On the Islanders Beat

Any word on the reason it took this long?

I am as pumped as anyone about the win, and the Newsday comment policy, but did we win a single faceoff tonight??? DP bailing the team out!!! Hunter looked great at the end there, huh? Hope Islanders nation represented at the Rock. I'm at work.

Good win!!

Isles also hit two posts, game could have been more like 3-0.

Greg and Newsday: HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!! So happy to hear about the new policy as are many other fans of both the Islanders and the Rangers who post on this site.

We can only hope...

Hockey's a strange game; a bounce here, a fall there, a shot just wide there...and everyone's talking differently after a game. I was at the game and it was another solid effort, but these Devils are just not the same--especially at D with the injuries and no Rafalski.

I also don't know how it looked on TV, whether the ice was terrible, the defense was that good, or just simply an enormous arena only half-filled draining all perceivable energy, but from where I was sitting both teams seemed a bit flat for long stretches without any extra jump.

Trent Hunter has looked extremely good for several games now. He even reminds of Yashin a bit in how strong he is on the puck--but with a lot more heart. And when I paid specific attention, he also was great tonight in our own end on defensive coverage.

The Newark Arena is a a beautiful clean new place, but as with most new arenas, unless you pay a bundle, you'll be far away from the ice. While most of the cheaper seats high above were filled (like mine in the 400 degree heat in the last row), the high-end seats were mostly empty. There is absolutely no way there was clsoe to the 15,000 plus announced in attendance. Also, they don't allow the riff-raff fans like me to go behind the benches during warm-ups unless you have seats in that area. That made my son very disappointed. Also, because the place is so huge and had so many empty seats--although I saw lots of Isles fans on the trains back to NY, there really didn't seem to tbe too much of a contingent in the actual building. I'm not saying they weren't there, just unnoticeable. You'll see a lot more Islander fans at the Garden on Monday.

On a high food note--get the stuffed double dogs! While $8 is the most I've ever paid for a hot dog, it was delicious.

Anyway, two points is two points. On to MSG.

IDP was SOLID.
Not outstanding, simply solid.
Solid is when he is making the saves he is supposed to make, controlling his rebounds and not wandering around sending the puck all around the ice.
Outstanding is when he is standing on his head bailing out teammates mistakes.
He did not have to do that tonight because his teammates were outstanding.

OUTSTANDING performance by the Isles.

Glad Newsday is being more serious about moderation on the blogs. Now they need to just permanetly ban the Troll's IP address and be done with it.

Good win tonite! I knew they were going to win this one. :)

A three game struggle and a very good sign that this team is for real. Islanders are definitely being taken seriously and other teams are being coached to counteract the Islanders strengths. They can't try and make the same plays night after night and expect to win. It's all captured on video and studied by the other teams. They constantly have to find new ways to win.

For a game that had only one goal, the Devils game was extremely entertaining. I can't remember any stretch of the game where either team let-up.

Kevin T.

If I remember correct Silly won atleast half of his appereances in the circles and one cruisal at the end so The Isles could clear.That´s why he´s on the ice,way to go.
But this low score games can´t go on and on.We can´t put all our trust in DP´s hands.More forecheck deep in the zone,More shots from defence and go for rebounds.
And for monday,find some holes in that swedish guy.
What´s his name again?Lundquit?Ohh yeaa!

I really want to know what is going on with Newsday and why BASEBALL is STILL on the back cover??? Here we've got the Isles playing great hockey, beating up on the Devils (and will do so again on Monday against the Rags), and yet NO mention on the back cover??? Last I heard, Newsday was a LONG ISLAND paper...so why are the Stankees getting so much face time while you still need to dig to find info about the Islanders??? I know about the rah-rah-drama-drama that the Stankees are generating...but, geez, enough is enough! Try promoting teams that are successful and in season and LOCAL...like the Islanders!!

Not the prettiest game...but it's nice to come out on top of one of those ugly one-goal games for once. Still not enough people crashing the net for rebounds, I think. They looked good setting up the initial shot, though, and you probably have to credit Marty for his good rebound control, as usual. Good pressure all night by Comrie, Tank, and Guerin, too.

The game last night looked much cleaner from a defensive standpoint, but the Isles were playing the last place devils. Not Crosby's Penguins or Flyers who also seem to have gotten themselves turned around.... I see a very long season for the Devils as they have no one scoring... Another one goal game by our Isles that is six in a row. 4 up 2 down. That is going to be our season tight close games where little mistakes IE: Witt losing the puck Thursday Night & Mottau falling down last night are the diffences in the game.

Lets go Islanders, two days off and then a big game monday night.

I gotta agree, Merrick. We were in the 2nd to last row and the place was completely lifeless. Empty seats everywhere down below. I was with a Devils fan, and though he thinks the Rock looks great, he had complaints about everything from the music to the temperature - it was hot up there. People were nodding off - not how I wanted to introduce hockey to my fiancee, who was at her first game.

The game itself wasn't as terrible as the crowd. NJ has just lost too many defensemen over the years. Hunter was playing with purpose, and I had Devils fans all around me giving me respect for the #39 jersey I was wearing. Rick was awesome again.

There's hope on the Island, and I think my Devils fan friend said it best at the end of the night: "Next time we're going to the Coliseum."

I'm just happy that I made the cut!!

Ranger Fan.
In reference to coverage.
No question that Baseball is NBR 1 in NY.

HOWEVER, it's not like there is a hockey game every day.
Certainly NY hockey fans (all 3 teams) are not expecting the back page every day.
However, when you have games involving each other, when even ESPN is calling the game the MOST EXCITING SPORTS MATCHUP OF THE DAY (as they did the last time the Isles/Rangers met) one would think that Newsday would give a game like that more importance than the Knicks playing their 2nd game of the year against I don't remember who.

GREAT WIN!

Merrick:

The high-end seats get passes to the bars that have free buffets plasma screens and overlook the ice. Id bet that a ton of those people were in there!!!

And as far as the policy here goes:

Its a shame that we cant communicate with one another here the way we have been because of a couple of idiots- I hope it is just a temporary setup until a permanent solution is put in place! :)

It would be a lot easier for everyone if the blog was simply set up so that offensive posts can be flagged, names can be registered, and idiots banned from the site.

Joe, Ranger Fan and everyone else -- On the subject of the NHL's popularity: Our beloved sport has fallen very far from where it was in the early 90s before Gary Bettman took over. Although I too wish Newsday gave more back covers to the Isles, they don't because their readership is more interested in other sports.

The reason I addressed this to "everyone" is that I recently heard an announcement on XM radio's hockey channel (Home Ice -- XM 204) that Gary Bettman will be hosting a call-in show. The first broadcast will be on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 4pm. In case people want to call in and ask the NHL Commissioner to answer for what he has done to the sport, here's an excellent piece that catalogs how he has destroyed the league's popularity over the last 15 years:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=dw-bettman012907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

i didnt realize that ranger fans, being new yorkers and all, would be so sensitive to a comment such a rags. the ban on negative comments is meant to restrict lewd and ridiculous comments, not a post which happens to mention islander fan slang for the rangers. Lets go isles and make it 3-0 against them rags on monday.

I am not a big fan of the "Rags" nickname as I think its as silly and arbitrary as "Icelanders"...what does it really mean? Well yes...there are more negative connotations associated with a rag (don't need to list them), it still seems silly. I much prefer the more clever Ranger$ though with a salary cap this one is less poignant.

And also I am sick and tired of the attendance quabbling. We are all hockey fans on this blog, most of us are New Yorkers or former New Yorkers who have taken in games at MSG either to see the Islanders play there or just watch some hockey. We've seen the numerous empty seats during "sell outs". You aren't fooling anyone. I would love to see a statistic on just how many of the season tickets are owned by corporations. Unfortunately I don't think such a stat will ever be released by MSG. All I have found is speculation ranging from 1/4 to 2/3.

Anyone find a better source?

Hunter played a good game but an outstanding third period. Heard Jiggs McDonald say Hunter was reminiscent of John Tonelli, not a bad thing, I must say.

Speaking of Jiggs, it was great to hear him calling a game again, even if it was just for a few nights. I know going back to the past doesn't mean you'll repeat it, but it was great to feel like a kid again listening to his voice.

Nice win last night. I thought the whole team played solid. For those that want MAB over Berard, watch last nights game again. Berard had some masterful passes and break outs.

DP looked solid and handeled the puck nicely.

I thought Sutton had a very good game, until he got undressed in the third period (I believe by gionta?)

For those that ask why Jackman plays instead of a better talent (like Ben Walter,) you have to remember that a young kid with skill would be wasted playing on the 4th line. Better to let him tone his skills @ BDGPT, than come up here and have no one to play with.

Good to be back on solid ground. The seas were rough my friends. "Like an old man returning soup at a Deli!"

HUGE 2 POINTS LAST NIGHT !!!

I'm real happy about the win but more concerned about the scoring... we cannot keep scoring one or 2 goals a game and ask rick to do the rest.

The biggest reason for the lack of goals is special teams. This powerplay is abysmal. Why is there no one that can come up with another idea than keep trying for a point shot that isn't there? And for the love of all things holy STOP DUMPING THE PUCK ON THE POWERPLAY! It takes how much time and effort to get possession of the puck and then they literally just hand it back to the other team. With an extra man, you CARRY the puck over the line, wait for your support, and set up a play. This dumping in nonsense has been going on for years and it really needs to stop now.

Hmm...went on over to hockeybuzz, and again, without debating the merits of Eklund or all the rest of it, he says Vancouver has interest in MAB. Would we want to deal MAB to Vancouver and, if so, what could we legitimately expect to get in return?

Also, thank you Newsday for finally putting your foot down. It's about time we kept both blogs clean.

Steady,

I want MAB over Campoli, not Berard. Berard is a fantastic PP quarterback, but Campoli looked lost as the other point man last night. He continuously failed to connect on passes. MAB is the perfect pointman on the PP when he doesn't have to worry about being the quarterback.

My main point is that dressing both Tim Jackman and Chris Simon is a waste, so Nolan might as well dress 7 defenseman and use MAB sparingly and on the PP.

Rather than a laborious filter of this Blog they should be using technology. Have us register like you do in eBay and build up a history. Then we have something to lose if we are kicked off.

Anyway, I didn't even watch my Canucks last night and lite it up at 6-2. But I still think the 1 goal game we witnessed was the better hockey.

Kevin T.

Very pleased to see another win. We needed it to set up some confidence in advance of the showdown in MSG on Monday. Generally pleased with the D, although I saw far too many shots allowed from the high slot.

Bri - I thought the Jiggs comparison of Hunter to Tonelli was brilliant. It was during Hunter's strongest shift on the forecheck, and he was keeping possession along the boards for what seemed to be minutes. Priceless to hear Jiggs say that and it actually triggered the memory of Tonelli's tenacity.

Kevin T - What do you think about the Eklund rumor of interest in MAB by Vancouver? Any players that make sense for the Isles that also euate to the value of MAB?

Steady - Fishing off Montauk sounds like fun. Did you come face-to-face with the blow-hole of the big fish, er, mammal?

I like the fact that we ended up with the two points in a hard to watch game. I think Teddy will eventually reap the rewards of keeping the Beemer (BMR) Line together because those guys do have theoffensive talent and line balance to lead the team.
As for the MAB versus Berard suggestions, there really is no discussion on that one. BB has better vision (no pun intended) than MAB on his best game. The removal of his regular turnovers actually let's us win the tight ones like last night. If Vancouver or another team has a legitmate interest in the Mad Bomber, let's package him up and cut our losses. If we can shed Yashin than getting rid of MAB should be even easier. The maturation of the Campoli/Gervais tandem on regular shifts and then their use on respective special teams (PP/PK) gives Garth the option to deal from a position of strength.

As an Islander fan in Jersey I think the stadium is great for me personally. I was able to take the train and only walk a few short blocks into the arena. As far as the arena went the seats/foot space seemed very narrow. I was in the first row of one of the upper sections and as a 6-3 guy it was tough sitting in those seats. I am not sure if that was because of being in the 1st row or if the entire stadium is like that. It also seemed like the section I was in (212) was very far from the ice. I know the coliseum is not the best but to be in the first row of the upper deck you are A LOT closer to the ice. Another thing that was odd was that only about half of the luxury suites were filled. With the business in Newark and it being a Friday night that seems to be a very bad sign that they were not filled. I also was shocked that there was only 15k of people at the game. On a weekend night, brand new arena, in the heart of a city, division rival, have been a winning team for the past 15 years with three cups - to draw that is horrible and speaks to the loyalty of their fan base.

As far as the game, I agree with others that the ice was terrible. Of course, I could not see anything but the puck was bouncing and obviously the play that resulted in the goal was due to the ice. You do not see NHL players make these kind of plays.

Good win for the Isles. I think it proved that we can play a defensive game and could win at it. This is how the devils won all those cups, sit, wait and jump on the opponents mistake. It was boring but they won and I can't complain (maybe that is why the Devs can't draw with that boring style). It would be really big to get a win against the Rangers and finish up this 4-game division road swing 2-2. Plus I think we need to continue and get in their heads that, they can't beat us.

There were plenty of empty seats during the devs home game against the rangers the other night as well.

Gotta say reading this blog now is enjoyable compared to what it used to be!

Big game last night, huge two points. I watched from home, and I too am concerned about the lack of offense overall...1-0 win and that was on a breakaway off a turnover.

Thus far, though I'm not surprised we play hard every night, a Ted Nolan team trait, I am pleasantly surprised at how well our defense is playing. I knew having Martinek back would be huge, he may be the most underrated D-man in the league, but how about Gervais & Campoli? They're playing way better that I thought they'd play at this point, and they, along with the maturing DiPietro are the reason we'll be in most games this year.

I'd love the see the 4-5 goal games again.

Can we stop the reminiscing and focus on the fact he made a season worth of errors in only two games. Enough with him already. He never allowed billy even a moment of commentary. His day has passed.

KH. Thanks for posting that link to the article on yahoo. I hadn't seen that before and it's a great article. About the only thing the writer got wrong was that he didn't tear apart the idea of deciding games with a shootout.

I'm reposting the link so others know exactly what I'm talking about:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=dw-bettman012907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Side note: it is a travesty that a beautiful team game can be decided by a skills competition. Also, it's an aberration that my team can only earn two points by dominating their opponent but our rivals can collectively earn three by needing overtime to decide their game. A game should have a constant value no matter how long it takes to be final.

Bottom line with MAB is that he's lost the confidence of Nolan and that equals a quick departure. He's a gonner. Saw and talked to Brendan Witt today at the Collie. Guy is a solid dude and was going to some kid's show with his family.

I agree with MetalChick, this is not an ideal solution. But it is an improvement for now, until Newsday moves to IP banning of trolls.

I don't know much about Vancouver's personnel beyond the frontline players who would not be available in trade for MAB. I'd be happy if we could trade him for a solid stay-at-home depth defenseman and a 2d round pick. Does Vancouver have that to trade? Would they?

GO ISLANDERS !!!

Good pick up[ Cincy :) !

Candyman: I here what you are saying. I think Campoli is the future and nneds to play on the PP, but I understand your point of view.

If the Isles do trade MAB, I do not want anoter def. player...I want a guy that can score!!!! We have plenty of D right now! If MAB still ahs value, get me a replaceman for Hilbert! PLEASE !!!!
p.s It is nice to wake up and talk hocey, and not have to scroll through numerous gary posts! Good job Greg and Newsday!

Hey Enough with jiggs, I didn't say I wanted him there every night. When I heard him call someone's shot a "turn-arounder" I nearly spit my beer across the room. But he does bring back memories, and he'd be ok as a color guy for a period or two. But I agree the play seems a little too fast for him to keep up with.

Steady - I agree with you about Walter...his skill is a bit wasted with Jackman and Simon on the wings, but I think our fourth line could be more of a skill line than a typical fourth line if they put the right people out there. For example, Park-Walter-Tambellini would be a line with some wheels that could score. Walter adds a bit of a physical element that might help out Tambs and free him up, and we all know the versatility that Park brings. In that case, the Isles could truly be a team that confidently rolls four lines. Then you could alternate Simon for Tambs in games against bigger, more physical teams or grudge matches like Philly, NYR, etc.

Or conversely, upstate, you could use Simon as the replacement for "First Base" Hilbert on the Sillinger line. If you're overly concerned with the speed on that line, you could promote Park to that role, since as I've said all along Park is a better version of Hilbert.

Steady -- I understand why you want scoring in return if we trade MAB, but I constantly worry about the effect on the Isles of an injury to a defenseman, should one happen. There was a lot of dismay on this board at the thought of having to use Freddy Meyer... with defense being a stregnth of this team, I'd like to see us have the depth to keep it that way. Still haunted by the huge impact of losing Marty last year...

On the other hand, with Snow's eye for unexploited talent (e.g., Vasicek) it would be interesting to see if he could pry someone away from Vancouver that Ted and the coaching staff could turn into a surprise offensive producer.

Anyone thinking of calling in to that Bettman show?

Non-Isle related but I just had to say this.

Flyer Fans and Organization No-Class!!!

I know the Devils are their division rival and all. But how often does a goalie have 500 wins? Probably 50 of them are agains the Flyers.

The Flyer fans booed Brodeur and Brody wasn't even a star of the game. Maybe under normal circumstances he wouldn't of been mentioned as even a 3rd star but they gave the 3rd Star honors to some guy (Upshall) who had a goal and an assist in a lossing cause. Brodeur had a solid 26 save on 28 shot performance. So what gives Flyers?

I doubt Islander fans would of booed Brodeur if he won at Nassau, even though we wouldn't want him beating us in our house. Has any press mentioned this classless act?

Not to get off topic, but anyone see Blake's stats? While he has a bunch of assists (playing with Sundin), he has only 2 goals in 20 games. Thank you Garth Snow for letting him walk. I'm glad the rational fans around here knew he wasn't a true 40 goal scorer.

I echo what others say about the PRU Center ... The players looked like they were fighting the ice. The newness of the arena is nice ... but it seemed empty. Was there really 15k there? I did notice a lot of people hanging out and not in their seats during a quick run to get some grub. I don't know what to make of it.

I was at the game with my buddy (a Devs fan). It was his second game there. He said the first one was worse. He also said it was too hot up high. We were kind of in the middle for this game and it felt warm to me. I can't imagine it being much warmer. Oh, and not being allowed to go to ice level during warmups sucks. I've done it a hundred times before, but it's the kids I feel bad for.

My friend says he thinks the Devils are now cursed with the new arena. He doesn't like the vibe he's getting and not crazy about the low attendance. He asked if it was like this when the Isles tanked in the 90s. I told him I believed it was more ownership, but the Devils never had a strong following even when they were Champs. The only think that kept them from moving to Nashville was winning in '95.

On a scale of 1-10 I give the "Rock" a 6. It was all new glitz no substance. I hope Wang keeps this in mind when doing over the NVMC. We don't need a sterile environment where the fans are further away from the game.

Oh yeah, that sean avery, hes sure been stomping a lot of skulls lately. So much that his own teammates are ready to bury a knife in his back. Give it up and get real.

Blake may be off to a slow start.... but legit goal scorers sometimes score 32 goals a year and not always 40 +.

Plus Blake has been off to slow starts before... and he is "sick" by the way.... cut the guy a little slack... I'm sure he would still look great in an Islander uniform even at 4-5 million a year.

DOC

Blake is off to a "slow start"? He has 2 GOALS IN 20 GAMES!! He's on pace for 8 goals this season. He will NOT score 32 goals or even 30. Get real. That was the best $4 million we ever saved and Snow predicted this would happen. We gave him an offer, he thought he was better than he really was so he left the island.

Jason Blake's goals will come... its just a matter of time. He is a good hockey player no matter what uniform he is wearing.

On on the MAB trade rumor. I believe we most likely would get draft picks which we could use later on for a deadline trade

It is an asset to have him as 7th d-man and are we prone to injuries on our D. If we did trade him, I would hope to package something for a scoring forward which means we would not be able to get that from Vancouver since they only have

The Sedin Twins
Nasland

I would not be opposed of including Tambs in a deal since his Dad works for the team, this might be in the talks.

Probably just another rumor out of the mill. Tonight is big game and we like to score at MSG so lets hope they breakout early and control the game. The Rags D has been looking good especially the former first round pick Giradi

I was all ready to cheer for Marty if he got 500 when I was there on Fri night. That is an incredible accomplishment that deserves that kind of recognition. Besides, many of Marty's wins have come at the expense of the Rangers, so he moves up even higher in my book.

I'm going to sue Newsday, as I just choked on my lunch when I read that someone would rather have MAB than Campoli. Don Malony?

I couldn't say it any better RU, the reality is MAB is fixed at number 7 on our depth chart. I'm surprised Candyman would even consider MAB over Campy on the PP as it's not in the best interest of the team to have him coughing it up there and on a regular shift too. He's doing just fine in the pressbox.
I'd kill to hear what/who has been offered up for MAB. If Vancouver has a legitimate interest in him ( I'd be very surprised since they played against him regularly last year) then I would do the deal and include one of our many grinders and /or a draft pick to ge that badly needed scorer. If Montreal is ready to deal, I'd move the Mad Bomber there in a heart beat too.
Are we oblidged to feel bad for the team getting MAB or do we just plead insanity on our part?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3120224

I just wanted to share this article I wrote about Hockey. Its obvious I know NOTHING about the sport, so i thought I could rile up the best hockey fans in the USA.

Be sure to fully read my article to the bottom.

Maybe one day I will find a real job.