The way the Islanders have been playing this season, it figures they would lose a game that they registered a franchise high 60 shots on goal. There was only one problem.

Cam Ward was damn good.

The Islanders offense, despite registering all of those shots, wasn’t up to finishing the job. Kyle Okposo had a golden opportunity to get the Islanders on the board in the first, but came up empty. As I’ve said before on the site, this is a guy that has to start finishing and soon. The same thing goes for Jeff Tambellini and Mike Comrie.

However, despite the fact that this team is having problems finishing, there were several positives to take from this game.

The physicality was there. Doug Weight and Nate Thompson were taking the body. I think overall, Thompson played his best game of the season. He had much better shot selection and was a force physically. As far as the responsibilities of a fourth line center go, he’s was on top of all them last night. With Mike Sillinger and Mark Parrish in the wings, Thompson is going to have continue to play that way or else he’ll find himself in Bridgeport.

Another Islander who was strong last night was Bill Guerin. On the whole, the line of Sean Bergenheim, who is quickly becoming a force, Guerin and Weight have been solid. All they need is a huge game to get the confidence going. Once that happens, hopefully the rest of the team can pick up the slack.

Speaking of someone who needs to pick up the slack, Rick DiPietro was not on top of his game. I’ve made several mentions over the past three seasons at how DP, while being a great puck-handling goaltender, needs to watch himself at times. When he tries to do too much, he usually ends up hurting the Islanders. Last night was no different. If this team has any shot at turning this season around, it all starts with Rico. He has to be on top of his game.

With the team’s next game against the Rangers on Monday, there’s no time like the present. Games against the Rangers usually bring out the best or worst of both teams as well, making this an even more important game for both teams, with the Isles struggling to find out where they belong in the league and Rangers trying to keep their lead in the conference.

Aside from the game against the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Islanders’ defense has been solid. It’s almost mind-boggling how in spite of missing Andy Sutton, Chris Campoli and Radek Martinek the defense still remains the least of the team’s problems.

Nevertheless, it is still a facet of the team that needs to be addressed.

In order for Scott Gordon’s “Overspeed” system to work, the Islanders defenseman have to take care of business. That means making the first pass out of the zone, clearing the front of the net, and pinching in along the boards. The way the team has played this season, it’s obvious that the Islanders forward lines haven’t yet caught on to the system. In the games they’ve won, the puck pursuit has been there and they’ve had their legs, which has created scoring opportunities and a plethora of second chances. In the games they’ve lost, they’ve had a huge problem establishing a forecheck and setting up in the offensive end.

I know what you’re thinking now: “I’ve read this on other Islander blogs already.” Well, I think I have a different take on this that has nothing to do with the lack of depth on the forward lines or the amount of youth present.

Here it goes.

I think the main reason why the Isles have had problems maintaining the level of offensive consistency and passion is because the defense, just like the offense, hasn’t yet bought into the system fully either. The two wins the Islanders have this season were due in part to the fact that the defense, alongside the offensive, were physical, swarming the puck and skating.

This generates scoring opportunities, something this team always seems to be short on.

However, in the games the Islanders have lost, where have the D-men been on the offensive end?

Mark Streit, Jack Hillen, Bruno Gervais Thomas Pock and Freddy Meyer are all defensemen that have above average skating skills and should have no problem joining the rush and helping out pinching on the boards. Streit especially, who came here to help the team on the powerplay and be a force on offense, needs to be a bit more proactive. In Montreal, he had no problems joining the play and applying pressure to opposing defenses. In order for this team to stay above water this season, Streit needs to be a factor

In the games this team have been outscored though, that hasn’t happened from Streit or any other member of the defense. They’ve been too preoccupied keeping the opposition out of the zone to be a force.

So in order for “Overspeed” to really work, two things need to take place at the same time. One being that the Islanders forwards have to skate their tails off. Secondly, the defense has to take chances on offense and take shots.

As we’ve already seen so far this season, if that doesn’t happen, they don’t win.

Since I got such a good reception from the last article I wrote [thanks for all the E-mails guys], I figured I’d attack the defense today. Just for the record, this has absolutely nothing to with the fact that there’s nothing to report in Islander Country right now or that NHL 09 is coming out in a few days and I’m playing the hell out of this game before it becomes a dust collector later this week.

Here we go:

Defense Combo 1

Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek- Absolute no-brainer here. These guys in my mind are one of the top defensive pairings in the league when it comes to shutting down top lines. They play smart hockey and get the absolute most out of their ability. They had a bit of trouble against some of the faster teams in the league that I played, but with Martinek’s puck moving ability and Witt’s toughness, they were a blast to play with and guys that I know will be solid this season. I wish Martinek was more of an offensive threat, especially on the powerplay, but beggars can’t be choosers right? Overall, these guys were on the ice for 28-30 minutes a game for me and I don’t see any reason why they won’t get that type of ice time this season.

Defense Combo 2

Mark Streit and Chris Campoli- I know I may catch a little bit of flack for this, but I love this combination. Both have offensive ability and Campoli’s toughness and growing ability as a well-rounded defenseman in this league make this work for me. Campoli is ready for more responsibility and I think covering up for Streit on defense will allow him to grow as a player. Streit also benefits by having Campoli around because defenses will also have to watch Campo at the blue line, which gives him more room to skate and create. They were also very solid on the powerplay and it was fun to see them both take shots from the point.

Defense Combo 3

Bruno Gervais and Andy Sutton- Well-rounded and steady. That’s what comes to mind when I think of these guys. Both of these guys have more grit and offensive ability than they get credit for and in the video game world, or in a perfect world ha-ha, this completely shows. They block shots, take the body and can make the first pass out of the zone. They can also kill penalties pretty well too. However, inconsistency isn’t prevalent in the make-believe world of NHL 08 and while I think these guys can and will be solid, they will have to both be on top of their games this season or they’ll be in smaller roles.

Photo by Gamespot.com

Well, after a month without a coach, the Islanders have their man. Scott Gordon will be behind the bench for the 2008-09 season and who knows how long after that, as details of his multi-year contract have not yet been announced as I am writing this.

I tried to really stay away from this topic because I felt it was something everyone was talking about and from day one, I’ve tried to make this site different from all the other Islander blogs out there. Nonetheless, I am happy to see Gordon behind the bench. It was either him or Paul Maurice that could have cut the mustard for me and for two reasons.

I never was a big fan of Marc Crawford, just for the simple fact that I think he was put in good situations and was a by-product of the payers he had, especially in Colorado, where anyone could have coached that team to a playoff birth. Then when things looked tough in Los Angeles, he wasn’t nearly as successful, which then sold me on his ability, or in this case, lack there of.

Bob Hartley is very similar in the case that he got a very good Atlanta team to give up on him and the Isles need someone with some marbles, who is going to get them in gear. Someone like Scott Gordon, who will rustle feathers, but with positive intentions and someone who doesn’t put his needs ahead of the team. Someone dedicated to a cause and not a stop before going somewhere else. Gordon already has a good coaching resume, but will cement it on Long Island and either make or break himself. That’s something Hartley wasn’t capable of here. If you ask me, he’s already broken.

Plus, he looks way too much like Mike Bossy. It’s kind of scary actually. If you’re ever bored, take a look at the two of them side by side. Twins.

I liked Maurice for the job because of his experience of taking a team with mixed talent and age to the finals a few years ago. He showed a lot of moxie that year with Carolina and I thought he would have been a good fit with the Isles.

However, Gordon got the job and like I said, I don’t think it’s a bad choice at all. Greg Logan also made a great point of acknowledging the fact that, Gordon, Snow and Rick DiPietro are all goaltenders from the same part of the country, which should make the communication factor one that should be very different from last season. Because of that, I don’t expect to see many “eye brow-raising situations” this season.

It’ll be about the development of these kids, rather than on the problems between the coach and GM.

The way it should always be.

Photo by the AHL

Holy crap.

After a week of reading message board posts about various Islander rumors and hearsay, I think my head’s about to explode. Dissecting all of them now would be crazy, so for the time being, I’m just going to pick two of the more recent ones and give my take on them.

The first one I heard was that Ryan Smyth is headed to Calgary, but that’s only if the Flames don’t nab Devils center Scott Gomez first. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but I think that stats aside, Gomez and Smyth are completely different types of players and there’s no way that Calgary is planning to pick up one in case they can’t get another. I’d like to believe it’s only one they have their eyes on.

Gomez is a pure offensive talent, while Smyth does a little bit of everything and is a great presence in the locker room; picking up either one of these guys would signal a huge change for that organization, so I think that the Flames are going to think this through heavily before they make a move.

The fact that this rumor [or at least Smyth being a part of it] was squashed the other day when Smyth’s agent told Newsday that he hadn’t received any offers from anyone else yet and that Smyth reportedly said was going to take his time before he made a commitment with anybody, makes me think that the Flames are after Gomez. At any rate, I’m hoping, like all of you guys that Smyth stays in Long Island. Unfortunately, the only thing that we can really do about it is wait and see what happens.

From what I’ve been told by a few of the writers I work with, Smyth isn’t really a big fan of Alexei “I don’t deserve the C” Yashin and that the general consensus is that if Yashin stays, Smyth is gone. With that being said, if this is true, the chances of the Isles keeping Smyth seem to range from slim to none. Hopefully, Snow can work some magic and get these guys on the same page. Otherwise, the trade that got Smyth here may come back and bite the Islanders in the arse.

The second rumor I heard was that Randy Robitaille has decided to play next season in Russia. This makes absolutely no sense to me.

Why would Robitaille go to Russia after stringing together three decent seasons in the NHL with three different teams? I might sound a bit crazy, but I think Robitaille would make a decent third line center on just about any team in the NHL. Add in the fact that he’s a left handed shot and I think he could be a valuable commodity for any team looking to improve their last two lines and powerplay as well. Sure, he is a bit inconsistent at times and I’ve seen Cloris Leachman take the body more than he does, he could still find a home on another team in the NHL.

Why he would decide to go to Russia now of all times [it would have made sense after his first stint with the Isles] is beyond me, but I guess where going to see what happens with that one as well.

What do you guys think of all of this?

This is go time. No more excuses. The Islanders need to come out and show the Sabres that they’re not going to go down without a fight. As a matter of fact, they need to show the Sabres they’re not going to go down at all.

Like I said yesterday, the Islanders need to get back to the gritty, blue-collared and physical game that got them into the playoffs and have to stop trying to beat the Sabres at their own game. That means that guys like Sean Hill, Brendan Witt, Trent Hunter, Arron Asham and Chris Campoli need to start throwing their bodies around more.

I still don’t understand why this team looked so pensive against Buffalo, were they scared to make huge mistakes and get down early?

Were they intimated by the Sabres skating ability?

Was Buffalo just that damn good on Thursday?

Why I disagree with the later, I do think that the Islanders didn’t want to put themselves in the same situation with the Sabres that they were in on March 30, when they lost 6-4 and found themselves down early. As well, the Sabres are one of the best skating teams in the league and it’s easy to just stand there and watch when a team can do the things on offense that they can do. If the Islanders are going to have any chance at making it to the next round, they have to find a way of stopping the flashy Sabres from finding open ice.
One way of doing that is to start taking the body.

Another way for the Isles to stifle Buffalo’s offensive attack is to have every Islander skate hard, in an effort to outwork the Sabres. How many times this season have we seen guys like Alexei Yashin, Viktor Kozlov and Ryan Smyth draw penalties in the corners because they kept their heads down and kept fighting for the puck? If the Islanders can keep skating, they’ll draw penalties and keep the play in the Buffalo zone, which would give whoever’s playing goal for the Isles a break.

I’ve said it a thousand times this season and I find myself forced to say it again, the Islanders defense needs to try and limit how many shots the opposition takes. I still can’t believe they managed to get this far facing easily over 30 shots a game and if there going to make it further, they have to start playing more aggressively on defense and need to clear the front of the net and not botch any assignments.

If they don’t do that, it doesn’t matter who’s in net.

“Every day is a new day,
I’m grateful for every breath I take,
I won’t take it for granted,
So I learn from my mistakes…”

This P.O.D song, while being extremely corny even when it was originally released, is still somewhat catchy to this day and is a perfect description of what Ted Nolan brings to the Islanders.

From the first day of training camp, Nolan told reporters that the Isles would be a changed team on the ice, exemplifying what he called “Controlled Chaos.” Despite the fact that the chaos has been far from controlled at times, the Islanders managed to make the playoffs, in spite of the dozens of predictions that had them ranked somewhere near the cellar in the Eastern Conference.

So what; obviously the thought that just came into half of the minds of the people reading this right now. I bet you’re also saying that Peter Laviolette and Steve Sterling, the last two Islander coaches to take the team to the playoffs, also did so in their first year. Despite that, I think this year has been something different. Marked with extreme highs and unfathomable lows, this year’s Islanders was almost like an experiment by a bi-polar mad scientist. I don’t know about you guys, but at times, I felt like this team was going to crash down the stretch just like last years team and at others, I thought that they were a legitimate cup contender.

Now with the team in the playoffs, I can still say that my truest thoughts on this team are still right in the middle. Still missing a few pieces on offense and a little depth on defense, this year’s Islanders team has made the most out of what they had and made the playoffs as a result. Regardless, no one in the NHL can say that Nolan hasn’t done an amazing job in his first year with the Islanders and that’s only the half of it. He’s also changed the entire motif in Islander Country in the process. Taking this team to the playoffs and getting them to come together this way at the end of the season at the very least has gotten them the most fan support in years.

Did anyone else hear the Islander fans at Continental Airlines Arena the other night?
I did.

Did anyone help hear Deb Kauffman screaming at the top of her lungs during the pre-game show to drown out the crazed Isles fans?

I did, again.

When was the last time the Islanders had the fan base this content?

In the fifteen years I’ve been watching this team, I think there’s only been one other time when the fan base has had this much energy and that was after the team smoked the Penguins in the 93 playoffs.

Yes, it’s been that long.

While comparing this season to that magical one in ’93 may be a bit of a stretch, in my heart of hearts, it’s the only thing that even comes close to having the emotion and drama that this one has had. With all of the emotions and craziness surrounding the team of late, can you really blame me for being this upbeat?

In the end, maybe I’m just a man who’s just in the middle of something that he doesn’t really understand [thank you Paul McCartney]. I mean, I could be wrong. As an Islanders fan, I’m not really used to seeing this team in the playoffs with positive momentum. I’m not used to seeing things being like this, well except for in video games [My Isles always win the cup on the Playstation 2.]

However, despite my inability to really fathom the fact that this team managed to make the playoffs, I do know that Ted Nolan is one of the biggest reasons that they’re there and his presence behind the Islanders bench shouldn’t be overlooked. Without Nolan’s 11-minute speech a week and a half ago, who knows where this team would be right now.
While I think the Sabres are coached extremely well, I think that with the talent that the Sabres have, just about anyone short of Rick Bowness could get that team into the playoffs. The Islanders however, need someone at the top to keep them on the right path, despite having guys like Ryan Smyth, Sean Hill and Brendan Witt around.

Thankfully for them, they have Ted Nolan.

If Ted can keep these guys working hard and on the same page during this series, who knows what could happen.