NEW YORK ISLANDER FAN CENTRAL

Sunday Quick Hits/Notables

2009-11-08T15:36:00.005-05:00

A few new things on this Sunday that I have not been twittering about.

I would suggest all readers here subscribe to NYIFC twitter page so you get plenty of updates daily or just follow the feeds/crawls here with the latest.

As for the hockey and this blog entry....

Quick hits:
* For the 09-10 New York Islanders take it in five game segments, do not look too far beyond that or project where they may or may not be and don't worry about what anyone wrote in their preseason predictions. Most media outlets have enough problems covering one team much less thirty.

* I'm looking forward to the road trip, schedule has a lot of teams on paper the Isles should compete with and get more than their share of points, if they don't that goes on the players/coach.

* I would suggest you prepare for a trade/transaction from Garth Snow, the loss of Radek Martinek, which is huge leaves this defense painfully thin with several others who's trends suggest it's not a matter of if, but when they do sustain an injury. I do not see any kind of long-term answer in Bridgeport between Katic, Kohn and MacDonald.

It's also obvious Mark Streit seems overworked in games.

It's a minor miracle the group stayed healthy as long as it did based on the career records of the individuals on the backline. Martinek, if possible will be back for the final year of his contract but the coach got it right about his value to this defense.

* It's also fair to write Doug Weight simply cannot stay healthy for very long, he played well the last week, did not look like a liability at even strength and did the board work that led to the goal Tavares scored on Monday against Edmonton. There is no answer given the current production in Bridgeport at right wing nor is Jon Sim on that side of the ice part of the answer.

Nothing there I have not twittered about already.

* When Rick DiPietro returns to full practices and travels with the club then we can discuss when he will get a start in Bridgeport or somewhere else. Barring any problems or set backs until that happens there is nothing else to write.

* I have no preference between Roloson or Biron starting and if the split goes fifty vs fifty so be it. Both will have streaks and slumps, Biron seems a bit more mobile but Friday reminded me how quickly he can let in a very soft goal. Both know the circumstances when they signed and their play will determine what Scott Gordon does.

* So now the trend/changing climate is no more head shots in hockey (including clean hits) but you can always fight someone and punch them in the head and that's only five minutes even if someone is fatally injured? This seems almost impossible to legislate out of hockey because players put their heads down during games or sometimes duck or are off balance.

Hits to the head, inadvertent or otherwise will continue regardless of the league penalty.

Funny but when Gary Roberts started his run from center ice during the 2002 playoffs and finished by taking his hands and slamming Kenny Jonsson's head into that new glass in Toronto no one made the same complaints for changes?

This almost feels like the immediate change years ago because one young individual suffered a fatal injury being hit by a puck. If you remember all NHL facilities immediately had to have nets surrounding the area behind the goals and that is the way it's remained to this day. Who knows if it may have saved another life or if to date it had made no difference at all?

Of course to ask that question is to answer it, no one else has been injured or worse.

* What a surprise the Detroit Red Wings have injuries and on this day have the same amount of points as the New York Islanders with a few games in hand, perhaps this means we will read more about man games lost to injury in hockey and not x is just a bad team with a ton of front-loaded contracts like Detroit.

Fear not, Wings have more media salesman than the Islanders, we have subscription coverage, Ranger die-hards at Newsday creating perception and a few papers with blurbs as our entire print media.

When a team has sustained injuries after a while no one wants to read that as an excuse for losing because everyone is frustrated, will the spin be different out of Detroit if this continues?

Islanders for those wondering are still in the top five in man games lost, it's a bit padded with Jeremy Reich but nothing was padded about last season.

As for the media....

* Will Dan Martin of the Post or his editor give us a break using his three or four paragraphs to tell us about announced attendance at every Islander home game or is he in that bad a mood he has to drive out and do an article? If it's that aggravating to cover our team please stay home or ask for another assignment and save us all the grief?

It's gotten very old, Mr Martin and there are a lot of good story lines about this team so far.

* Anyone notice even before Newsday's subscription coverage those Islander Insiders went away this year (so much for enhanced coverage) and as soon as the Islanders started winning/Mr Wang stopped speaking Mr Herrmann, Staple, Baumbach stopped writing about them?

I guess winning some games does not merit coverage for those who did subscribe?

Did you really expect Mr Botta to go there now that he is on the other side of the fence in terms of coverage? Minus.

* Mr Howie Rose, a little respect toward one of this sports all time greats in Jacques LeMaire. Tom Renney trapped for close to four seasons in Manhattan and never faced the shots/insults you were very quick with during Saturday's telecast.

* Speaking of Newsday how come Mr Zipay is not blistering the Rangers as Greg Logan and staff (along with Mr Botta) did last season for not disclosing injuries when the coach says a goalie will start but is only healthy enough to dress as backup while management plays the upper/lower body game and will not give specifics?

Seems like a big double-standard to me.

* Sunday's Daily News did not even have the AP coverage of Saturday Islander win with baseball season over and no excuse for a writer/Peter Botte/Kristie Ackert not around for postage stamp coverage of New York Islander home games.

If an article was written, I could not find it.

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Next Hurdle: Nine of Ten on the Road for NY

2009-11-04T10:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, the New York Islanders saved their season for now, won four games in a row they had to have.

What a difference seven days, four wins and eight points can make.

Unlike last year for the most part they have stayed surprisingly healthy, especially on the backline, even with a lot of players struggling to balance out the scoring.

Still they wake up fifth in the Atlantic on 11/4 but in a playoff spot with nine of the next ten on the road, with little room for anything but piling up points and maintaining a streak where they at the very least get games to overtime.

Now we see if they can win on the road, there is no hiding in this league if you cannot win games in other teams buildings. Look at the Devils road record who New York will visit Friday.

Welcome to the next hurdle, the 09-10 New York Islanders survived the first hurdle.

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Election Results not good for LH/Islanders

2009-11-03T22:56:00.005-05:00

Consider this our only political blog entry ever.

Seems like a terrible night for the Lighthouse.

Nassau County website is updating all races here with Kate Murray winning huge (projected winner) and Tom Suozzi at this time trailing the Republican Edward P Mangano for county executive by the slightest of margins. I'm not sure how TOH board works but it seems the Republicans will easily maintain their majority there and have gained in Nassau Legislature to a point the Democrats could lose their majority.

What this means for Suozzi's negotiated lease with Wang-Rechler remains to be seen but if at some point his lease is not approved in an eventual vote Wang would be out of his Islander lease immediately.

It should be noted Mr Mangano is advertised as pro Lighthouse if he does win.

Final Update Regardless 12:00AM:
Suozzi-Mangano is a statistical dead-heat at this time but Suozzi cut 3,000 vote deficit to take slight lead. Fox News projects Al Gore the winner in Nassau.

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NYIFANCENTRAL.BLOGSPOT.COM OPEN

2009-11-01T21:22:00.010-05:00

NYIFANCENTRAL.blogspot.com is the new blogger edition to the New York Islander Fan Central family that officially opened on Sunday joining with the New York Islander Fan Central Prospects Blog and our new primary posting format for entries at @nyifancentral Twitter Page.

NYIFANCENTRAL.blogspot.com is the generic version of this page without all the bells and whistles you see here in a quick loading format. A few folks have requested such a page and it's something I have considered since re-opening here.

All entries since 2007 have been imported to the new blog. The idea behind this is everything posted here also should automatically post there with the exception of twitter updates which everyone can link to for the latest.

NYIFC Notable:
The only problem with our proud name of New York Islander Fan Central from the beginning has been the length so at times some editing was done to NYIFC or NYI FAN CENTRAL as abbreviations and I feel it's caused some very minor confusion.

Just to clarify because I have never done so since July 2007 New York Islander Fan Central is the official name for all versions of our sites, twitter pages and feeds.

Five Hundred, Questions Remain About Gordon

2009-11-01T06:38:00.011-05:00

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No dream.

On this day where most get an extra hour of sleep the New York Islanders wake up at NHL five-hundred in a tie for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after beating one of the best even strength teams in the league and driving one of the hottest goaltenders to the bench.

Someone even knew to throw the traditional sombrero for a New York Islander hat-trick.

The Islanders Saturday did what they failed to do last season already and that's fight all the way back to five hundred. A year ago they got within a period against Pittsburgh but gave up a big lead and a few games later the freefall was on.

It is impressive how they rallied for three wins this week and how they have been competitive in virtually every game all season with a very tough schedule. They were outplayed for big stretches against Washington and Buffalo but got some goaltending and a few friendly goalposts or it easily could have been different.

Having written that Scott Gordon's lineup decisions still raise serious doubts and make me wonder how much better they should be already because this years success was not tied to John Tavares or Matt Moulson's production.

The players that should be tied to Scott Gordon's success for the most part have failed in terms of production at a point they must produce.

* I watched Jeff Tambellini in preseason/opening night and wondered where this team would be if they could get him a scoring right wing with speed/skill and just left him in the lineup? I'm only surprised Doug Weight got him the puck at even strength in last night's game. Out of Tambellini's three goals I was more impressed with the shot he took just before he scored his second goal because he got to the perfect spot on the ice.

Outside of Tavares, Tambellini he has the best hands on the roster and arguably the best shot, he has talented young centers around him, he needs a right wing with speed and offensive skill to get him the puck on the move. I see the same work from him I saw several times last season when he fought to get to the high quality spots but he has to get the puck to be effective.

*I look at this roster and wonder why is Jon Sim after his strong AHL finish last year playing right wing so Nate Thompson can dress in Sim's natural left wing spot where he does his scoring? Sim came here off back to back seventeen goal seasons and was outstanding at the end of last year even producing before his demotion.

A fourth line of Sim-Park-Jackman/Weight would produce enough goals to make their minutes even more valuable and when putting up numbers would produce like a second line. You need an offensive game dress Weight, a physical game dress Jackman. Park and Sim in those spots will produce enough to merit dressing them every game.

I would guess Sim's spot on the right side ends with Hunter's return.

* For about a year now I keep asking the same questions about Nate Thompson because he does nothing at either end of the ice that stands out, he's not the next Aaron Asham in the fighting department and he will never score like Sim or Park when they get hot for a few games. This is not developing a Bailey, Tavares where you take their production as it comes.

* I'm very happy Doug Weight is getting powerplay points and even a few at five on five. He made a great pass to Tambellini for his second goal and his late game breakaway speed was impressive. Having written this he is not the answer on right wing or at even strength on the top three lines. What stood out the most for me Saturday about Weight was the Islanders only powerplay where he took a harmless shot from an impossible angle with no screen in front of the goaltender.

* Blake Comeau sits or skates on an off wing and the coach questions his ability to play to the whistle in the paper? Every time Comeau is switched to the right wing he struggles, he was brought into the NHL as a left wing and he needs to play that side. It did not work when Ted Nolan did this and it does not work now.

I'm aware Comeau played right wing as a prospect, if Matt Moulson or another left winger's production/play make him the odd-man out that's ok but Comeau has not been put in the best position to improve, again it has to be asked who has the better long term potential between Sim, Thompson or Comeau?

* I see the same Sean Bergenheim when he first came up before the lockout, he generates his chances and works hard but for him to be stuck on zero goals with few points is unacceptable. I cannot blame the coach for the player not finishing but I can question the coaches choices who have played right wing with him.

* I completely agree with Scott Gordon in terms of Rob Schremp being a center or not playing, but this only makes me question even more how he has moved other players from wing to wing.

Bottom line fair or not Scott Gordon's 2009-10 ability in terms of production and developing players should be mostly based on Bergenheim, Comeau, Nielsen and Tambellini. So far the coaches choices seems to have held back that production for three of them with Nielsen injured. Of course Scott Gordon has a few square pegs for round holes and not enough natural right wings with top three scoring ability, he also has too many left wingers but unlike last year he has depth and competition for spots.

For Tavares, Bailey and even Kyle Okposo it's still far too early to expect production but the coach wisely is putting them and leaving them in their natural positions. That is all he should be doing besides teaching them two-way hockey and keep the pressure off of them.

I have no doubt Scott Gordon is also doing all he can to keep the pressure off of Bergenheim, Comeau, Tambellini and Nielsen as well. He outright said Bergenheim should not worry about his numbers a year ago and as soon as that came out he started scoring. This is what a good coach does and where Gordon has succeeded but the numbers so far have not been what they need to be.

As for the 2009-10 New York Islanders I'm not sure what happens from here with a ton of games ahead, some of these players are not durable enough to last eighty two games. The lineup changes will continue but the players are here to stay competitive in games and this has been a schedule mostly of excellent teams from last year or hot teams from this year.

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NYIFC Notables & A Regulation Win

2009-10-29T07:05:00.002-04:00

* About fifteen plus twitter updates with links to articles in last day so no need for full blog entries here, nothing I can add that I did not write already.

* Added link to Mr Botta's efforts as Pat Lafontaine runs NYC Marathon for Companions in Courage to benefit local hospitals.

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Forget The Payroll, Stick With The Plan

2009-10-27T22:23:00.014-04:00

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Seems a lot of media and fans never learn.

It makes no difference what is spent on payroll but that Garth Snow stick with his plan, that's a point many do not seem to get as they write or discuss New York Islander payroll and the roster.

You remember that plan, the one most wanted Mike Milbury to follow but did not show up and support a decade ago? I guess some want Bergenheim, Nielsen, Comeau, Tambellini traded or even Okposo, Bailey not here or in the minors.

From Boedker in Phoenix or Filatov in Columbus no matter how you do it there will always be questions and no perfect answer unless a player produces immediately.

Why is it so hard for some folks to understand this team went into the summer with most of it's forwards and all it's defenders signed to one way contracts already (less Nate Thompson's two way deal) and that this is not a payroll or ownership commitment to save money no matter how it's spun but sticking with your plan.

How many times did I write or audio blog during the summer that if you want to add you have to subtract. Did some of you even note all the one-way contracts here?

Nine, you have nine spots for your three top forward lines.

You want to make a point Garth Snow could have or should have traded players to add talent which increases salary that's fair enough but it still begs the question who?

I wrote about a trade of Hunter or not resigning Weight/Hilbert or moving Richard Park. We all know there was Jon Sim bouncing up and down the waiver wire. I also wrote about trading for Dany Heatley or even claiming Avery last season so I'm not immune to changes but ones that do not alter the plan.

This team up front went into July with virtually no spots available to make such a signing without changing it's plans.

Forwards: Tambellini, Comeau, Bergenheim, Okposo, Nielsen, Bailey and Tavares take up seven of your top nine forward spots. After that it's Trent Hunter, Weight, Park, Jackman and Jon Sim.

Moulson for now is the surprise.

That's thirteen forwards not counting Nate Thompson's two-way contract or Rob Schremp claimed off waivers.

On defense Garth Snow went into July with six defenders all on one way contract with Jack Hillen eventually signed to a one-way contract with MacDonald, Kohn, Katic and in Bridgeport and a lot of prospects on defense.

They had one open position in goal and that's where the money was spent. You want to question the choices that is fair game.

Folks want to write or question the owners commitment or what his payroll is I suggest a little common sense and note the roster spots already taken by one-way contracts. This is not a video game where you carry twenty forwards and ten defenders.

Plus there are a lot of top nine forwards in Bridgeport that time and money have been invested in.

You want to blame the general manager for not adding a scoring right wing in a trade that's fair enough because it's what the team needs right now but with Okposo, Hunter and a spot required for Doug Weight it should not have been such a priority they change the plan.

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Bottom Line: It's getting late early

2009-10-23T23:16:00.003-04:00

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For those who feel this is a rebuilding year for the New York Islanders, think again.

Clock is ticking folks, another three weeks of this and we can start talking about next year. In this league you cannot fall ten points behind the final playoff spot and have five or six teams in front of you fighting for the eighth seed.

Look at the age on this defense or Park, Weight, Sim up front. All the years put into developing Bergenheim, Comeau, Nielsen or since taking on Tambellini in 2006.

That is not a rebuilding.....

We have done the numbers plenty of times, 10-12 games over five hundred now is not enough, you need to be in that 12-15 games over five hundred range with at least
ninety four points or better.

Bottom line, I don't care what's said before games, show us on the ice and save the words. No excuses this far in for the teams best offensive players to be Matt Moulson, John Tavares.

Either the coach gets the most out of these players or he has to go or the players are simply not good enough and they have to go.

The coach also has to resolve his lineup problems and put players in their natural positions or the general manager has to do his job and resolve them for him.

This team has one win based on bounces/redirections from Sutton and Jackman and they could not even hold on to the lead in that game.

Bottom line:
It's getting late early.

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