John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov are both playing like men on missions right now, and they are single-handedly trying to bring the Islanders back into playoff contention.
So far, so good. The Islanders have picked up a number of points over the past two weeks behind strong play from both, and currently sit eight points out of the picture with 36 games remaining.
Showing posts with label Milan Jurcina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milan Jurcina. Show all posts
January 22, 2012
January 20, 2012
Finally! A Win in Philadelphia
On Thursday night, the Islanders went into a building that hasn't been kind to them. But a funny thing happened, one that the Flyers have not been used to the last few years. That's right - the Islanders won a game in Philadelphia.
It was their first win at the Wachovia Center since April of 2007. Many Isles fans will remember that as the second to last game of the 2006-07 season, and the third of four straight wins to close out the season and clinch the final playoff spot.
It was their first win at the Wachovia Center since April of 2007. Many Isles fans will remember that as the second to last game of the 2006-07 season, and the third of four straight wins to close out the season and clinch the final playoff spot.
January 7, 2012
Isles Miss Out on Opportunity
Going into Anaheim with a good amount of momentum, the Islanders were trying to do something they haven't in almost a year - go on a four game winning streak. For a while, the Islanders played a solid game and even were able to grab a lead in the third period.
January 3, 2012
Isles Bend, Break but Escape with Win Over Canes
It's safe to say that the Islanders were hoping the start of 2012 would have gone much better than it did. But in a game that Scott Allen said had a few "peaks and valleys," the Islanders ended up getting the end result they wanted all along, even if it looked unlikely for a decent part of the game.
The Islanders were resilient, despite giving up a ton of shots, and were able to come back and win in a shootout.
The Islanders were resilient, despite giving up a ton of shots, and were able to come back and win in a shootout.
December 27, 2011
Isles Sleepwalk at MSG
The Islanders had a shot at redemption on Monday night against the New York Rangers, but ended up failing in their attempt.
Neither team got a lot of shots in early, but the Islanders looked disinterested and disoriented at various point of the game. They really could have done themselves a favor and taken advantage early on as the Rangers tried to find their game, but they didn't.
Neither team got a lot of shots in early, but the Islanders looked disinterested and disoriented at various point of the game. They really could have done themselves a favor and taken advantage early on as the Rangers tried to find their game, but they didn't.
December 3, 2011
Isles Come Up Just Short on Blackhawks
Last season when the Islanders came into the United Center to face the Blackhawks it didn't go over so well. Corey Crawford was sharp on the way to a 5-0 win for Chicago. Friday night was a bit of a different story. With Crawford struggling at this point in the season, the Islanders seemed to have a new game plan: shoot early and often on him.
November 7, 2011
Road woes Continue for Isles
The Islanders remained winless on the road this season as they dropped a 6-2 decision to the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
You can chalk this one up to a poor defense, which is actually a rare occurrence for this season so far. They were exposed on so many different Bruins rushes, both forwards and defensemen.
You can chalk this one up to a poor defense, which is actually a rare occurrence for this season so far. They were exposed on so many different Bruins rushes, both forwards and defensemen.
September 22, 2011
Media Day Brings Plenty of News, New Captain
Since I didn't get to go to media day last season, I wasn't going to bypass the chance to go this year. But little did I know that this one would be more busy than others in the past.
On Tuesday night, the news broke that the Islanders plannned to announce the new captain and rumors spread about who it could possibly be. Smart on them for making the announcement when anyone in the media who mattered was standing there before them.
Mark Streit was the best and most logical choice for captain at this time. Many folks, myself included, thought for sure that Tavares signing his extension would also bring on the 'C' but we were wrong, and believe me at this time that is a good thing. Tavares just turned 21 on Tuesday.
Streit has been a captain for the Swiss national team, so this isn't anything new to him. He's been a part of the Islanders leadership structure since signing his five year deal back in 2008, so you could see this coming. He's got two years left on the deal, and that should give ample time for any of the kids to properly develop and hopefully go on some nice playoff runs prior to getting their crack at it.
Streit is obviously looking forward to the challenge, and with good reason. Can you imagine being the team captain and taking a team like this one back into the playoffs? Can you imagine doing that after missing an entire season with a shoulder injury? It would make it that much sweeter.
It remains to be seen who will be named the alternate captains, and Head Coach Jack Capuano said he and Garth Snow hadn't talked about that yet. They'll go with rotating ones throughout the pre-season though and go from there.
Aside from that, it was a nice day of watching the team go through their drills. One thing I quickly picked up on was how much less vocal Capuano is than Gordon. That's not a good or bad thing, just an observation. Capuano's drills did seem to be a little more of a 'hands off' approach and werent interrupted as many times as Gordon's were. But if guys messed up on a play and laughed about it, Capuano did remind them to get back in line and get ready to try again. We've seen how well the team responded to Capuano at the end of last season, so lets hope it resumes from the beginning of camp.
The goalies looked pretty good. Rick DiPietro's side-to-side movements were faster than in years prior, and there was virtually no odd moments of stretching during down time. That was a pretty frequent occurrence last season. However, the Islanders are taking their time with DiPietro. All three goalies in the first group (Al Montoya and Mikko Koskinen the others) rotated on a fairly regular basis. Meanwhile, group two saw Evgeni Nabokov get most of the time in net (while Kevin Poulin and Andres Nilsson generally split time). When you think about where both of these guys are, this makes sense. Nabokov has stated many times he's using the camp to get into game shape the fastest way possible, and the Isles seem to be trying to accommodate that. I was pretty impressed with Nabokov's glove hand as he made three or four real nice snatches out of the air. If he can get back to the level he was at not too long ago, we might have something fun to watch.
The line of Tavares, Matt Moulson and Nino Niederreiter looked pretty impressive to me. The three of them compliment each other so well. Tavares looks to have improved his skating yet again. Don't forget the fact that he now has nothing weighing on his shoulders for the next several years after signing the long-term extension. He has nothing to worry about now but on-ice performance and within the first few days of camp, he's showing even more improvement.
I'm really hoping Milan Jurcina can stay healthy for much of the year. Jurcina really impressed me last season, and I really liked how effective he was particularly on the PK. He looked really strong during some of the defensive drills. It's great that he's healthy right now, but will that last? Groin injuries seem to have been the only things that can slow him down, so if the Isles new health philosophy changes that we'll have some solid play to look forward to there.
As I mentioned, it was the first time I got to participate in media day but the event was an enjoyable experience. I viewed it as the "kick-off" of sorts for the season, even though the team had been at it for a couple of days already. There is certainly a different feel surrounding the team, and Jack Capuano looks like a man who means business. I don't want to say he seemed really laid back last season, but he has a much different feel going into his first full season as head coach. He'll still be a players coach and still fool around here and there, but it seems there are more levels of seriousness now with a clean slate for all.
In all honesty, Charles Wang and Snow didn't tell us anything we didnt already know. A reporter asked Wang a question about the announced proposal from ABLI that came down yesterday just before the press conference started, but he refused to comment. I can't blame him since he likely hadn't seen all the details yet. But more on this news in another post.
It was a nice day put together by the Isles, to get all the media under one roof and give us the opportunity to get lots of good coverage just prior to preseason games being played. The Isles first one is in Boston on Friday night at 7 PM.
I got to speak after practice with Travis Hamonic and Islander hopefuls Jay Pandolfo and Steve Staios. Look for posts surrounding those individuals over the next few days as well.
For a photo gallery from Wednesday, be sure to check out this link.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
On Tuesday night, the news broke that the Islanders plannned to announce the new captain and rumors spread about who it could possibly be. Smart on them for making the announcement when anyone in the media who mattered was standing there before them.
Mark Streit was the best and most logical choice for captain at this time. Many folks, myself included, thought for sure that Tavares signing his extension would also bring on the 'C' but we were wrong, and believe me at this time that is a good thing. Tavares just turned 21 on Tuesday.
 |
| Mark Streit gets the 'C'. Photo by Chris Hessel |
Streit is obviously looking forward to the challenge, and with good reason. Can you imagine being the team captain and taking a team like this one back into the playoffs? Can you imagine doing that after missing an entire season with a shoulder injury? It would make it that much sweeter.
It remains to be seen who will be named the alternate captains, and Head Coach Jack Capuano said he and Garth Snow hadn't talked about that yet. They'll go with rotating ones throughout the pre-season though and go from there.
Aside from that, it was a nice day of watching the team go through their drills. One thing I quickly picked up on was how much less vocal Capuano is than Gordon. That's not a good or bad thing, just an observation. Capuano's drills did seem to be a little more of a 'hands off' approach and werent interrupted as many times as Gordon's were. But if guys messed up on a play and laughed about it, Capuano did remind them to get back in line and get ready to try again. We've seen how well the team responded to Capuano at the end of last season, so lets hope it resumes from the beginning of camp.
The goalies looked pretty good. Rick DiPietro's side-to-side movements were faster than in years prior, and there was virtually no odd moments of stretching during down time. That was a pretty frequent occurrence last season. However, the Islanders are taking their time with DiPietro. All three goalies in the first group (Al Montoya and Mikko Koskinen the others) rotated on a fairly regular basis. Meanwhile, group two saw Evgeni Nabokov get most of the time in net (while Kevin Poulin and Andres Nilsson generally split time). When you think about where both of these guys are, this makes sense. Nabokov has stated many times he's using the camp to get into game shape the fastest way possible, and the Isles seem to be trying to accommodate that. I was pretty impressed with Nabokov's glove hand as he made three or four real nice snatches out of the air. If he can get back to the level he was at not too long ago, we might have something fun to watch.
The line of Tavares, Matt Moulson and Nino Niederreiter looked pretty impressive to me. The three of them compliment each other so well. Tavares looks to have improved his skating yet again. Don't forget the fact that he now has nothing weighing on his shoulders for the next several years after signing the long-term extension. He has nothing to worry about now but on-ice performance and within the first few days of camp, he's showing even more improvement.
I'm really hoping Milan Jurcina can stay healthy for much of the year. Jurcina really impressed me last season, and I really liked how effective he was particularly on the PK. He looked really strong during some of the defensive drills. It's great that he's healthy right now, but will that last? Groin injuries seem to have been the only things that can slow him down, so if the Isles new health philosophy changes that we'll have some solid play to look forward to there.
As I mentioned, it was the first time I got to participate in media day but the event was an enjoyable experience. I viewed it as the "kick-off" of sorts for the season, even though the team had been at it for a couple of days already. There is certainly a different feel surrounding the team, and Jack Capuano looks like a man who means business. I don't want to say he seemed really laid back last season, but he has a much different feel going into his first full season as head coach. He'll still be a players coach and still fool around here and there, but it seems there are more levels of seriousness now with a clean slate for all.
In all honesty, Charles Wang and Snow didn't tell us anything we didnt already know. A reporter asked Wang a question about the announced proposal from ABLI that came down yesterday just before the press conference started, but he refused to comment. I can't blame him since he likely hadn't seen all the details yet. But more on this news in another post.
It was a nice day put together by the Isles, to get all the media under one roof and give us the opportunity to get lots of good coverage just prior to preseason games being played. The Isles first one is in Boston on Friday night at 7 PM.
I got to speak after practice with Travis Hamonic and Islander hopefuls Jay Pandolfo and Steve Staios. Look for posts surrounding those individuals over the next few days as well.
For a photo gallery from Wednesday, be sure to check out this link.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
March 29, 2011
Montoya Re-Signs; Other Tuesday Tidbits
The Islanders have had a couple of very busy off days, despite the fact that the season is winding down and they were officially eliminated from post season contention over the weekend.
Speaking of which, I said it in our weekly podcast and I'll say it again: for a team that put itself in quite the hole back in November and December, to get eliminated with only six games remaining is something that they can hang their hats on. I have to give some credit where it's due, namely to many of the players who quickly turned their seasons around and Jack Capuano. Good job by all to have some sustained strong play for a good chunk of the season. For a young team to play as well as they have from mid-December on is a positive sign for next season and not just "playing loose and with nothing to lose."
Now on to the bigger news items that I wanted to bring up.
The Islanders announced that they have re-signed goalie Al Montoya to a one-year, one-way contract extension for the 2011-2012 season. The deal is much deserved for a goalie who his finally getting to live out his dream since being the 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft by the New York Rangers.
After Kevin Poulin went down with an injury, some fans were upset that the goalie Garth Snow ended up dealing for was Montoya rather than a Michael Leighton or a Jonas Gustavsson. I'll admit I was a little disappointed, but at the end of the day was not surprised that Montoya was a guy the Isles would take a chance on given their situation and Montoya's.
The deal has turned out to be a bit of a steal thus far. As injuries up front and on defense continued to mount, the Islanders and Montoya have generally still found ways to win. More often than not, it was Montoya who was standing on his head being tested with 35+ shots a game. Considering how frequently that has happened, his 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% speaks for itself.
Over the weekend, MSG+ statistician Eric Hornick pointed out that Montoya was actually slated to become a UFA at seasons end, which was contrary to everyone's belief. Some feared that the Islanders would fumble the ball and not bring Montoya back.
In the end though, both sides did the smart thing. The Islanders gave Montoya his chance to prove he belongs in the NHL, and Montoya realized this was his best chance to stick in the league. He has looked so comfortable here, especially after Sudsie Maharaj tweaked his game a little bit. The cost was never going to be an issue for him when it came to next season.
The Islanders now have some very capable net minders in the system to spell Rick DiPietro. Montoya has been the number one since about a week after being traded for. Kevin Poulin showed us all flashes of what he can do when healthy. Mikko Koskinen was very up and down and is slated for a spot in Bridgeport next season, while Nathan Lawson will be seeking a new organization.
Snow said in one of the recent "GM Show" segments that he hopes to have five goalies in the organization next season. When we talked about this on our show, after Sean went through all of the goalies he would like to see them go after I told him not to get his hopes up. With the expected signing of Anders Nilsson, the Islanders would then have five goalies in the organization. This is of course, barring a trade of someone like Koskinen.
At the end of the day, Montoya deserved this extension and if you assume he can keep this up, gives the Islanders some more stability in net for next season. When it comes to that position, given DiPietro's constantly changing status, you don't mess with what is working when someone comes in and makes the most of whatever opportunity is provided to him.
WEIGHT DONE: The team also announced on Tuesday that Doug Weight will be out for the remainder of the season.
The expectation now is that Weight will retire and remain in the organization in some capacity. This has been widely speculated.
The series of evens that have surrounded Weight's time on the Island are really unfortunate. His first season here, he looked like someone who could help this team for a few years as his career wound down and the Islanders grew with younger players. But Weight started to suffer injuries, which cut short a pretty good 2008-2009 campaign. Since then, Weight has experienced various back issues, with the latest one posing a risk for permanent damage.
I am a little disappointed when I read some comments from Islanders fans on message boards when it comes to the captain of the team. While I understand the concerns people have about the captain not being on the ice with the team, the fact of the matter is that the players voted him in as the captain. It was pretty much unanimous. To say that he should have had the 'C' stripped is utterly ridiculous.
Weight's career may not end the way many of us wanted to see it, but he can certainly keep his head high with all of the things he has accomplished in his career.
Weight was a guy I always liked and felt was always a bit underrated, so I was so happy to see him add that final Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. Weight's next stop will be the U.S. Hockey Hall of fame, with a decent shot and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When it comes to his post-playing days, I agree with what Deb Kaufman said on NHL Home Ice on XM this afternoon. Deb said that she felt that Weight was destined for a front office job more so than a coaching position seeing as how the thinking is that Weight wants to be more involved with the creation of a team similar to the way Steve Yzerman got involved.
JURCINA, GERVAIS HURT: Along with the Isles losing Andrew MacDonald for the remainder of the season due to a torn labrum in his hip (the 3rd one for the Isles this season), Milan Jurcina has tweaked his hip flexor while Bruno Gervais remained out with a foot problem. Both Dylan Reese and Mark Katic have been called up in case one or both of them cannot go Wednesday against the Devils.
If there was ever a time for injuries to mount, I suppose this would be it. However, the scary thing is that this has been happening quite frequently, especially in the case of Jurcina and MacDonald, who have suffered multiple injuries per season for the past few years.
As we said in the show, durability on the blue line is something that may need to be looked into in the offseason. Lets hope both can return and play the string of games out and not set the team back any further in their quest for a .500 season.
NEW PRICING ANNOUNCED: The Islanders announced their new pricing structure on Monday for tickets.
There is a significant slash across the board, with many seats appearing to have a 20% reduction. The Islanders were somehow among the league leaders in average ticket prices, having similar or slightly higher prices than the world champion Chicago Blackhawks and the previous winners in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Along with the decrease, the Islanders plan to add and even bring back some of the perks for season ticket holders that have since disappeared.
The Islanders had a chance to score big with fan relations this offseason, and they have gotten the ball rolling early with these prices. I know of many folks who are rethinking their decisions on tickets, as many had previously decided not to come back.
Good stuff all around. You need to take baby steps when you have a fan base as loyal as this one that has been banged around so to speak. This is a start, and a great one at that.
LEVY QUITTING: Although it may not seem like anything Earth shattering, Steve Levy's announcement that he will not run for re-election as Suffolk County Executive is a bit noteworthy when it comes to the Isles.
In the past, lost among all of the talk of where the Isles should go if Nassau doesn't work out for them, is Levy repeatedly saying he would be welcome to having the Isles move further East. He has never been contacted, but on the rare occasion he was asked he repeated these same thoughts.
This doesn't mean that if Charles Wang was really willing to relocated to Suffolk that it can't happen anymore. I don't think Suffolk was ever being seriously considered as a destination for the Isles, but at this stage in the game any time a proponent leaves the picture you can't help but do a double take.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For those who haven't listened to or watched it yet, our weekly radio show can be seen on our UStream site or downloaded through our MyPodcast site. Enjoy!
Our friend Johnny Z. of Yes! Islanders has his latest installment of "Islanders Top Shelf" out with guest Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey.
Speaking of which, I said it in our weekly podcast and I'll say it again: for a team that put itself in quite the hole back in November and December, to get eliminated with only six games remaining is something that they can hang their hats on. I have to give some credit where it's due, namely to many of the players who quickly turned their seasons around and Jack Capuano. Good job by all to have some sustained strong play for a good chunk of the season. For a young team to play as well as they have from mid-December on is a positive sign for next season and not just "playing loose and with nothing to lose."
Now on to the bigger news items that I wanted to bring up.
The Islanders announced that they have re-signed goalie Al Montoya to a one-year, one-way contract extension for the 2011-2012 season. The deal is much deserved for a goalie who his finally getting to live out his dream since being the 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft by the New York Rangers.
 |
| Al Montoya will return for 2011-2012. Photo by C. Hessel |
The deal has turned out to be a bit of a steal thus far. As injuries up front and on defense continued to mount, the Islanders and Montoya have generally still found ways to win. More often than not, it was Montoya who was standing on his head being tested with 35+ shots a game. Considering how frequently that has happened, his 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% speaks for itself.
Over the weekend, MSG+ statistician Eric Hornick pointed out that Montoya was actually slated to become a UFA at seasons end, which was contrary to everyone's belief. Some feared that the Islanders would fumble the ball and not bring Montoya back.
In the end though, both sides did the smart thing. The Islanders gave Montoya his chance to prove he belongs in the NHL, and Montoya realized this was his best chance to stick in the league. He has looked so comfortable here, especially after Sudsie Maharaj tweaked his game a little bit. The cost was never going to be an issue for him when it came to next season.
The Islanders now have some very capable net minders in the system to spell Rick DiPietro. Montoya has been the number one since about a week after being traded for. Kevin Poulin showed us all flashes of what he can do when healthy. Mikko Koskinen was very up and down and is slated for a spot in Bridgeport next season, while Nathan Lawson will be seeking a new organization.
Snow said in one of the recent "GM Show" segments that he hopes to have five goalies in the organization next season. When we talked about this on our show, after Sean went through all of the goalies he would like to see them go after I told him not to get his hopes up. With the expected signing of Anders Nilsson, the Islanders would then have five goalies in the organization. This is of course, barring a trade of someone like Koskinen.
At the end of the day, Montoya deserved this extension and if you assume he can keep this up, gives the Islanders some more stability in net for next season. When it comes to that position, given DiPietro's constantly changing status, you don't mess with what is working when someone comes in and makes the most of whatever opportunity is provided to him.
WEIGHT DONE: The team also announced on Tuesday that Doug Weight will be out for the remainder of the season.
The expectation now is that Weight will retire and remain in the organization in some capacity. This has been widely speculated.
The series of evens that have surrounded Weight's time on the Island are really unfortunate. His first season here, he looked like someone who could help this team for a few years as his career wound down and the Islanders grew with younger players. But Weight started to suffer injuries, which cut short a pretty good 2008-2009 campaign. Since then, Weight has experienced various back issues, with the latest one posing a risk for permanent damage.
I am a little disappointed when I read some comments from Islanders fans on message boards when it comes to the captain of the team. While I understand the concerns people have about the captain not being on the ice with the team, the fact of the matter is that the players voted him in as the captain. It was pretty much unanimous. To say that he should have had the 'C' stripped is utterly ridiculous.
 |
| Doug Weight is likely headed to retirement. Photo by C. Hessel |
Weight was a guy I always liked and felt was always a bit underrated, so I was so happy to see him add that final Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. Weight's next stop will be the U.S. Hockey Hall of fame, with a decent shot and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When it comes to his post-playing days, I agree with what Deb Kaufman said on NHL Home Ice on XM this afternoon. Deb said that she felt that Weight was destined for a front office job more so than a coaching position seeing as how the thinking is that Weight wants to be more involved with the creation of a team similar to the way Steve Yzerman got involved.
JURCINA, GERVAIS HURT: Along with the Isles losing Andrew MacDonald for the remainder of the season due to a torn labrum in his hip (the 3rd one for the Isles this season), Milan Jurcina has tweaked his hip flexor while Bruno Gervais remained out with a foot problem. Both Dylan Reese and Mark Katic have been called up in case one or both of them cannot go Wednesday against the Devils.
If there was ever a time for injuries to mount, I suppose this would be it. However, the scary thing is that this has been happening quite frequently, especially in the case of Jurcina and MacDonald, who have suffered multiple injuries per season for the past few years.
As we said in the show, durability on the blue line is something that may need to be looked into in the offseason. Lets hope both can return and play the string of games out and not set the team back any further in their quest for a .500 season.
NEW PRICING ANNOUNCED: The Islanders announced their new pricing structure on Monday for tickets.
There is a significant slash across the board, with many seats appearing to have a 20% reduction. The Islanders were somehow among the league leaders in average ticket prices, having similar or slightly higher prices than the world champion Chicago Blackhawks and the previous winners in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Along with the decrease, the Islanders plan to add and even bring back some of the perks for season ticket holders that have since disappeared.
The Islanders had a chance to score big with fan relations this offseason, and they have gotten the ball rolling early with these prices. I know of many folks who are rethinking their decisions on tickets, as many had previously decided not to come back.
Good stuff all around. You need to take baby steps when you have a fan base as loyal as this one that has been banged around so to speak. This is a start, and a great one at that.
LEVY QUITTING: Although it may not seem like anything Earth shattering, Steve Levy's announcement that he will not run for re-election as Suffolk County Executive is a bit noteworthy when it comes to the Isles.
In the past, lost among all of the talk of where the Isles should go if Nassau doesn't work out for them, is Levy repeatedly saying he would be welcome to having the Isles move further East. He has never been contacted, but on the rare occasion he was asked he repeated these same thoughts.
This doesn't mean that if Charles Wang was really willing to relocated to Suffolk that it can't happen anymore. I don't think Suffolk was ever being seriously considered as a destination for the Isles, but at this stage in the game any time a proponent leaves the picture you can't help but do a double take.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For those who haven't listened to or watched it yet, our weekly radio show can be seen on our UStream site or downloaded through our MyPodcast site. Enjoy!
Our friend Johnny Z. of Yes! Islanders has his latest installment of "Islanders Top Shelf" out with guest Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey.
February 22, 2011
Late Goal Gives Leafs Win
If not for the play of goalie Al Montoya, this game probably doesn't end up as close as it showed on the scoreboard at the end.
The Maple Leafs had many quality chances on a short-handed Isles team, but Montoya stood tall and was up to the task. He made some outstanding saves when called upon, especially with a weaker defense without Radek Martinek and after losing Milan Jurcina in the first period as well.
There's one thing I have admired about the Leafs these last couple of seasons, and that's their ability to be first to lose pucks. This isn't something that has always happened during their lean years, but the last few times against them it seems to be the case.
The Islanders were beaten to many of the loose pucks. This was the plan the whole time by the Leafs and was executed very nicely. The Islanders expected to have all sorts of time to get their shots towards the net but were always met with a Leafs player immediately putting the pressure on.
Near the end of the game, the Isles seemed to realize that what they had done for the better part of two games was no longer working and that they had to try and get the pucks deep instead. That lead to a couple of nice shifts in the 3rd, but didn't produce any goals.
For much of the first period, the Isles best line was their 4th line. It seemed that throughout their first few shifts, Zenon Konopka, Matt Martin and Micheal Haley had some good cycling going on. While they didn't have any great scoring opportunities, the puck possession was very good, and actually uncharacteristic from what we have generally seen from the 4th line this season.
James Reimer stood tall as well and made several key stops against the Isles. This is another young goalie who came up and has really stole the show, and has been key in bringing the Leafs back into the playoff hunt. Phil Kessel, who has developed into an Isles killer throughout his young career, scored the winner with about five minutes left on a really nice looking individual play.
If the Isles are to sustain any momentum heading into their home-and-home with the Washington Capitals starting this weekend, then they need to get a point our two out of Philly. This is a place that hasn't been good to the Islanders at all for three years now, so the odds are stacked against them. But given performances against top teams such as Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Los Angeles in the past two weeks, stranger things have happened.
Let's hope that Martinek is healthy, not only for the good of the Isles on the ice but also for the possibility off of it (trade wise). I have been putting together a little post on what his value could be for the team, both if he stays and what he could bring back in a trade. Be sure to look for that in the next day or so.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Check out NYI FYI's UStream and MyPodcast links to be sure you caught up with this past Sunday's show
The Maple Leafs had many quality chances on a short-handed Isles team, but Montoya stood tall and was up to the task. He made some outstanding saves when called upon, especially with a weaker defense without Radek Martinek and after losing Milan Jurcina in the first period as well.
There's one thing I have admired about the Leafs these last couple of seasons, and that's their ability to be first to lose pucks. This isn't something that has always happened during their lean years, but the last few times against them it seems to be the case.
The Islanders were beaten to many of the loose pucks. This was the plan the whole time by the Leafs and was executed very nicely. The Islanders expected to have all sorts of time to get their shots towards the net but were always met with a Leafs player immediately putting the pressure on.
Near the end of the game, the Isles seemed to realize that what they had done for the better part of two games was no longer working and that they had to try and get the pucks deep instead. That lead to a couple of nice shifts in the 3rd, but didn't produce any goals.
For much of the first period, the Isles best line was their 4th line. It seemed that throughout their first few shifts, Zenon Konopka, Matt Martin and Micheal Haley had some good cycling going on. While they didn't have any great scoring opportunities, the puck possession was very good, and actually uncharacteristic from what we have generally seen from the 4th line this season.
James Reimer stood tall as well and made several key stops against the Isles. This is another young goalie who came up and has really stole the show, and has been key in bringing the Leafs back into the playoff hunt. Phil Kessel, who has developed into an Isles killer throughout his young career, scored the winner with about five minutes left on a really nice looking individual play.
If the Isles are to sustain any momentum heading into their home-and-home with the Washington Capitals starting this weekend, then they need to get a point our two out of Philly. This is a place that hasn't been good to the Islanders at all for three years now, so the odds are stacked against them. But given performances against top teams such as Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Los Angeles in the past two weeks, stranger things have happened.
Let's hope that Martinek is healthy, not only for the good of the Isles on the ice but also for the possibility off of it (trade wise). I have been putting together a little post on what his value could be for the team, both if he stays and what he could bring back in a trade. Be sure to look for that in the next day or so.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Check out NYI FYI's UStream and MyPodcast links to be sure you caught up with this past Sunday's show
January 19, 2011
Surprise! Okposo Returns
Kyle Okposo has been around the team for virtually all season. Recently he started skating with the team on the ice and announced that he was still a little bit away.
After a few days of skating with a "no contact" jersey on, Okposo practiced wearing a regular jersey for the first time on Wednesday. If that wasn't surprising enough - I wrote on our Twitter how shocked I was that he was doing so this quickly already - the Islanders announced after practice that Okposo will return to the line-up Thursday against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
It is indeed a pleasant one that many are happy about. I am a little uneasy about him not going down to Bridgeport for a few games to get some seasoning and his "game" legs back, but in all honesty is it really going to matter when you look at what this season has most likely become? No, not really. Besides, Okposo and the coaching staff said he wasn't going to play until he was 100% and I don't think Okposo would risk his well being just to get back on the ice sooner than he should be in a season like this one.
At the very least, it gives people something to be excited about. Keep in mind though that slack needs to be cut here. There should be no expectations for him in an abbreviated season. Realistically he's still going to be in spring training mode. Keep that in mind when you think about trying to evaluate him on certain plays or in certain situations. This is a young player coming off a very major shoulder injury.
No word yet on who will start against the Caps, but it seems the status of Rick DiPietro could be up in the air again. In my last post, I told everyone to step back from the ledge because of DiPietro getting his "maintenance day." Meanwhile, Wednesday he didn't practice because of sickness. Uh oh.
Either way, Nathan Lawson went down and came back up and the Isles are carrying three goalies again just as Jack Capuano said he plans to do for a while. We'll see how this plays out tomorrow afternoon.
As nice as it is to see Okposo returning, it would be equally as nice to see Frans Nielsen return from his seven game absence. It originally seemed like he was a good bet to return with the demotion of Jesse Joensuu, but Capuano said Nielsen's status was "uncertain" at this time.
Finally, things are oddly quiet surrounding Milan Jurcina. He was hurt in Monday's game against the Devils and only played three minutes. He left with an upper body injury and that is all we know. It would be a shame to lose him again after he already missed 18 games this year with that hamstring injury. We've seen how well he has played here so this would be a huge blow.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
So much for that.
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| Photo by Chris Hessel |
Surprise!
At the very least, it gives people something to be excited about. Keep in mind though that slack needs to be cut here. There should be no expectations for him in an abbreviated season. Realistically he's still going to be in spring training mode. Keep that in mind when you think about trying to evaluate him on certain plays or in certain situations. This is a young player coming off a very major shoulder injury.
No word yet on who will start against the Caps, but it seems the status of Rick DiPietro could be up in the air again. In my last post, I told everyone to step back from the ledge because of DiPietro getting his "maintenance day." Meanwhile, Wednesday he didn't practice because of sickness. Uh oh.
Either way, Nathan Lawson went down and came back up and the Isles are carrying three goalies again just as Jack Capuano said he plans to do for a while. We'll see how this plays out tomorrow afternoon.
As nice as it is to see Okposo returning, it would be equally as nice to see Frans Nielsen return from his seven game absence. It originally seemed like he was a good bet to return with the demotion of Jesse Joensuu, but Capuano said Nielsen's status was "uncertain" at this time.
Finally, things are oddly quiet surrounding Milan Jurcina. He was hurt in Monday's game against the Devils and only played three minutes. He left with an upper body injury and that is all we know. It would be a shame to lose him again after he already missed 18 games this year with that hamstring injury. We've seen how well he has played here so this would be a huge blow.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
January 12, 2011
Isles, Canucks Bring The Offense
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| Tanner Glass wins fight over Matt Martin. Photo by Chris Hessel |
After 65 minutes of play, the game went into a shootout where the Canucks won 2-1, giving them the game at 4-3 overall. While there were only a total of six real goals scored in this one, the amount of chances each team had was unbelievable. The Canucks enjoyed a 51-41 shot advantage for the game. It's even more astounding when you think back to how many blocked shots each team had.
Obviously, there were a number of defensive gaffes on both ends by pretty much everyone on both teams on the blueline. For every player I think of, I can think of a good and bad play they made. But it made for some good entertainment.
Kevin Poulin made some nice saves, and let up a couple of big rebounds that Vancouver was unable to convert on. A couple of the goals, however were not his fault. The Canucks passed the puck multiple times from the corner towards the front of the net, and that resulted in two goals for them. Both times, the defensemen on the ice were unable to get the job done. It is worth nothing that both times, Milan Jurcina was one of those defensemen but aside from that he had a pretty good game and laid some big hits.
The shootout did Poulin in unfortunately, as he was beaten by a spin-o-rama by Mason Raymond and a nice deke move from Ryan Kesler. He did make 48 saves, and play as well as he had to to get the job done but in the end the Canucks would walk away with the two points - which puts then 29 points ahead of the Isles, for those of you who are counting.
Blake Comeau has continued his hot play, scoring a goal and registering an assist. Lately he has been scoring by using his slap shot which has been powerful and pretty accurate. I have been getting upset with him lately when he was on a rush and trying to pass the puck off to Jon Sim. It's good to see him taking the initiative now.
John Tavares also kept up his hot streak, scoring a goal on a one-timer after a nice pass from Rob Schremp. He now has 15 goals for the year.
The Islanders should be happy they at least picked up a point in this game. More importantly, they were able to run all game with a team that is very talented and very fast. The Canucks didn't play at the top of their game, but they did have more nice chances than the Isles did and either squandered them or ran into the hot Poulin. All in all, it was a good performance.
The Islanders take on the struggling Senators on Thursday. The Sens are coming off of a 6-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. It was the sixth time this season they have lost by a shut-out. Needless to say, they will be coming into this one pretty annoyed.
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| Rakhshani after being concussed. Photo by Chris Hessel |
We don't know the status of Rakhshani yet, but I'm sure we'll hear some updates in the coming days.
Okposo Practices: Kyle Okposo practiced with the team on Wednesday, wearing an orange practice jersey along with Frans Nielsen. Okposo still seems like he's still a ways from returning to the line-up, but it's a great sign if he can start practicing with the team more often than not in the coming weeks.
Speaking of injuries, Garth Snow expects Rick DiPietro to return either Thursday or Saturday.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
January 6, 2011
Jurcina Extended for 1 Year
The Islanders announced Wednesday evening that they have signed defenseman Milan Jurcina to a one-year contract extension.
Jurcina, originally signed for just this season at $1 million, will get a $600K raise next season.
Jurcina has proved to be an excellent signing for what he provides. When brought in, everyone said that as a bottom pairing, 18 minute guy he can be good and that has been the case.
The feeling from many Isles fans is a good one. They realize the need for some size on the blue-line and apparently, the team does as well. Some feared that the addition of Ty Wishart to the organization meant that they were going to move Jurcina, but now we see that isn't the case.
Naturally, as is the case with anything in sports there will always be some detractors. I had a spirited discussion on our Facebook page with a fan about the move. He brings up Jurcina's lack of speed, lack of an offensive game and the fact that he doesn't use his big body. All are fair points, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Just prior to getting injured, I featured Jurcina in this space. Jurcina missed a lot of time, but is still tied for the team lead in hits among defensemen (58). Jurcina has used that big body to his advantage this season, and at 27 appears to have finally hit his stride and found his niche.
Jurcina is a mainstay on the PK, which is essentially what he has been his entire career. It has always been said that he has a big shot he rarely uses, and anyone who has watched the games this season will agree with that. We have seen glimpses of the shot, and we can count on one hand how many times it has been accurate. But that isn't why he was brought in. The Islanders wanted a big, youngish defenseman and that is why Jurcina is here. The salary he will get is on par with other solid defensemen who throw hits and play a lot on the PK.
The Islanders now have six defensemen under contract for next season. Radek Martinek is in his final season before UFA, while Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais are going to be RFA's. The latter to have been underwhelming this season, more so for Gervais. After showing glimpses two seasons ago that he can be a solid defenseman, he has really fallen off. It's very hard to find anyone out there who thinks he will be back. He will most likely be here all year however, seeing as he has no trade value.
Hillen is a guy I'm on the fence on when it comes to thinking about if he will return or not. I originally thought he would not, but now it seems unclear. He's still 24 and might have some untapped potential, but it is most likely not much more than what we see now. For a small, offensive guy he does block a lot of shots. That may be something the Isles will value, and the offense from the back end is something that is a glaring need.
We don't know what we have yet in Wishart, but I think it's a safe bet to assume the Isles would qualify him after the season for a longer look. They did trade the only stable goalie they had for him at this point in time, after all.
It's possible we might see the Isles try and ship someone under contract out, like Mark Eaton. His name has come up here and there in rumors. Who knows.
In the meantime, I'm happy with this deal for only the one year. They always say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and Jurcina has been the least of the Isles problems, and they played better with him than without him. We both were in the same camp as the majority of the fans asking to re-sign him, as we mentioned on the show this past week.
All in all, a good deal and I'm happy the Isles realize the need to retain the size they have on the blue-line.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Jurcina, originally signed for just this season at $1 million, will get a $600K raise next season.
Jurcina has proved to be an excellent signing for what he provides. When brought in, everyone said that as a bottom pairing, 18 minute guy he can be good and that has been the case.
The feeling from many Isles fans is a good one. They realize the need for some size on the blue-line and apparently, the team does as well. Some feared that the addition of Ty Wishart to the organization meant that they were going to move Jurcina, but now we see that isn't the case.
Naturally, as is the case with anything in sports there will always be some detractors. I had a spirited discussion on our Facebook page with a fan about the move. He brings up Jurcina's lack of speed, lack of an offensive game and the fact that he doesn't use his big body. All are fair points, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Just prior to getting injured, I featured Jurcina in this space. Jurcina missed a lot of time, but is still tied for the team lead in hits among defensemen (58). Jurcina has used that big body to his advantage this season, and at 27 appears to have finally hit his stride and found his niche.
Jurcina is a mainstay on the PK, which is essentially what he has been his entire career. It has always been said that he has a big shot he rarely uses, and anyone who has watched the games this season will agree with that. We have seen glimpses of the shot, and we can count on one hand how many times it has been accurate. But that isn't why he was brought in. The Islanders wanted a big, youngish defenseman and that is why Jurcina is here. The salary he will get is on par with other solid defensemen who throw hits and play a lot on the PK.
The Islanders now have six defensemen under contract for next season. Radek Martinek is in his final season before UFA, while Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais are going to be RFA's. The latter to have been underwhelming this season, more so for Gervais. After showing glimpses two seasons ago that he can be a solid defenseman, he has really fallen off. It's very hard to find anyone out there who thinks he will be back. He will most likely be here all year however, seeing as he has no trade value.
Hillen is a guy I'm on the fence on when it comes to thinking about if he will return or not. I originally thought he would not, but now it seems unclear. He's still 24 and might have some untapped potential, but it is most likely not much more than what we see now. For a small, offensive guy he does block a lot of shots. That may be something the Isles will value, and the offense from the back end is something that is a glaring need.
We don't know what we have yet in Wishart, but I think it's a safe bet to assume the Isles would qualify him after the season for a longer look. They did trade the only stable goalie they had for him at this point in time, after all.
It's possible we might see the Isles try and ship someone under contract out, like Mark Eaton. His name has come up here and there in rumors. Who knows.
In the meantime, I'm happy with this deal for only the one year. They always say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and Jurcina has been the least of the Isles problems, and they played better with him than without him. We both were in the same camp as the majority of the fans asking to re-sign him, as we mentioned on the show this past week.
All in all, a good deal and I'm happy the Isles realize the need to retain the size they have on the blue-line.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
December 17, 2010
Isles Defeat Ducks to Snap 6 Game Losing Streak
Prior to the game against the Ducks, the Islanders received some good news as they learned that both Radek Martinek and Milan Jurcina would be returning from injury for the game. Jurcina had been out since October 29th with the injured hamstring, while Martinek had missed the last couple of games after taking that Zdeno Chara slap shot off of his left wrist last week.
Jurcina only played just over 13 minutes in this one, but he did block two shots and throw four hits. I thought he played well given the fact that he was coming off of a major injury. It certainly was nice to have him back. Martinek, meanwhile, was his typical self - a very stead presence on defense. He also once again jumped in on the offense a couple of times, something that he has been doing more of lately. He's a very good skater and has a heck of a slap shot so if he gets more power-play time he could be deadly.
The real star of the defense for this one was Andrew MacDonald. Those of you who watched the telecast heard Howie Rose and Butch Goring rave about him constantly, while those of you who attended saw that he was selected as the game's 2nd star. He blocked eight shots last night and threw a couple of hits. Those of you who have been checking in with us regularly may have seen a trend coming from recent posts where we have a daily mention of MacDonald's play and this is exactly why. He's been absolutely amazing, and it's great to see that he has not regressed from what he was last year, but rather improved exponentially. This is why he is wearing an 'A' on his sweater.
Rick DiPietro, the games 1st star, played well. Sure, there were some things I didn't like but for the most part he stayed in his net. He fell a couple of times, and flopped around but at the very least he did it in the crease. He didn't have to make any spectacular saves, but there were enough chances where he had to work for his 30 saves. Good game from him after a couple of off ones.
The Islanders got three goals in 1:39 after not scoring in the previous 77 minutes, all in the 1st period. P.A. Parenteau and Blake Comeau scored two of them, continuing their recent trend of getting on the score sheet. I still don't agree with Parenteau getting 1st line minutes, but we won't go into that for now. They had good games.
One thing that is still alarming, win aside, is that when the Ducks got their first goal from Joffrey Lupul, Rose pointed out that we had to beware of the tide turning. That is exactly what happened from that point on. The Ducks continued to to press, and even though they were down by two they came out of the 2nd intermission fired up and it showed. The way they controlled the puck for the first few minutes of the 3rd looked like an Anaheim power-play, and the game the Islanders were playing earlier on was getting away from them. The Isles went into a collapsing defense mode, and quite often all five Isles players were stationed right in front of DiPietro, which is a bad position to be in when you are facing so many skilled players who can find holes and are deadly from the slot area.
It was showing signs of a team, and even a coach as one follower in Twitter pointed out, that are scared of losing and slightly inexperienced. It's not a great way to handle the adversity. But at the very least, they held on for the win and DiPietro made some key saves in the 3rd.
The Isles prevented themselves from going to an all-time organizational record of .500 for the first time in 33 years, as statistician Eric Hornick pointed out to us.
On a personal note, I wanted to give a shout out to all of those who following along with us. Last night on Twitter we hit the 200 follower mark, and it's something we're very appreciative of. We hope that you all continue to spread the word.
The Isles take on the Coyotes next, and I'll be in the press box for that one.
I may have some additional comments to post in this space, so be sure to check back.
Jurcina only played just over 13 minutes in this one, but he did block two shots and throw four hits. I thought he played well given the fact that he was coming off of a major injury. It certainly was nice to have him back. Martinek, meanwhile, was his typical self - a very stead presence on defense. He also once again jumped in on the offense a couple of times, something that he has been doing more of lately. He's a very good skater and has a heck of a slap shot so if he gets more power-play time he could be deadly.
The real star of the defense for this one was Andrew MacDonald. Those of you who watched the telecast heard Howie Rose and Butch Goring rave about him constantly, while those of you who attended saw that he was selected as the game's 2nd star. He blocked eight shots last night and threw a couple of hits. Those of you who have been checking in with us regularly may have seen a trend coming from recent posts where we have a daily mention of MacDonald's play and this is exactly why. He's been absolutely amazing, and it's great to see that he has not regressed from what he was last year, but rather improved exponentially. This is why he is wearing an 'A' on his sweater.
Rick DiPietro, the games 1st star, played well. Sure, there were some things I didn't like but for the most part he stayed in his net. He fell a couple of times, and flopped around but at the very least he did it in the crease. He didn't have to make any spectacular saves, but there were enough chances where he had to work for his 30 saves. Good game from him after a couple of off ones.
The Islanders got three goals in 1:39 after not scoring in the previous 77 minutes, all in the 1st period. P.A. Parenteau and Blake Comeau scored two of them, continuing their recent trend of getting on the score sheet. I still don't agree with Parenteau getting 1st line minutes, but we won't go into that for now. They had good games.
One thing that is still alarming, win aside, is that when the Ducks got their first goal from Joffrey Lupul, Rose pointed out that we had to beware of the tide turning. That is exactly what happened from that point on. The Ducks continued to to press, and even though they were down by two they came out of the 2nd intermission fired up and it showed. The way they controlled the puck for the first few minutes of the 3rd looked like an Anaheim power-play, and the game the Islanders were playing earlier on was getting away from them. The Isles went into a collapsing defense mode, and quite often all five Isles players were stationed right in front of DiPietro, which is a bad position to be in when you are facing so many skilled players who can find holes and are deadly from the slot area.
It was showing signs of a team, and even a coach as one follower in Twitter pointed out, that are scared of losing and slightly inexperienced. It's not a great way to handle the adversity. But at the very least, they held on for the win and DiPietro made some key saves in the 3rd.
The Isles prevented themselves from going to an all-time organizational record of .500 for the first time in 33 years, as statistician Eric Hornick pointed out to us.
On a personal note, I wanted to give a shout out to all of those who following along with us. Last night on Twitter we hit the 200 follower mark, and it's something we're very appreciative of. We hope that you all continue to spread the word.
The Isles take on the Coyotes next, and I'll be in the press box for that one.
I may have some additional comments to post in this space, so be sure to check back.
November 30, 2010
Injury Updates and Prospect News
While the Islanders might be in the middle of a five day rest between games, Monday certainly brought about a lot of news.
We learned that defensemen Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald are close to returning, which is really good to hear. MacDonald was one of the Isles best defensemen this season up until the point he got hurt, which was coincidentally the last game the Islanders had won prior to Friday. MacDonald is very smooth with the puck and blocks a ton of shots, and the sooner the Islanders can get him back the better.
There was also some news of the unfortunate type too. Milan Jurcina, originally slated to miss 4-6 weeks with that hamstring injury is now out an additional 4-6 weeks. I know I might be in the minority here when I say this, but I really liked Jurcina's game. It wasn't flashy or the best, but he was providing some solid play for 18 minutes a night. In the same week that he got injured, I wrote this piece explaining what he provided and what he was doing so well. I was really looking forward to getting him back soon, and this setback hurts.
For those of you who listened to the latest podcast that we uploaded on Sunday night, you may have heard us give a shout out to Bruno Gervais at the end of the show for sticking up for P.A. Parenteau against the Devils. Gervais got into a fight with Colin White, which lasted all of one punch. As if Bruno wasn't getting enough props already, we learned yesterday that he has suffered a fractured cheekbone as a result of that punch. A lot of criticism gets thrown his way in Islanders land, but to stick up for your guy, get a broken bone in your face as a result and still play the remainder of the game, not even going to the dressing room? Kudos, my friend. That's a good example to set, and Bruno has moved up a few notches in many people's books, mine included.
Doug Weight is still day to day with the back spasms. That is the same injury that kept Rob Schremp out for most of the first month of the season. Hopefully, it doesn't last as long as that for Weight. I'm just happy that it's not his shoulder or hamstring again. If it were, one could venture a guess that his playing time would be over. Weight hadn't looked very good in the last few weeks, and one has to wonder if he was perhaps playing through the injury a bit. Hopefully the time off rejuvenates him.
Josh Bailey also suffered an injury down in Bridgeport. He strained a pectoral muscle, and it doesn't seem serious. In the couple of games he's played down there he has looked just OK. Hopefully he can get it going a bit. He really needs to for his and the Islanders sake. We talked extensively about Bailey's situation in the podcast, giving our opinions on his demotion.
Yesterday, Team Canada announced their invitations for the World Junior camp. Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Casey Cizikas will both be attending.
In the case of de Haan, this is a perfect example of why you don't rush your prospects. The World Juniors is great experience for a prospect. In the case of de Haan, he is already the captain of his team in Oshawa and was one of the top defenseman for Team Canada last year along with Travis Hamonic. Now, he has a chance to be one of the top guys once again and perhaps even get a letter. This is some good experience that Bailey really lost out on, and one of the reasons I'm upset with the way he has been developed.
For Cizikas, while he may be a long shot to make the final cut, it is certainly a success story. Cizikas has been very good in the OHL, putting the demons behind him of the gruesome accident he was involved in during a rugby game where another player died. Cizikas was not convicted, and with support from not only his family but the family of the victim too has really taken this "second chance" and ran with it. Good for him, and hopefully he can make one of the checking lines.
So that's where we are for now. There's still so much time off left that I'm sure there will be something else to talk about and dissect.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
We learned that defensemen Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald are close to returning, which is really good to hear. MacDonald was one of the Isles best defensemen this season up until the point he got hurt, which was coincidentally the last game the Islanders had won prior to Friday. MacDonald is very smooth with the puck and blocks a ton of shots, and the sooner the Islanders can get him back the better.
There was also some news of the unfortunate type too. Milan Jurcina, originally slated to miss 4-6 weeks with that hamstring injury is now out an additional 4-6 weeks. I know I might be in the minority here when I say this, but I really liked Jurcina's game. It wasn't flashy or the best, but he was providing some solid play for 18 minutes a night. In the same week that he got injured, I wrote this piece explaining what he provided and what he was doing so well. I was really looking forward to getting him back soon, and this setback hurts.
For those of you who listened to the latest podcast that we uploaded on Sunday night, you may have heard us give a shout out to Bruno Gervais at the end of the show for sticking up for P.A. Parenteau against the Devils. Gervais got into a fight with Colin White, which lasted all of one punch. As if Bruno wasn't getting enough props already, we learned yesterday that he has suffered a fractured cheekbone as a result of that punch. A lot of criticism gets thrown his way in Islanders land, but to stick up for your guy, get a broken bone in your face as a result and still play the remainder of the game, not even going to the dressing room? Kudos, my friend. That's a good example to set, and Bruno has moved up a few notches in many people's books, mine included.
Doug Weight is still day to day with the back spasms. That is the same injury that kept Rob Schremp out for most of the first month of the season. Hopefully, it doesn't last as long as that for Weight. I'm just happy that it's not his shoulder or hamstring again. If it were, one could venture a guess that his playing time would be over. Weight hadn't looked very good in the last few weeks, and one has to wonder if he was perhaps playing through the injury a bit. Hopefully the time off rejuvenates him.
Josh Bailey also suffered an injury down in Bridgeport. He strained a pectoral muscle, and it doesn't seem serious. In the couple of games he's played down there he has looked just OK. Hopefully he can get it going a bit. He really needs to for his and the Islanders sake. We talked extensively about Bailey's situation in the podcast, giving our opinions on his demotion.
Yesterday, Team Canada announced their invitations for the World Junior camp. Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Casey Cizikas will both be attending.
In the case of de Haan, this is a perfect example of why you don't rush your prospects. The World Juniors is great experience for a prospect. In the case of de Haan, he is already the captain of his team in Oshawa and was one of the top defenseman for Team Canada last year along with Travis Hamonic. Now, he has a chance to be one of the top guys once again and perhaps even get a letter. This is some good experience that Bailey really lost out on, and one of the reasons I'm upset with the way he has been developed.
For Cizikas, while he may be a long shot to make the final cut, it is certainly a success story. Cizikas has been very good in the OHL, putting the demons behind him of the gruesome accident he was involved in during a rugby game where another player died. Cizikas was not convicted, and with support from not only his family but the family of the victim too has really taken this "second chance" and ran with it. Good for him, and hopefully he can make one of the checking lines.
So that's where we are for now. There's still so much time off left that I'm sure there will be something else to talk about and dissect.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
November 2, 2010
Briere gets Three Games; Jurcina Out; Sim Waived
9:30 PM: The Islanders announced this afternoon that Sim cleared waivers and was on his way to Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers have had all sorts of problems scoring goals this season, and he will surely help. Good veteran presence with Andy Hilbert still injured as well.
8:45 AM: The Islanders had some news come through on what ended up being a very busy Monday for the team. It started with the announcement that Philadelphia Flyers forward Danny Briere had a hearing with the NHL Monday morning to discuss his actions stemming from the game Saturday night.
Those of you who logged on Monday morning saw my prediction of one game for Briere. What I forgot to do was take into account that fact that he fell under the NHL's rule of being a "repeat offender" (18 months). I figured he would get one game for sure, possibly two. I know some people are upset about only three games, but it wasn't going to be anything more than that. Frans Nielsen wasn't hurt on the play.
Coincidentally, the 3rd and final game of the suspension covers the rematch between the Isles and Flyers on Saturday, November 6th. Whether or not the NHL intended for that to happen remains to be seen. In my opinion, I think that it did play somewhat of a factor.
Now, moving on to items that more pretain to the Islanders, Jon Sim was placed on waivers with the intention of sending him down to the minors with Rob Schremp set to return. In our last podcast, Sean felt that he was going to be the odd man out, while I felt he was going to stick around more and perhaps Trevor Gillies would be up and down. I'm a little surprised only because Sim was getting a lot of PK time, something that neither the returning Schremp or Gilles does. Michael Grabner is going to be returning as well, and although not the strongest defensively, was being used on the PK just prior to getting his injury. Perhaps Gordon sees something more that can be worked with there or from someone else, and will get them a chance to play some PK minutes.
Grabner returning gives the Islanders one of their better skaters back, and you can see at times how the lack of speed has affected the team. Schremp has improved his skating in the offseason, and will be a welcome addition back to the team. They could really use some of what he provides. As far as five-on-five play is concerned, it's still up in the air how either player will help the Islanders there. Schremp has always been an excellent power-play producer. We'll now get to see if any of the improvements he has made can help at even strength.
Unfortunately, the defense is a slightly different story on the injury front. Milan Jurcina has now gone down with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the lineup for two-to-four weeks. That isn't terrible, and definitely doable. As I had written just last week, Jurcina wasn't really getting more than 19 minutes a game, and his spot on the 3rd pairing is something I think Jack Hillen or Bruno Gervais can fill in adequately for now. The Islanders are going to miss his size and shot blocking though, and have lost two of their better guys in the latter department between Jurcina and Andrew MacDonald. Mark Eaton does block a lot of shots too, but unfortunately he seems to block them in the wrong direction lately. We'll hope he can fix some of those problems sooner rather than later as he will now be called on to be solid for the next few weeks.
We should find out today if Sim clears waivers (he should). Of course, we'll try to have any updates for you guys as the off-day moves along.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
8:45 AM: The Islanders had some news come through on what ended up being a very busy Monday for the team. It started with the announcement that Philadelphia Flyers forward Danny Briere had a hearing with the NHL Monday morning to discuss his actions stemming from the game Saturday night.
Those of you who logged on Monday morning saw my prediction of one game for Briere. What I forgot to do was take into account that fact that he fell under the NHL's rule of being a "repeat offender" (18 months). I figured he would get one game for sure, possibly two. I know some people are upset about only three games, but it wasn't going to be anything more than that. Frans Nielsen wasn't hurt on the play.
Coincidentally, the 3rd and final game of the suspension covers the rematch between the Isles and Flyers on Saturday, November 6th. Whether or not the NHL intended for that to happen remains to be seen. In my opinion, I think that it did play somewhat of a factor.
Now, moving on to items that more pretain to the Islanders, Jon Sim was placed on waivers with the intention of sending him down to the minors with Rob Schremp set to return. In our last podcast, Sean felt that he was going to be the odd man out, while I felt he was going to stick around more and perhaps Trevor Gillies would be up and down. I'm a little surprised only because Sim was getting a lot of PK time, something that neither the returning Schremp or Gilles does. Michael Grabner is going to be returning as well, and although not the strongest defensively, was being used on the PK just prior to getting his injury. Perhaps Gordon sees something more that can be worked with there or from someone else, and will get them a chance to play some PK minutes.
Grabner returning gives the Islanders one of their better skaters back, and you can see at times how the lack of speed has affected the team. Schremp has improved his skating in the offseason, and will be a welcome addition back to the team. They could really use some of what he provides. As far as five-on-five play is concerned, it's still up in the air how either player will help the Islanders there. Schremp has always been an excellent power-play producer. We'll now get to see if any of the improvements he has made can help at even strength.
Unfortunately, the defense is a slightly different story on the injury front. Milan Jurcina has now gone down with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the lineup for two-to-four weeks. That isn't terrible, and definitely doable. As I had written just last week, Jurcina wasn't really getting more than 19 minutes a game, and his spot on the 3rd pairing is something I think Jack Hillen or Bruno Gervais can fill in adequately for now. The Islanders are going to miss his size and shot blocking though, and have lost two of their better guys in the latter department between Jurcina and Andrew MacDonald. Mark Eaton does block a lot of shots too, but unfortunately he seems to block them in the wrong direction lately. We'll hope he can fix some of those problems sooner rather than later as he will now be called on to be solid for the next few weeks.
We should find out today if Sim clears waivers (he should). Of course, we'll try to have any updates for you guys as the off-day moves along.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 30, 2010
Habs Sweep Home and Home, Isles Head to Philly
Lats night, one could essentially say the Islanders played twi different games.
For the better part of 15 minutes, the Montreal Canadiens controlled the play, and really took it to the Islanders. They could not get anything going. The Canadiens seemed to have figured out the gameplan and picked up right where they left off. Fortunately, the Islanders figured things out in the last few minutes of the period, and began to battle back.
The second period saw more of the same from the Islanders, as they closed the gap in shot total and battled hard to tie the game on a goal from Matt Martin. Frans Nielsen made a really nice play from behind the net to Martin, who was positioned to the right of Alex Auld for one of those infamous dirty goals. Those are going to be the kind of goals Martin will score throughout his career as he establishes himself as an immovable object in front of the net.
It seemed as though when the Islanders got their hitting going, their play improved and the Canadiens were reeling a bit. Martin layed two big hits on Hal Gill early in the contest and things seemed to improve from there. He even had a fight with Gill later, which is a bit of a mis-match when you compare the size. Gill definitiely has longer arms, so it was difficult for Martin to get his punches in with Gill holding him back, but I tip my hat to him for holding his own in the fight.
The Islanders continued to press in the 3rd period, but couldn't put one past Auld who made some really nice saves. A A breakdown with three Canadeins flying into the zone lead to Benoit Pouliot's goal to give the Habs a 2-1 lead. Poulit has a really nie shot, and has struggled a bit in the early going this season after finding his game after a mid-season trade from the Minnesota Wild last season.
Scott Gordon after the game said lack of backchecking is was caused that goal, and I would agree. It is clear that Montreal is a much faster team, and that paid off in that situation. You can see how much the team misses Rob Schremp and Michael Grabner.
Blake Comeau had a bit of a sloppy game, but still appears to be backchecking. He isn't as involved in the offence as he was prior to Josh Bailey's injury, but as long as he keepts pushing hard and at the very least forechecking he'll get his touch back.
The ice at the Coliseum was really bad last night from what I could see. We know that the puck always takes some odd hops here and there, but last night it was a lot more noticeable than past games. The Islanders are on the middle of this long string with most of the games on the road, and there were a couple of events at the Coliseum in the past couple of weeks. That certainly played a factor in the poor ice.
The attention now turns to the Flyers. Rick DiPietro gets the nod against a team that the Islanders have not had much good luck against in recent years. Milan Jurcina is out with what appears to be a hamstring injury, so Bruno Gervais gets back in the lineup but as a defenseman today. The Islanders are looking for their first win in Philly since April of 2007 (nine games).
The Flyers are a team that started off slow, but have picked up their play of late. They currently sit in 1st in the division by way of a tie breaker from the Penguins, and one point in front of the Islanders. Jeff Carter has been on a hot streak of late with rumors of him being close to re-signing with the Flyers. Chris Pronger has not been feeling all that great this year, and perhaps is one less problem to have to deal with when not at 100%. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux have been on fire, with each having six goals each so far this season.
This is another team that has some speed to it, but not as much as Montreal. I do think this is a team the Islanders can match up will with. As I said with the game last night, once the team started throwing the body it changed the feel. The Flyers are a team that doesn't hesistate to throw checks, so Martin and the rest of the Isles are going to have to be doing that from the get go.
If more news comes about any last minute changes, we'll have it for you here.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For the better part of 15 minutes, the Montreal Canadiens controlled the play, and really took it to the Islanders. They could not get anything going. The Canadiens seemed to have figured out the gameplan and picked up right where they left off. Fortunately, the Islanders figured things out in the last few minutes of the period, and began to battle back.
The second period saw more of the same from the Islanders, as they closed the gap in shot total and battled hard to tie the game on a goal from Matt Martin. Frans Nielsen made a really nice play from behind the net to Martin, who was positioned to the right of Alex Auld for one of those infamous dirty goals. Those are going to be the kind of goals Martin will score throughout his career as he establishes himself as an immovable object in front of the net.
It seemed as though when the Islanders got their hitting going, their play improved and the Canadiens were reeling a bit. Martin layed two big hits on Hal Gill early in the contest and things seemed to improve from there. He even had a fight with Gill later, which is a bit of a mis-match when you compare the size. Gill definitiely has longer arms, so it was difficult for Martin to get his punches in with Gill holding him back, but I tip my hat to him for holding his own in the fight.
The Islanders continued to press in the 3rd period, but couldn't put one past Auld who made some really nice saves. A A breakdown with three Canadeins flying into the zone lead to Benoit Pouliot's goal to give the Habs a 2-1 lead. Poulit has a really nie shot, and has struggled a bit in the early going this season after finding his game after a mid-season trade from the Minnesota Wild last season.
Scott Gordon after the game said lack of backchecking is was caused that goal, and I would agree. It is clear that Montreal is a much faster team, and that paid off in that situation. You can see how much the team misses Rob Schremp and Michael Grabner.
Blake Comeau had a bit of a sloppy game, but still appears to be backchecking. He isn't as involved in the offence as he was prior to Josh Bailey's injury, but as long as he keepts pushing hard and at the very least forechecking he'll get his touch back.
The ice at the Coliseum was really bad last night from what I could see. We know that the puck always takes some odd hops here and there, but last night it was a lot more noticeable than past games. The Islanders are on the middle of this long string with most of the games on the road, and there were a couple of events at the Coliseum in the past couple of weeks. That certainly played a factor in the poor ice.
The attention now turns to the Flyers. Rick DiPietro gets the nod against a team that the Islanders have not had much good luck against in recent years. Milan Jurcina is out with what appears to be a hamstring injury, so Bruno Gervais gets back in the lineup but as a defenseman today. The Islanders are looking for their first win in Philly since April of 2007 (nine games).
The Flyers are a team that started off slow, but have picked up their play of late. They currently sit in 1st in the division by way of a tie breaker from the Penguins, and one point in front of the Islanders. Jeff Carter has been on a hot streak of late with rumors of him being close to re-signing with the Flyers. Chris Pronger has not been feeling all that great this year, and perhaps is one less problem to have to deal with when not at 100%. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux have been on fire, with each having six goals each so far this season.
This is another team that has some speed to it, but not as much as Montreal. I do think this is a team the Islanders can match up will with. As I said with the game last night, once the team started throwing the body it changed the feel. The Flyers are a team that doesn't hesistate to throw checks, so Martin and the rest of the Isles are going to have to be doing that from the get go.
If more news comes about any last minute changes, we'll have it for you here.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 26, 2010
MacDonald Injury Gives Jurcina Opportunity to Continue Solid Play
Milan Jurcina might not be the flashiest name on this Islanders squad, however Scott Gordon has been using Jurcina in a role he is very well suited for, on the 3rd pairing providing some steady play for just under 20 minutes a night.
After the game against Colorado, I had asked Milan about his confidence level as it appeared to me he was playing the best he has at any point in his career.
"Yeah, it's a big thing with the confidence. A game like that (two goals vs. Colorado), it's a big boost for the confidence," Jurcina said.
Obviously, the story of that game was the offensive outburst. But there were a number of things in that game he did well including throwing some hits and making a couple of nice defensive plays.
The injury to Andrew MacDonald (4-6 weeks after hand surgery) opens up the free spot for Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais to battle it out. But Jurcina now has a chance to fill in some of the void that is being left by MacDonald.
Since he came up with the Islanders in the middle of last season, one key aspect of MacDonald's game has been blocking shots. Jurcina has a big body to put in front of the net, but he has always had inconsistency issues when it comes to playing the body and trying to get in front of pucks.
Ever since that game against Colorado, Jurcina seems to have been using that size to his advantage with some consistency. He has brought himself up to 11th in the league among defensemen in hits with 20, and his 16 blocked shots are ironically one behind MacDonald's total of 17.
The game against Florida was a good performance for the Slovakian defenseman as he had a season high five hits in the game. Against Tampa, he had three blocked shots. He has become one of the key defensemen on the penalty kill as his 3:41 of PK time per game leads all Islanders defensemen. More often than I can remember seeing him do, I notice he is tying up opposing forwards and doing a real nice job of forcing the play to the outside.
Aside from the game against Colorado, there has not been much of anything offensively. Jurcina has an excellent shot that he has always had problems getting on net. As far as I'm concerned, we need him more for his size and defensive ability more than the offense right now.
As far as my knowledge of Jurcina goes, thinking back to his time in Boston and Washington for the most part, this is certainly the best I have seen him play. Being re-united with Scott Gordon seems to have helped him out a bit, and being brought in with three other new defensemen, all with NHL experience has really helped the Islanders in the early going this season as they try to turn around what was one of the league's worst defensive corps last season.
Jurcina is going to have to continue his recent play, and not just until MacDonald returns. A consistent Jurcina using his body to his advantage is the best thing we could have asked for after signing him to the one year, $1 million contract, and so far he is proving to be a solid, yet unheralded addition to the blue line.
MATT MARTIN TO PLAY: With Michael Grabner day-to-day, it was announced that the forward will not go on the trip to Montreal for Wednesday's game. This opens up a spot for Matt Martin, who was practicing on a line with Doug Weight and Nino Niederreiter.
Yesterday, Grabner sounded very hopeful on his Twitter account as far as playing in Montreal, which made me wonder why Martin stayed up through the night. I had thought that it was perhaps because the Islanders were going to decide to send Niederreiter back to juniors, but alas another theory shot to pieces. Oh well.
It's exciting to see Martin get his chance this early in the season, and against a team that took some shots in the preseason. Mike Cammalleri slashed Niederreiter and earned a one-game suspension as a result. Don't expect that to happen again.
This is all we have for now, in what has been a relatively quiet couple of off days. If something pops up throughout the day, be sure to check back here for some thoughts.
CHECK OUT SUNDAY'S PODCAST: For anyone who may not have gotten it yet, the podcast is up and available here. Enjoy!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
After the game against Colorado, I had asked Milan about his confidence level as it appeared to me he was playing the best he has at any point in his career.
"Yeah, it's a big thing with the confidence. A game like that (two goals vs. Colorado), it's a big boost for the confidence," Jurcina said.
Obviously, the story of that game was the offensive outburst. But there were a number of things in that game he did well including throwing some hits and making a couple of nice defensive plays.
The injury to Andrew MacDonald (4-6 weeks after hand surgery) opens up the free spot for Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais to battle it out. But Jurcina now has a chance to fill in some of the void that is being left by MacDonald.
Since he came up with the Islanders in the middle of last season, one key aspect of MacDonald's game has been blocking shots. Jurcina has a big body to put in front of the net, but he has always had inconsistency issues when it comes to playing the body and trying to get in front of pucks.
Ever since that game against Colorado, Jurcina seems to have been using that size to his advantage with some consistency. He has brought himself up to 11th in the league among defensemen in hits with 20, and his 16 blocked shots are ironically one behind MacDonald's total of 17.
The game against Florida was a good performance for the Slovakian defenseman as he had a season high five hits in the game. Against Tampa, he had three blocked shots. He has become one of the key defensemen on the penalty kill as his 3:41 of PK time per game leads all Islanders defensemen. More often than I can remember seeing him do, I notice he is tying up opposing forwards and doing a real nice job of forcing the play to the outside.
Aside from the game against Colorado, there has not been much of anything offensively. Jurcina has an excellent shot that he has always had problems getting on net. As far as I'm concerned, we need him more for his size and defensive ability more than the offense right now.
As far as my knowledge of Jurcina goes, thinking back to his time in Boston and Washington for the most part, this is certainly the best I have seen him play. Being re-united with Scott Gordon seems to have helped him out a bit, and being brought in with three other new defensemen, all with NHL experience has really helped the Islanders in the early going this season as they try to turn around what was one of the league's worst defensive corps last season.
Jurcina is going to have to continue his recent play, and not just until MacDonald returns. A consistent Jurcina using his body to his advantage is the best thing we could have asked for after signing him to the one year, $1 million contract, and so far he is proving to be a solid, yet unheralded addition to the blue line.
MATT MARTIN TO PLAY: With Michael Grabner day-to-day, it was announced that the forward will not go on the trip to Montreal for Wednesday's game. This opens up a spot for Matt Martin, who was practicing on a line with Doug Weight and Nino Niederreiter.
Yesterday, Grabner sounded very hopeful on his Twitter account as far as playing in Montreal, which made me wonder why Martin stayed up through the night. I had thought that it was perhaps because the Islanders were going to decide to send Niederreiter back to juniors, but alas another theory shot to pieces. Oh well.
It's exciting to see Martin get his chance this early in the season, and against a team that took some shots in the preseason. Mike Cammalleri slashed Niederreiter and earned a one-game suspension as a result. Don't expect that to happen again.
This is all we have for now, in what has been a relatively quiet couple of off days. If something pops up throughout the day, be sure to check back here for some thoughts.
CHECK OUT SUNDAY'S PODCAST: For anyone who may not have gotten it yet, the podcast is up and available here. Enjoy!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 17, 2010
Jurcina Tallies Twice as Isles down Avs 5-2
Milan Jurcina entered Saturday night's contest against the Colorado Avalanche with 15 career goals in 323 games. He would turn out to be the Islanders key source of offense, notching two goals and adding an assist as the Isles went on to defeat the Avalanche.
Jurcina's first goal came in the second period with the Isles on the penalty kill. Josh Bailey won the faceoff, which banked off the boards and went right to Jurcina for a quick shot that goalie Craig Anderson tried to catch with his glove, but missed. Later in the period, with Jurcina pinching towards the goal line to Anderson's left, Jurcina threw the puck at the net. The puck hit the post and the side of Anderson's pad in the small space he left and rolled over the goal line to give the Isles a 2-0 lead.
All of this happened after a fairly uneventful 1st period, one in which the Islanders were outplayed by the Avs. Bailey, earning the hard had for his effort in the game, told us in the locker room that Scott Gordon showed frustration after the first, pointing to the turnovers. That is an area that has killed the Islanders in the times when they haven't played well, and it certainly was the story of the first period tonight. Dwayne Roloson was very sharp, and really was the reason the Islanders were able to come out of the first unscathed.
Bailey scored a goal of his own on the powerplay to make it 3-0. He received a nice pass in the slot from P.A. Parenteau, and was able to be patient enough to wait for Anderson to go down into a split before lifting the puck over him. Bailey has been the Islanders best player most nights, and that was pretty much the case again tonight. He is really developing rapidly before our eyes, and it's been fun to watch so far.
Michael Grabner scored his first goal as an Islander, using his speed to go on a 2-on-1 with Parenteau and received the pass from him. Anderson appeared to play the pass pretty well and make the save but the puck went in anyway as Grabner got a lot on it. He had had a fairly quiet game until that point, and admitted after the game that he is still trying to learn things, but his main objective is to use his speed to push the opposing defensemen back. He did that a couple of times tonight, but still made some of those blind and dangerous passes.
John Tavares had the final goal for the Isles, adding an empty netter with 19 seconds left to seal it.
The Avs goals came from Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi. I was very impressed with Stewart this game. He had some good speed and has come a long way since being drafted in the 1st round in 2006. He'll exceed last years breakout numbers for sure. Anderson did not play badly either, and made a few big saves of his own. He's very quick for a goaltender his size, and will be a huge key to success for the Avs this season once again.
The defense was generally pretty good tonight. The Avs are a quick team and were able to exploit them on a couple of occasions, but in the end no real damage was done. Several guys, especially Mike Mottau once again, had the poke check working. They seemed more alert in getting pucks away from the front of the net, particularly when Roloson was sprawled out trying to make a first save. A number of Avs found themselves tied up when going for second chances as well. Jurcina was frequently involved in plays like this. He truly had his best game as an Islander, offense aside.
Here are some clips from the post game interviews (note: I only asked a couple of questions, and I want to give credit where credit is due to the others):
Milan Jurcina
Michael Grabner
Scott Gordon
NYI FYI Podcast Coming: It's Sunday, and of course that means a new podcast coming from Sean and I. Be sure to stop by the podcast site to check that out as we recap a very busy week that was in Islanders Country.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Jurcina's first goal came in the second period with the Isles on the penalty kill. Josh Bailey won the faceoff, which banked off the boards and went right to Jurcina for a quick shot that goalie Craig Anderson tried to catch with his glove, but missed. Later in the period, with Jurcina pinching towards the goal line to Anderson's left, Jurcina threw the puck at the net. The puck hit the post and the side of Anderson's pad in the small space he left and rolled over the goal line to give the Isles a 2-0 lead.
All of this happened after a fairly uneventful 1st period, one in which the Islanders were outplayed by the Avs. Bailey, earning the hard had for his effort in the game, told us in the locker room that Scott Gordon showed frustration after the first, pointing to the turnovers. That is an area that has killed the Islanders in the times when they haven't played well, and it certainly was the story of the first period tonight. Dwayne Roloson was very sharp, and really was the reason the Islanders were able to come out of the first unscathed.
Bailey scored a goal of his own on the powerplay to make it 3-0. He received a nice pass in the slot from P.A. Parenteau, and was able to be patient enough to wait for Anderson to go down into a split before lifting the puck over him. Bailey has been the Islanders best player most nights, and that was pretty much the case again tonight. He is really developing rapidly before our eyes, and it's been fun to watch so far.
Michael Grabner scored his first goal as an Islander, using his speed to go on a 2-on-1 with Parenteau and received the pass from him. Anderson appeared to play the pass pretty well and make the save but the puck went in anyway as Grabner got a lot on it. He had had a fairly quiet game until that point, and admitted after the game that he is still trying to learn things, but his main objective is to use his speed to push the opposing defensemen back. He did that a couple of times tonight, but still made some of those blind and dangerous passes.
John Tavares had the final goal for the Isles, adding an empty netter with 19 seconds left to seal it.
The Avs goals came from Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi. I was very impressed with Stewart this game. He had some good speed and has come a long way since being drafted in the 1st round in 2006. He'll exceed last years breakout numbers for sure. Anderson did not play badly either, and made a few big saves of his own. He's very quick for a goaltender his size, and will be a huge key to success for the Avs this season once again.
The defense was generally pretty good tonight. The Avs are a quick team and were able to exploit them on a couple of occasions, but in the end no real damage was done. Several guys, especially Mike Mottau once again, had the poke check working. They seemed more alert in getting pucks away from the front of the net, particularly when Roloson was sprawled out trying to make a first save. A number of Avs found themselves tied up when going for second chances as well. Jurcina was frequently involved in plays like this. He truly had his best game as an Islander, offense aside.
Here are some clips from the post game interviews (note: I only asked a couple of questions, and I want to give credit where credit is due to the others):
Milan Jurcina
Michael Grabner
Scott Gordon
NYI FYI Podcast Coming: It's Sunday, and of course that means a new podcast coming from Sean and I. Be sure to stop by the podcast site to check that out as we recap a very busy week that was in Islanders Country.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
July 4, 2010
Isles add Four Players on Day 2
The Islanders addressed a few needs on day 2 of free agency as the team agreed to terms with defensemen Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina, and forwards P.A. Parenteau and Zenon Konopka.
Eaton, 33, signed a 2-year deal for $2.5 million per season. He played with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and averaged 20 minutes of ice time, while recording 135 blocked shots, good for 36th among defensemen. He also chipped in 3 goals and 13 assists for a career high 16 points. However, the 6-2, 212 pound Eaton isn't being brought in for his offensive skill from the blueline, but rather for his defenseive skill. He is a very steady guy, and was usually paired up with Sergei Gonchar while with the Penguins. Right now, it is assumed that he will skate with Mark Streit on the top pairing.
Jurcina, 27, was limited to only 44 games last season between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets, registering 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points. The 6-4, 240 pound defenseman signed a 1-year, $1 million contract with the team. He once had a lot of promise, with people projecting him as a top defenseman, but he never panned out that way. He has a big body and does use that size sometimes, but not as often as he should. He is only a couple of years removed from a 150 hit season, so it is good to see that in the past he has been capable of at least playing the body. Scott Gordon coached him at Providence, and no doubt had a huge say in bringing him to the team. He will try to work with Jurcina on using his size more, as well as the booming shot that he possesses.
P.A. Parenteau signed a 1-year, 600K contract with the Islanders. Parenteau, 27, played in 22 games with the New York Rangers notching 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points. Parenteau has been a very prolific scorer in the AHL, with 166 goals and 237 assists for 403 points over 450 games. He came up to the Rangers, and while he didn't score the way he did in the minors found other ways to contribute. He always seemed to be very active, and played well defensively. While he isn't the biggest guy, he wasn't afraid to check a player. This seems like if it works out, he could be a good bottom line winger.
The final haul of the day for the Islanders was tough forward Zenon Konopka. Konopka is a very interesting specimen, as he led the league in fights (33) and penalty minutes (265). At the same time, he also won 62% of his faceoffs (288 out of 462). While that is a very limited sample, it is interesting for one of the toughest guys in the league to be so good in a category like that. It should be enjoyable for all to watch him patrol the 4th line this season and protect the young team the Isles have.
These signings aren't going to set the world on fire, but that's fine. These are all very solid signings and all fill some roles that the team desperately needed to fill. I personally am very excited about Eaton, and think that is going to turn out to be a steal for the team. He's a very solid, underrated player and everything out of Pittsburgh has been very positive about him. Konopka fills a need that the team has not had in...well, quite a while. It's going to be nice to finally see someone who isn't afraid to drop the gloves, and is quite good at it too. Jurcina is a little bit of a project, but Gordon has recommended some nice players during his time here, so I will defer to him on this one. I will say that I really liked Jurcina's game at the Olympics. He was one of the Czechs best defensemen out there. Parenteau seems like he could be a very nice replacement for Sean Bergenheim/Richard Park. He seems to be a hard working player who found other ways to contribute at the NHL level.
Some people look at these signings, and wonder a little about if the Islanders had plans for another defensemen and the scorer that Garth Snow said he would like to add.
First off, I'll start with the defense. Personally, I think that the Islanders are done for now as far as free agent defensemen go. I will not rule out a trade though, maybe even one of Radek Martinek or Bruno Gervais. Should that happen, then maybe you see them add another defenseman. What they have now though is an upgrade over what it was at any point last season. It isn't a drastic upgrade, but the slight upgrade will make the Islanders a better team.
So, then what about that "forward who can put the puck in the net with more consistency?" Well, thats a good question. Many people have been floating around the names of Alex Frolov, Max Afinogenov and Lee Stempniak to help out there. The team has been looking at a scoring forward, but it's not any of these guys.
The team has seemed to set their sights right now on Ilya Kovalchuk, who you may have heard of. Yes that's right, the Islanders are making a serious push for him. It's been reported that Snow has reached out to the Kovalchuk camp a couple of times since the market opened this past Thursday, and it sounds like the Islanders could prepare an offer for him and present it to him on Monday or Tuesday when the holiday weekend comes to a close. The terms? Well we don't know for sure, but the very reliable Darren Dreger of TSN reported that there was talk that the Islanders could go as high as 10 years, $100 million.
That's your basic Kovalchuk news right there. I do plan on going more into depth on the topic, with my feelings and everything, which I plan to post tomorrow (I figure he deserves an entire post to himself, no?). I'm still trying to organize everything that I want to say on that topic, but feel free to leave me your own thoughts in the comments section.
nyifyi@gmail.com
-Chris
Eaton, 33, signed a 2-year deal for $2.5 million per season. He played with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and averaged 20 minutes of ice time, while recording 135 blocked shots, good for 36th among defensemen. He also chipped in 3 goals and 13 assists for a career high 16 points. However, the 6-2, 212 pound Eaton isn't being brought in for his offensive skill from the blueline, but rather for his defenseive skill. He is a very steady guy, and was usually paired up with Sergei Gonchar while with the Penguins. Right now, it is assumed that he will skate with Mark Streit on the top pairing.
Jurcina, 27, was limited to only 44 games last season between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets, registering 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points. The 6-4, 240 pound defenseman signed a 1-year, $1 million contract with the team. He once had a lot of promise, with people projecting him as a top defenseman, but he never panned out that way. He has a big body and does use that size sometimes, but not as often as he should. He is only a couple of years removed from a 150 hit season, so it is good to see that in the past he has been capable of at least playing the body. Scott Gordon coached him at Providence, and no doubt had a huge say in bringing him to the team. He will try to work with Jurcina on using his size more, as well as the booming shot that he possesses.
P.A. Parenteau signed a 1-year, 600K contract with the Islanders. Parenteau, 27, played in 22 games with the New York Rangers notching 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points. Parenteau has been a very prolific scorer in the AHL, with 166 goals and 237 assists for 403 points over 450 games. He came up to the Rangers, and while he didn't score the way he did in the minors found other ways to contribute. He always seemed to be very active, and played well defensively. While he isn't the biggest guy, he wasn't afraid to check a player. This seems like if it works out, he could be a good bottom line winger.
The final haul of the day for the Islanders was tough forward Zenon Konopka. Konopka is a very interesting specimen, as he led the league in fights (33) and penalty minutes (265). At the same time, he also won 62% of his faceoffs (288 out of 462). While that is a very limited sample, it is interesting for one of the toughest guys in the league to be so good in a category like that. It should be enjoyable for all to watch him patrol the 4th line this season and protect the young team the Isles have.
These signings aren't going to set the world on fire, but that's fine. These are all very solid signings and all fill some roles that the team desperately needed to fill. I personally am very excited about Eaton, and think that is going to turn out to be a steal for the team. He's a very solid, underrated player and everything out of Pittsburgh has been very positive about him. Konopka fills a need that the team has not had in...well, quite a while. It's going to be nice to finally see someone who isn't afraid to drop the gloves, and is quite good at it too. Jurcina is a little bit of a project, but Gordon has recommended some nice players during his time here, so I will defer to him on this one. I will say that I really liked Jurcina's game at the Olympics. He was one of the Czechs best defensemen out there. Parenteau seems like he could be a very nice replacement for Sean Bergenheim/Richard Park. He seems to be a hard working player who found other ways to contribute at the NHL level.
Some people look at these signings, and wonder a little about if the Islanders had plans for another defensemen and the scorer that Garth Snow said he would like to add.
First off, I'll start with the defense. Personally, I think that the Islanders are done for now as far as free agent defensemen go. I will not rule out a trade though, maybe even one of Radek Martinek or Bruno Gervais. Should that happen, then maybe you see them add another defenseman. What they have now though is an upgrade over what it was at any point last season. It isn't a drastic upgrade, but the slight upgrade will make the Islanders a better team.
So, then what about that "forward who can put the puck in the net with more consistency?" Well, thats a good question. Many people have been floating around the names of Alex Frolov, Max Afinogenov and Lee Stempniak to help out there. The team has been looking at a scoring forward, but it's not any of these guys.
The team has seemed to set their sights right now on Ilya Kovalchuk, who you may have heard of. Yes that's right, the Islanders are making a serious push for him. It's been reported that Snow has reached out to the Kovalchuk camp a couple of times since the market opened this past Thursday, and it sounds like the Islanders could prepare an offer for him and present it to him on Monday or Tuesday when the holiday weekend comes to a close. The terms? Well we don't know for sure, but the very reliable Darren Dreger of TSN reported that there was talk that the Islanders could go as high as 10 years, $100 million.
That's your basic Kovalchuk news right there. I do plan on going more into depth on the topic, with my feelings and everything, which I plan to post tomorrow (I figure he deserves an entire post to himself, no?). I'm still trying to organize everything that I want to say on that topic, but feel free to leave me your own thoughts in the comments section.
nyifyi@gmail.com
-Chris
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