Islanders coach Ted Nolan has protested on more than one occasion this season that no one should think one of his teams would play the trap, the slowdown game perfected over the years by the Devils. But it’s obvious now that the Islanders’ first commitment must be to the defensive end no matter how much they struggle to put the puck in the net.
That style of game is a marketer’s nightmare and certainly is less entertaining than last season’s aggressive forechecking approach. But this team doesn’t have a Jason Blake in the middle of a career 40-goal year. It has Rick DiPietro, who is evolving into one of the NHL’s most skilled goaltenders, and the Islanders have to give him a chance to win every night the way he gives his teammates a chance to win.
Several times this season, DiPietro has invoked the Devils as an example of how the Islanders must play to win. He knows that gets a negative reaction, but it’s clear a defense-oriented style is better-suited to this type of Islanders team. In the past two games, the Isles found they couldn’t go up and down with Buffalo even though Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller gave them plenty of opportunities to score, and when they tightened up for the first two periods against Phoenix, the Isles effectively gave themselves more chances to score and to control the game.
“I thought in the first half of that game, we played a smart defensive game and were opportunistic, which is the type of game we seem to be the most successful with,” DiPietro said of the Islanders’ 3-2 win over the Coyotes. “I have no problem with games like that.”
After the Buffalo game, several Islanders said they’d be better off to stop worrying about scoring and just make sure they pay attention to the defensive end and let the goals come. That attitude worked against Phoenix. They scored three goals for the fourth time in five games, which is a sign of progress. Of course, they haven’t scored four goals in the past 20 games since a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 1.
Certainly, the last thing the Islanders want to do against Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum is get into a wide-open affair. “You’ve seen it with so many teams that are successful,” DiPietro said. “They play a smart defensive game and capitalize on their chances. We have to play that same way. We’re not going to be a team that goes out and scores five or six goals a game and plays run-and-gun. We have to keep it simple and do a good job of eliminating other teams’ opportunities.”
Obviously, the Islanders also have to eliminate their own mistakes on the power play that have resulted in three short-handed goals against them in the past five games and six this season. And since they can’t afford to lose their goaltender to an injury, Nolan said he would talk to DiPietro about avoiding confrontations like the one he had with Phoenix defenseman Ed Jovanovski behind the net in the final seconds of the game, when he fired a couple of punches before teammates intervened.
“We were all holding our breath,” forward Mike Comrie said of that brief scuffle. “It’s who he is, though. When you see Ricky in practice, he tries to go an entire practice without letting in a goal. That’s the reason he’s so good is his competitiveness. You don’t want to see your goaltender involved [in a fight], but you realize he wants to win.”
Just before that exchange with Jovanovski, DiPietro got physical with Coyotes forward Shane Doan, who was planted on the edge of the crease, trying to create a screened shot that would have tied the game. DiPietro shoved him away at least three times, which was a great move. The previous night at Buffalo, Thomas Vanek practically sat in DiPietro’s lap and made it impossible for him to see one goal. Since defensemen aren’t allowed to dislodge offensive players in the slot area without drawing a penalty under the new rules, the goaltender has to get away with as much shoving as he can while moving to follow the puck.
DiPietro noted that the scrum that resulted from all the contact when defenseman Brendan Witt came to his aid actually worked in the Islanders’ favor by resulting in a faceoff outside the offensive zone in the final seconds. “I don’t want to get in a regular routine of doing that,” DiPietro said. “They had a lot of traffic throughout the game. There’s only so many times you can get hacked and whacked without feeling the need to retaliate. When you’ve got guys like Witter around you, you feel a little bit better about venturing out.”
Beating a losing Coyotes team might rate as a very pedestrian accomplishment, but if it reinforces the principles the Islanders have to live by the rest of this season, it will have served a good purpose. Playing defense is boring, but losing is even more so.
If the Islanders are in striking distance of a playoff berth when February rolls around, you never know what might happen. They just might find the scoring help they need at the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
BLOG ADVISORY: Hate to say it, but I have to take another week of comp time. Although I’m covering the Isles’ games against the Penguins Saturday at home and next Friday in Pittsburgh, I’ll miss home games against Buffalo on the 19th and Washington on the 22nd before returning on Christmas Day in advance of Jason Blake’s return to the Island with Toronto on the 26th. I’ll take a couple more comp weeks in late January and possibly one more during the season. It’s not an ideal situation, but it's mandatory under an agreement with Newsday. I’m trying to arrange it so I miss as few games as possible. Thanks for your understanding.
Comments (45)
Thanks for the great blog, Greg!
I couldnt agree with you (and for that matter, Rick) more- playing a defensive game is simply THE way that this team is going to win games.
It was great to see a win last night, and I hope that they really think about what it is that made them successful in that one.
Please enjoy your week off! :)
Wow Greg, I want a job like yours... watching every Islanders game, and working 5 weeks a year... happy holidays!
Yeah!! I'm with Iron .... Where do I get that gig? I haven't had a full week off since Feb 2002 ... we can't accumulate more than 10 comp days ... we are forced to take OT if we have 10 comp days ... I guess it all evens out.
About the Defensive part of the game ... yeah ... it is boring ... and is a marketers nightmare... but what else can they do? I'd rather to 2 points then the 5-3 losses.
Ultimately I'd like to see the Isles parlay some personel into draft picks so they can get some help upfront. There is no one down on the Bridge that has any hope of being a Franchise player. Our last franchise player was acquired in 2000. Been a very unproductive use of draft picks / prospect development since then.
Maybe the Isles can pull a 3-0 win out tomorrow and shut down the Crosby machine.
Is newsday hiring? You have the best job dude.
Lets beat the pens....and take down Crosby and Malkin
I've got a new idea why the Isles have struggled so much in the recent weeks. The Isles average attendance plummeted while the Isles were on a great streak back in November. Ever since then, the Isles have not been able to muster up the desire nor energy to compete on a nightly basis. This goes back to two games against Dallas & Ottawa that saw less than 9,000 fans in attendance, while the Isles were 5 games over .500. Ever since then, the Isles can't seem to find their legs.
Before those two games, the attendance at NVMC was over 14,000 during the Isles' first 11 games. Coincidence? I think not.
I wrote out some more details at http://blueorangeblood.blogspot.com/
A team does what it has to do to win, but I didn't think last night was a great overall defensive effort, albeit adequate against a poor offensive team.
I also think the Isles desired style of play with an aggressive forecheck requires rolling four lines as much as possible. That's an energy game, especially when we lack the same speed as many other teams.
Candyman, unfortunately, the Isles got scorched at home against Carolina, Montreal, and Atlanta with decent sized crowds. So I'd throw that theory out the window--unless we would have lost by more!!!
Btw, if any of the regulars here is thinking about tomorrow night, at the moment I have an extra ticket to unload gratis (of the price of one beer). Just let me know and we can work out details on the side and I can meet you at the NVMC.
Peace,
Andy Hilbert might have the worst hands in hockey. Last year everyone thought he was snake-bit after hitting all of those posts and all the near misses. But he just has bad hands.
His passes are never crisp. He's a good penalty killer, but he even misses quite often on clearing attempts. He is nothing more than a 4th line player. Richard Park needs more ice time.
Mandatorty time off is as rare as a finding a penguin in Florida. Cudos to you Greg.
Just got back from vacation with the family. Hopefully I don't have to do that for another year.
I caught the game against the Panthers and boy was that a bomb out. I will post reactions too that tomorrow.
There were some things I really liked about last nights game and I hope the team can build on it. One thing was the transistion game; really crisp out of their own end and really good bringing the puck into the offensive zone. Sillinger was really good at that; unfortunately he had a few turnovers in the third.
Got too run; the booze are waiting. I will catch up tomorrow morning.
Peace!
hey merrick,
i'd gladly buy you a beer for the ticket. let me know what to do if the offer is still good?
Interview with Miroslav Satan in largest slovak daily newspaper (Miro's thoughts - shortened):
Recently, we just came back from a four game trip with our fathers and mentors. I really like this idea, I was 14 or 15 when my father was my roommate for the last time. It's great for us to spend some time with our fathers. Thanks to this, away trip is absolutely different. They (fathers) have the chance to see how it is, how we are training, playing games and the whole stuff ... and we can spend some time with them and relax. It's the same every year - I don't know how it is with other teams, but at Islanders, it happens once a year. Fathers spend their time with the team, but definitely have more free time then we (players) do. It was a holiday for them and my father had great time! He is always criticizing me but I will not tell you what exactly he told me.
We had a bad time recently. Finally, we won our first game after this trip (at home against Coyotes). Ted Nolan told to some key players that he would have to trade them if they will not improve and this definitely helped. Defense is the key to our success and against Coyotes, we played pretty good defensively.
We have troubles scoring, even individual stats are horrible. But I think this is the same in all teams. New rules after the lockout were supposed to help scoring some goals but all teams have settled to a new style and know how to play carefully. In first two years, the number of goals scored was going up, now the trend is different. Players are being careful and would like to avoid penalties and penalty killing situations.
I will spend Christmas with my parents. They will stay with my in New York and I would like them to enjoy the christmas here in the city. New York is always different during Christmas period. Schedule will be very difficult for us, but there will be at least two days off on 24th and 25th. I have even bought my Christmas tree - four days ago.
Players will visit some hospitals at Long Island. Plus, there will be a party at the ring for the whole organization - employees, players, coaches, kids and families. I'm not sure if I will go there with my son, he's only two... We'll see...
I may live to regret this, but send an e-mail to Isles322@yahoo.com
I was at the Phoenix game on Thursday. Back in NY for more business, and I brought my wife this time. Wanted to give her the true "Islander game experience" and give her a good idea of what it's like to watch live hockey. So I sat in some of the best seats. Sec 203, row J, seats 7 and 8. Twenty rows up from the red line.
She had a good time, but it was not only a pretty boring game overall, but also wasn't one of their best efforts defensively either. The Isles were poor in the neutral zone and gave Phoenix way too much room at the blue line, allowing them to routinely enter the offensive zone and set up. The hitting was good, especially by Bergy and Hunter. But it became very obvious as the game progressed that the team is playing with very little confidence right now. They're too afraid to make mistakes, and that's really affecting the younger players.
Hopefully some good practice time can cure the blues.
Let's go Isles!!!
Defense Style Suits Isles.
Looking at rosters the Islanders definitely are on the bottom of the food chain of offensive talent. However .. after looking up goalie stats and seeing that the top 30 goaltenders in the NHL are all below 3.00 GAA ... So there seems to be a goal shortage throughout the NHL. So if it appears that most teams are having trouble scoring .. and the Isles have the least goals scored in the NHL ... that being the case then them scoring under 3 goals a game fits right in with their scoring talent ranking along with the entire NHL's goal scoring power shortage.
Looking at the top ranked offensive players in the NHL you wouldn't really think there was much of a scoring drought ...The top 30 ranked skaters in the NHL are providing plenty of scoring punch. The problem seems to lie with the middle level talent ... teams aren't getting much support at that level.
Only 8 teams average more than 3.00 goals per game. 22 teams average below that mark. Here's a shocker ... and I'm not mentioning it because I'm an Islander fan ... but because I'd assumed the Rangers would be an offensive power house this season .. but they are #30 ranked in average goals per game at 2.19 ... The Isles are #29 (not so shocking) at 2.27 goals per game.
The team ranked #15 which I would expect to have a higher GSPG average is the Penguins at 2.74 ... so we've been railing on the team to score more than 2 goals per game and even the offensively gifted Penguins can't even average 3 goals per game.
The Isles are still in the thick of the playoff hunt and could realistically finish 1st in the Atlantic if it can pull itself together and score maybe an extra goal every 2 games on average. We know we have the goaltending. Just need to get the offensive going a little bit more.
Tonight is a great test.
I think people have been overreacting to the whole losing streak anyway. You can't form a judgment about a team during its worst stretch of the year, just as you can't assume the team is as good as it looks at its best. The Isles have a lot of wins against very good competition this year (3 against the Rangers, 3 against the Devils, a win over Ottawa, over Boston, etc.) I think their biggest problem lately has been confidence. Once they hit the skids, they took it as confirming their lack of talent instead of as an aberration that they would bounce back from. To me that did more harm than any "objective" factor.
Re tonight: LET'S GO ISLANDAAAAAAAHS!!!
On a side note: I hope everyone here has voted for DP in the allstar game. He's far behind, so let's get it together and start voting for this guy. Oh and Gretzky's comments about him in Isles TV made me so happy. This team has needed a dominant keeper for a while.
themass -- What did Gretzky say about DP? I am in California on business and my access to Isles TV is limited.
KH- he pretty much just gave his stick handling skill a lot of respect. Talked about how much those skills can change a game and how for 2 days they worked on keeping the puck away from him. Then he said if DP was on a line with trots and bossy that he couldve scored 25-30 (joking of course). Great interview. You should check it out. Went on for like 11 minutes (not all about DP). This team is moving without purpose today.
Can someone help me?.... I'm looking up the NHL rule book ... looking for where it says ... Touch Sidney Crosby = 2 minute minor ....
He doesn't get crap ... I've noticed that since the first time he played.
Ughhhhh ... that should of never been a PP
Simon has to go!!!! He brings nothing to the table (he's certainly no elite heavyweight) other than taking stupid penalties and he is an embarrassment to this organization. We all know why he is still on this team and it has noting to do with his great play, if the coach won't get rid of him then maybe the coach should go too. Having said that the Ref's were horrible tonight and the same pattern of the last few years of the Isles being short handed A LOT more times than being on the PP is coming into play again this year.
Tonight was very entertaining--if at times comical (MAB) or tragic (Simon).
The league can do us a favor by suspending Simon another 25 games, but if they're really interested in hurting the Isles, they'll require him to get 10 minutes of ice time a game.
I REALLY REALLY respect loyalty, but if Snowlan keeps this guy around, it's a farce. Maybe we should get someone in Nassau County with any clout on the Lighthouse project to say that Simon is detrimment to the project.
I agree that some the calls were tough--especially on Vasicek leading to the winning goal, but how many shots can DP handle every night? I think the win at MSG was the last time we really shut a team down on defense. John Chabot was on the post-game show and said they have not been able to practice with busy schedule and with three days off they have a chance to work on some things. Let's hope so!
What is with Chris Simon. He does his second inexcusable stupid act in under a year.
Nothing to say...Team is simply not what we had hoped.
Please sports God grant me one miracle tomorrow! Just one..Jets!
I only caught the last pk on the radio coming home...
I did not see what Simon did, but I better see him released tomorrow. He's just disgusting. I don't care how indian or what tribe he's in.
I hate Sidney Crosby, who has infinite talent but insists on diving and getting preferential treatment.
I hate the Penguins, who bitch and moan about the state of their franchise and building and lack of success, after they draft TWO franchise offensive players in consecutive seasons, while I get stuck watching this weak excuse for a team. I truly, deeply detest them for that, in a most serious way. Losing to those prancing boys and their diving tactics sucks more than usual.
Oh, and I hate the Penguins.
Couple of quick drunken thoughts ...
1) Crosby can do anything out there and will not get called ...its really sad to be at a game and know that a guy can sit there and cross check one of your guys in the back and get nothing for it ...I'm not stupid and I understand he's going to get some special treatment, but that was bush league to give him nothing in a 2-2 game when he clearly was hacking away at Witt's back ...that where Crosby and Ovechkin are different ...atleast Ovechkin has a set of marbles and would drop the gloves ...
2) Simon ...I mean this is the 2nd time within a year I had to pay to sit and watch this WASHED UP goon take a major penalty ...I don't make a lot of money, but I don't mind spending it on Isles games, but its not to watch him or guys like him ...he's an embarrassment to the game and to the Isles ...the ONLY reason he's still on the team is his friendship with Nolan and it makes me sick that he gets any ice time when good young players are stuck in Bridgeport ...will Nolan actually bench him?? I DOUBT IT! because he favors certain players eventhough they DONT deserve it ...
RELEASE SIMON!!!!!!!!!!!
The trap...hated it when the Devils popularized it and still hate it. It's boring hockey and it killed the sport. My biggest problem with this team, other than the fact that Richard Park has been our best player this year (now that's scary) is that we are a trap team simply because we have zero...ZERO...scorers. It's just not fun to watch. I love DiPietro and I understand that we have to play to our strength, but it's very frustrating. There is no margin for error. Look at last night, down two goals, come back and then penalty, penalty, and the one great scoring chance we get (Sillinger) misses.
I agree with an earlier post that Holmgren has down a fantastic job for the Flyers, but for the Isles prospects. We have Okposo and that is it. There is nothing else out there and we have no valuable assets. I'm just a frustrated fan.
Yes, Defense is key, it can create many oppturnities on offense.
Yet . . . I can not even watch them anymore after 30 seasons.
When I was 13 and in basketball camp Lou Carnisiga was our visiting coach.
He had us dribble 2 balls, all the while keeping our heads UP.
That is so that you could direct traffic, & pass.
Of coarse it was hard, yet we learned.
Doubly so for hockey in avoiding checks.
I can not believe for the life of me watch these so called men as can't choo gum, skate, and pass at the same time ?
They and the coaching staff deserve everything coming to them.
Why pass it when Dumping it in has been the Island mantra since Tonelli, yet he had Trotts in the slot, with a speedy Bossy on the fly.
When will the Islanders ever grow up & see what they don't have ?
I thought that Snow was smart ?
now is when we will find out about the coach (and g.m.). simon should have been gone long ago based on his skills and overall contribution. that he's still playing for this team is kind of strange. if he is so valuable in the locker room and as a leader make him an assistant coach, but he has no business wearing the uniform, for character and ability reasons. if ted nolan does not see that now - finally - i am afraid there is a real problem.
I read an article recently, can't remember where, but it was about how Don Maloney was praising Gretzky for playing all of their young guys in key situations ...I bring this up for obvious reasons ...he was being praised because he's letting the young guys get valuable experience ...that's something that the isles should do ...with all of the young guys Pheonix is playing they're only 4 points behind us ...hopefully they'll beat the Rangers today and then they'll only be 2 ...
Last night Ben Walter scored his 8th goal (5th PP goal) and had an assist while Tambeliini also scored his 8th goal yet will never truely get a shot ...atleast Tambellini won't ...Walter just got here this past offseason, so he may not yet realize that he'll never get his chance here ...
I'm only continuing to type this stuff out of frustrating and in any hopes that someone reading this agrees with me ...but why not bring up Walter and Tambellini and let them just play - not play them on the 4th line ...not play them 3 minutes a game (who can produce touching the ice so rarely?) ...not saying you're going to give them a chance then bench them after 4 shifts if you don't like what you see ....who can play like that? That's when people play scared ...especially young guys ...you know they're thinking "well, I'm only getting 5 shifts this game better not mess up" so then they play afraid to mess up not being natural ...
Long and the short of it is this - I'm sure we all want to see the Isles win - the question is what will help them win in the long run? Is it playing mediocre 3rd and 4th liners all game or actually give some young guys a chance to develop? Because the AHL isn't the NHL, so regardless of how long this is delayed it's gonna have to happen sooner or later ...I don't want to see these guys dealt before we can see what they can do ...that's what happened to us in the recent past ...
PS- Nolan is giving Bergie more time and he's been on of the best players out there - not just with the energy, but he's starting to chip in with the points without being a defensive reliability ...
Tank-Comrie-Guerin
Bergie-Vasicek-Satan
Hunter-Walter-Tambellini
Hillbert-Sillinger-Park
I realize that 3rd line will never happen, but Silling, whom I like, just doesn't have his offensive game at all to warrant the time he gets, and I'm aware that his line is put out there against the other team's best lines, but why do the Isles have to sit back and take what other coaches give us? That's why Hillbert gets so much time ...I think this would give us three lines that could score - or atleast pressure - on a nightly basis ...
actually read that Gretz article in Newsday ...
I probably have supported Simon more than anybody on this blog. I won't discount what he's brung to the team,but last night was the last straw.
He should be done in the NHL. If Nolan wants to keep him around, let him hire him as a babysitter.
Walter needsa shot. Park needs to move up the food chain and Simon has pretty much asked to be released.
This team can not win with 12+ minutes of PK every night. Bring Walter up, and let him center the 4th line with jackman,
I'd like to complain about the officiating, but the NHL needs Sid the Git to be successful... so I guess it's worth the two minutes to watch a crosby get crushed...
With all the lack of scoring and all the problems this team is having in this bad stretch of games, some hope that a move would come to help shake up and bolster the roster scoring wise. This would seem in line with the "go for the championship now, because we are competitive enough to do so" mentality that snow seems personify. However reading through the daily rumors I found an interesting one, Satan going off to vancouver for a package of some sort. The canucks are looking for help in the scoring department, so are the islanders. If this true and the rumor solidifies into something more than hopeful speculation, then does this mean a realization that this should be a rebuilding year, which I am not against, and the beginning of the fire sale by sending away one of our more skilled offense men? If indeed it is I hope we get a good return, although satan is not having a stellar season, even for a contract season, he still has value to other teams in the hope that he needs to play with more skilled forwards than his current roster.
Here is the link to the rumor that my thoughts are based off of
http://brochuishockey.blogspot.com/
It's time for the Wang committee to get together and vote Simon off the Island. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Brad Shaw thankfully ended the Stirling error and it was clear they weren't making the playoffs the Isles had a bunch of kids up and they were exciting to watch. Even more they strung some wins together at the end of the season. I would kinda like to see that midway through the season if the Isles continue to decline.
Wow I meant to put "era" above....but error works as well.
I think everyone needs to stop crying. Excluding the first goal and some questionable calls, the Isles played pretty well. The immediate problem right now is confidence. Pure and simple. Unfortunately Ted has displayed a slight Stirling-esque tendency - pulling (some) players too quickly after a mistake. That's what kills the swagger in a player's scoring and sends the message to the rest of the team that the only chance for victory - the ONLY chance - is defense. Players react by sacrificing offense for fear of making a mistake.
Regarding Simon: I've been a pure apologist for the guy. I actually like him both as a person and a player. But last night was the end for me. No more. He has to go... NOW. It's the only choice Ted has. If Simon stays, Nolan just might completely lose the rest of the team.
Before you take your vacation Greg, please be sure to pass along the feelings of the dedicated Islander supporters to the team management. It's unnanimous about about Simon and the fact that he has to go ( Ted cannot protect him anyone). It's unlikely we're going to cruise to the Stanley Cup finals so let's finally go to a true youth movenment by releasing/trading all the hang on's we're wasting time with. The lack of offence is painful so let's accept the fact Garth can't swing a good deal and take a long look at Tambellini, Walter and the other youth presently with the big club. Yes, the team is killing me to watch lately so let's finally do the right thing for the fans. All this present crew is doing is putting me to sleep and there are cheaper ways of doing that then buying the NHL package.
On Simon: not only is this guy an embarrassment to the team, but both of his bone-head plays couldn't have been timed worse. Both came in the last seven minutes with the team tied(w/NYR) and down by one(PITT). I can't speak for the team, but if I was on the team I would feel betrayed. Lets get him of the team and bring in some youth with speed that can actually contibute.
Today in Bridgeport ...
Tambellini with the hat trick and Walter with 2 more assists ...yeah, good call Teddy ...lets leave these guys down in the AHL they don't show the grit and heart that Hillbert and Simon do ...they're just too busy scoring everygame ...
Incase people weren't aware Hillbert has 5 points in 31 games ...that's really good! He's on our third line ...and you know what ...maybe he should get some PP time aswell ...I mean he's got heart and grit ...
simon has to go. this guy is not only an embarrassment like everyone else says.... what he did last night... that is just not hockey. to do something like that... to use your skate blade to try to slice parts of the body while a guy is down on the ice while play is stopped... and to do it so casually... not even looking, just stomping on him and then walking into the bench.... im sorry that is not hockey. its not human. that is the action of a criminal. this is a guy that would try to stab someone else with a knife over a traffic incident while the cop isnt looking..... which is basically what he did. he needs to not only be off this team, he needs to be thrown out of professional hockey. period.
can somebody tell me what exactly simon did, i missed the game this weekend...andjust from reading all the posts about whatever he did, the guy is a goon w/ no skill, bring up the young guns...
Blake Comeau is getting called up ....so, I guess he'll be the latest Isles youth to be stuck on the 4th line instead of seeing any real ice time
Tony
I've replayed a couple of times on Tivo. What it looked liketo is that rutuu and jackman were having words by the bench. Simon thought he would be sly and kick out rutuu's skate. Bad enough, but then with rutuu on his buttuu simon slyly chopped down on the side of rutuu's skate with his blade.
That's just a p*ssy move... and like cincy said, and I said before... we've been simon apologists because the guy is a good teammate and seemed to add a bit to the locker room as well as the ice.
Well... he's been suspended more times than Eddie Murphy's cop characters. His time is up... and it's time to give it to one of the kids.
AZS... you surprise me. Do you watch Tambellini in the NHL. He may need time... but how much time do you give a guy who can't carry the puck in the middle of the ice... man, he doesn't even try. He has some heart cause he wants to hit everything... but after his check scrapes him off like a mosquito he just moves on...WITH THE PUCK.
Go over the tapes of his appearances... his line is usually stuck in their own zone for 30 seconds at a time and almost always give up a good shot. Walter is the next in line.
Now.. to contradict that, it looks as though Nilsson is starting to roll in EDM. Well.. if they can give us a first round pick I'm sure they can have another under sized AHL SCORING KING.
tonysac,
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h2iWygvPnC4
That was one of the most disgusting and ridiculous things I've ever seen in my life. Other people have pointed this out: I understand the rationale for bringing Simon back, even though I was never in favor of it myself. Nolan cared so deeply about Simon that he gave the man a chance to redeem himself and not end his career with the Hollweg incident. You have to respect that kind of loyalty, but as I've previously pointed out, you just can't be loyal to a fault. Cincy is 100% correct, but I'd take it a step further. I want Ted Nolan FIRED if he pushes to bring Simon back after he's off his latest and greatest suspension. He hasn't brought a single thing to this team, and with clean "enforcers" like Bootland and Jackman available, plus guys like Tambellini and Walter who are doing well in the AHL, HIS TIME ON THIS TEAM IS OVER. It's time to ditch this "Nolan-type player" bull and build this team the proper way.
If the Canucks put together a good package for Satan I say trade him. We could always agree to sign him again before we pull off the deal if the Islanders want him back for next season.
JPinVA,
Very fair. And I agree ...I would rather see Walter braught up before Tambellini. Walter has looked strong with the puck and found himself going towards the net creating opportunities with the limited ice time that he's gotten to date.
My main point on Tambellini is that I feel he's at a crossroads with at his career and really so is Walter. How long can players be kept in the AHL before you either trade them or bring them up - for better or worse. I really just think it should be a natural progression. Over the short time Tambellini has been with the organization he's been sent back down to work on things. And I know he's not a "Nolan-type" player, but the guy produces - albeit at the AHL level. My big point is that it's way past time for him and Walter for them to be getting some significant ice time at the NHL level. I understood at the beginning of the year when the team was winning and the PP was amazing - but both the PP and the team's success have dipped (not a shocking coincidence). The only reason the Isles are even in playoff contention is because of their hot start and the poor play of other teams as well ...
I ask you though JP, and I'm not asking this in a sarcastic way - I'm sincerely curious - what do you think the Isles should do with Tambellini? Because while I agree with you about Walter I don't think it would be wise to trade him until the Isles really see what he can do. Do we want him to be yet another player the Isles gave up on and watch blossom somewhere else? I know you mentioned Nilsson, and he's on a 8 game point scoring streak I believe ...he's got 3g and 11a in 26 games ...he's the kind of person who may help our PP ....
Well, I do look forward to hearing your opinions ...