Bruins 5, Isles 2; Snow Speaks

The Islanders fell to the Bruins by a score of 5-2 in a game that was rather odd.

The Islanders had some good chances in the first, but not before the Bruins were controlling much of the play. Their first goal was a rather easy one, right off of the face-off. While I understand where James Wisniewski was coming from in complaining to the ref, it is his responsibility to tie up the much bigger Milan Lucic there. A big body like that can't be allowed to muscle his way towards the net from the face-off.

Frans Nielsen had a good game, and has quietly been putting points on the board despite the Isles struggles. I like the fact that the coaching staff has told him to be more offensive-minded. Hopefully, he doesn't let the defensive side of his game stray too far.

I liked Jesse Joensuu on the first line, and hope to see some more of him there. What I didn't like was how he got no power-play time. Michael Grabner didn't get any either, but Blake Comeau still got almost two minutes of time there. A lot of people, myself included wondered if Comeau was next after Capuano pretty much publicly declared that Josh Bailey was a passenger. So far, Bailey has been the only one "penalized" and people who are really struggling and not putting in a complete effort, like Comeau, are still getting rewarded with ice-time. But I suppose this is why I don't get paid to make these decisions.

Rick DiPietro played well aside from that one huge blunder where he successfully cleared the puck right into the mid-section of Brad Marchand. Marchand was able to pick up the puck and easily put it into the empty net.

Speaking of empty nets, while the Isles do give up their fair share of them it is usually hard to put one in, let alone two. That is exactly what happened last night for the Bruins (OK, technically three, but you get the point). When Lucic shot the puck from his own blue line right into the net, it pretty much summed up the game nicely for an Islanders squad that once again started off slow.

The Bruins had a 5-on-3 power-play in the 2nd, and Radek Martinek blocked a Zdeno Chara shot with his left wrist. We all know how hard he can shoot, but try standing five feet in front of him. Martinek, surprisingly, only missed the rest of the period and came back for the next. Given his injury history and how fast you could see that swell up on the telecast, it's a great thing that it appears he won't miss any time. That's the last thing they needed.

Andrew MacDonald had yet another solid game, blocking another four shots. He's not the sexiest player out there, but when he is on the ice the defensive play is so much better than it was in previous weeks. I feel it is necessary to constantly point things like this out.

The Isles did get a lot of shots in on Tuukka Rask, and some of them were tough. He made some nice saves, but not nearly as many tough ones as the should have. Players seem to still be getting a bit fancy out there.

Rask was helped out by John Tavares missing a wide open net in his wheel-house too. Tavares put the puck right off of the side of the net. The play immediately went the other way, where DiPietro made his gaffe. Tavares is still putting up a respectable amount of points, but there have been a few times where a play like this has happened to him. It happened against New Jersey and Johan Hedberg, and Sean made the comment on the podcast that week that those are the chances he needs to bury. This was another one of those.

The power-play, once again, had a weak showing going 0-for-3. That's 41 straight chances with no PPG for those of you counting at home. That 12 game stretch ties the franchise record for the longest streak with no PPG, which was set in the expansion season of 1972-73.

The Isles take on the Atlanta Thrashers in the next game on Saturday night, where more than 1,000 faithful fans are making the trip from...Quebec.

Yes, you read that right. As part of a movement to petition the NHL, many fans of the former Quebec Nordiques have been trying to make some noise to prove that their is still a very loyal fan base and that Gary Bettman was wrong to move them in the first place. Sean also wrote an opinion piece on this back when they had their "Blue March" in October.

GARTH SNOW SPEAKS: General Manager Garth Snow took the time to make an appearance on Islanders TV and answered the fans questions. Much to the surprise of many, a lot of the hard hitters were asked. Snow touched on some and side stepped others, but I appreciate the fact that he came out to give his thoughts and that Chris King asked the questions that many fans wanted to know about.

A couple that stood out for me:

-Kyle Okposo's return is mid to late January. Many of us expected this, but it's the first confirmation from the team. Previously, all we had to go by was Katie Strang's source who said December or January. Mark Streit appears to be returning more towards April.

-In regards to the question of when Snow would admit his hands are tied by the owner, Snow looked into the camera and said he had "no financial constraints." While I agree that it is very hard to get some player personnel business done in the salary cap era of the NHL, I don't completely believe that he has the free reign he has now twice told us he has this season. Anyone who has had their finger on the pulse of this team the last three years saw that. It will be interesting to see who exactly would be available for trade as Snow said he will not trade any of the younger players.

Guys like Trent Hunter or Bruno Gervais have little to no value. Guys like John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo will not and should not be dealt. I would try and see what you could get for someone like Comeau, but I think that Snow considers him to be a "crucial" part to the rebuild. Ditto for waiver wire acquisitions Grabner and Rob Schremp. Some of these guys will be a part of the core, while others won't. If Snow is serious about making this team a contender, part of that will be determining which of these guys can be expendable before their value goes low, while some other teams might value them a little more in a different situation perhaps better suited for them.

-The Lighthouse project is something that has no bearing on his job. This I would agree 100% with. It is not his business to worry about this, but only Charles Wang's.

I'm sure that the interview will make it's way onto ITV, so be sure to check it out. It's only 15 minutes or so, and they will be doing another one like it. Good stuff.

-CH

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Hamonic Focusing on Short Term, For Now

When the Islanders went through injury problems on defense the latest call up was one of their top young defensemen, Travis Hamonic. Originally placed near the lower end of the depth chart after the preseason, Hamonic continues to make a name for himself.

The Islanders recently got Andrew MacDonald and Jack Hillen back from their injuries. MacDonald, when in the line-up has been one of the Isles best defensemen this season.

Despite the returning blue liners, Hamonic did not get sent down to Bridgeport. Instead, he remained in the line-up, leaving Bruno Gervais and Dylan Reese as the scratches. This obviously sent a strong message to Hamonic about how he has played.

"It's something I'm thankful and grateful for. I feel, especially in the last two or three games, that I've come a long way and the coaching staff keeps rewarding me with ice time, which is nice."

Nice is one way for him to describe it. From watching where I'm sitting though, I find myself pleasantly surprised at how quickly the 20 year old has progressed since the Islanders took him late in the 2nd round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Hamonic grew up in the small town of St. Malo in Manitoba, where he and his three siblings had to deal with the loss of their father at an early age. The anniversary was 10 years ago this past September.

Hamonic was always thought of to be an excellent shut down defenseman, but didn't receive a lot of accolades early on. It wasn't until the defensive side of his game was more established and his offensive game came around when he got some more recognition.

After putting up a couple of solid seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, Hamonic took off for his last two in the league, scoring 88 points in 98 games split between Moose Jaw and the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Hamonic put himself on the map after making Team Canada for the 2009-2010 World Junior Championships, where he was one of the top defensemen along with Isles prospect Calvin de Haan, and brought home a silver medal. Then, in the Memorial Cup this past spring, after battling a lengthy shoulder injury suffered during that WJC, Hamonic would be recognized as one of the top players in the tournament after notching four goals and 11 points in 11 games.

Now, after transitioning to the pro's for just 19 games with the AHL Sound Tigers, Hamonic finds himself getting 20 minutes a night with the big club.

"I have had the opportunity to play with some pretty good defenseman here like MacDonald the last couple of games, James Wisniewski my first two and Mark Eaton also."

There are a number of things that have factored in to this fast transition. However, Hamonic attributes the bulk of it to the veterans on the back end. "All the d-men here really know how to make me feel at home, and comfortable. They have really helped me out."

For those who have watched the games he's played in, it's very note worthy that he is already getting significant minutes on the power-play and penalty kill. As one of the new comers to a power-play unit that has not scored in their last 38 chances, I wondered if Hamonic saw something that was wrong and attributing to the struggles. He hasn't.

"I don't think we're struggling," he explained to me. "Maybe we're not putting the puck on net as much but we're definitely getting our chances. Breaks will come. We just need to continue working hard."

I'll agree to disagree with Hamonic there, but I will say that I really like the optimism from him. He's no stranger to getting captains letters stitched to his sweater, and if he continues to develop this way he will have one for the Islanders in the future.

Although he is thrilled for this current opportunity, Hamonic is taking a very realistic approach to it all.

"I'm happy about it but I just have to make sure I keep working day in and day out."

He adds, "I can't look too far ahead in this situation."

That is a key lesson that many of the players on the team can live by, especially at a time like now. Having lost 17 of their last 18 games, it doesn't get any easier.

The Islanders take on the Bruins tonight in Boston. The good news is that Tuukka Rask is getting the nod over come-back player of the year candidate Tim Thomas, who has been absolutely amazing in net.

Marc Savard has returned for the Bruins, now healthy. Nathan Horton looks like a different player than he one we saw in Florida. Milan Lucic has put together a string of nice games over the past couple of weeks.

Hamonic, starting goalie Rick DiPietro and the rest of the Isles will have their hands full tonight.