Well, that was different wasn’t it?

When the Islanders skate, pressure the puck and play a little smarter in their own zone, they can be a pretty fun team to watch. Add in an empty-netter, a short-handed goal and a goal with the man-advantage and I don’t think the Isles could have played this one any better.

Overall, it was great to see guys like Andy Hilbert and Mike Comrie, who didn’t play their best hockey on Friday, turn it around and be driving factors in the win. Comrie, who was schooled so bad defensively on Friday that I thought I heard my dog cry in the other room, was snappier on the ice and was visible on nearly every shift. And more importantly, no toe drags! Hilbert wasn’t horrible on Friday, he just couldn’t finish. But last night, he, too, was noticeable and was making the most of opportunities.

However, while the team turned around their timid play from opening night, one player didn’t need to step it up. Simply put, Joey MacDonald was once again stellar, making breathtaking saves left and right, while having solid rebound control and poise. A lot of Islander fans weren’t happy when Wade Dubielewicz left the team to go to Russia [and because the Isles pretty much pegged MacDonald to be the backup this season] so number 35 kind of had a tough task ahead of him. One, play well an earn the respect of the fans and now, play well enough to keep the team above water until DP is completely healthy. It’s always a feel-good story when a guy performs well that you didn’t expect too, but MacDonald’s play over the last two games has proven [so far] that the Isles don’t have to play DP 70 games this season. With the NHL’s new policy on injuries, I doubt any of us will know what is exactly wrong with him and when he’ll be back, so until then, Joey Mac has to keep running with the ball.

Another guy that played very well last night was Sean Bergenheim. Anyone see Scott Gordon patting him on the back in the third period? Less than 10 minutes of ice-time and four shots on goal. Not a bad day at the office if you ask me. I think it’s fair to say he earned himself some more playing time last night and if he continues to play that way, he’s going to be playing much more. Also, I loved that the Isles had the veterans out there the last few minutes to sew up the game. Hopefully, by the end of the season, we’ll see a few of the younger guys in that spot.

Lastly, in my opinion, it looks like Radek Martinek has at least a separated shoulder. If you watch the video, it look like his shoulder disappeared under his jersey when he ran into the boards. Not good if you ask me. This guy has the worst luck of any player I’ve ever sen. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best defensive D-men in the league. With Chris Campoli and Andy Sutton already out as well, this was the last thing this team needed. For the time being, Jack Hillen will most likely get the nod to replace him, which is good for you fans that want to see more youth, but for those who want to see the team sneak into a playoff spot this season, it’s scary.

Scarier than seeing Barrett Jackman punch Jon Sim in the face twice and not having a penalty called.

Photo by NHL Media.

Over the past month or so, a lot of writers, bloggers and pundits that cover this team have been writing about the youth movement and how the youngsters will have to develop at a rapid pace for this team to make the playoffs this season. Some have even conjured up potential trades for players like Jay Bouwmeester. I, on the other hand, prefer to focus on what the Islanders currently have and not on what they could have.

With guys like Mark Streit and Doug Weight in the fold and the youngsters getting more of an opportunity, the Islanders offense this season is going to be hit or miss. However, unlike those same writers, bloggers and pundits who don’t give the Islanders a chance in hell in making the playoffs this season, I believe they do have a chance.

And that one small, almost minuscule chance this team has in making the playoffs doesn’t depend on any new player or any youngster.

It depends on Rick DiPietro.

It’s funny to me how a team with such a rich history like the Isles could have fans with such horrendous short term memory. They remember the bad trades and the years playing golf [I especially remember them] in May, but they don’t remember the small things. Before this team collapsed down the stretch last season, they were right in the thick of things. The reason why wasn’t because of an amazing offense or shut down defense. It was because of their goaltending. DP was an All-Star. And better yet, he deserved to be there; he had the numbers. They were actually better than a few Vezina finalists, one named Henrik Lundqvist.

However, after getting injured, the Isles went in a downward spiral and DP’s own unwillingness to take time off wound up hurting the team even more. If Wade Dubielewicz could have gotten in more games for an injured DP, who knows what could have happened. This season though, the Isles don’t have that kind of insurance and DP will be asked to not do the little things he’s done over the past few seasons that have hurt his team and his career. This season, DP will be asked to not be so aggressive with the puck and to take a day off every five games or so. Regardless of what the gregarious and confident goaltender may think, 65 games is more than enough for any starting NHL goaltender and by not playing 75, he won’t break down like he has over the past two seasons.

In the end, if he can stay healthy and on top of his game all season, this team will challenge for the final playoff spot. Once the playoffs begin, it’s a whole other ballgame.

But if DP is more preoccupied with chasing pucks away from fourth liners at the blue line in Montreal or playing past injuries in All-Star competitions than keeping this team on his back, the Islanders’ season will be over before it gets started.

Notes-

Don’t think I forgot about the second part of “These Kids Will be Alright.” Expect it on either Monday or Tuesday. I just felt the need to talk about our good ole buddy Rick DiPietro.

Photo courtesy of NHL Media

If you guys haven’t heard the news yet, here it is:

Wade Dubielewicz has signed a one-way contract for the 2007-2008 season.

I know it’s not Ryan Smyth or Jason Blake, but Dubie has earned the right to remain on the Islanders and it’s great that the organization did the right thing here and rewarded “Yoda” for playing his heart out during the last week of the season. Again, while the Islanders will have bigger fish to fry [no fish sticks pun there, I just like the cliché] trying to hold on to Smyth, Blake, Poti and a few other players from going elsewhere this offseason, signing Dubie was a must.

For one, the guy has spent his whole entire professional career in the organization and has always played well whenever he has been called upon. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but I come from the school of thought that you have to help people that really go above and beyond the call of duty and stick their necks out for you and in the case of Dubie, he’s been nothing short of stellar for the Islanders and without him, I dare say they may have not made the playoffs.

Another reason why I love this deal is because Mike Dunham managed to wear out his welcome pretty fast and proved down the stretch, despite some solid games earlier in the season, that he was no longer capable of backing up DP. At times, it just seemed like he didn’t have the killer instinct and composure the Islanders [or any other team in the NHL for that matter] need out of their backup goaltender.

I mean, lets be honest here, it takes a special type of player to be able to play 15 games a season and know that regardless of how great you play, that’s all you’re going to get. Dunham wasn’t that guy. Dubie on the other hand, deserves this opportunity and I believe is more than capable of providing DiPietro with a breather every few games and can even provide the team with a boost emotionally in the process.

The only season why Dunham was signed last year is because I believe Islanders management felt that DP still had some growing up to do. Now however, DP has proven this season that he doesn’t need an experienced veteran to back him up and he can take hold of this team and be responsible for his actions of the ice [all concussions aside]. With that being said, I think DP’s dominance this year was as much a reason in Dubie’s contract signing as was his own stellar play over the last week of the season.

Despite that, it always feels great to see a hard-working guy get rewarded for his hard work. Today, one of the hardest-working players in professional hockey just got the biggest reward in his life and just shook off the label “career minor-leaguer.”

Congrats Dubie!

Now with the goaltending situation under control, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens next.

Fairy tales will come true, it can happen to you, if Kozlov scores four goals that is!
What an up and down game that was! Not even in my wildest dreams did I ever think that either team would put the puck in the net as many times as they did today, but that’s hockey for you.

While Lundqvist and Weekes both looked horrible in net, DP had to make a ton of saves and despite giving up two soft goals, he played well enough to win.
Ah man, I can’t begin to describe how big this win was or how great it felt to know that this team is capable of scoring seven goals against a playoff team without our best player/leading scorer. Also, in spite of the absence of Yashin, guys like Chris Simon, Mike Sillinger, Richard Park, Arron Asham and of course Viktor Kozlov have stepped up their games and have been the main reason why we’re 2-2 with him instead of 0-4.

On top of all of this, the physical play of Trent Hunter and Brendan Witt has really fortified the stellar play on the ice as of late. Scoring seven goals is great, but standing up for your teammates and making sure none of them get hurt is another. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the way this team has played over the first 26 games of the season. Sure, they started off a little slow and the team has had problems scoring from time to time, but when we’ve been hot, we’ve played the kid of gritty, blue collar and hard hitting hockey that everyone in the NHL can appreciate.

If you asked any beat writer in the NHL or any hockey fan before the season started if they thought the Islanders would be where they are right now, I don’t think that you’d get an answer that I could write on this site. No one expected the Isles to be anywhere near a playoff position, nevertheless first-place. I felt this team had the potential to make the playoffs before the season even started, but getting the opportunity to watch them through the first third of the season, I really think this team has what it takes.

Ranger fans may feel and think the opposite, but right now we’re in first and they’re not, so truth be told, their opinion doesn’t mean much.

Let’s go Islanders.

That game was something to be thankful for.

Hopefully, just maybe, looking back a few months from now, we can say that this was when the Islanders season really began.

Pure domination, that’s the best way to put it. Every line had their thing going. Asham, Park and Bates were flying all over the ice and the defense was joining the play and not having any problems getting back and stifling the Hurricanes offense.

While the offense of the Hurricanes was held in check last night, the Isles were all over the puck and again, Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake were on fire. Billy Jaffe made a great point by saying that they are both being unselfish with the puck and it’s paying well for them. Also, despite taking a few penalties [one of them was a complete joke as York was getting his stick held by a Hurricane and the back referee made the call for hooking when it was obvious he was getting his stick held], York played a solid game and provided some energy with Kozlov and Hunter.

We were so dominant last night that even Andy Hilbert managed to stick out, managing a season-high six shots on goal.

Simply put, when someone who has no points plays his best game of the year, you have to win. Luckily for the Isles, DP stayed on top of his game despite facing a minimum amount of shots and the rest of the team stuck together and played their best game of the season. Maybe now, the rest of the league will start to take the Isles a little bit more seriously.

BRUNO!

Maybe it was just me, but I’m starting to become a fan of Bruno Gervais. He plays such a solid game on both ends of the ice and it goes almost completely unnoticed. A few times he joined the rush last night and you could see that this kid has some speed. With Campoli in Bridgeport now, it looks like Bruno is here to stay. Originally wanting to see Campoli back in the lineup, I was hesitant of Bruno’s ability, but over the past few games, he’s made me a believer.

POOR MIRO!

I would have never thought that Satan would get himself into a slump like this, even though he’s a streaky scorer. Nevertheless, it’s great that he’s finding ways to score and he really played a great game last night, if anyone deserved that open-netter, it was Miro. If he continues to play this way, I have no doubt that the goals will come.

NEXT GAME…
 
Malkin and the Penguins come to the coliseum on Friday. Crosby missed the last game due to a groin injury, so he’s not likely to be 100% if he plays. This might be exactly what the Islanders need, considering a win against the Pens will put the Isles in sole possession of the last playoff spot in the conference. I know it may be a bit too early to think about the playoffs, but these games against division rivals will end up meaning a lot by the end of the season.

It’s not that the Isles played horrible last night, they just didn’t play the disciplined, motivated and gritty game everyone was expecting them to. The fact that Alexei Zhitnik got a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct says it all.

They were frustrated; mainly because DP played well enough for them to win despite giving up one goal because he was out of position and they couldn’t put it together. He made the saves the Isles needed to stay in the game and they just couldn’t get anything past Raycroft. It happens sometimes. This time the Islanders came out on the losing end.
However, there were a few positives in that game too.

One positive I can take from that game was that the relationship between Blake and Yashin seems to be getting stronger every game. It seems sometimes that they can find each other with a pass, regardless of where they are on the ice. Sillinger looked good with them last night and I like the fact that he can play center as well as he can. This gives Yashin more of a chance to think offensively, rather than having to focus on face-offs.

Aside from the play of that line, Simon’s goal makes you think that he can still score when he has to. He’s been physical this year, but hasn’t gotten in many fights this season, telling me that he’s trying to be more productive on the ice, which is always a good think. I loved Eric Godard when he was here, but I don’t think he would have been able to score that goal last night and don’t think he would have fit in with this team.

Other than that, the Islanders just need to be more consistent. DP is playing his best hockey right now and they need to win these types of games, because he’s not going to be on like that every night. Good teams find ways to win, regardless of who’s injured or not playing well.

Also, congrats to my favorite little sniper at Bridgeport, Robert Nilsson for winning playing of the week honors. Who knows, if Hilbert continues to stink up the joint, we may see him or Tambellini up here very shortly.

Now after a long road trip, the Islanders go home to play the Carolina Hurricanes and their insanely potent offense. I predict a high scoring game from both sides, not only because Carolina has a habit of putting up points, I also feel that the Islanders are due to break out offensively.

More on that tomorrow though.