When nothing is going right, do you try a quick fix or do you wait it out and possibly torment your fan-base and organization more?

That’s the question plaguing the Islanders right now. Not to say that Sean Avery is exactly a quick fix, but he may be the injection of spunk this team needs right now. Over the past few games as well, the Islanders have put Jon Sim, who, let’s be fair here, is a poor man’s Avery, on waivers, making it obvious his services are no longer needed. Considering Avery isn’t extremely overpriced at four million per, do the Islanders take the plunge?

I know how many of you feel about Avery and I’d be lying if I said I was a fan of his antics. However, if the Islanders are to part ways with Sim, they don’t exactly have a youngster to plug into Sim’s spot. Considering where the Isles are as far as cap space goes, it’s definitely a risk they can afford to take fiscally. I just don’t know if Avery’s prescence in the locker room would be worth it. Just the fact that Mike Comrie goes out with Hillary Duff seems like it could be enough to set off a disaster in the Islanders room.

Like I’ve been saying over the past couple of days, I feel like this team is headed in a downward spiral that needs to be stopped. Can Avery help to stop it?

Simply put, hearing some of the things Scott Gordon has said as of late have been downright scary and haven’t stopped me from feeling that this team needs to be shaken up a bit.

“You say, ‘I don’t want to kill them in practice and not get it in the game,’” Gordon told Newsday. “Well, now I’m at the point where it doesn’t really matter. This needs to be addressed, and it probably should have been addressed three games ago.”

And what happens when your coach feels this way? Mike Sillinger strains his groin from being worked too hard in practice. Even more great news right? I don’t know guys, you listen to guys like Sean Bergenheim and Richard Park talk to the media and they say the team is still confident and they’re battling, but it just doesn’t feel that way.

The way the team has played, going from surprisingly good to downright awful over the span of just three weeks, makes me feel that something has to be done to get this team going.

So considering that, I take you back to the original question, do the Isles take a chance with Avery?

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

When all else fails, you quote Keanu Reeves.

“What do you do?”

The question here has nothing to do with saving a bus with a bomb on it or saving humanity from aliens.

In fact, it is much more important than that.

What do you do when your team just isn’t good enough?

In all honesty, I hate writing things like this, especially about the one and only team that I still root for. Being a journalist does that to you after a while though, especially after you’ve covered a few teams in a few different sports like I have. But I digress, this site is supposed to give me the carte blanche to express myself without any journalistic veil over my eyes, or my heart. Rather than wax any more formalities, let me just get down to business.

Over the past few games, I can’t escape the feeling that this team just isn’t good enough. Six games ago, I felt like they could sneak into the playoffs. No other team, not even the Mets, has ever made me feel that way so quickly. Why? I’ll tell you exactly why. They have to play close to perfect hockey every night and hope the opposition plays poorly. In a league with the kind of parity the NHL has, that’s just not going to happen.

It took one of the biggest bloopers in NHL history for the Islanders to beat a team like the Canadiens and even a sloppy period and a half by a solid team like the Flyers wasn’t good enough.

It also feels like a lot of players are playing better hockey this season than they were before and it’s still not good enough. So far this season, Andy Hilbert has gone above and beyond anything anyone could have expected him to do and the Isles still can’t get to .500. Richard Park gives his heart on every single shift too an he too can’t give this team the spark they so desperately need.

So what can the Isles do?

I personally believe that the Isles have to combine the quality play of guys like Trent Hunter, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and Mark Streit with youngsters and struggling veterans like Jon Sim, Sean Bergenheim and Josh Bailey. Put players in a situation where they have someone who is going to push them hard on every shift, so that they are accountable for all of their actions.

Here are the lines I believe could get this team going.

Forwards

Comeau- Weight- Guerin
Bergenheim- Bailey- Hunter
Hilbert- Sillinger- Park
Fritz [now that Sim has been put on waivers]- Thompson [once he comes back from the flu]- Jackman

Defense

Witt- Streit
Campoli-Meyer
Sutton- Pock/Callahan

I don’t know what else could be done at this point guys. Simply put, they are running out of excuses.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

In the wrestling industry, a push is often regarded as an attempt by management to market you to fans. A t-shirt, a cool entrance and even a cool finishing move are customary when trying to put a new cat over with the fans.

If Josh Baily was a wrestler, he’d have all of those things, averaging over 17 minutes of ice time over his past six games and quickly earning the faith of Isles head coach Scott Gordon after notching five assists in his first 10 games in the NHL.

Things didn’t feel that way for Bailey however, as he feels he’s just starting to get comfty on the Island.

“Obviously, there were times I was sitting in my hotel room thinking it was almost a matter of time before I went back to junior,” Bailey told the Associated Press. “Once they told me I was staying … I told them I’m starting to get my confidence as a player.”

I’ve said before that I really like the chemistry between Doug Weight and Bill Guerin this season, but the line of Trent Hunter, Andy Hilbert and Bailey have been pretty damn solid as well. Once Sillinger comes back [he's expected to play on Thursday] the Isles have two options. They can either put Silly on a line with whoever is left from the third and fourth line, possibly Jon Sim and Jeff Tambellini, leaving the fourth line to be a solid trio of Richard Park, Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman, or they can reunite Sillinger with his old linemates in Hunter and Hilbert and see if Bailey’s play making ability can wake up Tambellini and keep Jon Sim at a 15-20 goal pace.

Either way, it should be fun to watch.

From the looks of it, Gordon feels the same way.

“I think it really comes down to the maturity of the player, and Josh is a mature player and person,” Gordon told the AP. “Like I said, he’s done everything right that we’ve asked him to do … Whoever he’s going to play with down the road is going to be a better player because he’s one of those players who can make something out of nothing. That’s an exciting thing to have because those players are hard to find.”

For my money, I’d love to see Bailey continue to work with Hunter and Hilbert. Once Kyle Okposo and Mike Comrie come back, the Isles offense can be shaken up a bit so they get the most bang for their buck, but as of right now, I wouldn’t want to mess with a good thing.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

The Isles may have hit a snag against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, but they are still 5-4-1 over their last 10 games, proving they can be a .500 team without Rick DiPietro, Mike Sillinger, Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo. Veterans the likes of Doug Weight, Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin have been holding down the fort offensively all the season and now with a healthy Brendan Witt and Freddy Meyer back to support Mark Streit, Andy Sutton, Chris Campoli and Radek Martinek, I really feel that the Islanders are ready to turn the corner and play .500 hockey.

Once they get as close to completely healthy and some of the youngsters begin to get more comfortable as well , I really think this team can gain the respect of the rest of the league.

However, as we’ve seen before, playing 500 hockey may not be good enough to make the playoffs anymore in the NHL. I’ve also said before that if this team is healthy, I feel they can make the playoffs, but it’s really a toss up at this point. Overall, this team has to commit itself to staying with their game plan. That means the forecheck has to be consistent for 60 minutes. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been as repetitive as a Green Day hook, constantly saying these things. I’m sick of it. From the look on some of the veteran’s faces on Wednesday, I can tell they’re sick of it too. There’s only so much they can do though. The same thing goes for the host of role players on this team. Richard Park, Jon Sim, Sean Bergenheim and Andy Hilbert aren’t 30-goal scorers and even though they work their tails off every night, I really feel that this team needs a career year out of these guys for this team to really be able to compete with the rest of this league.

So how does this relate to the Boston Bruins?

Just like the Isles, the Bruins lost a tough game their last time out, but overall, this is a much better team. 8-1-1 over their past ten games, Boston has one of the league’s most underrated, yet effective playmakers in Marc Savard and Phil Kessel, who finally seems to be coming into his own. Patric Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci aren’t to be underestimated either, as they have legitimate talent and are more than just spare parts. Add in a dominate duo in net between Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas and it’s easy to see that the Islanders can and will be in deep trouble if they don’t commit themselves to working extremely hard in both ends of the ice.

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings

With Mike Sillinger rehabbing with the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport and Brendan Witt already back, things look to be changing in the Islanders favor very quickly.

Sure, Mike Comrie is still nursing a hip problem and Kyle Okposo will be out for at least a week with arm problems of his own, but as I’ve said before, this team’s defense is much more important than the offense. The way Comrie and Okposo have played this season as well makes their absence from the lineup not as big a deal as it could have been if they were producing.

As long as the defense supports Joey MacDonald and he can see the puck, the Islanders should be in decent shape. The way some of the role players have responded the past few games, guys like Frans Neilsen, Jon Sim and Tim Jackman especially, it feels like this team will find a way to produce enough offense to win. That’s not something I would have gone out of my way to say a few weeks ago, but if this team continues to skate and draw penalties, I feel that players will score for this team.

Kind of funny how a few hard-earned wins will change someone’s mind eh?

With KO out, Newsday beat reporter Greg Logan believes the Isles will have an emergency callup from Bridgeport will be made, but didn’t give any ideas as to whom it might be. My money is either on Blake Comeau, who many feel should have made the team out of camp this season and has 11 points in 13 games this season, or Mike Iggulden who has 20 points in 18 games. That doesn’t mean the Isles won’t take the safer route though and go with a guy like Kurtis McLean, who also has 20 points, but is a bit older than both Comeau and Iggulden.

Regardless of who joins the team, I think that players like Trent Hunter and Doug Weight will have to continue to lead the team offensively, while Radek Martinek and Witt will have to jump right into the thick of things. These guys don’t have the luxury of waiting a few games to find themselves. The team’s top defensive duo, they will have to be on top of their game against New Jersey on Friday. Winning three in a row, the Isles have to maintain this type of play until they get healthy again.

Then after that, we’ll see what this team can really do.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

“Skate Skate Skate boys.” Those were Doug Weight’s words during the third period according to Islanders head coach Scott Gordon’s postgame press conference. Aside from leading the team in points so far this season, Weight, to me, has been a leader in the locker room and has been on top of his young teammates who have to produce in order for this team to stay above water.

That’s exactly what happened last night.

Sean Bergenheim and Chris Campoli have the ability and heart to score 40 to 50 points a season in this league and with a few years under their belts, they have to produce. With that being said, it feels good to see these guys come through when they need to. Like I’ve said before, guys that can skate the way Bergenheim and Campoli can, are tailor-made for the Islanders new offense and have to continue producing. For me, it’s a given the Islanders aren’t going to have a 90 or even an 80-point guy on the team this season, but if they have a handful of guys with 40 and 50, then they’ll be more than okay.

However, when you talk about guys tailor-made for the Islanders system, Jon Sim is another guy that comes to mind. The pest that he is, forcing him to play puck pursuit hockey just brings out the best in his game. On pace for a new career high in goals, Sim, despite starting a bit slow this season, is starting to come around exactly when the team needs him to.

Speaking of guys that are coming around, what about Joey MacDonald? Shame on me for thinking for one second that this guy couldn’t hold his own with DP injured [yes, I thought it, but I didn't dare say it at the time] or even as the team’s backup for that matter. Nonetheless, as the season has done on, MacDonald’s weaknesses, such as his inability to cover the posts and take care of pucks in the crease, hasn’t been nearly as prevalent as it was before and it’s gotten to the point where he has singlehandedly kept this team in hockey games.

Last night was more of a team effort than anything, but without Joey Mac between the pipes, things could have gotten really hairy out there.

With their next game against the Canucks on Monday, it’s going to be interesting to see where this team goes next.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

What’s worse than working all day and coming home to watch an Islanders game?

Working all day and coming home to watch a game that you already knew the score to.

Ah man.

If I was the Incredible Hulk, my first words on this game would be: “Hulk want powerplay goals, NOW!”

Seriously, it’s actually gotten the point this season where I have to quote superheroes I can’t stand [I'm more of a Spider-Man kind of guy] to depict the way I feel about this team.

As I mentioned numerous times on this site as of late, the Islanders powerplay has to be able to finish. With the injuries and lack of offense they currently have, the powerplay becomes even more important. Mark Streit and Doug Weight were brought here to help the powerplay and while their play overall has been solid, the rest of the team hasn’t stepped up it’s play. Guys like Kyle Okposo, Jon Sim and Frans Neilsen have to play with a bigger sense of urgency and simply score more often.

As Forrest Gump would say “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

From the looks of it, Weight knows exactly how I feel.

“When you go 0-for-8 with two 5-on-3s and give up a short-handed goal, it’s on us on the power play,” Weight told the Associated Press after the game. “No matter what five guys you have out there, you have to change the momentum of the game. You have to score on those. We didn’t.”

Simply put, there are no excuses for this, none at all.

On defense, the Islanders have to play tighter. The legs have to be going nonstop and they have to make a conscious effort to make better first passes out of their zone. With the speed the Isles have upfront, guys like Chris Campoli, Streit and Andy Sutton have to spring players like Sean Bergenheim, Andy Hilbert and Richard Park and get this team a few easy goals. Like I said before, with offense not coming at a level where they can get greedy, the Isles have to get as creative as possible. Otherwise, this season is over, today.

Not even Josh Bailey’s NHL debut can break me out of this feeling that this team is sinking fast. Make no its or buts about it, if this team doesn’t get Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt and Mike Sillinger back and back soon [and Mike Comrie, but who knows how serious his hip injury is at this point] this team is going to easily win the John Tavares sweepstakes.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

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.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

Meat Loaf was dead wrong when he said “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.”

After the final period of last night’s game, I was so sick to my stomach that a piece of Meat Loaf, even the ridiculously scrumptious end piece could not bring me any satisfaction.

However, through the first two periods of last night’s game, I was thrilled. After writing that this team was the worst Islanders team in over seven season’s yesterday and adding tat they alone could decide their destiny, it felt great to see them progressively finish their checks, win a fight and put some pucks in the net.

During those first two periods, even the powerplay was working. Frans Nielsen was looking like a bona fide NHL center and newbie Mitch Fritz did more than hold is own with tough guy Georges Laraque. It was like watching the Isles on an episode of the “Twighlight Zone.” At one point, I thought I was going to go blind because it seemed too good to be true. All season, the Islanders were looking for a few lucky bounces to get their confidence going. Jon Sim’s goal seemed like the tide turner. For a second, I thought these guys were gellin’ like Magellan.

Then, in an even more bizarre turn of events, they forgot to skate, protect the front of the net and fight in the corners, giving up four goals in one of the ugliest performances I’ve seen in years by any team wearing orange and blue.

That includes the Mets as well.

Just for the record, I’d like to say that goaltending is not the issue in this game. If anything, Yann Danis kept this team in the game with several solid saves in the first and second periods. In the third however, the defense was consistently on their heels. They weren’t attacking anymore and when a team as talented as the Canadiens smells blood, they go for the knockout punch.

Just watching the highlight reel on Yahoo Sports of last night’s game proves this. Look where all of Montreal’s goals were scored. With traffic in front of the net and plenty of bodies looking for second chances. Why was the crease cleared? Well, without Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt and Freddy Meyer, we know why the crease wasn’t cleared. At this point, it’s obvious this team has even more problems than are on the surface.

In the end, watching last night’s game was like watching a horror movie, with the Islanders playing the role of the surprisingly strong sexy female and the Canadiens playing the accomplished killer. It was fun to see her hold her own with someone that much stronger for a while, but you knew that at one point, when Mike Myers, Freddy Krueger or whoever else tickles your fancy, had their opportunity, it was the end of the road.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

With Andy Sutton in the lineup tonight, the Islanders defense should be in better shape to handle a talented Flyers team tonight that despite being without Daniel “Don’t call me Danny” Briere for the next few weeks, still has a plethora of options on offense.

Scary stuff if you ask me.

For that reason alone, this is a game where the Islanders cannot make avoidable mistakes in. Otherwise, this game will be over before the end of the first period. Costly penalties and turnovers did them in on Monday against the Rangers, a team that is playing good hockey right now. The Flyers on the other hand are more like a sleeping giant. They have most of the pieces on their team in place, but haven’t gotten great goaltending this season and their defense hasn’t been that strong either. With that being said, the Flyers will jump all over the Isles if they have an opportunity.

The Isles can counteract this however if they get another solid game out of guys like Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo. As I’ve said before on the blog, the line of Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Sean Bergenheim are playing solid hockey right now, they just have to start finishing. Once that happens and guys such as Jon Sim and Jeff Tambellini start to become factors, this team can hold it’s own. However, until then, this season is going to be a disaster.

Aside from Mark Streit, the Islanders haven’t had a consistent presence on the score sheet this season. We know that this team doesn’t have any legitimate offensive juggernauts, but is it asking so much to have a few guys that can score 45-60 points? As of right now, it looks like Streit and perhaps Weight are going to be the only players close to that. After that, the Islanders offense looks extremely grim.

Because of that and without Rick DiPietro and a bunch of other important players that I’ve mentioned a thousand times not in the lineup, the Islanders defense has to be pretty damn close to perfect for them to break out of this funk they’ve started their season in. If they work hard however, get a quick goal and perhaps a few powerplay opportunities, things could end up differently. So far this season both Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki have been far from perfect as well, which leads me to believe this game could get hairy really fast if both teams get sloppy.

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings