2011 Calder Memorial Trophy Spotlight

Update:  Congratulations go to Jeff Skinner.

Carolina's Jeff Skinner, San Jose's Logan Couture and the New York Islanders’ Michael Grabner have all been selected as finalists for the 2011 Calder Memorial Trophy awarded to the NHL’s top rookie player.

19 year old Jeff Skinner, 7th overall pick of the 2010 Entry Draft led all rookies with 31 and 32 for 63 points in 82 games and finished the season with a +3 rating.  Skinner and was the only rookie chosen to appear in the NHL All-Star Game.

Logan Couture, 9^th pick overall in the 2007 Entry Draft played like a star veteran for San Jose this season.  Couture was 32 and 24 for 56 points in 79 games this season.  He finished the year with an impressive +18 on a deeply talented San Jose team.  NHL.com reports that his 32 goals set a franchise rookie record, and he broke the NHL record for most game-winning goals scored on the road by a rookie.

Our hero, Michael Grabner, the Vancouver Canucks 14^th overall pick in the 2006 Entry Draft exploded in the Islanders system and helped the team mount an impressive second half performance.  Grabner, who was 34 and 18 for 52 points in only 76 games, finished with a +13 rating.  He won honors at the 2011 All Star skills competition as the leagues fastest skater. Coming seemingly from nowhere, Grabner was claimed off waivers from Florida and made the most of his new opportunity by scoring a rookie-best 34 goals in 76 games on the Island – the most by a first-year player since Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in 2005-06, NHL.com reports.

Good luck Gremlin!

Vote Yes on August 1st even if you dont live in Nassau County

If you don’t live in Nassau County, vote as an absentee for the new arena proposal!

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/boe/documents/NASSAUCOUNTYBOARDOFELECTIONSABA.pdf

Thanks @islesfanmurf

Vote Yes! On August 1^st.

Register here:

http://islanders.nhl.com/v2/ext/voteform_enterable_4_000.pdf

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/CountyExecutive/NewsRelease/2010/hubjobcreation.htm

Islanders re-sign Gillies

The New York Islanders announced today that Trevor Gillies will be back as a New York Islander for the 2011-2012 season.  Gilles has agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract, which leaves the option open to have him in play for Bridgeport at times this season.

Gillies scored 2 and 0 for 2 pts, a career best in goals and points with the Isles last season.  He ranked second on the team with another career-high 165 PIM’s.

In this blogger’s opinion, Trevor Gillies was a big reason for the Islanders second half success last season.  Despite being suspended two times last year, Gillies is a leader on the ice and no one can question his heart and character as a teammate.  If he keeps his nose clean and continues to play his newly refined game, we could see him around a while with the team. 

Nice.

The 2011 Stanley Cup, Game 7 goes to ...

So, Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals turned out to be just what I expected.  Boston came out at home and played for their playoff lives with a 5-2 victory.  They scored in bunches, scoring 4 times in less than 10 minutes and forced Luongo from the net.  By scoring early, they kept the pressure on throughout the game and finished checks, driving to the net and renewed their focus in forcing a game 7 with another win at home.  

Enter:  Game 7, Canadian Press reports tickets selling for as much as $8,600.00

So, would the Vancouver Canucks franchise accomplish what they had never done, joining the NHL in 1970? Would they overcome the errors of the past, come of age and complete a long and steady rebuild with the ultimate accomplishment?

Or, would the Boston Bruins repeat the effort of 5 Stanley Cup Championships in 2011 to claim their 6^th?  Could they continue to overcome and win their 1^st Cup since 1972?

Both Bruins forward Boston’s Nathan Horton and Canucks' Mason Raymond would watch the game as spectators after suffering injuries from questionable hits in the series.

In Game 7, Vancouver came out hard and tried to establish the physical game to match the aggressiveness of Boston.  They were doing all the right things as a team.  What wasn’t happening was a dominant effort by either player named Sedin.  ESPN.com reported that Daniel Sedin told the Vancouver Sun: "We're going to win Game 7. We're 3-3 and we won all three games at home, and we have the fourth game at home. So we have the seventh game at home, and we'll take that. We are confident."  Afterwards, the assistant captain, Sedin clarified his guarantee: "You know, that was probably me being excited, and the words came wrong out of my mouth. What I said was, if we put our best game on the ice, I like our chances. That's the way it's been all year. When we play our best, we're a tough team to beat. We show that at home. We like our chances."

Boston’s depth really showed in each game of the series, and so did a work ethic that Vancouver never seemed to match on a consistent basis.  They played a brilliant team game and minimized Vancouver’s offense with tight defensive play and a brilliant performance by Thomas.  Luongo seemed rattled once again; despite Vancouver outshooting the Bruins through the first two periods 21-13.  Vancouver never seemed to be able to rebound.  All series long, when rattled early, were outscored heavily in each one of their loses.  In the final three minutes, Roberto Luongo was sent to the bench, and Brad Marchand scored an empty net goal for Boston, sealing the 4-0 victory for the Bruins.

Tim Thomas stopped all 37 shots to cement his Conn Smythe performance and Stanley Cup victory for the Boston Bruins.  Thomas broke the NHL record for saves in a single postseason. He allowed just eight goals in seven games.  Thomas is only the second American to win the trophy, Brian Leech was the first in 1994 against the very same Vancouver Canucks.  Is another Vezina trophy next?

Islander's 3rd Jersey?

@ChrisBottaNHL Chris Botta

Yes, it's true as @BDGallof tweets. #Isles will have 3rd jersey. Plans are for it to include black. Maybe they'll change their minds.

DarkHorse on hfboards.com says:

We shall see ......

The tale of two series

When the Vancouver Canucks waited to see whom they would face in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, many were already counting the opponent out.  The Bruins and Lightening are a nice story, but come on.  After all, Vancouver finished 1^st in the West and 1^st overall in the NHL this season with a 54, 19 and 9 record, with 117 points.  They scored 262 goals, while giving up 185 and had a +77 rating.  They boast three scorers finishing in the top 30.  Daniel Sedin finished 1^st overall with 41 and 63 for 104pts, a +30 in 82 games.  Henrik Sedin finished 4^th in scoring with 19 and 75 for 94pts and a +26 in 82 games.  Rounding out the elite 3 is the underrated, 15^th ranked scorer Ryan Kesler, totaling 41 and 32 with 73pts and a +24 in 82 games.  The #1NHL ranked goaltender, Roberto Luongo turned a lot of heads with 38 wins and only 15 losses, 7 in ot or shootout in 60 games with 126 goals given up on 1,753 shots.  He finished with a strong 2.11GAA and a.928 save percentage.

The Boston Bruins also had an impressive season.  They were good enough for a 7^th place finish in the league, and for 3^rd in the competitive NHL east.  Although they showcase several very good players, they finished with no players ranked in the top 30 scorers.  The Bruins compiled 103 pts, going with a record of 46, 25 and 11.  They outscored their opponents 246 to 195 and a +51 rating.  #9 ranked goaltender Tim Thomas’ aggressive play netted him some impressive stats this season.  In 57 games played, he finished the regular season with 35 wins, 11 losses and 9 overtime/shoot out losses.  He had an unreal 2.00 GAA and .938 save percentage on 112 goals allowed on 1,811 shots.  So how did you think the match up would play out after 4 games?

The home team has gone 2-0 in the first four games.  Why?  Perhaps matching lines and fanatical fans do come into play here.  Boston has some passionate fans, trust me, I know.  The Vancouver faithful have always proven to be fiercely loyal as well.  The intimidation factor of home ice can’t be ignored and has proven viable thus far.  The difference may be in the ability to score, so Vancouver has the clear edge, right?

Well Vancouver won game 1 by a score of 1-0 in the final seconds of the third period and hung on in Game 2, winning 3-2 in ot.  Hardly the offensive dominance you would expect.  In games 2 and 3, Boston won in 8-1, and 4-0 blowouts in which the fragile Canucks shattered after being scored on in bunches.  Their solid defense and superstar forwards looked mortal, almost less than ordinary.  This was all accomplished with a struggling Boston power play as well.  So why is this happening?  We went through the home ice factor, but I don’t think it would be like throwing a switch on and off for each team.  It must be a few different variables.

First, I think that Boston is out coaching Vancouver.  I am in no way saying Alain Vigneault is a poor coach.  I am just saying he was reported on saying his goaltender was stable and the team was focused coming into Boston.  What I am saying is that clearly, Claude Julien’s team made some adjustments in tactics, play and attitude in response to dropping the first two games in Vancouver.  A plight many teams have never been able to recover from.  I am in no way saying that Vancouver won’t come back, I just find it interesting that of the four games, each set of home games played out like a different series all together.

Roberto Luongo is now at a 2.54 GAA and a .916 save percentage.  This is a noticeable, but not disastrous fall from his prior series and regular season numbers.  He has always been questioned on if he could bring a team all the way and he needs to answer right now if it’s going to happen.  The offense must rally behind a solid defensive game by Vancouver in the remaining 2 to 3 games or they will fail in their quest.  Playing as they had done in the past and making adjustments on the fly is a part of every championship team’s resume, and Vancouver should be no different.

If Boston is to finish their resurgence, Tim Thomas must continue his recent dominance and their defense must continue to limit the changes that Vancouver is given.  Thomas’ 2.11 GAA and .936% save percentage against an offensive juggernaught like the Canucks cannot be ignored.  He is a major reason for the B’s success thus far, and he must continue this play if they are to be called champions.  Boston has also excelled in playing the ultimate team game with several different players sharing consistent efforts each of night. 

If the Bruins can win game 5 they may break Vancouver down mentally.  If Vancouver can rally at home and truly come of age after years of rebuilding, they could assume what they believe is their rightful place in history.

Looking Ahead

After Moulson, Grabner, Okposo, Nilsson, Cizikas and the first vote hurdle, this off season is the most interesting for Isles fans in quite a while.  There are still players to resign.  UFA’s under consideration are Trevor Gillies, Zenon Konopka and Radek Martinek.  I would hate to see Gillies go, despite the two incidents last season, Gillies is a great team guy, liked in the room and has the heart that becomes infectious.  Zenon Konopka was also a reason for some resurgence in early 2011, but is likely to be the odd man out.  Radek Martinek is a true Islander and although he is a solid stay at home defensemen, he is injury prone.  The improvements needed on defense may not include him this year. 

RfA’s, which will most likely be signed are Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Robin Figren, Michael Haley, Dustin Kohn and Jack Hillen.  Bailey is highly skilled, but really needs a breakout similar to the one he started last season, but failed to maintain.  Blake Comeau had a strong season and proved he was reliable in just about any role.  Rob Figren had a good year with the Sound Tigers, and may be ready to push for a spot with the big club.  Michael Haley showed grit, toughness and the dangerous ability as a scoring threat around the net.  Dustin Kohn continues to impress and is developing well into a skilled D-man.  In my opinion, Jack Hillen has really become a top 4 defensemen; there are many games where his name is heard over and over again, and for all the right reasons.

Some question marks may be Jesse Joensuu, Dylan Reese and Bruno Gervais who is arbitration eligible.  I have been a fan of Joensuu for a few years now, and although he has misfired a couple of times when called up, the presence of new Head Coach, Jack Capuano seems to have given him a new purpose.  He improved in the second half last year and I think if he continues to develop his scoring touch and his strength improves in his physical game, he could be a force on the Islanders.  Dylan Reese has played well in a relief role and when he was called upon, he performed well and made limited mistakes.  But with the depth of a healthy Isles Defense, like Bruno Gervais, may make him expendable this season.

The Draft and July 1st free agent periods are always interesting.  Nabokov may become a draft choice for the Islanders or may be traded for a prospect that could pan out and actually want to play on Long Island.

Nino Niederreiter will most likely stick around.  I am looking forward to his skill and nastiness on the improving Islanders this year.  I think Garth Snow made the right move sending him down for another season to grow as a leader and a player.  Kevin Poulin has me equally fired up.  Poulin was awesome in relief and excelled as a starter last year.  He was only undone by a knee injury which he expects to have corrected for training camp.  Stud Defensemen, Calvin DeHaan may see time on Long Island if he continues to impress.  Krill Kabanov, by all reports is growing up.  The low risk grab by the Isles may prove to be a genius later pick in time to come.  Kirill Petrov has struggled for Kazan and with one year still remaining on his contract there, may not make Isles camp this year due to family obligations.  The giant Petrov is still said to be a diamond in the rough.  Rhett Rakhshani is coming off a great season in Bridgeport and will compete for a spot this year, count on it.

Also keep an eye on players like Brock Nelson, Matt Donovan and Mikko Koskinen.  They are quite a few more promising pieces in the Islanders vault, which should only improve again this year.  As a fan, take the many positives out of last year that ended the dismal losing streak, the coming of age game vs. Pittsburgh and the fighting spirit the Islanders had to finish the season, finishing the playoff race while falling out by only a couple of weeks.