“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.

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.

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.

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/

Well, just when you think this team has a shot at squeaking out a win, they go and break your heart. Nevertheless, getting a point against a surging Flyers team after the way the game started has to be a start in the right direction.

Let’s face it, the first 20 minutes weren’t exactly pretty. While the Islanders only found themselves down 2-1, off of nasty looking goals by Mike Knuble and Jeff Carter that goalie Joe MacDonald had absolutely no chance at, Bill Guerin tallied with an impressive shot of his own that kept the Isles within striking distance. Looking horrible on faceoffs in the period, the Islanders really needed to get their legs going and get some traffic in front of the net.

Things got a little spicier in the second, as both the Islanders and Flyers started playing with more intensity. Much like the first period, the Isles were having problems with the Flyers in the corners as they generated several scoring opportunities via the cycle that MacDonald was forced to deal with. Nate Thompson had a great scoring opportunity at the midway point of the period, but he couldn’t cash in. Andy Sutton, making his season debut, did a good job blocking a few shots and clearing the crease later in the period on a Philly powerplay, but the Isles offense never responded. The newly formed energy line of Thompson, Richard Park and Sean Bergenheim [why was he taken off the first line?] had a few good chances, but they too could pot one, keeping the score at 2-1.

Nevertheless, they had more gas than they did in the first and the game still looked up for grabs.

The third period started off as a frustrating one, but after the midway point, the Isles stepped up their play on both ends of the ice and got an ugly one from Andy Hilbert that sent the game into overtime.

Then like most of the young season, the Islanders paid the ultimate price for taking a penalty at the wrong time.

Game over.

In spite of the over time loss, the Islanders need to take this as a positive first step. They came from behind against a tough Flyers team and did so with most of their key players on defense and their franchise goalie out of the lineup.

Not bad if you ask me.

Notes:

Close call: Simon Gagne nearly clipped MacDonald’s neck with his skate when the Flyers were on the powerplay in the second period. Whew.

Funny guy: In between the first and second period Carter told Isles reporter CJ Papa that they were being careful against the Islanders in spite of Marty Biron’s record against them, saying that the Islanders “Had plenty of guys who could put the puck in the net.” Next time there’s a roast on Comedy Central, they should snub Gilbert Gottfried [John Stamos walks into a bar...] and give Carter a shot.

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.

With the Islanders defense is Dire Straits as it is, another injury could have really put them but that famous creek without a paddle. Luckily, Andy Sutton, according to Newsday and the team’s official website, is set to make his season debut when the Isles take on the Broad Street Bullies on Thursday.

While he’s a far cry from Paul Coffey, Sutton will be able to give the Isles the toughness they desperately need right now. Aside from Trent Hunter, Nate Thompson, Freddy Meyer and Sean Bergenheim, Doug Weight has been the Islanders biggest physical presence. If you don’t believe me, just ask Brandon Sutter. At any rate, with the way this offense has performed this season, they need as much help on defense as possible.

Much like last season, if the Islanders can get Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer back, the Islanders defense will be solid and the team won’t have to be forced to play catch up every night. Again, Sutton by himself isn’t going to change everything, but he can be a competent player than can give the team one less thing to worry about. Aside from giving the team an edge on defense, he’ll be able to play the point on the powerplay too if he absolutely has to, providing the team with another option for the second unit. Before his injury last season, Sutton started to come around and after a rocky start, became a leader on the team. If he can provide that same type of energy and clear the crease, he’ll be a pleasant addition to the lineup.

Nothing against Jack Hillen, but it looks like he’s not quite ready yet to be a regular. A sloppy pass here, a failed shot from the point there, combined with Chris Campoli’s return made Hillen a bit replaceable. Given that he has barely any experience in pro hockey in the first place, some time in Bridgeport could benefit his game immensely. His smarts and skating ability could provide him with an ample start there and by later in the season, he may be ready to give the NHL another whirl. That will only be the case though if this defensive core can stay healthy. Otherwise, guys like Hillen and Brett Skinner will be forced into action and as we’ve seen already this season, they are far from being dependable NHL defenders. That’s not to say that they won’t be at some point, but as of right now, they need to earn a few more bumps and bruises.