Islanders Begin Cleaning House

Well, just as I had anticipated we are now starting to hear some more news with the Stanley Cup Finals coming to a close. Even though the series isn’t over yet, teams are starting to decide what direction to move in with the draft only three weeks away and free agency one month away. For the Islanders, the direction seems to be more clear; a youth movement.

Speaking to Newsday’s Greg Logan, general manager Garth Snow revealed that goalie Wade Dubielewicz, wingers Ruslan Fedotenko and Miro Satan, center Josef Vasicek and defenseman Aaron Johnson will not be retained and will become free agents on July 1. This creates more spots for the young guys such as Kyle Okposo (20), Blake Comeau (22), Jeff Tambellini (24), Ben Walter (24), and Frans Nielsen (24). You can also include whoever the team drafts 5th overall later this month in that list as well.

According to the article, Snow does not yet have a concrete plan as to what to pursue in free agency, and also claims his draft board is not completely set. However, it does seem that they have already determined that a number of spots will be up for grabs for some young players.

The biggest loss out of all of this will be Dubie, who quickly became a fan favorite when he won four straight games at the end of the 2006-07 season to get the Islanders into the playoffs. Last season despite the Isles finishing under .500, Dubie still managed a 9-9-1 record with a 2.70 GAA and a .919 SV. Over the past few seasons, the Isles had difficulty getting good performances out of their backups, with Dubie being the exception.

Snow claimed that Dubie rejected the team’s contract offer, and Logan has speculated that is because the first year might have had a 2-way provision in it because of Joey MacDonald’s 1-way status for the upcoming season. Snow claimed that due to poor conditioning on Dubie’s part, the coaching staff had to ride DiPietro for too many games, thus creating the hip injuries that Rick later sustained.

Regardless of all that, it would seem to me that MacDonald is now the backup for next season. Islander fans grew attached to Dubie, as they do with many players. One has to keep in mind that this happens often especially with backup goalies all around the league, and you can’t get too upset when many of the details of the story are unconfirmed. Now, I wouldn’t expect the team to go after another backup, even though that wouldn’t be a terrible idea. However, MacDonald did look OK in his couple of games with the big club near the end of last season.

As for the other free agents to be, I can’t say I’m surprised to see them go. Satan had a sub-par season, and seems only a shell of the 30 goal per year player he once was and it would not be worthwhile to bring him back. Fedotenko and Vasicek were both one year deals because they were stopgaps, and with the infusion of youth the team is going towards they are no longer needed. Aaron Johnson is young, and due to injuries and a numbers game did not get much time to showcase himself. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t play very well in the time he was given, and didn’t put up the numbers that he proved he could be capable of, even if you projected them over an 82 game season.

Now things are starting to heat up, and while the team still plans on staying competitive next season and making a playoff run, that will all depend on what they do with free agency. A youth movement could mean some youth mixed in with veterans, or a lineup completely full of youth. With no plan in place yet for free agency, we’ll have to wait to get more of an idea.

Islanders end Successful Week

The Islanders finished the week by going 2-0 with wins against the Rangers and the Devils. The team is playing really good hockey right now and all is well in Islander country.

The win against the Rangers was the 2nd time in a row that the team rallied from behind. Against the Rangers, they came back from 1 goal down 2 times before Miro Satan scored the game winner.

Against the Devils, the Islanders came out hard and played what I thought was an excellent game. A great effort in front of the net helped Josef Vasicek score to make it 1-0 Isles. The team came out a bit slow in the 3rd period, but got some life back when they had a 5 on 3, which Satan converted on for his 3rd straight GWG. In both games, Rick DiPietro played very well and stood tall. He looks like he is getting stronger with each game and I think this will be the year where he finally makes jaws drop all season.

Also, the Islanders re-acquired defenseman Freddy Meyer yesterday by picking him up off re-entry waivers. The Coyotes were trying to call him up but the Islanders reclaimed him at half his salary. Freddy is now down in Bridgeport.

All in all, it was a great week for the Isles as their homestand came to an end. They now go on a 4 game road trip, all against the other 4 teams in the Atlantic division. The Atlantic is the toughest, and the Isles were not supposed to compete with them. But as things stand right now, the team has 18 points in 13 games and is 5-1 against the division. Good stuff.

NYI FYI ON AIR TONIGHT AT 10 PM: Sean and I will be on air tonight at 10 PM on www.mywcwp.com. As always, we'll be taking calls and IM's through AIM. For those unable to listen live, we'll have a podcast of the show up at www.nyifyi.mypodcast.com. Hope to hear from many fans tonight!

Isles Come From Behind to win for Arbour

Down 2-0 going into the 3rd, it seemed unthinkable to me that the team would lose on Al Arbour night. However, it did seem possible against one of the most talented teams in the Eastern Conference. But just like the slogan said in the old days when Arbour used to coach, the outcome was never in doubt.

The Islanders fought back hard, and ultimately Miro Satan scored the winner with two and a half minutes to go in the 3rd. The Islanders had scored 3 unanswered goals against the Penguins in the 3rd to win the game. It was a vintage Al Arbour game as well- a strong come from behind effort, and handing a loss to the Penguins as they were very familiar with back in Al's prime days.

The ceremony after was outstanding. being in the stands, I can easily say it was the greatest thing I have ever witnessed in the NVMC yet. As a 20 year old fan, I haven't been able to witness very much yet. But this was one of the best times I ever had at a sporting event. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

I know many fans were hoping for a 740 banner to be raised, but the isles raised a 1500 one instead. Rumor has it there are plans to raise a 740 banner later in the year, maybe on an upcoming alumni night.

Other than all the festivities for Arbour is the fact that the team went down 2-0 to one of the powerhouses in the east and still managed to fight back to win. The team did an excellent job containing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Satan played the hero part, getting the tying and winning goals. The GTG was on a vintage Miro wrister off of a very nice pass from Josef Vasicek, something that he hadn't found in the first month of the season. The second and GWG was a second effort off of a rebound by Marc-Andre Fleury and Miro was there to bang it home.

The crowd was very loud, the atmosphere intense. It felt like a playoff game in there. The players wanted it for Al, as did the fans. A great job all around for the Isles.

Enough can't be said about Ted Nolan in all of this. It was ultimately his decision, and he ran it by Garth Snow and Charles Wang. After approval, they invited Arbour to come back and coach for one game. It really shows how much Nolan respects the Isles for giving him his second chance in the NHL, and also speaks volumes to how much he respects the Islanders roots. Nolan had a very tough job ahead of him at the beginning of last season, and that was to begin a culture change on Long Island. After seeing Ted as coach for 1 season and 1 month, I can honestly say I have seen more amazing things that I have seen in any of the previous seasons as an Islander fan. Things like this get recognition around the league, as can be seen from the many positive articles being published about the team today. Great job all around, especially by Ted Nolan. He is a keeper.

Here is a video of some of the main points of last nights game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55H9idRz4vk

Oh, and by the way, the Islanders are second in the division with a record of 7-4-0. Not to shabby for a team the was predicted by "experts" to be at the bottom of the league, don't ya think?

On a more serious note, Rick DiPietro took a Crosby stick to the eye in the 2nd period and did not return. His eye is OK though, and he will get looked at again on Monday. Right now his status for Tuesdays game against the Rangers is unknown. We'll keep you updated as always.

NYI FYI ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Sean and I will be on the air tonight at 10 PM on http://www.mywcwp.com/. We'll be taking calls and IM's and are asking fans who listen to call in or IM to share their favorite Arbour Memories from over the years. We have a nice show planned tonight, and the 2-0 week makes it much easier. After the show we will be putting up the podcast which will be available at the link on the side of this page titled "NYI FYI Podcasts." Enjoy!

Chris

Guerin gets Winner to Beat Devils 4-3 in OT

Bill Guerin scored with 3.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Islanders and 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. It was a game that probably should have never gone to overtime though, as the Isles blew their second consecutive 2 goal lead. However, the Isles still found a way to win it and finished the week winning both their games.

Early in the game, turnovers looked like they were going to kill the Isles. Their second turnover in the first minute of the game led to a Zach Parise goal. As much as the Devils have struggled this year, you can not turn over the puck continuously to guys like Pairse, Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta and Dainius Zubrus.

The Isles came out much stronger in the 2nd period, scoring 3 goals. The first was scored right after a power play ended. Josef Vasicek took a blocked shot attempt by Miroslav Satan and moved to the front of the net and beat Kevin Weekes to tie the game. Shortly after that, Satan got one himself has he moved around Paul Martin and then a sprawling Weekes and slipped the puck passed him for the 2-1 lead. With about 8 minutes to go on the period, The Isles were on the power play. A nice pass from Ruslan Fedotenko to Bruno Gervais produced a one-timer shot from Gervais, that hit the crossbar and landed somewhere in the crease. The puck bounced out to Mike Comrie who quickly shot it passed Weekes for the 3-1 advantage. The team went into the 2nd intermission with a 2 goal lead, the worst in hockey.

The Islanders came out a bit sloppy again in the 3rd, and the Devils seemed to control more of the play. A fluke goal was scored by Jay Pandolfo when he shot the puck and it deflected off of Andy Sutton's leg and sailed over DiPietro. The Isles then failed to convert on a 4 minute power play and once it concluded, Brian Gionta tipped a Paul Martin shot in to tie the game at 3.

In Overtime, after some great end to end action that saw a flurry of saves and even Chris Campoli spoil a breakaway by Sergei Brylin, it was the heroics of the captain, Bill Guerin, who had a loose puck bounce his way and he hammered it home for the win on the power play.

Obviously, even though they scored 2 power play goals the team seemed to have trouble with some of the set ups and what not. That is most likely due to the loss of Bryan Berard, who left the game early on with what is being described now as a groin injury. With a week off, I really hope Berard can take the time to get healthy enough and get some practices in. It also appears Shawn Bates could be back for the game next Saturday as well, so it should be interesting to see who will sit in favor of him.

So a successful week in islanders hockey, and now we must wait until next Saturday until we see the Isles again.

WE'RE ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Sean and I will be on the air again tonight, at 10 PM on http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/dcox/website/listen.html. We're on webradio, not on the FM station. Just as last week, we will have a phone line and an AIM screen name running so you can send us your thoughts and questions. We'd love to hear from any fan as we love discussing hockey in general, but especially the Islanders. Hope to hear from some of you tonight. For those who can;t listen, we will put the podcast form up. We'll let you know when it is there.

Guerin's Hat Trick helps Isles beat Capitals 5-2

Through 6 games, all Bill Guerin had to show offensively was 6 assists. Even though he played well in those 6 games, a sniper like him always like to put pucks in the net. He would have been happy with one.

Guerin not only scored his first goal as an Islander in the game, but he also had his second and third. The monkey on his back had been lifted. Two of his goals came on the powerplay, something the Isles had trouble with over the last 2 games.

However, it was Bryan Berard's power play goal for the team that would end up being the game winner. Berard one-timed a pass from Chris Campoli at the point with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period to put the Islanders up for good. Berard now has 2 goals and 2 assists in 4 games with the team. Campoli had 4 assists and was noticeable all game. He was strong at both ends of the ice and has impressed many through each game this season.

Sean Bergenheim also scored for the Isles, his first goal since March of 2006. It was nice to see Bergie get the first one after coming back from Europe this year. He has really done wonders on the 2nd line playing with Josef Vasicek and Miroslav Satan.

Alex Ovechkin and Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Capitals. Their goals came about 5 minutes apart after a goal by Ruslan Fedotenko was disallowed. It appears that the goal should have been allowed, but the NHL said they didn't have enough evidence and the call on the ice stands. After that, Washington seemed to get momentum and quickly got on the board with Ovechkins goal.

Even after all that, the Isles were able to get it together and get a powerplay, the one that Berard converted on for his game winner. Despite all the scoring, Rick DiPietro was once again spectacular, making 27 saves on 29 shots. The Isles were out shot, and many times it looked as though Rick didn't have time to relax as he always had to be on his toes.

A game like this could be just what the doctor ordered for the team. Bill Guerin finally scoring should make things easier for him. It would be nice to see Satan and Mike Sillinger step up their game a little bit, and hopefully they can start that next game. Sillinger has been a 60 point scorer the last few years and the Isles would really like to see him do it again this year. Both he and Satan have yet to score a goal this year.

The next game is Saturday night against the Devils at the Coliseum. The Devils have had some early season problems and Marty Brodeur has looked shaky at best. Hopefully the Isles can pull one out and have a very successful week.

Islanders lose to Flyers 3-1

One of the goals the Islanders had going into Saturday night's game in Philadelphia was to play much better. While they did accomplish that throughout most of the game, they still came up short.

A bad second period by the team cost them 2 goals. After a great start to the first period, which saw the Isles with the puck for most of the time, the team failed to put the puck in the net and went to the dressing room tied at zero.

About 7 minutes into the 2nd period, the Flyers' Jeff carter scored on the powerplay to take a 1-0 lead. The puck snuck past Rick DiPietro, and some players did not even realize that it went in. Two minutes later, Sami Kapanen scored his first of the year after a failed clearing attempt by the Isles. The puck was under Radek Matinek, who failed to see it between his feet. A Flyer chipped the puck back to Kapanen, who was all alone on the left side of the net and put the puck past the sprawling DiPietro. It was a save that he could have made, but was tough for him to get over quickly enough to save the defensive break down.

Josef Vasicek scored the only goal for the Isles in the 3rd. Though they pushed hard to tie the game, the Isles could not. Jason Smith scored an empty net goal with 5 seconds left to put the icing on the cake.

Sean Bergenhim played really well in his debut on the 2nd line. He will have 4 days now to work out the kinks with Miro Satan and Vasicek. meanwhile, the Isles first line seems to have hit a wall. Mike Comire has been brutal defensively, and Bill Guerin is having a hard time finding the net, as is Satan and center Mike Sillinger. All of them will have to step it up if they expect to have any sort of success this season.

While it is not time to panic yet, a 3-3-0 start is a bit disappointing after starting off 2-0-0 and 3-1-0. But at any rate, 6 games in and plenty of time to figure things out.

DiPietro had a string game, and a lot of the teams success will depend on how well he plays. As good as he is, 1 goal per game wont cut it.

The teams next game is Thursday against Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals in Washington. This past Monday the teams played and Washington was victorious, winning the game 2-1 even though the Isles had the 31-12 edge in shots. Should be interesting to see if the team can rebound from their little slump.

FIRST LIVE SHOW ON TONIGHT: Tonight at 10 PM Sean and I will be on the air live. We will take calls and also have an AIM screen name set up to take comments or answer questions. The website for the show is http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/dcox/website/home.html. Under the Webradio column, select either the Quicktime Player or the Windows Media Player. For those who can't listen to the live show, we will put the podcast up at the site in out links section for the NYI FYI Podcasts. We look forward to hearing from all of you tonight!