Islanders Bits: Many ways to describe a loss
by Dominik on Oct 21, 2011 11:06 AM EDT
in Bits o' Islanders News
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PrintHere on Oct. 21, the Penguins have played nine games while the Red Wings, Sharks and Devils have played four. So goes October in the funky NHL schedule, where some teams start in Europe and plenty fear football, both pro and semi-pro.
Saturday's Islanders opponent, the Panthers, have a tidy 3-3 record for six points, on the back of a 28.6% powerplay -- two successful 5-on-3's help -- while Florida continues to have the worst 5-on-5 GF/GA (0.36!) by a long shot.
This early stage is fun because of numbers like that, when there are so many moving parts, uncertainties and teams still figuring out who they are. I think we know who the Senators are, but still: Their GA/GP is 4.43! In five games the Islanders have secondary scoring and third-pair defense issues, but we could be discussing something entirely different by the end of the month. Meanwhile, Florida has 8 powerplay goals and just 4 even-strength goals. In October, that's the kind of ratio that can change in one night.
And if you needed that reminder, theScore discusses the myths and irrational thoughts of hot starts.
Islanders News and Links
Fun variety of headlines recapping last night's game:
- Official site: "Lightning show more desperation." Heh.
- Newsday: "Islanders fail to fire." Yep.
- St. Petersburg Times played the headline straight, but have Guy Boucher talking about a "pack mentality" and "suffocating the opponent," both of which describe last night quite well.
- And their columnist gives it the "Welcome back, Lightning" treatment.
- From Eric Hornick's Skinny: That was Ryan Malone's 19th goal in 38 games (!) against the Islanders.
- Our SBN siblings at Raw Charge give their take.
- The QMJHL team that holds Kirill Kabanov's rights needs D before their run at the Memorial Cup (they're hosts this year).
Meanwhile, in Drama
Newsday offers both "Roloson not bothered by" [blog] and "Roloson ignores" [regular story] P.A. Parenteau's comment after the Isles chased Dwayne Roloson in the last game. Roloson took the high road. That latter link also has a small update on the chronicles of Blake Comeau, who was counseled by assistant coach and GM adviser Doug Weight. They have faith, he said.
Islesblogger assesses the Comeau issue.
Islanders Hockey Blog thinks last night's late blender work means more line changes are coming.
But before last night's game, Jack Capuano told the Post that would not happen.
On the More Fun Side of Things
- Islanders’ Top Line Is Earning Points, if Not Yet a Nickname - NYTimes.com
- Video fun: NHL Live - John Tavares Video - NHL VideoCenter
- Trots Time: NHL Oldtimers Bryan Trottier singing Johnny Cash - YouTube (on skates!) | Bryan Trottier moustache shave - YouTube
- Gillies: Clark Gillies Gets Down - YouTube
- Anders Lee on your TV: VERSUS/NBCSN To Televise Two Notre Dame Home Games This Season " Puck The Media
- FIG Update: If you join our First Islander Goal game (it's not too late to start), Mike (ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles) has an update on the standings at the bottom of last night's FIG thread.
And a Little Bit of NHL This and That
- Good news for our Euro friends? (Depends.) NHL seals international TV mega-deal - SportsWatch
- Kerry Fraser's take on what happened when the Bruins
went crazyjust did old-time Bruins-or-Flyers hockey the other night. - The Fransie Awards: Gorgeous Backhand Shelf Goals | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
- Pretty wild proposals here that are fun to think about but will never happen: Hockey Prospectus | From Daigle To Datsyuk: Changing The Development System, Part 2 (Here is Part 1.)
Finally, for iPhone users: The v. 1.1 of the SBN iPhone app is on its way. Expect an Android app by the end of the year.
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the October schedule makes it hard to get feel for team
I mean I think many of us expected the team to be flat early, so I wasn’t surprised once they went down that they had a hard time finding that extra to compete.
I expectto see the team we saw the last 3 games…I HOPE
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Oct 21, 2011 11:44 AM EDT reply actions
Let me tell you something my friend.
Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
Success was survival and, kid, it still is
Wait - scratch that
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Success was survival and, kid, it still is
by IslesFanInNJ on Oct 21, 2011 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Jake: It’s a long story, something about the violation of expectations and a crushing loss of faith, and love, and life, and hockey.
Bill: So it’s the Islanders?
Jake: Yes.
Bill: I’ve had a little bit of hockey trouble myself lately. But it is better to have loved and lost, am I right?
Jake: They were a unique constellation of attributes; they were my Halley’s comet. But the NHL is designed to break your heart, right?
Bill: A philosopher as well as a fan, yes, it is we who suffer most.
Jake: Yes, with the possible exception of enforcers.
Hoping that Haley comes around more than once every 75 years.
by ilopan on Oct 21, 2011 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Too many Ls in Bill there, bud.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Oct 21, 2011 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Huh? From that comment your first reaction was to spell check?
Mine was to see what movie was being quoted. And – yikes – that might be more depressing than the abundance of Ls.
Success was survival and, kid, it still is
by IslesFanInNJ on Oct 21, 2011 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions
You spelled “Bill” correctly as far as the rest of the world is concerned… so it isnt exactly a spell check, more of a joke really.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Oct 21, 2011 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
NJ, I figured you would get the joke
Didn’t mean any harm, and if you’ve ever read any of my posts, I have no room to talk about typos.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Oct 21, 2011 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I must be dense
The joke is escaping me. Please elaborate, and do so gently.
Success was survival and, kid, it still is
by IslesFanInNJ on Oct 21, 2011 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions
It references a user who showed up
Spelled things differently, treated some people pretty horribly.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
haha, maybe
but the line seemed appropriate
Hoping that Haley comes around more than once every 75 years.
pretty sure
it’s Bil, not Bill on this site.
by DavidSweden on Oct 21, 2011 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Oct 21, 2011 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
The Tavares line getting Sedin-ed, while the Reasoner line gets also a lot of offensive time.
Discuss:
www.behindthenet.ca/nhl_statistics.php?s=63&f1=2011_s&f2=5v5&f7=5&f8=7&c=1+3+5+7+8+63#snip=f
(Yes it’s 5 games, but it is still very very bizarre.)
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
http://twitter.com/#!/garik16
Don't mind Sedin-ing the JT line so much; wonder if it changes a bit once they get road games in
The Reasoner thing is wild. Could it be just for (hoped for) faceoff prowess? (But there’s Martin up there too.)
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Reasoner
Could just be the opposition starting their top line in their own zone, and Cap sending that line out to face them; i.e. a product of matchups and almost all of our games being at home so far.
Tavares is Tavares.
It's possible but unlikely....you'd see that only if we were dominating opposing teams
But we haven’t really had any games (even the Tampa one) where we dominated possession. And even so it’s an odd choice – then you’d put out the Grabs line which is great in defensive ability while still able to score really well.
@Dom, Martin’s up there because of his time on the Reasoner line (for 3 of 5 games).
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
http://twitter.com/#!/garik16
Martin
Yeah, that’s what I mean: If they were sending Reasoner to win Ozones, I doubt they’d be sending Martin out there with him … unless he’s the only on #$%ing battling to win the puck after Reasoner puts it in play.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Just to confirm-I assume when you say we’d only see that if we were dominating time of possession you mean the other team would only be starting their top line in their own zone (in order to get them more ice time regardless of the situation). Is that correct?
If so, would dropping that part of it from my argument make sense. Basically that Reasoner’s zone starts are skewed because with so many home games early, the last change and matchups has dictated his zone starts more than anything else?
Tavares is Tavares.
You're understanding me perfectly.
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
http://twitter.com/#!/garik16
Reasoner's number
I think matchups and some accidental stuff have been the driving forces there.
As per Vic’s scripts two games mainly made the difference. He was out for 0 defensive zone draws (4 o-zone) against the Lightning at home and 0 (3) against the Rangers. Against the Lightning they went with Bailey against Lecavalier and Reasoner against the 4th line mostly. With Lecavalier getting favoureable starts that meant lots of d-zone draws for Bailey and then for Reasoner I think all faceoffs just happened to be somewhere else. In the (penalty-heavy) game against the Rangers I think Reasoner was right after JT in the rotation for some part and benefited from the work of that line.
I guess over a longer period of time mainly the trust they have in their 3rd line will drive Reasoner’s zone starts. Prior to the season I thought the 3rd line (Bailey’s line) would be most effective in an offensive role and Reasoner then start in the own zone quite a bit indeed. But then it looked like they rather wanted to have their top-3 lines doing the major workload and leave the rest for Reasoner. After all, given it was unsure what Martin and Pandolfo could do, that was a reasonable approach. But now, we’ll see who’ll play on which line…
Kind of confusing, right?
Why Bailey against Lecavalier? I mean it could very well be simply an early season glitch, but very odd.
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
http://twitter.com/#!/garik16
yes and no
Mostly it is confusing, yes, because I don’t think it’s the setup giving them the best chance to succeed. Some guys would contribute more effectively in other roles. The 4th line for example has been good, but of course not an offensive threat at all despite the favourable zonestarts and rather light competition. If you played them in more difficult situations they might not look as good anymore, might end up on the minus side even, but overall could still contribute more effectively for the team by freeing up some easier minutes for other lines. And well, if you’re looking for secondary scoring and are putting Reasoner’s line in some offensive situations I’m not sure you’ll be getting it. So, surely also Bailey’s line would contribute more effectively for the team in a different role, namely providing secondary scoring with the help of some favourable zonestarts. To do that when starting in the own zone two out of three times is probably too big of a task for that line at the moment.
On the other hand I get why’ve tried it. Individually Bailey, Rolston and Comeau are all solid two-way players who can do reasonably well against 2nd/3rd toughs. And they all expect and somehow deserve top-9 TOI. Martin and Pandolfo might have been bigger questions marks there prior to the season.
Not sure what we’ll see tonight. Florida seem to have some doubtful players. However, I guess behind Weiss and Goc, who’ll have their hands full with Nielsen and JT, Florida will try to send out Booth-Kopecky-Upshall in offensive situations and Capuano, antizipating this, will go in his own zone with who he feels comfortable with against this line.
lines
wouldn’t mind see something like this when Nino returns –
1 – Moulson – JT – Nino
2-Grabs-Franz-Martin
3-PA-Bailey-Kyle
4-Blake-Reasoner-Rolston
Martin on the second line
Can he keep up with them? If I’m not mistaken, he’s one of the slowest skaters we’ve got on the team.
I like that third line actually, I’m wondering if PA is more of a stabilizing force than people give him credit for. I’m wary of pairing too many headcases together, and right now Josh and Kyle are fitting the bill.
Official choice of Lighthouse Dog #1.
Gordon's biggest problem may have been constant line tinkering
Keep the lines together for another couple games and mix and match during the game to see who’s going. Hopefully Comeau got whatever message he was being sent and can be a part of the lineup. Martin is better suited for the fourth line right now. If Gillies isn’t even taking a shift I don’t see how he helps more than Comeau. Tampa is not a team that needs to be deterred.
not if they keep playing like they have
I mean they didn’t score last night but they were still good. I am all for shaking things up a little more for a few shifts if things are flat though. Keep the lines, but if guys start off like last night, just throw guys out together and see what happens.
Might be something to see Grabner out with JT once in awhile or MM with Frans
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Oct 21, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
No reason to tinker yet
Get Blake back in there, Parenteau is our best option on the first line and the chemistry is undeniable. Nino makes things a little more complicated but they shouldn’t be handing him a spot. If he isn’t ready going back to the WHL won’t be the worst thing in the world.
Constantly building for the future.
Rolston
He needs to be in the skybox. He is awful. I would rather watch DiBo or Haley take his spot.
Well maybe not awful
He certainly hasn’t been good. no argument there. And I noticed that despite his big shot, he’s definitely lost a step which makes him much less dangerous.
by SchneiderDiricov on Oct 21, 2011 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Thursday night on a breakout Rolston got the puck along the boards but too slow to go straight up the boards
he doubled back to reverse the flow but then he was too slow even for that and one of the forecheckers was about to cut him off as he headed back into his own corner so he tried to backhand it behind the net and up the boards on the other side but he didn’t get enough on it and Tampa ended up with the puck behind the net and then a great scoring chance. Rolston doesn’t look good out there right now. I don’t know what kind of role he’ll thrive in but its not happening right now. He is very slow. He has good hands and a big shot but right now the slowness is leading to turnovers.
Last night, the market corrected itself
Every team that on paper was better, won…regardless of weaker teams off to fast starts or better teams off to slow starts
by CanadianIsleslifer on Oct 21, 2011 1:30 PM EDT reply actions
I knew this would happen after a 4 day lay off...Its never a good thing when there is more than 1 day off between games...
So 2 or 3 days always seems to have an adverse effect on the teams ability to get their legs going and into the flow…So 4 days off was going to be detrimental…I don’t like the way the NHL runs things…
I would call this post-Ranger-game hangover
I feel like, at least over the past year, every time the Isles play a solid game and beat the Rangers, they come out flat the next game.
by SchneiderDiricov on Oct 21, 2011 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions
4 days off with a young team equals
"I'm afraid that I just blue myself." - Tobias Funke
by conorjay on Oct 21, 2011 1:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I don't know about you, but I just think that driver was hungry
And this team last night, they did not look hungry.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
by Dominik on Oct 21, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yes, Isles need a little more of this
Can we expect to see the Governator behind the bench soon?
by North Dakota Red Eagle on Oct 22, 2011 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
"No, No, No"
“It’s run FOR the border. Not INTO it.”
"He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot" - Mike Milbury on Ziggy Palffy's agent. On Twitter: @Dan_of_Science
I bet some people were experiencing
Disappointment at the Taco Bell.
Official choice of Lighthouse Dog #1.
Hey the sign said Drive Thru so he did
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Oct 21, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Yo quero
Brakes
"He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot" - Mike Milbury on Ziggy Palffy's agent. On Twitter: @Dan_of_Science
I like how you didn't even bother to looking up "brakes" in Spanish.
Official choice of Lighthouse Dog #1.
by Fabtraption on Oct 21, 2011 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Comeau in at LW tomorrow night
Jurcina praciticing…..gotta be replaicing Mottau soon
hopefully
Its Mottau and not Staios
"Failing upwards! How come I can’t ever seem to do that?" - AP77 on Strang's ESPN Job
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
by Mark D on Oct 21, 2011 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
If it's Staios I'll eat my foot.
Particularly after last game.
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
http://twitter.com/#!/garik16
by garik16 on Oct 21, 2011 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I do not want to see either of these things happen.
Better be Mottau.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Hate to say this........
and hope my obsevation is wrong, but – Since the cheap hit by Pheneuf in the preseason a couple of years ago Okposo seems to have lost a step in finishing, not just in scoring but in everything else. Another words the potential that fans saw for him in development has been slowed. Most observers say that this season he will have recovered from the shoulder injury and will become a solid 2nd liner. He is off to a slow start, and if the Isles are to succeed this season so must he.
WTF?
The Haley suspended for 2 games in Brideport? I couldn’t find video, but saw he didn;t play last night, and looked it up as saw he was suspended.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Oct 22, 2011 9:18 AM EDT reply actions
Him (2) and Donovan (1)
got headshot game misconducts and suspensions earlier in the week.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
Keith, do you know where video of this incident is?
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Oct 22, 2011 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Not really
you can check soundtigers.com for video highlights though…I haven’t seen it personally.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
Already tried that. thanks for the info.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Oct 22, 2011 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Don't think there's any video.
Fornabaio tried, wished for replay because what he saw at the time looked like (and was originally called) boarding.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
I may be crazy, but...
Why not try Comeau at RW 2nd line (FnCO) and KO and Martin with Bailey?
Comeau comes out flying after being scratched. Frans has 2 speedy wingers to spring.
KO and Martin free up space for Bailey.
FnCO: Producing breakaways since 2011.
by North Dakota Red Eagle on Oct 22, 2011 10:44 AM EDT reply actions
Comeau don't do no RW
He lacks “comfort” there.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
"Right wing? Mind as well just scratch me."
by North Dakota Red Eagle on Oct 22, 2011 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha
That would be awesome if that’s how it went down.
Cappy: “For the good of the accused, I’d rather not talk about it.”
Oh but I am…well I think considering the 3rd line is dysfunctional as is, it might be worth trying Comeau at RW on a functional line some time. Bailey and KO once played together, after all. That said, Comeau has never looked comfy on the right side, so who knows.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Thank god no DiPietro yet
I was scared when I heard he is already practicing with the team. If he really had a concussion, he shouldn’t risk another shot to the head so soon after the last one.
NYIslanders: Capuano says Nabokov will start tonight. #isles [http://twitter.com/#!/NYIslanders/status/127767285321564161]
Comeau will also likely play, since Rolston went home
StapeNewsday: Brian Rolston headed home this AM to be with wife for the birth of their child. Trevor Gillies in the lineup tonight. #Isles [http://twitter.com/#!/StapeNewsday/status/127761662831894528]
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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.
