan and York. What I’m trying to say here is that the Islanders have won without Yashin before and they will do it again. Last night’s game was just a case of Fleury playing a great game. Against any other goalie last night the Isles would have won 4-3.

For about five minutes before the second period came to a close, I felt the Islanders were playing a solid game and were putting on a passing clinic. It’s just a shame that they lost on such a fluke goal from a weasel-looking checking line forward like Chris Thorburn. During Saturday’s game, he was complaining about calls and wouldn’t stop talking. Finally, Trent Hunter nailed him and on his next shift Brendan Witt hit him as well. But that’s hockey, sometimes you get a few bounces your way and sometimes you don’t. With the Flyers coming into town tomorrow, the Isles need to put this loss behind them and get back on the gravy train.

Ok, now since its Wednesday, here’s another segment of THE HUMP!

OVER THE HUMP…

Arron Asham- A few goals in his past few games combined with his ever so solid physical play have thrust Ash into a position where he’s due for more playing time. With Yashin out, Asham will see some time on the powerplay and will be forced to shoot! The dude has an unbelievable shot but only has 28 shots on the season. That number will go up significantly over the next three weeks.

Jason Blake- Without Yashin in the lineup, Blake will be asked to continue his production and last night was a good starting point. What a beautiful pass to Kozlov for a goal last night. I think Ted Nolan made a very smart decision in putting Kozlov with Blake because his game is so much similar to Yashin’s. He’s big and strong and has a great shot, sounds a lot like number 79 eh? If Kozlov can regain the form he had with the Panthers, scoring 70 points a few years back, the Isles may be much better off than they thought.

UNDER THE HUMP…

Andy Hilbert is going to stay in this section until he scores a goal, plain and simple. I’m sick of being nice and saying, “Oh, well he had six shots on goal and played hard.” No, he needs to put a puck completely across the goal line and then I will get off his back. Like I’ve said before in previous posts, his play is much better and he’s noticeable on the ice, but he needs to get going already. He’s reminding me of Daniel Marois, who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn when he was on the Isles.

Mike Sillinger- This was a tough one. The guy does so much on the ice, he kills penalties, takes face offs, provides leadership, but at the end of the day, he needs to take more shots. There is no reason why Sillinger can’t score 20 goals this year and the Isles need his offense even more than ever right now.

BACK TO TOMORROW’S GAME…

Like I said before, the Islanders need to forget about the Pens and need to concentrate on taking the Flyers out. They have to play a smart game and rely on people like Chris Simon, Trent Hunter, Arron Asham, Brendan Witt and Richard Park to use their grit, speed and physical presence to open up ice for Miro and Blake. If they can do that successfully, they’ll be able to pull out a win.

Let’s go Islanders.

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Post Game Rants

After taking care of the Panthers on Saturday, the Islanders now have the opportunity to continue their recent road dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are currently without their captain, Mats Sundin.

Given that, this is a game that the Islanders can and must win. They have the offensive firepower to hold their own with the Leafs and without Sundin in the lineup, the defense can focus on some of the other players that can hurt them. That will give players like Asham and Hunter the opportunity to lay hits on people like Darcy Tucker.

Getting points in their last five road games, the Isles have been a changed team since they were taken to school by the Lightning a week and a half ago, combining both fantastic goaltending by Dipietro and Dunham with the consistent dominance of Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake has effectively formed the key ingredients of a team that has been simply amazing as of late.

Ted Nolan has got these guys going in the right direction and has them motivated all season. Despite a few hiccups along the way, the Islanders have been one of the sleeper teams in the conference. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but Stan Fischler so far has nailed it right on the head. Usually the biggest Islanders basher in the tri-state area, “The Maven” said in an article on MSG that the Isles were going to sneak up on teams the same way the Rangers did and like I’ve said already, so far so he’s been totally right and I hope it stays the way all season.

That also goes to tell you that despite the fact that he was practically ripped apart by the media during the off-season, Garth Snow [and Neil Smith] did a pretty decent job of putting a solid team on the ice and Ted Nolan has taken care of the rest.

BACK TO THE GAME…

Hating the Maple Leafs as much as I do, I really want to see the Islanders take the body tonight. Nolan has been rolling four lines consistently and because of that, we should be flying tonight and should put forward a team effort. Look for guys like Witt, Hunter and Asham to insert themselves into the game and fuel a hard fought Islanders victory. If guys like Hilbert and Satan get going offensively, we might even see a blow out.

But let’s see what happens.

Let’s Go Islanders.

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Pregame Musings

Here the Islanders come Tampa Bay, are you ready?

I surely hope not.

After shutting out the Stars a few nights ago, the Islanders head into the Sunshine state to tackle Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and company, looking for a fifth consecutive road win. Like the game against Dallas, a win against the streaky Lightning would continue to increase the Islanders reputation against the NHL’s elite.

In a way, the Lightning and Dallas have some similarities in the fact that they both have hot goaltenders right now in Marty Turco and  Johan Holmqvist, but unlike the Stars, the Lightning have been getting more than ample scoring from their first two lines, making them much more dangerous.

THE KEYS TO THE GAME:

It is essential that the Islanders stay out of the penalty box and take the body as often as they can. This is a game that Trent Hunter, Arron Asham, Chris Simon and Brendan Witt need to assert themselves in. If the Isles can play smart and continue what they’ve been doing the past two games, taking quality shots and using their speed and grit to get scoring opportunities, Tampa Bay doesn’t stand a chance.

But if Lecavalier, St. Louis and company find a way to get open ice, via the power play or sloppy defensive play, the Islanders are going to getting demolished again. Another way the Islanders can guarantee a win tonight is to get some production from people like Andy Hilbert, Victor Kozlov and Miroslav Satan.

While Kozlov and Satan have been streaky at times, Hilbert has been ice cold this season.  The Isles need at least a dozen goals and about 15 assists from our fourth line center and as of now, I don’t see it happening. Nolan has tried everything in an effort to get him going, including throwing him on the second line for occasional shifts and he still has no points this season.

For the Islanders to content this season, they will need all four lines going strong.  Let’s hope it happens.

ON ANOTHER NOTE… 

Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake have been playing amazing and have kept the Islanders in so many games this season. I love that Alexei is passing the puck so well [reminds me of how he was on the Senators] this year and it makes me feel even better that Blake is taking less shots, and scoring more. It’s funny to me that all this time the Islanders have been looking for suitable partners for Yashin and they never thought about Blake until this season.

I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. It’s just going to be hilarious when we look back and see that Yashin had his best season as an Islander when he was paired with a former fourth line pest.

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Pregame Musings