Flash forward to the present, Tavares has grown leaps and bounds. He’s more confident, he’s a stronger skater and for the most part, has proven he can shoulder the weight of his team.

Look no further than last season, when Tavares would get muscled off the puck, or taken down while skating and compare him to today just to see the difference. It’s night and day how far he’s come, credit that to his character.

Sure, there were knocks on his skating and defensive skills – but he’s improved in those areas tenfold.

John Tavares is who the Islanders needed to rebuild around, he is an integral part of the nature of the team. It’s a good thing he signed that contract extension over the summer, as he will be with the Islanders for a while.

Here are some notes per the Islanders release:

The National Hockey League announced today that Islanders center John Tavares has been selected to participate in the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend.

Tavares, 21, leads all Islanders in scoring with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) through 40 games this season. The first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft also led the Islanders in points during each of his first two seasons, but 2012 marks his first All-Star selection.

Only 20 players in the NHL have more points this season than Tavares, who has recorded 10 multi-point games, including two four-point efforts and one hat trick. The Oakville, ON native, leads all Islanders forwards in ice-time, averaging 19:39 a game.

Tavares joins some other recent Islanders who’ve gotten a taste of the All-Star weekend: Mark Streit, Rick DiPietro, and Michael Grabner.

It’s great to see Tavares noticed and rewarded for his great work here on Long Island. It’ll be interesting to not how well he’ll do skating alongside some of the greatest players in the game, and if the Garth Snow takes note of whatever chemistry he may have with them.

Either that, or get a dose of reality in what a shot in the arm by way of “upgrading” his roster could do for this team.

Only time will tell.

Not just for the New York Islanders, but – for those of us who follow the team and more importantly, TRY to blog about them. All too many times, I’ve started a post – felt like I have been repeating myself or just don’t have anything positive to add and either quit or delete it completely.

I don’t get paid to write – this is something that I did because I enjoyed watching (and playing) hockey and I liked writing even more.

When you’re a fan and a blogger (a Flogger? No – that’s something completely different…) this task becomes even more difficult the worse the team does, or the more frustrating things around the team make you.

I’m going to make a huge admission here on my blog; I do not enjoy watching this team as much as I have. It’s to the point (for several reasons) – I discontinued my Season Tickets over the summer. I can honestly say, I have not missed them.

I watch the games on TV and I yell at the team as if I am at the arena, or even better – I change the channel. That’s exactly what I did when the Islanders got shutout for the seventh time this season on Monday. Sure, the Rangers are a better team – but that’s besides the point.

What makes the losing even worse? This commercial:

The Islanders have not done a heckuvalot to improve. The team has struggled to score at even strength, at times even seem unable to hit the broadside of a barn. This season isn’t all to different from the last up to this point, being a point or two off of their record from that crazy November skid and the goal differential is almost identical. How is that improvement? How is that COMMITMENT? This is what you do for Islanders fans on their 40th year of existance?

I know this sounds like one gigantic vent – and it is, maybe because I rarely use my blog to lament on the stuff surrounding this team but I cannot hold my breath any more. Something needs to give, waiving a Blake Comeau is not the answer. That said, at this junction there is nothing about this season that is salvageable – it’s another year chalked up to the rebuild. Get this years number one and call it a day.

But no, we have the huge question mark of where the team will play or even if the team will stay on Long Island forever looming over our head. Too many questions, too many variables.

Ok, rant over.

In any case, the Islanders are taking on the Calgary Flames tonight at the Coliseum. It’s a meaningless game in that it’s a Western Conference team – but it’s a chance to earn two points and break out of their funk.

Nabakov is in net, and according to Arthur Staple of Newsday – there are some possible line changes tonight.

If the team comes out and has a strong first period anything can happen. If they allow a goal in the first few minutes, they’ll likely chase the remainder of the entire game – and we know how that ends.

AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill

Fans hoping for a little retribution or retaliation on Mark Fistric for his concussion inducing hit on Nino Niederreiter – will have to wait. The Stars, likely by design – have made him a healthy scratch for tonight’s contest. It’s also important to note, he also just returned from a three game suspension for his hit on Nino.

That should all be of no worry tonight for the Islanders, as John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo are all finding their stride and potting goals for their team. Josh Bailey has been playing like a man possessed as of late – 1 goal and 2 assists in the last five, but that’s not completely indicative of his play. He’s been much more confident on both sides of the puck, and been an absolute beast on the penalty kill. Then you have Okposo, who’s starting to play like he did prior to his injury, being physical and initiating contact.

There are some new faces in the lineup for the Islanders tonight as well, Calvin de Haan has been called up to take the place of concussed D-man Steve Staios to make his NHL Debut – and Kevin Poulin earned the start tonight in his replacement of Evgeni Nabakov. It feels like just yesterday that I was interviewing de Haan and Poulin on draft day!

The Islanders simply need to play their game – smart plays, passes, confidence and poise all the while continue that element of toughness with the puck. As I write this, the Islanders have allowed Dallas to score as the Power Play expired – not the start they were looking for, but they need to continue to pressure Dallas.

I’ll have a full recap after the game, but until then, be sure to follow me on Twitter @islesblogger!

Tavares still cannot finish, but he’s certainly been able to start – earning three assists in their win over Dallas on Saturday night, and two the previous game in Chicago. Tavares now has 21 points, 8 goals and 13 assists and is tied with PA Parenteau for the team lead. Matt Moulson had a heck-uva game in Dallas, scoring four goals, the first time any player has scored four in a game this season – and wound up with the NHL’s First Star for the week. Moulson is in third place on the Islanders now in scoring, with 13 goals and 6 assists for 19 points. After that, it’s a pretty big drop off.

While there are some things to be worked on, the Islanders have shown some resiliency the last several games – going deep in the game and coming back when the opposition finds a way back into the game.

Injuries are beginning to mount as the season moves along, with Niederreiter out with a concussion, DiPietro out with a groin injury, Grabner a groin injury, MacDonald a leg injury, Eaton a knee injury, Nabokov with a groin injury, the list goes on. To replace some of the walking wounded, Kevin Poulin backs up Montoya in net and Tim Wallace up to replace Grabner. Wallace looked great during preseason and has fair stats down in Bridgeport – 9 goals and 11 assists for 20 points, top scorer for the Sound Tigers. Also up with the big club, Micheal Haley.

Tampa is on the second game of their four game road trip, and also coming off a loss to Ottawa. It should be a chippy game all around, as the Islanders need these two points to continue their strong play and to make a point that the pushing around that started in Dallas, is going to stop.

Nobody could have seen this start coming for the Islanders, who finished strong last season and looked to carry the momentum into the start of this season, but it’s not the way things have worked out.

The team has struggled to score goals, when they have scored they have struggled to hold onto leads and at times, just struggled in general. The Islanders are a young, talented team on paper, supplemented by some key veterans as well. So why have things been so tough?

Some are quick to cast all that aside and blame management, others even quicker to discount the talent on the team because “they’re the Islanders” – my hope is that the team, like last season, uses the negativity to fuel their fire and drive to prove everyone wrong.

Islanders head coach Jack Capuano is in his first full season as an NHL coach – so it’s really hard to place 100% blame there. Charles Wang has come out, as well as GM Garth Snow stating confidence in Capuano. Trust and confidence goes a long way in the NHL, where we have already seen three coaching changes in this young season.

John Tavares is riding an 11 game scoring slump and the pundits are coming out in full force. If you follow me on Twitter I was quick to point out that nobody seems to bring up the recent slumps of Stamkos and Ovechkin – two players surrounded by world class talent. But hey, Tavares is an Islander, right?

Chicago comes into the game tonight in fourth place in the Western Conference at 14-8-3, and off a recent loss. The Islanders have had a few days rest since their great game in Buffalo, they need to be smart defensively tonight against the Blackhawks scary offensive attack.

No announcement has been made on the starting goalie for the Isles, but Capuano often rides the hot hand and that’s been Al Montoya as of late. He had a superb game in Buffalo, making highlight reel save after save.

Andrew MacDonald is out tonight, with Dylan Reese called up to take his spot – a solid replacement and someone who had hoped to make the opening night roster.

The keys to a win tonight are simple: good puck movement, a continued strong forecheck, a good first pass and entry into the offensive zone. Utilize speed to help the transition and get behind the Chicago defense. Last, but not least – stay out of the penalty box.

If the Islanders bring what they have the last few games, earning their third straight road win is a good possibility.

For long stretches of time, the Isles were out muscled, out played and out hustled. They did manage to turn it around for a bit towards the end of the first period, and then again during the second with a few power plays but ended the second period down 2-1. The game got chippy at times, with Mottau and Avery fighting and then Martin and Eminger as well.

Nabakov absorbed lots of contact, as have his fellow keepers had the previous games – it’s no wonder why the league is looking into ways of protecting goalies.

There were the typical gaffes, bad passes, blocked shots, poor clearing attempts and a few miscues around the net. But none took the cake like Josh Bailey’s bone headed backhand clearing attempt late in the third. An ill advised attempt that was up the middle of the ice and went directly to Brad Richards who scored the game winner. Josh Bailey may find himself on the outside looking in, as soon as tomorrow nights game.

The team clearly responded Kyle Okposo’s benching last night, but they were just no match for the stronger and more talented Rangers.

During the post game, it was your typical somber and quiet locker room. The players were milling about, with Austrian news crews going through and interviewing Grabner, Niederreiter and Streit, in German. I could barely hear Moulson in his scrum, he was monotone and looking at the floor for the most part. The only thing I managed to understand was how the team is frustrated and that they know they can play better.

Tavares’ scrum was no different, as he is already a quiet person. However, you could literally see the pain and frustration in his expressions and through his words.

I am not going to lie, I’m glad they are frustrated and mad. A team that accepts defeat and begins to expect losing isn’t a team I would want to watch – so perhaps this is another learning experience for the young crew.

Listening to head coach Jack Capuano speak during his post game press conference – it was good to hear that he felt there weren’t any passengers and he saw lots of effort last night. He admitted that they had paid the price on the 5 on 3, and nearly scored right after killing it off.

Third Jersey Revealed

The Islanders 3rd jersey was revealed tonight at a special event, it had been speculated about for months and was even leaked to a few different websites. Unfortunately, it was that black design that just wouldn’t go away – which I admit I don’t hate, but I don’t love it either. It reminds me too much of the jersey the Mets wear and I really don’t want to emulate that team any more than we already do.

Please, tell me what you think in the comments. Although, I may regret that.

The Islanders have struggled mightily the last few weeks, they’ve had trouble scoring, hitting, and skating. They also have far too many players who are struggling offensively, or just struggling in general. Back on November 1st, I had started a post outlining all of the offensive woes of the current roster – but I got side tracked with the SEMA Automotive show in Las Vegas. I’ve taken on some more responsibility with my friends TV Show and Website – Motorz TV.

In any case, players up and down the roster are struggling – Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Brian Rolson, and Marty Reasoner – just to name a few. Head Coach Jack Capuano has stated several times now that there are certain players that are simply along for the ride and not bringing what they can to the game. He’s done little to wake his team up however, only scratching Blake Comeau for two games last month. If you have players who feel they automatically deserve a roster spot, sorry they should be sitting.

Thankfully, Nino Niederreiter returns tonight from his two week conditioning stint in Bridgeport. His style of play and energy should be a welcomed and much needed boost for the slumping Islanders.

Newsday’s Arthur Staple reported via Twitter earlier today, that Capuano will not speak about his roster adjustments until closer to game time, but – he did say that Evgeni Nabakov will be in goal for the Islanders tonight.

The Gameplan

This shouldn’t come as a surprise – but the Islanders need to execute their shot selection better. The last handful of games the Islanders haven’t been able to get through their opponents forecheck, or even establish anything once they gain the offensive zone.

Defensively they’ve been no better, as they’ve allowed the first goal on the first shot against way too many times. They have also made a ton of mistakes, miscues and not been hitting aggressively enough. It’s almost like the entire team is afraid to be physical, well – aside from Martin and Streit.

Pressure – simply put, pressure the puck carriers coming into the defensive zone. Put pressure on the opponents defense to force turnovers and for once, just shoot the puck. The team has held onto the puck for way too long at times, it’s almost as if they haven’t learned anything last year.

Fortunately, the Islanders always seem to step up their game when it comes to their cross-town rivals. If there was ever a game that the team would break out of their funk – tonight would be the night.

I know that everyone watching in that arena will be amped up to see some spirited hockey, but will our Islanders?

The Islanders (3-1-0) have embarked on their first road trip of the season, to a place many of us wish we’ve been with the weather here on Long Island – sunny and warm Florida.

The team will face the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, who only have one win in their first six games (1-3-2). Teams like Tampa are always dangerous because they are desperate clubs and have a hunger that can often consume (pardon the pun) the strongest and hottest clubs.

Islanders head coach Jack Capuano faces his first real challenges of the season – readying his club to face a Lightning team that may look different then the team they rolled over in their last meeting. He may also face a different challenge, in that the Islanders have had five days of downtime since their win over the Rangers last Saturday.

Historically, the Islanders have sometimes struggled in games following playing the Rangers – it’s come to be known as “Rangers Hangover” to both fans and those in the media. Hopefully, the downtime following the game only helps them in this case, although it will clearly prove to be a battle for Capuano – who’s club is riding a three game unbeaten streak.

Will the downtime cool off the white hot trio of Moulson, Tavares (The NHL’s second star of the week this week) and Parenteau? Will Montoya and Nabokov keep the Islanders at the top of the league with second fewest goals allowed (Detroit has the fewest allowed)? Will DiPietro play or dress against either Tampa or the Florida Panthers?

Many questions lie ahead, and if I had the answers – I’d have to play the lottery I suppose.

One thing is a given, the Islanders need the continued strong play of Reasoner, Pandalfo, Staios, Streit, Montoya, and the three guys mentioned earlier – if they want to come out of tonight’s game with two points. They also NEED, Nieslen, Okposo and Grabner to keep up their defensive game – all the while re-kindle their chemistry from last years second half.

If Josh Bailey doesn’t wake up soon – he may find himself swapping stories with Blake Comeau, who was scratched last weekend against the Rangers.

These Islanders aren’t perfect, they’re playing with energy and confidence – but they need the machine firing on all cylinders. The season is early and the kinks will work themselves out – but they need to answer the bell tonight and play a bug game against Tampa. It’s the first step towards showing the rest of the league that the club is on the upswing – and that the post season isn’t as lofty as a goal as everyone makes it out to be.

Earlier this afternoon, the Islanders sent their 2011 5th overall draft pick Ryan Strome back to Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Unlike years past, in which the Islanders give a majority of their young newly drafted players a quick nine game taste of NHL action, Strome stuck around long enough to experience the rigors of the NHL preseason and take in two NHL contests from the Owner’s box before being sent back down to Juniors.

This is a big development, not because he didn’t play, but because the Islanders chose a completely different path for the young Strome. Perhaps it’s the decision of now Head Coach Jack Capuano, perhaps it’s Garth Snow learning from his mistake with the rushing of the oft-invisible (for now) Josh Bailey or, it could just simply be Strome didn’t look ready for the NHL – and that’s fine.

Not everyone can be John Tavares or Kyle Okposo and step right into NHL duty and fit in, nor – are they Nino Niederreiter, whom in his nine games looked decent.

In any case – Strome is home.

Now, this next bit is something I cannot make up. Rick DiPietro has suffered another injury, this time in practice off a laser of a shot from Marty Reasoner. The puck hit DiPietro’s mask and shook him up I’m told. I shouldn’t have to remind you all of his recent injuries – the fractured bone in his face and the concussion history specifically. It’s no surprise the Islanders want to keep DiPietro out for tonight’s contest – or well, until he’s without a doubt 100% healthy.

That pretty much solidify’s Al Montoya in net tonight, as he’s been playing like a number one goalie for the Islanders the last two games – but who will that masked man be behind the bench? None other than the holdout, Evgeni Nabokov.

The speedy and always dangerous Tampa Bay Lightning are visiting town tonight. This team is chock-full ex-Isles – Eric Brewer, Nate Thompson, Dwayne Roloson and Bruno Gervais – who had a goal and assist (no, I am serious) on Monday in his Lightning debut.

You can’t make that stuff up. I’ll be back later for some post game thoughts – be sure to follow alone with the conversation on Twitter – by following @islesblogger!

Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

The Islanders have completed their first two games of the season, suffering from a 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday and hanging on for a 2-1 win this afternoon against the Minnesota Wild.

While it’s entirely too early to accurately gauge what to expect in the remaining 80 games this season – I’ve seen, and heard a few things that are worth noting at this point.

Saturday’s game was disappointing, not only from the standpoint of it being a let-down for the fans that packed out Nassau Coliseum, but because the team looked flat and often misplayed the puck. The bar was raised really high by the organization (well, the players themselves really) – so it stung seeing the team struggle before a building filled to near capacity in their season opener.

The ice at the Coliseum looks horrible, like the players were skating in soup. At one point at the start of the second period on Saturday, the on ice officials spent about five minutes with squeegees getting the pools of water moved from the ice surface. You can only really blame the County for this one – as they are responsible for any repairs. I hope to have more on this in the coming days.

The Islanders came out relatively flat, often misplaying the puck or not making smart decisions with and without the puck. Andrew MacDonald showed plenty of rust, committed several turnovers – even though he wasn’t officially charged with any in the post game stats. Mark Streit played a decent game for someone who hadn’t seen professional action in over a year. Mike Mottau took three penalties – three too many.

The forwards were often unable to get things going, chipping the puck past Florida’s defense and just being stopped cold. Al Montoya kept them in the game though making 27 saves for the Isles. They need to do more offensively, which I’m sure they will once all cylinders are firing.

I don’t want to hammer the team with negatives, so let’s jump right to the positives.

Travis Hamonic threw down the gloves and jumped to the support of his teammate Al Montoya by fighting Scotty Upshall. When I asked him during the post game interviews if there was any words exchanged, or if it was just something he had to do to support his goaltender – I got one of the greatest answers one could expect from the budding defenseman.

Every time you fight, I say you fight for a couple of reasons. One is to defend a teammate, two is to change the momentum of the game and three is to defend yourself. I think that in that instance, it hit the nail on the head for all three of them. I was trying to defend Al, and you know next thing I know I turn around and he [Upshall] was in my face. That’s the part of the game that I welcome, I think it happens with the style of play that I play and at that point it was 1-0 for the other team and I felt it it was a good opportunity to change the momentum of the game, so that’s why I did what I did.

Every game the young Travis Hamonic plays – I become more and more impressed. He hits, he makes sound passes, he’s very physical and he plays big important minutes for his team. When he’s paired with Andrew MacDonald – the two of them compliment each other very well.

Fast forward to this afternoon’s game against Minnesota – the Islanders came out a very different team in the first twenty minutes. They skated, they passed and they moved the puck past the defense in a way they couldn’t manage against Florida the game before.

Andrew MacDonald played a much better game, and made up for the mistakes he committed in his first game back. At the start of the game I never would’ve pegged him to score the first goal of the 2011/2012 season – but score he did and it was a beauty. Take a look for yourself:

The Islanders second goal was even better. Mark Streit fakes a shot from the point and moves down the boards. Frans Nielsen is moving towards the Wild net and Streit executes a perfect shot pass – Nielsen redirected it perfectly to give the Islanders a two goal lead. This goal, you just HAVE to watch:

The rest of today’s game wasn’t as good – even though the Islanders managed to hang on and win 2-1. They looked fatigued as the game wore on, at one point not getting a shot for almost ten minutes and being held in their own zone for long stretches. Despite the negatives, the fact that the team held on is a testament to how far they’ve come since last season. Perhaps you can credit the veteran infusion, but you certainly have to credit Al Montoya for his stellar performance once again.

At the end of the day, the Islanders won, we heard the new Goal Song, the team moved to .500 on the season and improved their record to 1-1. It’s certainly a start.

While the team may not have drawn in big name marquee free agents, they signed Marty Reasoner, extended veterans Jay Pandolfo and Steve Staios tryout contracts and were each ultimately signed to one year contracts. The Islanders also extended John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner this off season. They also traded Trent Hunter to New Jersey for Brian Rolston earlier this summer.

The roster for tonight, should look something like this:

Forwards: Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Michael Grabner, Matt Martin, Matt Moulson, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Jay Pandolfo, PA Parenteau, Marty Reasoner, Brian Rolston, and John Tavares

Defensemen: Mark Eaton, Travis Hamonic, Milan Jurcina, Andrew MacDonald, Mike Mottau, Steve Staios and Mark Streit

Goaltenders: Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro

The scratches for tonight: Evgeni Nabokov, Ryan Strome, and Milan Jurcina.

With the Florida Panthers visiting Long Island, there are some interesting stories. The Panthers had a very active off season. Our old friend Sean Bergenheim was signed as a free agent, Ed Jovanovski, Upshall and Campbell were all also acquired or signed.

Their lineup tonight:

Forwards: Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg, Booth-Kopecky-Upshall, Bergenheim-Goc-Skille, Matthias-Carter-Bradley

Defensemen: Jovanovski-Gudbranson, Garrison-Campbell, Weaver-Kulikov

Goaltenders: Theodore, Markstrom

Expected Scratches: Dadonov, Ellerby

The Florida Panthers team the Islanders are facing tonight is a far cry from the team they faced last season. They’ve added speed, toughness and some scoring punch – so it should be a good matchup. Last season, the Islanders faced the Panthers four times and tied the season series with 2 wins and 2 losses.

The Islanders have added experience in veterans Marty Reasoner, Steve Staios and Jay Pandolfo – whom without a doubt, will be feeling much younger playing with the Isles young squad.

It’s going to be a great game, I know I’m glad hockey is back in action!

Some particulars on Sims, per the Islanders release:

The New York Islanders announced today that defenseman Shane Sims has signed an NHL regular season amateur tryout agreement. The club is under emergency conditions, with injuries to Jack Hillen and Milan Jurcina.

Sims, 22, led all Ohio State University defenseman in scoring this season with 19 points and ranked second overall on the team with 16 assists. The East Amherst, NY, native also led the Buckeyes with a plus-9 rating during his senior campaign.

The Islanders selected Sims in the fifth round (126th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In 152 career NCAA games with Ohio State, Sims recorded 16 goals and 55 assists for 71 points. Before his collegiate career, the 6-1, 195-pound blueliner played two seasons with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL, earning all-rookie honors in 2006 and being named a USHL All-Star in 2007.

I suppose I’ll use the off season to bulk up and work with my power skating coach. Consider yourself lucky Sims.

Today, the Islanders have found another defensive stop-gap measure in Jamie Doornbosch.

Doornbosch, a 21-year old defenseman for the OHL Kitchener Rangers, will make his NHL debut tonight at Nassau Coliseum in the much anticipated rematch of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Per the Islanders release today:

The New York Islanders announced today that defenseman Jamie Doornbosch has signed an NHL regular season amateur tryout agreement. The club is under emergency conditions, with injuries to Jack Hillen and Milan Jurcina.

Doornbosch, 21, scored 19 goals and 29 assists in 68 games in his overage season with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. The Richmond Hill, ON, native also added one goal and one assist in seven playoff games with Kitchener. Doornbosch finished second amongst Rangers defensemen and scoring and ranked second on the team with 12 power play goals.

In 264 career OHL games with Kitchener and the Peterborough Petes, Doornbosch recorded 41 goals and 106 assists for 147 points. The 6’ 2”, 190-pound blueliner was acquired by the Rangers in a 2010 trade with the Peterborough Petes, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2006 OHL Priority Selection Draft.

What will the team do for this seasons closer in Philadelphia you ask?

My friends on Twitter seem to think that Garth Snow Should sign me to an ATO contract, as it would make for some great story lines.

I'm hoping the #isles sign blogger @islesblogger MIke Schuerline to an ATO for their last game of the year. Would be a great story.

April 8, 2011 1:05 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@YesIslanders

John Zadrozny

@islesblogger When is @islesblogger going to be signed to an ATO? I can see you taking out Carcillo on Saturday.

April 8, 2011 2:43 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@RealKenDick

Ken Dick

From the Press Box to the Players Box: Blogger Turns Pro!

Yep, that would be something!

Despite mounting injuries and a defensive group made up of mostly Bridgeport Sound Tigers – the Islanders defense held the Rangers at one goal for the better part of two and a half periods. What’s more, missing two important penalty killers (Grabner out his second game due to the birth of his first child and Nielsen suffering a head injury in the second period) – the Islanders PK was outstanding. I’m sure Rangers head coach John Tortorella will have PLENTY of tape to go over, having gone 0/7 with the man advantage, including TWO five on three opportunities.

I mentioned that the Islanders were sporting some defensive injuries, but they also suffered TWO more last night – Ty Wishart suffered a shoulder injury and Jack Hillen suffered an upper body injury as well. It got so bad, the Islanders were forced to play Okposo on defense for a shift.

The Numbers

Let’s take a look at just how spectacular the Islanders defense was last night:

One of the rare veterans in the lineup last night, Radek Martinek had a great game. He was credited with three hits, three take aways, had a goal, an assist and finished with a +1 with 22:49 minutes of ice time. When Martinek uses his shot from the point, great things happen. His goal, a blast from the blueline off a slick Parenteau pass, beat Lundqvist over his glove. He would add an assist, with a similar play, this time deflected by Joensuu in front.

I asked Martinek after the game if the coaching staff wants him to use that great shot of his more – he told me they [the coaches] have wanted him to shoot more all season, he knows he has a good shot and good things happen when he does – he just doesn’t often think shot first.

I wasn’t the only one to notice what happens when Martinek uses that shot – Head Coach Jack Capuano talked about it during his press conference when he said “When Marty uses his shot like tonight, he gives us a chance to win hockey games”.

Young Travis Hamonic continues his strong play and what has become a Cinderella season for him – never expecting to remain with the Islanders for the full season. Last night Hamonic had a team high 24:52 minutes of ice time, tallied an assist on the game tying goal, three hits, two blocked shots and get this – a +4 on the night.

Jack Hillen is another player that has come back from a rough start – he was good offensively last night, jumping in the rush and making smart passes, stood up for his team in his fight with Dubinsky, earned an assist with his cross ice feed to Martinek’s tipped shot by Joensuu, had 22:13 minutes of ice time (that was limited by his late injury), and finished with a +2 on the night. Hillen also lead the team in hits last night with four.

Quietly however, Dylan Reese made the most of his 16:33 minutes of play, unless you count his fight with Fedotenko late in the game of course. Reese would finish the game with THREE assists, and a +3 rating. He’s one of those steady players that you often don’t really notice on the back end, which is never a bad thing.

Mark Katic finished the night -1 and with 19 minutes of ice time, and Ty Wishart was playing well – until a shoulder injury would finish him for the night, having only played 12 minutes.

The forwards were equally impressive, Tavares had two assists and was +4, Comeau finished with a goal and was +3, Joensuu FINALLY used his size in front of the net on his deflection and was +1 with 11:37 minutes of ice time, Moulson had a goal (his 31st) and an assist and would finish +3, Parenteau would also notch a goal (his 19th) and assist (has now reached 50 points) and would wind up +4 on the night. The most surprising goal of the night? Trevor Gillies netting his second of the season and second career goal on a nice deflection of a Reese point shot.

Al Montoya played another solid game, making 25 saves on 27 shots. He was great positionally, gave the Rangers very little to shoot at and controlled his rebounds well. Considering the defense that was in front of him, the Islanders really supported Montoya last night – and gave him his first win over the club that drafted him.

The Fights

The fight card was chock-full of action last night:

Hillen fought Dubinsky
Avery got clobbered and bloodied by Haley
Prust fought an injured Konopka
Fedotenko fought Reese

But that wasn’t all, there were plenty of hits, pushing, shoving and just outright old school hockey throughout the game. It’s great to see this team stand up for each other, especially when Nielsen was hit from behind by Gaborik in the second period.

In a game with nothing to lose, the Islanders played great and really took it to their rival. They also made it that much harder for the Rangers, who are barely staying in the playoff picture.

They can do even more damage against the Hurricanes this weekend – should be interesting.

In closing, I doubt the league will – but I hope they look into the hit on Nielsen. But we know how that goes.

While in Florida, I missed a few games – First in our ugly loss to the Atlanta Thrashers and then in our loss against a team we cannot ever seem to beat in the Philadelphia Flyers. My sincerest appologies there – but, I did catch two baseball games down in Ft Myers, Twins-Orioles and Twins-Yankees. First time ever watching spring training live, it was fun!

Tonight, the Islanders are looking to exact revenge on many levels against their cross town rival New York Rangers. Al Montoya gets the start again against his formal club, looking to make up for being pulled in their last meeting two weeks ago. The Islanders could potentially steal two VERY important points against the Rangers, who have fallen to eight place in the East after their 1-0 loss to the Sabres last night.

The Isles have been mathematically eliminated for a few games now, so they have nothing to lose – figuratively of course. Unless you count pride that is….

The Islanders also played last night, in a 3-2 loss to New Jersey at the Prudential center – a game in which they struggled for long stretches, came close – but couldn’t find the will to win.

Michael Grabner will miss his second straight game as he is expecting the birth of his son. Al Montoya will be sporting his best – a one year, one way extension with the New York Islanders.

In other news, Islanders defensive prospect and 2008 Draft Choice Matt Donovan has been signed to his rookie deal. He joins the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on an ATO, like Ness was also done a few weeks ago. The Sound Tigers find themselves in need of defensive help lately, with Gervais and Jurcina both hurt – Reese and Katic are up with the big club.

In other news, perhaps you missed my interview with the Islanders website, which was also featured on the NHL website – or so says a few emails and texts I received!

Oh yea – injuries! We lost Andrew MacDonald for the rest of this season with a hip injury, Mark Streit was not cleared to play and wont play in the upcoming worlds, Bruno Gervais and Milan Jurcina are banged up (as I said earlier), and Doug Weight if you couldn’t guess is done for the year and may retire.

While there may not be too many exciting things left in what’s left of the Islanders season – at least this awesome rivalry will keep us entertained.

Be sure to follow along as I tweet live during the game on Twitter and check back later on for in-game and post game analysis.

The life of a blue collar worker usually involves going about his or her business quietly, without much notice or recognition. They do the dirty work to get things done, often rolling up their sleeves and digging right in. The truth of the matter, the world wouldn’t turn without the hard work and dedication of this group of working class. These are our Islanders.

While there are a few players that will undoubtably reach stardom, Garth Snow has assembled a team of hard working players – who, under the tutelage of what is the epitome of Blue Collar in coach Jack Capuano, is perfecting a recipe for success on Long Island.

They say, with hard work and dedication comes success. Sprinkle in the right attitude – which Capuano has appeared to do here with this team, often comes greatness. I’m not saying that the 2011/2012 New York Islanders are a lock for a Stanley Cup next year, but greatness starts with a strong foundation – and it’s hard to argue the Islanders have been building from the ground up, the same way your blue collar workers build pretty much anything.

The Islanders have seen their fair share of the bad times; injuries, suspensions and along with it the ridicule and disrespectful press clippings from around the NHL and North America. The Hockey World was put on notice a few weeks back – when these young Islanders decided to revolt, stand up for their image and most importantly each other. Through all of the adversity thrown at the team – their bond and strength has only continued to grow. Young boys often become men on the battlefield – the same holds true here.

AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill

Players like Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares have all made positive strides, showing physical and mental strength and maturity. Matt Moulson is on track to surpass his points totals from last season – proving he was very deserving of his recent contract extension.

Younger players thrust into the spot light like Travis Hamonic, Kevin Poulin, and Micheal Haley – have all shown guts and gained the respect of their “veteran” teammates.

Michael Grabner is proving to the world he is more than just waiver fodder, joining Tavares and Moulson in flirting with the 30 goal mark, the first time the Islanders could have three or more goal scorers since 1993-94. All the while Blake Comeau and PA Parenteau could quietly reach 20 goals on the season.

Not so quietly, Zenon Konopka has been banging the drum – leading his troops into battle. He’s changed the teams image in many ways on and off the ice. Be it through his fists, his words, his hard-nosed style of play and most importantly, his veteran leadership. Konopka is also VERY vocal about his desire to remain an Islander after this season. While talks of an extension have yet to begin between Garth Snow and Konopka’s agent, I feel this is the type of player and LEADER this team has lacked for a very, very long time.

There are teams beginning to take not that the Islanders will not just roll over when they show up to play hockey. That may have been their MO in years past, but they cannot be taken lightly. The Isles have been playing very spirited hockey with Jack Capuano at the helm these days. They have played some tough teams both on the road and at home, while they may not have won them all – even the losses have been entertaining to watch. You can just tell that Capuano has them believing there is nothing they can achieve.

The Media has begun to take notice as well, with some pretty good articles coming out as of late as well. Two even mention that Capuano should be at least considered for the Coach of the Year award. Even if Capuano doesn’t get the nod for the Jack Adams trophy, he is certainly earning his chance to drop the Interim Head Coach tag. He’s earning himself his next contract.

There have been a bunch of consistencies over the last several weeks and even since the All Star Break – the Islanders have turned their play around, they’ve established a team unity and identity that have not been seen in some time, they’ve corrected their scoring issues from earlier in the season and – these are not the same Islanders we saw the last several seasons. The sun is shining brightly over the horizon, while the team may no make it to the post season this year – they are certainly making everyone pay attention and look forward to the immediate future.

Perhaps it’s fitting, that these blue collar Islanders award a games hardest worker with a hard hat – it represents the image they portray in a way that words just cannot seem to capture.

The Islanders take on Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins tonight at the Coliseum, be sure – as always, to follow me during the game on Twitter and on Facebook.

The young Islanders are set to face off with another team rebuilding their image in the Leafs, as General Manager Brian Burke did his thing prior to and on the trade deadline.

Several of the Islanders have been consistently hot, often times scoring highlight reel worthy goals. Kyle Okposo scored a nifty between the legs goal against Minnesota in their 4-1 win at home last Thursday. It was Okposo’s fourth goal of the season and he would finish the game with a goal and assist (4g 12a 16 points in 21 games). Blake Comeau would find the scoring touch he found prior to suffering a concussion against Pittsburgh, netting two goals Thursday – his 16th and 17th of the season.

Frans Nielsen would finish the game with three assists, although he played a great game – you could tell he was still upset about his defensive mistake that lead to the Capitals game winning overtime goal the game prior and told us he felt he played like, well – excrement. If a three point night is a bad game, well I’d like to see what his idea of a great game is.

Moving onto the matinee game against St. Louis on Saturday – John Tavares would open the scoring for the Islanders, off a sweet pass from Parenteau that certainly earned highlight space. Tavares muscled his way to the slot, beat two men low and then the Blues netminder for his 24th of the season. PA Parenteau would make up for missing a gimme, scoring off a slick pass by Michael Grabner – giving the Isles an early two goal lead.

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald would double up on his goal total, adding two more for four on the season and third in two games. His first tally of the game came on an absolute howitzer from the point and his second on a breakaway. Speaking of breakways, Grabner would finally break his scoreless streak topping off the scoring for the Islanders by netting his 26th of the season and his second point of the game.

The trio of Islanders players all flirting with 30 goals are all getting closer – Tavares now with 24, Grabner with 26 and Moulson with 28. Each player has plenty of time to reach the feat, with 15 games remaining on the season.

On Sunday, the second of back to back matinee games this weekend, the Islanders suffered a 3-2 Shootout loss to Red Hot New Jersey. While the loss was disappointing, the Islanders played very well against a team doing all they can to reach the post season.

After a scoreless first period, the Devils would score early in the second period on the power play – needing only one shot to tally the go ahead goal. The Islanders would score the equalizer on a power play of their own – Josh Bailey found a small section of open net above Martin Brodeur and make him pay.

The tie would last until the third period, when Ilya Kovalchuk would catch Al Montoya off guard with a knuckler that beat him between the pads. Blake Comeau would again tie the game for the Islanders, capitalizing on a Devils turnover and beating Brodeur. The tie lasted the remainder of the third period, and overtime. The Shootout did not end well for the Islanders – although Nielsen would score first, Kovalchuk and Rolston would score for the Devils giving them the extra point and the win.

Toronto comes into tonight hungry for two points – they are 4 points behind 9th place Carolina, 5 points behind the 8th place Sabres and 7 points behind the 7th place Rangers – with 16 games remaining.

The Islanders sit at 14th in the East at 60 points, 12 points out of the 8th seed with 15 games remaining. While not technically mathematically eliminated – it would take some unstoppable hockey down the stretch. That said, they CAN continue to play the role of spoiler and give the teams ahead of them headaches from here on out. It only helps their experience for next season, one that’s sure to be better before it even begins.

I’ll be covering the game tonight, be sure to follow me on twitter @islesblogger all throughout the game!

The Islanders are winless in their last four, although they have managed a few points in that span – they’ve certainly cooled off from that February stretch of excellent hockey. One can say that it could be because they’ve played a ton of hockey down the stretch, or that having the uncertainty of the trade deadline looming could have affected focus or psyche.

Moving forward, the Islanders have played some very good hockey against a tough team or two. They have shown some grit, character and given the league if anything a glimpse of the good things to come from this team.

Moving into tonight, the Islanders take on a Minnesota Wild team a few points out of the eight spot in the Western playoff race. Like every other team that comes into the Coliseum – they will be looking to skate off with an easy two points. I hope Ex-Isles draftee Jared Spurgeon, hometown boy Eric Nystrom and company came prepared.

In net for your Isles tonight – Al Montoya. Trevor Gillies is also back after sitting out his nine games for the fight fest against the Penguins. Micheal Haley is out after suffering a knee injury last night in Washington.

I’ll have more after things wrap up here at the Coliseum. Please follow me as I do some play by play on Twitter – @Islesblogger

I still remember quite clearly, spending an entire day from morning to night at Nassau Coliseum on deadline day – my first year blogging about the Islanders. The Penguins were in town, we watched their morning skate from section 206, and then watched as several players ran the stairs on either side of our perch. Two players stopped and asked us for updates – it was a bit unnerving to inform Colby Armstrong he was likely going to be traded. Crazy stuff. (Another crazy bit was Garth Snow extending Mike Comrie another year…but hey – live and learn).

As a fan of the Islanders, you never want to see players you have grown to know and respect moved. But, as it has been said elsewhere thousands of times – that’s the nature of the business. At the same time, you always get excited at the prospect of adding to your core players, as the hope is to ultimately improve your chances at winning the Stanley Cup.

I came into this years deadline with little to no expectations. Garth Snow had already moved what I considered (you know – I was playing armchair GM here) – the teams most tradeable assets in Dwayne Roloson and James Wisniewski. Sure, he could infuriate the the fanbase by trading a struggling prospect like Josh Bailey if he was blown away, but at most I figured he would trade a pending unrestricted free agent or two.

Throughout the day yesterday I was glued to my iPhone – checked Twitter, TSN, watched NHL Network via Slingplayer, checked the TSN Tradecentre app, message boards, blogs – the whole nine.

Seemed as if nothing was going on – and it stayed that way all day.

At one point, it appeared that an Anaheim deal for Zenon Konopka was imminent – but big Z himself headed off that rumor with TSN directly. Radek Martinek was also spoken about as well – but Garth was apparently asking too much for each of these players. Good thing too, Martinek is one of the teams only healthy veteran defensemen and Konopka is way too important for the locker room.

As it would turn out, the only player moved from the Islanders yesterday was Rob Schremp – who was placed on waivers late last week. He was claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. In his place, Justin DiBenedetto was called up from the Sound Tigers and makes his debut tonight against the Washington Capitals.

Kudos to Garth Snow for not wanting to disrupt what chemistry he has in his current roster for the sake of adding a draft pick or two for the upcoming draft. In addition, I am happy he decided, once again – not to mortgage the future for the sake of going after a rental player. This team isn’t quite ready to go that route – the promise land is still a ways off on the horizon.

Instead Garth Snow will likely look to add a piece or two this coming July when the free agency period opens – which for the sake of the team, I hope to be a little different this year than in years past.

When the Islanders take on the Capitals tonight in Washington, D.C. – Nathan Lawson will be the starter and DiBenedetto will be paired with Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau. I highly doubt the Capitals will be the same team the Islanders saw this past weekend, I hope they bring their A game.

That was the common theme yesterday in the Islanders 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders came out and overpowered the talented, yet struggling Capitals team who lost 6-0 to the New York Rangers the previous game.

Jim McIsaac

For much of the first period, the Capitals even failed to register a single shot on net. The Islanders would go into the locker room after the first intermission up 1-0 and leading in shots 14-5. The Islanders also failed to convert twice on the power play in the early goings of the game, and killed off a penalty of their own.

The second period was pretty good as well, the Islanders held the advantage in shots, the Capitals put ten shots on goaltender Al Montoya and the Islanders had eight for the period. At just 2:26 of the second period, right after Travis Hamonic’s third goal of the season and the Islanders lead at 2-0 Zenon Konopka and Matt Hendricks had a very entertaining fight. Konokpa had the win – keeping momentum in the Islanders favor untill Brooks Laich was finally able to solve Montoya and ruin his shutout bid. The Islanders would have another power play with Laich sitting for a tripping penalty, but fail to convert on their third man advantage opportunity.

Here is the fight video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I said on Twitter after the second period, the Capitals would come out of the locker room a different team to start the third. They were outplayed for stretches and were trailing a goal. The Islanders were having some issues in maintaining the pressure and it wouldn’t take long for the Capitals to find the equalizer. Mike Knuble would score at 8:08 of the third to tie it and Alexander Semin would score the eventual game winner just four minutes later.

The Islanders would have a few chances to tie late in the third with Al Montoya pulled and an extra attacker on, but the Capitals held onto their lead. The Islanders couldn’t even buy an icing call on two occasions with their goaltender pulled – which was unfortunate and irritating. Not sure what the linesmen were looking at on those two plays, but the calls were waived off.

Jim McIsaac

The Islanders would finish the game with 31 shots, over the Capitals 22. The team had some prime scoring chances – such as Grabner’s opportunity on what was an open net that left him gazing skyward in frustration. Okposo, Nielsen and Tavares would also miss on opportunities – and the newly waived Rob Schremp failed to score on a great feed in the first period electing to stop the puck instead of shooting off the pass.

You have to credit the Islanders defense playing as injured as they are, just one of the Islanders starting defensive corps is currently on the roster – Andy MacDonald. With recently injured players in Milan Jurcina and Radek Martinek out for an undetermined amount of time, it’s nice to see the young d-men playing well enough to give the Islanders a chance.

The mood in the locker room was somber and quiet, you could sense the frustration by the tight knit young Islanders club. Kyle Okposo was stoic and mature in front of the camera and spoke about needing to address allowing three unanswered goals, and getting away from the game that gave them success early on in the game. Al Montoya would echo his teammate, talking about giving the Capitals too much room to capitalize and allowing them to utilize their skill.

Jack Capuano addressed the media during his post game scrum and echoed his players statements, saying they got away from their game, made some small mistakes and not being able to capitalize on their power play opportunities. He explained shortening the bench in the third, wanting to give his two hottest lines more time to try to knot the game up.

With the trade deadline coming up tomorrow – several players may not be with the team come tomorrow night. Radek Martinek and Zenon Konopka are two players talked about in rumors the last week, but you never know what GM Garth Snow will do – should the right deal present itself.

That could have been another reason why the locker room was so quiet, not playing another game until Tuesday – the Islanders may lose a member or two from what Zenon Konopka has called “a family”. But that’s an unfortunate part of the game that often cannot be avoided. Only time will tell which brothers or cousins may not be present after the deadline.