Desperation Station: Islanders at Wild [open game thread]
by Dominik on Dec 19, 2008 6:30 PM EST
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PrintNew York Islanders at Minnesota Wild, Dec 19, 2008 8:00 PM EST
New York Islanders (10-18-3) at Minnesota WILD (15-13-2)
8 p.m. EST | [utility of some sort] Center | MSG+2 (twice the plus!)
Minnesota Wild blog, preview and links: Hockey Wilderness
If the world were righteous and just, we'd be playing in royal blue unis against a one-Stanley Cup team called the Minnesota North Stars with Mike Modano winding down his career, while some healthy expansion team would be doing just fine in a shiny Dallas arena as the NHL's best Sun Belt story.
But since it's not, we're playing a team that's a pretty fine model on how to start a team from scratch. (Alas, we can never get the last five years of the 20th century back.) Expansion prize Marian Gaborik's groin is feeling a wee bit wonky after his first game back. He must've bought that groin at the same shop where Mike Bossy bought his back -- although their hearts are of completely different makes [Sorry, gratuitous cheap shot. Please don't hurt us, Marian].
If you're a non-Islanders fan just visiting, I kind of buried the lead in the game preview: The big news is stalwart Brendan Witt shared honest thoughts on Scott Gordon's system, and it's drawn a mob of angry Newsday-like commenters on Chris Botta's blog into messy separate camps. Not pretty over there, and pretty hard to wade through. But Witt and Gordon are fine, having a philosophical debate among adults. [Second-thought edit: Okay, maybe "fine" isn't the word. There's a decent chance Witt opened the gate for some serious room tension/coach undermining here, or maybe began his path out of town. But my sense from the outside is that both men can talk intelligently about this issue ... and if there's a departure, it will serve both better.]
The debate -- for sober thinkers, anyway -- is whether Gordon should stick to the long-term plan and find out who doesn't fit his system, or if he should adjust his philosophy to try to make what he can out of players he has right now. I think fans on both sides love Witt, but some on the "win now" side are taking it as a chance to bash Gordon or Snow or The Plan or, bizarrely, Charles Wang.
Witt, for his part, is a respected defensive leader wearing an "A" who wants to win at all costs, so he says adjust your approach to fit the (underskilled) team you have. Gordon says try it for a full 60 minutes first, then we'll see. Both sides have merit. The elephant in the room here is that it doesn't hurt the Isles -- in fact it probably helps -- if they finish in last this year and get the top pick. The other elephant is that the vets at the end of their careers didn't sign up for that -- even though, realistically speaking, they very much did.
Yours truly is on the long-view, system side: Islanders teams have simply tried to "make do" for too long. This time, the revolution must carry on without interruption.
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Comrie and Okposo
Comrie’s missed 17 games. Okposo’s missed 13.
It’s shocking how excited I am to see them in the lineup, when I don’t expect much from either coming off that layoff.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
It's funny
I’ve been keeping a close eye on Brendan Witt’s play lately anyway, since I thought something was amiss. And now after his comments, I find myself looking really closely already. The idea of a respected vet trying to play a system he doesn’t believe in is pretty compelling.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
So far
Comrie’s looked good, displaying skill we haven’t seen much of (I’m sure the toe-drag will come out soon).
MacDonald stopped the solo break-in, yay.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
"Marc-Andre Bergeron has learned a lot from Jacques Lemaire"
So that’s what it took. MAB is doing well — and still in the lineup! — for the Wild, so good for him.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Yikes
Wild long-range short-handed effort hits the post.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Come on, Captain McNulty
Bad penalty by Guerin, avenging an vulnerable hit on Witt. I think Witt can handle himself just fine.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
The hit was by Clusterf(b)uck, btw.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Sequence:
Couple nice setup attempts by Okposo for Guerin.
>Then Pock’s slapper hits Burns square on the front of the foot, just broke him.
>>Then Park draws a penalty.
That’s positive. Nothing is f*cked here, Dude.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Whoops, wrong.
Apparently the penalty is on the Islanders. New $hit has come to light.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Big save, MacDonald
On Gaborik, who had it all alone on the PP
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Dammit, 'nother Wild PP
Pock delay of game, clearing the puck out.
(restrains self from punching things)
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
End of 1st, 0-0
Isles will be on PP to start the 2nd.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Intermission special: Buying toys for kids in the hospital
Which confirms:
- hockey players are nice and do good community service
- hockey wives are hot
- there is a young Freddy Meyer V. The legend continues!
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
The highlight of the night was seeing Guerin playing around with FMV.
by Islanders Outsider on Dec 19, 2008 11:40 PM EST up reply actions
Heh
Well put. I think that was the last time I smiled tonight.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
No shots on first PP, but here comes the 5-on-3
They’ve been working it nicely on the PP. Nice to have Comrie back.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
And a goal! 1-0
Nice work on the 5-on-3. Weight down low to Comrie, Park bangs it in.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
...you were saying :)
Another big save! Nice to see … he’s due.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
The goalpost mind trick
was a nice touch.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
re: the opener
Thanks. I obviously don’t get over stuff like that very easily :)
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Ugh
Killer at the end of the period.
Isles running around in their own zone finally caught up to them.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
the Wild are playing so much better than the Islanders right now. How they’re not leading by 3 or 4 is all because of Joey MacDonald.
Ah, that was a deliberate jinx on your part!
Could see that coming.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Shots are 30-10 Minnesota at 6:07 into the 3rd
We’re just watching MacDonald great saves, then breaking out together before becoming just individual non-shots in the Wild zone.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
I thought that one was in … couldn’t believe my eyes there.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Which is funny, because both times he played the Caps were pretty poor games. So Japers’ Rink thinks he’s horrendous and thought I was insane for saying he was the reason the Isles (at the time) were even anywhere near .500.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Hey, a shot!
Oh, Park of course. Decent chance, solid save.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Ugh, 3-1 Wild
Well, we’ve seen this movie.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
And in other news, Andy Sutton has left the game with a broken foot
Fantastic. We. Are. Wounded.
Not so much that we’ve had a lot of man-games to injury (we have), but almost everyone has spent time out hurt, so no continuity for Gordon.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
This is the kind of stuff you miss
when there’s no audio for the entire broadcast.
by Islanders Outsider on Dec 19, 2008 11:41 PM EST up reply actions
You had that, too?
Man, it seems like that affected tons of people.
For once, I feel “lucky” to have to depend on whatever feed Center Ice gives me.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Oh, almost got one back
Puck popped by Bailey with the net open.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Wild goal, 4-1
What a move and rifle by Bouchard.
The score is starting to reflect the run of play.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
When you can't play 5-on-5
… and you’re dependent on your average power play for goals, you at least need to work hard enough and smart enough to draw penalties. That hasn’t happened tonight.
First PP since early in the 2nd (when they scored, incidentally).
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Man
If you guys had any defense at all, you might not be too bad. Oh, and you shouldn’t have to rely upon the AARP crowd to score for you.
Yeah
The defense is a mess.
The hope was that some of the youngsters would score but … not so much.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
That was no PP
I fear we are entering the phase of a bad season when even the players realize there’s no hope for playoffs, and a losing streak like this washes away any remnant confidence.
It will be interesting to see how Gordon handles getting them out of this funk. It may take the return of DiPietro to goose a little life back into them.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Final: 4-1
Season-low 16 shots on goal.
I’m sure Fritz saw the ice but I never noticed it. How bad does that suck to sit and get cold on the bench all game for a team like this?
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Ouch
39-16 in shots. That’s rough, but I hope you guys play well and rebound tomorrow night against the Preds.
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