In announcing lineup changes for the Islanders’ game against Pittsburgh tonight at Mellon Arena, coach Ted Nolan tacitly acknowledged that he might have gotten away from the merit system in determining positions. Nolan likes to reward the unsung players, such as Andy Hilbert, who work hard and do all the little things that help make the team as a whole successful.
But production matters, too, and Nolan shook up the lines in an effort to shake more goals out of the Islanders’ sticks. That means dropping Hilbert from his long-held spot at left wing on the checking line with Mike Sillinger and Trent Hunter. That line was an effective two-way line last season, and Nolan thinks it can produce points again.
So, he dropped Ruslan Fedotenko from the top line to the checking line because he plays a physical game suited to covering the opponents’ best lines, and he also adds a scoring touch. Hilbert now will center the fourth line between wingers Blake Comeau and Tim Jackman, and Hilbert obviously still will play an important role on the penalty kill. That move frees Richard Park to move up to left with on the top line with Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin.
“Richard has been probably our best forward all season long,” Nolan said at the pre-game skate. “Hopefully, he’ll provide a spark. He’s very good on his forechecking, very good defensively, and he’s smart. Maybe just a little tweak there will get those two guys going.
“Fedotenko will go with Sillinger and Hunter. This line has been having scoring chances, and Fedotenko is one of those guys that hopefully has a better finish than Andy right now. No slight against Andy, but right now, we need goals versus just getting opportunities. And the other line [Josef Vasicek, Miroslav Satan and Sean Bergenheim] has been really good for us. Hopefully, it works.”
Nolan said his moves, which include keeping defenseman Freddy Meyer in the lineup and scratching Bryan Berard and Marc-Andre Bergeron, should send a clear message to the team about the need to start producing. “We had a meeting to address that fact,” Nolan said. “The players have to play at a certain level. If you’re not playing at that level, other people will move in. We move into a merit system. That’s life in general. If you produce, you get rewarded. If you don’t, someone else gets an opportunity. That’s the way I’ve coached my entire life, and that’s the way it’s going to be from here on in.”
BRANDON NOLAN’S NHL DEBUT: Toward the end of his morning interview, Nolan dropped the news that his oldest son, Brandon, has been called up to Carolina and will make his NHL debut Saturday night at Tampa Bay. Nolan also has his youngest son, Jordan, along with him on this trip because he’s on a holiday break from the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL.
“To have my young son have 10 days off from his junior career and hop on the ice once in a while with these guys and hop on the airplane with us is a big thrill,” Nolan said. “My older son just called up to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, so, he’ll have his NHL debut tomorrow. It’s a pretty big day for him.
“Now you have a sense of what fathers feel like when their sons play for the first time in the National Hockey League. Fathers are very proud, and I’m no different. My wife, Sandra, and younger son will be flying down to Tampa to watch Brandon play tomorrow night, and we’ll all get together for a Christmas celebration.”
Nolan’s only advice to his oldest son was just to be himself and not try to do anything out of the ordinary. Asked if he has any advice for Hurricanes coach Peter Laviollette, Nolan smiled broadly and said, “Play my kid.”
Brandon Nolan is a tough player, who has been known to get into a few scraps. Recently, he got into a fight with Islanders prospect Jeremy Colliton in an AHL game. Nolan said he doesn’t encourage his son to fight, but he knows his son is prepared when the time comes to drop the gloves.
“We’re from a boxing family,” Nolan said. “Brandon has had boxing lessons at home all his life. My brother was a pro boxer, and my two cousins were pro boxers. Fisticuffs is something we don’t shy away from, but you don’t want them to fight more so than [play hockey].”
Asked if it was a bad move for Bridgeport’s Colliton to fight the son of the Islanders coach, Nolan laughed. “It’s good,” he said. “I had a fight against Bill Dineen’s kid [Gord] when he was coaching me. I was in Adirondack, and I think he was with Maine. Bill was coaching our team. His kid was playing against us, and was trying to think he was tough.
“I got the better of that one. I apologized to Bill after the game, and he said, ‘Oh, that’s part of the game.’ As fathers and coaches, you know certain things are going to happen. You can’t worry about the name on the back of the sweater.”
ISLES FILES: Speaking of top prospect Kyle Okposo, who left the University of Minnesota and is expected to join the Islanders’ organization after the World Junior championships in the Czech Republic, Nolan said the power forward was more impressive in the Isles’ prospect camp a year ago than he was last summer. He compared Okposo to defenseman Chris Campoli in the sense that he came to the last camp with a sense of entitlement, but the coach predicted that Okposo will develop in the same fashion Campoli has once he understands what’s expected of him. Nolan said the Isles have a firm plan for what to do with Okposo, but he declined to say whether the club’s top pick from 2006 will start with the Islanders or head to Bridgeport…Here’s Nolan on the debut of Comeau: “I really like Blake. I think he’s a very good young prospect. He understands the game very well; he’s got great hockey sense, and he’s got good vision. Like any other young player, he has certain parts of his game he’s got to improve. But he has a strong foundation. It’s just a matter of time before he comes into his own.”…Coming in tomorrow’s print edition of Newsday are comments from Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby regarding the 30-game suspension the Isles’ Chris Simon received for stepping on the Penguins’ Jarkko Ruutu last Saturday, as well as Crosby’s take on defensive nemesis Brendan Witt. Ruutu made a brief comment about the play on which Simon attempted to injure him but chose not to go into detail or react to the suspension.
Comments (23)
MYSELF, BROTHER AND DAD HAVE BEEN LOYAL ISLANDER FANS SINCE THEIR INCEPTION INTO THE NHL.ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THIS TEAM!!!!!MR.LOGAN WHY DON'T YOU WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS CLUB.ENOUGH WITH THE TRY HARD AND NOLAN'S MERIT SYSTEM AND A LOT OF SHOTS ON GOAL-WE HAVE ONE OF THE BEST GOALKEEPERS IN THE WORLD AND ONE OF THE BEST DEFENSE IN THE NHL-OUR FORWARDS ARE TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!WHEN IS MR.SNOW GOING TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM????HE SHOULD BE ONE THE PHONES DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET BOTH PATRICK MARLEAU OUT OF SAN JOSE AND MIKE RYDER OUT OF MONTREAL.DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHO WE HAVE TO GIVE UP?IT IS ABOUT TIME WE HAD A LEGITAMITE #1 LINE ON THIS TEAM-ANYONE REMEMBER THE LAST TIME WE HAD A PLAYER IN THE TOP 10 IN SCORING????????WHY DIDN'T SNOW PICK UP RECCHI OFF OF WAIVERS.RECCHI HAD MORE GOALS IN HIS FIRST WEEK IN ATLANTA THAN HIBERTS HAD ALL YEAR.FIGURE AT $900,000 PICKING UP RECCHI WAS A NO BRAINER.SNOW NEEDS TO MAKE A MOVE AND DO IT NOW WHILE WE A STILL WITHEN REACH OF THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!!!
AND BENCH THAT PIECE OF CRAP HILBERT.THE GUY CAN'T HIT WATER IF HE FELL OUT OF A BOAT!!!!!!!!YET HE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE PLAYING.AND DON'T TELL ME HE IS SO GOOD DEFESIVELY THE GUY FLAT OUT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND ENOUGH WITH THE DEFENSE ALREADY.I ALWAYS LIKED NOLAN BUT ALL HE IS DOING IS MAKING THESE GUYS LOSE THEIR CONFIDENCE.WE ARE ONE THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR ALREADY -PLEASE MR.NOLAN PICK YOUR TOP 6 DEFENSEMEN AND LET THEM PLAY!!!!!!!MEYER JUST FLAT OUT SUCKS AND BERAD IS NO GOOD ANYMORE-YOU ARE NOT GOING TO REPLACE BERGEROEN SHOT-KEEP THE GUY PLAYING AND BUILD UP HIS CONFIDENCE BECAUSE HE IS OUR BEST OFFESIVE DEFENSEMAN WE HAVE
ALL ISLANDER FANS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK BECAUSE IF SNOW DOESN'T DO SOMETHIG SOON WE WILL BE OUT OF THE PLAYOFF RACE BY MID JANUARY AND DOWN TO ABOUT 5000PEOPLE A GAME.
AND MR.LOGAN HOW ABOUT AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE MOVES THE ISLANDERS NEED TO MAKE TO IMPROVE THIS TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting, regarding the supposed plan for Okposo. I really hope they don't start him with the Isles, something just tells me he's too raw for the big times right now. When you make the jump to pro, you really should adjust to the style via the AHL. A kid coming in as the superior player on his college team is naturally going to get a big head, and play selfish or irresponsibly. If I was as highly touted as Okposo and made that jump, I would probably just want to start lighting it up right away, which while isn't out of the realm of possibility, is unlikely.
The kid is gonna be great for us, but I'd like to see him log at least 20 Bport games before he gets the call up.
I've only got one beef with Teddy's "merit system".
Time on the POWER PLAY should not be used as a "reward".
Unless you're up 5-0 or something. (Not an issue on this team right?)
The Power Play unit is your seal team, your hit men, your assassins. YOUR ELITE OFFENSIVE WEAPONS.
And they should play/practice together all the time, honing their teamwork. Rewarding guys like Hilbert, Simon, Hunter...the list goes on... for quality play in other areas of a hockey game defeats the purpose of the power play.
The way things have been going lately, I am waiting for DP to get a chance on the point, based on his "hard work" in the net.
PICK 5 GUYS and go with them for a couple of games, then shake it up as necessary.
I would rather see MAB playing 6 games in a row, ONLY ON THE PP, rather than watching him try to earn a spot on the PP getting waxed by guys like Crosby.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong
"Nolan said the Isles have a firm plan for what to do with Okposo, but he declined to say whether the club’s top pick from 2006 will start with the Islanders."
Start him against Colorado!!!!!!
My people will take care of him...
please?
^Danny^: Flashy trades seem nice through the looking glass...but if that was the answer it would have been done already. You can't just gamble away your future on a guy who has mailed in every game this season for his franchise (Marleau).
Bill Guerin has the capacity to score 40 goals. Comrie could log 30. Fedetenko and Satan should combine for 50. We have goal scorers, but our team is going through an awkward phase. They're just going to have to keep plugging away, if we get as many opportunities as we did against Buffalo, they will go in sooner or later. Patience is running thin this late in the season, but we really don't have the assets to bring in a scorer, and even then it isn't a sure thing.
And Capslock hurts my brain.
Ahhh................finally Teddy boy you woke up to the stonehands of Mr. Dilbert.
Finally Hilbert about time.
the isles have to get higher quality shots
they take almost no shots from the slot
someone like Okposo
is what they need and more
he could be a good spark plug right now
GO ISLANDERS !!!
Hilbert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am quite impressed with Blake Comeau over the last two games. Here's to hoping he stays up here to build his confidence and skill and doesn't go back down to become the next Papineau or Weinhandl
This was a solid Nolander game. The line shifts once again had a positive affect in a perverse manner. Earlier this season Nolan swapped Guerin and Hunter to get Hunter rolling... and Guerin had a hat trick against the caps.
This was obviously a move to bolster the Sillinger line, and Hilbert sparks the fourth line. GOOD FOR HIM.
Even though Guerin's penalty was the tickiest of tacky calls... THE PENALTIES FROM HIM AND COMRIE ARE KILLING THIS TEAM.
If Nolan wants to put his money where his mouth is then the Vasicek line should get the glut of 5 on 5 time,and they should be the number one PP option. That was almost impossible tonight as they were shorthanded for12 minutes AGAIN...
Satan-Vasicek-Bergy are clearly this team's #1 option. With Tank on the third line it easily becomes the second scoring line, but has the 3rd line responsibilities of shutting down the opposing #1 line.
Here's the twist... The fourth line is just out performing the first line since Simon was ex-Isled. That may be because they are going up against the opposing fourth line, but when Nolan has the last change he can test that.
So... when they have the opportunity to roll four lines we should see the time distribution going JoVas, Silly, Hilbert, Comrie.
I think Comrie is lost in this system. It might be time for a big FOR SALE sign to go on his HELMET.
Unlike other guys on this board, I don't think Comrie sucks, I just think that he'd be better suited in a different system... I can't see them signing him long term... I'd love to see him dangled in front of the Avs for Wolski... or any western conference team for a mid level 20 goal right wing. that would allow Walter some ice time this year.
ONE STEP AT A TIME.
Nice win guys... GO NOLANDERS!!!!
I gotta give myself a pat on the back....
Posted by JPinVA | December 21, 2007 16:55
Enjoy tonight!!! 2 points and some production from the Silly and JoVas lines... and maybe even a career starter for comeau)
They get 2 much needed points in a divisional game.
Hunter scores, Silly and Tank assist.
Satan starts the night off.
Comeau gets first NHL goal
Then...even better...
Posted by JPinVA | December 21, 2007 23:09
I think Comrie is lost in this system. It might be time for a big FOR SALE sign to go on his HELMET.
Unlike other guys on this board, I don't think Comrie sucks, I just think that he'd be better suited in a different system... I can't see them signing him long term... I'd love to see him dangled in front of the Avs for Wolski... or any western conference team for a mid level 20 goal right wing. that would allow Walter some ice time this year.
Wolski promptly nets the OT winner that sinks teh Rangers 20 minutes after I type that post....
I'm opening up a kiosk in atlantic city... JP's crystal ball is back!!!
'night guys!
GOOD WIN!!!
505 -- Totally agree with you about the PP unit honing their attack and getting used to each other in practice.
Great win tonight. I hope Comeau's success encourages them to give more of the kids a chance. E.g. Walter, Nielsen, and Tamby for long enough to let him find his way at the NHL level.
Nielsen?
Danny: Lay off the caps lock button. Also your post reekes of hind sight is 20 20 and crystal ball predictions.
I thought last night was a great win. I do think the merit system needs to apply to Comrie. He needs to be moved down off of the top line. I am not sure who to put there though. The likely choice would be Vasicek, but i don't think it would be smart to disrupt the second line as it has been effective. Any ideas?
Had some people over the games last night and just my luck, the Isles were blacked out.....figures.
Maybe I am the jinx. First game I miss all year and one of the best wins.
I saw the highlights but that never does a game justice. Someone give me some play by play and stats !!!
***We watched the Philly~Buffalo game....What a game that was !! Very fun to watch. For all those that argued with me (I believe it was a Ranger fan) that buffalo stunk....Think again!***
Hi
To address the comments below and this is my opinion. Not looking to start arguments.
Hilbert, although is not scoring, is a very decent defensive center. I also feel he will start to hit the net more consistently and soon.
As to picking up Rechi, maybe ~maybe not. Would have been a short term help, and if all you are looking for is to make the playoffs this year, then a good call.
As to Bergeron, he is most likely the one I would let go. He is very weak defensively as he panics too easily. The other teams now key on him because they know all he is there for is his shot. Berard should be the #1 quarterback for the power play as there is no one better suited for it. Satan should be moved off the point, useless there, and put up closer to the net where he can he effective on the power play.
As to Nolan having the guys lose confidence, I think it's about time that the merit system be fully implemented. You have these "professional" highly paid athletes playing and they are not held accountable for their play. Yashin was a great example of that. Highly paid and not productive.
The one mistake as it seems to be turning out is Comrie. I don't understand what he is doing. He comes down and then just looks at the net and does nothing and loses the puck. Maybe time to concentrate more on the game and less on Hillary.
Meyer is a good puck carrier and needs to carry more.
My take and of course you do not have to agree with it.
I went to the game vs. the Sabres and thought Comrie looked hurt...upper body hurt. All of the shots he put on the net were lollipops - no zip to them at all. Looking at his shots from earlier in the year, it's night and day.
I haven't been able to post a single comment since this code thing started...let's see if this one works...
Oh, and Snow's comments about the coach of Minnesota were outrageous. There's no doubt in my mind that the Isles are furious that the coach moved Okposo to center - which does absolutely nothing as far as developing him into the power winger the Isles envision him as, but Snow should keep those comments behind closed doors - probably going to have to deal with that college again in the future.
If you thought the suspension to Simon was justified then take a look at this You tube video of hockey fights. There is one clip of a guy swinging his stick trying to chop off a guys legs and then there is a clip of a guy throwing his stick into the crowd like a spear. If that happened in todays NHL they would be banned for life. After seeing this I totally think the Simon suspension was way too long and severe compared to other things that have happened in the NHL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ap_eXEWLJY&NR=1
I never understood the Guerin penalty at the end of the game.
Steady and all other out of towners w/ center ice: the game was not completly blocked out. It was on NHL Net and FSNNY... But it was on FSNPIT. Channel 628 I think... And in HD. Always check the channels in the 600's to make sure.
I heard someone did the simon stomp inb the buf-phil game. Anyone see it?
Mass....It was blocked out on all my 600 stations also! I was soooooooooo pissed !