On the Islanders Beat

Cut and pasted from previous Logan entry, he shortsheeted me with this blog article.

41 Games Down, 41 to Go.
Here's my 1st Half Grades, I'll (try to) be brief.
DP- A Minus. He is the franchise, he is the future. While shakey at times there have been enough flashes of brilliance to indicate that he is the type goalie who can carry a team in a playoff series.
Dubie- A. Has been called on in tough situations and has for the most part come up spades.
Witt- A+. He is Braveheart, HE IS SPARTACUS.
Sutton- B. Had questions about him at the beginning, slow of foot, would take too many penalties, but for the most part has been a very pleasant surprise.
Campoli B. Only because I have not seen the "Take Charge"
offense that he displayed against Buffalo in the playoff series last year.
Gervais-B. Another steady defenseman on a team with a lot of steady defensemen.
Martinek- A Minus. Points deducted for reoccurring injuries.
Bergeron- C. What hasn't been said about him thus far? I am STILL giving him some benefit of the doubt.
Meyer- C + I LIKE the guy. But I am not convinced about him yet.
Berard- C YA!! Done, finished, keep him in the press box in case 3 D-men go down with injuries.
Guerin- C+ . Has quietly reached 15 goals but emphasis on quiet. Have only occasionally seen this "great locker room captain" be a "great on ice captain".
Comrie- D Minus- And it's only that high cuz he brings Duff to the games to spice up the image of the NVMC. One more "toe-drag" and I'm gonna cut off my own toes.
Vasicek- C Minus. Great shots to goals percentage. TAKE MORE SHOTS!!
Tank- D-. Why is this guy in the NHL?
Hilbert- B minus. He would be a great player on this team if the Isles had some SCORERS to complement his game. Now I know that sounds like screwed up logic, but think about it.
Sillinger- C minus. Yes he is a great faceoff guy and an asset. But he too has blown too many scoring opp's with weak shooting skills.
Hunter F. A REALLY BAD SEASON THUS FAR
Park- A for effort.
Bergenheim- B for effort. Starting to remind me of Hilbert on a scoring opportunity.
Satan- D. For a "streaky scorer" I am beginning to think he would have a better chance at scoring if he streaked the NVMC crowd in between periods.
Comeau B+. The guy is gonna be good. Would like to see more of him please.
Jackman- A+ for scoring the only goal I have seen live this year. (Hey, it's MY post!!).
Walter- No grade.
Okposo- A+ for hope.
Sim- W for Withdrawn. Wish I got see more than I did.
Simon- Who?
Nolan- B+ I want to give him an A+ for having the team in a position to make a playoff run as well as only being 5 points out of 1st in the division. BUT, I have a problem with a coach who gives out power play time to guys "earning" it.
Snow- No grade as yet. GM's earn their grades at the trading deadline.
Wang- A+ The team is still on Long Island.

Who'd I miss?

Hey 505 .. I still owe you NHL improvement ideas....

I like your grades for the most part .. just wouldn't give Hilbert a passing grade .. I'd give Nolan a flat out B .. basically for having the team in the position they are. I honestly really haven't thought of grading the players individually ... maybe just .. rate them in three catagories ....

underacheiving ... on target ... or over acheiving ..

It's hard to really figure out a grade at this point...

As a team ... I give them a C+ .. mostly for being in the middle of the pack ... after they were predicted dead last. Also for having flashes of progress ... although they tend to take steps back ... like the Florida game and this road trip. That great game in Carolina kinda set us up for disappointment the last 3 games ... and there are 3 more tough road games to go. The balance of this trip really will indicate what kind of team they are ... and what direction we can expect them to take.

Great article Greg!!!

My brother and I have replayed that scenario of "What If" those Milbury moves were never made. Lets not forget Bertuzzi, Redden (for Berard), Connolly and McCabe either.. Neither may not be the same since they hit their primes ... but a lot has happened to him since then.

The Isles could of been the Ottawa team of the Atlantic Division and Ottawa would not have been as dominant as they are now ... if they were drained of the opportunities to ice Spezza, Heatley (Atlanta pick) & Chara (since traded).

Bertuzzi, Spezza, Heatley
Connolly

Redden, McCabe
Chara

Probably some more

... and the Isles probably wouldn't of made the playoffs till 2003 without Peca and Yashin pushing the Isles to a playoff spot

So who knows where they would of finished the 2001-02 season.

... so might of had a good 2002 draft pick .. We got Bergy .. not too bad....

But in 2002 .. #1 pick was Rick Nash .... and other notable forwards picked from that draft ... Joffery Lupul, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Alex Semin and Chris Higgins (Long Island's son). But you can't predict who Mad Mike would of selected.

What if? Who knows?

19 Isle

"Hey 505 .. I still owe you NHL improvement ideas...."

All I need to see is "Get Rid of Bettman"
Every time I see that guy I am reminded of my summer of 1972 High School job as a messenger in the city.
He was either the guy that:
A/On my LIRR commute home would try to jump in front of me in the bar car line, thinking he could take advantage of my apparent underage looks (I had fake proof. was a hoop player and knew how to use my elbows).
or
B/Was the guy from a 47th Street Jewelry shop that never had the order ready for me when I went to pickup a 5K watched left for engraving.
or
C/Was the Katherine Hepburn-like bobbling head in the subway Crazy Eddie posters. (on a hot summer day, I swear those heads bobbled when the train got up enough speed).
or
D/Was the voice of Jewish radio on some now defunct AM radio station in NY (No offense KH).

How did ANY of those people become the head of the NHL?

Ha, at least we know where Logan stands on the earlier discussion. Logan, I know you don't respond here, but out of pure curiosity, if the trade was only bad because of the surrounding talent lost, are you saying that, in a world of possibilities that will never be, you would not trade DP straight up for Luongo?

Jeez, I REALLY don't want to sound at all like I'm down on DP or dumping on him in any way. I'm really not. I do think he is a very good goaltender. But top three? In the league? C'mon now.

Here's hoping that DP gets a 60-shot shutout tonight against Luongo and plays like a top three. I'll cheer louder than anyone.

nice job 505.....

here's praying we get an A + the rest of the way

Fact is this: You'd rather have Luongo and Heatley over DiPietro, (and could have) any day, and if you wouldn't you ain't real bright.

DP is good, real good, but not that good.

Like the way he was just laying face-down on the ice while the puck got ripped top shelf.

this game is making me sick right now ... Isles look like a farm club so far

DP standing on his head yet again. Stopped two breakaways....It as if the team is purposely leaving him out to dry??? This is a shooting galary against a team that has just as much scoring problems as us......WHAT IS GOING ON ????? HAVE THEY QUIT ON SNOLAN?????????

Jiggs: " They cannot expect DP to save all these. This is ridiculous!"

wow ... are there 2 ends to this ice???? every time I look up I see DP!!! Isles are either lethargic or they actually don't care tonight

20 shots on net and their are still 6 minutes left in the period....DP is the whole team!

Well...once I played ice hockey drunk...that's about how the Isles look so far.

frei go watch the rangers. steady was right. go to the previous post and see that all agree. stop your nonsense

I was just laughing my a^^ off how I spelled "gallery" in my above post. Long day ! :)

Way to rope-a-dope 'em Isles.

Now go to the locker room, pour a bucket of water over DP, pour a bottle of bourbon down his throat, and whip out a can of spinach for everyone else on the team.
Popeye never took a pounding from Bluto as bad as the Isles just took from the Canucks.

Did I ask earlier if the Sedin's were gonna run a track meet tonight?

Frei

"Fact is this: You'd rather have Luongo and Heatley over DiPietro, (and could have) any day, and if you wouldn't you ain't real bright"

YOUR use of the word "You'd" in that context indicates that YOU are referring to all Islander fans in general. Which is an indication that YOU do not consider yourself one.

Which kinda proves Steady's point about YOU.

And I don't think that's my opinion, or that I could be wrong

Jiggs just said it best. without dp the score would be 7-0.

505, sorry, in all of your majestic linguistic excellence, you fail to consider the possibility that "you" could easily be substituted for "one". In fact, you just plain fail.

Honestly, if you're under the impression that I could care any less if you think I'm a ranger fan, then you fail some more!

I can say only this: I love to see you get your panties all bunched up over it.

Frei

What's the matter? $trangers lose and nuttin to do??????
Get lost.......

Frei = cj from last year....go back to the library and political blogs loser.

Actually FREI is RENNED UP from the rags blog.

Look at the post from RENNED UP at 23:23 on the rags blog.

They write exactly the same. His use of - on certain words that do not need -'s are exact!

Compare it to lil freis 23:19 post on our blog!

One and the Same!

Go back to msg loserrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Man, they don't feel like calling a penalty on Vancouver tonight, do they?

505 … your long awaited response of solutions to the NHL’s marking problem. I took the time during the first two periods of the Canucks / Isles came to catch up on this.

Warning to others ... Very long read. Print this out and read this when you are at the airport waiting for your United Airlines flight.

This response goes back to my “New Years Day Rant” sometime after watching the outdoor game between Buffalo and Pitt.
By the way … the ratings for that game were the highest ratings for ANY single NHL game in the Bettman era … including playoffs. There were higher ratings in combined regional games (usually 4 games simultaneously) back in 1996.

……………………………………

NHL & American national broadcaster's futile attempts at marketing the NHL. Why is this?

“I myself ... belief most of the fault for the poor publicity / promotion of the NHL comes from within. I've seen gimicks and attempts to sell the game and players to the masses.”

However, I really think it comes down to the product's appeal to the majority of American's thirst for offensive minded sports. That is why soccer never was well received in America too.

Here is a gimmick for ya … Why doesn’t the NHL remove the rules that protect the defensive team? Offense is what sells sports in America … no denying that … 3-2 games are pretty average scores in the NHL, but would probably be considered a pitcher’s duel in an American League baseball game.

The beauty, skill and meat of hockey is embedded within the game itself. It doesn’t require making nets bigger, or having OT shootouts. There are rules within the sport that mute offense and reward suffocating defense. Lift the restraints from the game .. and watch it blossom. Current rule enforcement only works for so long before the clutch and grab rears its ugly head again.

You can change the rules in hockey without bastardizing the sport. Just support the offensive part of the game more, even if it takes 10 minutes more to play a game. The games might actually have less regulation ties with more scoring.

Rules I’d change:

* Penalty durations:
Add a 1 minute minor penalty and chance the 2 minute minor to be named the 2 minute standard penalty. You’ll see why I propose a 1 minute minor for certain infractions.

#1 - The defensive zone hand pass~ I know this was allowed because players were doing it anyway .. and it was to create less whistles … but here is an idea … Eliminate the defensive zone pass along the ice. Make defensive zone passes while the puck is on the ice = a 1 minute minor penalty .. this way it discourages the hand pass … but isn’t as serious of a penalty as tripping, hooking etc. Still, allow the puck to be swatted out of the air and played by a teammate …. #1 it still does require some hand eye coordination .. and #2 it will keep sticks down.

The result … it will keep the flow of the game moving along. No longer will players be allowed to get on their hands and knees and have an advantage over attacking players by moving the puck to a teammate with their hands thus stifling and offensive pressure situation. Should the a player do that, he will be penalized 1 minute, and give the team applying the pressure a chance to capitalize via the power play.

#2 Penalties will be served for its entire duration. Again … you do the crime … you do the time. No chance for early parole because the PP team scored against your team. Keep the power play going and you will get more offensive chances. No more can a team buy themselves a reprieve by hooking or tripping a player on a scoring chance. If you do that, you may actually risk a team being able to score 2 goals or more during a full two minute penalty. Will players still do it? Sure … it may depend on the score and the time left in a game… it will become a strategy move of sorts. Kinda like taking foul in basketball.

The result … teams will be less likely to pull someone down or commit a penalty knowing the end result could drastically sway the game. There might be less penalties … but that will keep the flow of the game going. When there are penalties however .. you will see some great offensive play … for one team at least … and maybe longer 4 on 4’s too.

#3 More Penalty Shots .. Create a RED ZONE. I would propose that the within this RED ZONE that when a player attacking the goal is fouled against in a manner that would normally call for a restraining type 2 minute standard penalty.. and that attacking player’s team is in possession of the puck … that the team has the choice to take a penalty shot instead of a full 2 minute power play. The RED ZONE can be a lighter blue shaded area in front of the goal. It can start at the point along the goal line where the Goalie Restriction trapezoid meets the goal line … and then a line would move out diagonally to each offensive zone face off dot, and then another line across the slot between those two face off dots to define the RED ZONE area.

The result … this idea may need to be tweaked … maybe harder for refs to make calls on this, since it will also be a judgement call on whether or not a team had possession cleanly. I’d like to see this experimented with first. This will prevent offensive pressure from being muted by clutching, grabbing, tripping, interference, hooking etc. Those that would employ such tactics risks watching his team defend against a penalty shot or 2 minute power play. Again, this is a good team decision moment. The coach has to decide maybe in a 1 goal game late in the 3rd period if it is more likely to score on a 1 shot deal penalty shot … or take a full 2 minute power play.

#4 If there is less than 2 minutes in regulation or in OT, a team that would receive a power play chance has the choice of full power play, or a penalty shot.

The result … a team in the lead can seal it with a penalty shot… of course if the losing team had its goalie pulled they’d have to be allowed to put the goalie back in to defend against the shot. It also give a team that is behind a choice that may help them get back into the game if they are down 2 goals, or to use a penalty shot to tie a game if they are down by 1 goal. It gives a team offensive options, and makes defenders think twice about taking dumb penalties which also slow down the pace of a game.

Also, think of this. If a penalty is committed with like 5 seconds remaining, a power play might not be feasible. So a penalty shot keeps the suspense going, and may impact a game. Kinda bogus anyway that a team gets credited with a PK when they are only killing off 5 seconds.

#5 Those damn goalie pads. After watching several classic series’ from the 80s and early 90s it is clear that Goalies have way to much size for their gear. Yes, I know that just like skaters that goalies of today are also larger in average size than the generation of goalies before them. However, gear .. as Jiggs mentioned in Colorado are obviously designed more for stopping the puck, than for protection. The material used today is much more light weight than in the 80s so a goalie can have larger pads without weighing down his legs like it would have in the 80s. The pads should be the same width and thickness as the old pads were … I think the height of the pads should be enough still to protect the knees .. and the blocker and glove need to also be reduced. Goalies are filling up the nets.

Results … plain and simple… more goals .. and in the long run .. better skilled goalies, as goalies will have to become even better to stop the puck. Yes, I know skaters’ sticks are better than they were in 80s, but… to what degree. Mostly sticks break less… but Al Iafrate and Al MacInnis pretty much fired their howitzers with standard lumber for most of their careers.

#6 Three point games ~ There is definitely a skewed result of the standings based on 3 point games. I think if a game goes to OT that either winner take all 2 points … or make every NHL game worth 3 points … and winner gets two in OT … loser gets one point. That seems fair enough. Personally … I like the 2 point per game system .. and the winner in OT should just get 2 points.

Results …. Fairer results in the standings… and teams will not play to protect that one point minimum in the final 5 minutes of the 3rd period. I think some teams play just to get to over time so they are guaranteed a point. That is ridiculous, that is why ultimately you have to keep the 2 point system … and reward only the winner with points. The 3 point game is my compromise.

#7 The shootout … History!!! I know … people find it exciting … but deciding a game on a breakaway contest is a cop out. Basically the best 3 shooters of each team get to twist a goalie into pretzel like contortions to decide who gets the extra point. I wonder how many goalies have hurt themselves to date? Also, it’s just not the way to decide a game. I’m all for penalty shots to players who were deprived of a scoring chance in the course of a game, but not this exposition. Yes, it’s exciting … but I laid out rules above that will increase the amount of penalty shots during the course of a game. We might see 2 or 3 in every game. So you still get that excitement during the game.

Dry cut the ice after regulation, and then play the OT four on four for 10 minutes … you can pretty much count on 80% of the games (my estimate) that go into OT finish by the 10 minute mark with the offensively favorable rules that I laid out above. If not … let the zambonis dry cut the ice again, and do another 10 minutes … if by some miracle still no scoring with 4 on 4… have the players go to locker rooms … and let the zambonis do a full cut and flood. Then play full 20 minute periods at 4 on 4.

Eventually someone will score. I promise. I bet that worse case scenario would play itself out only a few times a season.

Results … more exciting OT hockey than we have now. It’s for all the marbles and no cancellation prizes of 1 point. Just like the other 3 major league sports. Loser goes home with nothing. It brings more credibility to the game. Non-hockey fans I know think that is a bush league move to give a point to the loser. I tend to agree. More accurate standings to teams deserved of their position in the standings.

#8 The instigator rule … why in the world is it still there? Fighting belongs in the game … good fights. Not pointless fights that go no where. There is nothing like a good scrap in a hockey game. The last Devil / Isle game is a great example.

Results … Get rid of the instigator rule, and you are guaranteed to have less blatant dangerous plays by cowardly players.

#9 Icing. Make it automatic. Why risk injuring a player in a foot race that more times than not results in the defending team touching up.

Results … Teams will be less inclined to ice the puck for the slim chance a teammate will touch up negating the icing. Less time wasted off the clock for a foot race to the puck only to have the whistle blow when the defending team touches up. The auto icing also hastens the inevitable.

#10 This one is probably the least feasible … but adjust the rink’s width dimensions. Not to the 100’ width of IIHF dimensions … but to 90’ from 85’. After watching the WJHC, I realized that the wider rink doesn’t truly create more skating and offensive chances. It actually created more “sanctuary” space for defensive teams.

Think about it .. What do you try to do as the defensive team as a team is making a rush against you? You try to force them to the outside. With wider dimensions this actually plays to the advantage of the defensive team. I feel with a modest increase in width you will not mute the effect of the attacking teams working along the boards.

The extra 5 feet is needed to accommodate the size and speed of today’s players. It also give the players a little extra passing room to move the puck around and cycle the puck. Too much space creates a stalemate of sorts. Kinda like when there was extra space behind the net till they closed Gretzky’s office down.

I remember after the Calgary Olympics that was the talk. That the NHL needed to widen the rinks, but the buildings that existed then couldn’t accommodate a wider rink, and would reduce seating capacity thusly reducing arena revenues. Well, with all the new buildings built in the last 20 years since the Calgary Olympics they had the opportunity to do something about that problem. They didn’t. I think however they can squeeze out that extra 5 feet.

Result … more flow going into the offensive zone, better passing lanes in the offensive zones without spreading out the players too much. Shows the passing talent of the players more, and picks up the speed of the game .. and also may help with less offsides calls.
……………………………………..

Ultimately … this will improve the on ice product of the GAME .. it will then be up to the teams to ice squads capable of excelling under these conditions of offensively favorable conditions. I’m afraid our Islanders wouldn’t fair to well .. but maybe Tamby and Okposo and the other young guns would have a shot.

This creates a better product for TV, and still might take a few years for fans on the fence to become die hard fans … and the NHL would have to promo the hell out of this new fire wagon brand of hockey. I think the product would be enjoyed by established hockey fans and new fans a like.

It gives the TV networks with High Def catching the rich and energetic elements of the game a chance to show a product much superior than what we see today. Maybe Sid the Kid would break Gretzky’s goal scoring record. Maybe it would be someone else. Bottom line … more offense … more media attention.

Remember during the late 80s when offense was the rule of thumb. Without even a network TV contract the NHL was getting lots of attention. True enough a lot of that was because Gretzky was in LA, and chasing Gordie Howe’s records … but still … that was an offensive record.. and that is what had the public’s interest.

Feel free to tweak, and add to my suggestions. I really didn’t change the game much…. I just enhanced the offensive elements of the game but tweaking rules, or lack of rules that inhibit the offensive flow of the game.

Every team pretty much has a star player to market … then the NHL should coop with each team to market a player. Putting all their eggs in the Sid Crosby basket doesn’t sell hockey to John and Jane Doe in Santa Clara California or fans in any NHL city in America except for Pittsburgh.

Oh, and by popular demand ... GET RID OF BETTMAN!!!!

Whoa ... I don't know if I'm more stunned by the stop DP made or by that last post.

great performance so far by dp

take the point....back to Alberta

DP let in some weak ones, especially that last one in the shootout. However, he was definitely the difference tonight.

I don't know about anybody else, but this was the strangest hockey game I've seen in a very long time.

Coulda thefted 2 points ... but lucky to have 1 point. I'll take it ... Thanks DP ... great way to steal one for us.

Ok Steady,

After watching Bergeron do everything he could to get the assist on the game winning goal that Vancouver could not convert tonight, I am in your corner.
Bergeron is like gasoline on a fire on the backline.

It was ANOTHER, all too common DP 1 point night tonight.

The only other highlight for me was seeing Comeau GETTING A CHANCE to win the game in the bottom of the 5th round of the shootout and it took an ACROBATIC save by Luongo to deny him.
This after watching Silly and Comrie offer up a couple of Eucharists to Luongo, closed out by a 3 foot putt by Hunter.
THOSE GUYS CAN'T SCORE.

More Comeau, Where's Tambellini, Call KO.
Time to ship out Hunter, Comrie and Tank (now THERE'S an appropriate nickname!). Once the kids start scoring, there will be no need for MAB on the PP, there's your player to be named later and throw in an undisclosed amount of Wang's cash.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Bad news about playing Calgary next.

They looked REALLY BAD in losing at home to the Coyotes.
Gonna be a team looking for a whipping boy.

I know a lot of us are down about the state of the team these days, as am I, but here's something that might make us feel a little better. Vancouver, according to Ricky in the postgame interview, has not lost a regulation game at home in 2 MONTHS. Had Ricky stopped their 2nd goal in regulation -- which was stoppable -- the Isles would have broken that streak. Cold comfort since we were totally outplayed and our goalie would literally have been the sole reason for the win, but hey, it's something.

And by the way, whoever said in a recent thread that Ricky throws his teammates under the bus after losses, that's my first candidate for worst post of 2008. Ricky NEVER blames his teammates and ALWAYS says the right thing and the humble thing. He just did it again in the postgame interview a few minutes ago. He's like David Wright, who's also pure class and has never ever made a mistake with the press.

Tonight was yet another reminder that the Islander organization *must* make it their goal to put sufficient talent around Ricky in the next 3-5 years that he can win a Cup in his prime. This guy is special and we forget that he is not playing with the kind of team in front of him that Brodeur and Luongo have.

Last thing about the game: It was hard to tell on my non-HD TV (and without replays) but it did seem like there were many many plays where Islander sticks and bodies were held in the Canucks' zone and no penalty was called. Whereas every Islander infraction was a VAN power play. Seems to be a pattern for the Isles in Canadian arenas.

Frei,

"505, sorry, in all of your majestic linguistic excellence...."
Thanks for the compliment Frei.

"... you fail to consider the possibility that "you" could easily be substituted for "one".
Ah, but the burden of proper communication and the illumination of all possibilities, falls upon the person trying to convey the message, not on the receiver of the message.

"In fact, you just plain fail"
At times, don't we all?.

"Honestly, if you're under the impression that I could care any less if you think I'm a ranger fan, then you fail some more!"
Actually, my linquistic charlatan, I could care less if you are a Ranger fan or an Islander fan. It would not be an issue if you simply owned up, one way or another. Otherwise you are someone engaged simply in warfare. Cuz the first casualty in warfare is the truth.

"I can say only this: I love to see you get your panties all bunched up over it."
You ought to try wearing panties from time to time. It kinda fits the dual personality you are trying to present in your writing.

Eh KH,

I hate to hear read about anyone (especially players or coaches) complaining about "non-calls" in regular season games. It simply serves no purpose, As long as there has been hockey, home teams generally get the benefits of calls and non-calls in their favor.
THE GOOD TEAMS PLAY AND WORK THROUGH IT.

The point you raise about Vancouver/Luongo not losing at home forever is a good one and demonstrates how outstanding DP was tonight and brings to light some other positives.
Not the least of which is comparing the situation we Isles fans are looking at compared to the readers of Zipay's blog
A/Our goalie stole points from Colorado and Vancouver this week. Their's may have cost them points last week.
B/Our goalie seems to be getting hotter. Their's is pretty cold right now.
C/One game into the 2nd half of the season, our team is in a playoff position, their's is not.
D/Our team has low priced players who don't score goals Their team has high priced players who don't score goals.

I'm sure there's more as well.

*OFF TOPIC*

505 -- I am not offended by Bettman alter ego no. 5, but I don't agree. Bettman has a Queens accent, but not really a Jewish accent. I realized this when I heard him on the radio without knowing who it was -- I tuned into an interview one time in the middle, and only learned after several minutes of listening to Bettman that it was him... and for the first time it struck me that he always sounded very Jewish to me when I knew it was him speaking, but when I didn't, he just sounded like he was from Queens, not of a particular ethnicity.

There are definitely people who have ethnically specific NY accents, but I think we all tend, when we know the person's ethnicity, to hear the accent that way even when it's not there. To me, a classic NY Irish accent is that of Regis Philbin (faded now after years in showbiz); Italian accent -> Al Pacino; Jewish accent -> Mel Brooks (who converted to Catholicism, by the way). I'm just picking famous people as points of reference -- I know non-famous people who are better examples. Also there are many variations by borough and of course between NYC and the different suburbs. To my ear, Ed Burns has a nice (but now diluted) Long Island Irish accent.

Anyway, accent or no, I'd love to be able to excommunicate Bettman from my tribe for crimes against hockey...

Oh by the way, 505, here's something really funny in light of your Bettman comment. Go re-read your comment to Frei posted at 22:56 above, in this thread. Now compare it to this excerpt from the Passover Haggadah:

The wicked son, what does he ask? "What is this service to you?!" He says `to you,' but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the community he has denied that which is fundamental [i.e., he does not believe God redeemed him and therefore Israel from slavery in Egypt]. You must therefore, set his teeth on edge by saying to him: "It is because of what the Lord did for me when he brought me out of the Land of Egypt"; `for me' - but not for him! For if he had been there, he would not have been redeemed!"

You sure you're 100% Irish? ;-)

*END OF OFF-TOPIC COMMENT*

Oh, and one more thing. I cannot overstate the pleasure of hearing Jiggs McDonald call an Islander game again. Takes me right back to my early teens and the Dynasty. I am very happy with Howie (despite the Matteau call), but Jiggs' voice, cadence, pacing... just perfection. Like feeling your ear hit the perfect old pillow you thought you'd lost.

"You sure you're 100% Irish? ;-)"

Oh yeah.
But I grew up in Matzohpizza (North).
Ergo, attended more bar mitzvah's than confirmations, never passed up a lighting of a menorrah with the requisite Manischewitz "tasting" (knew that jingle by heart) and now make the best "from scratch" spaghetti sauce west of the Mississippi. (NO GREEN CHILES!!!).
But my mashed potatoes are "ta die for".

Ya just gotta love AMERICA!!!!

And as far as "Listening to Jiggs", you guys are killing me out here.
Center Ice almost always carries the home team feeds (and Jiggs is only doing the road trip?) and while I thoroughly enjoyed the Vancouver crew tonight, knowing that Jiggs is on the mike somewhere close by is cruel and unusual punishment.
Kinda like being tied up, gagged and blindfolded in a room with Lohan, Spears and a bottle of VO.

Yeah, DP rocked last night.

In the SO, looked like the vets mailed it in. I could of made those stops ... and I've always been a swiss cheese street hockey goalie.

Comeau impressed me with his attempt.

Thank you Rick DP. Thank you for making the fact I stayed up way passed my bedtime worth it. DP put on a clinic. He save 20 point blank shots last night. TWENTY! Yes the last goal was a little tough to give up, but it is imossible to be perfect all the time.

What a joy listening to Jiggs. Yes, he had a couple of senior moments calling the goalies the wrong name, but I loved it anyway. A class act with a great hockey mind. You can hear in his voice how much he loves the game. He makes no bones about thee fact he thinks DP is a top goalie!

If not for a very bad performance by Luongo we would of been shut out yet again! He gave up two putrid goals. The regulars on this blog could form a team and get more quality chances than the Isles did. Are the vets quitting on Nolan? Our Captain Guerin is only seen when he is going to the sin bin for yet another dumb penalty. Comrie is softer than my toilet paper. God is a wuss! Hunter,Satan have all just gone away? What happened to the fire?

Boy do we miss Martinek. Even our heart and soul WITT seems to be playing with no spirit? Is it the BOBBLEHEADS in the back of their heads dragging them down? Are they all tired? Are they hurt? Do they dislike Ted? I understand none have great scoring prowess, but the are not skating. As much as I am not crazy about Sillinger and Hilbert, at least they are showing emotion. At least they are yelling and getting PISSED OFF !!!

Whipping Boy time. Tell me you did not see more of the back of MAB's jeresey than the front last night? In his own zone mind you. The guy is so bad it is getting funny! Cannot wait for his next sound bite, when he says he has turned it around. What a joke! Did you see when he tripped over his own stupidity and almost gave DP another head injury? LAter in the game you could clearly see DP ripping him on the ice for being out of position!

Scary thing is the Isles could beat Calgary and get a pt from Ottawa and salvage a .500 road trip!

The team is driving me nuts. They are a pot luck dinner for sure. Lets hope the next game is Filet Mignon and not Aunt Tillys left over pea soup like we have been seeing!

505...funny stuff you wrote at our local rag fan. lmao !!! good job!

Yeah, the shootout attempts were pretty weak. Don't know who the genius is who scouted Luongo, but clearly high glove side is not the best place to shoot on him. Unfortunately, the one point doesn't do much for the Isles as every Atlantic Division team was in action and virtually all of them won, but it's better than no points.

DP did play great, and Luongo poorly, but the Isles never put good shots on net, and Luongo managed to show up when it counted and got his team two points...even without his best stuff.

Oh well...on to Calgary.

Talking about pulling a gift out of your ar$e.

That was by far the most lopsided game all year. For those old enough to remember phonographs, there were two speeds being played last night--Vancouver at 45 and the Isles at 33. I have absolutely no idea where our 28 shots came from. It's easy to say one team is off or one team is on--but based on the games we've seen this year, is there any question that the Western Conference is head and shoulders above the East?

Steady, props on DP, but did I see a hint that you think some guys may look tired? I thought the same thing about Witt last night. In fact, the whole team could be on low. Last year we swooned badly before the All-Star break, then played with incredible intensity for five weeks after the break before running out of gas in March.

In addition, as much as I like him, Gervais regularly looks like a boy playing a man's game out there. Is he at his ceiling or can he still grow?

Alas, hope is eternal, so on to Calgary!

With you all the way Merrick. All good pts. Especially the reference to what went on the same time last year.

One of the regs. said the January schedule is brutal....They are correct! Ughhhh

Nick

"I don't know about anybody else, but this was the strangest hockey game I've seen in a very long time."

Those were the EXACT sentiments expressed by the Vancouver announcers last night. (who were VERY good-made me think back to the ottawa jerks).
They also gave DP 1st-2nd and 3rd star of the game.

Which leads me to yet another flame of Newsday.
Today's headline reads "DP outdueled by Luongo"?????

NOTHING could be further from the "Truth, Justice and the American Way".
DP was Superman last night. Luongo was weak and lucky last night. Both Isle goals were flukes (at least COMEAU can hit an empty net) and whoever came up with 28 Isle shots on goal was counting by 2's.

Witt looks tired.

Whoops, the above post was me.

On Gervais...and even Bergy...I'd love to see them develop better shots. Both of them are always in the right areas. Gervais, in particular, has to do something better than lollipop wrist shots from the blueline. Maybe he should just try a slap shot instead? I can't imagine it being much worse.

But his positioning on defense is usually pretty strong, and he moves the puck up ice well, I think. If he looks a little worse than usual, don't forget that, in Marty's absense, he is on the top pairing now with Witt, and so he is charged with defending against the league's elite players more often than not. You're always going to look worse defending Sidney Crosby than you are defending Erik Christensen.

Can't remember who said it on one of the earlier threads, but looks like the Isles are starting to benefit too from the 3 point game. Suddenly, we have lost 4 in a row, but not any ground in the standings thanks to the fact that 3 of those were in OT/shootout, so we got points. Pretty bizarre to say the team has lost 4 in a row, but I believe has points in 8 of their last 9 or 10 games.

I know the team should not have won this game based on the way they played, but the softie DP let in again has to sting knowing we could have had the 2 points. Oh well, on to Calgary where maybe we can lose, but still get a point again!

I know this has never come up on this blog but has anyone else noticed MAB bites?????

Miggsey

"I know this has never come up on this blog but has anyone else noticed MAB bites?????"

I've never seen anything like that topic on this board, and until last night I never noticed that MAB bites.
But after last night?
It was only the acrobatic skill of DP that prevented MAB from earning an assist on the game winning goal BY VANCOUVER. (on more than a handful of occassions).

I find Nolan's so called punishment of combining a "doghouse line" silly. In the VAN game he ended up punishing Bergenheim and Comeau by that decision, because neither got much ice time. What a way to punish the slackers by cutting down the ice time of those two. Nolan just doesn't have any respectable consistency in his decisions as far as I'm concerned. Vets not scoring for 20 games is acceptable, Tambellini not scoring when he gets pitiful ice time with no PP is completely unacceptable. Next year another round of one-year vets and much ado about the greatness of low-scoring fourth-line "character" players, I predict.

That had to be the best one point steal all year... might have been two if anybody on the team could score.
There are a couple of things we can take from that game.
1. DP is definitely our MVP.
2. This team has absolutely no depth at any position but center, and there they are only deep with 2nd and 3rd liners.
3. There needs to be some level of turnover this year. They pretty much need a whole new first line. I'm okay (unlike others) with Comrie as the #1 center, if they get better on either side of him. I have a feeling that guys like Walter and tambellini aren't playing becasue their roles (2nd and 3rd liners) are full.

At the deadline Satan, Tank, Sillinger, Hunter, Gervais, MAB, Berard and/or Meyer need to be shopped. Not so they can bring a 30 goal scorer, but so they can make room for guys like Comeau, Walter, Tambellini and Okposo to get some ice time. Then they need to address first line and defensive concerns in July.

If nothing else losing three of those players frees up some ice time and gets a few draft picks. The team isn't horrible as long as they move forward. At this juncture they can afford to take a step back, so that they can move forward in July.

I think the biggest problem is that the organization owes it to the fans to keep the game entertaining. A few more stinkers like that and they will start to lose fans. As somebody pointed out earlier, one of the more entertaining periods in recent history was when Sterling was ousted and Shaw was coaching a hungry AHL team (Bergy, Nilsson, Nokie). It's time to get a little younger... and they have some chips to do that.

I just do not see how you are ok with Comrie as a #1 center. I respect your opinion, but from what I see he is a #3 (#2 maybe)

He is very soft, his shot is weaker than my sons, he show boats, and his passing is erratic at best. Not to mention his toe drag drives me NUTS!

He has skill. Just a spoile rich boy that plays when he feels like it!

Someone on this board did observe earlier in the season that this style of play would exhaust our guys and I think we're seeing the effects of that now. Also, the defense has been in steady decline since Marty got hurt. They were able to compensate for his absence for a few games but now the strain is showing. Helps explain why even Braveheart looks tired. Anyone know when Radek's coming back?

Completely Off Topic,
Just thought I would share it here, cuz it seems everyone enjoys a good laugh.
Take a second and go read Johnette Howard's article in the main pages about "Jessica Simpson, Giant's Secret Weapon".
It is EASILY the funniest, most entertaining piece of writing that I have seen in Newsday since I started blogging here last July.
In my humble opinion.
And judging by all of the nasty comments from Texans it really hit "Home on the Range".

After watching Islanders throughout the entire season, I am glad that Snow signed Tank, Hunter,and Comrie to a year deal because I don't see any skills in them. Hunter wasn't the same player as we saw him in his rookie season. He couldn't play at all and I don't know why we still hold on to him. Comrie can be a skilled player but he tend to hold out everytime he handles the puck. It seems that he couldn't know what to do with the puck and everytime he had the opportunity to score, he hit the puck like he didn't want to touch it. Nolan might be the best coach we had in decades despite we let Lavriotte go. The problem is that Nolan is not confident enough to let youngsters play. Comeau has shown that he has the skills to play. Everyone thinks Hilbert isn't that great but I think he has skills. Of course we would choose Luongo over Dipietro and everytime i see Luongo on ice. I always thought to myself that it would be beautiful if Luongo remained in an isles uniform. We could say we could have got or kept those ex isles players but there is nothing we can do but hope for best in upcoming future. I believe that the best way is to trade for good offense players and youth. From what i have seen, Kesler from Canucks and Wolski from Avs would be a wise addition to Islanders lineup. Anyone have any suggestions about that?

I like Hilbert...and I think most of us do. We just aren't crazy about him getting minutes over the goal scorers, although recently that may be justifiable! One thing that really impressed me last night was Hilbert on the penalty kill. Not just his positioning and his play, but how he was yelling directions and really taking control out there. He did a great job winning battles on the boards down a man, too, and while DP was obviously the best penalty killer last night, I'd give a solid vote to Hilbert for second best. He's a nice hockey player...he just shouldn't be practically leading the team in minutes played is all...and I think that's the general sentiment of Isles fans.

Bossytime
"I believe that the best way is to trade for good offense players and youth. From what i have seen, Kesler from Canucks and Wolski from Avs would be a wise addition to Islanders lineup."

If you look at the NHL standings, particularly the East, you will see a logjam. With the exception of Ottawa, and TB.

And if you go to these "logjam" team's sites, blogs etc, everyone on THOSE teams is screaming for "good offense players and youth". Kesler and Wolski would be good additions to the Isles, AND every other team.
And the