For some reason the Islanders generally have trouble solving the Florida Panthers. Even in games where they've come out on top it seems to take every ounce of energy they have and frequently they blow leads against them.
So after what happened in Florida on Saturday night, we probably should be feeling fortunate right now.
Showing posts with label Florida Panthers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida Panthers. Show all posts
January 15, 2014
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.
March 17, 2013
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.
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.
March 25, 2012
Isles Split Series in Florida
The Islanders took their usual road trip to play both Florida area teams this weekend, one which generally has given them headaches over the past few seasons. The Isles were able to walk away with a split of the weekend back-to-back series.
October 23, 2011
Lack of Secondary Scoring a Problem Again; Tune into NYI FYI Sunday at 11 AM
The Islanders lack of secondary scoring has cost them yet another game as the Islanders fell to the Panthers for the second time in six games this season.
The Isles had only taken 10 shots through two periods, before getting some powerplay chances in the 3rd and getting 18 in the final frame. John Tavares had seven shots. Blake Comeau once again had none, while Kyle Okposo only managed one. Tavares would finish with a goal and an assist.
The Isles had only taken 10 shots through two periods, before getting some powerplay chances in the 3rd and getting 18 in the final frame. John Tavares had seven shots. Blake Comeau once again had none, while Kyle Okposo only managed one. Tavares would finish with a goal and an assist.
October 9, 2011
Isles Blanked in Opener; NYI FYI Radio Show Returns
The Islanders had an excellent chance to make a statement to their fans, and start the season off in a huge way. Billed all offseason as a different team with different goals and a core that's committed through at least 2016, the excitement was palpable from the moment the Isles came on for warm-ups before the game.
Unfortunately, it didn't go so well.
Unfortunately, it didn't go so well.
October 8, 2011
Opening Night is Here; NYI FYI Radio Show Returns Sunday!
Welcome to opening day! In just a few hours, the 40th season of New York Islanders hockey will be underway as they take on the Florida Panthers. We've made it this far, now we just have to wait a little longer.
March 20, 2011
DiPietro Returns to Help Defeat Panthers in Shootout
The Islanders came into their game against the Florida Panthers after losing a tough one to the Carolina Hurricanes. To make matters worse, the Isles hadn't won at the BankAtlantic Center since November 2006.
But as they say, all things good and bad must come to an end at some point.
For the Islanders, that was Saturday night. The Panthers gave the Isles a good fight in what was a rather sloppy game at times, but some key goals and some key saves by Rick DiPietro helped the Isles to the shootout win.
Michael Grabner scored his 30th goal of the season against the team that let him go in the summer. This now gives the Isles two 30 goal scorers in the line-up for the first time since the 2001-2002 season (Alexei Yashin and Mark Parrish). Grabner and Moulson both have a handful of games left to get an even higher mark, while John Tavares needs only four more to join the 30 club himself.
Early on, DiPietro was tested early and often. I thought he looked strong all night, and it was good to see him get tested like that.
The few goals that he gave up could have been stopped. There was one goal where I blamed the defense more so than DiPietro (the first goal with Travis Hamonic losing his man). However, I felt that overall he didn't show too many signs of rust.
In the shootout, we got to see the best of DiPietro as he made some nice stops. He's always been really good in the skills competition, no matter what's been going on with him. Saturday night was no different.
The game was sloppy at points, sure. But I felt that the fight was there, and was proud of the way the team played. It's no easy task for this team to win in Florida, but they finally were able to get that monkey off their backs.
The Isles will have a few days to suck it all in before going to Tampa to take on Dwayne Roloson and the Lightning. The Lightning are trying to get their way back up to 2nd, ahead of Washington. They are a very strong team that has a lot of speed at wing. The Islanders need to be better than they were against the Panthers when it comes to defensive positioning. They'll have to be a bit more careful about how much space they give the forwards.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
But as they say, all things good and bad must come to an end at some point.
For the Islanders, that was Saturday night. The Panthers gave the Isles a good fight in what was a rather sloppy game at times, but some key goals and some key saves by Rick DiPietro helped the Isles to the shootout win.
Michael Grabner scored his 30th goal of the season against the team that let him go in the summer. This now gives the Isles two 30 goal scorers in the line-up for the first time since the 2001-2002 season (Alexei Yashin and Mark Parrish). Grabner and Moulson both have a handful of games left to get an even higher mark, while John Tavares needs only four more to join the 30 club himself.
Early on, DiPietro was tested early and often. I thought he looked strong all night, and it was good to see him get tested like that.
The few goals that he gave up could have been stopped. There was one goal where I blamed the defense more so than DiPietro (the first goal with Travis Hamonic losing his man). However, I felt that overall he didn't show too many signs of rust.
In the shootout, we got to see the best of DiPietro as he made some nice stops. He's always been really good in the skills competition, no matter what's been going on with him. Saturday night was no different.
The game was sloppy at points, sure. But I felt that the fight was there, and was proud of the way the team played. It's no easy task for this team to win in Florida, but they finally were able to get that monkey off their backs.
The Isles will have a few days to suck it all in before going to Tampa to take on Dwayne Roloson and the Lightning. The Lightning are trying to get their way back up to 2nd, ahead of Washington. They are a very strong team that has a lot of speed at wing. The Islanders need to be better than they were against the Panthers when it comes to defensive positioning. They'll have to be a bit more careful about how much space they give the forwards.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
November 21, 2010
Byfuglien Extends Isles Streak to 13; New Podcast Posted
Dustin Byfuglien scored in overtime on a wide open shot from the slot in overtime to give the Atlanta Thrashers a 2-1 victory, and hand the Islanders their franchise record 13th loss in a row.
The Islanders effort was a bit better in this game than it was against the Florida Panthers, however the defense was still a bit shaky. Losing Mike Mottau, who took a shot off of his right eye in the 1st period didn't help that cause. Lets hope that he is OK and doesn't miss a beat because we are down to really our final options on defense in Dustin Kohn and the very raw options in Travis Hamonic and Anton Klementyev.
Rick DiPietro got the start, getting into his first game action in 18 days and was the Islanders best player on the ice tonight. He stopped 33 of the 35 shots that were thrown his way. His movements were really good, and he seemed to be able to make some really nice saves, especially through traffic.
Michael Grabner had a fairly good game tonight, using his speed to create some chances. He scored the lone Islanders goal by poking at the puck after a shot.
A breakdown by John Tavares led to the winning goal. He was battling with Byfuglien when the two went out of the zone. Tavares stumbled, and then failed to get back into the play with any kind of urgency. The defensemen who were on the ice both seemed to move away from the goal, allowing Byfuglien to walk into the slot area uncontested and take a really powerful wrist shot.
Tavares has made some bad defensive plays during the losing streak, and this one was among the worst. The other that sticks out in my mind was the Chris Pronger goal against Philadelphia a few weeks back, when both he and Blake Comeau were standing in the same area.
After the game, an obviously annoyed DiPietro spoke to reporters. One thing that was very interesting was that he talked about going to war with the guys on this team, and how there wasn't anyone he'd like to do that with more. It sounded to me like a player who is very well aware of the amount of scouts that are following them. When you have lost 13 games in a row, fired a coach and called up the best options from the AHL, your next step will have to be doing some house cleaning. I think we are getting close to that point.
If this past week was any indication, then we are in for another busy one.
NEW PODCAST AVAILABLE: Our latest podcast is now uploaded and ready for download. As always, you are encouraged to subscribe to the podcast. It was quite the week, as many of you know, and we run through everything except for detailed thoughts on the Scott Gordon firing, which we already did on Monday. Enjoy.
*Update: During the podcast, just as I did here in this post, we mentioned possibly calling up Dustin Kohn to replace Mike Mottau. I completely had a brain cramp and forgot that Kohn is injured over in Bridgeport. We apologize for the error.*
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
The Islanders effort was a bit better in this game than it was against the Florida Panthers, however the defense was still a bit shaky. Losing Mike Mottau, who took a shot off of his right eye in the 1st period didn't help that cause. Lets hope that he is OK and doesn't miss a beat because we are down to really our final options on defense in Dustin Kohn and the very raw options in Travis Hamonic and Anton Klementyev.
Rick DiPietro got the start, getting into his first game action in 18 days and was the Islanders best player on the ice tonight. He stopped 33 of the 35 shots that were thrown his way. His movements were really good, and he seemed to be able to make some really nice saves, especially through traffic.
Michael Grabner had a fairly good game tonight, using his speed to create some chances. He scored the lone Islanders goal by poking at the puck after a shot.
A breakdown by John Tavares led to the winning goal. He was battling with Byfuglien when the two went out of the zone. Tavares stumbled, and then failed to get back into the play with any kind of urgency. The defensemen who were on the ice both seemed to move away from the goal, allowing Byfuglien to walk into the slot area uncontested and take a really powerful wrist shot.
Tavares has made some bad defensive plays during the losing streak, and this one was among the worst. The other that sticks out in my mind was the Chris Pronger goal against Philadelphia a few weeks back, when both he and Blake Comeau were standing in the same area.
After the game, an obviously annoyed DiPietro spoke to reporters. One thing that was very interesting was that he talked about going to war with the guys on this team, and how there wasn't anyone he'd like to do that with more. It sounded to me like a player who is very well aware of the amount of scouts that are following them. When you have lost 13 games in a row, fired a coach and called up the best options from the AHL, your next step will have to be doing some house cleaning. I think we are getting close to that point.
If this past week was any indication, then we are in for another busy one.
NEW PODCAST AVAILABLE: Our latest podcast is now uploaded and ready for download. As always, you are encouraged to subscribe to the podcast. It was quite the week, as many of you know, and we run through everything except for detailed thoughts on the Scott Gordon firing, which we already did on Monday. Enjoy.
*Update: During the podcast, just as I did here in this post, we mentioned possibly calling up Dustin Kohn to replace Mike Mottau. I completely had a brain cramp and forgot that Kohn is injured over in Bridgeport. We apologize for the error.*
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
November 20, 2010
Nothing Good About This Dozen
The Islanders dropped their 12th straight game tonight losing to the Florida Panthers 4-1 in front of a crowd that was sparse, but impatient at times.
Jack Capuano opted to start the game with the line of Jesse Joensuu, Matt Martin and Zenon Konopka. For the entire shift, the puck was in the Islanders zone and Dwayne Roloson had to stand on his head early. It took only 49 seconds into the game for the first of what would be several rounds of boos to come out.
The Islanders did get on the board first however with a goal coming from Matt Moulson, who jumped on a Florida turnover in the slot and roofed a shot past Tomas Vokoun in the first period. That would be the only goal the Islanders would see, despite many opportunities to strike again.
The Panthers put up four unanswered goals in the 2nd period, and a crowd that was already disgusted in watching their team begin to collapse began to voice their displeasure once again. Mark Santorelli scored two goals for the Panthers.
The Islanders threw 40 shots at Vokoun, but he stood tall and stopped 39 of them. The Islanders had a total of four power-plays, including a 5-on-3 for 1:45 that they were unable to cash in on. Matt Martin told us during the post game that he felt that was the turning point in the game and created a mental lapse on the Islanders part as they watched Florida answer back with two quick goals.
By the time media was allowed in, there were only a couple of players in the dressing room, many understandably not willing to talk. There comes a point where you can only say so much after 12 losses.
Mark Eaton echoed this sentiment. "I don't know what to say anymore. The big concern right now is winning games and we didn't do that."
Capuano was visibly upset with the effort, but he acknowledged that it was only his first two games. His main point tonight was that the Islanders were very lazy with their shift changes and that caused the Panthers to sustain some offensive pressure and storm back. "We made 5 or 6 mental lapses in the 2nd period. We have to win the change game. We stayed out too long and they capitalized."
The Islanders get their next chance to try and win a game tomorrow, as they go back on the road to face the Atlanta Thrashers for a rare Sunday afternoon game. The puck drops at 5 PM.
I think any Islanders fan has to come away very displeased from this effort. Towards the latter part of this losing streak, the Islanders could at least hang their hat on the fact that they were trying hard. That in no way was the case tonight. They were very weak on the puck, and kept having mis-handles at key points. The Islanders lack of speed was exposed numerous times. The Islanders are running out of time to figure things out. While it is still early in the season, the general rule is that when you get to this point in the season you have to assess what is good and what is bad. To be honest, there isn't that much good there right now.
One item of note was that Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney was in attendance for the second straight game, joined this time by scouts from the San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars. Something to keep an eye on as we approach the 20 game mark of the season.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Jack Capuano opted to start the game with the line of Jesse Joensuu, Matt Martin and Zenon Konopka. For the entire shift, the puck was in the Islanders zone and Dwayne Roloson had to stand on his head early. It took only 49 seconds into the game for the first of what would be several rounds of boos to come out.
The Islanders did get on the board first however with a goal coming from Matt Moulson, who jumped on a Florida turnover in the slot and roofed a shot past Tomas Vokoun in the first period. That would be the only goal the Islanders would see, despite many opportunities to strike again.
The Panthers put up four unanswered goals in the 2nd period, and a crowd that was already disgusted in watching their team begin to collapse began to voice their displeasure once again. Mark Santorelli scored two goals for the Panthers.
The Islanders threw 40 shots at Vokoun, but he stood tall and stopped 39 of them. The Islanders had a total of four power-plays, including a 5-on-3 for 1:45 that they were unable to cash in on. Matt Martin told us during the post game that he felt that was the turning point in the game and created a mental lapse on the Islanders part as they watched Florida answer back with two quick goals.
By the time media was allowed in, there were only a couple of players in the dressing room, many understandably not willing to talk. There comes a point where you can only say so much after 12 losses.
Mark Eaton echoed this sentiment. "I don't know what to say anymore. The big concern right now is winning games and we didn't do that."
Capuano was visibly upset with the effort, but he acknowledged that it was only his first two games. His main point tonight was that the Islanders were very lazy with their shift changes and that caused the Panthers to sustain some offensive pressure and storm back. "We made 5 or 6 mental lapses in the 2nd period. We have to win the change game. We stayed out too long and they capitalized."
The Islanders get their next chance to try and win a game tomorrow, as they go back on the road to face the Atlanta Thrashers for a rare Sunday afternoon game. The puck drops at 5 PM.
I think any Islanders fan has to come away very displeased from this effort. Towards the latter part of this losing streak, the Islanders could at least hang their hat on the fact that they were trying hard. That in no way was the case tonight. They were very weak on the puck, and kept having mis-handles at key points. The Islanders lack of speed was exposed numerous times. The Islanders are running out of time to figure things out. While it is still early in the season, the general rule is that when you get to this point in the season you have to assess what is good and what is bad. To be honest, there isn't that much good there right now.
One item of note was that Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney was in attendance for the second straight game, joined this time by scouts from the San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars. Something to keep an eye on as we approach the 20 game mark of the season.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 24, 2010
Panthers 4, Isles (Tavares) 3; Other NHL Notes
The Florida trip is something that hasn't been too kind to the Islanders in recent years. While they were able to walk out of Tampa Bay with a win, they continued their losing skid in Sunrise, Florida.
Despite the efforts of John Tavares, who scored all three Islander goals, the Panthers once again walked away with a win. The Islanders are now 0-7-1 in their last eight games at the Bank Atlantic Center.
Obviously, when it comes to analyzing the Islanders, their best player was Tavares. Not only did he have a hat trick, but he also played fairly well in the other zones. Unfortunately, he had a bit of trouble on face offs last night, which is an area that he has improved on going into the season. Aside from his goals, there was one play that stood out to me. After losing control of the puck along the boards at center ice in the 3rd, he rushed back to take the puck away from the Panthers player who stripped him just seconds before. That is something we don't see Tavares do last season. That is the type of play I am referring to when I say he has greatly improved and was the Islanders best player last night, and not only for goals.
James Wisniewski extended his points streak to eight games with another two point performance. Each one of his nine points this season have come on the power-play. He was better and a little more solid than he was against Tampa Bay, so that was a plus as well. There are going to be games where he appears overly aggressive, such as the Tampa game, so for him to come back and have a bounce back game is going to be key for the team.
Milan Jurcina had a strong game as well. He had just over 15 minutes of ice time, but he had five hits. This is very important because when you look at what the knocks have been on him throughout his career, the number one thing is that he doesn't use his size enough. In the 3rd period, the Panthers had a 2-on-1 break but Jurcina did an excellent job to tie up Chris Higgins and force him and the puck into the corner. It appears as though the Colorado game was a confidence booster for him because he has been nothing but solid as a bottom pairing guy on this team. I won't go into all of the details on him here, because I am planning a small little feature on him for one of the off days coming up. So be sure to look for that.
Rick DiPietro looked OK again to me, but he needs to calm himself down at times when playing the puck. The first panthers goal came when he failed to clear the puck completely around the boards, and it went right to Keaton Ellerby at the blue line. Ellerby passed it across the ice to Mike Weaver who was able to take a slap shot that went past a screened DiPietro. His rebound control was also a little off, as you can see from what ended up being the Panthers winning goal. DiPietro kicked the rebound to his right, directly to an open Radek Dvorak. DiPietro dove to try and get back in time but was not fast enough. The 2nd Florida goal, from Steve Bernier was a bit of a freak thing as Mark Eaton made the block with his stick but it went right to an open Bernier on the right side where he put it into an open net.
Michael Grabner, another guy I plan to have a small feature about soon, had a solid game as well. He took some nice shots on Tomas Vokoun, but unfortunately couldn't score. But it was great to see him involved a lot in the play against the team that cut him in the preseason. Grabner got penalty killing time in this game as well, which is something that I found interesting. Defense is something that has always been lacking in his game, but he seemed to manage well. It doesn't take him much to go from a stand still to top speed, which can dramatically alter the time a power play unit has to make decisions. Perhaps it can be used to our advantage.
The reffing in the game was a bit off again as well. In the 3rd, they called Zenon Konopka for a goaltender interference when he never touched the goalie but was pushed into the post. Shortly after that, DiPietro was run into and there was no call. If you think back to the Islanders games so far, there are a number of examples of refs making bad calls. For example, the head shot call on Kris Letang for his hit on Blake Comeau. This has been a problem all around the league early on. I can't imagine the league is too happy with how their officiating has been so far.
The Islanders have a couple of days off before they go to take on the Canadiens in Montreal in the first part of a home and home against them. Like I said, I plan to have small little features out about specific players for the off days, so be sure to look out for those.
Around the NHL: Meanwhile, the rest of the NHL has been abuzz since last night on the heels of Ilya Kovalchuk's benching by the New Jersey Devils. They have been off to a very slow start, and things did not get better after a 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers, who have been equally as bad in the early going. I have to give some credit to head coach John MacLean for benching Kovalchuk. That takes a lot of guts. I'm not sure why he ultimately decided to do it. Sure, he's off to a bit of a slow start, with only five points in seven games. But to bench your best player? Perhaps he was trying to send a message to the team. That is certainly one way to do it. I'll admit, I haven't been able to watch the Devils a lot in the early going here, but if the other aspects of Kovalchuk's game are lacking, then by all means he did what he had to do to make a bold statement to his team. Mum has been the word, and it is unclear if the consulted Lou Lamoriello before making the decision, but we'll see what dividends this pays, if any. The Devils play the Rangers tonight.
Aside from Tavares, there were two other hat tricks last night - Alexander Semin of Washington and Brad Richardson of the Kings. On Friday night, there were also three hat tricks from Rene Bourque of Calgary, Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa and Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay. Who says offense is down?
The NHL is going to have their work cut out for them when deciding who the players of the week are. There are more than a dozen worthy candidates out there.
New Podcast Coming: Seeing as it is Sunday, you can expect a podcast to come later from Sean and I. There's plenty to talk about once again, so we'll know better later as far as what is on the docket.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Despite the efforts of John Tavares, who scored all three Islander goals, the Panthers once again walked away with a win. The Islanders are now 0-7-1 in their last eight games at the Bank Atlantic Center.
Obviously, when it comes to analyzing the Islanders, their best player was Tavares. Not only did he have a hat trick, but he also played fairly well in the other zones. Unfortunately, he had a bit of trouble on face offs last night, which is an area that he has improved on going into the season. Aside from his goals, there was one play that stood out to me. After losing control of the puck along the boards at center ice in the 3rd, he rushed back to take the puck away from the Panthers player who stripped him just seconds before. That is something we don't see Tavares do last season. That is the type of play I am referring to when I say he has greatly improved and was the Islanders best player last night, and not only for goals.
James Wisniewski extended his points streak to eight games with another two point performance. Each one of his nine points this season have come on the power-play. He was better and a little more solid than he was against Tampa Bay, so that was a plus as well. There are going to be games where he appears overly aggressive, such as the Tampa game, so for him to come back and have a bounce back game is going to be key for the team.
Milan Jurcina had a strong game as well. He had just over 15 minutes of ice time, but he had five hits. This is very important because when you look at what the knocks have been on him throughout his career, the number one thing is that he doesn't use his size enough. In the 3rd period, the Panthers had a 2-on-1 break but Jurcina did an excellent job to tie up Chris Higgins and force him and the puck into the corner. It appears as though the Colorado game was a confidence booster for him because he has been nothing but solid as a bottom pairing guy on this team. I won't go into all of the details on him here, because I am planning a small little feature on him for one of the off days coming up. So be sure to look for that.
Rick DiPietro looked OK again to me, but he needs to calm himself down at times when playing the puck. The first panthers goal came when he failed to clear the puck completely around the boards, and it went right to Keaton Ellerby at the blue line. Ellerby passed it across the ice to Mike Weaver who was able to take a slap shot that went past a screened DiPietro. His rebound control was also a little off, as you can see from what ended up being the Panthers winning goal. DiPietro kicked the rebound to his right, directly to an open Radek Dvorak. DiPietro dove to try and get back in time but was not fast enough. The 2nd Florida goal, from Steve Bernier was a bit of a freak thing as Mark Eaton made the block with his stick but it went right to an open Bernier on the right side where he put it into an open net.
Michael Grabner, another guy I plan to have a small feature about soon, had a solid game as well. He took some nice shots on Tomas Vokoun, but unfortunately couldn't score. But it was great to see him involved a lot in the play against the team that cut him in the preseason. Grabner got penalty killing time in this game as well, which is something that I found interesting. Defense is something that has always been lacking in his game, but he seemed to manage well. It doesn't take him much to go from a stand still to top speed, which can dramatically alter the time a power play unit has to make decisions. Perhaps it can be used to our advantage.
The reffing in the game was a bit off again as well. In the 3rd, they called Zenon Konopka for a goaltender interference when he never touched the goalie but was pushed into the post. Shortly after that, DiPietro was run into and there was no call. If you think back to the Islanders games so far, there are a number of examples of refs making bad calls. For example, the head shot call on Kris Letang for his hit on Blake Comeau. This has been a problem all around the league early on. I can't imagine the league is too happy with how their officiating has been so far.
The Islanders have a couple of days off before they go to take on the Canadiens in Montreal in the first part of a home and home against them. Like I said, I plan to have small little features out about specific players for the off days, so be sure to look out for those.
Around the NHL: Meanwhile, the rest of the NHL has been abuzz since last night on the heels of Ilya Kovalchuk's benching by the New Jersey Devils. They have been off to a very slow start, and things did not get better after a 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers, who have been equally as bad in the early going. I have to give some credit to head coach John MacLean for benching Kovalchuk. That takes a lot of guts. I'm not sure why he ultimately decided to do it. Sure, he's off to a bit of a slow start, with only five points in seven games. But to bench your best player? Perhaps he was trying to send a message to the team. That is certainly one way to do it. I'll admit, I haven't been able to watch the Devils a lot in the early going here, but if the other aspects of Kovalchuk's game are lacking, then by all means he did what he had to do to make a bold statement to his team. Mum has been the word, and it is unclear if the consulted Lou Lamoriello before making the decision, but we'll see what dividends this pays, if any. The Devils play the Rangers tonight.
Aside from Tavares, there were two other hat tricks last night - Alexander Semin of Washington and Brad Richardson of the Kings. On Friday night, there were also three hat tricks from Rene Bourque of Calgary, Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa and Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay. Who says offense is down?
The NHL is going to have their work cut out for them when deciding who the players of the week are. There are more than a dozen worthy candidates out there.
New Podcast Coming: Seeing as it is Sunday, you can expect a podcast to come later from Sean and I. There's plenty to talk about once again, so we'll know better later as far as what is on the docket.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 5, 2010
Isles Claim Grabner, Waive Hilbert
The Islanders today claimed winger Michael Grabner off waivers from the Florida Panthers. As a follow up move to that, the Islanders placed Andy Hilbert on waivers with the intention of sending him to the Sound Tigers.
Grabner, who turns 23 today, comes in with a real shot to prove himself, similar to the way Rob Schremp did last season. The 14th overall pick of the 2006 entry draft had five goals and six assists in just 20 games last season for the Vancouver Canucks. He was dealt to the Panthers in the blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Keith Ballard to Vancouver on draft day. After having a sub par showing in training camp with the Panthers, he did not earn a spot and Florida had hoped that he would clear waivers and go to the AHL.
Grabner is a great skater with good speed, and has very good offensive instincts. By many accounts, defense is the weak part of his game (perhaps even non-existent). The Islanders were in dire need of offense after loosing Kyle Okposo until December and Schremp for the first three to four weeks of the season. Grabner comes to a situation that could potentially be very good for him, and for us.
Some people have concerns about picking up any players from waivers. Schremp has worked out well for the team. Many of the concerns with him were his skating, defensive play and attitude.
I have yet to see any indications about Grabner's attitude, but one concern that people seen to have is the fact that he was unable to crack a Panthers roster that many expect to be last in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are going through their own rebuilding phase, and have been trying to build a new culture there, one that began when the jettisoned Nathan Horton, one of the poster boys of attitude problems, to the Boston Bruins. Was there any issue with Grabner as far as work ethic? Not from anything I have seen or read, but it is a valid concern.
Judging from the comments made by Garth Snow, the Islanders have some big plans for their new acquisition. As I mentioned earlier, he's a guy who is speedy and likes to shoot a lot, which could possibly help to create chances if on a line with guys like Matt Moulson, John Tavares or Josh Bailey. It will be interesting to see where he will skate in practice, and if this has any bearing on Matt Martin or Nino Niederreiter.
Before last season started, Sean and I went on the air to discuss the Islanders moves. Sean expressed disappointment that they did not go get a "top six try" like some people had speculated. I argued that the move had not come yet, but would come in the form of Schremp. Two days after that, we had Schremp. In similar fashion, this past Sunday Sean thought Grabner was going to be an Islander. Here we are, two days later, and now he gets his 15 minutes of fame. Congrats.
Welcome, Michael Grabner, and Happy Birthday. Here's your chance to show the NHL what you can do. For our sake, please put up the numbers that the Hockey News predicted you to in their fantasy edition - 25 goals.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Grabner, who turns 23 today, comes in with a real shot to prove himself, similar to the way Rob Schremp did last season. The 14th overall pick of the 2006 entry draft had five goals and six assists in just 20 games last season for the Vancouver Canucks. He was dealt to the Panthers in the blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Keith Ballard to Vancouver on draft day. After having a sub par showing in training camp with the Panthers, he did not earn a spot and Florida had hoped that he would clear waivers and go to the AHL.
Grabner is a great skater with good speed, and has very good offensive instincts. By many accounts, defense is the weak part of his game (perhaps even non-existent). The Islanders were in dire need of offense after loosing Kyle Okposo until December and Schremp for the first three to four weeks of the season. Grabner comes to a situation that could potentially be very good for him, and for us.
Some people have concerns about picking up any players from waivers. Schremp has worked out well for the team. Many of the concerns with him were his skating, defensive play and attitude.
I have yet to see any indications about Grabner's attitude, but one concern that people seen to have is the fact that he was unable to crack a Panthers roster that many expect to be last in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are going through their own rebuilding phase, and have been trying to build a new culture there, one that began when the jettisoned Nathan Horton, one of the poster boys of attitude problems, to the Boston Bruins. Was there any issue with Grabner as far as work ethic? Not from anything I have seen or read, but it is a valid concern.
Judging from the comments made by Garth Snow, the Islanders have some big plans for their new acquisition. As I mentioned earlier, he's a guy who is speedy and likes to shoot a lot, which could possibly help to create chances if on a line with guys like Matt Moulson, John Tavares or Josh Bailey. It will be interesting to see where he will skate in practice, and if this has any bearing on Matt Martin or Nino Niederreiter.
Before last season started, Sean and I went on the air to discuss the Islanders moves. Sean expressed disappointment that they did not go get a "top six try" like some people had speculated. I argued that the move had not come yet, but would come in the form of Schremp. Two days after that, we had Schremp. In similar fashion, this past Sunday Sean thought Grabner was going to be an Islander. Here we are, two days later, and now he gets his 15 minutes of fame. Congrats.
Welcome, Michael Grabner, and Happy Birthday. Here's your chance to show the NHL what you can do. For our sake, please put up the numbers that the Hockey News predicted you to in their fantasy edition - 25 goals.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
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