For the second time in two straight games, Islanders forward Blake Comeau finds himself on the outside looking in – or more appropriately, on the topside looking down.

As always, there has been wild speculation as to head coach Jack Capuano’s decision to shelve Comeau in favor of heavyweight Trevor Gillies. In Gillies’ appearance last weekend against the Rangers – he played under three minutes after all – so this leads to further confusion, speculation.

On one hand, the mere possibility of Gillies playing or pummeling someone is as good of a deterrent as any. Policing if you will. On the other, it gives Capuano an option, at least a second option with Matt Martin in the lineup. It’s no secret that in the games without Gillies around, players have taken liberties with several Islanders. Perhaps Capuano is experimenting with added toughness in the lineup – before things get out of hand for his club.

But many question, and rightfully so – scratching a player who averages 12-18 minutes a game in favor of someone who averages TWO.

Let’s work it out:

In three games this season – Comeau has played 39:25, has two penalty minutes and, ONE shot on goal.

In the games I’ve seen Comeau skate this season – I haven’t been very impressed. He’s been slow to the puck, made questionable decisions on both sides and hasn’t generated much. Comeau started off last season slow as well – perhaps it just takes him a while for him to find his groove.

I’ve seen some talk on Twitter asking why Comeau over Bailey, so to be fair here are Bailey’s stats for the four games he’s played:

Josh Bailey has 3 shots and 2 PIM in 56:29 played. While it’s not too much better, perhaps Capuano sees more on Bailey’s game at this point.

I’ve also heard Capuano repeatedly refer to “passengers on the bus”, both after a loss and a win so far – so to me he’s unhappy with effort out of some of his players.

At the end of the day, this is just part of the game – it doesn’t mean a player is about to be traded or there is a huge conspiracy behind anything that’s happening. It’s a coach holding his players accountable for their play – and that’s what good coaches do.

In other words, move along folks – nothing to see here.

Flash back to the 2002 Playoffs – Islanders vs Toronto

Shawn Bates is screaming down the left boards and gets taken down in front of CuJo. The Islanders are awarded their third playoff penalty shot in team history….well you know how it ends.

Many people are using attendance as a reason to Vote NO on Monday. History has shown that there are a ton of Islanders fans waiting, wishing and most importantly – WANTING for another shot at the playoffs. The Coliseum can be a loud and intimidating place, many teams have said so and continue to say the same.

Take a listen for yourself, 16,000 Islanders fans – all rooting for Long Island’s only professional sports franchise. If you vote no on Monday, the only thing you’ll here is silence – so go ahead and listen to the amazing sound and excitement the Coliseum is set to hear in the near future:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you build it, they will come. Jobs will be saved, you’ll help the local economy and most importantly – keep Long Island, specifically Nassau County, a destination for people to come and enjoy for generations.

Without the Islanders and the Coliseum there’s not much more than some white noise and the occasional strip mall – if you can find a store that’s still open anyway.

Do Long Island and Nassau County a favor – Vote YES on Monday August, 1st. Help the Islanders create more history, and complete their Drive for Five!

Such is the case that Islanders GM Garth Snow will find himself in should he opt to claim Nick Boynton off of waivers before 12 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

Why should Snow put in a claim?

Let’s see, the team has now lost five straight and is still on the playoff bubble stalled at 54 points. The Islanders defensive corps is battered and bruised, having to resort to calling up two stop gaps in Dustin Kohn and Andrew MacDonald (MacDonald is playing over 21 minutes a game and has been impressive, but I digress). Jack Hillen was felled to a broken jaw thanks to Alex Ovechkin’s slapshot last week and will be out 6-8 weeks. Veteran tough guy d-man Brendan Witt has a leg injury and will be out for another 2-3 weeks at best. Lastly on the injury front, Radek Martinek (aka Glass Man) was lost to a knee injury earlier this season and will be out indefinitely.

Looking further into the depth of the Islanders d-corps depth chart:

Bruno Gervais, is just not cutting it and seems to finding himself in the red in the plus/minus column more often than not. His recent pairing with Mark Streit has allowed him better play, thankfully.

Freddy Meyer (FMIV) bounces in and out of the lineup and has been decent, but he is not a top four d-man.

You’re current top four – Andy Sutton, Mark Streit, Bruno Gervais and Andrew MacDonald. The Islanders need defensive help and they need it now.

Boynton is set to make $700,000 for the rest of this season and is a pending UFA, so it’s not really a high risk move by any means. Should Boynton clear waivers, he will be sent down to the Ducks AHL affiliate and if summoned back to the NHL will be exposed to re-entry waivers and only costing a team $350,000 at that point.

To me, shaking up your team and giving them depth by adding a waiver wire claim seems like a good move. Pundits can claim that Boynton has played for three teams in two seasons, he has had his struggles in Anaheim and doesn’t fit the Islanders system. However, the failed experiment this weekend in Philly with Trevor Gillies should point out the need for toughness in the lineup – which Boynton can bring. Looking over his fight card this season (3 fights in his limited playing time) he has fought some tough opponents.

I say give him a shot Garth, but that’s just my opinion – if he doesn’t work out, no harm no foul and you have given up NOTHING.

What do you all think? Discuss in the comments section.