300...Nabbed

Halfway through the season the Islanders are once again at the bottom of the standings. However, let's just take some time now to look at a great acheivment that was recently achieved by a great Islander. By looking at the title, I guess you know that I am talking about Evgeni Nabokov getting his 300th career win Saturday night against the Sabres.

Although his stats from Saturday might not be earth-shattering, this achievement is. (He made 23 saves on 25 shots on Saturday.) Only 25 other goalies have ever accomplished that mark. It has taken Evgeni Nabokov 583 career games to reach this mark. In retrospect, Mike Richter played 666 career games and only got 301 career wins. Legendary Hall of Famer Turk Broda played 629 games, and won 302. Former Washington Capital Olaf Kolzig played 719 games and only won 303. This puts Nabokov at a pace to pass all of the above goalies as well as Isles legend Billy Smith (305 Wins) by the end of the season. Doing so would put Nabby in 22nd place in the all time wins list. That is one heck of an accomplishment.

It's been a long road coming.

Almost 12 years ago to the day, Nabokov made his first NHL start on January 19, 2000 and matched Hall of Famer Patrick Roy shot for shot, the game ended in a 0-0 tie. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2001. He scored a goal in 2002. In his career with the Sharks, he played in 80 playoff games, winning 40. He also played in two All-Star Games and won a Gold Medal at the 2008 World Chamiponships for Russia. Things got a little bumpy from there.

After the Sharks told him he wouldn't be coming back for the 2010-11 season, Nabokov went to Russia to play in the KHL. Why? Nobody in the NHL wanted him. Four months into that contract, it was terminated by mutual consent between him and the KHL club. We all know what hppened when the Isles claimed him on re-entry waivers from Detroit last season, but now that can be considered a blessing.

Although it has been a rough year for Nabby, he has had his fair share of great moments. He is making the veteran minimum at $570,000. He got injured in November, then recently came back and has started the last eleven games. All of this led to win #300.

In my opinion, the Islanders need to keep playing him. He is regaining some of the form he had when he was with the Sharks. If he stays healthy, keep him rolling. But for now, let's bask in his 300th win. Congrats Nabby! Hopefully there are many more to come down the final 40 games of the season.



Lets Go Islanders!!!

An Off Island Experience

On December 26,  for the first time in my life, I attended an NHL game that was NOT played at Nassau Coliseum. I went to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers host the Islanders.

At every game I go to, I wear my blue Isles home jersey. But this time, for fear of it getting ruined, I chose to wear my "Haley 59" shirt that I bought at the end of last season. I figured that MSG would be a cruel environment for an Islander fan. I was waiting to be booed, yelled at, and I was half-expecting to get a beer dumped on me.

Walking into the Garden gave me a whole new perspective on hockey arenas. I had seats in the lower level, which was renovated over this past summer. The concourse was huge, there was a nice, clean, and shiny floor, as well as large well cushioned seats. The ushers were wearing suits and ties, unlike at the Coliseum where they wear sweater vests with Isles logos on them.

When I got to my seat, I could hear the guy sitting next to me mumble under his breath. "Great, we're sitting next to Islander fans." As the warmups began, the seats began to fill up. On Long Island, the seats are usually full at the bottom, but nobody is at the top during warm-ups. After warm-ups, I had a waitress bring me food directly to my seat. Too bad they don't have that on Long Island.

If your are wondering, everyone in the picture on the left is looking at PA Parenteau (off-camera), who has the puck. I guess the Isles are thinking if the goalie can stop 9 Islanders, he can stop 5 Rangers. Only problem, there is only 1 puck each time, and the Rangers are deadly accurate.








Suprisingly, the insults stopped there. After the first period, I was throughly satisfied witht the Isles effort. It was scoreless and Evgeni Nabokov was great. Unfortunately for the Isles, Henrik Lundqvist was also great. Less than 5 minutes in the game, Micheal Haley got into a fight, and had to leave due to an injury sustained in the fight. He had to take the "skate of shame" to the locker room after he had already sat in the penalty box.







As we all know, the Rangers went on to win the game 3-0. Rookie Carl Hagelin had a pair of goals and Marian Gaborik added a late empty net goal. This scene to the left shows the general hoopla after the puck crossed the goal line.


You can't blame the loss on Nabokov, he played great. You can blame the loss on a lack of execution by the Islanders. They tried to make the fancy play instead of just shooting the puck. Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head for the Rangers, making 28 saves for the shutout.

The facts are the Rangers are a very good hockey team. This could be their year. The Islanders are still searching for an identity.  The fans at the Garden realized that any insult they yell at me can't do enough justice. Simply looking at the scoreboard will do enough justice and makes more of an insult. Take a look at the scoreboard for yourself, and tell me that isn't an insult for Islanders fans.

Like I said, the Isles need to find an identity. If nothing shows up, we will be in for another long season. Thanks for reading. That's all I have from MSG.

 Lets Go Islanders!!!

From Devistation into Celebration

When the puck slowly slid across the goal line at the Prudential Center last Saturday afternoon, I can assure you that I was not the only Islander fan ready to give up on this team.
In my mind, and out loud, I was screaming, "What do they have to do to get a win?" As I was in the process of typing a tweet about how bad the Islanders are, the MSG+ crew was showing replays of the goal. I calmed down enough to watch the replays, and after THIS decision was made, a faceoff was irrelevant, and the Islanders somehow had came away with 2 points and their first road win of the year.

They can keep it rolling.

After that mini heart attack, the Islanders played a great all around day to close out November on a positive note. In Bufflo, Brian Rolston got the late backhander into the back of the net. Al Montoya was phenominal, making 30 saves and getting another win. A few points from these games.

1. Michael Grabner needs a breakaway coach, or to think less. In the last 3 games, Grabner has had almost 10 breakaways and a penalty shot. He only converted on one, and that was the one when he had no time to think about where he was going to shoot it.

2. David Ullstrom is really playing well. He is getting opportunites, and he is helping the team convert. He got an assist on the game winning goal yesterday, and he is playing like he wants to stay in the NHL.


3. Al Montoya is trying to end the Islanders goalie controversy. Last night, he was unbelievable in Buffalo, and he has played great. He is the #1 goalie. Rick DiPietro can wait, and whenever Evgeni Nabokov gets back, he should be traded.

A two game winning streak to end November is nice, but it will take a lot more to put the Isles back into playoff contention. Back to back games in Chicago and Dallas should be a real test for this club. Time to put up or shut up.

Lets Go Islanders!!!!

Consistantly Inconsistant

On Long Island, things are changing. Rapidly. Let's rewind to about a week ago, Monday November 14th.

On November 14, the Islanders had just gotten back after a long flight from Vancouver following a 4-1 loss. Al Montoya, Rick DiPietro, and Evgeni Nabokov were all healthy. Lastly, every Isles game jersey has had either blue, orange, or white as the main color. Oh, how things can change in 6 days. On Tuesday, the Rangers came into the Coliseum and thanks to a late flub by Josh Bailey, got a tie-breaking goal and left with a 4-2 win.

This picture pretty much sums it up. The Coliseum was packed with Ranger fans. And after the goal, you can see the presence of all the Rangers fans going nuts. The Rangers players are thrilled.

Evgeni Nabokov did everything he could do, but the Isles couldn't do anything in front of him.





On Wednesday, the Isles did something nobody ever would have expected. They unveiled a new, black jersey in a fashion show event at the Coliseum. My take on these jerseys is that they could be a lot worse, but I don't like them. Just my opinion. View them for yourself and decide whether or not you like them.

The following day, the Isles just held on long enough to squeak out a 4-3 win over the Canadiens. Jay Pandolfo notched his first goal as an Islander and his 100th career goal. Evgeni Nabokov started the game. But in the first period, Nabokov hurt his groin while saving a shot. He was placed on injured reserve the next day. He's out for about a month.
He was playing like the #1 goalie, but we all know how these things work out with the Islanders.


In theory, this solved the Isles 3 goaie situation. DiPietro and Montoya would play while Nabokov healed.

Yesterday, the Islanders were at home hosting the defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins. But before the game, the Isles did a suprising move and called up rookie Anders Nilsson, who had no previous NHL experience, from Bridgeport because Al Montoya had a hamstring injury. After the Bruins clobbered both DiPietro and Nilsson throughly, the Isles were left battered and bruised.




















So, here we are. The Isles are already on their 4th goalie. 2 are on IR, DiPietro is the HEALTHY one, and if things go wrong from here, the Islanders also have Kevin Poulin in Bridgeport, you may remember him from last year. He played great before having his season shut down due to an injury. The Sound Tigers also have former Ranger Steve Valiquette because they needed a goalie after Nilsson was called up. I wouldn't be suprised if the old former Ranger is in the Isles crest real soon.

To Top everything off, Sidney Crosby will play in his first game since January tomorrow against the Isles. As if luck was already against the Islanders....


Lets Go Islanders!!!

Lost on an Island

I'm sure you all know what is going  on right now. Let's just hope this is not turning into last season. I'll just leave it at that.


Lets Go Islanders!!

Finishing October Without A Bang

Well, a month into the season and here we are again. That feeling of, "What do they have to do to win a game?" is back. This is NOT the time to hit the big red panic button.

The facts are the Isles started 3-1-0, but went 0-3-2 since then.

In their last game, the Isles were on the wrong end of a tough call in OT, which might have cost them the game. Everyone seemed to know what happened, except for the guys in stripes.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

On a positive note from this game, oft injured goalie Rick DiPietro started, and played very well, allwoing 2 goals throughout regulation. The Isles powerplay got 2 goals in the second period, and they peppered Thomas Greiss with 37 shots. Overall a great game, but just an unfortunate outcome.

Photo Credit: Newsday

The Islanders have also yet to win a road game. Their best chance came in Pittsburgh last week when, after a rare Matt Martin goal, the Isles were up 2-0 in the third period. The Penguins came back and tied it against Evgeni Nabokov, who had been playing great. The game went to a shootout, and for some reason unknown at that point, Evgeni Nabokov simply left the game and Rick DiPietro came in for his first game action of the season. Even Isles announcer Howie Rose was baffled. He said, in complete shock, "What in the wide world of sports is going on here?!?!?" DiPietro played fine in the shootout, allowing a goal to Evgeni Malkin on a move that had DiPietro sliding before the puck left Malkin's stick. Unfortunately for him, the Isles couldn't match it.


The bottom line is, the Isles are not playing badly, they are just not winning. Their penalty kill ins #8 in the league. The power play is #10 in the league, both solid numbers. If these numbers continue to stay the way they are, the Isles will be fine. There is no reason to panic.

For the first time in 15 years, the Islanders host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, and that should make for a great game as last year the Islanders and the Atlanta Thrashers always played close, competative games. It's early, and eventually this will all work itself out.

Lets Go Islanders!!!

Studs and Duds

Well, here we are again, off to a fast start. The season is in full swing, hockey is back, and the Isles have shown plenty of promise through the first 5 games. There has been a share of highs and a share of lows. Now let's take a look at some of the players and their impact on the Isles 3-2-0 start.

Studs: 

John Tavares-After a quiet first 2 games, Tavares just exploded in the next two. Against Tampa Bay, it started with a fortunate bounce, and it ended with another goal and two more assists after one period. A couple days later against the hated Rangers...


Hopefully this is a sign of what things will be like the next few years on the Island. If he can continue at the pace he is at, then the sky is the limit for the former top draft pick.

Mark Streit-The captain is back. The Isles really missed their captain last year and his presence was felt quickly. In the game against Minnesota, Streit made a beautiful pass to set up a Frans Nielsen goal. He is the leader of the power-play and as you can see in the video above, he is responsible for most of the chances. He's completely healthy, and hopefully he will get back to the All-Star form he was at a few seasons ago. Welcome Back Mark Streit!






Jack Capuano's Gut- Apparently Jack Capuano knows something that we all don't. On opening night, he suprised everyone by naming Al Montoya starter. He stuck with the hot hand for the first 3 games, and Montoya allowed only 4 goals, winning 2 of his first 3 starts. Then, when everyone thought Montoya was going to get the start against his former club, his gut feeling changed. Was it what he ate for lunch, or was he on to something? Evgeni Nabokov, who hung up on Garth Snow, got the start and played like the Evgeni Nabokov from San Jose, stopping all but 2 Ranger shots and leading to an Islanders victory.


Duds: 
The Entire Third Line-On paper, the third line of Josh Bailey centering Brian Rolston and Blake Comeau looked pretty good. But except for a couple Brian Rolston power-play assists, this line has been very ineffective. In fact, Comeau has been a healthy scratch the last two games to give Trevor Gillies time in the lineup. With goal scorer Comeau, veteran leader Rolston, and Bailey in the middle, this line better figure something out otherwise head coach Jack Capuano might need to jumble up some lines.















Rick DiPietro-I really hate to be mean like this, but I am really starting to become less of a Rick DiPietro fan. From a side note, the most productive thing Brian Rolston has done so far this season has hit DP in the mask with a shot during practice. This gave DP a concussion, and he has yet to play this season. Hopefully, his case can be like Sidney Crosby's, with many setbacks and problems. With Nabokov and Montoya healthy, why even waste time on DP?



Only 5 games into the season, it isn't a lost cause yet, and there is still hope. Things are starting to get back to normal, especially since DP is injured again. My guess, Evegeni Nabokov starts tomorrow in Florida. But, with Jack Capuano's changing gut, you never know. Let's see how this goes.


Lets Go Islanders!!!