On the Islanders Beat

Thanks for confirming it, Greg. I was waiting for some official word, since this has been the worst-kept secret in hockey.

Have they made a roster move to accommodate him? Has Gervais gone back to the Bridge or are they rotating for now?

Where exactly does berard fit in? Are they carrying 7 Dmen now? I have a feeling he's not going to be the player everyone thinks the isles are getting.

I like the move. He'll add some jump to the PP. I to agree that he is not the player he was, but he still has talent and skill.

Freddy Meyer was waived and claimed by Phoenix. Hopefully Berard can hit the net on the PP. Its frustrating watching Marc-Andre blast shot after shot too high or wide.

It's not even MAB missing the net. He reminds me of Aucoin in the first half of 01-02 when you knew he'd turn it around. I had a problem with the Islanders relying too much on MAB on the powerplay yesterday. Another defenseman willing to shoot on the powerplay is a great weapon to have, and you can add Berard to Campoli and MAB in that equation.

again i like the signing of berard, but i hope it doesnt impact badly for campoli.... the truth of the matter is that i think a berard/campoli power play would be beautiful.

I don't think the decision was made after the PP went 0-4 yesterday. They actually looked okay (not great, but okay)yesterday. they were moving the puck and getting opportunities. Kolzig played well, and there were some times when they zigged when they shouldhave zagged. But the team hasn't passed the puck like that in a long time. There were even a few new wrinkles (set plays?) they used and almost worked.
I know he wasn't brought in because of a defensive lapse. I think they held Washington to 12 shots... so I think we may be a little over critical of the team. There were definitely a few bounces that could have gone their way. What berard does is offer depth and choice.
Berard should help the PP, and help move the puck better.
But I think some of you guys need to come in off the ledge. the team is playing well. Wed. will be their first test against the team that is SUPPOSED TO win the division.
Let's see how that works out.
We can all just hope for a "Left Overture", meaning an early 2 goal lead.
How long before Newsday uses that for a headline... Probably should have used it Saturday.

A healthy Berard is not a bad addition.

Sorry if I repeat things about yesterday's game, but I was at the NVMC, took my kid home, then went to see the Yankees get bombed.

My thoughts:

1) DP did not blow the game; the Caps converted on two good chances.

2) Tom Poti was right in today's newspaper. Although the Isles badly outshot the Caps, most shots were from the perimeter.

3) I thought both teams played highly disciplined defensive games and the Caps cleared out the front of the net extremely well allowing very few second chances. The Caps especially played defense first, second, and third--before looking for any offense. But for a very brief window (shift?) in the 3rd period where things went end-to-end, there could not have been more than four clear odd-man rushes the entire game.

4) The PP was strictly North-South on the 5 on 3. The Caps barely had to move in their triangle. A pathetic effort. However, we're not alone. The Caps PP was equally static--looking solely for an Ovechkin one-timer from the high slot--which being Ovechkin is not horrific--but they did not make the Isles move as well.

5) Sillinger was a split second slow with the stick all game--both on shots and on passes. Just an observation from yesterday--nothing more.

6) As duly noted, Hilbert has no scoring touch in the NHL.

7) As for the kids' stuff, it was kids day--and the building was sold out and hopping more than an hour ahead of game time. Don't expect a repeat for the Rangers game!

I agree with all Merrick's points. Especially the observation about Sillinger. Actually, last night was his best game of the 3 so far. Hopefully he just continues to work that aging body into game shape.

Not a bad game for the Isles, but they were just a bit off in their timing and general play execution. The 2nd period was the key to the game. That was really the period when they started to dominate what really is a weaker team (especially without Semin). The blown 5 on 3 was a killer. Probably should've declined that 2nd penalty.

I fully expect to see Gervais in the press box tomorrow night. Nolan will want to see what he can generate with both Berard and MAB on the PP. And there's no way he sits Campoli after his play the last 2 games.

Anyone else notice how much of a beast Hunter was last night? That's the exact type of play the Isles will need to beat the other NY team on Wednesday.

Welcome Back Brian....

hey greg...

any word on sim and his mri results yet?

thanks.

i read on the isles facebook that sim has been placed on the ir which i hope is nto the case

Berard is a good signing IF he could stay healthy. He's of top notch pedigree and is better with than most defencemen even with 60% vision...

One last note about yesterday's game (I finally saw the whole thing). I though the Isles played a good game the D only allowed 12 shots, so its not like the caps danced around the ice all game long. The isles undoing was not coverting on any of their PP chances. Kolzig, a known Isle killier, was on point yeaterday. While most of the the Isles shots were from the perimeter, he was sharp on a couple of tips and deflections from in close. He robbed Satan anf Guerin a couple of times. I wouldn't be to worried, a bounce here or there on that slushy ice, the ourcome might of been different.

PS- KEEP BERGENHEIM with Vasicek and Satan, they looked good playing together in the 3rd...

1st game of the year for me tommorrow(soooo excited ) sec. 325... LETS GO ISLES!!!!

Bergie has looked GREAT in the limited minutes he's gotten.

Tambellini looks sharp as well. He keeps shooting and a few of those are going to go in. Just needs to speed up his release a bit and he'll be fine.

Berard is a great signing (hopefully he does well and they extend his contract). I feel a bit of satisfaction knowing we right a past wrong for when he was traded to Toronto.

Wouldn't be surprised if the Isles convert him to left wing at some point. Little bit less of a liability defensively at even strength. Could easily prolong his career as well.

You always say more to come yet there is never more to come.

Agreed with all of Merrick's points. Comrie also was a bit too fancy in most plays. Throwing in an extra, unneccesary toe drag or deke is not going to work all the time Mikey haha.

did sim practice today or is he out for awhile ?

According to Kris King on ITV... Sim is out indefinately.... Thats not good....

berard is going to be great

I like tambs...but my man looked like a boy yesterday on that second line. Bery definitley looked better

jmars:
According to Kris King on ITV... Sim is out indefinately.... Thats not good....

Posted by jmars | October 9, 2007

My bad Greg , didn't realized you updated your blog... But the news still stinks....

i hope they do play berard against the rags tomorrow.... he has already experienced that rivalry firsthand and sounds like he is chomping at the bit to get into that particular game - and i agree wholeheartedly with jmars - berard is better with one eye than most of the rags defense is with two - i was surprised he ended up as an invite to a camp as opposed to signed - at the 750k we got him for he would have been a steal for any team. he has talent deep down, determination - and still is a top notch player. and definitely a "nolan" type player......

Greg-

I disagree on the Bootland comment. If Strdwick, Orr etc...start crappola, how would we defend our turf? The isles cant match the rags skill, thus, physical play and defense will be key. I think Bootland and a Bridgeport callup is wise----we need phsical play consistently. What else do we bring to the table????

Sim is out indefinitly with a knee sprain.

That could be two weeks, two months or four months. Depends on how the swelling responds to treatment and how the knee handles weight bearing.

No one really knows the degree of the sprain at this point either.

I have a felling he'll be back by early November.

Greg: I can understand you dropping the Rag blog highjackers but don't stop me from questioning Nolan's quandry. If he doesn't sit MAB it's clearly a mistake and a reflection of his credibility. In retrospect, I'm sure Teddy would understand my position because facts are facts. MAB has been the worst D by far ( lack of points, +/-, points) and Nolan himself said contracts don't matter so he's oblidged to sit MAB if he wants to insert Berard right away. It sure can't be Campy or even Bruno because EVERYONE agrees they've been the best pairing so far. And Ted won't send Bruno to Bridgeport because he wouldn't do that to a youngster and end up demoralizing him ( sorry Campy lol) It's plain and simple.

The NY Post said there were empty sections on Monday, and I strongly disagree. There were in fact empty seats, but their dispersion told me the game was a sellout.

Also, Monday's game was one of the Isles two choices for "Bring a Friend" Night to season ticket holders--the other being November 1st against Tampa Bay. So it's entirely plausible that may people with free seats decided to spend an 85 degree day someplace other than the Nassau Coliseum.

Let's see now. Losing Meyer, gaining Berard equals an improved defense and powerplay. Watch for Berard to be on the powerplay with Bergeron, but not a lot of ice time during a five on five. Bringing Berard in will most certainly improve a powerplay that has already looked good so far. However, at even strength, you want the defensive pairing that is out there now, especially Campoli and Gervais, whom both have looked very good early on. Losing Sim for a while means it's time to see what Tambellini can do. Leave him on the second line with Vasicek, and Satan. If he doesn't score, he may be able to get Satan to finish off a score by getting to the rebound. This will also let the Islanders see what Tamby can do in the NHL and see if he's worth keeping around.

Welcome back Berard and best of luck 2 ya

I think we have a great shot at taking our third win in four games tonite. While our lines have been jelling, and our team has been playing well (even if we lost to Washington the other day), Rangers have not done so good their first two games. They are still trying to pull it together chemistry-wise and the loss of Avery, and the rejuggling of lines to compensate for his loss didn't help them.

Should be a good game tonite.

Miggsey - You're the 'master of the defense', but I gotta disagree with you when you said that MAB has to sit against the Rangers.

Granted, he's not the most gifted player defensively, but the team defense since the half point of the 1st period of the 1st game has been pretty solid. It was excellent against the Caps (althought the Caps sat back in a trap) and they held Buffalo to 3 goals in 5 periods of play. Not too shabby. And MAB logged considerable ice time in each of these games.

There's really been not too much wrong with the D so far, so I'd be more inclined to follow the rule of... 'If it aint broke, don't try to fix it.' Besides, on average I assume the Ranger game will be a much faster pace. Why not give Berard his first look against the Leafs?

who?

I 100% agree Cincy! Although I am down on MAB, he has to play tonight!

Tonight is a obviously a big game. Should be some scraps, big hits, and more importantly 2 big points to have!

With that said, the Toronto game is the one that I think is HUGE for us. As many of you know the Isles are the kings of getting up for the Rangers, and then spitting the bit against the team they play next....That trend MUST stop this year. Billy Guerin should be the reason that trend stops!

Lets get two point tonight.

Keep Shanny off the score card. Have a bad feeling he is going to kill us tonight!

Caesar:
Tambellini looks sharp as well. He keeps shooting and a few of those are going to go in. Just needs to speed up his release a bit and he'll be fine.

i used to think this about hilbert too. i like tambellini's hustle and quickness but the more i see him the less i expect scoring-wise. i'm afraid maybe it just isn't there.

huh?

Looks like Berard is in tonight.
http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=339657

"Nolan indicated that it will be a game-time decision as to who Berard replaces in the lineup."

Looks like someone's coming out, now who's it going to be? I think Bergeron/Gervais is the weak link here. I hope this doesn't throw off the chemistry too much.

big game tonight, hopefully berard looks good and this isn't a mistake. Does anyone know aboutt j. sim's status, is it true hes done for the year?

What's the update on Sim?

i seen one report on hockeybuzz, that he is done for the year, but i can't find it anywhere else. it would be a bad injury, but also would give tambs the chance at a regular spot

i couldn't see the guy being out for the season. i mean, before you post something like that you better have real info. some strickland dude on hockeybuzz is reporting him out for the year. unless he has a torn acl/mcl the guy is going to be back. i heard he has a sprained knee, if that's the case he's out a couple of weeks tops.

before you reply, why don't you read and understand my post. i said "is it true he is out for the year" i didn't say he was, just wondering if you americans have some better sources

not talking about you buddy. talking about strickland. look at the time of my post and yours. you think i read yours and typed mine in less than a minute. relax bro. what's up with the u americans??

were both isles fans man.

sorry, i didn't mean to sound like an jerk, lol. the american comment is just that i would think mostly americans use this blog, thats all. lets go isles

ok know worries

no

Lets build on last years a^^ kicking.

5-1-2

regarding sim - this was from greg logan on this blog today:

Jonathan Sim (sprained knee) has been placed on the injured list indefinitely and was walking with a soft cast on his injured leg today.

I'm a Rangers fan and I'm going to the game tonight. I just have a feeling that you guys are going to win. I still think we won't see the "real" Rangers until sometime around X-mas. They need some time to jell and the Isles always play above their heads against us. As steady said, your big game come up next against Toronto.

I also agree that putting Berard in tonight would be a mistake. Is he ready for the pace? Has your PP been that bad that he needs to play?

On the Rangers side I don't agree with Renney dressing both Strudwick and Orr tonight. Looks like Bootland is a scratch so their goes Orr and Mara HAS to dress over Struds.

Anyway, should be a good game.

P.S.

Newsday, thank the Lord you fixed the layout. The last one was terrible. Headache galore.

I watched Vs. last night (Toronto vs. Carolina) and at the end of the game they actually talked about the New York Islanders and what a surprise this team might be this year. They also made notion that their # 1 line is real good! Maybe the talk was geared at promoting tonights game vs. the Rangers, but none the less a little recognition is hard to come by with this team.

By the way; Blakey might be wishing he took less money to stay in New York, the Maple Leafs look awful. They lost 7-1 and were booed none stop on home ice. The only cheer came when they announced 1 minute left to play in the game.

It would be nice to see if Satan can get going tonight; I think he has played well and has skating has been strong. He has had some good saves made against him and also broke two sticks on one powerplay. It seems like guys are breaking sticks all the time.

isles 3-1 after tonight, rags 1-2. so much for your offseason spending.

gotta love interviews with rangers players talking about how hard it is to find chemistry. LOL

Cincy/Steady: I love the devotion, faith and loyalty you're showing to MAB. I'm much the same with Campoli and Gervais. I do think that he's a bit like going to your mother in law's for dinner now. You arrive knowing full well what you're going to get, you hate it but for the sake of family peace you praise her culinery skills. A little later on in years she passes on and you quietly thank the heavens above you don't have to endear her horrendous cooking anymore. That's MAB in a capsule. We'll all assumed he was the answer and now he's continually showing more negatives than postives. The only thing that happens when we assume is that MAB makes an ass out of you and me.

C'mon Miggs. It's not "devotion, faith and loyalty" I'm showing. It's simply a recognition that the guy single-handedly turned the PP around last year. They went from bottom 3rd to I think 10th, or something close to that. If anything, MAB certainly plays hockey much better than my mother-in-law cooks!!! LOL.

You're a stats guy, right? Well, the stats show that the defense hasn't really been responsible for any goals scored in 8 out of the 9 periods played so far. MAB just happens to be part of that defense. Just like Campoli and Gervais. So my only point in suggesting that maybe Gervais sits rather than MAB (if Berard plays, which he will), is because I want to see what the PP would look like with both at the point. Maybe Berard gets MAB more room to fire the canon?

I hear what you're saying Cincy and I'll give you he added a spark to last year's PP. My biggest beef is that Ted doesn't show consistency by keeping MAB on the ice when he's easily sat others previously. The players do pick up on these things. I'm as interested as you in seeing if Berard will or won't bring a noticeable upgrade to the PP. The key is to balance his addition without sitting those who definitely deserve to play. If Nolan decided to sit Gervais now, would it make sense? Who else is there. We all know he has to dress 7 D tonight in order to save face because his own idea of an easy out in Campoli just doesn't wash now. Time to watch and see what he does.

I am all about wins Miggsey! I could care less if ENOUGH ALREADY got his braces removed and laced em up for us tonight, if he got my team a "W" I am happy !!!! Just win baby !!!

My only point is that TONIGHT he gives us the best chance to win.

Don't get to cocky on your boy "Campy" just yet...Playing great and I have given him his just due, but it is a long season. :)

LETS GET ONE TONIGHT BOYS

YAH GOTTA BELIEVE !!!!!!!!!!!

Then again !?!?!?!?! My God MAB looks poor!

Then again my God, MAB looks good! LOL

That is the ONLY reason this guy plays....We do not have a good enough offense without him. He misses the net too much, he is horrible in his own zone, but every now and then he does what just happened!

p.s How many divers aka pests aka guys that jump people form behind do the Rags actually employ?

Avery, Tatto head Hollwig, and now Callahan aka Greg Louganis ???

Orr and Strudwick at least go toe to toe !!!

I agree Steady, "IF" MAB provided the needed offence on a fairly consistent basis and minimized his mediocre defensive play, I wouldn't be so hard on him. However he is a veteran who needs to reverse that point quickly because his ratio of blatant mistakes to offensive pearls is bad. I loved the fact that he scored tonight and more so that we won because there is no "I" in the word "TEAM". I thought the Brian Engblom said it best in the first intermission that he was glad MAB scored because he sure had a bad period.
Two thumbs up to Berard for scoring the winning goal on the 5 on 3 effort. He was rusty at times but being a PP specialist is a good start for him. Finding a way to keep the D spirit high will be tricky if they continue to dress 7. We still need to play Campy and Bruno lots and in pressure situations so that they'll continue to grow and shine. If we pull the rug out from underneath them now, they'll become a wasted project for short term gains. Maybe a combo trade for one of our young guys is still the answer????

I agree the defense situation is untenable. Would anyone be averse to possibly converting MAB to wing and playing him on the point during the power play? I know it's a bit radical, but this way you keep his offense, keep his benefit to the power play, keep the young d-men, and maybe, please, Andy Hilbert goes bye-bye. Thoughts?

Quit the constant WHINING about MAB- jeez!!!! The Isles are doing great and instead of being happy you sound like whiny little bitches.