Brendan Witt probably will not play against the Flyers tomorrow night, coach Ted Nolan said. "He wants to come back..." Nolan said, adding that the defenseman's high ankle sprain just doesn't seem to have healed well enough.
Chris Campoli, who left the game in New Jersey Wednesday night during the first period with a shoulder injury, will be reevaluated (to use a euphemism for "it's not imminent"), but probably will be out "a while," Nolan said.
That would leave Aaron Johnson, who has been out since Nov. 5 with a knee injury, as the sixth defenseman. And he hasn't had all that much time on the ice. He played one game in his conditioning stint with Bridgeport and will play another tonight before being recalled for the Flyers game. Nolan said that Johnson was one of the best defensemen on the ice for the Sound Tigers Wednesday and that he had worked hard in practices with the Islanders lately.
If Johnson responds anywhere near the way Freddy Meyer has in his emergency fill-in role on the back line, the Islanders will be quite happy. The team has been fortunate that its replacements have stepped up, although you wonder how many holes it can withstand.
Comments (45)
Hey all, Rangers fan here. I must admit, I can't stand the Islanders, their fans, their coach, etc. BUT, nice thing Wang is doing. For those children, I'm sure today was one of the best days of their lives. Congratulations,Charles for a job well done.
Now, back to my dislike for all of you. :)
JD, all the Ranger fans who were regular posters seem to have fled this blog. My guess is that with the Rangers' recent problems they'd rather commiserate with fellow Ranger fans than talk to us (even though we were nice to the ones who were civil). Anyway, I agree about Wang. You've got to admit, we've got the much more likable owner. As a thoroughly disgusted Knicks fan, I have to say the Dolans have taken it to new levels of creepy that I had not thought possible.
Damnnnn ... no go for Philly tonight to catch Okposo, Tamby and company ..... the boys have practice at 5:45, and a game at 7:15am tomorrow morning.
Gonna have to plan ahead I guess.
The injury sitch on D is exactly why I was never itching to trade any spare D-Men earlier in the year.
I will say, however, that there is something to be said for Nolan's system when we have withstood a ton of problems on the backline for two years now. I think Spiller can be a serviceable stay-at-home temp and Mr. Berard will have a real gut check (among many in his career) to show he can still play this game at a high level.
If that doesn't work, Deron Quint has 20G 21A in 41 games with the Berlin Polar Bears!
Major gut check time against a very offensively talented Philly team with our three best D-men out (I include Campoli in that category because now we know that the recent decline in his play was due to a nagging shoulder injury...). We need FMIV to continue his Witt impression, and Aaron Johnson to come up with one. By the way, one of MAB's worst defensive games of the year was the 3-2 loss to Philly in mid-November, so hopefully he goes into the game determined not to let them do that to him again (rather than paralyzed with terror at the memory).
SATURDAY..EVERYONE ON HERE FROM LONG ISLAND NEEDS TO BE AT THE GAME ALONG WITH GETTING AS MANY AS POSSIBLE TO GET THERE FOR THIS . THE HEMPSTEAD SUPERVISOR KATE MURRAY WILL BE THERE AND IS DROPPING THE PUCK
MAKE THE GAME. LONG ISLAND NEEDS THIS
http://www.lilighthouse.com/
KH: Msg problem is I think Isiah Thomas is coaching the rangers and renney is coaching the Knicks. It is the only explanation
JD~ from what I hear you bad mouth me on your board and make silly accusations. Kind of weird that you are the one on the Isles board. If I EVER post on your board I will make VERY CLEAR it is me. The one time I did read your blog, I felt dumber having done so. Stay off the Golden Board.
Than again stay on the board and maybe you can learn a thing or two to bring back to the needy.
I like Johnson, and his potential on the powerplay. But he is a younger MAB. I just hope he brings a more physical presence like myer has recently.
Nautika... I hear you... I'm coming from Pa with a Philly season tic holder. If it makes you feel better I had to settle for sh!t tickets because none were available. And that was back at the end of Dec. Should be an awesome crowd!!!!
Just heard Brian Burke on the NHL Network say that he learned how to assemble a Cup winning team from Bill Torrey.
Isles' fans: We talked about it weeks ago, but now it looks more promising. I would like to spend one weekend or 2-3 days in NYC and watch as many Isles' game as possible. Looking at the schedule, the best would be weekend on March 1-2 when Isles' play back-to-back home games. However, on Tue 3/4 and Thu 3/6. Isles will play in MSG and then at home against Rags two days later.
Anyway, this is what still can be agreed later. The thing is that I need to find a cheap place to stay (2 or 3 nights) and tickets to Isles' games.
I will not have a car so it's important to suggest something that is close to MSG or NVMC. Or if there is anyone who can be with me for those 2-3 days, give me some rides etc. ... this would be highly appreciated and I will definitely pay in both cash and beer :-)
Thanks guys!
Anyone who would like to help, please contact me at my email address...
Piero.....Stay at the Marriot which is connected to the NVMC parking lot. All you need to do is take around a 30 dollar cab ride from LaGuardia. Go to the weekend games b/c tickets will be much cheaper than going to Rags games in LI and MSG. Plus less travel and dry cleaning bills from getting the stentch of msg out of your clothes. :)
**Anoyone find Mookie yet? I'm telling you one of you quite polite guys has him tied up in a closet. It is always the ones you do not expect. My money is on Metal Chick.:) **
Piero, I should be going to the game that Saturday because I have plans that Sunday. Let me know your plans, we'll grab that beer we missed in Bratislava.
I also echo Steady's sentiments. You could just stay at the Long Island Marriott, which has food and drinking nearby and wouldn't require you to rent a car for the actual games themselves.
Keep us posted on your plans. What do you think of your boy Satan becoming a more complete player this year?
Satan? I don't know ... I don't like the way he plays this year. He used to be much better player but since the birth of his fird child, it's getting worse... And yes, he doesn't fit into Nolan's tactics...
Re trip to LI: Not sure yet. Columbus is 2 hours drive from Cleveland. Just checked their website but they don't play at home against Isles. Yes, I'll probably go to those two games in early March. I'll keep you posted!
Nick, sure thing. Slovak beer is (personal opinion) better than any American, but who cares ... we'll have some at Long Island!
Piero -- You can buy imported European beers on Long Island! You're not limited to Bud, Coors and Miller. I don't know if you like Heineken, but that's widely available here, as are Guinness, Beck's, Bass and others. (By the way, I've had Pilsner Urquell (a Czech beer) and it *is* very good, but I don't think I've ever had a Slovak beer.)
About Miro: he's been playing hurt lately. I think that's why he's been in a slump. Miro, despite the fact that he's a "sniper" appears to have bought into Ted Nolan's system and plays very hard (harder than Comrie, for example). At least, I personally have never noticed him taking a shift off when I've focused on him.
SEEEE!!!!
Piero's situation is exactly what I've been talking about. Here is a man that roots for the Islanders from 5,000 miles away. He's here in the States ... and is willing to come root on his team by traveling another 3450- 400 miles on his own money.
The Isles should put together a weekend package plan... get the Marriott to coopreate with group rates .... do it this way.
*2 Night stay at the Marriott
*Choice of (1,2,3,4) ticket plan for both weekend home games
*The Isles rent one of the small banquet (Sp) rooms and have a dinner / Islander fan event... to be attended by alumni and a few current players.
*Tour of the locker room
*Attend morning skate
*Tour FSNY broadcasting facility
* Show the fans a presentation of the Light House Project.
*Maybe throw in a local tour / NYC tour if their is time.
Slap that together boys ... Make it the home away from home package for far flung Isles fans scattered among this great planet of ours. After all ... the Isles have experience organizing tournaments with tours for kids.. As was done this past week.
Man I should do this for a living. LOL!!!
They have special nights for hometown fans of specific towns.... put something together for us out of towners.
I'm lucky enough to still be in driving distance .. but I'd be more than happy to be part of that kind of promotion.
Snap to it Isles front office.
First of all JD, your words about what Charles Wang has been doing are appreciated, but you put them in the wrong blog entry. Charles Wang rocks and the Islanders are very VERY lucky to have him.
As far as Miro goes, KH got it spot on.
Miros play this year has been extremely responsible defensivbely, and the fact that he is playing injured and is still valuable as opposed to being a liability on the ice says a lot about him as a player. Yeah he is in a slump and yeah that sucks, but I love Miro and what he brings to the game.
That being said, I am definitely a bit worried about his game.
But I was CERTAIN the ISles were going to get their asses handed to them by Ottawa and that didnt happen, so- we will see how things go!
Piero,
I just pulled the trigger on 3 ducats for the Isles/Rags game 3/06.
(Islanders ticket exchange on the website)
There will be 2, possibly 3, people coming from the Land of Enchantment for the game. We will arrive Wednesday and stay 2 nights at the Marriott. I don't have a commitment from the 3rd guy yet so if he bails I will sell you the ticket (got 'em for 100/apiece)
They're nosebleeds (sect 323 row P) but dead center ice and certainly amongst the real people (No offense to AZS' NUMBER ONE SEATS).
I will also have a vehicle (flying into Islip) and will be heading into the city (these guys have never been to NY) on Friday.
The post with favourite team (NY Rangers) was not me ...!
Yes, that weekend package would be worth money ... anyway, I will do a little research and find out what I can do. I would like to go to NY (I like the city) but if I find any special offer for away games and good flights, I will go somewhere else to support them.
I am disappointed with Miro. I like him as a person, know him very good but don't like his attitude in last 2 years. I mean, he is a good player, solid 2nd line winger, but not worth the money he is getting!
Regarding beer: don't tell me about Czech beers! Pilsner Urquell is my favourite!! Czech beers are even better than our brands... I am limited to Heinken here in Cleveland... :(
19Isles
Like your plan for the "Outta Towners" Weekend.
First off...
"Man I should do this for a living. LOL"
I DO these things for a living.
As far as some of the details:
"The Isles rent one of the small banquet (Sp) rooms and have a dinner / Islander fan event... to be attended by alumni and a few current players."
The hell with that. Let's resurrect (sorry about that word KH), an old Steak And Brew restaurant, invite the OPPOSING team and get 'em loaded the night before the game.
"*Tour of the locker room"
Again, tour the OPPOSING team's locker room prior to their arrival and equip all attendees with appropriate "locker room gifts", ie water bottles full of vodka, ibuprophen bottles filled with ex-lax tablets and or qualudes, itching powder for their jerseys, etc etc.
"Attend morning skate"
HUH? You meant to say "a midnight skate with the IceGirls", right?
"*Tour FSNY broadcasting facility"
No, no, no....Let's tour the MSG broadcasting facility with shaving creme pies and place a bounty on Trautwig.
"Show the fans a presentation of the Light House Project."
As long as it's at whatever bar that now occupies the old OBI South.
"Maybe throw in a local tour / NYC tour if their is time."
A deli hopping tour of Hempstead Turnpike?
A tour of Islander homes featuring free elevator rides at Billy Guerin's house?
A "Clamdigger's Cruise" aboard the FV Ecoli on Great South Bay with demonstrations on how profitable it is to harvest in closed areas?
A one day bus trip out to the Hamptons with Billy Joel as the driver?
A scavenger hunt along the eastbound lanes of the LIE between the hours of 3PM and 7PM?
THE RANGERS LOSEEEEEEEEE THHHHEEEEEEEE RANGERS LOSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!
They cant hold a lead.
Still in dead last and now isles have two games in hand. 55 million dollars gone to waste. boo hoo
While I'm not getting my hopes too high because of the depletion of our D, tonight would be a huge win if we could pull it off. The Pens and Devils both lost in regulation yesterday, and the Rags lost in OT today, so we could gain some nice ground. And it sounds like Braveheart will be back Monday, which means Berard can sit and we'll be out of the danger zone defensively.
By the way, I'll be at the game tonight in sec. 329, where that crazy (in a good way) guy sits who got the "You suck!" chant started... I think we're going to chant "We want Lighthouse!" in hopes that it will make some kind of impression on Kate Murray, the Hempstead Town Supervisor who'll be there to drop the puck. We'll see.
Anyone with half a brain understands that passionate dedicated fan base ... doesn't equate to a large fan base... it means ... that even with less fans ... the Isles fan ... person for person ... packs more passion and dedication ... then say vs. a Rags fan.... just as an example.
You can find the same difference between the on ice products ... the Islander player ... works harder, and plays harder than say ... a Rag ... and gets more results ... with less salary. See how that works? Basically ... the Isles get more bang for their buck with fans and players.
Of course there are Ranger fans like Mookie .. and a few others that respectfully carry the load of passion and dedication ... and good intelligent hockey banter. Those are the kinda Ranger fans I can respect.
505 .... I think your idea might attact more interest than mine. LOL!
Enjoy the game KH ... I'll be sitting in my front row seat in my living room. LOL!!!
I gotta make a game soon @ NVMC. I've only seen the Isles in enemy territory this season (Philly & NJ)
Trust me, once you try Czech beer, you will never want another :) But this sounds good, I will definitely try it... Thanks!!
Yes, Slovaka is good place to go. Especially my hometown, Bratislava (the capital city). Let me know before you come so we can have a beer there (and not miss it just like when Nick was there :)
Hey,
Did anyone watch the 60 second NTV video of Wang's youth tournament at NVMC in the regular pages?
Check it out and pay attention to number 6 in white.
The kid is skating circles around the other kids, drew a tripping penalty, had a sequence in the D zone which showed some outstanding puck control and score a goal on an end to end rush leaving a slew of orange jerseys in his wake.
Get that kid's XUAN DO on a contract NOW!!!
What a first perion by Isles!! Started watching when 0:1 down but Park tied it in 20 seconds and than nice move and pass by Satan (sorry Miro for same harsh words...) and third goal by Guerin!
Plus we have 4 minutes PP (about 2:20 remaining in the 2nd period). I will be really pissed off if we loose this game...
C'mon Isles!
Bummer Steady! Just like you DON´T wanted,three point game in Boston.Hell of a first period by the guys,keep it up,move those legs! Very important four point game so let´s win this!
Isles lucky to get out of the 2nd with a tie score.
Need a little sense of urgency in the 3rd.
Missing an enforcer as Upshall's run on DP goes unchallenged, and then Hunter, of all people, gets dragged into a fight he wanted no part of. All the mo is in the Flyer end right now.
BIG PENALTY KILL to start the 3rd.
DP looks a little shaky, too many rebounds.
And yes - I am. UPSET. Why? Because we didn't loose just because Flyers were better. We lost because we stopped playing. 15 shots on goal in first, 14 in the rest of the game.
It would not be fair to say Flyers won because of some lucky bounces. We had the game in our hands... and this is the result. Sad, sad...
This is the worst loss of the season ... worse than the Hurricane & Maple Leaf routes.
Worse because:
*They had a 2 goal lead with over a 2 minute PP to start the second.
*They gave up during that afformentioned PP.
*It was against a division rival who we were nipping at the heels of
*It was important to the future of the franchise being the executives of the town of Hempstead was there. (insert mello drama here)
*They took dumb penalties to put themself in that position
*They can't get over that mediocrity hump
I'll let you guys fill in the rest. I'm sure you all have more to add.
From two time zones away.
For the 1st time this year, and the hopefully the last, I am putting this one on Nolan's shoulders.
The game got away when Upshall gets away with running DP, (lost an edge my ass), with no response by the Isles, Hatcher pops Hunter's fighting cherry, with no repsonse by the Isles.
Never mind that the Isles looked horrible on the 4 minute power play after DP got upended, at that point in the game, with a 3-1 lead, a clear and decisive response was needed by someone on the Isles, none came and the Flyer's were free flying and PLAYING THEIR GAME the rest of the way. After one goal, some Flyer was seen on TV yapping at Comeau on the ensuing center ice faceoff. It was clearly pick on the Isles most unlikely to respond, and they did it with immunity.
No one on the Isles stepped up, no one did anything to get the crowd back in the game, no one did anything to sway momentum to the other side of the ice.
And for that I blame the coach.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
On to Carolina with a back to back.
Which game is Dubie playing?
I say the 1st on Monday
The only good news of the night was Ottawa getting shutout at home by Tampa and the WORST goaltender in the league. But Center Ice carried the Tampa feed so I couldn't enjoy the pain and agony in the Ottawa TV booth
Hunter didn't have to fight there.
It was stupid and there was no point to it. Philly was already marching to the box and the isles had the game right there. Hunter walks, Philly gets another penalty, all the Isles had to do was lock down.
Hunter handed Philly that game and there is no way he was fighting for the team in that spot. Philly was itching for a scrap to change the momentum and Hunter let them have it.
"Hunter didn't have to fight there."
I don't think he had a choice, it looked like Hatcher ripped his gloves off for him at which point Hunter put up a token defense and literally headed for the ice.
If there was ever a time for a 3rd man in, that was it.
It was the manifestation of the Isles night.
From that point on the Isles looked like a bunch of buckle bunnies in a West Texas rodeo bar.
Basically ... the Isles had a good ole fashioned "Starch taken out of 'em" kinda night.
They were bullied around from the start of the 2nd period. That includes what was remaining of the power play.
Eric Carins NEVER would of let that happen. Steve Webb NEVER would of let that happen. Brendan Witt NEVER would of let that happen. I think this is where we question Guerin's leadership. As a veteran, he and Silly should of recognized what was happening off of the puck. Not that they are big tough guys ... but they are gritty 'tough' guys ... which can send a message. Where is Sutton in all of this? He should of tried to line up Hatcher after his penalty expired.
I know I'm playing Sunday Morning Enforcer here ... but last night's game proved that the Isles do not match up well against Philly. They got beat in all aspects of the game in the final 2 periods. That said .. I know we are short our 3 best d-men, but God help them if they make the playoffs and face Philly.
BTW ... Tampa shutting out Ottawa kinda dilutes the joy of us beating Ottawa last week. Shows they are more mortal with the their injuries
Steady~
You didn't miss much. Basically ... what we thought would happen if we get pushed around happened. Short story on Hatcher / Hunter fight .. (not much of a fight) .. after a few hits to the head of Hunter knocking off his helmet exposing his chrome dome ... Hunter turtled and took a beating. I know he's not a fighter .. but as 505 said... that was perfect time for a 3rd man in .. You don't hit a guy when he turtles submissively.
That set the tone for the rest of the game and the Isles gave up 5 unanswered goals. Annnndddd .. IMO .. Hartnell is now the NEW Islander Killer ... the torch has been passed from Bondra to Hartnell / Parise.
That is kinda the game in a nutshell.
Correction~
"That set the tone for the rest of the game and the Isles gave up 5 unanswered goals."
Should be:
"That set the tone for the rest of the game and the Isles gave up 4 unanswered goals."
19Isles
Are you gonna let Upshall's open ice wipeout of DP go unmentioned?
Or are you willing to allow your goalie to be splattered every game in exchange for a 4 minute power play that simply displays 2 GLARING SHORTCOMINGS of your team.
1/A lousy powerplay
2/We won't stand up for our goalie, or anyone else.
In my mind, the fact that the ref added 2 minutes for unsportanslike conduct to the "interference" call on Upshall for weakly arguing, was a clear message that HE did not approve of what Upshall did, WHY THE HELL DID THE ISLES NOT "send a message"?
The more I reflect on last night's game, the MORE DISAPPOINTED I am in the Isles.
Horrible
They had a 3-1 lead and their goalie get's run.
BRUTAL.
505 ~ I'm not letting the Upshall thing go either ... I thought you covered that pretty damn good in your previous post.
I was actually at the fridge when that happened and saw the replay of the run .. I didn't see the aftermath... I didn't know the Isles didn't retaliate on that till I read your other post.
That is shameful. Nolan type players??? Where??? I don't think Nolan would of stood their afterwards.
"I was actually at the fridge when that happened...."
I am surprised you were able to find anything in there, cuz apparently the Isles were lined up there as well....no doubt looking for some Brie and white wine.
Sounds like we missed Kip Brennan!
Just a matter of time before we got pushed around
Great minds think alike Steady,
I was typing the same thing on the more recent blog when you posted that.
let's just hope that Snolan think the same way.