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

The bottom line right now is a simple one for this team:

They are running way too thin on defense.

Nothing against Joe Callahan or Thomas Pock, but this team needs Andy Sutton and especially Radek Martinek back in the lineup.

They need their defense to be their strong point every single night if they are ever going to get back to .500.

On top of that, guys like Brendan Witt and Freddy Meyer are still getting back in the thick of things, which makes things that much tougher when the Isles offense is far from exemplary.

Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers had way too many second chances. Some were due to sloppy rebound control by Yann Danis, but most of them were due to the fact that the Islanders were not playing smart in front of their own net.

Combine that type of mediocre play with one of the best first lines in Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and it’s easy to see why the game ended the way it did.

As far as the forward lines go, I think there are players there too that are either still getting back in a groove or are not being used properly. Mitch Fritz is a tough cookie, no doubt about it, but guys like Richard Park are simply being wasted playing on a line with him. The way Callahan was used tonight, the Isles would be better off using five defensemen and giving Fitz a spot shift if they absolutely have to. Personally, I think that while Fritz obviously performs an admirable service out there and is damn good at what he does, Tim Jackman is enough of a tough guy. This team needs another scorer or energy guy in there.

Once Mike Sillinger gets back to his old self out there [he's getting there and was excellent in the faceoff circle last night] things may change a bit, but this team is starting to look like they need a lot more than just their revitalized assistant captain. Once Mike Comrie comes back however, the Isles may have more options, but if he continues playing the way he was before he left the lineup, the Isles will be stuck with another albatross on their forward lines.

All in all, it just feels as if this team is missing the depth and passion needed to win.

Comeau Rockin’- Despite another loss, Blake Comeau is quickly making Scott Gordon look pretty damn silly. In the three games that he’s been with the team, he’s been stellar and has been a huge upgrade over the listless Jeff Tambellini. I know what some of you are thinking right now: ‘Pat, calm down. He scored on a deflection.’ To those people, I say that energy, above everything else means a lot to me when I evaluate talent. Making yourself a factor is a trait that turns players with average talent into solid role players and good players like Comeau into guys defenses have to prepare for. Is he quite at that level yet though? Not quite, but by hustling and taking shots at the net, he’s guaranteed to keep his spot on this team for the near future.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

I don’t know how you guys felt about it, but to me, it just seemed like the Islanders couldn’t get on track last night.

They got back in the game a few times, following nice goals by Bill Guerin and Mike Sillinger, but not once did it feel like they were headed in the right direction.

The reason for the most part I believe was the defense left Joey MacDonald out to dry… again. Every goal the Maple Leafs scored was due to a miscue on the Islanders defense. By the time Jeremy Williams scored his first NHL goal, it was painfully obvious that the Isles defense needed to get back to basics and simply watch for the back door pass and eliminate they space they offered the Leafs.

On offense, I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the changes in the forward lines Islanders head coach Scott Gordon made before the game. I know Sillinger has had chemistry with Trent Hunter and Andy Hilbert, but there was “real” chemistry starting to develop between he and Josh Bailey. I know the team is pressed for offense over the past few games, but that was a combination I wouldn’t have played around with.

All night, I just felt like there was too much of a feeling out process going on between most of the new lines, which was just one of the reasons why there was a huge gap in third period where the Islanders couldn’t complete a pass.

That combined with the sloppy defense really put the Isles in a situation where they couldn’t muster enough energy to get the W.

On a positive note, I really liked the way Richard Park and Blake Comeau played last night. Regardless of the score, they were making smart plays in both ends. The same thing goes for Tim Jackman who continues to make something out of nothing every night. He’s kind of like a slinky that you never think will be able to make it down the stairs, but surprises you every time.

Unfortunately, as a team recently, the Isles haven’t shown the passion or intensity to make it down a pair of steps, nevertheless a flight of them.

Something has to change soon.

On another note, what is going on with Ian White and Ryan Hollweg? They look like a combination of the Super Mario Bros and legendary porn star Ron Jeremy with those mustaches. Scary stuff if you ask me. However, even more scarier were a few questionable hits by Hollweg in the game, one that caused a scrap between he and Nate Thompson, who ironically left the game with the flu shortly thereafter [maybe it had to do with seeing that wad of facial hair up-close]. Simply put, this guy has had a history of hitting from behind and one day, he’ll be just as vilified as Chris Simon, the guy that went over the line on him a few years ago.

Mark my words.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Once the Islanders got Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt back, I was expecting things to get progressively better. I was expecting a healthy Freddy Meyer, Mike Sillinger, Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo back as well, helping on both ends of ice and just maybe, sneaking into a playoff spot. But just like last season, the dominoes are falling, as it seems like Martinek must have sneezed on Okposo or something, as according to Greg Logan’s Newsday Blog, the Islanders 2006 first round pick is going to be out for at least a month after aggravating his already-injured wrist.

Great, just great.

In all fairness, Okposo was starting to play well, especially alongside another first rounder in Josh Bailey, but he wasn’t playing like Mike Bossy. He wasn’t playing like Steve Thomas either. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t even in Wendel Clark’s league. Nevertheless, for a short while, it was pretty entertaining to see what the future could look like with those two on the ice together. At any rate, those euphoric desires will have to be quenched in other ways until he’s healthy again.

Luckily, Trent Hunter is easily having the best season of his career and is finally taking more high quality shots. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even though he’s a good defensive forward and doesn’t have great skating ability, this guy is not a third liner. Anything but. He should be a 20 goal guy every season, regardless of who he plays with, especially with his stick handling ability and shot. On pace for 30 biscuits potted thus far, the next Islander captain [or maybe Witt] is proving that you can be a good player with an abundance of grit and hard work.

The same thing goes for Bill Guerin, Doug Weight, Andy Hilbert and Mark Streit, who are all proving that they can produce the way Islanders management believes they can. Once the majority of the youngsters do, I think this team is going to be a lot of fun to watch. Once Comrie and Okposo come back as well, I really feel that the Islanders can have four solid lines that can contribute on both sides of the ice. That may mean that a guy Jeff Tambellini would ride the pine in favor of someone who shows up every night and wants to play like Tim Jackman [or maybe Blake Comeau]. Some people may not like that, but in the end, those are the breaks baby.

You can only implement a true youth movement with players that are truly ready or close to. While Sean Bergenheim and Chris Campoli [and even Okposo and Frans Neilsen before they got injured] have shown flashes of brilliance, Tamby looks like he playing Dungeons and Dragons out there. No poise or drive. He either takes chances in both ends, trying to make the big play, or takes garbage shots that have no chance at going in, effectively rolling the dice with his chances of getting quality ice-time.

If he continues along these lines, he’ll not only lose ice time, he may lose his spot on the roster as well.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

Mike Sillinger is expected to make his season debut this Thursday against Washington and many Islander fans are curious as to what they can expect from the veteran.

Well, here are my thoughts:

Firstly, the Islanders will instantly get better in the faceoff circle. Always one of the best faceoff guys in the league, Sillinger’s ability on the draw will help the Islanders on the powerplay and in their own end as well.

As well, the Islanders forward lines will have a bit more depth and head coach Scott Gordon can have some more fun with the combinations. I mentioned a few of the possibilities last night, but didn’t think of the Islanders powerplay featuring the likes of Sillinger, Bill Guerin, Josh Bailey, Mark Streit and Doug Weight until just now. Again, while it pales to compare to what some other team’s have, the Islanders depth is finally starting to kick in and I think because of that, the offense is going to pick up rather shortly.

On another note, once Mike Comrie comes back healthy, the Islanders will be pretty damn solid, albeit a bit on the old side, up the middle, featuring Weight, Comrie, Sillinger and Bailey. With that being said, I think they’ll eventually be able to hold their own at that position with the rest of the league.

Isles Looking at Gaborik? According to Eklund of the infamous HockeyBuzz.com, the Islanders are allegedly going after Marian Gaborik.

All I can say to that is no…no…no.

Nothing against the guy, who is without a doubt a legitimate talent in this league, but the Wild will be asking for way too much and as teams like the Penguins and Blackhawks have proven over the past few years, you don’t rebuild your fanbase by trading away high draft picks. Over the past few years, the Islanders have been lucky on a few occasions, with the Ryan Smyth trade not biting them in the rear and guys the likes of Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey having the potential to help play a part in turning th franchise around.

Even though Gaborik is only 26, he’s not the right fit for this team, that is unless the Isles can give the Wild a host of players that don’t figure to be in their long-term plans that may be attractive.

Immediately, a player like Comrie comes to mind, but obviously, that isn’t going to be enough. Who else could this team package in without sacrificing their future? Radek Martinek? Andy Sutton? I don’t know guys. The way this team is playing this season so far, they may be able to squeak into the playoffs once they get healthy. Do they take the risk of surrendering the rest of what could be a fun season, just to bring a big name in? What would you guys do if you were Garth Snow?

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

The follow writing takes place between 9:45 and 10:30 P.M Monday.

Thank you Ryan O’Byrne, thank you.

Sometimes things work out in weird ways man, I swear. First Sean Bergenheim gets called for a phantom penalty [was he anywhere near Alexei Kovalev when he fell for no apparent reason or am I going crazy here? If it was for the small hug before that, then I'm afraid this league is turning into the NBA] and then O’Bryne takes a Patrick Stefan-esque dump and puts the Islanders right back into the game.

Again, thank you O’Byrne, thank you. [I'm singing it now, in a Rick Astley type monotone, Never gunna Give, Never gunna Give!]

At any rate, this almost makes up for the dump this team took the last time they played the Habs. Just to get a point after playing the way they did on even strength tonight proves the Islanders are heading in the right direction. Now I know what most of you guys are thinking: what the funk is this guy thinking? It had to be one of the luckiest things to happen on the ice this season! My response is a simple one: so freaking what! Three weeks ago, the complete opposite would have happened to this team. Now they’re on the other site of the coin. And buy does it feel good. Just like the old Virginia Slims ads, they’ve come a long way baby!

Then to be able to pull out the win in the shootout made things that much better.

Overall, the end of that game, just looking at that poor kid, reminded me of a specific scene of the cult-classic “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.”

“You look like someone just took a crap in your cereal…BONG!”

Bailey running out of time?- Two games to go on his audition, you gotta think this guy is going to stick around. That is unless the Islanders try out Ben Walter. At this point, with Frans Neilsen, Mike Comrie, Mike Sillinger and Nate Thompson already out, the Islanders don’t really have the luxury of letting the kid go back to juniors. Also, he’s been pretty solid thus far.

Streit Booed?- I find it funny that Canadien fans would boo a guy like Mark Streit. This was a guy that never really got a fair shot shot there. He was a fourth liner and a powerplay quarterback and that’s it. Simply put, he was a niche player that ended up having an amazing season. A free agent this offseason, Streit was looking for more responsibility and respect in Montreal. If that wasn’t going to happen, he’d look elsewhere. Thankfully for the Islanders, that’s exactly what happened. If fans in Montreal should be mad anybody, it should be the team’s management, for giving up on a guy that obviously had a lot more to give.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

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

The Shenanigans the Islanders have forced their fans to deal with this season essentially started after the Islanders lost in overtime to the Flyers on October 30. Ever since then, watching this team play the final 20 minutes is worse than a prostate exam.

So what does this team need to do in order to get out of the rut they’ve gotten themselves in?

Here are a few of my thoughts:

1- Be more physical, especially in the defensive zone- Giving up 18 shots in the final period on Saturday, this team needs to play with more desperation and more of an edge. Mitch Fritz got into a tussle while up here with the Isles, but I say that isn’t enough. Guys need to start finishing checks on every single shift. Everyone from Mark Streit to Frans Neilsen has to do this in order for it to be effective as well. Being that physical will also open up the ice more and give the few playmakers the Islanders have, guys like Doug Weight and Neilsen room to find the Bill Guerin’s and Trent Hunter’s.

2- Score on the powerplay- Currently ranked 25th in the NHL, Streit and Weight have been brought in to help out and while they have, other players have to start contributing. For starters, the Islanders need to overload the powerplay with guys that can score. Nothing against Neilsen, but he should be one of the last people who get a shot on the PP. Alongside Weight and Guerin, Hunter should play on the other wing with Streit and Chris Campoli. The second unit should be something along the lines of Mike Comrie with Sean Bergenheim and Kyle Okposo with Andy Sutton and Bruno Gervais at the point. While it’s not as deep a unit as I would like it to be, there would be enough diversity to give the Islanders options. The first unit would be all about getting traffic in front of the net and the second would be about puck possession and generating offense from the circles. Once Mike Sillinger comes back, I think this team’s powerplay will get much better, but until that happens, something else needs to be done.

3- Play smarter defense- Going along with my first statement about the team’s need to play tougher, I think the defense needs to cut down on their turnovers. I know it’s not as easy with Rick DiPietro still injured, but overall, this team needs to make smarter passes in their own zone and commit themselves to eliminating traffic in front of Joey MacDonald and limiting second chance opportunities. If they can do that, this team won’t have to score four goals a game every night to stay in games.

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings

I think first and foremost, the Islanders have to play 60 minutes of consistent hockey to stand a chance against this team. The Penguins have a ton of depth on their forwards lines and without Brendan Witt [who owns Evgeni Malkin by the way] and Radek Martinek, the Isles have to be perfect on defense tonight. Any lapses will result in a letdown worse than any the Isles have experienced so far this season.

For starters, Miroslav Satan seems to be reborn in Pittsburgh, and already has eight goals, compared to the 16 he had last season with the Islanders. Another former Islander, Ruslan Fedotenko hasn’t enjoyed that same amount of success, but with Crosby out of the lineup for a tad, it’s obvious that’s played a part. Speaking of Crosby, he will be in the lineup tonight, making things that much more difficult for the Isles.

Nevertheless, if they get ahead early, stay out of the penalty box and play a consistent 60-minute game, we’ll see what happens.

In other news, Greg Logan of Newsday reports that Sean Bergenheim will be back in the lineup tonight and that Tim Jackman has been called up to replace Mitch Fritz. Nate Thompson has a strained groin, so he’ll be out of the lineup as well. While Jackman isn’t the enforcer Fritz is, he’s a grittier player, who has more talent offensively. He’s been playing well in Bridgeport this season and should fit in fine with the team again this season.

Joey Macdonald will also be in the net as well, cementing his spot as the team’s starting goaltender with Rick DiPietro injured. Like I’ve said before, you can’t really ask for more for this guy. Who you can ask for more out of are the youngsters, Jeff Tambellini especially, alongside guys like Brett Skinner, who have done little or nothing this season.

Also, According to Newsday, Josh Bailey, Mike Sillinger and Martinek all practiced yesterday and are all close to returning. Once they come back, things are going to get mighty interesting with this team. Who stays? Who goes? Who knows. At any rate, it’s going to be fun seeing Bailey, Kyle Okposo play with guys like Doug Weight and Bill Guerin.

In other, other news:

I was quoted by the New York Times hockey blog today for my coverage of the New York Islanders.

You can check that article out here as well.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/isles-move-to-the-back-of-the-line/

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings