In Net, the Replacements: Biron vs. Danis
by Dominik on Nov 6, 2009 3:53 PM EST
in New York Islanders Previews
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PrintSo Scott Gordon has shown again that the Islanders goalie platoon is not quite a straight-up platoon. He's putting Martin Biron in for a second consecutive start, saying he likes Dwayne Roloson against Atlanta (tomorrow's opponent) better.
The first thing that comes to mind is the Devils are 3-0 in shootouts, while Roloson is ... not that.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to this angle. If Biron can have one of his better nights against a foe he plays tough, I like the Islanders' chances. Rob Niedermayer's injury means Patrik Elias's return will be at center -- not Lemaire's preference.
Meanwhile, though we kick Danis around a bit, it's true he had some excellent peak performances last year. Gordon, not known to blow smoke to inflate goalies' egos, had this to say about when Danis turned his season around last year:
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a guy who played better during his stretch where he was on top of his game ... For me, he really cleaned up a lot of the little things that were missing in his game, and he worked at it. That's all you can ask for your players -- to work hard and get better -- and he did that."
Remember that Gordon was very, very hard on Danis earlier in the year, and appeared almost reluctant to play him even to spell the very busy Joey MacDonald. But during Danis' hot stretch, he was stopping shots at a .930+ clip and Gordon was crowing about his improvement. An absolutely miserable final 8 games is what sent his season back down, and his save percentage back to .910. Which Danis will we see tonight?
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Danis is just a cheap bridge till Frazee is ready to take over for Broduer. No reason to rush Frazee up till he’ll be playing more then 9 games a year.
And I think Frazee is just a bridge until … whenever Brodeur retires and they get someone big. I’m not sold on Frazee’s future, and those are going to be big shoes to fill.
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Don’t know about that, he looked pretty impressive last year for the AHL Devils. .920 SV% was actually better then anything he managed in College.
I don’t think its Lou’s style to get someone big. The way they are with goalies they’ll put Frazee in and if he bombs they’ll bring in someone elses backup for cheap and end up striking gold.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
