Isles Rally from Three Goal Deficit to Stun Wild 5-4

Given the fact that the Islanders were playing the Minnesota Wild, you just knew that Nino Niederreiter would do his best to make his presence felt. It seemed predictable, and I even indicated as much on the radio show on Sunday morning. While he didn't live up to my pregame prediction of two goals, he had a goal and an assist as he looked to pace the Wild against his former, struggling team and when he gave the Wild the 3-0 lead many - including myself - thought that was all they needed.

Team White (BST) Defeats Team Blue (NYI) in Scrimmage

In lieu of a true training camp, most teams have decided to square off against their minor league affiliates to prepare for the upcoming season. The Islanders were one of the teams that did this and on Wednesday night opened the Nassau Coliseum up to anyone who wanted to come see it - you didn't even have to pay to park.

A nice crowd of about 3,000 was on hand to watch the scrimmage between what amounted to the Islanders against the Sound Tigers, with the Tigers (Team White) coming out on top 5-3.

Isles Prepare for Tough Boston Matchup

When the Islanders fell to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, one of the key reasons why they did was due to the size of the Flyers. The Islanders got off to a quick start, but once the Flyers began using their big bodies things went South.

Moulson, Islanders Win Texas Shootout with Stars; NYI FYI Sunday

The scene was set up pretty nicely for this to be a very high scoring game: Rick DiPietro vs. Andrew Raycroft. If you were an offensive player, neither goalie disappointed you.

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.

Islanders Get Revenge on Devils; NYI FYI at 10 AM Sunday

The Islanders stuck to the basics and made some changes after getting shut out 1-0 on Friday afternoon. The slight changes they did make resulted in a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils about 24 hours later.

Isles Come Back Twice, Not a Third Time Against Rangers

Tuesday night's installment of Islanders-Rangers was a tale of two teams trending in opposite directions. The Rangers were coming off their sixth straight victory, while the Islanders had lost nine of their last 10 and had a pretty poor effort in Vancouver.

Jack Capuano said that he was unhappy with the effort some individuals put in that game, and that he would have to adjust accordingly. When asked about Nino Niederreiter coming up, he quipped that he wished two others were coming up with him.

Isles Fall to Canucks; El Nino Returns

The Islanders dropped their rare Sunday night game 4-1 to the Canucks as Evgeni Nabokov was tested early and often.

It seems that no Isles goalie can be tested early enough though as Nabokov gave up a goal 1:57 seconds into the game, on a shot by Aaron Rome. It was a bit of a defensive breakdown in front of Nabokov, and would be a sign of things to come for the Islanders.

Isles Finalize Roster

The NHL deadline for teams to file their final rosters passed at 3 PM on Wednesday with the season set to open on Thursday.

From the Isles press release, the roster is as follows:

Jay Pandolfo Comes to Training Camp, What About Others?

The Islanders announced on Saturday that Jay Pandolfo has agreed to a try out with the team when camp opens in a couple of weeks. About a week ago, Newsday's Katie Strang posted a list of players who the club could possibly have in camp on invite: Pandolfo, Sergei Samsonov, Chris Clark and Bryan McCabe. There is strong reason to believe that all were extended invites - among other players as well - but so far, going this route only made the most sense for Pandolfo.

Pandolfo hasn't been in the NHL since the 2009 - 2010 season with the New Jersey Devils. After that season he was bought out and participated in a handful of AHL games last season before his Christmas Day release from the Springfield Falcons.

Neither Pandolfo nor the Islanders have anything to lose with this, and I'm disappointed in some of the comments I see from fans regarding this. The point of an invite is that it gives you a look at someone without having to give them a guaranteed spot on the roster. I want Nino Niederreiter, Matt Martin and others to feel their jobs are at stake and be pushed. Now, how far can someone like Pandolfo push them? Well that remains to be seen, sure. But with so many forwards already on the roster, if I'm a young player and I see a 36 year old veteran coming in, I'm not taking my chances or scoffing at the competition. Especially with an individual who has proven for many years he can be an excellent penalty killer, even though his game has eroded over the past two seasons.

According to Strang, McCabe and Samsonov appear "reluctant" to take the invite at this time, and I can't blame them for that. With camps set to open, any injury could have them signing a guaranteed contract, perhaps for terms even better than they are expecting (see Mike Mottau and his two year deal from the Isles last September 25th). I would imagine the invites are always open, so Clark could still come if he wishes too, despite a similar player in Pandolfo coming (EDIT: Not sure how I missed this, but Strang reports Clark has accepted an invite with the Bruins, who offered one to Pandolfo too). I think as time goes on, McCabe accepts his invite too. Samsonov though, I would be surprised.

I've been asked this a lot over the weekend - if McCabe comes to camp, am I upset? It's a good question. McCabe is not the ideal defenseman this team needs. But at the same time, that's why he'd be coming in as an invite. If he plays well? Then it means he looked fine, looked like he still had enough in the tank and will suffice until someone better comes along (or one of the kids are ready, such as Calvin deHaan). If he looks awful? Then he walks away and is free to talk to other teams (like Brent Sopel did a few years ago after his camp with Detroit). At the end of the day, an upgrade for me in the most basic sense was a guy more durable than Radek Martinek, Jack Hillen or Bruno Gervais. McCabe would certainly be that and a great shot to use on the 2nd power-play unit to keep the opposition guessing after seeing Mark Streit on unit one.

I am always curious to see what players go on invites to other teams, and see who can crack lineups. It's a popular way to fill out rosters or find an extremely cheap gem. The Islanders generally have lucked out with guys like this under Snow, and it'll be a good story line to follow as a distraction from some of your usual ones. We'll see if any of the others accept soon.

More to come on some items we missed on discussing while we were away.

-Chris

nyifyi@gmail.com

Postseason Potpourri

While the Islanders may not have been able to participate in this year's playoffs, they certainly have been a treat to watch for the hockey fan in general.

I'm trying to think in my lifetime when I have seen a playoff season this crazy and I really can't think of one. The overtime games, the underdogs winning - it's all been really fun to watch.

When I think of what the biggest story has been thus far, I think you have to look at what the Tampa Bay Lightning are doing. Not only did they oust a Penguins team that was still very strong without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but they also quickly dispatched of a Washington Capitals team that up until this point had looked the best of any Caps team I've seen in the playoffs in recent years.

The Lightning are getting top notch performances from Martin St. Louis, Dwayne Roloson and...Sean Bergenheim?!

As strange as it may be to say that, it's not uncommon for solid role players to elevate their game in the playoffs. Bergenheim has always been a very solid role player, and I'm glad to see him having the kind of success he is so far in the playoffs. Some fans may be biter about his departure from the Island, but the reality of the situation is that it just wasn't working out here, and it wasn't going to.

Bergenheim was at the age where you could no longer consider him "the future." That point had come and gone, and when it did Bergenheim was at a crossroads. With many similar players on the roster, Garth Snow had to make a tough decision. Bergenheim was essentially redundant, and cutting him loose gave the Isles the ability to bring in guys like P.A. Parenteau and give him a chance, along with guys like Matt Martin and Michael Grabner.

At any rate, it's good to see him, along with Nate Thompson play well as solid role players on a strong team.


Fans from Minny, Edmonton and LI are unsurprised by Roli.

Meanwhile, fans in Minnesota, Edmonton and Long Island are unsurprised at the way that Roloson has played, carrying the Lightning on a couple of nights too. We knew dating back to his days as an Oiler that he can come up big in the post season, but he remained one of the most underrated goalies in the league. When he became one of the top available goalies on the market, many questioned why a team would want him because of his age. Sure, that has to be a concern, but when it comes to his play I think anyone who had watched him closely enough would know he had plenty left in the tank. Steve Yzerman watched closely, and when it came to giving up a B-level prospect for him in Ty Wishart when other teams balked, he went ahead with the move. Now, he looks like a genius.

Obviously, if it's not clear by now I am pulling for the Lightning to get all the way to the finals. Ideally, it would be nice to see Roli finally add a cup to his resume. He's putting to rest a lot of the talk of age.

Other story lines include the lack of intensity from teams that are fighting for their lives. In their respective game fours, both the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals looked like they would rather be doing something else. Unless that something else was golf, I can't fathom why neither team really showed up. In that final game for Washington, Alex Ovechkin played well and looked good. Unfortunately for him, the list ends there.

While he didn't score in last seasons upset to the Montreal Canadiens, you can't say that Alex Semin didn't try. When you pelt 48 shots at a red hot goaltender, even if he stops them all you did your part. But I can't say I feel the same way about Semin in the 2nd round. He's a very talented player who perhaps got away from the things that make him successful.

The Flyers on the other hand finally hit a brick wall when it came to their goaltender by committee. Going for relievers works well in baseball, and it worked well for the Flyers in the 1st round. But no matter who they had in net against the Bruins, it didn't change the way they played. Of course, it didn't help that the Flyers were missing Chris Pronger and had Jeff Carter at anything but 100%, but they are still a strong team up front and on defense. Goaltending continues to be an issue here, and it will be interesting to see how they solve this problem. Do they continue on with Sergei Bobrovski after giving up on him quickly? Do they try and find a way to sign Tomas Vokoun, even if it means shedding some salary? Or, do they give a call to a team for a cheaper but unknown options, such as the Isles very own Evgeni Nabokov (more on this in a later post)?

One of the other cool stories so far is the rise of the Nashville Predators. This is something I'll comment on more in a few days or so, but I am enjoying the success they are finally having. The team and their fans deserve it.

ISLES IN THE WC: The Islanders sent six players to the World Championships: John Tavares (Canada), Al Montoya (United States), Evgeni Nabokov (Russia), Milan Jurcina (Slovakia), Radek Martinek (Czech Republic) and Jesse Joensuu (Finland).

So far, Montoya has looked pretty good playing for former Isles coach Scott Gordon. Montoya did have one bad start and was ultimately replaced as the starter by Ty Conklin. In general, goalies are changed quite frequently after a bad game when it comes to tournaments like this. Montoya did have a relief appearance though on Monday, and played well again. It remains to be seen if he took back the starting spot from Conklin though.

Meanwhile Tavares has been one of Canada's best players. As TSN pointed out in an article on Sunday, Tavares had four goals and eight points while only averaging 13 minutes of ice time. In Canada's 3-2 win over Sweden on Monday, Tavares added another goal to bring his total to five.

I know a lot of fans were uneasy with Tavares going to represent his country, especially after the injury that he suffered last season. From my perspective though, it's definitely beneficial for a player like him. At that age, you want him playing as many games as possible. Since the Isles can't be a part of the dance this year, it's only natural to think that the next best thing is to play in some meaningful games to your country. While they may not be as important as the Olympic games, they certainly have a lot of weight up North especially for the non-Vancouver Canuck fans right now.

Now, on the other hand a player in Martinek's position should not be participating in games like this. Radek has always taken great pride in playing for two teams, however: the Islanders and his National team. I wasn't surprised Martinek decided to go, but raied an eyebrow when I took into consideration his contract status (UFA to be), his injury history and his desire to be re-signed by the Islanders.

Here's the conundrum now, however. Martinek sustained a nasty injury in the tournament, which ended his participation for the summer. His injuries are not as bad as originally feared, but still sizeable (concussion, but with no spinal injuries).

Martinek hasn't been the poster boy for durability, and neither has the Isles defense. Mark Eaton, Mike Mottau, Andrew MacDonald, Milan Jurcina and Mark Streit all sustained prolonged and season-ending injuries at some point last season, which obviously raises some red flags. Then you take into account that Martinek's injury history (excluding this past season, which we'll say is an outlier for now) isn't the cleanest, and I'm having a hard time convincing myself that the Isles have to keep him.



Martinek's decade on LI has been mired by injury.

Martinek is an excellent and very underrated defenseman, but does that mean the Isles should pay the price and possibly be scrambling for defensemen again next season? I think it's become quite clear that even this improved defense corps (from what it was in 2009-10) needs to be improved once more to add in durability.
When the Isles resigned Milan Jurcina, both Sean and I were happy about it. Not everyone was, and we had some good discussions about it on Twitter and Facebook. Truth be told, Jurcina is very injury prone himself. However, when he played and was used in the right situations he excelled and that's why I have no probelms with him coming back. When he was re-signed, I was under the impression that Martinek wasn't returning anyway.

Defense has become the number one issue facing this team right now in my opinion. It still could use a slight overhaul to add durability. If that means letting a very good defenseman go in Martinek, then so be it.

PLAYOFFS IN JUNIORS: Some of the Isles younger players are benefitting from some great play in the playoffs for their juniors teams too.
The most notable of the bunch is Nino Niederreiter, who is just tearing the WHL up in the playoffs with nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points over 18 games. His team is in the finals against Kootenay, who won the last game in a wild one 7-5. The series is tied 1-1. But for Isles fans, the story is Niederreiter and what he's done.

When you consider the slow start he got off to when originally going back down to the WHL, it is all the more impressive. I would be shocked if he didn't make the team next season - or, at the very least wasn't given a very long leash and every chance to grab one of the final spots on the roster (barring any unforseen changes upfront).

The experience is the reason why it was necessary for Niederreiter to go back down, and why it would have been as equally as beneficial if the Isles did right by Josh Bailey a few seasons ago. Hopefully Niederreiter's team can continue to streak through and make the Memorial Cup.

Casey Cizikas is also going deep into the playoffs as a member of Missagua in the OHL. Cizikas and his Majors are also in a dog fight with the seris tied 2-2 after a tough overtime loss on Sunday.

Cizikas has five goals and 10 helpers for 15 points in 13 games. For the OHL, those are very solid numbers. For Cizikas, each day he seems to add another chapter to a story that seemed very unlikely at one time.

As an Isles fan, you have to be thrilled seeing these two young forwards going deep into their playoffs. We have seen the past few years what Calvin deHaan was all about, as well as fellow defensemen Travis Hamonic and Matt Donovan. Hamonic of course is already up with the Isles, and deHaan had a solid year as the captain for the Oshawa Generals.

The forward picture was a bit more murky as we wondered what the ceiling was for guys like Niederreiter, Cizikas and others such as Kirill Kabanov. All three had solid showings in the post season, although each seemed to take a different route to get there. We want to have these battles in the future, even if it means making a tough decision to get better elsewhere in the organization.

OTHER NOTES: Obviously, both Sean and I have taken some time off to take care of some items we may have put aside. Those of you who have continued to follow us have most likely seen the Twitter and Facebook updates we've had throughout these fantastic playoffs thus far.

I've taken some time to think about what I'd like to write about as we enter some of the slower months and I have some good ideas kicking around in my head that I plan to have some conversations with the Isles on. Once I figure out what I'm able to do you guys will have a better idea.

In the meantime, feel free to continue to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and feel free to tell us what your favorite moments have been so far of the playoffs. As always, we continue to welcome all thoughts and questions, be it on the NHL or the Isles.

One last thing, don't be surprised if some things change on the blog here and there. I know over the winter I said I was going to change the format up, and I held off because I needed to learn some of the bells and whistles and by the time I got to think about what I wanted to do, there wasn't much left to the season so I put any renovations off until the offseason. So if you pop on one day and we're down, down fret and just sit tight.

I promise it won't be three weeks before my next post.

-CH

nyifyi@gmail.com

Briere to Have Hearing; New Podcast Posted!

As a result of his cheap shot cross-check that I alluded to in the game recap from the Flyers game, Daniel Briere has a hearing this morning with the NHL. Briere got a five-minute major and a 10 minute misconduct for his cross-check to the head of Frans Nielsen, and generally penalties of that nature that are handed out in the last five minutes of a game are reviewed. Players will usually get suspensions for those acts as well, so one can assume that Briere will get one game for his actions, as he should. We'll see what we get for a final ruling and be sure to update you guys with what we hear.

In the meantime, we posted our latest podcast yesterday, for those of you who don't already know. The week was rather uneventful, with only Nino Niederreiter to talk about aside from the games, but we go through a nice breakdown, and give our thoughts on the play of some particular players. Some good stuff throughout, so be sure to give a listen.

This was the last podcast before Sean goes away for the next two weeks, and I haven't completely figured out if we'll have something in audio form or not for you guys over that time. I'm still working on figuring some things out, and will be sure to update you when I know.

More to come. Enjoy!

-CH

nyifyi@gmail.com

Life Without El Nino Begins as Isles go for Round 2 vs. Habs

Coming off the heals of yesterday's announcement that Nino Niederreiter is heading back to Portland of the WHL, the Islanders prepare to take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Coliseum for the 2nd part of a home and home.

Sending Niederreiter down was the right move for various reasons, some of which I discussed here yesterday. Now he'll get solid playing time, be a leader on his team, and perhaps make the Portland Winterhawks one of the powerhouses in all of junior hockey. Niederreiter is a great player and a good kid who is taking it all in stride.

Matt Martin will stay up and take Niederreiter's place for now. I felt Martin had a solid game on Wednesday night, so we'll see if any of that carries over to tonight. I thought he was going to make the final roster of Niederreiter originally, but as Scott Gordon said the injury he sustained during camp hindered his chances near the end.

Michael Grabner remains out, and will probably not play Saturday against the Flyers either. Trent Hunter is playing tonight. The Islanders are making a change at forward, however, in the form of Bruno Gervais. Yes, that is not a typo. The Islanders, who have used Gervais as a forward in practice, are going with a little experiment for at least tonight. It is a bit odd, but one would suspect that perhaps Trevor Gillies is out of the lineup tonight. He was supposed to be scratched Wednesday, but ended up playing with Hunter out and logged a whopping 55 seconds of ice time. The Islanders can't do that against a fast team like this, so it appears they just decided at the last minute to go with Gervais rather than call someone up. Will be interesting to see how this works out.

Dwayne Roloson gets the start again. He looked sharp to me on Wednesday, and the result was more of a product of those in front of him. If they are not going to skate, and are going to stand around, then expect a similar result to Wednesday. I do not anticipate this happening. Gordon most likely let them hear it after that performance.

SCHREMP TO BRIDGEPORT: If you caught it on his Twitter account last night before the comment got deleted, Rob Schremp is in fact heading to Bridgeport for a conditioning stint. He seemed to jump the gun with reporting the news, but myself and a few others saw it. The Isles made the news official today, and he is playing tonight against Manchester. He had been skating with the team a little this week, so you knew he was close to returning to action. It'll be good to get his creativity and improved skating into the lineup within the next week or two.

KABANOV TRADED IN QMJHL: As I had re-tweeted yesterday, Kirill Kabanov was traded to the Lewiston MAINEiacs from Danny Flynn's Moncton Wildcats. The deal had been rumored for about a week, which covers a good chunk of the time where Kabanov was in Russia for a "personal issue." Kabanov spend about two weeks back home.

It's not right to jump to conclusions at all, but one has to wonder if these things are related. When he left, it seemed very odd to say the least. usually when players head home for personal reason's you hear about why. There have been only some theories on why he returned to Russia, nothing concrete though.

At any rate, Lewiston gave up quite the package for the talented winger, sending away goalie Jordan Kennedy, a second round draft pick in 2011, a fourth round draft pick in 2011, a first round pick in the 2011 CHL Import Draft, and a fourth round draft pick in 2012. Problems aside, there is a reason why the kid was at one time regarded as a top three pick. We'll see what this change does for him.

-CH

nyifyi@gmail.com

Attention Turns to Niederreiter as Habs Down Isles

3:10 PM: Kirill Kabanov has been traded by the Moncton Wildcats to the Lewiston Maniacs. Detials on this coming later as well.

11:46 AM: As I expected, the Islanders are sending Niederreiter back down to Portland. This means that he still has all three years of his entry level deal still remaining.

More to come later.

8:45 AM: The Islanders lost to the Habs 5-3 in a game where they definitely did not bring their "A" game. There were often times where they were found standing around rather than playing their up tempo style of hockey. This isn't a team that is overly skilled, and has to learn to constantly move their feet in order to be successful.

The Canadiens are a very fast and skilled team, and they showed that last night. Of course, the Isles made them look much faster because of the lack of skating. It was not a banner game for Mark Eaton, who made a couple of weak passes, including one that lead to a penalty shot attempt for Benoit Pouliot.

I felt that Dwayne Roloson player pretty well, and did the best he could with what he had to work with, which quite frankly was not enough. There were many lackluster players, on both sides of the puck. Roloson was one of the few who didn't disappoint.

Matt Martin had a pretty good season debut, mixing it up at times and parking himself in front of the net for the 3rd Islander goal. After following him in preseason, and being very impressed with the changes in his game, I can't say I'm surprised with how he played. He needs to get his head up though a little more, for example on the break he had that P.K. Subban broke up.

Speaking of Subban, I need to apologize to those who told me to look out for him as a potential Calder winner this season. I dismissed any thought of that, and he has been quite impressive this season. The kid is some defenseman.

Doug Weight had some problems in this game too. I'm noticing more and more this season that he seems to cough up pucks at the blueline on the power-play. He's still an asset there, and is probably the closest thing we have to a power-play quarterback, but he needs to be a little more careful with that.

Speaking of assets at the blueline, James Wisniewski had yet another outstanding offensive performance. He had a couple of hard shots that created Islander goals as he notched a goal and two assists. His defensive play was decent, aside from the play on Montreal's second goal, but that was slightly awkward and everyone was scrambling there to cover the 2-on-1 breakout.

These are things that have to be improved upon if the Islanders are to walk out of Friday night's game with any points.

The attention now will be on Nino Niederreiter as we await his fate. Will he stay with the Islanders and play Friday, starting the countdown on his entry-level contract, or does he go back to play more junior hockey with Portland of the WHL?

Niederreiter played just over 14 minutes last night, and in keeping up with the rest of the team appeared sloppy at times. Obviously, a decision will not be made based on one game, but I would agree with Chris Botta's statements. Don't think that the decision was made overnight.

As far as my opinion, after originally thinking he would stay, I've thought differently over the last week or so.

Niederreiter certainly hasn't played bad, and if he stays it would be deserved. Physically, he can handle the NHL and has not been over matched on too many occasions. But, the NHL is a faster, tougher game than juniors. While Niederreiter has been trying to adjust to the NHL, the league has been trying to adjust to him. It isn't often where young, recently turned 18 year olds come in, not shy away from contact and cut to the net to create scoring chances.

When the league figures out his style, his game - how will Niederreiter play? Will he be as effective as he is now? I'm not sure anyone can confidently say yes, when you factor in taking the beatings for a much longer period of time.

Don't discount Scott Gordon's thought process in any of this either. Despite the comments he made yesterday, he is going to do what he thinks is best to make the team win right now. He finds himself in the very unusual situation of fighting for his Islander life as coach. If he feels that his chances of success are better with having Martin, Rob Schremp, Michael Grabner or even prospects David Ullstrom or Jesse Joensuu in the lineup, he will let it be known. I don't think that this team is better off with Ullstrom or Joensuu over Niederreiter, but with the other guys I think the team will be fine.

Niederreiter will be a better player than all of those guys in the long run, but right now the others are so much further ahead in terms of development, obviously. Martin still has some developing of his own to do, but I liked a lot of what I saw out of him last night, and some of it is similar to what Niederreiter provides, with Martin adding some more aggression and slightly better skating.

I know some people talk about injuries as playing a factor in the decision, but I don't see that being the case here. As I mentioned just before, if Gordon thinks this team is better off with one guy over another, he'll say so. Schremp is going to get back in the lineup once he comes back. The Islanders need someone with his creativity, not to mention his improved skating. Kyle Okposo is a non factor essentially since his return can be anywhere from December to February, but that is still murky. Jon Sim and Trent Hunter have been filling bottom line roles, and that is not something Niederreiter should be doing at this stage. He needs to consistently be playing 14, 15 minutes a night if he's going to stick.

We'll find out most likely today the fate of Niederreiter, but I wouldn't bank on him staying here. Don't discount the impact Gordon has, and don't read too much into those quotes from yesterday. Expect Matt Martin's stay to last a little longer until Schremp/Hunter/Grabner are ready to go.

When news breaks, I'll try and have something for you. Until then, we play the waiting game.

-CH

nyifyi@gmail.com

Isles Take on Canadiens, 7:30 PM

7:07: Trent Hunter is not in the line-up tonight either. Trevor Gillies will be taking his place. Trevor has averaged under two minutes of ice time per game this season.

4:45 PM: The Islanders are in Montreal tonight to take on the Canadiens. As originally thought, Dwayne Roloson gets the start for the Islanders with Rick DiPietro having played the last two games. Roloson's last start was in Toronto. I doubt he'll show much rust though, if any. It took a couple of games at the beginning of the year before he got a nod, and he had a nice performance against Washington in that game.

Josh Bailey returns to the lineup after missing time with the hip pointer injury. I'm very happy the Islanders took it slow with Josh so that he could get to 100%. Very excited to see him get back on the ice tonight, and I would imagine the combination of him playing with Frans Nielsen and  P.A. Parenteau will be a good one. Nielsen has quietly been having a strong start to the season, and Parenteau leads the team in points. Bailey has made those who have played with him better this season.

Matt Martin, in for the injured Michael Grabner, plays his first game of the year, and will be on a line with Doug Weight and Nino Niederreiter. This has the makings of a fun line to watch. Nino is playing in his 9th game, and a decision will be made about his future after the game. I have a feeling that he is going to be going back to Portland of the WHL. That's not from a source or anything, just something I'm feeling in my gut (more on my reasoning either later tonight or tomorrow).

Carey Price stars yet again for the Canadiens. The young goalie has certainly had his ups and downs since arriving on the scene a couple of years ago, but is off to a nice start this season. He has played in every game so far this season.

The Canadiens are a very fast team, with a virtually non-existant power-play so far this season. This, of course, is due in large part to the absence of Andrei Markov, who might return Friday for the 2nd part of the home-and-home. But in the meantime, the Islanders defensemen are going to have to do an extra good job of forcing the play to the outside. This Canadiens team is too quick and skilled to get caught out of position, no matter how big you are compared to them. Look for Milan Jurcina to have yet another steady game for the reason's I highlighted in this space yesterday.

This should be another fun one, in a building that hasn't been too kind to the Islanders in recent years. It's another early season test. Let's hope they break this hex tonight.

-CH

nyifyi@gmail.com

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

Isles Defeat Bolts After Waiting Game, Remain atop Division and Conference

The Islanders faced another early season test on the road in Tampa, a building that hasn't been too kind to them in recent years. Tampa entered the game with a 4-1 record, sitting in 1st in the South East Division. Prior to the game, it was decided that Vincent Lecavalier would be playing, meaning all the big guns were going to be on the ice.

But when it was all over, the Islanders would still find themselves sitting atop the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division and off to their best start since the 2001-2002 renaissance season.

The game started out with the Islanders looking strong. It didn't take very long for the Isles to get their first goal. Doug Weight took the puck behind Tampa's net, and passed it in front for a shot by Nino Niederreiter. Niederreiter got the initial shot off, but Dan Ellis kicked the rebound to the slot where Michael Grabner was waiting to put in his 2nd of the season.

Tampa Bay wouldn't answer with a goal of their own until late in the period, with Sean Bergeheim scoring on a breakaway. DiPietro had an odd approach to playing it, and I don't think he expected Bergenheim to get it off after the late deke. Either way, there were a couple of things he could have done better there. Kudos to Bergie for getting the goal against his former team. He's off to a fast start.

The second period was a slightly different game, with more stoppages and more penalties coming to both teams. Early in the 2nd, Bergenheim took a holding penalty on John Tavares. It was actually quite blatant, but Bergie being Bergie argued the call. The Islanders weren't able to cash in on that power play, and Martin St. Louis made them pay (of course). Steve Stamkos stripped a rather careless Blake Comeau of the puck at the blue line and passed it up to St. Louis. Mike Mottau did a lot to try and tie him up, but St. Louis used speed and skill to get the better of him. Meanwhile, DiPietro I don't think expected a shot to get off and went down really early, and didn't have much of a reaction to the shot. St. Louis roofed it to give the Lightning the lead.

The Islanders would tie the game when P.A. Parenteau converted on a 5-on-3 powerplay. A shot deflected right to Parenteau with Ellis going down expecting the original shot from the point to get through but couldn't move to his right in time.

Tampa Bay would get a 5-on-3 of their own, but for a full two minutes. Jon Sim continued his battle with Matt Smaby, and when Sim refused to go with him Trevor Gillies tried to get Smaby to dance. Both Sim and Gillies were penalized, something that quite frankly should not have happened there with the game tied. The Islanders penalty killers were up to the task, with Zenon Konopka, Mark Eaton and Andrew MacDonald all coming up in big ways, keeping Tampa Bay to just one shot. MacDonald injured his hand from his blocked shot, and left the ice and did not return. No update on his situation yet, but he was still with the team after the game and bandaged up.

The 3rd period had the Lightning really playing their game, and preventing the Islanders from playing theirs. There was a lot of standing around from the Islanders side. DiPietro had to make a lot of saves in the period, and came up big for some. Early on he was very sloppy, including one series where he was down on the ice with the puck going across the goal mouth and Victor Hedman missing a shot to a wide open net.

Late in the 3rd, the Islanders got some of their legs back and Comeau was able to break in on Ellis by using a power move around Pavel Kubina. Kubina tripped Comeau up on the play, which created a powerplay for the Isles that went into overtime.

The Isles didn't score on the power play, but Matt Moulson put the puck in just after it ended. The goal, however was reviewed for about eight minutes. It took a while to get the camera views that the league wanted after it looked like it was very possible it went in. One view from over head clearly showed the puck over the line in mid-air before Ellis swatted it away. It was Moulson's 4th of the year.

As far as individual performances are concerned, one notable player who didn't look too great was James Wisniewski. Sure, the ice in Tampa Bay is notoriously bad. But, he had two big turnovers in critical situations that lead to rushes the other way, one of them Bergenheim's 2nd breakaway that DiPietro stopped. He shanked a few shots too. He appears to be using different sticks, but who knows for how much longer after that performance.

Frans Nielsen looked very strong again as well. He skated hard the whole game, and won a critical face-off late when Konopka was kicked out of the circle. He continues to do the little things right, particularly on the defensive side of things. He's been chipping in with assists here and there too. Good stuff coming from Nielsen this year.

Niederreiter had a strong game, and I noticed that he finally started to get some time on the power play. It's about time, quite frankly. The Islanders have two games left to decide what to do with him, and they need to be sure he can handle the special teams so he can get consistent minutes in order to justify developing him up here and not on a top line with Portland of the WHL. He doesn't shy away from contact in the corners, and is most noticeable in getting to the scoring areas in front of the net. He and Weight seem to have some chemistry when it comes to a play like that, and it essentially created Grabner's goal.

Josh Bailey sat this one out, but it is expected that he will return Saturday against the Florida Panthers. Trent Hunter returned, so the team did not have to call up anyone from Bridgeport. However, next game may see someone sit out. I would think the early favorite for that would be Gillies. Sim could be another candidate, but when you look at how much PK time he has been getting, and how well the Islanders PK has been performing these last few games, I think he'll stick for now. Grabner had an excellent game, and needs to remain in the lineup right now. Ditto for Parenteau.

The Islanders road trip is off to a great start. They have eight of the next 10 on the road. I think its great that, in these last two road games, the Isles have not had anywhere near their best effort but walked out with all four possible points. We'll have a better read on how real this team is as the road trip rolls along, but for now it is certainly enjoyable to watch.

-Chris

nyifyi@gmail.com

Isles vs. Rangers (1 PM) Pre-game Notes; Podcast Posted

3:50: The Isles have come from behind to defeat the Rangers 6-4. More coming later, with a write-up.

2:03: Isles are leading 2-1 after 1 period. Comeau and Bailey scored the goals for the Isles, Dubinksy for the Rangers. New Isles goal song is "Live is Life" by Opus, according to one of my Blog Boxers. Can't say I know who that is, or what it sounds like. Will have to check it out when I'm at home, by a computer with sound.

Konopka and Prust had a long fight, Avery up to his usual antics. DP apparently looks strong. Lets hope it stays that way.

12:52 PM: Konopka, Jon Sim, Sean Avery and Brian Boyle apparently all exchanged words during the pre-game skate according to Katie Strang and Rob McGowan. Looks like the fun has started already.

11:20: It took all of eight minutes for me to be wrong about something. Rick DiPietro is starting today, as per the team.

11:15: The Islanders will be wearing their white uniforms today. Also, they have announced that they have a new goal song for today. The players, Zenon Konopka in particular, have requested a change. Very interested to see what they choose.

11:12 AM: The Islanders and Rangers waste no time going at it, with the teams facing off with each other in each teams 2nd game of the season.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Coliseum will not be sold out, and might even be the lowest attended Isles-Rangers game since the 1970's.

The Rangers defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 on Saturday night, with rookie Derek Stepan scoring a hat trick. He'll be one to watch out for. He was already coming into the season highly regarded and his performance only added more fuel to that.

The Islanders will be without John Tavares for this one as he is going to be re-evaluated today for his concussion. Yesterday he was said to be in good condition, only feeling some pain in his neck and performed off ice workouts. I think it's a wise move to keep him out of a game like this one. But this is good news, as it appears he'll be back by the end of the week.

No official starter has been announced yet, but I'm assuming Dwayne Roloson will get the start in this one based on the set schedule for Rick DiPietro. Josh Bailey will move up to JT's spot on the first line, while Michael Grabner makes his Islanders debut on a line with Doug Weight and Nino Niederreiter. Weight and Bailey were two of the best Islanders on the ice in the home opener on Saturday. Look for them to have strong games. Blake Comeau always seems to elevate his game against the Rangers, so it's a safe bet that he will pick up where he left off on Saturday night and have a strong game as well.

The Islanders special teams were a strong point the other night as the powerplay went three for eight, while the team successfully killed off six of seven penalties. The Islanders need a performance like that again in order to really be successful in this game. They need to cut down on their penalties as well though - the Rangers offense is slightly more established and stronger than Dallas. You can't give them too many chances.

The Islanders need to shoot as much as they did against Dallas in order to create some opportunities for the offence. Without Tavares, it is the best thing they can do.

PODCAST POSTED: Our latest podcast is now posted for your enjoyment. It was nice to finally talk about actual game action, and we were able to get some thoughts from a Dallas Stars fan as well. Be sure to check it out.

That's all for now. As we get some updates about Tavares, or the game I'll try to post them here or on our Twitter account (unfortunately for us, Columbus Day isn't much of a "holiday" in the working world). So be sure to check back for that, but definitely come back tonight for the post game write-up.

-Chris

nyifyi@gmail.com

The Faceoff: Is the Season in Danger?

Sunday's episode of NYI FYI started off with a bang when Sean asked Chris point blank, "Is the season over before it started? It seems to be the million dollar question, and our opinions are different. It's time to face off.

Is the season in danger?

Sean:
While I'm not writing them off before we see the first game, I am certainly concerned with the way that things are playing out. We had two devastating injuries to Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit - both of whom needed surgery; both of whom are missing a significant chunk of the season. Then we find out that Rob Schremp will also miss the first few weeks of the season. While this isn't as devastating as the injuries to Streit and KO, it's still not going to help the team win.

I would like to focus on the injuries to Streit and KO first and foremost. On Sunday, I said that losing those two would also mean the loss of around 20 goals. There have been some who agreed, while others think that 20 goals isn't a big deal. Let's assume Okposo misses 3 months, meaning he returns at the beginning of January. I went along and pulled out the old statistics from last season. Factoring in overtime and shootouts, the Islanders had 16 wins and 26 losses at the end of the calendar year(2009). Out of our 26 losses, 15 of them were by one goal. Out of our 16 wins, ten were by one goal and three were by two goals.

Honestly, you can't look at those numbers and tell me that 20 goals isn't a big deal. Knock out a large chunk of goal scoring, and you'll find yourself in a deep hole by the All Star break, which you probably won't be able to dig yourselves out of. Not to mention that you probably can't assume they'll return at 100%. It's going to probably be a slow process to get back in the swing of things, considering the length of time missed. It's probably going to lead to slow starts for the both of them. Couple that with slow starts after missing significant time, and the picture doesn't look very pretty.

You've also got to think about how this is going to hurt the power play, which is something that the Islanders haven't found a lot of success in for a long time. I think that in the last 5 seasons, our power play was at its best with Streit and Doug Weight. When Weight suffered his injuries, the power play suffered. Of course, when Streit's numbers were down, the power play struggled. Without Streit in the line up, even with Weight at 100% perfect, I feel that our power play will be lack luster. Without that big gun on the blue line, you're going to see a lot of passing back and forth from point to point with very little shooting. Face it, we've seen this a thousand times and it's not going to get any better. We've all sat in the stands at the Coliseum screaming "Shoot!".

A lot of people have also said that everyone else is going to need to pick up the slack to help keep us in it while those two are out. Of course we do, but has anyone taken into consideration how that's simply not going to do it? We finished with the 5th worst record in the NHL last season. We needed everyone to up their game and improve from last season, which is going to take a lot of work within itself. Now coupled with that, they're going to need to pick up MORE slack. I'm not sure if you're going to have enough players improving that much, that early.

John Tavares isn't much of a question mark in my mind. You can probably pencil him in for 30 goals, maybe 35. Matt Moulson has to prove that he wasn't a flash in the pan, but can he score 35 goals? Can he score 40? Probably not. He'll probably hover around the 30 goal mark, which is still a good season for him. Josh Bailey scored 16 goals last year and added 19 assists. It was a good season for Josh, and I figure he'll score between 15 and 20 goals this season. Can he be a guy who scores 25 goals or more? He played his best hockey on the wing, but I'm not sure if he's going to improve by 10 goals.

Blake Comeau is the most interesting case of them all. He was looking great last season, which was cut short when he broke his foot. He tallied 17 goals and added 18 assists. I'm still figuring him to score around 25 goals, but in order to do so, he's got to play consistent. Unfortunately, I'm not sure, or convinced, that he can improve his play enough to make up for the other losses. Truth be told, if any of these guys can improve from last season, that's great. It's exactly what you want to see, and it's what you want for the long run. But in regards for this season, you're going to need to see a lot of improvement early, and I'm not sure that you're going to see it.

On waivers we claimed Michael Grabner, a move that I am very happy about. I mentioned on the show the other day that he brings speed and has all the makings to be a very good hockey player. His age is just right for what we're trying to do in regards to staying young. In 20 games last season, Grabner had 11 points. If he can get it started early, he can help close the gap, which might make all the difference in the world. With
Schremp out for the first few weeks of the season, and if Grabner cracks the line up, he's basically his replacement in regards to speed and productivity. There's a lot to be proven here, and it will be fun to watch.

In regards to our defense, it got a lot better this offseason. It got better defensively, and we needed that to happen. In regards to having offensive help on the blue line, we're looking a little thin. James Wisniewski was an excellent addition to our defense this season, and he has said that he wants to try and chip in offensively. His 27 assists from last season was pretty good considering Streit had 38. It is possible that Wisniewski can become more of a puck mover which would be a great help, but I'm not sure that he will be lighting the lamp as much as Streit. You might be saying, "Yeah but if he's assisting, he's helping to get the puck in the net." This is true, but Streit is a player that can do both, and those types of players are few and far between, making them very difficult to replace.

Mark Eaton is an interesting case to me. On this very forum on July 1st, I held a chat with some of our listeners and readers. One of you asked if I thought the Isles may sign Eaton, and I had said no. While he was an option for what the Islanders were looking for, I thought that his injury prone history would scare them away. Well my crow was a little rare, but edible none the less. A lot of people are talking about how good our defense can be and how we have depth. We do, and that's a good thing. My question is for how long? Take a look at our defense for a moment. As good as it is, it can be delicate.

Eaton played in 79 games last season, but in the years prior to that, he did get battered around. His knees have taken a bit of a beating, and has had a history of back injuries. Streit is already hurt, so our best defenseman is already out of the mix. Wisniewski has missed some games in the past, but he is a few years removed from knee surgery and if you take away the 10 games he was suspended for last season, he didn't miss a lot of time. He'll probably be in the mix for almost the entire season. Milan Jurcina has been chipped apart a little as well. Figure him in to 65 games, maybe 70. I'm sure at some point he'll miss a little time.

In regards to missing time, Radek Martinek is certainly going to miss his share. I'm not sure when, but eventually his knee or shoulder will re-aggravate itself. He's played in the NHL for 8 seasons, and he's never played a full one. His best was 74 games five years ago. The shame of it is when he's healthy, he may be the best defensive defenseman on the team. He could be a top d-man on any team, but his injuries keep him restricted. Remember, he hurt his ACL last season, and we've learned how devastating ACL injuries can be for a strong player (Mike Peca). You're going to be seeing depth players and maybe some AHLers throughout the course of the season. My fear is that with Streit already out, Martinek goes down and either Eaton or Jurcina go with him, or around the same time. If you're without these guys for any period of time, our defense will be significantly weaker, and if the offensive players aren't making up for the lack of scoring, then we are right back where we started.

A lot has happened since I made my statement on Sunday. Grabner's addition can prove to be exactly what we needed, but I'm looking at the situation for what it is: Two of our top three points makers from last season are out. Our defense is strong, and a lot of people are looking at them to carry the workload, and make up for the lack of scoring. But what if we lose three of them at once? What if we lose four of them at once? Can all of our young guys get it going early? Because that's what its going to take. Anything (both positive and negative) is possible, and that's what makes me nervous. Is the season over before it started? It might be. Is it a definite? No. Does it scare me that we might be in a hole too deep for us to climb out of by the time KO and Streit return? You bet.

Chris:

While the injuries to Okposo and Streit obviously hurt, this season is far from over. Should we just not play the games at all? Of course not, and to suggest that the season is over is way off base. Yes, the offense takes a hit. Yes, the Islanders lost one of the top defensemen in the league. But this team, before those injuries, was still going to rely on two main things: breakout years from other co-stars and a solid defense.

We can look at numbers of wins and losses and how many goals each game were won or lost by. The one thing that sticks in my mind is how many of the games the Islanders had decided by the shootout. Five of the first 20 games were decide by the skills competition, 14 over the entire season. This number will change due to the improved defense that the Islanders will be sporting, even with Streit out. There's going to be a little bit of a swing for some of these close games.

As far as individual players are concerned, the Islanders were already hoping for some breakout seasons from some of the supporting cast. Now, they almost need it to happen. Sure, it's really hard to go into a season with a  bunch of "ifs" but I think you, Sean, are being too pessimistic in some of your thoughts on these guys, especially when some of them are young and up and coming.

Lets start with Bailey. He scored 16 goals last season, and had 23 points in the final 34 games in the season, including a stretch of seven games in January when he had 12 points. Bailey was invisible for much of the first part of the season, and a switch to the wing, which he appears better suited for now, seemed to do him well. As he said to me when I interviewed him, he has played his best hockey there. To say that he most likely won't score more than 15-20 is not fair. Based on the numbers he put up as a 20 year old, and after being a disappearing act for much of the first half of the season, then by theory it should continue. In preseason he looked pretty good to me, and seemed to be skating really well and throwing his body around more. He's going to have a breakout year, and will absolutely hit 22-25 goals. Keep in mind that Bailey will be playing for a new contract as well. That will play some sort of a factor. He needs to show what kind of player he is, and now is the time.

We can agree on Tavares getting 30-35 goals. Moulson is where we differ. You seem very skeptical as to whether or not he can even put up 30 goals again. I think he can. The key for him is not getting away from the style of play that made him successful last season. He has said multiple times this offseason that he is keeping that fresh in his mind, and is using it as justification for his self-proclaimed prediction of 40 goals. I'll agree 40 goals is a bit optimistic, but I have seen this guy all camp and there is no changes in his game. He went through a little slump of his own last season, where despite being 26 he still had to learn the ropes and did get away from his game. I do not expect him to make the same mistake.

I agree with you about Comeau being one of, if not the most interesting player this season. He finished last season with 20 points (11 goals, 9 assists) in his final 18 games before suffering a broken foot from blocking a shot. He is going to be playing on a line with Tavares, and the two of them had some excellent chemistry to end last season. From what I had seen during camp, they continued that. To me, Comeau has looked very strong and appears to have added a power move to his arsenal. His ability to read plays and use that move will come in handy, especially during Okposo's absence. Comeau is entering the crossroads point of his career, and needs to step up. He has the tools to do it, we just have to hope is head is in the right spot now as well.

Weight looks healthy and rejuvenated and should be able to help quarterback the power play. PA Parenteau is another wild card and will be on the line with Comeau and Tavares to start the year. He seems to have some skills and good hands, and time will tell if that translates into a Moulson-like story. Trent Hunter, if healthy over a full season can put up 20 goals. Grabner, if he plays like he can when he ultimately gets into the lineup, may very well produce here and this is the perfect situation for him to come to. Also, who knows what we'll see from Nino Niederreiter, and who knows for how long. But he's a guy who likes to play in front of the net, and protects the puck well and he heads to the in tight areas. Who knows how much NHL success that will translate to at 18.

As I mentioned earlier, this team is going to have to get strong showings from the defense and goaltending. Eaton was a guy I always felt the Islanders liked, and I did want him. How you were able to say they would have no interest due to injury history, I'm not too sure. He is a few years removed from all of those injuries, and over the past two seasons was one of the go to guys for the Penguins, averaging almost 20 minutes a night last season and being paired with Sergei Gonchar.

Wisniewski was always thought of as an offensive defenseman when he first came up with the Blackhawks. Over the past few seasons, he's really evolved his game, but not necessarily at the cost of the offense. Last season, his best in the NHL by far, he did have good numbers and also played a much more complete game while averaging 24 minutes a night. He has said himself he didn't get used on the power play as much as he would have liked. Well, now he'll get that chance and I don't see him failing. There is no one that the Islanders could have or would bring in that will offset the loss of Streit. He's a very hard player to replace. But you can mitigate the loss.

Wisniewski, Jack Hillen and Andy MacDonald will all be go to guys when it comes to offense on the blue line. There's been a lot of talk about MacDonald and how he sees himself stepping up and showing the offense that he is capable of. He ended last season as Streit's defensive partner more often than not, and I'm sure he learned a thing or two. He has looked very strong to me in preseason, and I would expect him to turn some heads this season.

Jurcina as of right now is a spare defenseman. He has always been bounced in and out of lineups in his career, and did not have a major injury until last season (hernia). To say he's injury prone and his body is chipped at is unfair and wrong. What he is, however, is good depth to have in the event of further injury. He has the relationship with Gordon, and Gordon thought enough of him for the Islanders to bring him in as a wild card. He is a bit of an unknown.

Martinek has always gotten hurt in freak accidents. Every time he's come back, he has looked great. Nothing was re-aggravating itself. If he gets hurt, it's because of a freak accident. I'm going to cringe at the beginning of the year every time he is about to be hit against the boards because that seems to be where he gets hurt the most often. Hopefully he has learned more on how to take a hit over the years.

Don't forget where Mike Mottau fits into all of this. He made a name for himself with the Devils the last three season's and is a guy that Gordon seems to really like. Garth Snow described him as a good puck mover, and I can't say I agree or disagree with that because I don't know how he is on the offensive side of things. But I do know that he's a guy who played 22 minutes a night last year, has been very durable, blocks shots and plays solid defensively. After Streit went down, bringing him in was a good move. It brought the depth back, and made Jurcina and Bruno Gervais the 7th and 8th guys it appears. We won't be seeing some of the same guys, the AHLers, we saw last season for a while, if at all. There is not going to be your doomsday scenario where four defensemen are going to get injured at the same time, when really there is only one guy who you can say for absolutely certain is prone to injury (Martinek).

Couple that with the goaltending of Dwayne Roloson and a healthy Rick DiPietro and I think we'll get by for the beginning. The goalies work loads will hopefully be less than they were last year which helps to make them more effective, and which helps us to win some games. This team still has a lot of potential given how young they are. It's not like this is an older team where we are hoping that players at 35 can repeat production from earlier in their careers. We are looking for guys who were between the ages of 19 and 23 last year to continue their development as logic says they should.

Who do you agree with? Do you have your own thoughts you would like to share? Feel free to comment or send us your e-mails.

You can e-mail us at: nyifyi@gmail.com

Isles Final Roster: "El Nino" Arrives, De Haan to Juniors

The Islanders announced their opening night roster for this Saturday. Using the lines from practice, here's what it looks like:

Forwards:


Blake Comeau - John Tavares - PA Parenteau
Matt Moulson - Frans Nielsen - Trent Hunter
Josh Bailey - Doug Weight - Nino Niederreiter
Trevor Gillies - Zenon Konopka - Jon Sim
Michael Grabner

Defensemen:

Mark Eaton
Jack Hillen
Bruno Gervais
Andrew MacDonald
Milan Jurcina
Radek Martinek
Mike Mottau
James Wisniewski

Goaltenders:

Rick DiPietro
Dwayne Roloson

Long Term Injured Reserve:

Kyle Okposo
Mark Streit
Rob Schremp
Nathan Lawson

So Niederreiter makes the team, and while no one is surprised at that, time will tell if it's the correct move. Many of you know by now that while I was open to the idea of Niederreiter starting the season here, I was not in love with the idea. At the same time, I do like what I had seen by the end of the preseason. It could pan out well, and to be honest the line he is playing on is actually pretty good. Weight looks rejuvenated and has shown off some slick passing ability again, connecting at times during the preseason with Bailey, who also finds himself on this line. Bailey, expecting a breakout season of his own, will benefit from Weight and perhaps bring Niederreiter along in the process. If not, then Niederreiter will find himself back in Portland of the WHL after nine games.

Martin returns to Bridgeport to start the season, a move that might be the best one at this time. It is better for him to be getting minutes on a top line rather than getting next to nothing on a 4th line with the big club. Despite coming back from his foot injury a couple of days ago, Martin didn't show Scott Gordon enough to warrant him staying at this time. Martin, of course took it all in stride and will look to continue to develop his offensive game. The other stuff is there for the most part, and will improve as well. He's close, and we'll see him in due time.

Grabner is going to sit out the first two games of the season, a move that we shouldn't be surprised with given what we saw with Schremp last season. Once Grabner gets the system down, then it's up to him to prove that he belongs here for the long haul. He is very talented, and certainly has said all the right things as far as understanding this opportunity and why Florida put him on waivers in the first place. Really hope that works out, and can't wait to see him play.

Sim makes the team, but mainly due to the injuries to Okposo and Schremp. Sim played like we know he can during the preseason as he continued to show why he is and will be an effective 4th liner for the team. He'll be looked at to be a pest, along with Konopka, while the latter and Gillies will provide some muscle for a pretty tough 4th line. Gillies will be in and out of the lineup this season, and to me, is the most likely candidate to sit for Grabner to start off.

De Haan returning to juniors was perhaps the best decision of all. I agree with Gordon's assessment that he showed us more towards the end, but it took him a little while to get to that point, as it would take most other 19-year-olds coming off a major injury. When you combine that with the fact that the Islanders brought in Mottau when Streit went down, then this move really isn't all that surprising. I'm really glad that the Islanders agreed with mine and many other's assessment and sent him back to Oshawa of the OHL. Now he can continue to develop at the junior level and make up the time he essentially missed for most of last season. He will be the captain of his team as well, as Oshawa announced today. Good stuff Calvin, and we'll see you next season.

Aside from that, pretty much what we expected and not a ton of surprises. We'll see how the eight man defense works for the time being, and who sits. Early indications point to Gervais and Jurcina being out for now, but that can change on a game by game basis for the first few weeks of the season.

One more thought on the roster: I am expecting Rick DiPietro to start on Saturday night vs. Dallas. That seems to be the popular line of thinking among those in the know as well. I find it hard to believe that a healthy DiPietro sits out the home opener.

With the roster set, Sean and I are currently working on our first installment of a series we are calling "Faceoff." We take topics that we disagree on, and elaborate on them to make our cases for your enjoyment. Looks like it'll be a long one, and it will be up before the season starts. So look out for that.

-Chris

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