Words can’t describe the smorgasbord of emotions and thoughts that were going through my head during that debacle of a game.

Well, in actuality, there are plenty of thoughts and even more words to describe them.

For your reading pleasure, here they are:

Why does Kyle Okposo look so tentative out there? Why isn’t he attacking the crease and taking shots that hit the net?

Sean Avery seriously needs to get into acting. Even though he looks like someone cross bred a possum and Jeffrey Donovan [that dude that was in Hitch and that USA show Burn Notice or some crap like that], he’s like a virtuoso of the embellishment, a prince of farce and a patriarch of exaggeration all rolled into one. He’d be a great character actor or the first dude to die in a horror movie, don’t you think? As a matter of fact, the only thing more preposterous than Avery’s antics on the ice are the zebra’s the fall for his nonsense every single night. I’d still take him in a minute on this team though, idiotic Buddy Holly glasses and all.

The Islanders powerplay needs to take more shots…end of story. They were passing back and forth on the five on three opportunity they had when all they needed to do is put the puck on the net and clean up the mess. It was like the Islanders had Pierre Turgeon, Joe Sakic, Craig Janney, Marc Savard and Neal Broten [sorry, five best passers I could think of off the top of my head]on the PP; no one wanted to take a shot. They were all looking to set another guy up. Sometimes you have to be selfish in this game. When you have a chance like that to get a goal, you have to take it, especially for a team struggling on offense like the Islanders.

Jon Sim needs to skate towards the net and do what he did over the last few seconds more often or this team is toast this season. He’s already drew a bunch of penalties this season, he just has to finish a bit more and other defenses will have to think about him as a potential problem to deal with. Right now, the Islanders don’t have many of those types of players.

Sean Bergenheim worked his tail off last night. Keep him with Doug Weight and Bill Guerin. Only good things can come from this for all three of them. Weight has been solid this season even though he should have netted one last night. Guerin too has been ok and has been skating hard. Bergenheim’s work ethic will give these guys the space they all need to produce.

If Brendan Witt is going to be out for a long period of time, the Islanders need to call up Mark Parrish asap, regardless of where he is physically. If Jack Hillen is going to play defense in Witt’s place, the Isles defense isn’t going to be as strong as it needs to be, so they need to add more offense or else they are doomed. The Nate Thompson experiment was fun, but this team needs people in the lineup that are going to put numbers on the board and even though Parrish is slower than John Olerud, he’ll be a presence. Throw Parrish on a line with Comrie and Okposo and put Hilbert in the middle with Park and Sim. That at the very least would give the team some more depth on offense, something they desperately need right now.

On another note, Kudos to NBC’s Len Berman for stating the incorrect score of the last night’s game on the news. Looks like some broadcast journalists don’t like to watch the ENTIRE game anymore. Great job NBC, keep it up.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Well, it appears Rick DiPietro is healthy, even though through the first few minutes of the game he had most Islander fans’ hearts in their mouths. After coughing up an early goal that had DP way out of position, he settled down and made several solid saves, effectively keeping the Islanders in the game. Because of that, the Isles biggest concern turned into their biggest strength by the end of the game.

If the Islanders offense could have gotten something going, this game could have been won. However, they didn’t have the same jump in their step they had against the Lightning. It just felt like every time they got a cycle going in the offensive zone, someone committed a turnover or failed to pull the trigger. Simply put, many of the youngsters have to shoot the puck more and stop hesitating. There were a few instances last night where that happened and it ended up costing the Islanders the game. If this team is going to battle for the last playoff spot this season, they have to finish on offense. That didn’t happen last night.

And therein lies the biggest problem with this team this season; they don’t have a bona fide finisher aside from Bill Guerin. So they have to get the youngsters and guys like Andy Hilbert, Trent Hunter and Richard Park to pot in a few every time they get a chance. Otherwise, this is going to be a very long season.

The only line that really had their legs in my mind last night was the Jon Sim, Guerin and Doug Weight line, who were buzzing in the offensive end, making passes and taking shots when they had to. However, Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun battled back after a less than mediocre appearance against the Wild a few days back and shut them down. Even a pair of powerplay opportunities couldn’t get this team going on offense. Because of how dormant the sticks were last season, I’m sure many fans are hoping that the team doesn’t fall into the same rut they did last season. If they do, things could end up even worse. Remember, this team doesn’t have the depth on the forward lines they had last season either.

The defense, aside from a few terrible passes in his own end by Thomas Pock, the Islanders defense was pretty solid. Again, their play in front of the crease needs to improve, but they weren’t allowing as many second chances as they were in the other games they’ve played this season.

That was one of the only real positives I could take out of last night’s game.

Looks like Scott Gordon is going to have some video to watch this week before the team’s net game with the Dallas Stars.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

As I’ve said a thousand times on the site, even though I am a journalist, I write this blog as sort of a release from the shackles of unbiased writing and to share my thoughts on my favorite team in the world.

Last night was a night where I’m happier to do it than usual.

Why, you ask? Because guys like Jeff Tambellini, Mike Comrie, Kyle Okposo, Doug Weight, Frans Neilsen and Trent Hunter have to be able to produce offensively for this team to win hockey games this season and they did just that.

Good times I say. Good times.

Aside from a few meltdowns in front of the net in the third period [I'll get to that later, I'm flowing here!], did anyone else notice how solid the forecheck was? Anyone notice how hard the team was skating and how many penalties they drew? I surely did. And you know what, despite the fact that they just barely scraped out a win, it’s still two points and even without several key role players injured and no Rick DiPietro, this team played well enough to win. And despite the insane amount of penalties last night, most of them were right on the money. Guys like Richard Park, Andy Hilbert and Jon Sim were buzzing all night and drawing penalties and the referees had no choice but to blow the whistle.

In the end, it was a great game to watch and game I’ll remember for a while, mostly due to the sour puss on Barry Melrose Place’s face as he walked back to the locker room after the game. Possibly wondering if he’s going to lose his Paul Mitchell shampoo endorsement if the Lightning keep playing the way they are. As I’vementioned in my pregame thoughts, this team’s defense is spotty and both Mike Smith and Olaf Kolzig [every time I hear his name I feel like I'm in eighth grade history, talking about explorers or something. Ironic, since he needs to start to channel his inner Ponce De Leon if he wants to play another year or two in this league] have something to prove this season, giving this upstart bunch of misfits [minus Gerry Only and Danzig unfortunately] a chance at victory.

However, like I said, the Islanders just barely licked the top of the chocolate syrup bottle of victory last night and never had a chance to fully drink from it before their mother came into the kitchen and asked them why at 25-years-old would they do something like that… I mean it was a close game…yeah.

The very reason why the game was so close in the end was because Joey McDonald, while being stellar around the circles, was a disaster with traffic in front of the net and with players behind the goal line. After his performance in the matinée game against Buffalo on Monday, I’m starting to notice a trend here worse than the kids that refuse to take the stickers off their New Era hats. Pucks that DP would swat out of there or Wade Dubielewicz would slash his light saber at, MacDonald has problems with. At any rate, it may be a problem when team’s start to scout him further and the season progresses, but as of right now, it’s just something to look out for.

At any rate, the Isles are now .500. Take it in my friends. Enjoy it.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

I’m sure most Islander fans weren’t exactly thrilled last night when they saw Joey MacDonald was in net. However, in the end, he was the brightest star on the team and kept them in it until the last minute.

Unfortunately, his effort wasn’t enough, as the Isles offense and forecheck looked flaccid in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

The first period wasn’t so bad, but the next 40 minutes saw the Islanders chasing the puck and failing to get anything going in the offensive zone. Richard Park was perhaps the only Islander to have multiple opportunities, but two crossbars nullified any hopes of him getting on the scoresheet.

The powerplay started off well enough as well, as Doug Weight cashed in after his slap shot hit off a Devils defenseman’s skate and found it’s way to the back of the net. But much like the forecheck and offensive attack, the powerplay tried to get too fancy and spent more time making passes than taking shots. The stellar penalty killing of John Madden also played a role, as he was all over the ice and was clogging up passing lanes.

Overall, the “Over Speed” system set up by new Islanders coach Scott Gordon wasn’t really a factor, simply because the Isles weren’t playing solid hockey. They were too busy watching the Devils play their game that they couldn’t play their own. We’ll see how things go over the new few weeks before I really share my thoughts on whether or not this team can play an up-tempo style.

On another note, despite the fact that he drew two penalties on the night, I don’t know if any hockey pundit could rationalize how Andy Hilbert managed to squeak his way into the lineup in favor of Blake Comeau. Is he hurt or am I missing something here? Aside from setting up Jon Sim for a decent opportunity in the second, Hilbert shanked a wide open opportunity of his own in the second, proving once again that he is not a finisher in this league.

Speaking of guys that have had trouble finishing for the Islanders, when will Mike Comrie stop using the toe drag? I counted three times tonight that he tried the move and all three times, he got his pocket picked. In order for this team to make the playoffs this season, Comrie, alongside guys like Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Trent Hunter and Mark Streit, will all have to contribute on offense.

That didn’t exactly happen last night and that’s one of the reasons why the Islanders went home without a win.

Photo by NHL Media.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Well, here it is, courtesy of the team’s official website:

http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=385315

Well, now that that’s out of the way, here are my thoughts:

Anyone that doesn’t like that first round pick Josh Bailey ended up making the team is out of their minds. Sure, the Islanders have a host of veterans on the team this season, but with Bailey’s cup of coffee this season, combined with getting to see Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim, Blake Comeau and possibly even Jack Hillen develop, this team has the potential of being very fun to watch.

Are they going to make the playoffs? Who knows. If these young kids can play well enough and guys like Bill Guerin, Mark Streit and Doug Weight can pull their “weight,” then this team may have a shot to surprise a few people. Again, much like the last few seasons, the team won’t be expected to do much, but like I said, if they can stay healthy and get contributions from everybody, these misfits will challenge for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Much like the team two seasons ago, the Islanders will need to get offense from all four lines in order to be successful. Can it happen? Asking Andy Hilbert to be consistent every night on offense will be bad enough, but players like Frans Nielsen and Richard Park will have to be steady and score about a dozen goals as well. Can that happen? Stranger things have happened before.

Getting Rick DiPietro back the other day is also a sign of good news, even though his play in the team’s final exhibition game was far from solid. The team’s vocal leader and general on the ice, DP will be counted on again to lead the charge. With Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt around though, DP will have one of the best defensive tandems in the league on the ice for 25 minutes a game. Despite that, no one really knows who will fill in for Chris Campoli and Andy Sutton through the first handful of games, making the Islanders last pair of defensemen a toss up. For my money, Jack Hillen and Freddy Meyer may be the best way to go, considering Hillen’s upside on offense and Meyer’s physical ability and knack for playing smart in both ends. Bruno Gervais may be the best skater of the remaining defensemen and Thomas Pock may have the most offensive ability, but Hillen and Meyer have the poise in my mind to keep the team above water until Campo and Sutton are ready to come back.

At any rate, we’ll see what Scott Gordon decides to do tomorrow in the season opener.

Posted under 2008-2009

With plodders like Brendan Witt, Trent Hunter, Andy Sutton and a host of veterans such as Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger that were either never fast in the first place, or lost a step due to their age, on the Islanders roster, I was originally pretty worried about how new head coach Scott Gordon’s philosophy of “OverSpeed” was going to work.

From the look of it so far, it looks like the team is diggin’ it.

“The essence of the style is to be constantly moving and getting the puck up the ice quickly. It’s all about high speed with and without the puck and putting pressure on the opposition. “It was a long night for the wingers when we played against Providence in the past,” said Tambellini on the team’s official website on Sunday. “The defensemen sat right up on the wingers when we tried to get the puck out. It’s a very fluid system that Gordon implements. It keeps the opposition from having too much time with the puck. We’re all going to have to be skating at top speed.”

Sounds to me that every player on this team is going to have pest-like characteristics then. With a lack of a true first-line center and a first line in general, this may work out well. Again however, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about guys like Hunter, Guerin and Weight getting comfortable. Over the years, I’ve seen guys [take Markus Naslund for instance] get their style cramped when a new coach came in with a new style, so I really don’t want to see guys games get hurt to their point where they are ineffective.

On the other hand, you’d have to think that after the relatively mediocre offensive production this team had last season, that a guy like Hunter or Guerin that have the talent to score 25 to 30 goals in this league if they get hot, are willing to try anything.

With that being said, I think this system to tailor-made for getting the most out of players like Richard Park, Sean Bergenheim, Frans Neilsen, Andy Hilbert and Jon Sim. I even feel that Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo can benefit from it as well. Let’s face it, teams that skate hard and keep moving every night usually win hockey games. If not, they’re fun to watch. Look at the Sabres team that beat the Islanders in the playoffs a few seasons ago as an example. Many of those players work their tails off in both ends and keep the puck moving, which makes them hard to defend against. I don’t know if it’ll work with the Islanders this season, but it should be fun to watch.

Posted under Offseason 2008

With rookie camp underway, I think it’s safe to start thinking a little bit more deeply when it comes to the new season.

With that being said, I figure I’d talk about some of the players that I think will be some of Gordon’s early favorites, and who may end up in the chateau de bow bow.

Early Favorites-

Richard Park- Want speed and grit? He’s got plenty of it. Add in the fact that he can kill penalties and is coming off his best offensive season, I see Park racking up plenty of minutes early in the season.

Sean Bergenheim- Just like Park, Bergenheim has a ton of speed and grit. However, his upside is much better and if he can learn to finish, he’ll be a more than solid second liner.

Jon Sim- Hustle personified. A solid physical game, mixed in with good work in the corners make Sim someone Gordon can depend on this season. Add in the fact that he’s been itching to get back on the ice for the past six months and I think Sim is going to be a great pest.

Dog House Candidates-

Andy Sutton- If he’s up to his usual tricks of blocking shots, starting fights and clearing the crease, Sutton should be just fine. However, due to his questionable speed [even though he's not a bad skater for a guy his size] and inconsistency, he may be fighting for ice time.

Mike Comrie- While Ted Nolan put up with his less than mediocre play in the defensive zone and constant toe dragging last season, I highly doubt Gordon will. In order to get the most out of him this season, Gordon will have to keep him motivated and make sure he gets him the necessary time on the powerplay. However, in order for that to happen, he’s going to have to play smart in both ends. Who knows if that actually happens.

Bruno Gervais- While his speed and superior skating ability should fit Gordon’s new system, his lack of a physical game and inconsistent passing ability may get him in trouble. With the Islanders most likely having problems scoring goals again this season, his lack of offensive prowess won’t help him much either.

Posted under Offseason 2008

Mike Sillinger missed close to 30 games last season, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t an influential member of the team. Taking face-offs in the defensive zone, killing penalties, playing with the man advantage and centering the Isles checking line, there’s a reason why he’s played on so many teams in this league an why he’s so sought after every trading deadline.

He’s an indispensable commodity.

However, according to Newsday and a plethora of other hockey sites, Sillinger may miss opening night due to microscopic hip surgery. As of right now, it’s not known when he’ll be back and even Sillinger himself wasn’t sure when he’d be back. In his absence, the Islanders already anemic offense will not only have to find someone to play with Trent Hunter and Jon Sim, they’ll have to get offensive production from them as well.

That’s where the bigger problem lies: can the Isles fill Sillinger’s spot in house? Is either Fran Nielsen or Richard Park capable of centering a checking line and pinching in on the offensive end? What about Ben Walter or Andy Hilbert? Can they finally turn promise at the AHL level into decent NHL numbers?

Probably not. At this point, Hilbert and Walter seem like spare parts and don’t figure to be more than fourth liners. Of the four, I believe Park can thrive in that spot, but only if he begins to finish a bit more. If he can score few goals early this season and a guy like Nielsen can step up and play solid at both ends of the ice on the fourth line, the Islanders should be able to get by until ole Silly comes back. Much like last season, the offense isn’t going to be spectacular and Rick DiPietro will need to be close to perfect, but what else is new?

But what about Josh Bailey? Rumor is he’s bought a house on Long Island and could be NHL ready much faster than most people think. Given his noted two-way ability, could he make an impact in Sillinger’s absence? At the very least, it could be very fun to watch Bailey, along with the likes of Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Chris Campoli develop.

If that does happen and Bailey does establish himself, what do the Islanders do with Sillinger then? Given his market value, do the Islanders trade away their assistant captain for picks and youth? At any rate, it should be an interesting situation.

Posted under Offseason 2008

Last season, the Islanders offense relied heavily upon chance. The chance that Bill Guerin and Miroslav Satan still had gas left in their tanks. The chance that Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko could develop into near point a game players with first line ice time. The chance that Josef Vasicek and Jon Sim could thrive in expanded roles and lastly, the chance that Sean Bergenheim and Trent Hunter could be consistent offensively all season long.

Considering the fact that the Isles didn’t make the playoffs last season, it’s safe to say most of those players missed great opportunities to prove themselves. However, Guerin proved last season that he can still be an offensive threat, but it’s obvious he needs a real playmaker by his side to get back to being a 30-goal scorer. With Doug Weight’s mediocre season last year behind him, the former Olympian may provide a spark in both of their games that helps the Islanders stay in the mix a little bit longer than expected. Nonetheless, there are holes all over this team’s forward lines that beg to be addressed. Better yet, they beg for someone with some grit, character and heart to step up and cement their spot on this team. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very long season at the Coliseum.

Chances are that Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Sim will find themselves on different lines this season and these are the players that will have to be the spark plugs. While I’ve already said in previous posts what I think the youngsters are capable of, Sim is a guy that has scored 17 goals with no ice-time in Atlanta a few years ago and can really provide the depth needed to win hockey games. Because of that and guys like Hunter and Mike Sillinger, who he will most likely be paired with, I don’t think a 20-goal season is out of the question for him. Add in his tenacity and heart to a line with already plenty of moxie and I think it’s easily the Islanders most multi-faceted trio if given a chance to gel.

With the four aforementioned players can step up and add something different to the table, I see no reason why guys like Hunter, Richard Park and Bergenheim, noted for their grit and offensive upside as well, can’t follow suit and add respectable numbers themselves. Again, I’ve already discussed what I think Hunter is capable of and I think if Bergenheim finishes more, he can be a 20-goal scorer in this league as well. Park, I think is a lock for a dozen goals and some damn good defensive play.

Then it comes down to how bad a guy like Mike Comrie wants to win. Much like Isles goaltender Rick DiPietro, he has two sides to his game, a focused one where he has a deadly accurate shot and plays decent enough defense in his own zone to not be a liability and another side that knows only a mediocre toe-drag and loves to commit neutral zone turnovers. If the Isles have any chance at success this season, Comrie has to be on his game on both ends of the ice.

In the end though, it’s all about people stepping up and making themselves viable options. The days of having bona fide superstars on this team may be over for the time being, but there is no reason why this team can’t roll four lines that can play quality hockey on both sides of the ice. If they do eventually do that, I think they’ll be a lot of fun to watch and will surprise a bunch of people down the stretch.

Posted under Offseason 2008

It’s getting to that time. No more trades. Training camp coming up. And no new news. So considering that, I figured I’d make some possible forward line combinations for the Isles this season. And just to make sure they’d work on the ice this season, I did the next best thing to watching them in real life, I played with them on the highest difficult setting in NHL 08 on the XBOX 360 for a few hours.

Okay here we go:

Line 1

LW- Sean Bergenheim, C- Mike Comrie, RW- Kyle Okposo- This line was a lot of fun to play with just because of Bergenheim’s toughness and the flashiness of Okposo. I think that Weight may be a better fit here, especially because Bergenheim and Okposo could benefit a little bit more from having a better playmaker with them, but with Comrie’s shooting ability, Bergenheim and Okposo did get solid second chances in the crease, creating several easy goals.

Line 2

LW- Jeff Tambellini, C- Doug Weight, RW-Bill Guerin- The speed of Tambellini really saved this line from being a plodding mess. Guerin’s presence in front of the net did give Weight more room to skate though, which gave Tambellini several chances of f nice passes around the circles. In real life, Islanders head coach Scott Gordon may eventually go to a line like this with one speedy guy to try and get more out of the other players.

Line 3

LW- Trent Hunter, C- Mike Sillinger, RW- Jon Sim- The face off ability of Sillinger and the overall checking ability of Hunter and Sim make this a fantastic energy line. In the defensive end, they were smart and tough and in the offensive zone they worked hard in the corners and while they had problems finishing, they were good enough to pose an offensive threat. This is a line the Isles formed last season that looked great and hopefully they bring them back this season. Here, they easily were the Isles best line in both ends.

Line 4

LW- Richard Park, C-Frans Nielsen, RW- Blake Comeau- Another good energy line, but for different reasons. Park and Nielsen’s speed combined with Comeau’s grit made them solid in their own zone and surprisingly solid in the offensive zone. Again, much like the third line, they had problems finishing and lacked the raw ability to get past defenders, but they proved they could hold their own against top lines. There was a problem however with the line’s overall toughness, as they were pushed aside by bigger teams and taken advantage of in corners.

Now that you’ve sit idly by and read this all, I have a question for you: Why aren’t you outside? It’s beautiful out!

Photo by Gamespot.com

Posted under Offseason 2008