Isles beat Jets after Sending MacDonald to Flyers

The Isles had one more game to play before the trade deadline, but they were already in the mindset of it being life after March 5th, with Andrew MacDonald (traded) and Thomas Vanek (waiting to be traded) both out of the line-up.

With a lean roster, the Isles had a chance to see what they had in guys who haven't had extended looks with the big club as of yet. It resulted in a 3-2 overtime victory in Winnipeg.

The Isles had some solid contributions from Ryan Strome and Anders Lee. Lee scored his third goal since being called up after the Olympic break ended last week.

Anders Nilsson got the start, to the chagrin of many fans out there who were left scratching their heads as to why he's get the nod after a less that stellar effort in the 3rd period of Sunday's tilt vs. Florida. For me, it's easy to understand.

The NHL is going through a musical goalie campaign, evidenced by Tuesday's trades. The Islanders are at a crossroads in net. They know what Evgeni Nabokov can provide and it's still back-up worthy for the NHL. But what about Kevin Poulin or Nilsson? We've seen a good sample out of Poulin to realize he isn't much of an answer. So that leaves Nilsson.

The Isles won't have much room for error going forward with their goalies. With so many names of younger guys flying around, they need to understand what they have in these two sooner rather than later. If you sign a starter, do you need to sign guys for Bridgeport? The Isles could add anywhere from one to three new goaltenders to the organization this summer and now is the time for them to decide.

Having said all of that, I thought Nilsson played pretty well. Some of the angles are a bit off, but you can see that he has his moments - both good and bad.

Despite looking strong early on, the Isles allowed the Jets to slowly get back into the game as they allowed plenty of scoring chances. Lots of scrambling in front of Nilsson only yielded two goals, however, and gave the Isles the chance to win on Michael Grabner's overtime breakaway.

Grabner has been playing better of late too, at least on the offensive end. All season long he seemed to have the defensive side of his game up to snuff and now it's nice to see the confidence increasing with each goal scored - including the ones from the Olympics.

But enough about this game. We'll get to the more important stuff...

A-Mac's Isles tenure ended on Tuesday. Photo by C. Hessel

Andrew MacDonald to Flyers: Yes, as alluded to earlier the Isles already moved one of their trading chips, shipping MacDonald to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 3rd round pick this summer, a 2nd round pick in 2015, and forward Matt Mangene - who isn't much of a prospect, and never really was.

I like the fact that the 2nd round pick is in the 2015 draft, which by all accounts will be very deep and full of talented players in the first few rounds. The 2015 picks will have value and the Isles can package them to try and get more immediate help for next season, that is if they choose to do so.

It's frustrating to be going through yet another year of this however, and I'll go out on the limb and say I'll be upset if some of these assets are not used to make the team better in the more near term. With holes throughout, and now a glaring one next to John Tavares, this team seriously needs to figure out what their plan is going forward because having disappointing seasons and accumulating picks year after year isn't much of a plan.

So the Isles have one more player to move in Vanek. Everyone else will likely stay for now. I wouldn't expect the goaltending holes to be plugged on Wednesday either. That will be something the team addresses more in the offseason when they can see their options.

We'll see what Wednesday provides. I'll have some thoughts on the deadline as a whole after we hit 3 PM and see the dust settle.

- Chris

Isles Battle Back to Split Home-and-Home with Flyers

I think we've all finally figured out the Isles strategy for winning games. They cannot have a lead going into the third period.

Once again, the team found themselves trailing after two, with the Flyers holding a 3-1 advantage. While it's tough to say two goal leads are commanding even in today's NHL, this was a game where the Isles did not look too crisp. As a matter of fact, both teams looked a bit sluggish, and the Isles caught a lot of breaks just because of miscues by the Flyers in the offensive zone.

Nielsen, Isles Slide Past Lightning in Shootout

The Islanders found themselves in a tight game with the Tampa Bay Lightning for pretty much the duration of the contest, and were able to overcome an early powerplay goal by Isles killer Martin St. Louis to defeat the improved Lightning in overtime as they continue to try and put together a long successful streak that will propel them back into playoff contention.

Isles Streak Ends as Turnovers Plentiful; Strome Sent to Bridgeport

The Isles came back down to Earth on Tuesday night as their hot stretch came to an end in Florida, as they dropped a 4-2 decision to a team that has given them some trouble in recent years. And for the Isles, it was a collapse in a big way.

Blues Give Isles 8th Straight loss in 5-1 Powerplay Showcase

The Islanders may have taken baby steps forward in their games against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, but in St. Louis the penalty killing and defense were once again the culprits in an effort that left the team taking another huge step back.

Isles drop Fifth Straight in 5-0 Blowout by Wings

There couldn't have been a worse time for the Isles to come out and have one of their poorer efforts of recent memory.

There were very few moments and bright spots for the Isles. Aside from a couple of good rushes there wasn't much substance to this game. There were a lot of the same issues we've been harping on. Turnovers continue to be a problem, and once again was an issue for Andrew MacDonald.

The Song Remains the Same: Isles lose again in Regulation to Jets

For the New York Islanders, Wednesday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets looked oddly familiar. It was the same song and dance as the prior games, and resulted in the Isles eighth loss in their last 11 games.

Isles Shutout in Carolina

Every team is going to have games where the opposing goaltender makes some fantastic saves and they'll have trouble getting a puck past them all night. Unfortunately, that night came for the Isles at an inopportune time.

Vanek, Poulin Star to Give Isles Win vs. Bruins, Four Point Weekend

For the first time in what certainly seems like quite some time, the Islanders finally got all four points available on a back-to-back, and even won a game at home against a good team to do so. The Islanders snapped their funk at home and defeated the Bruins 3-1.

Resilient Isles get Shootout Win in Ottawa

The Islanders night looked like it was going to be a pretty long one after the first period was over, with the Senators having scored two quick goals to go into the intermission and the Isles unable to capitalize on really controlling much of the period.

However, the Islanders were finally able to be party spoilers of their own and ended up on the other side of a team blowing not only one two goal lead, but two.

Line Shuffle Produces Results, but Isles Fall Short in Nashville

The Nashville Predators are a team that is defensively sound and finds success in getting opponents to play their game. The Islanders found this out the hard way.

The Predators played their patented game lead by Barry Trotz and notched the 3-2 victory over the Islanders. It seemed like all night the Isles had trouble getting passes completed and were stuck in the neutral zone for long stretches.

Okposo, Isles Ruin Crosby's Return to Stun Pens and Even Series

Since their Game 1 showing on Wednesday night, the Islanders did a lot of talking about playing in the playoffs, adjusting to a different style, and what is required to be competitive. Both John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov talked about how playing at a playoff intensity level was "supposed to hurt" and how they just didn't get the job done.

Martin, Isles Make it Three Straight at Home to Continue Playoff Push; NYI FYI Sunday at 11 AM

The Islanders did a nice job of getting a point in Washington to keep pace in the playoff race. If they are going to drop games, getting points out of them is really the only way they can go about business right now.

But what that mini-comeback in Washington did, combined with the Rangers SO loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the day after, was rejuvenate the Islander fanbase in a big way as the team remained very much in it heading into Saturday nights home match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Isles Hold on to Beat Panthers 4-3

In just a matter of minutes, the Islanders saw a game go from in the bag to up in the air against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead and basically outplaying the Panthers in every area of the game, the team collapsed a bit in the third period, giving up three goals to the Panthers in 1:40 of game play. However, the Islanders would end up pulling this one out and avoided going to overtime to do so.

With Playoff Atmosphere, Rangers Defeat Isles in OT

The real crime in the Islanders 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers wasn't the penalty call on Michael Grabner - a stick to the midsection of a player with the puck in the vicinity will get called every time - it was the lack of many penalty calls at all, including a goose egg of calls on the Rangers.

Isles Prep for Sens after 7-0 Massacre by Flyers

Ugly. There really aren't any words to describe what we all witnessed in Uniondale on Presidents Day against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was truly a Monday massacre.

The Islanders gave you a preview of this game barely 30 seconds in. And we all know what it means when we say it's going to be one of those games. This was definitely one of them.

Isles Rally to Beat Rangers 4-3 in Shootout

For a while, the outcome for the Islanders looked like it wouldn't be any different than previous games. Another loss seemed to be in the cards. But they were able to rally around one another, ultimately sealing the deal in the shootout to avoid losing their sixth straight game.

Isles Powerplay Silent Against Devils, Fall 3-0

After playing each other twice before, the Islanders and Devils definitely felt that they had a handle on the style the other played. And both teams, remembering the offensive outburst by the other side from Thursday night played hesitant for the first 30 minutes of this game.

Islanders Hold Off Lightning for First Win

From the moment the puck dropped you knew this game was going to have a bit of a different feel to it than the home opener. Any game that has two fights go on one second after the puck is dropped will be different.

Lubomir Visnovsky to Stay in KHL, NHL says 'Not So Fast'

As the lockout comes to a conclusion and teams begin to reassemble for their brief training camps, we're all beginning to remember what shape teams are in.

For Islanders fans, realization set in that their top three defensemen included Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Lubomir Visnovsky. Or...not?