Forgive my semi-off-topic rant in the beginning, I promise it’ll get somewhere by the end!

When I first became a journalist, I was told by another writer a few years my senior that by just being at games, you learn things that fans could kill to know and by just being at those games, you never know what stories you can get. It’s just a matter of dedicating yourself to giving up your fandom and showing up every night with your laptop, recorder and shirt and tie and just being there. You show up two and a half hours before the game and you stay until after the game is over. You basically earn the respect of the players and the organization, which basically puts you in a situation to do your job better than anyone else.

This season, I have done that on my AcesOverBrooklyn.com site, which is dedicated to my coverage of the EPHL’s Brooklyn Aces and last night I got a bit of a reward for that hard work. Dropping the ceremonial first puck at the game last night was Montreal Canadiens forward Chris Higgins, who I had the opportunity to talk to after the game. We talked about his season for most of the interview, but I did manage to sneak in question I’ve been waiting to ask someone in the Montreal organization all season:

“Your powerplay isn’t nearly as good as it was last season, what did Mark Streit mean to it’s success?”

While Guy Carbonneau has dodged the question with the New York and Montreal media all season, Higgins, a Smithtown-native, was honest about what Streit meant to the Habs.

“He was a big reason why our powerplay was number one,” said Higgins. “He’s got a great shot as many of you guys in New York now know. He’s a great guy off the ice and he deserves to be playing every minute that he’s been playing this season. I’m glad he’s been given a shot to be a number one defenseman.”

If I was Streit, a comment like this would mean more than an All-Star nod. It means that the Canadiens know now that they made a mistake letting him go. Like I said before, the organization won’t admit it, but the players he shared a locker room with know just how vital he was.

Let’s hope the Islanders don’t make the same mistake in the future.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Memories, Isles Thoughts 2009, NHL

Well, the Islanders made it interesting, but in the end, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals pulled out a victory.

Quickly becoming the story over the past few weeks is the Islanders inability to produce offensively, which continued yesterday afternoon, as the Isles scored only once on 28 shots on goal.

“We’ve got to keep working hard,” Okposo told the Associated Press after the game. “We just have to get some breaks. We’re getting chances.”

Scoring a powerplay for the first time in nearly ten games, it’s obvious the Isles are missing Doug Weight. Not having Chris Campoli and Trent Hunter in the lineup either played a big factor in the why the team wasn’t on the ball offensively.

In the first period, it looked like the Islanders were going to get on the board early though, as Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore was sloshing all over the crease and was out of position. The Islanders couldn’t put one on the board and soon enough, Ovechkin lit the lamp.

Like I’ve said before, playing from behind is something the Isles cannot afford to do and as we’ve seen from the team before, making mistakes seems to be something that happens in intervals with this team.

Today was no different.

However, in spite of my less than encouraging tone lately, I’d be out of my mind to not talk about how hard this team worked on the ice against a team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Sure, Ovechkin had nine shots on goal, but the rest of the team had 29 and 16 of those came from Viktor Kozlov and Brooks Laich.

Alex Semin, Chris Clark, Nicklas Backstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Michel Nylander and Mike Green had a combined five shots on goal for the game. Stopping Ovechkin isn’t going to happen obviously, but the Islanders worked hard in their own end and limited everyone else’s opportunities. That’s all you can really ask for, especially from a team in the situation the Islanders are in right now.

Speaking of all you can ask for, Yann Danis bounced back after allowing a pair of flimsy goals against the Devils the other night and played one of his best games this season. Perhaps losing Wade Dubielewicz to the Blue Jackets wasn’t so bad after all? Giving up 12 goals over his past four games, Danis has given the Isles very similar numbers to what Joey MacDonald was producing before his injury.

As I’ve mentioned before though, the one thing the Isles do need to ask for more is offense.

In the end, the choice is simple, start scoring or finish with one of the worst records in franchise history.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

After winning just 12 games this season, it appears the Islanders are pulling the plug on the season.

Last night against the Rangers, every Islanders youngster got a hearty helping of minutes and despite the fact that they lost, the effort was there. The difference was of course was Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who was uber solid after a first period where he looked to be having problems with his rebound control and overall confidence.

So with that being said, it’s obvious that as of right now, these kids lack the polish needed to win hockey games. Most of them are still growing into their bodies or getting accustomed to the NHL game. So what can we expect the rest of the season.

A lot of losses, that’s for sure, but a lot of entertainment as well.

While veterans the likes of Mark Streit, Bill Guerin, Trent Hunter and Richard Park are obviously going to continue to get minutes in key situations, don’t be shocked to see guys like Sean Bergenheim and Josh Bailey get much more time on the powerplay. Also, with his speed and desire on the ice, Kyle Okposo would make one hell of a penalty killer, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him tried out there as well.

The way Islanders head coach Scott Gordon is talking right now, it feels like all these wild experiments will begin to take shape over the next few games.

“We used the first half of the year to allow our older players to run with it. Now we’re at the point, whether it’s our next game or a couple games after that, (where) there’s certainly going to be a bigger responsibility on our younger guys,” Gordon told the Associated Press a few days ago. “Not necessarily lineup changes, but bigger responsibilities. It’s something that I’m going to be cognizant of to make sure that (all our young guys are) moving in the direction to have a bigger impact and to have it carry over into next year.”

Exactly.

Trying all of these guys in different roles now will make next season a bit more predictable for them and help the organization truly assess where they truly belong to be. Some of these guys are going to be expected to be big parts of the team next season and if they don’t start to show some promise now, they may not be around to find out.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

This may not be huge news to the rest of the league, but Mark Streit being named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team is amazing news if you’re an Islander fan.

Aside from Doug Weight [who if healthy, may have edged out Streit and appeared in the game himself] Streit has been the only consistent offensive threat this team has. Among defensemen, he’s in the top ten in every offensive category and even leads the league with 32 points.

If this guy was on any other team, he’d have the league and it’s fans drooling. In Montreal last season, he had the rest of the league in awe on the powerplay, but overall, he was looked at as a niche player. However, to put up the points he did while playing mainly on special teams was an extremely impressive feat.

Nonetheless, despite the fact that he could have led a handful of NHL teams in scoring last season, the Islanders, a team considered by many not to have the ability to sign big name free agents, nabbed him in the offseason and signed him to a long-term contract.

Ever since then, it’s been a match made in heaven.

Not only has his offense been stellar, his defense has been more than solid and he’s only gotten better as the season has gone on.

The Canadiens organization, who after leading the league in powerplay efficiency over the past two seasons are now ranked towards the bottom of the league. They may not want to admit, hell, they may never admit it, but they miss the guy’s talents with the man advantage.

Luckily for the Islanders, they saw something special in the kid and gave him an opportunity.

However, rather than catch any praise for picking him up, Islander general manager Garth Snow, much like Streit himself, has received no positive mention from the press. While it’s fair to say that both have a lot to do with how poorly the team is playing this season, the fact of the matter is that despite the fact that there is something definitely wrong with this team, the problem has never been Streit or Snow’s willingness to spend millions of dollars on him over the next half decade.

If things continue the way they have been over the next few seasons, it’s fair to say that Streit will never be the reason why this team can’t play at least .500 hockey or bring in quality players.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

Islanders defenseman Mark Streit currently leads all NHL defensemen with 32 points. That’s more than Nick Lidstrom, Dan Boyle, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf and Tomas Kaberle, five of the top offensive defensemen in the league. On top of that, he’s only a -4 on a team that has been a total disaster defensively and has been a force on a powerplay that was one of the worst in the league last season.

Did you just hear that? I thought I just heard the entire Montreal Canadiens organization slap itself in the face. I don’t know, maybe I’m hearing things.

Let’s not even mention the fact that he’s playing more than adequate defense despite barely playing the position at even strength last season. He’s also been a physical presence. Is he Trent Hunter on the boards or Mitch Fritz in the fighting department? Absolutely not, I doubt he’s even received a fighting major in his career, but he is able to get pucks out of the neutral zone and can clear the net, in addition to landing a hit when he has to.

That alone should make him a top candidate for the Norris trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

However, with the Islanders tanking this season, Streit’s play has gone totally unnoticed. In my opinion, not only should he be in the starting lineup for this season’s All-Star game, he should be a candidate for the Norris trophy if he keeps this play up the rest of the reason. There is no reason why he should be punished because the team he plays on can’t win hockey games. If he was playing on any other team in this league, he’d be getting articles written about him every day and would be a labeled one of the league’s newest stars.

What a shame.

The same thing happened to Adrian Aucoin a few years ago, when he was averaging close to 30 minutes a game and was easily the best two-way defenseman in the league.

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.

As far as I’m concerned, the only way Streit gets the award is if he can make himself the only plus player on the team and get a point a game by season’s end. If he’s at 80 points and is a +2 or +3, you’d have to be crazy not to give him that award.

But then again, this is coming from a league that has allowed only four teams to be represented in the starting lineup of the All-Star game. Asking for them to do the right thing at this point seems impossible.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

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

Undervalued and underutilized last season in Anaheim, Doug Weight came to the Islanders for a second lease on his career.

If any of the other team’s in the league didn’t pick up the one time All-Star, it was because he was coming off the worst season of his career and one that made it look like he was on his last leg.

That’s why many GM’S around the league and Islander fans alike thought Islanders management was crazy when they were the ones that brought him in this summer. However, Weight has easily been the team’s best player this season and has already proved his value, scoring 27 points in 30 games, two more than he scored of all last season.

Number don’t tell the whole story though. Simply put, you couldn’t ask for more from this guy. Alongside Streit, Weight has been something special on the powerplay and has done everything in his power to make sure the Islanders don’t embarrass themselves every night.

Now he’s just four points away from a milestone that every single hockey player from Pee Wee’s to Pros, dreams about.

1,000 points.

There’s just one problem, the Islanders are beginning to make good on the thoughts of every wannabe NHL pundit on the Internet and are playing themselves in a whole that not even the Disney version of the Might Ducks could get themselves out of. Sure they have Weight, who is their Charlie Conway and Trent Hunter, Bill Guerin and Streit are having solid seasons, but this team needs a lot more and fast or else this season is over.

And before the All-Star break.

That’s what makes this guy’s achievement a little bittersweet.

Even though Weight is a fun-loving guy who having a good time this season, you get the feeling that things could be so much better if the Islanders started winning.

“To play as long as I have and to be successful and to be coming up on that mark, I’m very proud of it and very excited about it,” Weight told Newsday. “It sounds like I’m answering in the politically correct way, but I want to mix it in with some wins. It’s more enjoyable around your team.”

It’s not like we didn’t all see this coming though, as all the fan boy blogs and even the guys secretly pulling for the team were hesitant to say where they thought this team was going to finish this season. A few weeks ago, I thought this team had the sneakiness to get into the playoffs.

Now it looks like Weight’s moment may be ruined.

What can the Islanders do to change that?

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

There’s a famous cliché I used to get repeated to me all the time when I was a kid that has consistently made me think of this year’s Islanders team.

“Beggars can’t be choosers.”

Well, this season, they’ve been on several occasions.

By working hard and making the most of the small opportunities they’ve gotten this season, the Islanders have been middling, rather than sinking.

Sure, the powerplay could have been better last night and sure, the second period was a disaster for the most part, but in the end, the Islanders came out on top.

To me, that’s obviously the most important thing, but to beat a playoff team like Senators [in spite of the problems they been having this season] and to do it three times in a row is a step in the right direction.

They just have to do it against the rest of the teams in the NHL.

For the time being though, I’ll be happy with the look on Craig Hartsburg’s face.

I said a few posts ago that in order for this team to continue to win, they are going to have to get career years out of a few people and as of right now, they are getting it out of Andy Hilbert and Joey MacDonald. No question about it, these guys are both playing excellent hockey.

Throw in an excellent game from my favorite Bill Pullman look-alike in Freddy Meyer and again, the Isles skated away with a win.

Bailey stays- Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared my opinions on Bailey’s play numerous times. During the span, I feel as if the 19-year-old has gotten better and better. A little tentative at first, Bailey is now playing an active role in the team’s offense. Everyone knows the kid can pass. However, the past few games, the playmaker is starting to take more shots and is trying to score, rather than throw something at the net.

Five assists in 10 games isn’t amazing, but it’s solid as far as I’m concerned. Once the Isles get Miek Sillinger, Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo back, the Islanders offense will have a more multi-faceted approach and defenses will also begin to take some pressure off the teenager and that is when I believe he’ll start to produce a bit more.

Regardless, he’s going to be a blast to watch the rest of the way

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Through their first 21 games, the New York Islanders defense has had to deal with injuries to Chris Campoli, Brendan Witt, Andy Sutton, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer.

Wait, what did I just say? Am I to believe that through the first 21 games, the Isles have already had five defensemen on the shelf? Am I to believe that Mark Streit and Bruno Gervais have been the only healthy D-men on this team this season?

Unfortunately, the answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes.

Because of that, it’s incredibly hard to assess what this team has done defensively so far this season.

However, it is pretty simple to see that this team is headed in the right direction in their own end.

Streit, simply put, has been a revelation in both ends this season, playing extremely well on special teams and eerily solid in his own end. After the Islanders picked him up this summer, the Canadian press had a field day, saying the Isles paid too much for his services, and stating that he was basically a fourth liner that had a penchant for contributing on the powerplay. I myself said that I didn’t think he’d score 63 points again this season, but as of right now, he’s looking to be awfully close.

[Isn't it funny how over the past few weeks, the Islanders alone have made the Canadian hockey media look like Jason Blair on truth serum?]

With Sutton, Martinek and Witt all back and healthy as well, I think the Islanders have their spine back. Now they can shutdown the top lines in the league and mix it up a bit if they have to. A few weeks ago, guys like Gervais, Streit and Campoli were playing 25 minutes a game, killing themselves in both ends. With the anchors back, those three can now play in roles more beneficial to them and because of that, I think we’ll start to see some more production from them.

I come from a mindset as a fan where I’m used to seeing multiple defensemen being able to produce offensively on a team. Growing up, I saw guys like Tom Kurvers, Jeff Norton, Uwe Krupp, Mathieu Schnieder and Bryan Berard at the point scoring their 35 plus points a season. As a teenager, I saw Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Adrian Aucoin do the same thing. Because of that, I fully expect guys like Campoli, Streit and hopefully even Gervais and Martinek can produce offensively to be factors. I think it’ll come a bit more naturally for he first two players I’ve mentioned, but I really feel Gervais and Martinek have a lot more to give in the offensive zone.

If they do and the Isles can continue to support Joey MacDonald, I think you’ll see a very different Islanders team the rest of this season.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008