On the Islanders Beat

What the hell is going on this board yesterday? Who invited the trolls back? Why the heck am I gettin blamed?

I WAS AT THE GAME YESTERDAY....MY LAWYER CAN PROVE IT !! LOL

The Bruins -Rags game was awesome. Lundquist was awesome. MY heart was actually torn. There were a lot of NYers in the crowd even though they smelled of msg. Most had their colors on along with Met or Yankee hats. Wish they all called me before they went to the game. lol

They got ABUSED !!! Chants of "Lets go Pats" "Jets and Giants are a joke" "We got the rings(RedSox)" etc. etc.

I obviously did not root for the Rags, but I did not go nuts for the B's either.

Chara's blast in OT was awesome!!!!

***Missed the whole Isles game. Read the paper, but that teold me zippo. Someone give me a nice re-cap. Bad lose. Could of added and gained ground! ****

"And Morrison gets to have a day's big-league pay. "It's a good reward," said Morrison, who has played well lately in the AHL."

Jackman back to Bridgeport and Kip Brennan gets a shot at "big league" pay.

NOW!!!!

Once the tape of last nights game gets around the league, DP's life expectancy is gonna drop faster than a rock off of the roof of NVMC.

The Isles have been living on borrowed time since Simon went away, the Flyers called in the marker last night.

THAT'S NOT my opinion. It's a fact.

Potential scenario for the Isles in the upcoming home and home with the Canes.

Carolina Hurricanes just traded LW Craig Adams to the Blackhawks.
Peter Laviolette recalls LW Brandon Nolan from the Albany River Rats. The same Brandon Nolan who, in his last visit to the big leagues, dropped the gloves with Sean Avery ON THE OPENING FACEOFF at MSG (Avery declined the invitation).
NOLAN has one job over the next 2 games.
"Lose an edge", "get checked into", do whatever it takes to get into DP's world.

How do the Isles respond against the SON of their coach?

Because after last night's charity dance, the Isles have a sissy rap to live up to or destroy.

I was at the game last night, have to say it was a great atmosphere, but the Isles definitely need to play a more physical game, especially in front of DP, the Flyers drove to the net all nite and nobody did anything about it. Obviously we miss Witt and Sutton needs to be mean all the time, but id also like to see Brennan up. The question is can he play at all? we need to roll 4 lines, even if he just bangs away like Jackman, it's worth to see what hes got.

Rags smoked yet again.

Bossytime,

In the comments section of hockeybuzz, rumors continue that it would be Tambs, Hunter or Satan, and a 3 round pick for Tanguay.

i wouldnt give up hunter.

Islanders web site reporting that Witt and Martinek back for the game vs Carolina tomorrow!!!!!!! Finally we can get Berard off the ice. I wanted it to work out but it hasn't...its time to put him back in the pressbox. Seriously...he's the only D-man that hasn't stepped up with our defensive injuries... On that note, gotta keep Myer with Sutton, but with Martinek and Witt coming back who is Nolan gonna sit?

Witt - Martinek
Myer - Sutton
Campolli - Gervais

IMO Bergeron has picked it up and it gives us a weapon on the PP, and Johnson looks good too... Lets see what Teddy is made of

I completely agree with all of these comments. Islanders have lost the physical edge. Brennan has to be recalled for Jackman immediately. Jackman does not scare anyone. I would like to see the islanders check on what it would take to get Ryan Malone from the pens. He is exactly what we need imo

Campoli may be gone for awhile.
Bergeron and Johnson alternate (not necessarily on consecutive nights)

I don' t think Nolan wants Tambellini. He has every reason in the world to bring him up this year and hasn't.
If we could get Tanguay for Tambs and Hunter or Satan and a 3rd round pick, I say do it.
In effect (in my mind) it's an even up trade Tanguay- A YOUNG PROVEN SNIPER- for Tambellini. We lose NOTHING in Hunter or Satan leaving. What's a 3rd round pick worth?
If either of those two go and score 30 goals with Calgary, God Bless 'em, they AINT doing it here.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Hey guys and gals.

I'm going to the game tomorrow and I'm coming from PA!!!! Any chance some of the regulars on here going to the game tomorrow. Would love to have a face that goes with theses names. Let me know.

Hey Netminder, FWIW, I'll be at the game and will in front of the Isles bench during the warmups 1/2 hour before the game. I'll be wearing an orange Jonsson jersey and be with my two girls.

No comments on the Isles because I'm happy with my Jints!!!!

With Witt and Marty scheduled to return to the line up today, hopefully Garth can continue his efforts to move MAB. Montreal seems like an ideal destination for him and his arrogance. Well it's safe to say the physical pain Campoli endured while playing with an injured shoulder was significant, it sure couldn't be anywhere near the agony of being paired with the Mad Bomber. I for one will be surprised if we don't find out Campy's injury is far more serious than he's letting on and that the doctor's shut him down for month's if not the entire season. ( What a tough way to get away from MAB).
The trick now is to reorganize the pairings to again minimize the damage Bombs Away Bergeron can do to the team.( Please forget the occasional goal he scores)
If the Tanguay deal as written is anywhere close to being the players named, let's give it a try. Tambellini isn't going to play under Nolan and we have cornered the market on "Teddy type grinders" so Hunter is expendable. Miro continues to be a scorer who just isn't scoring consistently here. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good while a fairly high draft pick would suit us.

Merrick

See you there. I'll be wearing a blue Bossy Jersey and my girlfriend will be wearing another orange or white one. See you there

God morning over there! I´d rather move Satan than Hunter b/c he works harder.I´d like a switch between Park and Hunter.
A top defensive line with Silly,Park and Fedo and you get more offense out of Hunter in the nr1 line.Stay in the crease and put some shade on the goalie,tip-ins and rebounds like Holmstrom and Smyth.
And finally for the game today,over 10 shots/period and a solid performance over three periods.Hope it´s a great boost to have Witty and Marty back!

A little late to the party but I was at the game Saturday and I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the first period. Then when they came out flat in the second I knew they were done, but to be fair they are missing their top 3 d-men (the crease was filled with way too many Flyers) and they got some ridiculous bounces off the boards.

-I know its not his "role" but Hunter looked like a pansy getting tossed around in his first fight.

-Park reminded me of Jason Blake on Saturday, he was buzzing and stickhandling, and he didn't quit on any shift.

-We complain about MAB but his offensive numbers are there and at the very least he is a powerplay option which causes teams to cheat on him. Isles just need to learn how to use the extra space then given to the rest of the forwards. With that being said, on Saturday a couple of goals were scored because MAB was the guy trying to guard the crease. He just isn't big enough to be playing defense there.

-Satan is frustrating me. When he turns it on he can stick handle around people, setup great plays and look brilliant. But why does that happen only once ever ten games?

Not sure why everyone has such a h@rd on for Tanguay. Yeah, good, young two-way player who has had some success in the NHL, but this is a guy who has never scored 30 goals in a season. Quite honestly, the last thing we need is another good two-way player with 25-goal potential. We need a top line, power forward or true goal scorer with 40 to 50 goal potential. Not sure where we go for one of those, but also not sure Tanguay is really the answer.

And I doubt Hunter is going anywhere given his recent stint wearing an "A" and the praise he gets from Teddy and the NYI (look at their website today), including the fact he could wear the "C" per Nolan. He is a Mike Sillinger in the making, minus the faceoffs, and I see him getting a 3-year deal done this offseason.

And last but not least before I sign-off for the morning, but if anyone thinks having Tambellini in the lineup is going to make a difference against a team like the Flyers, I'll send you my address and you can mail me some of whatever you are smoking...

Please, Please, do not trade anymore of our young kids for vets and big contracts. I know Tanguay is only 27 or so but he is making 5+ mil a year + no-tade contract. Let the kids play. Berg & Comeau have played well. I want to see Tambs play reg. shifts for a year. I'm sure once he gets some reg. playing time he'll settle down and be the 30+ goal scorer we need. See what we can get for Satan. I would have thought playing in a walk year, he would have lit the lights more.

well i was at the rag game yesterday...i had a great time. They Lost and the chants for the Giants came about around the 2nd period. but we are only a 1pt ahead of them. Bruins should of finished them in regulation on Saturday but Seeing Kessel go 5 hole on Lunds and Chara blasting a shot a 100mph was worth OT.

This year is a hard year to get 1st round draft picks from teams...if anyone it would be the ducks. the isles will not give up the 1st round this year or next b/c the drafts are too deep to do so.

I am open to Tangay...Calagary is rumored for Joki or Forsberg and who knows ...i do not want to give up a draft pick in a deal but it is not going to happen

Steady,

I am beginning to wonder if your "Mookie" and our Greg Logan are one in the same.
Have not heard from either in over a week.

I know that Greg had issues with United Airlines on the last road trip but is he writing a War and Peace letter to them?
Or is his spouse making up for a week on the road?
Or perhaps he is ill and has the same doctor as Martinek?

I smell a nefarious Zipay/Ranger plot

Happy Martin Luther King Day to all my American friends.
Congrats on the NY Giants, glad your Kicker got the last one!
And very classy to have the Chinese kids at the games.

I am off today and surprise there is a game on TV at 11am my time. Awesome!

Kevin T in Canada.

Lousy first period,hope that´s a good sign from last game.
What about the ice between the bluelines,the puck is everywhere but the ice!!
Securityplay by the Isles,just dump and chase,maybe b/c bad ice?
COME ON!!!

John Kolb

"Some how you have to talk about how the Islanders out of all teams stole what the Rangers do after they win."

We could give a hoot, sir, but since this is an issue that obviously bothers you, I'll bite.
.
"I know the Rangers got the idea from the european players...B/c thats what they do in Europe..But for 3 seasons no team has touched it...It a great thing they have done..and now out of all the teams their biggest rival copies them.."

So, John Kolb, it's OKAY if the Ranger's copy/steal an idea, but IT' NOT okay if anyone else does it? Isn't that a tad DISINGENUOUS? HYPOCRITICAL? I don't remember MSG or the Rangers filing copyright protection on it.

"But the amount of corny things the islanders do is out of control..As you can see Im a Ranger fan. Maybe if they stopped making the team a marketing venture and instead making them a hockey team....they would get some fans"

All sports franchises are "marketing ventures". Some, have an easier job of it than others. Some, because of where they are LOCATED, don't have to do very much marketing at all. Rest assured that if the Rangers played in NVMC and the Islanders played at MSG, the Ranger organization would be "doing corny things". What YOU NEED TO REALIZE is that because of where the Rangers are located they don't even, nor have they ever, (except for 1994) had to "make a hockey team" in order to "get some fans"
THAT is a sad statement for the Ranger HOCKEY organization.

"sorry for the choppy writing"
That's okay.
You already qualified who you are by stating that you are a Ranger Fan. I understand your writing disability.

"you know most of the players would not want to copy what the rangers do for their fans."
Wouldn't you Ranger fans LOVE IT if the Rangers copied what the Islanders did for their fans?
WIN FOUR STANLEY CUPS IN A ROW.?
I guess you're happy with 1 in 67 years.

Thanks for the visit over here.

Here we go again...

Yeah, that sucked...

This is a "nolan type" team?

I don't wanna hear about Trent Hunter and his "blocks more goals than he scores".
Can ya get any further away from Wallin and more in DP's view on that tying goal Trent?

No further comments.

There is a fundamental problem with the Islanders play. It's called the Low Percentage Pass. Lead by Mike Comrie. I counted 7 Low Percentage Passes made by him. Many of them killing the momentum and setting up a transition play for the Hurricane.

Mike your new name is Mike "Low Percentage Pass" Comrie. For other players it's the occasional Brain-Fart, but for you it's an art form.

On a positive side, DP stayed in the net when they had a 2 goal lead. It was the team who let him down this time.

Rush the shooter, don't stand in front and screen the goalie!

Kevin

Agreed Kevin T.
Watching Comrie with the puck is like watching a Democrat in the Treasury. Everything is given away.
And he's a centerman?

Get this team on the road. They are stinking up the old barn with all the banners hanging from it.
Two sellout crowds and two stinkers.
And no one to blame but themselves.

Rangers TRIED to steal the ice girls idea from the Islanders. We all know how that turned out.

Rangers stole Messier from Edmonton and I suppose that worked out.
Rangers tried to steal the "win more than one cup in a row" idea from the Isles, and we know how that worked out.

Here's an idea that the Ranger's and their fans are WELCOME to steal from ME.

Quit whining and making an issue about people stealing ideas that aren't yours to begin with.

Did Dp get hurt again today?

Beyond frustrated. Left my house up 2-0 to play some pond hockey. Come back 3-2 loss in OT. WHAT THE F HAPPENED????

Comrie Blows. Been saying it since game 3. Softest player on the team by far.

Steady

"WHAT THE F HAPPENED????"

The "prevent defense" went into effect in the 3rd period.
The only line that spent any time in the Carolina zone was the 4th line. (hilbert/comeau/jackman).
Everyone else took a nap.
Allowed 2 soft goals (teamwise, not DP). Refs decided to call a tighter game in the last 2 minutes, Martinek and Sutton got caught cheating
Lazy, lazy lazy play.

The Bruins KESSEL is the same as Comrie....Very soft!

Anyone coming to the game up here on Thursday???????

I will 100% be there with my family and friends.

"Anyone coming to the game up here on Thursday???????"

Are you asking those of us who post here on the board?
Or Teddy's boys?
Cuz either one is a legitimate question.

For the 1st time this year, I am a tad frustrated with our boys.
These last 2 games were golden opportunities to make some noise in the standings and they mailed 'em in.
In different ways.
And that's the scary part.

Anybody want 3 tickets to the Isles/Rangers game on 3/6?
May well be a house full of very unhappy fans....OF BOTH TEAMS.

I hear yah 505....Love to call it growing pains, but is the vets with skill that mail it in.

Again our best players were our grinders.

Thursday is my only hope. If the Bruins do better than my beloved Isles I am a beaten man. They got the Pats (who will win I am sorry to say(and cover)) They got the Sox, and they got their Cletics......Come on Isles give me some sense of NY Pride.

I am a Jet fan and in no way am putting down the Giants. They have had one hell of a year. But do not get sucked in. Belichicken is coming full circle to the Giants and in a dome with all their weapons will cruise to yet another ring

just got back from watching the game and enjoyong dinner on and visiting family on Long Island before i made it back to PA. I wanted to let you know that the Islanders never attacked Carolina in the third perio and were a complete dud. DP let the second one that should have been his. he saw it all the way through and that's why he bent backwards. The first two periods i enjoyed because the Islanders attacked offensively, and Carolina looked out of sinc. During that third period however, Carolina had their way with the Islanders. NOTHING physical about them at all in the third. Granted, some of those calls by the refs were debatable, nonetheless, they shouldnt have put themselves in those situations. Looking for a better performance tomorrow.

Steady

"They got the Pats (who will win I am sorry to say(and cover)) They got the Sox, and they got their Cletics......Come on Isles give me some sense of NY Pride."

Have no fear Steady.
It's BOS vs. NY. starting on Tuesday of next week.
In Glendale AZ., THEY are out of their element.
They will be the visiting team with the Gints on the road.

I dropped a 60 dollar bet straight up with a Cowboy fan.

Boston's run is over. DONE.
Have you read the The Book about the BAM ?
By Leigh Montville?

Brady. Bruschi, and all the "perfect" football team are burnt.
No sex. no booze, NO FUN.
It's over for the Back Bay.

Just my call, I could be wrong.

Islander505

Steady

"They got the Pats (who will win I am sorry to say(and cover)) They got the Sox, and they got their Cletics......Come on Isles give me some sense of NY Pride."

Have no fear Steady.
It's BOS vs. NY. starting on Tuesday of next week.
In Glendale AZ., THEY are out of their element.
They will be the visiting team with the Gints on the road.

I dropped a 60 dollar bet straight up with a Cowboy fan.

Boston's run is over. DONE.
Have you read the The Book about the BAM ?
By Leigh Montville?

Brady. Bruschi, and all the "perfect" football team are burnt.
No sex. no booze, NO FUN.
It's over for the Back Bay.

Just my call, I could be wrong.

Islander505

Okay,
where is that " delete the last double post icon?"

From your mouth to Gods ears 505....Or your keyboard to Gods eyes....OR however that saying goes !!!

Bring up Tambs....Leading Goal Scorer in the entire NHL...

There are players on the Isles who are not performing anyway so Nolan needs to do some benching to get the message across.

Here are 2 stats:

Joe Vas: 1g in 20g
Zach Parise: 81g rookie year

Giants will win the superbowl

If Giants win the Superbowl I will treat for beers for each and every person that attends the next Isles game I go to on this blog.

I PROMISE !!! NO BS !!!!

Aint a chance in he^^. The Pats tease teams and make themselves look almost beatable. Yet at the end of the day they always win. Tom Brady or Eli aka Deputy Dog...Come on now! Maybe they will cover! Maybe!

None of you are coming up for Thursday Nights game ???

C'mon Steady.
Let's see a litttle "audacity of hope"

Hey 505: The only hope Steady and I are familiar with is the one with #47 on our Islander defence: He's Bob Hope's younger brother and we call him No Hope.

Guys, I gotta say – Hunter’s a keeper. Without a doubt. I see him battle on the boards and beat out two opposing players for the puck virtually every night. There will always be a need for that kind of player on any successful team. Maybe he’s not a 30+ goal scorer, but when surrounded by a good team, I have no doubt that he’ll put up 20-25 consistently in addition to all of the other intangibles he brings – hitting, responsibility in all three zones, etc. Giving him up for a couple more goals would be disasterous for the long term, imo, even if it squeaks us into the playoffs this year.

If you want a major cause for the Isles’ occassional lack of fire and rampant lack of consistency, it isn’t Hunter by a long shot. Rather, the reason was very apparent in the Philly game. Derian Hatcher grabs Hunter and pummels him to a pulp, and the rest of the team stands there and stares blankly like a bunch of cows chewing grass. Philly uses that moment to vault back into the game and take it to the Isles physically, while the Isles responded by crawling into a shell and avoiding any kind of contact like they were Samuel L. Jackson’s character from Unbreakable. This doesn’t mean they needed a fighter to lay down the law...they just needed someone to lay down a big hit, or make some kind of stand and basically say, “Enough. We won’t be pushed around tonight.” It’s been mentioned here before, but look at how Alfredsson responded when Meyer layed out Spezza. He got right in Meyer’s face, and, for the rest of the game, smashed any player wearing the away white jersey. A fight wasn’t necessary, just a little guts and some sense of comraderie and team. Hatcher ruled the front of his own net from that moment forward, and no one on the Isles came even close to challenging him in any kind of way. I really don’t think that would have happened with last year’s team. Those guys went to bat for each other every night.

For those who haven't heard, the Leafs have fired John Ferguson and replaced him with Cliff Fletcher on an interim basis.

steady..i ll take a labatt blue tallboy at the NVMC the next game your going to. Giants are winning or at least i keep telling myself that. If they do not, i will get you MAB's autograph lol

Not for nothing but why can't a guy like Hunter who is not a small guy and who likes to play a physical game handle himself better when it comes to fisticuffs. I can't believe that was his first career fight against the Flyers the other night. Is there any reason why a player like that can't at least in the off season work on being able to handle himself in a fight. How about some lessons with Gillies or Nystrom to teach him some basics. There's no reason why a guy that plays his style can't drop the gloves once in a while and not look so bad. Let's be honest here he's not Mike Bossy, learn how to fight Trent. And that goes for other players who have decent size, learn how to handle yourselves out there if you have to. In the old day's when a fight broke out everyone paired off and if the guy you paired off with wanted to fight you had no choice, maybe that's why less players today can handle themselves compared to years ago.

The fact that Hunter is not a pugilist, does not bother me at all.
The fact that Hunter is leading the team with a -14 bothers me a lot.
It tells me that bad things happen when he is on the ice.
The fact that he is rarely on the ice during PP and PK situations speaks volumes about what Nolan REALLY thinks about his abilities, offensively and defensively, despite what he says in public.
The fact that Hunter leads the team in shots on goal (135) but has only converted on 5% of those shots, and is in fact DEAD LAST in shooting percentage among forwards (even Hilbert is higher at 6%) tells me the wrong guy is shooting the puck.
AND SHOOTING IT TOO OFTEN.

And watching him blow that play against Wallin yesterday and effectively screen DP on the tying goal made me almost feel sorry for Trent Hunter.

ALMOST.

FWIW, Trent hunter plays a lot on the PK--and the tying goal came on a long shift for his long. The failure to clear early in the shift and pressur the points (fatigue?) is what did them in, although I was at the game and couldn't see how he screened DP.

FWIW, Trent hunter plays a lot on the PK--and the tying goal came on a long shift for his line. The failure to clear early in the shift and pressur the points (fatigue?) is what did them in, although I was at the game and couldn't see how he screened DP.

The replay definitely shows him setting the screen, and 99% of the time, Hunter makes the right play on that one. The puck went through DP's 5-hole (I think) and if he had is paddle down at all, it would have been an easy save. But there was no way he could anticipate where the shot was going given the bodies in front (most notably Hunter's)

I really don't see Hunter going anywhere given the praise that has been heaped upon him as of late, unless that is simply a marketing ploy to try and reap the most out a trade that involves him. In addition, I think his +/- is this bad because his line has not consistently scored goals. Getting the assigments he does means that your +/- isn't gonna be the greatest overall (he was only +5 last year), but it would not look nearly as bad had his line scored somewhat regularly the 1st half of the season.

That being said, we really do need guys other than those with 20 to 25 goal potential, and if the right trade comes along, I am sure there are very few "locks" on this roster for next year.

The flyers came out after the second and focussed on putting pressure the Isles Defense. They succeeded. But the Flyers gave up lots of chances to put the pressure back on them. The forwards made too many bone-headed plays and sent the play back in our end.

Hunter may have indeed had an off game, but I think that is the exception for him. True, some improvement in fighting skills may be needed, but I think he is a keeper.

Steady, I'll take you up on the free beer at the next game if the Giants win. I can send a cardboard cut-out of myself or a blow-up doll. Your choice!
:)

Kevin T.

kkkkk