With a 7-6 record, a 2.68 GAA and a .915 save percentage this season, it’s fair to say that New York Islanders goaltender Joey MacDonald has been much more than a pleasant surprise this season.

As a matter of fact, I think he’s been a savior of sorts.

Up until the season started, no one thought MacDonald was capable enough to serve as the team’s backup goaltender. Much like Islanders Jeff Tambellini and Andy Hilbert, MacDonald had several solid seasons in the AHL under his belt, but had problems sticking around at the NHL level. This season however, MacDonald has been rock solid, getting better and better after every game.

Last season, I had the opportunity to cover a preseason game between the Islanders and Rangers at MSG where MacDonald played. The Isles had a ton of youngsters in the game and the Rangers featured most of their stars at the time, including Scott Gomez, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury, but MacDonald was still solid. It got me thinking what the future held for the kid. However, at the time, with Wade Dubielewicz backing up Rick DiPietro, Joey Mac didn’t look like he was going to crack the lineup. By the end of the season,he appeared in two games and one in particular, the 45 save effort against the Devils late in the season, confirmed in my mind that he should be given a chance.

Nonetheless, I was a huge Dubie supporter at the time and didn’t want to see the guy leave.

Right now though, I wouldn’t change the Islanders goaltending situation at all. And that includes bring DP back.

Sometimes in this sport, you have to ride the hot horse. Al Arbour is a guy that did that quite often and while the motif in the NHL over the past few years is to have one guy play 70 games, why can’t MacDonald play 30 this season and DP the rest? We know who the guy is going to be in the playoffs for this team, but if MacDonald keeps playing the way he has, and DP continues to battle injuries, it’s better to have Mac in net.

Nothing against DP, he is without a doubt the team’s most important player, but if he’s not 100 percent, he’s not going to be able to help this team. With Brendan Witt’s return possibly this weekend as well, MacDonald will have ever more support in front of him and can be even more of a force if given a chance.

From the perseverance he’s shown on the ice so far this season, you get the feeling he knows exactly what’s at stake.

“When you come in and play one or two games a year in the NHL, it’s tough because the different level of play from the American League is so much more up-tempo. Once you get used to the tempo, it’s a game,” MacDonald told the Associated Press.“You’ve got to come up with the key saves. All the good goaltenders in the National Hockey league, Luongo and all of those guys, they come up with the key save and that’s why they’re superstars. That’s my job, and that’s why I’ve got to give the team a chance to win.”

When I think of the way Jeff Tambellini and Kyle Okposo have played so far this season for the Islanders, I think of the old Tommy James & The Shondells song, “Crimson & Clover,” minus the snazzy guitar solos.

“My mind’s such a sweet thing
I wanna do everything
What a beautiful feeling”

That’s what is going on in the heads of these two youngsters. They want to do everything, all for that beautiful feeling that comes from seeing the red light above the glass behind the goal go off when they hit twine. However, “Over and Over” this season they’ve failed to capitalize on great scoring opportunities.

Even though Okposo has been better than Tambellini, I’d like to see him play with more of an edge and skate up the middle more. Jon Sim, while having an excellent wrist shot, isn’t the offensive player KO is, but he’s produced more this season because there isn’t the same kind of tentative play on his part. When he doesn’t get a shot off, he keeps his legs going and draws penalties. Andy Hilbert and Richard Park do the same thing. The only problem is these guys aren’t finishers and Okposo is supposed to be. In order for him to break out of this mini funk he’s in, he’s got to concentrate more on moving north and south and less east and west. With his speed and skating ability, he’ll draw penalties left and right. Then it’s less about him being timid and more about him being able to finish.

Tambellini is a very similar situation. Like I said yesterday, even though he’s taking the body more than he has before, he’s got to score. At this point, I would totally take a deflection or garbage goal from him. As far as I’m concerned, it’s make or break time for this kid. Enough with the excuse and pot a few already. Over the past three seasons, this kid has been given so many excuses as to why he didn’t produce and even though most of them are well warranted, it’s put up or shut up time.

At this point in the season, both KO and Tamby should have three points and three assists apiece. I feel like a broken record here, but for this team to stay in the win column, guys like Okposo and Tambellini have to step it up.

I can’t think of a better place to start than the lowly Atlanta Thrashers.

Well, that was a fun game wasn’t it?

There’s a reason why the Rangers are in first place and there’s a reason why the Isles have only two wins through eight games this season.

Goaltending and offense my friends. Something the Isles don’t have much of right now.

Through the first 40 minutes though, the Islanders looked like they were holding their own. Kyle Okposo, despite flubbing a few golden opportunities through he first half of the first period, really stepped up his game and easily had his best contest of the season. See what happens when this kid gets his legs moving and isn’t scared to initiate contact in the corners? The same thing goes for Frans Nielsen, who was all over the puck through the first two periods.

Speaking of solid performances tonight, Mark Streit was on top of his game as well. With seven points in eight games, the guy is doing everything he can on both ends of the ice to keep this team alive. Even his defense has been better than expected, as he’s did a solid job of clearing the crease, in addition to his prowess on the powerplay.

If there were anything really positive to take from this game, those would have to be it.

On the negative side, Joey MacDonald, while playing decent overall, has got to improve his play with traffic in front of the crease and with loose pucks around him. The Rangers first goal tonight was one that any decent goaltender in this league would have stopped. That’s not to say that Joey Mac isn’t a good netminder, he just has one glaring weakness that needs to be addressed and addressed soon.

Something else that needs to be addressed is the play of Jeff Tambellini. This guy has to get going offensively and soon. He’s taking shots, but isn’t getting any lucky bounces or help. I say throw him on a line with Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo. Trent Hunter and Nielsen aren’t bad guys to play with, but the combination of speed and offensive ability that Comrie and Okposo have may give Tamby a bit more room on the ice to thrive.

In injury news, it seems that Freddy Meyer is only going to be day to day with an abdominal injury. Nothing against Brett Skinner, but Meyer was playing solid hockey before his injury and with Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt [who allegedly will be out for the next four weeks]and Andy Sutton all out of the lineup, the Isles need all the help they can get.

Islanders franchise player and starting goaltender is “injured” again, but thanks to the NHL’s new rules on the way injuries are reported to the media, it’s impossible to know to what extent the damage is. Fans will have to settle for a “lower body injury,” or some other obscure term to know how long the players they cheer for every night will be out of the lineup.

I personally feel like DP has never been healthy this season and has tried to play through whatever has been ailing him. Either that or his conditioning is so poor that he ended up getting injured again. At any rate, at least the drama is over Yann Danis is in town and the Isles are going to have to step it up on both ends if they are planning to pick up any points against the Rangers today.

With Andy Sutton, Mike Sillinger, Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt and now DP out of the lineup, let me be the first to stop the obscure terms given out by the organization and that the Islanders are suffering from a “heart and soul” injury and the estimated time out of the lineup for “heart and soul” may be the start of the 2009-2010 season. Last season, the Islanders were in the hunt until about the last 20 games, when injuries completely took over. That made one think that if they were healthy and the youngsters stepped it up, this team could still be competitive.

However, with guys like Kyle Okposo and Fran Nielsen looking out of place through their first handful of games as full-time NHlers, the Islanders are sinking faster than a fat man’s face in a gallon of Edy’s ice cream. Simply put, these youngsters have to play their hearts out over the next 70 plus games or else this season is over.

With that being said, the Islanders need players like Doug Weight, Mark Streit, Bill Guerin and Trent Hunter to continue to play well and produce. These guys are the ones that have to set an example for the youngsters like Okposo, Neilsen and Jeff Tambellini, who for the most part, have looked lost this season.

Games against the Rangers are always a good way to rile up the team, so here’s to hoping tonight does the same thing. I don’t know about you, but a two-goal game from a youngster and a few powerplay tallies would be a good sign of things to come if you ask me.

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.

In the Islanders last game on Saturday, the youngsters on the team were missing something. They had several good scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t pull the trigger. Like I’ve said a plethora of times on this site already this season, if these kids can’t step up to the plate, the Isles are going to be in big time trouble.

Because if that, I figured I’d break down the play of some of the youngsters in this post and discuss what I think they need to do to be more effective.

Kyle Okposo- In order for KO to be at his best, he has to do two things: shoot and take the body. Similar to Trent Hunter in the fact that he has a great shot and can be a presence physically, but different due to his solid skating ability and above average speed, KO can be a dangerous commodity; he just has to be less picky with his scoring opportunities and skate more. He can’t shy away from contact either. The next time he’s skating towards a puck in the corner, you’ll see that he’ll take the puck, rather then the body. Once that agenda gets fixed and he starts shooting more, I think you’ll see a different player on the ice.

Nate Thompson- Another guy that needs to take body more. His play in his own end has been okay, but he has to be more of a physical presence. He hasn’t been shooting the puck at all either through his first cup of coffee with the Isles, so I don’t even know what else to say

Jeff Tambellini- He needs to stop avoiding contact and use his stick handling ability to find his way in the middle of the ice. Too many times this season has he skated by people along the boards and ended up coughing the puck. In the AHL, Tambellini wasn’t scared of getting hit if it meant an opportunity to score a goal. In the NHL, he seems extremely passive and rather than go through defenses or draw penalties through hard work, he’s trying to make the highlight reel east west pass in front of the net. I got news for you Tambs, it’s not going to happen. Start earning your bumps and bruises and you’ll be a better player for it.

Frans Nielsen- While his passing has been solid, his play on the powerplay has been a bit suspect, as a lack of confidence and an overbearing sense of unfamiliarity with the NHL game seem present. With his speed, Nielsen should be playing with fire, much like a guy like Jason Blake, who draws penalties and uses his speed to give himself room on the ice. Right now however, Nielsen seems too preoccupied with making the perfect pass than skating and giving himself the adequate room so he’s able to pass in the first place.

A battle of two rebuilding franchises will take place tonight between the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders.

However, they are two teams that are very different from one another.

The Islanders on one hand are hoping, almost praying, that guys like Sean Bergenheim, Kyle Okposo and Jeff Tambellini can develop into superstars and take them to the next level. They’re also hoping that guys like Mike Comrie, Trent Hunter and Richard Park can have career years, while keeping their fingers crossed that Doug Weight and Bill Guerin can prove they have some gas left in their tanks.

The Panthers on the other hand, missed the painfully obvious memo last season that most of the kids they’ve drafted over the past few years have turned into decent players, rather than the superstars they’ve envisioned. Sure Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan’s Famous Horton and David Booth are great players that any team would like to have, but even the biggest Panthers fan would have a problem explaining what went wrong with guys like Stephen Weiss, who was supposed to a point a game player in this league at one point and Rusty Olesz, who prefers to hit people from behind nowadays, rather than put the puck in the net; something he hasn’t shown too much proficiency doing yet anyway. After that, they have former high picks like Shawn Matthias, Kamil Kreps and Anthony Stewart, who are servicable players that are merely taking up space on the bottom two lines. Add in acquisition Corey Stillman, who has never been the same player since leaving the Lightning and it’s easy to see how similar, yet different these two teams really are.

So with that being said, what do the Islanders need to do to come out victorious tonight? The same thing they did against the Lightning: SKATE! If the Isles keep those legs moving, they will draw penalties and with the way Hunter and Weight have played over the past few games, the Isles can and will pot few with the man advantage.

However, there is another way the team can give themselves a chance at victory tonight and that is having a healthy Rick DiPietro in net. Newsday beat writer Greg Logan seems to think DP is in the net tonight and I have to agree. He’s been off the ice first in practice, which is customary for the starting goaltender of the next game and I think after the 6-0 loss in his first game in the preseason, his conditioning may finally be where it’s supposed to be now. If he is healthy, the Islanders just got their best player back and a third defenseman on the ice that will keep the Panthers at bay behind the goal line.

If not, Joey MacDonald will get the call and that in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Despite the one game against Buffalo, where the team’s defense called in sick, Mac has been good enough for the Isles.

At any rate, regardless of who is in net, this should be a fun one to watch.