Islanders Gameday: Who dat gonna stop Blake Comeau?
by Dominik on Mar 4, 2010 1:40 PM EST
in New York Islanders Previews
36 comments
You're Blake Comeau. You're 24, you were a 2nd-round pick (hey, that's Andy Sutton value right there), and you were one of the select few young Islanders to shine under Ted Nolan. That brief 2007-08 splash got Islanders fans dreaming, but then you returned after the summer to find Nolan's successor believed you needed more AHL seasoning.
The road since then has been uneven -- healthy scratches, stretches of perimeter play, talk of "needs consistent effort," and the like. Except now you're on pace for your career-best year, and you've scored half of your 12 goals this season in the last three games, including your first career hat trick. Is this a turning point, or just a flash aided by Blackhawks LOLtending?
New York Islanders (26-29-8, 12th/E) at Atlanta Thrashers (27-24-10, 10th/E)
7 p.m. EST | [Some brand or something] Arena | MSG+, radio
Post-Ilya Survivors: Birdwatchers Anonymous
Reports of the Thrashers' post-Kovalchuk demise have been greatly exaggerated. Whether they can sustain it and make a return to the playoffs is an open, bubbly question. But it's interesting that one of the players brought in to make Ilya feel at home, Nik Antropov, is their leading scorer and a +18. That's not all Ilya's work; Antropov is a real -- and defensively responsible -- player.
The Islanders, who for some reason play the Thrashers well, are going for a sweep of sorts, having beaten Atlanta two times in regulation and once (the most recent meeting) via Tambellini-aided shootout.
An NHL Debut
With Andrew MacDonald receiving his "welcome to the Islanders, here's your injury" broken foot, the most interesting thing to watch is the NHL debut of Dylan Reese, who wasn't even Islanders property last weekend. Since moving to Bridgeport for Greg Moore in a likely pre-Sutton-dump re-allocation of resources, Reese impressed his new coach with a goal and an assist for the AHL Sound Tigers and got the call to join the club in Atlanta. With MacDonald's prognosis possibly taking him out through the rest of the season, Reese may have a golden opportunity he couldn't have imagined even two weeks ago.
MSG's Rob Carlin tweeted this about Reese, whose parents and first coach will be in attendance tonight:
Reese played with Freddy Meyer briefly in the minors.. also knew Robbie Schremp.. called him "a different bird".. but has a "ton of talent"
So Reese knows the secrets of Rob Schremp Hockey.
Atlanta Additions
The Thrashers were not busy at the deadline, but they did pick up useful Sabre Clarke MacArthur and physically imposing penalty taker Evgeny Artyukhin. If you're worried about someone taking a young Islander out with a silly check tonight, Arty's your man.
The Playoff 'Push'
I know many of you are still hoping for playoffs, and I totally respect that in a "Why else do you root?" kind of way. But the road is so daunting -- with 19 games left, four teams and five points separate the Isles from 8th place -- that it's starting to feel like too much for me to hear Garth Snow talk about them being "in the thick" of the playoff hunt. They're not really in the thick.
Getting even a modest 88 points now requires going 14-5 down the stretch, and we don't even know if that's adequate. Basically, it would take a Dubielewicz-level miracle to happen.
Yet of course they have to keep pushing, they have to keep growing together. They just have to do it with a very small, suddenly inexperienced blueline.
But for each game I'm still rooting them on for a win, come hell or Taylor Hall. That's why we do the game threads. That's why we're hockey fans.
Prediction: Reese gets his first NHL point. Many goals are scored, in accordance with the NYI-Atlanta scripture.
Apologies if "who dat?" usage has already run its course for you. I've got some deep ties to New Orleans and I don't really watch NFL football, so for me it's just a timeless nod to a great city, one to which Atlanta is as close as the Isles will get until Bettman expands to Baton Rouge. Besides, I mean still: Who dat say dey gonna stop the Comeau?
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Thank you, I’m here all week, tip your waitresses.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Whenever these two teams play, fun happens.
Fiya Minaya.
Reese dubbed Schremp 'a different bird'
So now it’s “Rob Schremp Hockey™: A different bird”
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Thats funny. I always wondered what Schremp’s teammates thought of him after reading all that stuff about him when he was in Oilers system about having “attidue problems” etc.
I’m sure he’s matured a little, and it sounds like the Edmonton years were sort of a worst-case scenario of hype/media/expectations/development/youth.
I had the same concern, but it seems like all year his teammates have taken to him. As far as a little cocky being what you like about him — that is a fine line, but I know what you mean. It’s a good trait to have in the right dose. A few different birds are good to have around if you can keep them pointed in the right direction.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
For all the talk of him being a one-dimensional goal scoring, his assist numbers have blown away his (non-shootout) goal production.
For what it’s worth, he walked on my team in NHL ‘10 after I offered him a pretty damn good contract. So fuck him, I’m done with Rob Schremp hockey.
Schremp Jell-o
RSH probably best exemplifies the dynamic of “making space” for the Islanders. He’s still finding his way a little, but there always seems to be room for Robbie. There aren’t too many Islanders over the past decade you could say that about. Definitley could see him as a 15-35-50 guy getting second line time and PP mins. If he scores 25 it would be awesome.
Man, his passing really has been good
Shame he walked on your NHL ’10 team though. Always about the money.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
I wonder if the Isles experience has helped him turn a corner. Being on a team with young talent and committed to a rebuild, having plenty of press box time to watch other prodigy 1st round picks struggle. Then fight for ice team against a doppleganger (tamby). Probably does wonders for the egomania
Done wonders for his vertical, too
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
4 Reasons the Isles WILL make the playoffs.
1. Tavares will go on a tear, helping his team win some games.
2. Players will start to get rested for the playoffs. We play alot of playoff teams.
3. DP’s out, Roli plays well when he plays more. He should play ALOT more.
4. They are really only competing with 1 team for the playoffs, the Canadiens. The Rangers blow, the Thrashers will come back down to earth, starting tonight, the Lightning have no heart, the Flyers have a 3rd string goalie. The Panthers already gave up. + the Laughs and Canes are already behind us. We’re in.
Coming up, the 100 Reasons the Isles WILL NOT make the playoffs.
Bwahaha
Well done all around!
Point 3 is one I’d forgotten about, but I am looking forward to having two goalies again. Wonder if Gordon will reset the #1 competition or just give the rock to Roloson to run with. (Can I mix more metaphors in one question? I can certainly try.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Comeau Gumbo, Schremp etouffee and an Ice cold Moulson
I think that’s the recipe for a very productive second line next year. Blake needs to bang a little more, but he’s starting to show why so many of us were rooting for him in the “Nolan years”
I don’ t think they’ll make the playoffs anymore…. they had a slim (slim as in see through bologna slim) chance with the Andies… but 11 of 19 would be a great note to end the season on.
No.
11 out of 19 would be a disaster. This team is not making the playoffs. It would be a wasteful to play themselves out of the fine lottery position they’re in right now.
No self respecting team is going to tank. No too mention that it is only 5 points. That is certainly not insurmountable, especially given the nature of a streaky team such as the one that the Isles can be. I agree with JP’s above statement though, that would be a pretty decent line 2. We’re not so far off of talent with the power teams in the league. It’s the little pieces we need to fit now.
i got 99 problems, but Streit gettin' hurt in the Olympics aint one!
76ers?
76-78 points is about where they’d need to finish to have a shot at the lottery. 11 wins gives them 82. If they performed well and finished with 78 points great… They are doing it with a defense that might be better suited to ride the 9th race at Aqueduct… so it wouldn’t be a disaster to wind up with the lottery pick. But if this team can win 11 or 12 I think they go into next year feeling pretty good about themselvs.
…and for Scott Gordon these last 19 are going to be like the 2010-11 preseason… so any momentum he can build will be important.
Gordon
We’re nearing that time, aren’t we? How they finish this year out will be on his report card. And next year begins the final year of his contract (unless they quietly extend him), so we’ll start to exit the probationary period and enter a little more of an open-ended one.
I know Snow’s very happy with him, but the stakes increase in 2010-11.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Goalie Nostra
The trilateral comission of the New England Goalie Mafia will be here for a long time.
1. Garth is in charge. He’s done a good job, and Wang has more pressing issues (that is not a dry cleaning joke)
2. DiPietro is here for 12 more years (or his contract will be for 24) whether we like it or not.
3. Gordon has the soft fluffy pillow of managed expectations. There hasn’t been one iota of pressure on the guy to make this team better. He has (and I have not been a fan of the guy, still think he has big issues) done a pretty good job with the ingredients in the kitchen. He’ll get two more years, and should live through at least one of them with a playoff series win next year… after he becomes a WINNER all bets are off. (see NYI post 1995 history)
Agreed on all counts. I fully expect him to be around for a while. I guess my subconscious is speaking: Come next season, I’ll start to feel I’ve seen enough to weigh whether he’s the right guy long-term. Thus far it’s been: Young coach, young team, weak roster, might as well experiment and see what he can do, let him evolve with the team.
I’ve always maintained this is the easy part of the rebuild: Most of the decisions are fairly no-brainer. It’s when your team actually gets good and you’re within reach of playoff damage that you have to make very difficult decisions with make-or-break consequences.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
3 things the Islanders might do....
1). Some how make the playoffs
2). Miss the playoffs and lose a better 1st round pick
3). Tank (like we did just before the Olympics) and possibly get Taylor Hall playing on the left wing of Tavares.
Id prefer 1, its not happening.
2 is definitely possible.
3 is NOT possible because real teams with real players do not “tank” for a stupid ass draft pick. And if they did, Id want Garth to dump every single one of them because they would be pieces of shit who arent worthy of keeping.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Mar 4, 2010 7:04 PM EST up reply actions
best we are likely to get is #3
there is a remote possibility that the Oilers draft Seguin and Boston would rather have an elite defender instead of Hall. That’s the only way short of an unlikely tradeup that we get Hall.
BC, do you really WISH that the players on this team had no integrity and character?
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Mar 4, 2010 7:35 PM EST up reply actions
Did I say that I did?
I said that the best pick we are likely to get is three. Oilers and Leafs are too far behind for us to get #1 or #2. My guess is that we will get about 15-20 more points, finish with 75-80 points on the year and the Canes will pass us. One caveat: if JT gets his scoring touch back, we MIGHT get back in the mix and finish higher.
Playoffs aren't happening this year
Not with this blue line. No way.
Snow is right that the team is in the thick of things. That’s not incorrect to make that statement. The team is on the playoff bubble right now and I would say eight points out would be considered out of it at this point. The team is hanging in there. I just don’t buy that they close to the deal.
These, inlike last year at this time, are meaningful games and a good experience for the kids. They are high intensity and not one team is taking this Islanders team lightly. And yes, we can also attribute that to Tavares’s scoring woes right now as well.
Who Dat
New Orleans has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country, and how do we fix that? by making “who dat dere gonna beat dem saints” or any other permutation a socially accepted phrase. enough already.
Apples. Oranges. Let’s eradicate the Boston accent while we’re at it — and those northerners who say “betcha” should be on watch, ‘cause we’re coming for them, too.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
We won't solve education problems by stamping out colloquialisms
Nawlins is also about the poorest city in the country. Improve the economy and illiteracy will plummet. Who dat?
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Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Jersey
|
82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 103 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 101 |
|
Philadelphia
|
82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 88 |
|
New York Rangers
|
82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 87 |
|
New York Islanders
|
82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 |
(updated 4.12.2010 at 9:21 AM EDT)
Islanders Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
@
Philadelphia
|
Wed 09/29 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Calgary
|
Wed 09/29 | 8:00 PM EDT |
|
@
New Jersey
|
Fri 10/01 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
New Jersey
|
Sat 10/02 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Montreal
|
Sat 10/02 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
|
Pittsburgh
|
Sun 04/11 | OT - L 5 - 6 |
|
@
New Jersey
|
Sat 04/10 | L 1 - 7 |
|
@
Pittsburgh
|
Thu 04/08 | L 3 - 7 |
|
Montreal
|
Tue 04/06 | SO - W 4 - 3 |
|
Ottawa
|
Sat 04/03 | W 4 - 1 |
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