Deja Vu: Islanders fall 4-2, this time to the Devils

Tambellini has always had talent. He just hasn’t been able to parlay his talent and physical abilities into success at the NHL level. Since Garth’s focus is not on contending this year anyway, there is no reason not to give him and Moulson—among others—every chance to prove themselves. Listening to JT’s postgame interview, it seems that he and Moulson have a history and that may account for their apparent chemistry (and, possibly, may be why Moulson was signed in the first place).

I think it was part how he was managed way back in the beginning (“Here, score! But if you don’t, it’s back to the third line. But why aren’t you scoring? Go to Bridgeport. No, stay!”) and part confidence and his own trouble asserting himself. Not excusing him, but he didn’t have the most ideal conditions to succeed.

But I’m still very, very skeptical because it’s just preseason (so many half-rosters to play against … every preseason creates some weird temporary bursts) and I don’t know if he’ll grab top-six minutes over the others. It’d be a great story though — and testament to patience — if he can start putting up some points.

I agree Snow might as well use one more season to throw whatever he has out there and see who grabs a spot.

I believe Moulson already has shown some chemistry with JT and it seemed as if he was bantering with the reporters about a previous history with Moulson and I wouldn’t be surprised if Moulson’s signing was not a coincidence.

Don’t know that the Devs will ever have the downswing you are hoping will happen. There may be issues with Marty and with Frazee, but as long as they have Lou, they will have a competitive team. Perfect example: many teams passed on Jacob Josefson because he performed badly in the world juniors. They either did not know or did not care that he was battling a stomach virus at the time. Lou and his scouts knew better. They knew that his coach who had also coached Washington’s Backstrom has said that he is better than Backstrom was at the same stage in his development. They knew it and they moved up and grabbed him. I had hoped that we would draft Hedman and Josefson 1-2. Trust me, this guy will be terrorizing the Atlantic division in a year or two.

I don’t think that it is as important that the Devs go down as that we go up. To begin with, I don’t think that we compete for the same fanbase that they do. They appeal to NJ and Westchester while our market is Long Island and Queens. There may be some crossover, but not much. I actually think that failure of the LightHouse and a move to Queens may, along with a successful rebuild, be the best thing that ever happened to this team in terms of expanding and sustaining the fanbase. Don’t worry about Lou and the Devs. They’ll get their Ws. We have to start getting ours and expand our fanbase.

Last I checked the Isles were in Uniondale, not Westbury. Unless you are calling a cab, good luck getting to the Coliseum from Westbury in less than an hour. It simply is easier to get to the Pru Center by mass transit from the boroughs than to the Coliseum.

The logical place for the Isles, in my view, is alongside CitiField and the US Open venue and Flushing Meadows Park. Access to the LIRR and the subway would make it easier for even most Long Islanders to get to the new arena. And Queens definitely wants us.

Most folks coming from the boroughs will not have friends on the Island to give them rides. Taxis are expensive and there is often a considerable wait. Going to the Coliseum from anywhere really without a car is problematic unless you have a friend pick you up which isn’t the reality for most potential fans coming from the boroughs. Using train and bus, which is what most people would have to do, it would certainly take 2-3 hours from most anywhere in the five boroughs versus 1-2 hours at most to the Pru.

Dom, check out my fanpost on the subject. If LightHouse does somehow go through, I think the most practical solution is to run extra trains on the Hempstead line of the LIRR which terminates a short walk from the main Nassau bus depot and just two miles from the Coliseum. Then the MTA could buy a few ectra buses dedicated as shuttles before and after games. Fans could be given free or discounted fare on the train and bus upon presenting tickets or online receipts. Of course, the best solution, in my view, would be to move the team’s home to Queens adjacent to CitiField and the US Open venue where there would be direct connections with the LIRR and the #7 subway line.