I don’t know if everyone else saw the game last night, but it was – how do you say, more of the same. Or was it?

If you wish to read my ridiculously bleak and furious tone during the game, head on over to my Twitter Feed to read my list of troublesome habits and areas of improvement the Islanders need in order to actually compete this season. I took part in a healthy debate with many of the other furious Isles fans last night too – which is always fun.

Instead of listing what went wrong first, let’s list the things that actually went O.K. for the Islanders:

• The Islanders power play managed two points last night. In previous games, the Islanders were not afforded many chances with the man advantage, so it was nice to see it spring alive last night.
• Jeff Tambellini decided he was a player, scoring his second and third goals of the season in the same game last night – both on the power play.
• They enjoyed solid goaltending from Martin Biron, whom undoubtedly wanted a better showing from his previous attempt in Montreal last week.
• The fourth line continues to have scoring chances.
• The first line continues to have scoring chances.
• Franz Nielsen is storming back into action and is a game away from breaking out.
• The Islanders came from behind two seperate times to force overtime, a big difference when a team is struggling and needs to take as many positives as they can.
• The Isles centers have been on point so far, last night was not an exception.
• The Islanders penalty kill is also doing well.

Unfortunately, I have a laundry list of things the Islanders did not do well last night:

• The Islanders were often caught out of position and were flat footed in their pursuit.
• They chased Montreal around all night long and at times resembled a pee-wee hockey team.
• There were numerous times where I spotted HORRIBLE line changes. Blake Comeau gave up skating back on defense and that’s what lead to the odd man rush in overtime that lead to the winning goal. You don’t leave a play when you are one of the only players capable of getting back.
• The fourth line needs to finish their scoring chances.
• The first line, especially Tavares, needs to finish their scoring chances.
• The defense really needs to control whatever rebounds their goalies give up. I mean how many times are you going to blame bad bounces for goals.
• Kyle Okposo gets his face shoved into the glass and Matt Moulson is the only player to stick up for him? Where was the physical response to him requiring stitches?
• HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PASSING
• Way too many odd man rushes

I am sure you get the idea at this point.

My honest opinion of what is ailing the Islanders late in games, isn’t fatigue and the blame cannot be places solely on the coaching staff either – look no further at the makeup of this team. Young players without much NHL experience. Sure, there are veteran players strewn about the team, but this is the type of game you will have with a cast of kids and AHL players. That’s what a rebuild is, and this is what happens to a team rebuilding.

When Pittsburgh and Washington drafted Crosby and Ovechkin respectively, they did not just wake up one day and decide to light the league on fire – it took time, effort and most importantly – patience. The Islanders are not a player or two from being competitive, they need serious upgrades on offense and defense in order to have an even (keyword) spread of talent across four lines.

But that’s just this bloggers opinion, so take it how you will.

With the 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, coupled with a 4-2 Tampa Bay Lightning loss to the Capitals – the Islanders have “clinched” the 30th position and the best shot at the number one pick in the upcoming draft.

The Islanders can win out their final two home games this weekend and still finish with the fewest amount of points – guaranteeing them no worse than the second overall selection, but giving them the best (48.2% chance of picking 1st and a 51.8% chance of picking 2nd – nhlscap.com) chance at landing the number one overall selection in Montreal.

The Draft Lottery is being held up in Toronto next week (Tuesday April 14th) and will be televised on Versus. So Islanders fans, in less than a week – we will know for sure which selection we will receive for all of our pain and suffering this season.

I promise you this much, I want the Isles to absolutely kick the crap out of the Flyers and Bruins this weekend. I am “back” to being an Isles fan first – that’s for sure.

A brief note: There is an extremely GOOD chance that I will be attending the draft again this year in Montreal. I will know more in the next few weeks and be sure to get the news out as soon as I figure out the plan.

From here on out, it’s Tavares, Hedman or BUST!

Edit: As reactions roll in, I will be sure to post links back to those blogs speaking about the same subject.

First “at bat” is Ken Dick over at Okposo Net (Soon to be Tavares Net?). Ken and I were notorious for yelling back at opposing fans whenever they would tell us we were in last place – by saying “Tavares, Tavares”. The other fans, lacking a good comeback – would just say, you’re right.

The boys over at Hockey Night on Long Island have put up their take on securing the 30th position.

Voice of the Islander Fans has his hilariously real take on things as always.

Chris Botta tells us there is “No reason to Vic around” and gives a whole list of reasons why we should announce our intentions to pic Tavares right after learning if we get the number one pick overall right after the announcement of the Lottery next week.

Dee Karl (Aka 7th Woman) gives us her “Unique Perspective” as the she always does – and goes on to say that Garth Snow should just call in sick the day of the lottery – just in case he has any ideas.

James Mirtle goes all statistical on the Isles locking up the best chance at the number one pick and talks about the other teams filling in spots 29-25.

My buddy Dominik over at Lighthouse Hockey presents his case on the Tavares front and then completely blasts picks apart Botta’s PR-esque post in a secondary post.

Gary Harding joins the fray, he gives us his reasons behind why we should draft the one we call JT.

Things are getting interesting, yes?

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What a game!

Kyle Okposo just scored his fourth goal in four games for the second time this season to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. It was Okposo’s 16th goal of the season.

No matter the outcome, I still have a problem with being conflicted with the Islanders play as of late. I have a constant eye on the standings I’ll admit – so with each solid game and each point earned in the standings (7 in last 4 games – eeeek) we creep further out of the league basement and make the Tank for Tavares almost a thing of the past. (Note: The Lightning have also won tonight, so the Isles maintain their four point lead cushion in the standings for the bottom (ie: LAST PLACE)).

I always want to see the Islanders do well, especially when the drive is being led by the team’s future. Players like Jesse Joensuu, Mike Iggulden, Blake Comeau, Jack Hillen, Frans Nielsen, Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey et. al. make this season really exciting because we are witnessing a glimpse of our future. We are able to see our team grow and learn with each other, sometimes with really exciting results.

Last week I was asking everyone if Okposo could reach the 20 goal plateau this season, his first full NHL season. Now, I am starting to wonder if I should be asking if he can reach the 30 goal mark – he is doing THAT good lately. I know, let’s not get ahead of ourselves – but it’s certainly a very bright spot in an otherwise tough season.

The Tavares Hunt will continue – it’s still a long, yet short road trip against a group of tough teams.

Friendly reminder, if you don’t see a steady stream of updates here – head on over to Lighthouse Hockey as there is a good chance I already posted something over there.

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About to call into the conference call to hear everything that has or has not transpired today.

I am going to record the call with my fancy device that allows me to do so with my digital recorder. I will either transcribe it or post the clip in it’s entirety.

More in a few!

Update: Well there were technical difficulties in the call. I think I heard Garth Snow say three of four barely audible words. Guess I have to wait for the press release – nothing went the Islanders way today, clearly.

Update #2 Per the Islanders official press release:

The New York Islanders have traded Bill Guerin to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2009 fifth round draft selection. The team has also activated defenseman Thomas Pock and center Nate Thompson from the Injured Reserve while reassigning winger Jon Sim to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

The conditions of the Guerin/Pittsburgh trade are as follows: If Pittsburgh reaches the playoffs, the draft pick is upgraded to a fourth round selection. If Pittsburgh advances past the first round and Guerin plays in 50 percent of those first round games, the draft pick gets further upgraded to a third round selection. The fifth round selection originally belonged to Tampa Bay.

“The entire Islanders organization has the utmost respect for Bill Guerin and we sincerely thank him for his time on Long Island and as the team’s captain,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.

Guerin recorded 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 61 games with the Islanders this season. Since signing with the team as a free agent on July 5, 2007, he played in 142 games and recorded 39 goals and 41 assists for 80 points. Guerin was the 11th captain in franchise history.

Pock has played in 41 games this season and has scored one goal with two assists for three points. He missed the Islanders’ last 13 games with a hand injury. Pock was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers on September 29, 2008. In 100 career NHL games, Pock has scored eight goals with nine assists for 17 points and 51 penalty minutes.

Thompson has played in 28 games this season and has scored two goals. He missed the Islanders’ last 12 games with a shoulder injury. Thompson was claimed off waivers from Boston on October 8, 2008. In 32 career NHL games, Thompson has scored two goals and registered 42 penalty minutes.

Sim, who cleared waivers earlier today, has played in 49 games with the Islanders this season and scored nine goals and six assists for 15 points. In 51 career games with the Islanders he has scored nine goals with seven assists for 16 points and 44 penalty minutes. Sim was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 1, 2007.

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It’s amazing sometimes what happens when you subtract a few players close to the deadline. It seems that it really unites the remainder of the team and they support each other even more – as well as give a solid effort, if not the most solid effort of the season.

This was clear last night as we saw an awesome effort from Sean Bergenheim from the puck drop. Bergy had jump in his step and almost scored right in the first minutes of the game. Devils backup extraordinaire Scott Clemmensen made a marvelous save, and it gave me the impression he would have one of his normal outings and do everything he can to keep the Devils on their hot streak. However, Mark Streit would find Bergenheim streaking down the right wing and he would beat Clemmensen this time to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead.

The Islanders would play well the remainder of the first, but the Devils kept up with their pace – often times getting numerous scoring chances themselves. At one point I remember looking up at the scoreboard astonished that the Devils had around 24 shots in the second, shots that I really didn’t remember them having. In my ever present restlessness during the game, I bounced around from my seats in section 309 and spent the second period in the Blog Box in section 201. I think I do this because I get to see the Islanders attack in all three periods honestly – as my seats give me a good view during the first and third periods.

The Islanders would put good pressure on for parts of the second period, Jon Sim intercepted a clearing attempt and beat the lone Devils defender deep and score on a backhand fivehole to give the Islanders a two goal lead. I literally had to rub my eyes when I realized he was the player to shoot as he has scored goals in consecutive games for the first time this season. It was good to see him get on the board again because I felt he would be more active in the points department but have been pretty disappointed by him. As Dom from Lighthouse Hockey says – if anything it increases his trade value with every point he notches. Dom even says he wishes he would go on a tear so we can sucker a playoff team into giving us “at least a 6th round pick for him”. He has one year left on his contract at an affordable $1 Million dollar – chump change I say.

During the third period the fun would continue – the Devils David Clarkson would sit for 4 minutes for high sticking and the Islanders got set up on their power play. Not long into the first half of the power play – Blake Comeau fed a nifty pass to Kyle Okposo who one-timed it past Clemmensen for a three goal lead. With the Islanders still on the power play, Brendan Witt would take up his new position in front of the net and Bill Guerin fired a point blast past Clemmensen for their fourth goal of the game and second of the powerplay. This time when I looked at the scoreboard, the Devils had been out shooting the Islanders by about 8 shots – again surprising me because I just didn’t feel like they had that many. Call it disbelief because Yann Dannis would have a solid game stopping all 40 Devils shots and actually achieve his shutout for once. He has flirted with the no-no several times this season, but a late goal would always spoil his bid. Dannis is really coming into his own as a goaltender – I actually like his play better than that of Joey MacDonald who seems to allow a bunch of flukey goals or become victimized by deflections off his own men. Now that Campoli is gone, maybe he will fair better as it always seemed to go in off of his leg and/or skate.

The shutout was the first shutout by the Islanders ALL SEASON, and really seemed to put an exclamation point on things here as the season is winding down. The game last night really proves how effective the Islanders can be when the team works together and executes Scott Gordon’s systems properly. Dean MacAmmond would make his debut last night and fit right into the team. Dee Karl aka 7thWoman – claims his seemless fit is due to his 15 year career – but I actually think he fills a void for the team. As a veteran center – he won key draws for the Islanders last night and looks to be Mike Sillinger-esque in that area winning 7 of 12 faceoffs and playing a respectable 13 minutes 8 seconds. MacAmmond also wasn’t shy last night – Jon Sim would continue to play the role of antagonist and cause a scrum in front of Clemmensen. MacAmmond would jump in the pile and take a huge elbow to the jaw for his new teammates – that is the true definition of a veteran and hockey player. It was good to see honestly.

The Postgame Interviews

I don’t know what got into me last night, I generally don’t ask many questions because someone normally beats me with what I wanted to ask or I give the main stream media it’s chance to meet their deadlines out of respect. When Mark Streit was done talking to the likes of Dan Martin and Greg Logan, I jumped in there and asked him a few questions of my own.

I asked Streit how important it was to come out and get a big win after some player transactions and he had this to say:

Well I mean, it’s obviously nice to get a win, but it’s part of the business. You feel bad when you lose teamates that you have been working with for a while, especially a guy like Campoli whos been here his whole career – MC too, they are both really nice guys. It’s tough, it goes fast, you don’t see them from one day to the other and just hope the guys are doing really well. It’s good for them and hopefully it works out for them and you’ve got to move on and just focus on the game, try to get a win. It’s great for Danis too, his first game after and he gets a win – it was certainly sweet.

I followed up with asking if there was an extra sense of urgency to get the win for the coach or some of the other guys this close to the deadline that would maybe save some jobs. Streit gave me another great response:

Everbody in this league wants to win every game. Nobody in this league goes out and says OK we are not playing tonight, you don’t do that. You want to play hard and then some nights you play a team that plays really well, and they get a little lucky. They work hard, maybe you have a tough night and then you lose. You know NOBODY wants that. I think the important thing is you don’t let your head hang and be negative about it. You have to turn the page, come in the next morning work hard and you know, focus on the next game and just try to do your best out there and try to win. There is nothing else you can do, if you are mad about it and your grumpy the next day, and negative it doesn’t do anything. You have to turn the page and move on and just try to do better and learn from it.

It was really the first time I got to speak with Streit at length, he is such a well spoken and positive guy. It makes me so happy that he chose to sign with the Islanders for such a long period – we really need a guy like him. It’s even better that he is having such a great year, it has been a long time since we had a player like Mark. I topped off my little interview with a “Danka” – knowing he is fluent in German, I think I caught him off guard but he replied with a “Bitte” and smiled. Just had to plant the seed for later I guess.

Having finished up with Streit, Sean Bergenheim strolled into the room and we joined the scrum in front of him. I waited patiently again as the main stream guys did their stuff and once the area cleared out I asked Bergy a few questions of my own. I wanted to get his opinion on the same things I asked Streit – but these were more important because of the way Bergenheim has struggled and found himself in and out of the lineup and the subject of trade rumors himself.

I started with the same question on the importance of a 4-0 win the day after player transactions and if there was a sense of urgency because of them:

Yea, we lost two great, great guys from the team. They are two great players and I hope they will do really well there, but at the same time we have to continue to do what we can here. Some guys may get more ice time than others, but this is a chance for other guys to come in and show what they can do. Certainly, I think many of the guys wanted to show that they could play more minutes. With these guys gone now, we can show we can play them [more minutes].

My follow up question seemed like a natural one because he focused a bit on the extra playing time afforded to different players in the wake of the trade of Comrie and Campoli. I asked if personally being in and out of the lineup and not getting as much as a chance this season, if he felt affected the day after the transactions and caused him to come out with more of a spark which lead to his strong game. I asked him if his spirits were lifted and if it sent a message that says “I deserve to be here and deserve a shot”. Sean replied in a way I wasn’t expecting – and I was really impressed with another player who just plays the hand he is dealt and carries his head high

I don’t really think that way, because I think every player has to beleive in themselves. I beleive that I do belong here and this trade did not affect me in any way. As far as me being in and out of the lineup this year, it has been a really frustrating season. Right now, what I am focusing on is just to play my game, and play the way I thought I played last year during the last part of the season. I have just been feeling more comfortable out on the ice and lately it has feet much better.

I know this much about Bergenheim – if he continues to play the way he has been playing, he will not be going anywhere for a long time. Home grown players don’t exactly grow on trees in Islanders country. Once he figures out what his game is (and I feel he is on the road to finding himself) he will be the force he was at the end of the season last year in which he referenced. We are getting glimpses of the future of what Garth Snow is looking to accomplish, and the future looks pretty good.

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No, that is not a misprint. It seems that the Islanders have encountered one of the best festivals in sunny Tampa this weekend. It’s called the Gasparilla festival and it involves pirates, pirate ships, pirate wenches, beer, liquor and all things associated with such. Think of it of a Las Vegas or New Orleans environment – but on the water in a beach town setting.

If you think it is all fun and games, clear it is not if you are a visiting NHL club looking for some rest before a game. If you happened to catch Corey Witt’s blog from earlier today – the team was woken up by canons firing and boat horns blaring. He also talks about an elevator ride with a pirate and two of his lasses. Hopefully they boys do not drink before a game, it’s bad enough they get injured without being hung over or intoxicated. Unlike our Islanders team and media guys – I got to sleep in and only woke up because I was hot, being it’s about 50 degrees here today and my heat was set a bit too high.

Moving on to the hockey side of this post – a quick recap of the past few games.

Islanders vs Lighting: Win at Home 3-1

The last time that Tampa and the Islanders played was on Tuesday – think of tonight’s game as a delayed home and home. The Islanders did well against the Bolts, scoring three goals in just over three minutes and chasing rookie netminder Kari Ramo. We would see goals by Mark Streit, Trent Hunter and a player who had not scored in over two seasons – Radek Martinek. Martinek’s goal was just as strange feeling as when Brendan Witt scores his annual goal – a feat he has yet to accomplish this season, but has come awfully close. For the third straight game, Yann Danis would carry a shutout into the third period only to lose it late in the game, it’s not really the biggest deal because he has been playing very well – but it would be nice to see him get the no-no. The Islanders would win the game 3-1, but would lose their go-to defenseman in Mark Streit – whom at that point was one of only three Islanders to play in every game the entire season. Streit injured his shoulder during the second period in a collision and Tomas Pock was lost for four weeks after injuring his hand. While Okposo did not score and we saw his goal streak snapped, he did pick up and assist and extended his point streak to five games (5g, 1a). The kids continue to shine.

I wanted to give this next bit a paragraph all to itself because I felt it was really important. In the first period Tim Jackman went hard to the net and collided with Ramo whom fell over as if he was shot. Of all people to stand up and challenge Jackman – Vincent Lecavalier tried to fire his team up by dropping the gloves. The fight wasn’t really much to speak about, but it left me feeling conflicted – apparently Jacko as well. I didn’t get the chance to speak to him after the game, but it was clear he showed respect (and restraint) by not really pummeling him as he is capable of. It’s one thing when it’s two enforcers duking it out, it become something else entirely when it’s you are fighting one of the leagues superstars. Do you really risk injuring the player or do you just wrestle and throw a few punches as they wound up doing.

You can see the fight as always on Hockey Fights, but here is the youtube clip:

Islanders vs Panthers: Loss on Road 3-2

The trip out to the sunshine state usually involves the fathers making the trip with their sons, this year is no different it’s just unfortunate that they opened their little road trip on a loss. The Islanders would elect to start Joey MacDonald whom returned from a groin injury suffered on January 13th and also feature two call up defenseman in Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan. They would look to extend their win streak to a season high five games and a point streak to six games.

The Panthers are another team that the Islanders have faced recently, the Cats were in town on 1/31 and the Islanders walked all over them in a 3-1 win. The game on Thursday started a little later than we are used to, even though it was only a half hour later – I still didn’t manage to stay up for the entire contest. From what I did see, I saw the Islanders struggle against a team that looks much better when David Booth is in the lineup. I am sure Nate Thompson feels the same way – Thompson took a big open ice hit from Booth and immediately left the ice in pain. We would later find out that he injured his shoulder and would miss some time. The Panthers took an early lead, going up two goals before the end of the first period on goals by their defensemen – Jay Bouwmeester and Karlis Skrastins (Scratch and Sniff).

The Islanders would get on the board in the second period on a power play goal by Josh Bailey. Bailey had gone 11 games without a goal, but would get his second of the season on a nice feed from Nielsen and fire it past Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun low glove side. The one goal deficit would be short lived however, as ex-Isle Richard Zednik would beat Martinek along the boards and dance to the middle of the ice and OVER a sprawled out Brendan Witt, while mid air he was able to deposit the puck through MacDonald’s pads to give the Cats their second two goal lead of the game. The goal was highlight worthy, and those plays are kind of hard to be mad at – see for yourself:

Armed with another power play, the Islanders would strike again – this time Trent Hunter would find himself all alone in front of Vokoun and again make it a one goal game. On the face off that lead to the goal, Josh Bailey would lose the draw but out of desperation dive forward and chip the puck out to Hunter who would deposit it backhand past Vokoun. Hunters goal gives him points in four straight games (3g, 1a) and also Bailey his second point of the night. It was Bailey’s third time this season with a two-point game and he now has 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 37 games.

I missed a majority of the third period because I fell asleep, but I saw the Islanders make a last ditch effort to get the equalizer with MacDonald pulled. It was exciting to wake up and see some good hockey – but they were unable to score. It snapped their win streak – but I was ok with the effort I saw after the first period and happy with the play of the young players again.

Tonight’s Tampa Re-Match

Tonight should prove to be a fun contest to watch as you know the Lightning will come out with intensity looking for revenge against the Isles for their performance last week. The Bolts are not too far removed from the tight Eastern Conference playoff picture should they string together a group of wins – they need tonight’s two points a lot more then the Islanders do.

Greg Logan reports in his blog today that Sean Bergenheim will replace the injured Nate Thompson – which sort of confuses me a bit. It was said in all the games that Bergy was scratched he was out with an injured “side” – to me it just seems per Logan’s blog that he was more of a healthy scratch. Whatever the case, Bergenheim, does possess more of a scoring touch than Thompson but is not a centerman – so there will need to be some line juggling. MacDonald didn’t play too bad on Thursday – but coming off an injury will the team decide to give him a rest and go with Danis tonight?

I am still really conflicted with this team – which sounds confusing. As a fan, I have accepted the fact that this team really won’t amount to anything come playoff time – I know they won’t even be close. They also had a horrible stretch of hockey that only saw them win maybe two or three games through December and much of January. It was nice to see a nice little stretch of wins – especially at home because it gives us a look at the kids progressing nicely and how they will help in the future. This is where I get conflicted, I want them to finish dead last in the league with the fewest points as I want them to have the best shot at either Tavares or Hedman. If this team finishes with the fewest amount of points, the lowest we can pick is number two – because we cannot move down any more than one position should we wind up not picking first due to the lottery. There will still be great players available in the top six picks, but this team needs someone who will sell tickets and give hope to a fan base dealing with politicians who are balking and stalling on a decision regarding a new arena and rumors that the team will be sold and/or moved.

It’s a rough time to be a fan of the Islanders for sure, but it’s sadly an exciting time in a way.

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It seems that no matter how much we would prefer that the Islanders remain at the very bottom of the standings to secure the best chance to finish with that valuable-to-rebuild first overall pick – that they are actually learning, adapting and finding ways to win hockey games.

It began with the home win over Anaheim before the All-Star break, a team the Islanders had absolutely no business beating. Move into Thursday’s four point contest in Atlanta and the Islanders stormed out front with a 4 goal first period. Of course, they would have a slight problem maintaining pressure as they have all season, but the difference this time was a third period effort that would keep Atlanta at bay and manage a 5-4 victory. Kyle Okposo would have his first two goal game in his young NHL career, Josh Bailey would find himself connecting with Okposo on both goals and Blake Comeau would solidify that kid line with awesome play himself. Personally, it was a game that I really would have preferred that they lose – because it allowed Atlanta to “catch up” to us in the standings – but I digress, it was nice to see strong play from our “future”.

I did not actually get to see the game, I watched the recap on NHL on the Fly because I was at the Metallica concert with Tom Liodice of The Tiger Track. It was a great show, my first time seeing Metallica live.

This brings us into last nights contest against the Florida Panthers – a team that has managed to bring themselves out of the cellar and into playoff contention for the first time in a very, very long time. For the sake of that franchise, I hope they sneak in there. It wouldn’t be right for me – a fan of a struggling franchise to wish anything other than success on another franchise, so should they make it – Florida is the Eastern conference team I will root for. Back to talking about the game – Mike Comrie was the lucky recipient of the puck after a communication breakdown between Vokoun and Bouwmeester. Comrie grabbed the puck behind the net and put it shortside on a nice wraparound. During the second period, Bill Guerin would take a rebound and pull a nifty spin-o-ramaesque move out of his bag of tricks to deposit the puck past Vokoun backhand for a 2-0 lead. Going into the third period the Islanders would be awarded a power play right after the backhalf of a power play that carried over from the end of the second. It would be a pass from Trent Hunter to Kyle Okposo that would give the Islanders a 3-0 lead. It was Okposo’s fourth straight game scoring a goal -a career and season high bringing his total to 10. Ken Dick over on Okposo Net did the math and claims that Okposo is on a point every two game pace currently, not too shabby.

The Panthers would pull their goaltender with over five minutes remaining in the third – they must have been watching tapes of all the Islanders late third period collapses and hoped they could sneak a few goals past a solid Yann Danis to potentially steal the game and break the Islanders psyche. They wouldn’t score for about 3 minutes, but they did break Danis’s shutout bid. Armed with a late 3-1 lead, the Islanders would persevere and come out on top giving Danis his win. If holding onto the lead wasn’t enough, the Islanders would do great things en route to that victory – they killed off every Panthers power play, including two different double minors, they successfully changed their game plan as well – something Greg Logan pointed out in a recent blog entry.

So – the Islanders are still last in the league in terms of points, but now they have won three in a row and allowed the teams behind them to gradually catch up. Chris Botta has an excellent entry about the precarious situation fans may now feel themselves in – torn between happiness that the Islanders youth is the guiding light during this “winning streak”, when some may have been starting to accept the losses in the hopes that the Islanders could add another important piece to their rebuild – namely one of the top three players in the draft.

That brings us into the next topic – and this one is a hot one.

It seems that another Canadian journalist just HAD TO resort to talking negatively about the Islanders. It happens every year, it’s not really anything new – I just look at it as a way for a no name journalist to get some views through being a sensationalist – I don’t blame him but this time it’s a bit too much for my taste. Here is the paragraph in question:

If I were John Tavares, I would be clear about my future and make certain I never play for the New York Islanders.

Tavares hasn’t said that much — and quite likely he won’t. But if I were in his position, as the logical No. 1 pick in June’s National Hockey League entry draft, I would pull a John Elway, an Eli Manning or an Eric Lindros.

And find a way to get out of playing for the Islanders.

If you think about it, why would anyone with dreams and aspirations of greatness want to play for the Isles?

They have become a Gertrude Stein kind of franchise: “There is no there there.” From the owner to the front office to the players to an old rink and older fan base, there is nothing about the Islanders that represents hope.

And, if nothing else, that is what Tavares can best represent for an NHL team come June. If I were him, I would rather have a say in my future rather than have it dictated by circumstance, or in this case, a lottery.

In a time where the NHL has had hardship after hardship, would they need someone like Tavares to do as this writer says and demand a trade before he even dons an Islanders crest? The guys over at Hockey Night on Long Island already have a great post about this – so I will just echo their feelings on this. In the grand scheme of things, Tavares would be the face of this franchise – he would help on the ice as well as off. It would be hard to ignore a player of his caliber mixed in with the already talented young crop of players the Islanders have, it would also be hard to ignore for those who are in charge of holding up the Lighthouse Project.

What this Toronto Sun writer fails to realize, he just opened up himself to an onslaught of angry emails from those in Islanders country – hope he has a few days of free time in order to read them.

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This has been a busy week all around, for both the Islanders and myself personally. Work has been insanely busy, I worked last weekend and I am set to work again tomorrow – I love the overtime, it just keeps me from doing some of the other things I like to do (the extra money certainly helps with the OTHER stuff). On the nights that I might actually have a few minutes to get a post up – I have had hockey games myself – 4 goals and 1 assist in two games (maybe I can convince Garth to give me an ATO contract – heh).

Where should we even start? First and foremost the Islanders have halted their losing streak and finally mustered up enough solid play to get their first win of the 2009 calendar year. This happened on Wednesday, if you happened to watch the game – once the Ducks of Anaheim came onto the ice it was like watching the old Nintendo title “Ice Hockey”. Instead of the tall guy, the short guy and the fat guy – Anaheim is made up of tall and fat guys when the Isles only have the shorties on their side. It turned out far better than many expected, with Kyle Okposo blasting a shot past Giguere on the power play early in the game and then a beautiful feed form Nielsen to McLean on another blast that beat Giguere minutes later would give them a 2-0 lead. The second goal, McLean’s first NHL goal and point would chase Giguere from the net and cause him to throw a temper tantrum on the way to the bench, in front of the bench, walking onto the bench, slamming the door to the bench and finally commencing once he sat down. The look of horror and fear on those around him while he tossed things and broke his stick was absolutely priceless. It made this Islanders fan forget, even for the slightest moment that the Islanders are in the middle of a very bad season.

Although the Islanders would forget they were playing a powerhouse in Anaheim, they still managed to hold tight despite only getting around 5 shots on goal through the remaining two periods. Yann Danis apparently responded well to the public lashing from head coach Scott Gordon, or it could have been the fact that the Islanders passed up on claiming Danny Sabourin on waivers that day – a goaltender who had shutout the Islanders during two previous match ups. Whatever the case, Danis made save, after save and helped the Islanders reach victory. Good for you Yann! Another bright spot, Kyle Okposo continues to make his presence felt, it is safe to say that whatever ailments he had during he early part of the year are fully healed and he is beaming with confidence – scoring in back to back games for the first time of his career should certainly help even more.

For some information on who Curtis McLean is and what his path to the NHL was – be sure to check out the latest article on NYI.com

Getting my opinion on the first win of the season should please at least one commenter on my site – you are welcome Sean.

Meet me at the Lighthouse?

With news that the Islanders had inked a deal that would bring them to Kansas City for an exhibition game with the LA Kings – it certainly lit a fire under the butts of those in the Town of Hempstead government. Now, nobody knows if this was Charles Wang’s plan or not – but it sure did work. In the past several days there have been articles a plenty in both Newsday and around the web regarding a possible move to KC and the importance of a new arena and the Lighthouse approval. Fans have taken to the streets and shown their displeasure at the team’s possible future move to a new and empty arena elsewhere.

Neil Best has a great article today in Newsday involving the Islanders lucrative Cablevision TV deal that runs until the year 2031.

Mark Herrmann had a great article in Newsday recently as well, if you don’t already visit his new blog In The Crease regularly – you should check that out as well.

Mike Gasparino, one of my fellow Blog Boxers – says the cable deal is indeed great, he just wants every game in high definition.

Chris Botta conducts an excellent interview with Kevin Gorman from the Town of Hempstead regarding the Lighthouse Project that is a must read. He also posted some new information and concerns today that is also worth the read.

Kate Murray is THE problem

I have a little birdie inside the Town of Hempstead that will remain nameless – but this individual keyed me into some interesting points the last time we sat down together.

It is already widely known that Kate Murray will be running for Nassau County Executive during the next election. It is said at that time she will likely give up her position as Town of Hempstead supervisor in order to run as an incumbent. This is where things get interesting, apparently Murray feels running for County Exec will be a win-win situation. Win or lose it doesn’t really matter for her as she will likely be appointed to a judgeship should she not win the election – judgeship is something she has wanted for quite some time I am told.

Ask yourselves this question – if Nassau County has already appointed the Lighthouse Commission as the contractor and approved all of their plans why is the Town of Hempstead supervisor holding things up? It is my BELIEF that Kate Murray likely does not want to be involved in such a large project and decision before she steps down as TOH supervisor and should she win County Executive – she would be dealing with it on a new level, something started by the previous administration.

So Islanders fans and Town of Hempstead residents (and non residents too) – PRESSURE Kate Murray’s office with phone calls and emails if you want to get this thing going. Voice your displeasure with the political non-sense and red tape so we can get this project started and keep the Islanders here on Long Island where they belong.

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The Islanders play with a system, on some nights it works like clockwork – on other nights it looks like pandemonium or just disarray. For anyone that uses a computer that runs ANY Microsoft operating system – sometimes you just need to hit CTRL-ALT-DEL (Control – Alt – Delete) to “reboot” the system. After the showing the team put up in a home loss on Saturday and a follow up stinker tonight in Toronto – it’s about that time.

What can they do to reboot you ask? Let’s do a quick synopsis of what I saw tonight:

• FORECHECK!!!! When it was there, the Islanders scored, when it wasn’t – well…..
• Work on clearing the puck out of your own zone. How many times during these losses has the team tried to clear the puck but throw it up the boards to a vacant position?
• Practice passing the puck. Too many passes to places and areas where players SHOULD be, but aren’t.
• Going back to the first item, the BREAKOUT – it’s not an anything out on most nights. Move the puck fast and follow it up – isn’t that the entire focus of “Overspeed”?
• How about REALLY watching some game tapes. Look at what Toronto did successfully tonight and mimic the small things. On a majority of the goals scored for them, they moved the puck beautifully. I have not seen passing from the Islanders that has blown me away or taken me back – aside from glimpses from Bailey or Weight. You have 5 players plus a goaltender – use them to move and set up plays. The last Toronto goal by Williams is a picture perfect play – and a play that I absolutely crave.
• Stay the heck out of the penalty box. Why is Bergenheim even thinking about putting his arm on a player. Sure, whoever it was (I don’t remember) fell as if he was shot – but you just DO NOT DO THAT! There were some other penalties, but nothing really to mention specifically.
• Shoot the puck – FASTER!!! I lost track, but Toronto must have blocked like 30 Islanders shots tonight. They closed lanes, kept shots wide and just kept pressure on the entire game.

I have faith in Gordon, this is not me sounding an alarm to get him out of here. He needs time to grow and adapt to the league in order to be completely successful – but at the same time, I don’t understand why the team just collapses like they do. When they are on, they are dead on – but the same holds true for when they are off.

On one hand, I am completely frustrated by their play. On the other – I hope they stay in the basement cellar for the rest of the season. The first round pick (very very HIGH pick) is just what this franchise needs to rebuild, no matter who says what.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting as always, Philadelphia always seems to play the Islanders hard – the biggest question is how will the Islanders respond?

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This poor kid in Montreal tonight, it’s bad enough he scored on his own empty net during a delayed Islanders penalty (with about 4 minutes remaining in a 3-2 game) in which the Isles would go on to win 4-3 in a shootout, but now the video is already on Youtube.

Not only that, but some very angry Habs fans have already updated the guys Wikipedia page.

That was easily the strangest sequence of events I have seen in a long time, even better than Davison’s freaky 197 foot shorthanded goal last year. At least the bounces are going our way – it’s about time.

It’s too late to give a full recap – tomorrow is another day.

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You may have noticed that I did not post any thoughts on the clunker the Islanders put up on Thursday. I will go into things a bit today, I have had enough time to decompress and really analyze where I wanted to take the discussion.

The sky is not falling, the bottom has not fallen out and there is no need to start a Tavares watch! These three common message board themes are a ridiculous line of thinking. It’s to the point where I visit message boards less and less because it’s the same rhetoric repeated over and over. Look, the team is not playing great – but we are only 6 games into the season – SIX! Six games is not an adequate cross section to determine the overall season outcome.

Things take time, they do. You cannot throw together a team with a new coach and EXPECT instant success – sure we can all hope, but I hope I run into $10-million dollars today.

Islanders fans have been calling for a rebuild for a long time, this is part of the process. Players like Okposo, Tambellini, Gervais, Campoli, Hillen, Pock and Nielsen are not going to be overnight successes. For the most part this is the first REAL chance any of them have had under any head coach the Isles have had. Everyone needs to learn the system, stick to the system and have it be second nature to play the system in order for it to be successful.

I saw glimpses of positive things during the Dallas game, that’s even without the rose colored glasses. Bill Guerin went to the front of the net – AND scored. Mark Streit scored a pretty back door goal on the power play. Jon Sim – well he FINALLY scored, maybe that monkey is off his back. The veterans called a team meeting – something that needed to be done. That shows me that this team cares – losing is not acceptable and neither is tanking regardless of any amount of first round draft picks. I also noticed the forecheck becoming increasingly effective. Less dump and chasing and more puck control along the boards is giving them offensive zone control often enough that they should be looking at more scoring chances.

With the positives, there are also negatives.

Brendan Witt lost to injury, although everyone around the organization is quiet about it. I saw him on the receiving end of a nasty knee-on-knee collision and knew it wouldn’t be good. He was grimacing and had a problem putting weight on it. In his place – Jack Hillen, although Andy Sutton is about a week away from returning. Witt was chased down on the way to room Six by Greg Logan – although Witt wasn’t very chatty.

Bad defensive breakdowns lead to too many virtual empty goals.

Penalties – they need to stay out of the penalty box at all costs.

Power Play, 5 shots and 5 posts on one power play…..close – but no cigar.

Positioning without the puck, I am fairly certain the reason why Gordon had no voice during his press conference was because he was giving his team a stern talking to about this subject. The Islanders were HORRIBLE without the puck. Bad positioning causes bad turnovers, bad defensive support and almost zero chance of a pass landing on the tape. Last but not least – you will have plenty of trouble with a breakout if you can’t find an open man.

Lastly, taking a bench minor while on the power play. That just cannot happen, especially on a two man advantage.

I can tell that the team is coming around, but I just hope that injuries do not destroy whatever forward momentum the team has accomplished – however small it may be.

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You may or may not have noticed that I said I would post some final thoughts when I got home from the game on Saturday. I sort of lied, but unintentionally. When I got home, I completely fell asleep on my couch – been working my tail off lately.

Here are some of the notes that I jotted down during the game:

Freddy Meyer lands a beautiful submarine check early in the first period! Great to see FMIV has the same timing as last season!

The team looks like it has an identity and also sticks up for one another. While the team last year all stood up for each other, unlikely players are getting involved; Tambellini and Gervais for example.

Defensive pressure in the first period was great, the team lined up across the blueline and forced the Blues to dump and chase. Later in the game, they stopped doing the same things and the Blues were able to put more pressure on the Islanders.

When the pressure was on, the Isles forced the Blues to take 3 consecutive icings – without the tv timeouts, the line for the Blues was absolutely shot.

Joey MacDonald didn’t look like a back up goaltender, he was playing like a true number one and was standing on his head. One of the biggest highlights was stopping Keith Tkachuk on a breakaway, another when a nifty move made room by one of the Blues forwards with a cross slot pass. MacDonald had a point blank save and covered the puck.

Overall, I felt the Islanders played one heck of a game – they are really starting to excel at Gordon’s brand of hockey. Hopefully as time moves on, the little areas that need adjustment will be addressed and the Isles will play hockey like the first period for a full 60 minutes. Scott Gordon is likely looking at his first victory game puck, and thinking the exact thing.

Photos

Here are some quick photos of Seven Mary Three and Kevin Connolly dropping the puck! You can see more in the gallery.

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