In the beginning, Jeff Tambellini needed time. It was a situation that is beginning to feel all to similar to Islanders fans over the past few years. The team deals a few veterans after they feel they don’t have what it takes to make the playoffs and youth comes in. He was still green after putting the finishing touches on his college career and finishing up his first year in the AHL, but he still had a ton of promise.

No one expected that it would take almost four years, but it seems that finally, Jeff Tambellini is becoming something that Islanders fans and he himself can get used to.

Very similar to Andy Hilbert, Tambellini is a beast in the AHL, a sniper and offensive force that would even scare Jeff Hamilton. In the NHL however, Tambellini is a guy that has to do a bunch of things in order to be successful.

Once he realized, his job was on the line and even veterans the likes of Jon Sim where being targeted by the organization for various reasons, that’s when I think Tambellini realized he had nothing to lose and began to take the body and shoot with more confidence.

So no more excuses about Ted Nolan not playing him, no more excuses about what line he’s on.

It’s all up to him now and he knows it.

“For the playoffs, (the games are) meaningless, but for each guy in this room, we’re playing for respect, we’re playing for jobs next year, we’re playing for ice time,” winger Jeff Tambellini told Newsday. “These are big games for us. No one is taking this lightly because this is a young group and we’re all trying to prove ourselves and put our personal mark on this team.”

Speaking of taking the body, Tambellini has has had no problem hitting players much bigger than him, which in turn has made him a much better player in corners, in the defensive end and on the powerplay. As a result, the guy has five goals in his last 16 games and has been on of the Islanders best players during that span, a far cry when he was barely noticeable at all.

Some would say that’s too little too late for the former first round pick, but with another year left on his contract and the team to get even younger next season, Tambellini, at least early in the year will get more ice-time due to his second half prowess.

My guess is he’ll be another Hilbert-clone, scoring about 10-15 goals a season that can play in all game situations, which may upset some Isles fans, but he will be a full-time NHLer next season and won’t ride the bench.

For him at the very least, it’s a step in the right direction.

We’ll see how much it helps the Islanders next season as well.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

Richard Park proved last night that he’s still got it.

Nabbing a goal and an assist against the Lightning, Park, along with Josh Bailey and Radek Martinek powered a 3-1 Islanders win.

It wasn’t very pretty though as the Isles amassed only 24 shots.

Nevertheless, they got two goals on the powerplay and got excellent goaltending from Yann Danis, making it almost the complete opposite of the game against the Canadiens the other day.

“It definitely was a bounce back game for him,” Gordon told the Associated Press about the play of Danis after the game. “He felt pretty good.”

Another player that looked good was Martinek. Every time I see him score a goal like that, it makes me wonder how he doesn’t score more often. Because of all the injuries he’s suffered over his career, it’s impossible to truly know what Martinek will be able to provide on offense, but I’ll never underestimate his ability on defense. In spite of that, it was good to see him get a goal that showed that he can shoot in this league.

Another guy that showed he could shoot last night was Bailey, who like many other youngsters on this team is beginning to find his place. The same thing goes for Jeff Tambellini who hit a goal post and added a few more big hits to his resume last night.

On another note, it was nice to see five youngsters in the lineup, especially Jamie Fraser, a fan favorite from Bridgeport get an opportunity to play. For those who don’t know much about him, here’s something a got from a press release from the ECHL.

Fraser is the sixth former ECHL player to make his debut this season with the New York Islanders joining Mitch Fritz, Andrew MacDonald, Kurtis McLean, Joel Rechlicz and Brett Skinner. The head coach of the Islanders is former ECHL player and coach Scott Gordon while former ECHL player Daniel Lacroix is an assistant coach for New York.

The 23-year-old Fraser joined the Stingrays after completing his junior career in 2005-06 and had one goal in three regular season games and two points (1g-1a) in six Kelly Cup Playoff games. He returned to South Carolina in 2006-07 and had 28 points (5g-23a) in 27 games while also playing in the American Hockey League where he had 14 points (3g-11a) in 43 games for Bridgeport and appeared in two games for Syracuse.

Of the five however, I have extremely high hopes for Jesse Joensuu and Mike Iggulden. Notching two assists last night, Joensuu has three points in five games and has made himself a factor. After a summer of getting himself bigger, meaner and stronger, I think Joensuu could be a great addition to the Isles. As far as Iggulden goes, I think he’s already proven he can be a guy that the team could use in a third or fourth line energy role, but if he continues to develop, he could be a good playmaking forward. He’s got a great nose for the net and has excellent instincts.

Hopefully they get a chance to stick around the rest of the way.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Already playing with a thin lineup, the Islanders were forced to play against a Canadiens team fighting for their playoff lives with Kyle Okposo, Mark Streit and Dean McAmmond.

Calling up Sean Bentivoglio and Trevor Smith for the night, the team would have been better off calling up Kirk Cameron and Alan Thicke, because they were experiencing serious “growing pains.”

Without Okposo and Streit, the Islanders simply have no offense. Nothing against Bentivoglio or the sharp-shooting Smith, but they obviously don’t provide the same type of punch. In order for the Islanders to come out with a victory, they were going to have to play a perfect game and stay out of a penalty box.

That obviously didn’t happen and without McAmmond helping to man the penalty kill, the Islanders were eaten alive by a hungry Habs team.

“I’m upset about the penalties,” coach Scott Gordon told the Associated Press after the Islanders gave Montreal eight power plays last night. “If you’re going to take a penalty, it’s to save a goal. I don’t think there were too many saved goals tonight.”

On another note, I don’t think there was much of anything on the Islanders side of the ice last night. It wasn’t completely Yann Danis’ fault, as a pair of those goals came on the powerplay, but the Islanders defense was walked all over by the Canadiens.

Aside from Doug Weight dropping the gloves again and Jeff Tambellini’s rocket that for the moment got the Isles back in th game, this contest was an absolute stinker. I’ve said before, but with so many injuries, this team has to be perfect every night and last night, that was simply not the case.

“We’ve been playing pretty good, and this was a disappointing effort for our team,” veteran Islanders forward Doug Weight told the Associated Press.

However, in spite of the team’s play last night, the worst thing about the game was seeing Habs fans take over the building and hearing chats and nothing being called back by Isles’ fans makes me scared about the situation this fan base is in. A few years ago, when this team was making the playoffs, I don’t anything like that would have happened. Those Canadiens fans would have been drown out.

Overall, just like the situation the team is in right now, it seems like the fan base is going through similar problems.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

For 40 minutes, the Islanders were on top of their games. They outworked a team that is without a doubt better than them in every facet of the game. But like most of the season, the Isles lacked the firepower to put their opposition away and rested on their laurels on defense, leading to an eventual shootout loss.

“We’ve been playing a lot better,” Okposo told the Associated Press. “We know we can win with the guys in this locker room.”

Things went the Islanders way early on as Radek Martinek scored on a shot from the point that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Marty Biron failed to get the best view of. Frans Nielsen continued his excellent play as of late, but was a second too short, as his goal in traffic was null and void at the end of the first.

Jeff Tambellini doubled the Islanders lead in the second, swatting a puck out of mid-air [has someone been playing Wii-Sports lately?]. With one-year left on his contract, Tambellini has been a different player during the second half, scoring four of his six goals in the 21 games following the All-Star break, which would put him on pace for about 15 goals for the season. That I believe wouldn’t be too shabby for the kid this season, especially considering that many thought he’d start to show a bit more of a goal scorers touch this season. However, with his improved play, Tambellini should still have one last chance to prove if he can be a top six forward in this league.

With a 2-0 lead, the Isles got lucky when Mike Richards hit the post late in the period. Before that, the fists began to fly and the Flyers got some momentum the old fashioned way. Going into the third, they had the Islanders on their heels.

Scoring three unanswered goals in 3:55, the Flyers were quickly in the drivers seat, but just 32 seconds later, Mark Streit tallied to tie the game and eventually take it into overtime.

After an uneventful overtime period, the Islanders went into the shootout where Brendan Witt, ironically went first. Simply put, you cannot waste a spot like that on a player that despite having a heart of warrior, is not a goal scorer. Tambellini had a goal in the game and has always had success in that spot, why not throw him in there and continue to build his confidence?

I know the season’s been long over and the team would like to increase their odds of getting John Tavares and do so without being too obvious, but there it wasn’t.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Goddamn it, I love being right.

Over the past few weeks, Islander fans have seen the transformation of Sean Bergenheim from gritty third liner to possibly a top six forward that can play in any game situation. It’s been a process that many may still be in shock over, but like I’ve said countless times on this site, there is no reason why this kid can’t be a 20-goal scorer in this league. He’s got so much energy and has a much better shot and even better hands than most people give him credit for. It’s only a matter of time until everyone in the league begins to see it.

It also makes his life much easier when the players around him are playing well. Yesterday, that was exactly the case as Josh Bailey and Jeff Tambellini played their best games in quite some time, while Andy Hilbert, Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau were no bums either. Add in a strong defensive performance [Anyone see Zach Parise on the ice yesterday afternoon?] and a great first game with the Isles by Mike Iggulden [an old friend of mine and a die-hard Islander fan Anthony Natoli is extremely high on him and has been waiting all season for him to be called up. Just figured I'd throw that out there] and because of that, the Isles had a winning formula.

The first period in my estimation was perhaps the best 20 minutes the team has played all season. The forecheck was amazing, Joey MacDonald made all the saves he had to and the Islanders defense was rock solid. It was like someone finally turned a light on in this team’s collective head and they played the way they were supposed to.

When the score was 5-2, I decided to go out and watch the rest of the game later. About 45 minutes later, I get a ring from Islanders Blog Box member and a damn good friend of mine Gary Harding, who tells me Trent Hunter is out for the season. Just when things start looking good for this team, they lose an emotional leader and a key player in Hunter. Well, it could have been worse; the Islanders could have been battling for a playoff spot and this happened. However, with nothing to lose, the best thing that could happen is for Hunter to heal up this offseason and come back healthy and lead this team next season.

For now, I’m just wondering if this means Jon Sim comes back or another youngster gets a shot.

Guess we’ll just have to wait until 3 P.M., when the Isles take on the Coyotes at the Coliseum.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009, Post Game Rants

I think it’s safe to say the Pittsburgh Penguins are in serious trouble.

That team has no jam, no grit, no heart. I know they are a team that is built around offense, but I really feel as if they are missing Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque, two players that enabled their secondary scorers the space they needed to thrive. If they had those two guys, I think they’d get more offense from the rest of their team. Nothing against Eric Godard, who is one of the best enforcers in the game, but the team doesn’t use him in the right way. During that period long stretch where it was 2-2, I would have sent him there to get his nose dirty. Not to necessarily cause a fight, but to take the body and make the Isles think twice about skating all over them.

Dan Bylsma is going to have it tough over the next few weeks.

On the other side of the ice, every Islanders youngster skated hard today. Sean Bergenheim was making solid passes in the offensive zone and Frans Nielsen was absolutely flying, creating scoring opportunities and keeping the pressure on in the neutral zone. Chris Campoli was joining the play and Bruno Gervais looked like Radek Martinek circa 2001.

However my three favorite highlights of the night was the 25 second stretch in the first period where the Isles had a defensive cycle going in the neutral zone that had the Penguins confused more than Lindsay Lohan on the 28th day of the month. If this is something that this team can find a way of duplicating and redefining over the rest of the season, it may be something they can carry over into next year.

The second highlight was Jeff Tambellini’s wrister that beat Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout. Talk about a howitzer. It’s not often you get to see shots like that and not often that they come from a guy with only six goals in his career. Hopefully, this will be something that gets him going in the right direction, He’s still got one year left on hos contract an who knows what could happen in that time.

Lastly, seeing a few of the guys turning their helmets inside out was great. It shows me this team doesn’t like losing and that they want to play spoiler over the next two months.

That’s exactly what I want to see.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

According to the team’s official website, Andy Hilbert has been activated off of injured reserve and will rejoin the team after the All-Star break.

It’s obviously not Joe Thornton, but up until the time of his injury, Hilbert was playing the best hockey of his professional career. Playing for his old coach from the Boston system, now Isles coach Scott Gordon, where he had some of the best seasons of his AHL career at least, Hilbert has been revitalized this year and is still on pace for a 15 goal season. For a team having so many problems producing offensively, getting a guy that can chip in a bit will definitely be a shot in the arm.

It’s also huge for Hilbert, who will also be a free agent at the end of the season. A young veteran at 27-years old, this will be perhaps the most important offseason in his career. If he gets hot down the stretch, Hilbert can single-handedly increase his value on the free agent market and provide himself and his family with added security. If he does get hot and looks like his days of hitting goal posts in tough situations are over, the Isles may want to hold on to him, especially with youngsters like Jeff Tambellini looking far from everyday players. All in all, it’s just another role in the Soap Opera season this team has had this season.

If Isles fall, Whalers rise from Ashes?- With the Kansas City rumors already putting many Islander fans’ stomachs in knots, Bill Price writes in his internet column for the Daily News that according to a e-mail he received from a dedicated reader [not the most trustworthy source obviously] that contained a link to a story [more like a 200 word-run-around blurb for all you journalists out there] http://www.courant.com/news/local/hr/hc-towndigbrf0115.art0jan15,0,5369581.story, that the mayor of Hartford where speaking with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about getting another team. How Price, tied this to the Islanders is a bit too easy for me. Someone left a comment on the piece’s page saying that it must have been a slow news day. I tend to agree. Aside from the headline and mentioning that he’d be excited if the Isles moved to Hartford “as long as they are called the Whalers and play Brass Bonanza,” Price doesn’t reveal any new information about the Isles possible move, he just wastes 300 or so words venting his opinion, which lacks any amount of facts.

Reading the actual news article from which inspired Price to write his column only proves that this possibility is one that is extremely unlikely and one that only inspired Price to play connect the dots, rather than reporter.

Snore.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

This team’s recent Western road trip has made it abundantly clear that this season is over.

A few years ago, a good Western swing was the kind of thing that got fans in Islander country excited. The message boards would chat it up about who the team could get down the stretch to help during the playoff run and who should get traded. Even though many of us knew the team didn’t have much of a shot to get past the first round, it was always fun to see how the team stacked up against the good teams in the West, just in case the Islanders pulled off something magical later in the season.

Make no mistake about it though, this season’s Western road trip has proven this team has no shot at doing much more than causing the team and it’s fans a whole lot of aggravation.

Every night this season, Joey MacDonald leaves his soul out on the ice and the Islanders make mistake after mistake in their own end. If any goaltender in the NHL had it bad, MacDonald could laugh right in their face. If this keeps up, MacDonald may go down in the history books for having one of the worst records in NHL history. However, it’ll have nothing to do with his play as he’s been just as good as any goaltender in this league.

He just doesn’t have the support on the ice that the rest of the netminders in the league do.

By the end of the season, that may be the biggest travesty this team commits.

Tambellini stepping up?- You don’t beat goaltenders like Mikka Kiprusoff by accident, so make no mistake about it, Jeff Tambellini’s wrister last night was the real deal. Rather than skate in and try to deke his way to a goal like he’s been trying to do all season, he just shot the puck with a decent angle and rolled the dice. Guys with shots like Tambellini do that in this league and they score. If he can continue to skate hard and take those types of shots, maybe he’ll save this season for himself.

Trevor Smith’s first goal- I said it after his first few games and I’ll say it again; this kid has a nose for the net. It’s something you can’t teach. He’s not incredibly quick and doesn’t have a super duper shot, but he’s always in the right place at the right time and is tough enough to earn the bumps and bruises needed to continue scoring. My kind of player.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

I said yesterday that I don’t care if the Islanders win every night, I just want to see this team put forth a solid effort.

I want to see passion. I want to see intensity. I want to see jam.

That third period, well the last minute and a half at least, the Islanders had me confused. They went from playing well-intentioned, but too unfocused to win hockey, to being the owners, founders and major shareholders of Smuckers. Yes, my friends, they were making jam.

The line of Blake Comeau, Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo had all the flavors for you if you wanted as well. They were skating their tails off, carrying the puck into the zone, rather than play dump and chase and were taking shots. It also seems that in the process of scoring his 400th goal the other night, Bill Guerin now feels the need to become the passer he never was. Dishing the puck well all night, Guerin may take Doug Weight’s spot on the team as their top playmaker once he comes back if he continues playing the way he is.

Add in some good offensive play by Chris Campoli, Freddy Meyer and yes, Brendan Witt [who also blocked several key shots late in the game] and the Isles had more than enough of a team effort to skate out of Dodge with a point. Above all though, when Jeff Tambellini works as hard as he did last night, scoring his first goal in more than half a season, you know you have to get something out of it,

The expression on Lindy Ruff’s face said it all. Giving up two goals like that at the end of the game should have changed his game plan a bit, but it didn’t. Opting not to put his leading scorer on the ice in Thomas Vanek during the overtime period, he continued to role the dice an luckily for him, he came out on top in the skills competition portion of the game and got the extra point. That’s not the point here though.

The point is that regardless of what their record is right now and regardless of if the Islanders are saying DP tweaked his groin again [I personally think he's fine and they just want him to take things extra slow this time around so he's ready to play the Rangers], this team is playing harder and smarter than they have in a month.

That my friends, is good enough for me.

“I can at least hold my head up high the last five games and say the guys have resembled a team that is competing for 60 minutes,” coach Scott Gordon told the AP after the game.

Ditto.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

It’s been 10 games and nearly a month since the Islanders last win.

Even in my darkest days as an Islanders fan, I’ve never seen things turn this sour. I mean, things were awfully bad during Butch Goring’s tenure as coach, but let’s be honest here, those teams had no chance. They were full of youngsters, with washed-up veterans that wanted nothing but a paycheck. There was no Bill Guerin, Brendan Witt or Trent Hunter. However, in spite of the markedly different lineup the Islanders have this season, things feel just as dire.

Taking a look at some of my old posts, particularly the “Worst Case Scenario” post I did before the season started, I came to see that this is in-fact the worst case scenario for this team right now.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this I came up before the season started:

1- A change in philosophy if the team is close to a playoff spot at the trading deadline
2- Radek Martinek or Brendan Witt going down for any prolonged period of time
3- An uber inefficient powerplay…again
4- Rushing Josh Bailey
5-Mike Sillinger misses most of the season again
In my “Hopes for 2009” post, I outlined five things I wanted to see this season.
Take a look at this list:
1- Kyle Okposo’s continued development.
2- Jeff Tambellini solidifying a role on the team.

3- Bill Guerin and Doug Weight having solid seasons.

4- Chris Campoli and Mark Streit both become factors on the powerplay.
5- Rick DiPietro stays healthy all season.
Taking a look at these two lists, it’s easy to see that this season, so far, has been an absolute disaster. Aside from Weight and Streit playing well, everything else has fell to pieces. KO has been on the shelf too long to really assess, while injuries to Sillinger, DiPietro, Witt and Martinek have decimated the Islanders defensive ability, character and most importantly, heart. Tambellini’s play has been a joke as well, while Witt’s comments have shown some unwillingness in the Isles’ Over-Speed system.
With that being said, I take us back to the original question I proposed: When will this losing streak come to an end?
While I’ve been willing to throw around my opinion with a certain amount of confidence all season, regardless of the outcome, this is one that I have no idea on. I really wish I did.
Only the Islanders know the answer right now.

I’m not even sure on that one either.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008