Monkey Free

When Travis Harmonic tried to clear the defensive zone and glanced the puck off the glass, neither he, the fans nor the Islanders’ coaching staff would have guessed they would have been called for a penalty.  Especially in overtime.

One would figure that when the linesman positioned under the play in question signaled for a face-off, that there would not be a gathering of officials to confer and rule that the puck never touched the glass, and therefore assessed a penalty.  Especially in overtime.  Bad call aside, the Islanders need to get rid of the monkey on their back in a big way.

The resulting man down 4 on 3 situation ended in San Jose scoring the winning goal.  Despite playing well in a tight physical game with a top team in the NHL, the Islanders lost, again.  They have fallen to a 3-4-2 record, enough for last place in the Atlantic division and 14^th in the conference.  With a great special-teams performance thus far and a defense that has performed well, the Islanders are still in a familiar rut.  With three goaltenders who have all played well enough to win, they have still fallen after a quick start which had them near the top of the pack in many statistical categories.

But right now, despite all these things and playing hard, they are falling into another consecutive winless streak reminiscent of the one that lasted 14 games last season.  The roster has evolved into one of the better up and coming teams of young talent any GM would be proud to have.  It has been infused with quality veterans, some who have won the ultimate prize more than once.  The team is led by a coaching staff that has gotten results from its group of players on a pretty consistent basis. 

So what could it be?  The old 5 on 5 adage still applies.  They need scoring from more than just the top line.  It is obvious that the rest of the forwards on the ice need to step up and take accountability for the losing streak.  It’s hard to call out the defense when they have been so good in limiting the opponents offensive output, but maybe they could work with the goaltenders to improve offensive breakouts from their own zone.  Turning defensive success into more offense could do wonders for the Isles with their speed and ability to score goals.  Last year, the Islanders had 5 twenty goal scorers with a balanced attack. 

This year, only Tavares, Moulson, Nielsen and Grabner have more than 1 goal.  Streit, Parenteau, MacDonald and Martin have scored 1 goal.  Aside from the first line, only Streit has more than a few assists at 7.  Other contributors top off at 3 (Okposo) and 2 (Rolston), then 5 others at 1 assist.  These totals were gathered in the 9 games played by the Islanders to date.

Changing the 2nd-4th lines could be done, up to a point.  With Neiderreiter in the line-up, the offense may improve, but that is a lot to ask of such a young prospect.  Strome is still a ways off from regular minutes on the Island.  I still think the answer is in the form of a trade or waiver pick-up for a prime offensive talent to give the offense a dual-fisted attack.  Teams in need of salary relief may be ready to move assets for cap room.  It would force opponents to not just overload the coverage on the Tavares line and force them to respect more of the line-up.  In turn, I think the rest of the forwards would have more of an opportunity to break out and catch fire offensively. 

I think Garth Snow has shown he has a good eye for players in need of a scenery change or more attractive opportunity to showcase their talents in New York.  If the team is ready to give up on him, a Josh Bailey could be packaged with some of the many impressive minor league prospects and may bring in a good player to add to the depth of the Islanders roster.  If the right player is available, it may be worth giving up some of the young Sound Tigers.

What's the next move?

The New York Islanders have sent forwards Trevor Gillies and Nino Niederreiter to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Gillies, who has cleared waivers for the second time this season, is most likely being sent down to make an eventual roster spot for Niederreiter, who has been rehabbing a groin injury for conditioning.  Niederreiter will remain in Bridgeport for a maximum of two weeks.  Despite being reassigned, both Gillies and Niederreiter practiced with the Islanders today.

Lines at practice today were Moulson-Tavares-Parenteau; Grabner-Nielsen-Okposo; Comeau-Bailey-Rolston, Niederreiter; Pandolfo-Reasoner-Martin,Gillies.

Rebounding and a salute to the 92-93 Islanders

Another loss after some good effort against the Penguins in game two of the home at home match-up.  In the final twenty minutes, a bad break and a fantastically executed drawn up play eliminated a 2-0 lead.  Nabokov was solid until he hurt himself in O.T. and Rick DiPietro allowed one goal against in the shootout.  When a goaltender does that, he is giving you a shot to win, but the Isles fell uncharacteristically flat scoring in the shootout.

DiPietro will back stop the team vs the San Jose sharks today.  It will be another challange the team must be able to answer to take the next step and change the culture back to winning.
 

Tonight the Isles salute the 92-93 team that toppled the two time defending cup champion Penguins, and came close to another cup chance.  Patrick Roy ended the chances that year en-route to a cup title.  Just thinking of Turgeon, Hogue, Thomas, Ferraro, Pilon, Vukota and Healy among others make me smile.  It is sad that Glen Healy had to speak so negatively last season about the Islanders in the infamous February coming of age game, otherwise he would have most certainly been asked to attend in a place on honor at the Colisieum. 

But what a year that was.  It was one on the most exciting playoff runs any team has ever had, even though they fell short.  The Al Arbour magic in O.T. was unreal and of course, the Volek goal was the stuff of legend.  This was one of my favorite Islander teams of all time and I am so glad they are being honored tonight.  The current blizzard outside of an expected 15 inches, snapping trees and power lines may keep me from watching, but I will be there in spirit.

That team will always give me hope that my New York Islanders can accomplish great things, even when no one else gives them a chance.

 

Keeping An Eye On The Prize

So, I never intended to cover all the games on KoC, but I am compelled to comment on what I have seen again so far. 

I have seen many games as a fan where a team dominated for much of the game, had a ton of good chances, but their inability to finish slowly worked against them and turned their strong play into growing confidence for their opponent.  That was what happened last night in game one of a home at home series vs the Pittsburg Penguins.

Two glaring mistakes against a quality team with depth to spare is something that you just cannot do.  Malkin returning to the lineup didn’t help either.  But if you want to take the next step as an organization, these are the teams you must compete with and beat, consistently.

The fact is the Islanders played better as a team, got shots on net, played physical, had strong special teams and good goaltending.  What is still missing?  Proficient scoring 5 on 5.

The third and fourth lines did better in pressuring the opposition, the defense did ok, but the inability to sign a top pair Defensemen this summer shows in the blue line depth.

When you have an all-world Goaltender like Fleury on his game and his team in position to apparently block 26 of 33 shots, a 20^th career shutout is not a surprising feat, his 3^rd career vs the Islanders.  That’s solid team defense.

What I am saying here is I am still drinking the Kool Aid.

I am not sure if a trade or call up is the missing piece.  I am uncertain if all the pieces are already in place and just need more time, but I am sure of that it needs to happen soon.  Confidence is something that has been building over the last few seasons.  The young Islanders have made strides and proven they can answer a challenge.  What they need to build is a winning culture and that comes from one thing.  Winning.

They have game two to regroup and answer the Penguins at home.  Not an easy task, especially for them in recent years.  They need to play another solid game, minimize mistakes and rediscover their scoring touch.  Scoring first and playing physical is always a good start.  Finish checks and improve passing and positioning.  Clog the Pittsburg zone and get them out of position to minimize their ability to block shots.  I say make it a little unpleasant for Fleury, but play with controlled emotion, as the league will be watching.  Again.  They will need to improve 5 on 5 play and keep special teams and goaltending on target. 

Frustrate the Penguins for the win and get the season back on track.

Isles Notes:

Lines at practice today were Moulson-Tavares-Parenteau; Okposo-Nielsen-Grabner; Rolston-Bailey-Comeau; Pandolfo-Reasoner-Martin, Gillies.

Montoya, Nabokov and DiPietro made the trip to Pittsburg.

Per Coach Capuano, Jurcina is day by day and will definitely help the team defense improve while Niederreiter should skate with the team by next week.  But expecting such a young player to make the difference shouldn’t be realistic.

.500 Not Good Enough, Isles Losing Focus?

The Islanders uninspired play got them 2 road loses this past weekend, dropping them from a strong start to a 3-3-0 record on the young season and leaving a possible 4 points on the road.  It is far from panic time, but there is room for concern.  The team’s top line does most of the scoring while the rest of the line-up has struggled to find the back of the net.  Almost as if they were living on what they did in the three home games prior to their trip to the sunshine state, the cruise control wasn’t good enough to overcome a talented and desperate Tampa team and a surging, but beatable, Florida team. 

The Islanders were out played, outshot and seemed lost at times after they tried to start a push towards taking control of the games.  When K.O. missed a golden chance in Tampa and the faltering quick start through the 5 on 3 in the third period against a backup Panther goaltender, the Isles failed to take control, and paid the price with back to back loses.

Still, the Islanders have shown a lot of promise.  The have displayed flashes of a solid team ready to take the next step.  Inconsistency though and an inability to find scoring depth have hurt them.  I joked that they were on track for about 7 minutes in Tampa and maybe a little more than that against the Panthers.  Last season, the team had the ability to score throughout the roster after Coach Capuano took over.  It was a part of the reason that the second half surge showed promise and a maturity that was coming of age to the young Islanders team. 

With a relentless attack and tough defensive play, the Islanders ranked 6^th in espn.go.coms’ power ranking last week.  After this weekend’s performance, they fell “back down to earth,” at 19^th position.  Whatever the reason for the slip up, the Islanders will need to find consistency to be taken seriously in a hostile sports world that has reluctantly given them periods of respect up to this point.

With a home at home series coming against the Pittsburg Penguins, or #Pengwhines as I like to call them, the Islanders had better be ready and refocus on their game.  The Penguins have been without Crosby, Malkin, Michalek, Orpik, Jeffrey and Kennedy, but are still finding a way to come together and win as a team.  In their 10 games played so far this season, the Pens are 6-2-2.  The Isles team chemistry needs to rebound and find balance throughout their game to compete with upper level teams. 

If they can maintain pressure against the Pens, their Goaltending should hold up.  I would say that both Montoya and Nabokov have looked good so far this season.  The Isles defense has been an asset for the most part and as I have said before, special teams are much better.  They can take less penalties and re-discover their nose for the net, but all in all, have been a pretty good team at times thus far in the season.  They need to keep listening to Coach Capuano and need some kind of spark. 

I wonder what kind of spark they could need against the #Pengwhines

 

Isles Notes:

* Nabokov has been given the start with DiPietro dressing as back-up in game one of the home at home.

* Malkin will be a game-time decision in game one.

DiPietro and now Jurcina are back to practicing with the team.

Niederreiter is day to day.

It has been pointed out by many that Blake Comeau (4 games, 0 pts and 2 Pim) and Josh Bailey (6 games, 0 pts and a -1 with 4 pim) seem to be losing stock with each passing day since the start of the season.  Their security is something to watch as the season continues as well as how the Islanders perform.

Isles Notes From 10/20

With revenge on their minds, the Tampa Bay Lightning will no doubt be ready to face your New York Islanders at the St. Pete Times Forum tonight.  Themes to remember are that Victor Hedman took liberties against John Tavares last game.  With Trevor Gillies in the line-up, I think that will be addressed.  Also, Mathieu Garon, and not Dwayne Roloson, will get the start tonight vs the Islanders. Garon is undefeated against the Isles in his career; however, he posts a 0-1-1 record this season.  Per Arthur Staple, After the 5-1 Isles win against the Lightning, PA Parenteau told Staple he was "so happy" that the Isles chased Roloson to the bench; a couple of other players, who did not want their names used, expressed similar sentiments about Roloson being a bad teammate during his final weeks with the team last season.  Roloson said that he wasn't bothered by Parenteau's comments.

The Islanders need more scoring from different places than the first line.  It’s a big positive to see the Tavares with Moulson and Parenteau doing as expected, but the team needs to take advantage of their depth and get offense from different areas to beat the stronger teams in the league and take the next step as a contender.  The isles must also contain Stamkos and St. Louis, and establish their game early.  They need to keep special teams buzzing and answer all challenges against a dangerous and starting to be desperate team having been on the losing side of a 7-4 score vs the Florida Panthers.

Montoya will start in the net tonight vs Tampa Bay.

Comeau, DiPietro and Jurcina watching from the box.

The Florida Panthers will face the Isles on Saturday night.  Former Islander, Sean Bergenheim is always pumped to play his former team, but only has 1 point so far this season.  Brian Cambell, Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss are tops on the team with 7,7 and 6 points respectively.  Jose Theodore is having a strong start to the season so far and will most likely face the Isles in Florida.

In other news, Dee Karl mentioned that former Isles Coach,Ted Nolan has been chosen to coach the Latvian National team.

See you all to recap the weekend and preview the first meeting with the #Pengwhines

A Strong Start On The Island

The New York Islanders are making a splash with their play so far this season.  Yes, I know how early it is, but to have all the pieces working well and winning games is a good thing to start the season.

We all know how hot Montoya has been, making 34 saves on 35 shots vs Tampa Bay.  The Isles first line of Moulson, Tavares and Parenteau has been on fire with 19 points in 4 games.  J.T was named second star of the week with a hat trick and 4 points vs the Rangers on Saturday while Nabokov was solid in his 29 save performance Islander debut. Tavares and Parenteau were tied for the league lead in points and assists respectively after Saturday’s game.

When special teams click and the Isles can keep to their game, they can really bring it.  The team heads to the sunshine state for games vs. Tampa Bay and Florida on Thursday and Saturday for their first games on the road this year.

Stay tuned.  More to come

Isles Notes:  

Blake Comeau was an unexpected healthy scratch against the Rangers, a team he has had success against in his career.  ESPN’s Katie Strang has reported Coach Capuano has no comment on the matter.

Rick DiPietro suffered a concussion, but is considered day to day and may be with the Islanders against Tampa Bay.

Kirill Kabanov has been added to the Färjestads BK roster of the SEL.

Me, "Henrik" and N.Y. Comic Con

So I spent four days working at New York Comic Con for Knightrealms.com in New York City.  That means I missed the 5-1 win vs the Lightning and 4-2 win vs the Rangers.  Not an easy thing to deal with.  But I was thrilled to learn how well the Isles played.

While I was at the KR booth at Comic Con getting my geek on, I noticed a hockey player walking the Convention hall.  He was clad in a full Detroit Redwings uniform with a stick and skates.  Upon looking more closely, I saw he had a red beard and visor while wearing #40.  “Zetterberg,” I said.

After a little hockey talk, MaryBeth told him and his buddy clad in an Edmonton Oilers jersey about my blog.  They were psyched to hear about it and thrilled to be at the convention spreading their propaganda about fakehenrikzetterberg.com.  They seemed to be really good guys with an original and crazy concept, so I thought I’d share the information with all of you.

I encourage everyone to check them out and support Jakob Hawkins and Greg DeLiso on their web series.  I was #500 to like em’ on Facebook.  Lets get them 500 more and make them really famous T.V. producers so they can give me a job!

About the Webseries

“Fake Henrik Zetterberg” is a classic fish out of water story about a guy who dresses in full hockey gear – all the time.

Having just relocated to New York City, Fake Henrik Zetterberg lands himself a job at Kraft Publishing, an up and coming manual publishing company.  What ensues are the hapless adventures of this misunderstood misfit as he makes friends, enemies and if he’s lucky, finds love.

The first 10 episodes premiere October 26th, 2011.

http://www.fakehenrikzetterberg.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fake-Henrik-Zetterberg/219399244741419