On the Islanders Beat

Over the course of a season, no matter what the sport, there always are a few games packed with so many key elements and so much interesting detail that, as a beat writer, you invariably are disappointed with the game story because there isn’t enough space to convey everything that went on. Maybe that’s why God (or was it Al Gore?) invented cyberspace.

The Islanders’ 3-0 shutout victory Wednesday in Dallas was one of those games. Ordinarily, I would have come back strong on it in Friday's paper, but the story of the players bringing their fathers and mentors with them on this road trip was too unusual to pass up. So, with games tonight at Tampa Bay and tomorrow night at Florida crowding the schedule and chewing up space in the paper, let’s take a minute to reflect on all the things that went right for the Islanders against the Stars.

Say what you want about the Stars being in a scoring slump with three goals in four games, they had a ton of chances to score with seven power plays, including a five-on-three and a four-on-three and 35 shots on goaltender Rick DiPietro. Add in the 18 Dallas shots that missed, and you can see the Isles really were under siege.

The big thing, obviously, is the improved play of DiPietro, who has stopped 67 of the past 68 shots he’s faced. When he stays within himself and doesn’t try to do more than necessary with the puck, the sense of confidence that flows through the locker room is palpable. Everyone relaxes and plays to win instead of tensing up and playing not to lose.

Speaking of DiPietro’s play, forward Mike York said, “It makes all the difference in the world. He made some incredible saves, especially on our penalty-kill. And I think this is the best I’ve seen him handle the puck all year. They did a great job of communicating back there. It’s something we worked on in practice, and it paid off.”

After DiPietro and backup goaltender Mike Dunham each got shelled in consecutive home losses to Atlanta and Tampa Bay, coach Ted Nolan and his staff sat down with the goaltenders and the defensemen to work out a better system of communication. To make a long story short, the goaltenders devised a series of code words for the defensemen to use and a plan for where they prefer everyone to be in certain situations. Because the goaltenders have their heads down while handling the puck and can’t see the opposition coming, the defense signals where and how to play the puck by shouting the code words for the proper play.

As a result of better communication and less wasted movement, Nolan noticed how solid DiPietro has looked in the past two games in terms of squaring up. “Ricky has looked big in the net,” Nolan said. “When the puck got through, Ricky was right square to the puck, and it looked like the pucks hit him right in the crest every time. That’s great positioning.”

The defense in front of DiPietro also has continued to improve. Everyone noticed the way Brendan Witt went down without his stick to block a couple of shots with his hands on one power play. But on the five-on-three, defenseman Tom Poti stayed out the whole time covering a lot of space and forward Richard Park, who was point man on the triangle most of the time, did a great job of bothering towering Eric Lindros as he teed up three straight shots from the top of the slot. Lindros only was credited with two shots on goal and four misses, but it seemed like he launched more than that.

“Shots were whizzing by me,” Park said. “Lindros is so big. We were talking on the plane after the game about what he was like in Philadelphia when he first came into the league. If he didn’t have the injuries and if his noggin was OK, you wonder what he would be like playing with these rules when he was a rookie. He still hits, but not the way he used to. He’s ‘gentler’ compared to what he was, but he still has a great shot.”

DiPietro stopped nine shots from the Stars’ Antti Miettinen, including one that doubled him over when it hit him below the belt. But two plays against Lindros, who still packs a wallop, as Poti found out in an early collision, were the most spectacular by DiPietro. On the first, Lindros came across just in front of the crease. It wasn’t clear if his shot got through the defense, but DiPietro did the splits to cover the ice from post to post. In the final period, Lindros steamed in from the right wing toward the goal like the locomotive he is, and DiPietro met him at the left post, forcing Lindros to shoot wide.

It was a great performance by everyone in an Islanders uniform. They have three tough games left on this trip that could render the Dallas win a distant memory in no time. But winning a game like that on the Stars’ ice while trying to latch onto a new defensive system and get DiPietro into a comfort zone where he can play his best, it just doesn’t get much better.

As winger Jason Blake said, “It comes from Ricky on up, but sometimes, it’s got to come from us down to him. We’ve got to buckle down defensively. He has played great the last two games. He is an exceptional athlete, and he wants to win more than anybody else. He’s not going to have great nights 80 games a year, and that’s when we’ve got to step up. The last two games, he’s really felt in a zone, and it’s good to see.”