If you watched the beginning of the Islanders vs. Penguins game on Friday night and quickly got annoyed and turned the game off, then you missed quite a game. The Islanders fought back, lead by Kyle Okposo and his four(!) goals in a 6-3 victory that gave them 30 wins for the year and put them in the Eastern Conference lead once again.
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Penguins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Penguins. Show all posts
January 17, 2015
November 23, 2014
Crosby held Scoreless as Isles Sweep Home-and-Home with Pens
We are still early in a season that's already been full of statements for the Isles, but no statement has been as big as what they just accomplished on Friday and Saturday night against one of their biggest rivals in the Metropolitan Division - perhaps even their biggest rivals.
October 19, 2014
Isles Lose First Game, Fall 3-1 to Pens
The Islanders started off playing well, keeping things simple and steady while getting save after save from Jaroslav Halak against a Penguins team that seemed a bit apprehensive.
November 23, 2013
Isles Fall in Heartbreaking Loss to Pens
It's hard to find a loss more heartbreaking than the 4-3 one the Isles suffered on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, especially given the circumstances.
May 6, 2013
Pens Take Game 3 over Isles in OT with Strong Powerplay
If there was ever a time for the New York Islanders to make a statement that they were relevant to the NHL again, doing so Sunday on national TV was the perfect forum to do so. And overall, the Islanders made their fans proud and really for the first time in a while turned heads.
You really have to look no further than what’s being said by every analyst from one coast to another regarding the penalty assessed to Brian Strait in overtime for the way he played Sidney Crosby peeling off of the side boards.
A penalty in October. Not in overtime in the playoffs.
The Penguins scored on the resulting powerplay, bringing a great deal of frustration to the Islanders, their fans, and anyone out there actively rooting against the Pens in this series (which I’m pretty sure is 95% of all other fanbases at this point).
The Islanders let a fast start get away from them, allowing the Penguins to get back into this game with some undisciplined play, started off by Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic in what were both fair calls. As mentioned in the last post, you CANNOT let this team get the man advantage with the guys they put out there. In a flash, the energy was sucked away for a spell and that came to a head when Pascal Dupuis buried a nice cross ice pass from Crosby, with John Tavares unable to do enough to disturb Dupuis, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
You have to give all the credit to the world though to this Islander team, who battled and fought their way through even after giving up a goal to Douglas Murray to give the Pens the 4-2 advantage. It left many of us in the building wondering if the Islanders had yet another game of storming back against these guys in them, and they did.
Feeding off energy from one another and the crowd the Isles busted through, and while on a penalty kill Frans Nielsen somehow recovered a puck after losing it off his stick, turning it around and firing it up ice to a streaking Kyle Okposo. It’s hard to put into words what exactly Okposo does here, but the eruption of the crowd after scoring on the breakaway is probably the best way to put it. I’ll never know how he didn’t lose that puck in his skates and was able contort his body that way.
Nassau Coliseum was a home again, and this was accentuated by John Tavares, the face resulting from 20 years of struggling to find an identity and a string of consistent, good play. It was Tavares who scored the goal that tied the game, leaving the building with nothing to do other than chant “M-V-P.”
The Islanders had a huge opportunity on the powerplay not long after that, but were unable to capitalize. That’s becoming an alarming trend especially when you are trying to take down a team as tough as Pittsburgh.
The Islanders had their chances in the overtime too, but they missed a couple of opportunities and in some cases the Pens got away with cheap shots that left them unable to bury those chances.
Overall, the game wasn’t the best officiated, but it wasn’t the worst either. In the interest of fairness, from where my seats were there were several instances where Isles’ defensemen interfered with Pens players on the boards (blatant holding), just feet in front of the refs that went uncalled. So it goes both ways.
But as mentioned earlier, that’s a pretty tacky call in overtime for two teams that were playing their hearts out.
It was a solid hockey game all around, and for the second straight game the Islanders outworked and outplayed the opponent (well, for most of two games). They can beat this team but need to be a little more disciplined.
It was not a banner game for Strait, and I’m still not opposed to benching him in the next game. He had some solid moments and was key in Game 2, however Crosby is a very tough match-up for him and you need a better effort with Hamonic’s hands full of Evgeni Malkin. Radek Martinek has done this before, guarded against Crosby for the Isles and would be my choice for Game 4 in place of Strait who’s clearly not at 100% still.
It’s very hard to find anything negative here aside from the discipline, a shaky defensive play here and there and goaltending.
The latter deserves it own category as Evgeni Nabokov has struggled mightily this series. It’s tough to put full blame here and go all-out declaring this was why San Jose always choked but let’s be honest with ourselves. They’re playing a Penguins team that’s got two of the best three players in the league and a top-5 defenseman in the league on their man advantage. If you continue to give them these chances it won’t matter who is in the net.
Bottom line: Nabokov has given up some softies, and that has to change. In the past month we’ve some of the craziest saves from him, and almost one in every game. But that’s been absent through the first three games against the Pens here.
The forwards all came to play and all executed their roles pretty well. The most alarming however is Matt Moulson, who opened the scoring and pretty much disappeared the rest of the way. Brad Boyes is having trouble sustaining offensive momentum but I have liked the way he’s thrown his body around a bit. But he needs to be better with the puck and quickly get himself back in the slot area.
The crowd is one final thing to address here. Can you tell we’ve been waiting a long time for this?
I’m thrilled to say I was able to be a part of that atmosphere because I never had been. The last playoff game I was at had thousands of screaming Sabres fans there. But not Sunday. Sunday was virtually all Islanders, with a scattering of Pens fans here and there throughout the building.
The building left me speechless; as I’m sure it did the same for many of you. It sets up a really intense situation for Game 4 on Tuesday, and that’s become a talking point around the league with several people – media and fans alike - taking notice and calling this the loudest home game of the playoffs thus far.
A few adjustments need to be made heading into Tuesday, but there’s no doubt the Islanders will attempt to make them. They made the adjustments from Friday into Sunday, but allowed themselves to get into penalty troubles again which cost them the game more than anything else, quite frankly, including the officiating. If that 5-on-3 situation never comes up, we’re not even discussing the Strait penalty in overtime.
If the Isles can come out on Tuesday and play their game with some minor adjustments, they stand a very good shot of ending the home playoff game futility streak, and turn this into a three game series.
- Chris
You really have to look no further than what’s being said by every analyst from one coast to another regarding the penalty assessed to Brian Strait in overtime for the way he played Sidney Crosby peeling off of the side boards.
A penalty in October. Not in overtime in the playoffs.
The Penguins scored on the resulting powerplay, bringing a great deal of frustration to the Islanders, their fans, and anyone out there actively rooting against the Pens in this series (which I’m pretty sure is 95% of all other fanbases at this point).
The Islanders let a fast start get away from them, allowing the Penguins to get back into this game with some undisciplined play, started off by Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic in what were both fair calls. As mentioned in the last post, you CANNOT let this team get the man advantage with the guys they put out there. In a flash, the energy was sucked away for a spell and that came to a head when Pascal Dupuis buried a nice cross ice pass from Crosby, with John Tavares unable to do enough to disturb Dupuis, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
You have to give all the credit to the world though to this Islander team, who battled and fought their way through even after giving up a goal to Douglas Murray to give the Pens the 4-2 advantage. It left many of us in the building wondering if the Islanders had yet another game of storming back against these guys in them, and they did.
Feeding off energy from one another and the crowd the Isles busted through, and while on a penalty kill Frans Nielsen somehow recovered a puck after losing it off his stick, turning it around and firing it up ice to a streaking Kyle Okposo. It’s hard to put into words what exactly Okposo does here, but the eruption of the crowd after scoring on the breakaway is probably the best way to put it. I’ll never know how he didn’t lose that puck in his skates and was able contort his body that way.
Nassau Coliseum was a home again, and this was accentuated by John Tavares, the face resulting from 20 years of struggling to find an identity and a string of consistent, good play. It was Tavares who scored the goal that tied the game, leaving the building with nothing to do other than chant “M-V-P.”
The Islanders had a huge opportunity on the powerplay not long after that, but were unable to capitalize. That’s becoming an alarming trend especially when you are trying to take down a team as tough as Pittsburgh.
The Islanders had their chances in the overtime too, but they missed a couple of opportunities and in some cases the Pens got away with cheap shots that left them unable to bury those chances.
Overall, the game wasn’t the best officiated, but it wasn’t the worst either. In the interest of fairness, from where my seats were there were several instances where Isles’ defensemen interfered with Pens players on the boards (blatant holding), just feet in front of the refs that went uncalled. So it goes both ways.
But as mentioned earlier, that’s a pretty tacky call in overtime for two teams that were playing their hearts out.
It was a solid hockey game all around, and for the second straight game the Islanders outworked and outplayed the opponent (well, for most of two games). They can beat this team but need to be a little more disciplined.
It was not a banner game for Strait, and I’m still not opposed to benching him in the next game. He had some solid moments and was key in Game 2, however Crosby is a very tough match-up for him and you need a better effort with Hamonic’s hands full of Evgeni Malkin. Radek Martinek has done this before, guarded against Crosby for the Isles and would be my choice for Game 4 in place of Strait who’s clearly not at 100% still.
It’s very hard to find anything negative here aside from the discipline, a shaky defensive play here and there and goaltending.
The latter deserves it own category as Evgeni Nabokov has struggled mightily this series. It’s tough to put full blame here and go all-out declaring this was why San Jose always choked but let’s be honest with ourselves. They’re playing a Penguins team that’s got two of the best three players in the league and a top-5 defenseman in the league on their man advantage. If you continue to give them these chances it won’t matter who is in the net.
Bottom line: Nabokov has given up some softies, and that has to change. In the past month we’ve some of the craziest saves from him, and almost one in every game. But that’s been absent through the first three games against the Pens here.
The forwards all came to play and all executed their roles pretty well. The most alarming however is Matt Moulson, who opened the scoring and pretty much disappeared the rest of the way. Brad Boyes is having trouble sustaining offensive momentum but I have liked the way he’s thrown his body around a bit. But he needs to be better with the puck and quickly get himself back in the slot area.
The crowd is one final thing to address here. Can you tell we’ve been waiting a long time for this?
I’m thrilled to say I was able to be a part of that atmosphere because I never had been. The last playoff game I was at had thousands of screaming Sabres fans there. But not Sunday. Sunday was virtually all Islanders, with a scattering of Pens fans here and there throughout the building.
The building left me speechless; as I’m sure it did the same for many of you. It sets up a really intense situation for Game 4 on Tuesday, and that’s become a talking point around the league with several people – media and fans alike - taking notice and calling this the loudest home game of the playoffs thus far.
A few adjustments need to be made heading into Tuesday, but there’s no doubt the Islanders will attempt to make them. They made the adjustments from Friday into Sunday, but allowed themselves to get into penalty troubles again which cost them the game more than anything else, quite frankly, including the officiating. If that 5-on-3 situation never comes up, we’re not even discussing the Strait penalty in overtime.
If the Isles can come out on Tuesday and play their game with some minor adjustments, they stand a very good shot of ending the home playoff game futility streak, and turn this into a three game series.
- Chris
May 4, 2013
Okposo, Isles Ruin Crosby's Return to Stun Pens and Even Series
Since their Game 1 showing on Wednesday night, the Islanders did a lot of talking about playing in the playoffs, adjusting to a different style, and what is required to be competitive. Both John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov talked about how playing at a playoff intensity level was "supposed to hurt" and how they just didn't get the job done.
May 2, 2013
Isles Suffer Game 1 Letdown, Pens win 5-0
Since we found out on Sunday night that the Islanders would slide to the 8th spot and be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, lots of speculation ensued - mainly centered on how many games Pittsburgh would win in.
Of course, at the very least we wanted to see the Isles play well, keeping the games close and maybe even stealing one on the road from a Pens team that is still trying to get to full health, which is scary when you realize the depth that they already have in place.
After much anticipation and a quiet start, the Pens broke through quickly on the powerplay when Beau Bennett put an odd angled shot past Evgeni Nabokov three and a half minutes into the game and it snowballed from there for the Islanders.
I felt that in the early going, despite the goal the Islanders were handling things fine but you knew they had to be better once the Pens finished their feeling out process. That didn't happen and the Islanders paid dearly for it. With every chance that Pittsburgh was getting up the middle of the ice, the Islanders freaked out and it created all sorts of problems for the better parts of two periods.
I know a lot of people are already on a Nabokov bashing kick, which quite frankly is unwarranted after what happened here. This is playoff hockey - you cannot leave your goalie out to dry, which the Islanders did so many times this season that you could almost see this coming.
I said on the show this past weekend and I will reiterate: I don't see any benefit to Brian Strait playing in games right now. He was coming off a major ankle injury, and has not looked strong since returning. His speed is shot right now and this was evident on a few Penguins rushes in Game 1. I like him and he's a solid defenseman, but the rust from the injury has not been shaken off yet. This should be Radek Martinek's spot, and that’s a move I'd like to see for Game 2.
We can talk all we want about how the Isles had been playing in the "playoffs" for a month but that is always misleading. On Wednesday night they got to witness the difference and experienced a Pens team that was prepared to play the several notches above regular season play that is required by all playoff teams.
And this doesn't only apply to the Isles. Just look at what happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have finally ended their playoff drought and get to match-up with the Boston Bruins. They were slaughtered in their own way, struggling to even get shots off against a Bruins defensive structure that has enough experience to know how to tighten up come Spring. Time and space is not given as it would be in the regular season.
The Islanders effort was not there for most of the night, but did improve later on in the game when the Penguins were perhaps taking their foot off the gas a little bit.
However, despite this there were some silver linings.
John Tavares looked like he was made for playoff hockey, despite the fact the Penguins bothered him all night. He had some nice rushes but couldn't get the chances off at the last moments in some cases but you could see he knew where to be, what to do, and the intensity that's required. This is more than we can say about several of his counterparts.
Kevin Poulin came into a difficult situation and did an admirable job replacing Nabokov, making some nice saves and only giving up one goal of his own. He wasn't tested as much as Nabokov, but it was nice to see him shake off some jitters after his unexpected first playoff appearance.
The Penguins got their scoring from some unlikely sources, Pascal Dupuis aside. I felt the Isles did a good enough job neutralizing Evgeni Malkin (despite his two points, which came during powerplay time). James Neal suffered a concussion (no details as to the extent) and Sidney Crosby is an unknown at this point as far as his availability (we'll assume game-by-game).
Given that, it's a shame the Islanders really couldn't compete in their first playoff game in six years. But if these players are still in limbo by Game 2, then it becomes a must win. The Penguins would still have Malkin, Jarome Iginla and Brendan Morrow, but the job is slightly easier with Neal's potential absence.
Personally, I don't see the Isles getting blown out in any more games this series. I'd expect them to be a bit closer now that they've seen what a playoff game is REALLY like.
Will Capuano make the necessary changes to reverse the Isles fortunes? They've taken steps away from what's made them successful and need to snap out of it, bear down and realize what more they need to do. As a matter of fact, Tavares and Nabokov said it the best themselves when asked about it during the post game. They need to recognize the fact that they need to battle even harder, and that winning in the playoffs is "supposed to hurt."
That message needs to be sent throughout the organization before 7 PM on Friday.
- Chris
Of course, at the very least we wanted to see the Isles play well, keeping the games close and maybe even stealing one on the road from a Pens team that is still trying to get to full health, which is scary when you realize the depth that they already have in place.
After much anticipation and a quiet start, the Pens broke through quickly on the powerplay when Beau Bennett put an odd angled shot past Evgeni Nabokov three and a half minutes into the game and it snowballed from there for the Islanders.
I felt that in the early going, despite the goal the Islanders were handling things fine but you knew they had to be better once the Pens finished their feeling out process. That didn't happen and the Islanders paid dearly for it. With every chance that Pittsburgh was getting up the middle of the ice, the Islanders freaked out and it created all sorts of problems for the better parts of two periods.
I know a lot of people are already on a Nabokov bashing kick, which quite frankly is unwarranted after what happened here. This is playoff hockey - you cannot leave your goalie out to dry, which the Islanders did so many times this season that you could almost see this coming.
I said on the show this past weekend and I will reiterate: I don't see any benefit to Brian Strait playing in games right now. He was coming off a major ankle injury, and has not looked strong since returning. His speed is shot right now and this was evident on a few Penguins rushes in Game 1. I like him and he's a solid defenseman, but the rust from the injury has not been shaken off yet. This should be Radek Martinek's spot, and that’s a move I'd like to see for Game 2.
We can talk all we want about how the Isles had been playing in the "playoffs" for a month but that is always misleading. On Wednesday night they got to witness the difference and experienced a Pens team that was prepared to play the several notches above regular season play that is required by all playoff teams.
And this doesn't only apply to the Isles. Just look at what happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have finally ended their playoff drought and get to match-up with the Boston Bruins. They were slaughtered in their own way, struggling to even get shots off against a Bruins defensive structure that has enough experience to know how to tighten up come Spring. Time and space is not given as it would be in the regular season.
The Islanders effort was not there for most of the night, but did improve later on in the game when the Penguins were perhaps taking their foot off the gas a little bit.
However, despite this there were some silver linings.
John Tavares looked like he was made for playoff hockey, despite the fact the Penguins bothered him all night. He had some nice rushes but couldn't get the chances off at the last moments in some cases but you could see he knew where to be, what to do, and the intensity that's required. This is more than we can say about several of his counterparts.
Kevin Poulin came into a difficult situation and did an admirable job replacing Nabokov, making some nice saves and only giving up one goal of his own. He wasn't tested as much as Nabokov, but it was nice to see him shake off some jitters after his unexpected first playoff appearance.
The Penguins got their scoring from some unlikely sources, Pascal Dupuis aside. I felt the Isles did a good enough job neutralizing Evgeni Malkin (despite his two points, which came during powerplay time). James Neal suffered a concussion (no details as to the extent) and Sidney Crosby is an unknown at this point as far as his availability (we'll assume game-by-game).
Given that, it's a shame the Islanders really couldn't compete in their first playoff game in six years. But if these players are still in limbo by Game 2, then it becomes a must win. The Penguins would still have Malkin, Jarome Iginla and Brendan Morrow, but the job is slightly easier with Neal's potential absence.
Personally, I don't see the Isles getting blown out in any more games this series. I'd expect them to be a bit closer now that they've seen what a playoff game is REALLY like.
Will Capuano make the necessary changes to reverse the Isles fortunes? They've taken steps away from what's made them successful and need to snap out of it, bear down and realize what more they need to do. As a matter of fact, Tavares and Nabokov said it the best themselves when asked about it during the post game. They need to recognize the fact that they need to battle even harder, and that winning in the playoffs is "supposed to hurt."
That message needs to be sent throughout the organization before 7 PM on Friday.
- Chris
March 31, 2013
Isles Strong, but Pens Streak at 15
When it comes to playing a team on the kind of streak that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on right now, you couldn't have asked for more when it comes to the Isles play.
February 6, 2013
Power Outage Continues: Pens 4, Isles 2
For most of the night, it looked like I could consider taking the easy way out of writing my thoughts for the game and just copy and paste the one from Sunday's game. But fortunately, at the very least this one had some different aspects to it, as the Isles did show some life against the Penguins in the end. It’s still baffling though that the Isles lost a game in which the opponent played so undisciplined.
January 30, 2013
Grabner, Nabokov Star as Isles Beat Pens 4-1
One concern everyone had about the Islanders going to Pittsburgh was how much of an effect the crushing overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the previous game would have on the outcome. Clearly, the answer was not much.
March 30, 2012
Bailey's Breakout Gives Isles Sweep of Pens
With the season rapidly winding down, the Islanders have been getting scoring out of some unlikely candidates of late. One of these individuals is Josh Bailey, who continued his hot play with a five point night on Thursday, seemingly telling the world not to count him out just yet.
March 28, 2012
Isles Win on Secondary Scoring, Strong Goaltending
All season long one of the Islanders' biggest issues had been getting offensive support from players not named John Tavares, Matt Moulson or P.A. Parenteau. Over the last couple of weeks that's slowly gotten better. On Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, it was the best we had seen it in quite some time.
November 22, 2011
Sid Puts on a Show Against Isles
The Islanders held Sidney Crosby off as long as they could: Five minutes and twenty-four seconds.
Crosby opened the scoring of the game, slaloming through Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo and Travis Hamonic and driving around Andrew MacDonald with ease before lifting a backhand shot over a sprawled out Anders Nilsson.
Crosby opened the scoring of the game, slaloming through Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo and Travis Hamonic and driving around Andrew MacDonald with ease before lifting a backhand shot over a sprawled out Anders Nilsson.
February 13, 2011
Punishments Handed Down; Chris Feature; New Episode Sunday
When I thought about what the NHL would hand down as punishments to the Isles and Pens for the events on Friday night, I was expecting the worst.
I figured Trevor Gillies was going to get 11 games, Matt Martin six, and Konopka one. I expected Eric Godard to get his mandated 10, plus one for being a 3rd man in. I didn't really figure many suspension would come from the Penguins side, honestly.
I was a little off on my guesses. The NHL didn't go to the extreme I thought they would. Gillies got nine games, while Martin got four. Konopka didn't get anything, which means it's safe to assume that the league didn't see any evidence of anything wrong with any of his shifts. Earlier I pointed out that it was going to be tough to prove, and that was most likely the case - as it usually is.
I figured the Isles would get fined too, but was thinking more of $250K - $500K. That may sound excessive, but when I have Bob McKenzie of TSN telling me to expect the league to come down hard, this is what I am anticipating. The fact that the Isles were only fined $100K is no big deal.
We'll see what kid of effect this has on the team now as far as who gets a chance. Gillies was in and out of the line-up anyway, battling Rob Schremp for time. Schremp now gets to return, while Micheal Haley gets to stay in the line-up to keep some of that toughness there. To be honest, the fact that he gets nothing is excellent in the sense that he was perhaps the best "performer of the show," if you will. His fight with Craig Adams was a decisive win that I haven't seen by an Isles player in quite some time. His goal was also a thing of beauty as he showed that he can actually play the game too.
The Isles need to keep their solid play going though and continue their statements with a strong game Sunday in Buffalo.
HESSEL FEATURE: I want to take the opportunity to welcome some of you newcomers who have found you're way over to NYI FYI. It's not the most exciting site in the world, but that's something that I intend to change over time. I hope you enjoy what you see though, and continue to join us. We have a number of links for various things we do, so please check those out as well. I promise some of them are more exciting looking!
For those of you unaware, the Islanders did a feature on me and NYI FYI recently. They posted it on their site today when many fans were looking for highlights and news from Friday's excitement. The amount of people that have clicked on to the site in the past day it outstanding.
Andrew LeRay of the Isles wrote a great piece, and to be quite honest with you I'm flattered. I'm very appreciative to the Isles for giving us the unique opportunity to be a part of the media, and we hope it's something we can continue to do year after year. Of course, we're both very appreciative to you friends/fans who are following us. We're really enjoying this, and glad to see how many of you seem to enjoy it as well. We're excited about all we've done to make this more fan-oriented, and it seems to be paying off.
So once again, thanks to all of you, and join us in welcoming all of the new readers and listeners!
NYI FYI, 11 AM SUNDAY: Speaking of listeners, I'm sure many people are interested in the unique item we provide in addition to the blog - our radio show and podcast.
Every Sunday, Sean Croft and I get together and record a show. We recently added UStream to our repertoire, which brought a live element back to our show that we lost upon leaving C.W. Post. We do the show at 11 AM, and the way to access us live is to watch right here on our UStream page. There's a chat room component that goes along with it, and folks have been leaving comments or questions that we'll answer at some point on the show.
Immediately after we complete a show - which can be at any time as there is no time restriction - the show will be placed in the archives on UStream, and we also upload an audio copy to our My Podcast site for those who prefer to listen on their MP3 players.
Remember to join us at 11 AM as we talk about A LOT of items and hopefully have fan responses to read.
Feel free to send us e-mails, leave comments here on the blog @ us on Twitter, write to us on Facebook or just simply use the UStream chat room during the live show.
Enjoy!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
I figured Trevor Gillies was going to get 11 games, Matt Martin six, and Konopka one. I expected Eric Godard to get his mandated 10, plus one for being a 3rd man in. I didn't really figure many suspension would come from the Penguins side, honestly.
I was a little off on my guesses. The NHL didn't go to the extreme I thought they would. Gillies got nine games, while Martin got four. Konopka didn't get anything, which means it's safe to assume that the league didn't see any evidence of anything wrong with any of his shifts. Earlier I pointed out that it was going to be tough to prove, and that was most likely the case - as it usually is.
I figured the Isles would get fined too, but was thinking more of $250K - $500K. That may sound excessive, but when I have Bob McKenzie of TSN telling me to expect the league to come down hard, this is what I am anticipating. The fact that the Isles were only fined $100K is no big deal.
 |
| Gillies elbow injured Tagradi. Photo by C. Hessel |
All in all, the punishments fit their crimes. Max Talbot got away with trying to hurt Blake Comeau last week, and Matt Martin sucker punched him to remind him of what he did and was attempting to injure him. Gillies elbowed Eric Tangradi in the head just moments after he gave Jack Hillen a concussion after running him into the boards. Disappointed that Tangradi got off free, but like I said the Isles did what they had to do to step up for all of the players that the Pens have injured/attempted to injure for the last couple of weeks.
We'll see what kid of effect this has on the team now as far as who gets a chance. Gillies was in and out of the line-up anyway, battling Rob Schremp for time. Schremp now gets to return, while Micheal Haley gets to stay in the line-up to keep some of that toughness there. To be honest, the fact that he gets nothing is excellent in the sense that he was perhaps the best "performer of the show," if you will. His fight with Craig Adams was a decisive win that I haven't seen by an Isles player in quite some time. His goal was also a thing of beauty as he showed that he can actually play the game too.
The Isles need to keep their solid play going though and continue their statements with a strong game Sunday in Buffalo.
HESSEL FEATURE: I want to take the opportunity to welcome some of you newcomers who have found you're way over to NYI FYI. It's not the most exciting site in the world, but that's something that I intend to change over time. I hope you enjoy what you see though, and continue to join us. We have a number of links for various things we do, so please check those out as well. I promise some of them are more exciting looking!
For those of you unaware, the Islanders did a feature on me and NYI FYI recently. They posted it on their site today when many fans were looking for highlights and news from Friday's excitement. The amount of people that have clicked on to the site in the past day it outstanding.
Andrew LeRay of the Isles wrote a great piece, and to be quite honest with you I'm flattered. I'm very appreciative to the Isles for giving us the unique opportunity to be a part of the media, and we hope it's something we can continue to do year after year. Of course, we're both very appreciative to you friends/fans who are following us. We're really enjoying this, and glad to see how many of you seem to enjoy it as well. We're excited about all we've done to make this more fan-oriented, and it seems to be paying off.
So once again, thanks to all of you, and join us in welcoming all of the new readers and listeners!
NYI FYI, 11 AM SUNDAY: Speaking of listeners, I'm sure many people are interested in the unique item we provide in addition to the blog - our radio show and podcast.
Every Sunday, Sean Croft and I get together and record a show. We recently added UStream to our repertoire, which brought a live element back to our show that we lost upon leaving C.W. Post. We do the show at 11 AM, and the way to access us live is to watch right here on our UStream page. There's a chat room component that goes along with it, and folks have been leaving comments or questions that we'll answer at some point on the show.
Immediately after we complete a show - which can be at any time as there is no time restriction - the show will be placed in the archives on UStream, and we also upload an audio copy to our My Podcast site for those who prefer to listen on their MP3 players.
Remember to join us at 11 AM as we talk about A LOT of items and hopefully have fan responses to read.
Feel free to send us e-mails, leave comments here on the blog @ us on Twitter, write to us on Facebook or just simply use the UStream chat room during the live show.
Enjoy!
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
February 12, 2011
Isles Pound Penguins
For both the Isles and their fans, I'll start off with some bad news: The next time these two teams get together is on April 8th.
When thinking about how to talk about all of this, I decided to keep it simple.
What happened on Friday night was not just a direct result of what the Penguins did to the Isles in their last meeting. It was a lot of emotions that were bottled up inside not only after that game, but the ones on Long Island against the Senators and the Maple Leafs too.
Zenon Konopka talked a lot recently about how players run guys like John Tavares and Matt Moulson all the time and not get called. He warned that they weren't going to stand for it much longer. Perhaps the game against the Leafs, where Tavares was knocked down twice on questionable hits was the straw that broke the camels back.
Chris Botta hits the nail on the head for a point I wanted to make:
The Penguins lost Evgeni Malkin for the remainder of the season, while Sidney Crosby is out until March with his concussion. While secondary players have shined as the Pens went 7-3 in their previous 10 before last night's game, Talbot was not a factor in that. He instead has decided to go after teams top players, and not just on the Islanders. I didn't realize that this was part of his game, but now after seeing him go after Blake Comeau, Radek Martinek and Mikko Koskinen that is what he is becoming. There is no sympathy from me as far as what happened to Talbot last night. He's had it coming to him for the last few weeks.
The Islanders are facing suspensions for their actions, as they should. Trevor Gillies, Matt Martin and Zenon Konopka all have face-to-face meetings with the NHL. That could mean suspensions of six games or more, but doesn't mean it will necessarily happen. I'm expecting Martin and Gillies to get those lengthy suspensions based on early thoughts from those connected to the league. Konopka is being investigated for a shift he took in order to fight, one that will will be difficult to prove that it was against the rules.
I'm a little surprised that Micheal Haley doesn't appear to be facing suspension, and that could because of the control of the refs. More on this in a moment.
In short, the Islanders did what they had to do both on the scoreboard and in their fighting. Again, this wasn't about the Penguins. This was about a disrespected team gaining respect for things that have culminated over the last few weeks for a team that has had various bouts of adversity this year between injuries, coaching changes and losing streaks. If you read comments from fans all across the hockey world, a lot of respect has been gained.
Last night I sat in the press box and had the pleasure of sitting next to Tom Liodice, formerly of the Tiger Track Blog. I asked him some questions about Haley, from a hockey player standpoint. He told me that he can play the game and not just fight. This was shortly before his rush that lead to his beautiful goal. Liodice said that skating was not something he had seen before but obviously worked on. We'll see if it leads so something more. More play like that, where he proved that he can do more than just fight, and he may have a spot on the 4th line of the team over a guy like Gillies.
A couple of other thoughts:
- Tavares, Moulson and Michael Grabner all hit the 20 goal mark last night for the Isles. The team had only two last season and stand a good chance to add one more this season in P.A. Parenteau. Congrats to all three.
- Penguins announcer Paul Steigerwald said that the Islanders are the "embarrassment" of the NHL, and went as far as calling players names and acting like a child on-air. I've come to expect stuff like this from him.
As far as embarrassments go, what do you call Matt Cooke then? Or a no talent guy like Talbot, who decides rather than focus on his offensive game with the two biggest sources of offense out, decides to start taking runs at top players?
This is all the attention I'll give to a guy who is an "embarrassment" to his profession and also happens to be a broadcaster for a team that was the last "embarrassment" of the NHL from 2001 to 2006 - when they practically had moving vans waiting outside Melon Arena, just like you could argue the Isles may have too.
See ya in April, Steigs.
- I mentioned earlier about Haley's incidents, and how it appears they may very well go unpunished.
We've already established that this was a culmination of events, from over the last few weeks. This kind of game, the third of it's kind in the last two weeks, is something that is coming out more and more.
Bob McKenzie of TSN said he expected the NHL to come down hard for suspensions from this game because of the "Slap Shot culture" the league has been having lately.
Over the summer, the league lost a number of respected veteran refs - yes, Kerry Frasier included. Frasier was on XM Home Ice a couple of weeks ago, talking about how refs prepare for games that pit two teams against one another with recent history.
The NHL had no choice but to turn to rookie refs this season, many of whom have had all sorts of issues making correct calls, preventing cheap hits to the head or areas around the head of players. Konopka isn't the only player to notice liberties are being taken with star players. It's happening all over the league.
I think it's pretty clear that the lack of calls and extremely poor officiating over the first half of the season has lead to what happened when the Dallas Stars came to Boston two weeks ago, when the Canadiens entered Boston on Wednesday and when the Penguins came to Long Island on Friday.
Maybe these refs were unprepared. Maybe they didn't think anything exciting would happen given how un-tough the Isles have been really since Eric Cairns left in 2004.
The reffing has been a very contentious area in the NHL this season, and seems to be on the top of the list of problems that fans, teams and players seem to have this season. I enjoyed what Haley did last night, but there is no reason why the ref should have felt the need to let him roam free and fend for himself. Sure, they had their hands full with Gillies barking from the door way to the locker room at this same time, but there are four officials on the ice for a reason.
If the NHL is serious about making a statement based on what happened, then they need to look at themselves in the mirror too. Yes, suspend players because in all honesty, some deserve to be and they will tell you as much. But come up with some sort of training program to break in new refs because obviously whatever program you set up last summer has failed miserably.
Your thoughts and comments are welcome as always. Feel free to leave them here, shoot us an e-mail or @ us with your thoughts on Twitter. Or, you can join us for our live NYI FYI broadcast on Sunday at 11 AM and make your voice heard there.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
When thinking about how to talk about all of this, I decided to keep it simple.
What happened on Friday night was not just a direct result of what the Penguins did to the Isles in their last meeting. It was a lot of emotions that were bottled up inside not only after that game, but the ones on Long Island against the Senators and the Maple Leafs too.
Zenon Konopka talked a lot recently about how players run guys like John Tavares and Matt Moulson all the time and not get called. He warned that they weren't going to stand for it much longer. Perhaps the game against the Leafs, where Tavares was knocked down twice on questionable hits was the straw that broke the camels back.
Chris Botta hits the nail on the head for a point I wanted to make:
This was ice hockey as it oughta be when your team has been beaten down, abandoned by a Russian goalie in semi-retirement, been called “Lowly” in the headline of every game story (win or lose) and opponents like Talbot are taking liberties with your skilled players.
The Penguins lost Evgeni Malkin for the remainder of the season, while Sidney Crosby is out until March with his concussion. While secondary players have shined as the Pens went 7-3 in their previous 10 before last night's game, Talbot was not a factor in that. He instead has decided to go after teams top players, and not just on the Islanders. I didn't realize that this was part of his game, but now after seeing him go after Blake Comeau, Radek Martinek and Mikko Koskinen that is what he is becoming. There is no sympathy from me as far as what happened to Talbot last night. He's had it coming to him for the last few weeks.
 |
| Bailey/Dupuis left, Hamonic/Rupp right. Photo by C. Hessel |
I'm a little surprised that Micheal Haley doesn't appear to be facing suspension, and that could because of the control of the refs. More on this in a moment.
In short, the Islanders did what they had to do both on the scoreboard and in their fighting. Again, this wasn't about the Penguins. This was about a disrespected team gaining respect for things that have culminated over the last few weeks for a team that has had various bouts of adversity this year between injuries, coaching changes and losing streaks. If you read comments from fans all across the hockey world, a lot of respect has been gained.
Last night I sat in the press box and had the pleasure of sitting next to Tom Liodice, formerly of the Tiger Track Blog. I asked him some questions about Haley, from a hockey player standpoint. He told me that he can play the game and not just fight. This was shortly before his rush that lead to his beautiful goal. Liodice said that skating was not something he had seen before but obviously worked on. We'll see if it leads so something more. More play like that, where he proved that he can do more than just fight, and he may have a spot on the 4th line of the team over a guy like Gillies.
A couple of other thoughts:
- Tavares, Moulson and Michael Grabner all hit the 20 goal mark last night for the Isles. The team had only two last season and stand a good chance to add one more this season in P.A. Parenteau. Congrats to all three.
- Penguins announcer Paul Steigerwald said that the Islanders are the "embarrassment" of the NHL, and went as far as calling players names and acting like a child on-air. I've come to expect stuff like this from him.
As far as embarrassments go, what do you call Matt Cooke then? Or a no talent guy like Talbot, who decides rather than focus on his offensive game with the two biggest sources of offense out, decides to start taking runs at top players?
This is all the attention I'll give to a guy who is an "embarrassment" to his profession and also happens to be a broadcaster for a team that was the last "embarrassment" of the NHL from 2001 to 2006 - when they practically had moving vans waiting outside Melon Arena, just like you could argue the Isles may have too.
See ya in April, Steigs.
- I mentioned earlier about Haley's incidents, and how it appears they may very well go unpunished.
We've already established that this was a culmination of events, from over the last few weeks. This kind of game, the third of it's kind in the last two weeks, is something that is coming out more and more.
Bob McKenzie of TSN said he expected the NHL to come down hard for suspensions from this game because of the "Slap Shot culture" the league has been having lately.
Over the summer, the league lost a number of respected veteran refs - yes, Kerry Frasier included. Frasier was on XM Home Ice a couple of weeks ago, talking about how refs prepare for games that pit two teams against one another with recent history.
The NHL had no choice but to turn to rookie refs this season, many of whom have had all sorts of issues making correct calls, preventing cheap hits to the head or areas around the head of players. Konopka isn't the only player to notice liberties are being taken with star players. It's happening all over the league.
I think it's pretty clear that the lack of calls and extremely poor officiating over the first half of the season has lead to what happened when the Dallas Stars came to Boston two weeks ago, when the Canadiens entered Boston on Wednesday and when the Penguins came to Long Island on Friday.
Maybe these refs were unprepared. Maybe they didn't think anything exciting would happen given how un-tough the Isles have been really since Eric Cairns left in 2004.
The reffing has been a very contentious area in the NHL this season, and seems to be on the top of the list of problems that fans, teams and players seem to have this season. I enjoyed what Haley did last night, but there is no reason why the ref should have felt the need to let him roam free and fend for himself. Sure, they had their hands full with Gillies barking from the door way to the locker room at this same time, but there are four officials on the ice for a reason.
If the NHL is serious about making a statement based on what happened, then they need to look at themselves in the mirror too. Yes, suspend players because in all honesty, some deserve to be and they will tell you as much. But come up with some sort of training program to break in new refs because obviously whatever program you set up last summer has failed miserably.
Your thoughts and comments are welcome as always. Feel free to leave them here, shoot us an e-mail or @ us with your thoughts on Twitter. Or, you can join us for our live NYI FYI broadcast on Sunday at 11 AM and make your voice heard there.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
February 3, 2011
Isles, DiPietro KO'd in Pittsburgh
Believe it or not, I had some good feelings about the game against the Penguins after the Isles effort against the Thrashers. It would not be long before those feelings went away, however.
Rick DiPietro gave up a very weak goal to Tyler Kennedy and things seemed to snowball from there. He admitted that he was leaning in anticipation of a pass that never came to Pascal Dupuis. Actually, it was quite obvious when it happened and if he didn't say that, he would have looked silly. Well, even more than he did at the end of the game if that was even possible.
The Penguins hit an empty net to give them the 3-0 lead to seal the win. With 16 seconds left, DiPietro took a shot at Matt Cooke. DiPietro was the initiator here, but Matt Martin obviously came to the aide of his netminder and chased Cooke towards the corner. Many fights broke out, including DiPietro and Brent Johnson despite the pleading of one of the on-ice officials who was perhaps trying to save DiPietro from himself.
As they met in front of the net the Isles defended, you could immediately see the size difference between Johnson and DiPietro. It took Johnson all of one punch to drop DiPietro.
I'm not quite sure who initiated the fight, but history tells me it was most likely DiPietro. I sat there shaking my head in disbelief as he did this. I appreciate teammates standing up for each other, and when it comes to this team I want to see more of it. But not from an oft-injured goalie. Not from one who has suffered multiple hip, knee and concussion related injuries. The fact DiPietro got dropped immediately after a shot to the head gives some cause for concern.
DiPietro immediately skated off holding the area of his face where he took the punch. Fortunately, he didn't look too hurt in the post game. However, it was an absolutely bone-headed thing for him to do. Martin and Zenon Konopka were already on the ice trying to take care of things. They appeared to have it covered.
The brawl was a microcosm of the Islanders recent trips to Pittsburgh. They have now lost their last 11 games there.
However, both DiPietro and Johnson played pretty well. Each had their fair share of key saves in a game that didn't have very much offense or very many shots. Unfortunately for DiPietro, both goals that he gave up were weak.
I thought the Isles effort was pretty good. There were a couple of times where there was scrambling in front of the net, and somehow Johnson was able to make the save or cover up. When you run into a hot goalie, there isn't much you can do.
The Islanders have a couple of days off now before the take on the Senators on Saturday at home.
No Interest in Smith: When the Tampa Bay Lightning put Mike Smith on waivers Wednesday, I thought that the Islanders might put a claim in given the thought that they want to get Kevin Poulin back in Bridgeport as the everyday starter. Katie Strang wrote yesterday afternoon that sources are telling her the Isles have no interest.
While he's certainly not Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders made it known that one of the primary reason's they were claiming Nabokov was to get Poulin back to the minors. They had essentially admitted they needed a goalie, and now all of a sudden that tune seems to have changed. Poulin has played well no doubt, but ideally I would really like to see him down in the minors for the remainder of the year. In any event, we move on.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Rick DiPietro gave up a very weak goal to Tyler Kennedy and things seemed to snowball from there. He admitted that he was leaning in anticipation of a pass that never came to Pascal Dupuis. Actually, it was quite obvious when it happened and if he didn't say that, he would have looked silly. Well, even more than he did at the end of the game if that was even possible.
The Penguins hit an empty net to give them the 3-0 lead to seal the win. With 16 seconds left, DiPietro took a shot at Matt Cooke. DiPietro was the initiator here, but Matt Martin obviously came to the aide of his netminder and chased Cooke towards the corner. Many fights broke out, including DiPietro and Brent Johnson despite the pleading of one of the on-ice officials who was perhaps trying to save DiPietro from himself.
As they met in front of the net the Isles defended, you could immediately see the size difference between Johnson and DiPietro. It took Johnson all of one punch to drop DiPietro.
I'm not quite sure who initiated the fight, but history tells me it was most likely DiPietro. I sat there shaking my head in disbelief as he did this. I appreciate teammates standing up for each other, and when it comes to this team I want to see more of it. But not from an oft-injured goalie. Not from one who has suffered multiple hip, knee and concussion related injuries. The fact DiPietro got dropped immediately after a shot to the head gives some cause for concern.
DiPietro immediately skated off holding the area of his face where he took the punch. Fortunately, he didn't look too hurt in the post game. However, it was an absolutely bone-headed thing for him to do. Martin and Zenon Konopka were already on the ice trying to take care of things. They appeared to have it covered.
The brawl was a microcosm of the Islanders recent trips to Pittsburgh. They have now lost their last 11 games there.
However, both DiPietro and Johnson played pretty well. Each had their fair share of key saves in a game that didn't have very much offense or very many shots. Unfortunately for DiPietro, both goals that he gave up were weak.
I thought the Isles effort was pretty good. There were a couple of times where there was scrambling in front of the net, and somehow Johnson was able to make the save or cover up. When you run into a hot goalie, there isn't much you can do.
The Islanders have a couple of days off now before the take on the Senators on Saturday at home.
No Interest in Smith: When the Tampa Bay Lightning put Mike Smith on waivers Wednesday, I thought that the Islanders might put a claim in given the thought that they want to get Kevin Poulin back in Bridgeport as the everyday starter. Katie Strang wrote yesterday afternoon that sources are telling her the Isles have no interest.
While he's certainly not Evgeni Nabokov, the Islanders made it known that one of the primary reason's they were claiming Nabokov was to get Poulin back to the minors. They had essentially admitted they needed a goalie, and now all of a sudden that tune seems to have changed. Poulin has played well no doubt, but ideally I would really like to see him down in the minors for the remainder of the year. In any event, we move on.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
January 26, 2011
Poulin Looks Sharp as Isles Fall to Pens; Nabokov Suspended
Evgeni who?
For those wondering what Kevin Poulin may have thought about the Evgeni Nabokov claim, the 20 year old let his play do the talking Tuesday night against the Penguins.
Poulin looked sharp all game, particularly early on. That was a big plus considering he has had slow starts every time he has been in a game as a starter. A lot of debate has been going on about Poulin the last couple of days, with many wanting him to go back to the AHL to get the playing and development time he needs. That was the number one motive behind the Nabokov claim.
With Nabokov refusing to report and Nathan Lawson out a week or two with a knee injury, Poulin will get some extra chances to prove that his time is now. Tuesday he certainly made a statement as he had what I would have to day was his most solid effort.
The rest of the Islanders weren't to shabby either, but unfortunately their effort wasn't enough to topple the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin-less Pens.
It took all of 49 minutes for the Penguins to finally solve Poulin as Craig Adams would put a rebound past Poulin.
For the Isles, it was their 10th straight loss to the Penguins on the road.
Unfortunately, we had yet another game with some pretty poor officiating on both sides of the puck. Some could say that they were letting the boys play, and it certainly appeared like it at times. However, the few calls that were made were very questionable. Fortunately, it didn't seem to cost anyone.
In all honesty, aside from Poulin there was no one in particular who really stood out to me. Michael Grabner played pretty well and made some nice plays there, but it's the stuff he's been doing for the last month or so. It's great to see him keep that up and get the puck towards the net any way that he can.
The defense looks shaky at times. I'm a big fan of Travis Hamonic, but lately he has looked a bit weak to me. He had a nice fight 26 seconds into the game with Tyler Kennedy. But defensively, you can tell that he is very young. He'll get there though.
Overall, the team has a hard time shooting off of a pass. I notice quite frequently that the Islanders will pass the puck around at the point, and they will hesitate to shoot. Despite the fact that it wasn't very accurate, this is one thing I miss that James Wisniewski provided. He had his fare share of hesitations, but sometimes was not afraid to just rip a hard slap shot. A lot of the guys are hesitant to do that, and often have weak attempts or just have the shots easily blocked as they allow the defense to get set for the shot. The urgency is something that they need to continue to work on.
The Islanders return home for a Wednesday night match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have been playing some decent hockey of late, and have been one of those up and down bubble teams looking for a playoff birth. They are 9th right now, just one point behind the Atlanta Thrashers. I'm looking forward to seeing them live as I will be in the press box for the game (weather permitting).
NABOKOV SUSPENDED: As expected, the Islanders suspended Nabokov after failing to report on the 2nd flight that the team set-up for him this weekend. It appears that he will not have a change of heart. So, as I mentioned earlier, Poulin has the chance for the time being to prove that he is capable of playing in the NHL.
In the end, the Isles made the right move here with Nabokov. I was on the fence about whether or not it was worth it, but the guy left his team in the KHL and expected to fly through waivers unclaimed. The Isles need a goalie.
I will be a little annoyed if the next few weeks come and go and the Isles don't attempt to add another goalie, because essentially what this whole fiasco tells us is that they are admitting that they jumped the gun on dealing Dwayne Roloson and that they still need another solid option for the remainder of this year and possibly next season.
Either way, it remains to be seen how long this saga will go on. With sources claiming the Isles are likely to "toll" the contract into next season, the Isles have all the leverage here. The All-Star break will begin after tonight's game, but it appears as though there will be no more calls from Garth Snow based on his comments from last night. Any change of heart will have to come from Nabokov and his agent.
The moral of this story? Don't think you can't find greener pastures in the KHL, have a poor showing, and expect to be able to easily just join a contender because it's convenient for you, and don't say you will report wherever you are claimed because you want "visibility for next season" and then refuse to report to the team that claimed you. While the league and the NHLPA are looking at the situation, something tells me the NHL is in support of the Isles because this sends a message to those who are willing to turn down decent offers from contenders in order to sign contracts in the KHL and expect to re-appear.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
For those wondering what Kevin Poulin may have thought about the Evgeni Nabokov claim, the 20 year old let his play do the talking Tuesday night against the Penguins.
Poulin looked sharp all game, particularly early on. That was a big plus considering he has had slow starts every time he has been in a game as a starter. A lot of debate has been going on about Poulin the last couple of days, with many wanting him to go back to the AHL to get the playing and development time he needs. That was the number one motive behind the Nabokov claim.
With Nabokov refusing to report and Nathan Lawson out a week or two with a knee injury, Poulin will get some extra chances to prove that his time is now. Tuesday he certainly made a statement as he had what I would have to day was his most solid effort.
The rest of the Islanders weren't to shabby either, but unfortunately their effort wasn't enough to topple the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin-less Pens.
It took all of 49 minutes for the Penguins to finally solve Poulin as Craig Adams would put a rebound past Poulin.
For the Isles, it was their 10th straight loss to the Penguins on the road.
Unfortunately, we had yet another game with some pretty poor officiating on both sides of the puck. Some could say that they were letting the boys play, and it certainly appeared like it at times. However, the few calls that were made were very questionable. Fortunately, it didn't seem to cost anyone.
In all honesty, aside from Poulin there was no one in particular who really stood out to me. Michael Grabner played pretty well and made some nice plays there, but it's the stuff he's been doing for the last month or so. It's great to see him keep that up and get the puck towards the net any way that he can.
The defense looks shaky at times. I'm a big fan of Travis Hamonic, but lately he has looked a bit weak to me. He had a nice fight 26 seconds into the game with Tyler Kennedy. But defensively, you can tell that he is very young. He'll get there though.
Overall, the team has a hard time shooting off of a pass. I notice quite frequently that the Islanders will pass the puck around at the point, and they will hesitate to shoot. Despite the fact that it wasn't very accurate, this is one thing I miss that James Wisniewski provided. He had his fare share of hesitations, but sometimes was not afraid to just rip a hard slap shot. A lot of the guys are hesitant to do that, and often have weak attempts or just have the shots easily blocked as they allow the defense to get set for the shot. The urgency is something that they need to continue to work on.
The Islanders return home for a Wednesday night match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have been playing some decent hockey of late, and have been one of those up and down bubble teams looking for a playoff birth. They are 9th right now, just one point behind the Atlanta Thrashers. I'm looking forward to seeing them live as I will be in the press box for the game (weather permitting).
NABOKOV SUSPENDED: As expected, the Islanders suspended Nabokov after failing to report on the 2nd flight that the team set-up for him this weekend. It appears that he will not have a change of heart. So, as I mentioned earlier, Poulin has the chance for the time being to prove that he is capable of playing in the NHL.
In the end, the Isles made the right move here with Nabokov. I was on the fence about whether or not it was worth it, but the guy left his team in the KHL and expected to fly through waivers unclaimed. The Isles need a goalie.
I will be a little annoyed if the next few weeks come and go and the Isles don't attempt to add another goalie, because essentially what this whole fiasco tells us is that they are admitting that they jumped the gun on dealing Dwayne Roloson and that they still need another solid option for the remainder of this year and possibly next season.
Either way, it remains to be seen how long this saga will go on. With sources claiming the Isles are likely to "toll" the contract into next season, the Isles have all the leverage here. The All-Star break will begin after tonight's game, but it appears as though there will be no more calls from Garth Snow based on his comments from last night. Any change of heart will have to come from Nabokov and his agent.
The moral of this story? Don't think you can't find greener pastures in the KHL, have a poor showing, and expect to be able to easily just join a contender because it's convenient for you, and don't say you will report wherever you are claimed because you want "visibility for next season" and then refuse to report to the team that claimed you. While the league and the NHLPA are looking at the situation, something tells me the NHL is in support of the Isles because this sends a message to those who are willing to turn down decent offers from contenders in order to sign contracts in the KHL and expect to re-appear.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
December 29, 2010
Isles Snap Crosby's Streak, Defeat Pens in Process
The Islanders were able to do the unthinkable on Wednesday night at the Coliseum as they defeated the Penguins 2-1 in the shootout and stopped Sidney Crosby's 25 game point too.
Obviously, the Islanders knew what was riding on this game aside from the point streak. When the media walked in, defenseman Mark Eaton exclaimed "HBO first!" The Islanders may have gotten themselves more than just your usual mention, especially considering the fact that NBC was really banking on the point streak extending up until at least the winter classic.
The Islanders had a very good effort. The Penguins didn't play poorly, but did have some lapses on their own. As a whole, their defense was solid which was a key question going into the game after the subtraction of James Wisniewski.
It wasn't until the 2nd period when a goal was scored, which came from Josh Bailey. Travis Hamonic took a shot that was stopped, but Bailey was standing in front of the net to put home the rebound. Since he has come back, it seems as though he has been going towards the net more often than not. I was curious if that was an aspect of his game that he worked on, but he downplayed that, telling me "It's just a part of the game. It's not something I focused on (down in Bridgeport)."
Fair enough, but I definitely notice a difference in the way that Bailey is playing. He's had some nice rushes, some nice takeaways and has been playing with as much confidence as he was during the first couple of games of the season.
Michael Grabner had a very active game, using his speed a lot to get some chances that he was unable to bury. His hands still need a little work, but he is slowly getting there. He just needs to keep using that speed of his.
Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout too, using his patented forehand to backhand move he has become so very well known for. He also had a very important block in overtime to keep the score tied and help the Islanders clear the puck.
"It was a good win for us. Hopefully we can build some confidence going on the long road trip," Nielsen told us after the game.
Rick DiPietro was solid and really made some huge saves. His movements were quick again. I never truly thought that he was seriously injured, but many feared the worst when he went on IR for a few days. That's understandable, and even Sean and I had our disagreement about how serious the injury was.
But he was stellar tonight and earned the right to be the game's 1st star.
"There's still a lot of work to be done but you're seeing some guys step-up into big roles here," DiPietro said.
When asked about stopping Crosby's streak, DiPietro downplayed the impact he had. "Anytime you're facing a team with that much skill, it's a team effort."
A team effort it certainly was. The Islanders can truly hang their head high after this one - defeating a good team in front of a good crowd (still a very loud Isles contingent among the Penguins fans) and ending streak of the NHL's best player.
Now, the attention for the Islanders turns to their 11 day roadtrip. They kick that off Friday on New Years Eve in Detroit against yet another hot team. The Islanders have won only three games on the road this season.
Thursday, 11 PM: Here is a video filmed by Johnny Z of Yes Islanders of myself, Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey and Timo Seppa of Hockey Prospectus giving our thoughts on the game.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Obviously, the Islanders knew what was riding on this game aside from the point streak. When the media walked in, defenseman Mark Eaton exclaimed "HBO first!" The Islanders may have gotten themselves more than just your usual mention, especially considering the fact that NBC was really banking on the point streak extending up until at least the winter classic.
The Islanders had a very good effort. The Penguins didn't play poorly, but did have some lapses on their own. As a whole, their defense was solid which was a key question going into the game after the subtraction of James Wisniewski.
It wasn't until the 2nd period when a goal was scored, which came from Josh Bailey. Travis Hamonic took a shot that was stopped, but Bailey was standing in front of the net to put home the rebound. Since he has come back, it seems as though he has been going towards the net more often than not. I was curious if that was an aspect of his game that he worked on, but he downplayed that, telling me "It's just a part of the game. It's not something I focused on (down in Bridgeport)."
Fair enough, but I definitely notice a difference in the way that Bailey is playing. He's had some nice rushes, some nice takeaways and has been playing with as much confidence as he was during the first couple of games of the season.
Michael Grabner had a very active game, using his speed a lot to get some chances that he was unable to bury. His hands still need a little work, but he is slowly getting there. He just needs to keep using that speed of his.
Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout too, using his patented forehand to backhand move he has become so very well known for. He also had a very important block in overtime to keep the score tied and help the Islanders clear the puck.
"It was a good win for us. Hopefully we can build some confidence going on the long road trip," Nielsen told us after the game.
Rick DiPietro was solid and really made some huge saves. His movements were quick again. I never truly thought that he was seriously injured, but many feared the worst when he went on IR for a few days. That's understandable, and even Sean and I had our disagreement about how serious the injury was.
But he was stellar tonight and earned the right to be the game's 1st star.
"There's still a lot of work to be done but you're seeing some guys step-up into big roles here," DiPietro said.
When asked about stopping Crosby's streak, DiPietro downplayed the impact he had. "Anytime you're facing a team with that much skill, it's a team effort."
A team effort it certainly was. The Islanders can truly hang their head high after this one - defeating a good team in front of a good crowd (still a very loud Isles contingent among the Penguins fans) and ending streak of the NHL's best player.
Now, the attention for the Islanders turns to their 11 day roadtrip. They kick that off Friday on New Years Eve in Detroit against yet another hot team. The Islanders have won only three games on the road this season.
Thursday, 11 PM: Here is a video filmed by Johnny Z of Yes Islanders of myself, Brad Kurtzberg of Inside Hockey and Timo Seppa of Hockey Prospectus giving our thoughts on the game.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Isles to Honor Two Heroes Tonight, Special Meaning for NYI FYI
For those of you who have been frequently attending games at the Nassau Coliseum for the past couple of seasons, you know that the Islanders always bring in a veteran and acknowledge them to the crowd. Tonight the Islanders will give their military shout out to LCpl. Rob Gartner from our home town of Northport, NY.
There is a back story to this, and that is where the special meaning for me comes in.
Tim Scherer Sr. and his family have become friendly with the Gartner's over the past couple of years due to another unfortunate circumstance.
On July 21, 2007 Cpl. Chris Scherer was killed in Al Anbar province in Iraq after being struck by a lone bullet from an Iraqi sniper.
Seeing as how close we were in age, Chris and I came into contact a lot. The reason I got to know Chris was because we grew up as part of the same Boy Scout Troop - Troop 52 in East Northport. Chris was a year older than myself, but it didn't take him long to become one of the leaders among the others in the troop. He was someone who helped me learn a lot and someone I had some good sports conversations with.
Mr. Scherer served as the Scout Master for pretty much the entire time that I was involved in scouting. Needless to say, he and his family are good people that we have gotten to know more about over the years. The death of Chris seemed to bring everyone in the community closer together.
My father is a Vietnam veteran who has a leadership position in our local American Legion post. He is always looking to help veterans in need. My family had filled out a form for a subscription to readers digest for Chris not too long before he passed. He never got them.
Meanwhile, Gartner was the first recipient of the Cpl. Chris Scherer Scholarship, awarded at Northport High School to an individual who has aspirations of joining the Marines. This is when the Scherer's and the Gartner's first met and became friendly. Realizing that Gartner was returning, and that he was a die hard Islanders fan, Mr. Scherer wanted to give him and his family tickets to the Isles game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mr. Scherer also provided the family with tickets to the Isles game at MSG on Monday night.
Learning about the honoring of current military members that the Islanders do ever night, Mr. Scherer wanted to do that for the Gartners. He called up the Islanders to make the arrangements. At that point, the story got all the more interesting and more touching in the process.
"After I made the request, they asked me why I wanted to do this for Rob. I explained to them the whole story, and upon the conclusion of that they told me that I was going to the game for free also as an honor to Chris."
For as much flak as this organization has gotten recently, listening to Mr. Scherer explain this to me on the other end of the phone left me speechless and with tears in my eyes. If you want to talk about a classy move, this is one. I felt that I wanted to write something about this because of my connection to Chris and his family, not to mention the fact that stories like this don't get heard very often.
The Islanders proceeded to offer Mr. Scherer tickets at a discounted rate for a group. There are a number of people involved with events in the memory of Chris, so naturally he took to Facebook and e-mail to let it be known.
"We have 100 people going to the game. I think it's fantastic, what the Islanders are doing." Mr. Scherer said.
It certianly is. I will be in the press box for this one tonight, but my parents will be with the Cpl. Chris Scherer group.
There are teams all over the league that probably have stories similar to this one, and it's a shame they don't get advertised more often. Who knows how many times this has happened in past Isles games. It certainly is a really touching back story though.
Meanwhile, the Islanders prepare to face the red hot Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tonight, a day after dealing away James Wisniewski and two days after getting destroyed by the Rangers.
Chris was always known as a comedian, and would lighten the mood when things got tough. I feel it's fitting to close with the line he would always use: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
Yep. We certainly could use one tonight.
Semper Fi, Chris and Rob and welcome home. I hope the Islanders can pull one out for these two heroes tonight.
For more information about Chris and the annual memorial walk around East Northport, please be sure to visit the Corporal Christopher G. Scherer website.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
There is a back story to this, and that is where the special meaning for me comes in.
Tim Scherer Sr. and his family have become friendly with the Gartner's over the past couple of years due to another unfortunate circumstance.
On July 21, 2007 Cpl. Chris Scherer was killed in Al Anbar province in Iraq after being struck by a lone bullet from an Iraqi sniper.
Seeing as how close we were in age, Chris and I came into contact a lot. The reason I got to know Chris was because we grew up as part of the same Boy Scout Troop - Troop 52 in East Northport. Chris was a year older than myself, but it didn't take him long to become one of the leaders among the others in the troop. He was someone who helped me learn a lot and someone I had some good sports conversations with.
Mr. Scherer served as the Scout Master for pretty much the entire time that I was involved in scouting. Needless to say, he and his family are good people that we have gotten to know more about over the years. The death of Chris seemed to bring everyone in the community closer together.
My father is a Vietnam veteran who has a leadership position in our local American Legion post. He is always looking to help veterans in need. My family had filled out a form for a subscription to readers digest for Chris not too long before he passed. He never got them.
Meanwhile, Gartner was the first recipient of the Cpl. Chris Scherer Scholarship, awarded at Northport High School to an individual who has aspirations of joining the Marines. This is when the Scherer's and the Gartner's first met and became friendly. Realizing that Gartner was returning, and that he was a die hard Islanders fan, Mr. Scherer wanted to give him and his family tickets to the Isles game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mr. Scherer also provided the family with tickets to the Isles game at MSG on Monday night.
Learning about the honoring of current military members that the Islanders do ever night, Mr. Scherer wanted to do that for the Gartners. He called up the Islanders to make the arrangements. At that point, the story got all the more interesting and more touching in the process.
"After I made the request, they asked me why I wanted to do this for Rob. I explained to them the whole story, and upon the conclusion of that they told me that I was going to the game for free also as an honor to Chris."
For as much flak as this organization has gotten recently, listening to Mr. Scherer explain this to me on the other end of the phone left me speechless and with tears in my eyes. If you want to talk about a classy move, this is one. I felt that I wanted to write something about this because of my connection to Chris and his family, not to mention the fact that stories like this don't get heard very often.
The Islanders proceeded to offer Mr. Scherer tickets at a discounted rate for a group. There are a number of people involved with events in the memory of Chris, so naturally he took to Facebook and e-mail to let it be known.
"We have 100 people going to the game. I think it's fantastic, what the Islanders are doing." Mr. Scherer said.
It certianly is. I will be in the press box for this one tonight, but my parents will be with the Cpl. Chris Scherer group.
There are teams all over the league that probably have stories similar to this one, and it's a shame they don't get advertised more often. Who knows how many times this has happened in past Isles games. It certainly is a really touching back story though.
Meanwhile, the Islanders prepare to face the red hot Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tonight, a day after dealing away James Wisniewski and two days after getting destroyed by the Rangers.
Chris was always known as a comedian, and would lighten the mood when things got tough. I feel it's fitting to close with the line he would always use: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
Yep. We certainly could use one tonight.
Semper Fi, Chris and Rob and welcome home. I hope the Islanders can pull one out for these two heroes tonight.
For more information about Chris and the annual memorial walk around East Northport, please be sure to visit the Corporal Christopher G. Scherer website.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
