Rick DiPietro said he felt great after practice today. He even went out there early to take extra shots. Normally, that would be all the Islanders needed to see. But having seen Wade Dubielewicz galvanize the team at Madison Square Garden last night, coach Ted Nolan isn't so sure.
Nolan wouldn't name a starter for the back end of the home-and-home against the Rangers for tomorrow night at the Coliseum. The odd thing was each goalie thought the other would be the choice.
DiPietro, asked specifically if he felt he would start after having missed two games because he was in New England attending his grandmother's wake and funeral, said: "No, I don't think so. I'm not sure. That's his decision, obviously." Of course, "his" meant "Nolan's."
Dubielewicz, who was strong at the start when the Rangers came out strongly and better at the finish as he won a shootout, was asked whom he thought would get the nod. "Dubie" also referred to Nolan, saying, "He hasn’t said a word. Your guess is as good as mine. Obviously, I want to play, but right now Rick is our guy. Rickie’s the guy we have to rely on. So I’m going to guess he’s going to get the shot."
Nolan wasn't saying, either way. But just the fact that he didn't automatically name DiPietro seemed to say plenty. And the coach sure did have a lot of nice things to say about Dubielewicz, who rarely plays during the course of a season.
"One thing with hockey, nothing is carved in stone," Nolan said. "You miss four or five days of ice time, it’s going to take a little time to get your timing back. We can't forget the fact that Dubielewicz played great. We’re in a good situation, whether Rickie goes in or Dubielewicz goes in."
He added that he will talk with DiPietro after the morning skate tomorrow and make a decision. Personally, I thought it was a no-brainer that DiPietro would be back in there. But Nolan, like any other coach, knows there is something to be said about a hot hand. He had to see the quotes from Brendan Shanahan of the Rangers, who noted that Dubie always plays well against them.
* * *
Bruno Gervais (concussion, thigh bruise) skated today. His status remains day-to-day...Rob Davison, acquired at the trading deadline a week ago, had the same kind of reaction that every newcomer does to his first Rangers-Islanders game at the Garden: "It was awesome. To have the electricity of Madison Square Garden...and then it seemed like half the fans there were our fans."
--Mark Herrmann
Comments (59)
From the previous thread...
You must be the imposter steady.
JANE... JANE CURTAIN...SNL...
In response to Jane's point, dan Akroyd's counterpoint usually began, "Jane, you ignorant slut".
the real steady would ahve known that.
And the real steady would see that Davison is a solid pick up for team that has seen Witt, Marty, campoli, Sutton, Meyer and Gervais lose an important number of games to injury... with a very thin roster in Bridgeport.
the real steady would beat you over the head with your own shoe!!!
Kevin T: "Sometimes it's not the Goalie, but the team. How is the team playing in front of the Goalie? I'd say they are playing better in front of Dubbie than DP. So if I was Nolan I would play Dubbie one more time and leave DP on the bench."
I disagree, Kevin T. There were definitely quite a few games during DP's recent bad stretch where the team gave up under 20 shots and still four would go in. Dubie generally faces a healthy amount of shots when he's in there: 49 against Carolina, what was it - 28 maybe against Florida, and 30 against the Rangers. And that's just his last three starts. As far as the quality of the shots...I wouldn't say there's any significant difference...that DP faces 17 impossible shots while Dubie faces 30 soft wristers, or anything like that.
DP's just been struggling, for whatever reason, and Dubie has a hot hand right now. Sometimes an average goalie on a hot streak can outshine much better goalies who hit a rough patch. Just look at Ty Conklin, who I think has the highest save % in the league right now. Anyone seriously think he's among the elite goaltenders in the NHL? No, probably not...he just happens to be on a tear.
On that note, I think the Isles should ride Dubie. If he really is seeing the puck well, and his confidence is way up, why waste that by sitting him on the bench? Just my opinion, but I don't think playing Dubie until he cools off will send any kind of message that DP is not the starter or franchise goaltender. Plenty of teams ride a hot backup when he's stopping the puck well.
NONE of the posts on this board were me. They were the loser from the rag board who is still crying in his soup that his Stanley Cup team cannot beat us !
Lundquist...NOW THAT IS A FUNNY SIGNING.....HE BLOWS !!!
If Davison thought MSG was wild last night then wait until he sees NVMC tomorrow night. I'll be there to make sure the Isles fans are LOUD and PROUD!!!! I'm taking my Dad to his first ever hockey game (he's really a baseball fan) so he'll get the false impression that NVMC is ALWAYS packed and raucous like that. Who cares ... I won't tell him otherwise. Let him enjoy the atmosphere.
GO ISLES!!!
Something tells me Nolan is buying into the benefit of a healthy goaltender rivalry. Not that DP could be permenantly usurped by Dubie as the #1. But it might be healthy for DP's concentration to realize in the back of his mind that he's not a lock to play any time that he wants to. That one must pay a price for weak goals against. If anything, Dubie has provided the #1 egotistical netminder with plain evidence that goals against aren't automatically the fault of missed defensive assignments.
And who knows? Maybe Nolan is playing his first head game of the season and simply keeping DP in the dark, knowing full well he'll start tomorrow night. "How much you wanna play, boy? How much? Huh?"
In any case, no matter who starts, Nolan's hook might be pretty quick in the event of an early soft one.
It's funnt that the Islanders fans who always bring up the fact that the Rangers signed two free agents this past summer always forget where it is they got Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedetenko and Mike Comrie from. Free agency? hmmmmmm?
No what is funny is the fact Ranger Fans need to come on to this board to have a real hockey conversation. Do not blame us that your boards hockey IQ is that of a Floridian 3 yr old!
Move along now wee one.
duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
"It was awesome. To have the electricity of Madison Square Garden...and then it seemed like half the fans there were our fans."
-LMAO... That is great stuff. The Isles faithful that made it to the game did sound great on TV last night
It was awesome. To have the electricity of Madison Square Garden...and then it seemed like half the fans there were our fans."
-LMAO... That is great stuff. The Isles faithful that made it to the game did sound great on TV last night
eFF'n-A. there were 'let's go islanders' chants mixed in with the usual 'let's go ran...' chants.
AWESOME!
The Islanders have had more UFA on their roster this year than any team in the league. This is a FACT!!
Berard
Comrie
Fedetenko
Vasicek
Guerin
Hilbert
Johnson
Park
Witt
Sutton
Sillinger
Sim
Suton
Simon
All of these players were signed through Free Agency. The Isles roster is chop full of UFA.
Of the Isles top 9 forwards in terms of average ice time, 8 were UFA's.
Who cares? Their contracts were also all one or two years....You just gave 55 million to two players that can't score! Comical!
Look at the Ranger roster. 5 rookies making major contibutions. Dubinsky has been tremendous since January. Dawes has been better than any Isles rookie. Callahan has been playing well the past few weeks. Girardi and Staal have been good. Lundquist is in his third year. Hollweg is through the system. Tyutin is in his third year. Prucha in his third year, and with 30 and 20 goals seasons on his resume can't get back in the lineup because Dawes has been good. That's 9 players thorugh the system that have contributed.
The Isles, on the other hand, have had more UFA's in their lineup than any team in the league. Facts are facts. They can't develop, so they have to sign these guys from other teams rosters.
Plus Hockey News ranked the Rangers prospects 11th, and trhe Isles 24th. Yes, the Isles have basically no quality youth on their roster, and even with Oksop, THN ranks their propsetcs the pitts. Facts are facts.
The Rangers have two UFA on their roster signed for next, Drury and Gomez. The Isles have over 20 million invested in UFA's next season and it goes up further in you factor in the Yashin buyout, LOL. The Isles are a team living and dying with free agency. Facts are facts.
Anon / Putrid Rag fan ~
Let me ask you this ... Why the hell do you care?
You actually spend your "precious time" researching the Islanders roster and signing situations going back ... I don't know how many years???? Are you out of your mind.
Nice!!! Thanks for the info and doing our homework for us.
I know two people that are involved in the process of rating players in the amatuer, college and minor pro-levels ... so I appreciate your concern in making sure we are in the know.
That said ... You are pretty close to accurate ... or should I say the Hockey News is ... but you'll be glad to know that they have the Rangers ranked 9th ... not 11th ... although they do say that the rankings are fluid and change every month. They also mostly rate undrafted players and free agent college and minor players... so they may not be as up to date as THN.
We talk about this stuff all the time on this site, so thank you for your concern ... but we are very well aware of the Isles situation ... and how they have to put together a patchwork of journeymen players every season ... kind of taking a page out of the Ranger's playbook .. which doesn't make us to happy .. and seems to have the Isles dug into mediocrity just like the Rangers....
Oh ... and IF the Islanders are soooooo bad.... WHY CAN"T THE RAGS BEAT US?!?!?!?!?!
Now go figure that out on your lil hockey calculator... and let us all know ... because if you can figure that out ... we'd like to apply it to the other 28 NHL teams so we can dominate the league once again.
Again ... if you are the guy that is always talking rot to everyone here ... I invite you to play in a hockey tournament in the begining of April ... it's in Central NJ so it's not to far. You seem to :: cough :: know your stuff ... apply your "superior" :: cough :: hockey intellect to the actual game for yourself. .... just let me know and I'll forward you the application. The team reping Ranger fans needs 7 more players .... soooo .. Go? No Go?
Just got back from hockey practice ... it was a great workout!!! We are in a 4 team race for 1st place ... and we are 2 points into first with 4 games left. So this is going to be interesting.
Tomorrow night we play the second place team ... bad blood between us ... kind of like the Ranger / Isles rivalry.
One guy on my team that is a Ranger fan ... actually complimented the Isles to me about the Isles while we were waiting for our turn to participate in a pass/ shoot drill.
He said, "Your Isles are a hard working talented bunch .... dangerous to any contender... they will probably steal a round or two if DiPietro gets back on his game ... because the Isles now have some speed with the kids .... it's all on Nolan .. and if anyone can do it ... Nolan can"
This guy is a die hard Ranger and hockey fan since early 70s ... so I asked him why he'd say such good things about the Isles ... he said he doesn't have to like the Isles much ... but it would be insulting his own hockey intelligence to just say a team sucks because he doesn't like them. He said that doesn't change the fact that the Isles beat the Rangers regularly lately ... and if I say the Islanders suck .. then he's insulting his Rangers.
He's one of those Ranger fans that you can sit down have a beer with ... have a good spirited hockey debate ... play on the same line with and stick up for him if someone tries to mess with him.
tj stop posting on our board. You and DUDE are freaking embarrassing
@ 19 ISLE in NJ 22
I just got back from my 4th game in 4 nights (I am getting way too old for that), two different leagues though.
As far as the power play goes - anyone opposed to throwing Davison out there and parking him in front of the net? As much as Satan said he prefers to be down low on the half wall keep him at the point opposite Berard or Martinek. Have Comrie center and throw Hunter on the other wing.
Two big bodies who can work the puck into the corners and cause screens/deflections (something they need to do), Comrie's speed and stick handling and Satan doing his thing - Berard for a point shot ONLY (he is now banned from making cross ice passes).
I go into things a bit deeper on my site:
http://www.islesblogger.com
I'm confused..
Okay, I'm here without almost being t-boned on Vet's Mem. Hwy.
This I am sure of......
A/Ranger's suck.
B/Ranger fans are, with few exceptions, on a waiting list for Darwin's next blue light sale on aisle 9.
C/There were WAY TOO MANY people on my connection from MDW to ISP wearing BOTOX , er, bosox HATS, that almost caused a diverion to Cleveland. (Thank GOD, Captain OversizeTie bought my sense of humor).
D/ I am looking forward to the next Isles victory TONIGHT.
Cuz we band of dopes.......
Live a wonderful life.
GO ISLES!!!!!!
You season ticket holders....
I'm buying behind/underneath Sec 323 before and in between periods. Simply locate the fat guy dancing.
Just mention.....THE AUDACITY OF DOPES!!!!!!
I like Davison even more now.
Why can't the Rangers beat the Islanders?
Its a good question. I think it has more to do with the Islanders. The Islander organization from their fans to their players treat Ranger games more importantly than the Rangers do. If the Isles miss the playoffs, but beat up on the Rangers, their season will be considered a raging success. When the Isles play the Rangers, they play before a lively crowd, whether it be MSG or the Mausoleum. Non-Ranger games at the Mausoleum are generally Ghostowns, unless it a give away night, such as Town of Brookhaven Night, Kids Day, College Night...... where thousands upon thousands of tickets are given away basically for free. When the Rangers are in town, there is some electricity, even though most of the crowd is pulling for the Rangers. On the road, the Isles are seen as laughingstock. Opposing crowds are very tame when the Isles are the opposition. But I think this helps the Isles steal a win or two, because the home team may fall asleep when the Isles visit.
Anon....Why then do you and yours come and post on here EVERYTIME before and afte an Isles game?
Why do Rags fans chant "Potvin sux" 20 years after he retired?
Why does your attendance go up every Isles game?
Why is it considered the biggest rivalry in hockey if we are the only ones that care?
Why does AVON AVERY say it is his favortie game to play all year, when facing the Islanders?
Why does is so DEEPLY disturb every Rangs fan we won 4 cups in a row and are considered the best USA hockey team ever to play our great sport ????
Why was the chant in 03 in MSG "You can't beat us!" when you were not making the playoffs, but we were...yet we were really bad against you that year???
***STOP THE NONESENSE....GO ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM ON YOUR BOARD.....ABOVE ALL STOP GETTING PUT IN YOUR PLACE !!! *****
Steady-
Why are you talking when your team is out of the playoff picture, and probably will be moreso after tonight?
Why do you base hockey THIS YEAR on years past?
Why are you a flamer?
Hey Sam, long time now see...
To tell Steady that he is basing hockey THIS YEAR on years past, is completely hipocritical of you. Every person in MSG for the last 20 something years has heard an ignorant fat guy whistle the tune to an old-fashioned hockey beat, followed by "POTVIN SUCKS!" And they've heard it multiple times, whether the Isles are in the building or not.
Now if thats not living in the past, then I don't know what is?
Sam,
Tonight would be a good time to announce that the Islanders are "mathematically eliminated" and the rangers are "Magically Delicious"
Sam,
Tonight would be a good time to announce that the Islanders are "mathematically eliminated" and the rangers are "Magically Delicious"
Sam ... Do they serve crow where you live? Cause it seems to be a regular part of your diet.
505 .... or 516 / 631 ..... Welcome to ZERO time zones away
As a Ranger fan, and long time hockey fan, it does not "deeply disturb" me that Islanders won 4 cups in a row. Again, as a hockey fan, i can appreciate that a u.s. based team succeded in that manner.
I dont believe you can compare a 20 yr old jestful chant to reliving
and reciting championship years and years ranger teams did not make playoffs, yet isles did. Theres a difference in a chant, in which does not indicate any championship year / playoff year.
19 Isle - if im eating crow, what do you and your 11th place team eat? 15 year contracts?
I think 19 Isles was just referring to last year when Sam incorrectly stated after the Isles' shootout win against the Rangers that we were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Oops.
Again, we don't mind Ranger fans coming in here and posting intelligent comments (I also miss MM and Mookie....where are you SOB's?!). It bothers me when Ranger fans refuse to admit any of their own faults while bashing the Islanders. Yes, we probably pay too much attention to the Dynasty teams, but this was the silver anniversary and everyone seems to think this will be the last celebration of those teams. However, Steady is right - if Isles fans are the only ones who live in the past, why do they chant Potvin Sucks at the Garden for a hit that happened 33 years ago and a player who retired 20 years ago? And if the Islanders are the only ones who take the Rangers seriously, why did Chris Drury admit at the beginning of the season that the Rangers wanted to win so bad they were almost grinding their sticks to sawdust?
I honestly think the belief that the Islanders care more about the rivalry than the Rangers is a media fabrication. I remember an interview that Stan Fischler conducted with The GM Who Shall Not Be Named about 10 years ago. I watched the whole thing, and it was a very wide-ranging and insightful interview. However, when it made TV, 3 of the 4 questions they aired were about the Rangers, when in reality they asked about 20 questions and those 3 were the only ones about the Rangers. As a die-hard Islander fan, I will admit my hatred for and my strong desire to beat the Rangers, but I'd rather win the Cup and go 0-8 against the Rangers than win the Hummer Metro Ice Challenge and go nowhere. Any self-respecting fan on either side would agree with me, and please let's stop being self-righteous about the rivalry. It means something to all of us, and too much to some of us.
Sam ... Right now that 15 year contract tastes pretty good ... it's a specific 10 year contract .. that nobody wanted to finish ... because it spoiled after a few years that we ended up regurgitating .... any Isle fan will tell you it gave them indigestion .... tell you what Sam.... we'll worry about dealing with our long term contracts while you worry about digesting your own LONG TERM contracts ... let us know how they taste to you in a few more years.
We gave a 15 year contract to an ALL STAR caliber goalie.
You just gave an avg. goale 7 million a year for what ??? Tell me ONE THING....ONE GAME in a big spot he stepped up ? The Isles OWN him, he blows in the playoffs, and yet I can readily admit he has a strong team around him. He goes down quicker than a ranger fan in a bathroom stall. He does not come out near far enough to challenge shots form the pt. Ohhhh and hasn't he been pulled like three games since the break ??????? Please explain ???????
I have NEVER talked smack about the Rags. As a matter of fact Sam aka reality aka #1 aka Gary aka Jim from the dump woodbury....I PICKED The Rags to go far. See we on this board KNOW HOCKEY !!! We are not trolls like you that come and post on our breaks from circus clean up.
So go get a hockey 101 handbook, read it, learn from the educated hockey fans on this blog, and then get back to me!
You only come on here to stir the pot. You are a loser. Sad but true!
p.s Where did I ever talk about "this year" in my post about how rags fan are into the rivalry more than Isles fans? Are you slow ??
I apologize. I am obsessed with the Islanders
Hypocrisy comes in all uniform colors....
I have a HUNCH, that Ranger fans who continually obsess about the Isles "paying too much attention" to the Dynasty Years, are the 1st ones to overpay for tickets to a Yankee Old-Timers Day game.
And ANY Ranger fan who goes to Shea or Yankee Stadium this year because "it's the final season" at those venerable parks, are in the same category..
Mirrors are hard to come by for hypocrites.
Just my opinion, from zero time zones away.
So who is in the nets tonight?
Nice of Ted to wait until I got to town before deciding.
I'll let you all know what happens at lunch.
:)
He blows in the playoffs???
Huh?
did you watch last year?
2.07 GAA
.924 Save %
you are right...he is TERRIBLE
you need to do a better job on the stats:
they are still good but here they are
GAA- 2.37
SV%-.907
SA-1460
DP
GAA-2.70
SV%-.905
SA-1648
actually, I was referring to the "sucks in the playoffs comment"
but thanks anyways..i already knew Henrik had better numbers.
" blows in the playoffs"
So I was posting last years playoff stats...
to once again prove the blindness of an isle fan
505, 516, 631:
Is there a different personality living inside your head for each personality?
I agree that there is hypocrisy running through both New York fanbases. We'll cite the past when its convenient and then make fun of others doing the same thing. Anyway, all of this is just the usual Islander-Ranger troll garbage we get after every game. The only cure is for the game to be decided, the winning team get there shots in and we can move on to the rest of the season.
Anyone else get tired of going over the same bullet points every time?
Crap I blew the line.... I meant "for each area code"
Ah well.
Looks like Dubie tonight:
After a couple days of uncertainty, all signs are pointing to Wade Dubielewicz getting the nod tonight against the Rangers. It would be Dubielewicz's third start in a row.
"Ted spoke to me this morning and said to be prepared tonight, but that it would be a game-time decision," said Dubielewicz following Thursday's morning skate. "I'm preparing today like I'll be playing tonight."
Said Nolan: "It's a tough decision, but it's a good decision to have. If you don't have a tough decision, then the competition isn't there."
Michael S ~
Yeah ... the PP is a mess. I think Nolan and the coaching staff are well aware of it.
The two primary outcomes of the Isles power play are ... lack of scoring .... and glut of shorties against.
Although I haven't seen it mentioned on the boards (This one, Islander ones .. or any hockey ones I've skimmed through) ... hockey is a game of geometry. Throw in some ice, 2 opposing nets, some restricting zone lines across the width of the playing surface, some players .. speed and brutal force and you have the great sport of ice hockey.
Knowing your angles and anticipating where the puck is going to be is paramount to being a good hockey player. Most super stars in the history of the league had a great understanding of this. Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy are perfect examples of this.
When you are watching a game ... and see a team clear the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards ... have you ever wondered how the puck seem to go right to the opposing team's defender's stick? The defender knows pretty much the exact angle that the puck is going to come at him ... most of the time ..... there are times a wierd bound off the boards happens.
Well this applys to the power play a lot ... especially when you are dumping and chasing. I think one of the problems on the PP is that the Isles get trapped ... they try to force the play ... and they simply pass around the perimeter .... they need to get a guy infront of the net ... they need to have faster players and more energy on the PP ... Smart pointmen .... and forwards that are also defensively responsible ... because you can't let the other defender get outnumbered up high if another defender gets trapped down low on a play.
All of this takes a lot of work and practice .. it takes familiarity ... and above all ... "good ice vision" and smarts. A player has to be able to decipher a situation at break neck speed and react accordingly. Mistakes will be made .... but they have to be kept to a bare minimum ... and when it does happen ... the players need the speed and awareness to get back as soon as possible to reduce the amount of choices the opposing attacking player has .... and then the goalie needs to also play geometry and quickly analyze the attacking player's options and be prepared for the most obvious one ... while in the back of his mind be prepared for a passing play. All this happens in seconds ...
... so to say the Isles need to shuffle personel on the PP is only a patch to what I feel is a bigger problem. Getting the right personel on the PP, and having them be able to work together like clock work is another part of the equation.
Davison?? I really don't know what he brings to the PP. Does he have speed? I haven't seen that yet. Does he have the right instincts to put the puck in the net on a rebound? Or will he panic and pass it? I think it takes more than size to cause the right effect to cause havoc infront of an opposing goalie. Another thing about Davison .... he's more prone to get a penalty called against him .... negating the power play ... although jokingly it's been said on this board we'd be better off playing 4 on 4. LOL!!
I think our PP is having enough trouble scoring without throwing in a purely defensive player up front where more offensive creativity is required. Besides ... this will give Steady fits ... it seems he has already found his new whipping boy.
Also, I'm very intruiged as to why there is such support for Satan at the point. What does he provide at the point? With the Isles giving up a bulk of shorties this season I think it would be more prudent to have a defender at the point that can defend the occasional short handed opportunity. Usually a team puts its fastest fowards up front when short handed .... so this means that the pointman on the power play has to contain a very fast player if the shorthanded team gets a chance.
We can all throw our suggestions out there ... the truth is ... Nolan gets to see how these guys work together at practice ... he knows each players quirks and abilities better than any of us do. We only get to see the results during a game ... whether they are positive and negative. Not to mention .. there is an opposing force during a game to negate all the work the Isles put into the PP.
I'll say this much ... last night my team drilled on the PP. We probably simulated about 20 chances for each unit ... that is 40 chances when both our units are combined .... our player / coach would stop the power play in progress if he saw something he didn't like, or saw something he did like but wanted to point it out. After all was said and done we probably popped the puck in the net about 30 times of the combined 40. There is no way that we are a 75% effective power play team. Mostly because we weren't against the clock.
Both units eventually worked together on 8 two minute opportunities ... and after all that success doing the simulated PP ... we only scored 2 times between the two units .. that is 2 for 8 ... that is about right for a PP efficincey. The point is it took all that drilling before hand just to come up with 2 goals on 8 chances ... and we consider ourselves pretty damned good.
I know that Nolan's practices have to be 1000 times more difficult than what we go through ... we are working guys that show up after work to play hockey player... but we all have some sort of competitive level of experience in our pasts. When our PP isn't working ... it's because we pass to much ... and keep the puck in the perimeter for to long ... when this happens we are supposed to break a guy free and head for the net .. create "a storm" infront as an old coach used to preach to us.
I think the Isles with the personel they have need to create that storm ... they have in the past ... it's not an easy fix to just say it and do it ... it has to be drilled into their heads ... so that it becomes second nature.
jeez steady i remember isles losing 1st round last year and rangers sweeping 1st round...behind the same terrible goalie they have now. and ironically, isles had the same goalie last year that lost in the 1st round. but those big games dont count.
and getting away from the NHL a bit, i seem to remember the rangers goalie leading his country to an olympic gold. you know, the same olympics ricky went 1-3 with a 2.28 GAA.
you must be a hockey guru, explaning to me and the others that frequent this blog how how henry goes down too early, doesnt challenge the shot. when did you become a goalie coach? wait...you saw these tips in your version of hockey 101 book, eh?
who's going to old timers day with me! hahaha
19 Isles
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" Good analysis, perhaps the Islanders should enroll in a couple Hofstra geometry courses. I think the Isles do miss that element in front of the net. A Mark Parrish would be incredibly helpful but where can we get that kind of player? I think JoVas might be a good patch but his tenacity waivers from game to game.
In addition, the lack of respect the Isles get on the powerplay is blaringly obvious. Other teams know the we have trouble on the PP and exploit the lack of confidence by rushing point men, double teaming, etc. It will take a real solid unit to turn this perception around and allow our guys more room with the puck.
Bottom line mr. ranger fan it is YOU on our blog with nothing better to do not vice versa.
Your goalie simply stinks in big games. He cannot beat the Isles, he choked vs. the Sabres in the playoffs, etc.
He has been pulled more times this year than DP in his whole career.
As for your pathetic stats. LOOK AT THE TEAMS IN FRONT OF HIM.....Rangers were picked to win the CUP this year with the talent they have. Isles were picked to be DEAD LAST....So I ask you MORON.....Which goalie has lead their teams to better seasons ?????
As for the Olymipics, which goalie had a better team in front of them ??? This is not brain surgery!
Which goalie was an ALL STAR ????
Move along. Your hockey iq is embarrassing and I refuse to talk hockey with you any longer. Go root hard for your team and always remember all the joy they bring you.
p.s REMEMBER....Unlike you and yours that come here with your 4th grade dribble, I have said the Rangers would be very good all year. I think they have a well balanced team. With the Eastern conference being so avg., they have a chance......With that said your goalie does not have IT !! Like Parcells always has said...Some guys got " IT !!! "
19 ISLE in NJ 22 ,
I'm sure the Isles practices are tougher than you and a bunch of middle age has beens trying to re-live the past...
let it go..
LIVE IN THE NOW!
(like your cups)
Ouch Steady WTF! LOL
Love the rivalry man, looking forward to tonight.
Not looking forward to the ball season!
Whats up man?
Back to hockey...sorry for feeding the gnomes!
Healy: I agree....Our PP has killed us all year. 14 shorties against I believe (12 with MAB on the ice ;))
when we were hot at the start of the year it was b/c of the PP. These units are so important in a league with so much parity.
I think Martinek should get some 1st line PP time. I use to view him as a Morrow type, but his shot has come around as of late ! He has good vision and certainly will not get caught out of position.
Hunter is also a reason the PP has not clicked. I had him down for a "Parrish" type year in front of the net. Above all we need to CRASH the net tonight. You know they are going to do it!
I wonder if that comes into Nolans thinking when making a decision on whether DP plays tonight. If he is banged up at all, you cetainly do not want him out there with talentless fools like Avery running him over ! Wonder how many times he will BACK DOWN to Witt tonight. I counted four last game. All he had to do was drop the gloves and take our best def. out for at least 5 minutes. That is why he is selfish and better off doing Avon ads!
THE MOOKSTER IS BACK !!!! A RANGER FAN WITH A BRAIN....WE MISSED YAH PAL....MY GOD HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH YOUR OWN KIND ???? :) :) :)
Bette we get the Mets injuries over now then later...We got our ace...We will be fine !!! Hope you and yours are well!
p.s I never laced ujp skates in my life, yet I am one heck of a ball washer!
"All of this takes a lot of work and practice .. it takes familiarity ... and above all ... "good ice vision" and smarts. A player has to be able to decipher a situation at break neck speed and react accordingly."
19 Isles, you have just summarized why I don't want Mike Comrie back at any price. At some level, I do believe he has a relatively decent sense of picking where he should be on the offesnisve end--and can be the beneficiary of someone else's skill and vision. However, he is invariably a wink slow on reading a play and making decisions based on what he reads. In other words, he doesn't just throw blind passes up the middle, rather, he reads a potential play too late, and by the time he makes the decision, the opening is gone and it looks like he is making a pass to nowhere or right to an opponent. This is something that can be hard to see on TV, but it is glaringly obvious watching the game live when you can see the entire "geometry" of the ice and player speeds.
To some extent, this is worse than a player not seeing the play at all because the non-seeing player is less likely to cough up a bad pass and simply throw a puck into a corner--resulting in lkess transition breakouts.
Comrie is exactly the type of player who could probably score 35 goals playing with Sidney Crosby, but with no one like that on the Isles, I just see him as a big waste of money and usurper of time that could be going to the kids getting less than 10 minutes a game.
I can not talk hockey with you either, Steady.
You are an embarassment to Islander hockey and hockey in general.
Best of Luck tonight.
Busey ... Sam ... #1 ... Gary .... Jim from Woodbury ... who ever you are? Are you on this board to audition for the movie Jack A$$???
First off ... half of the guys in our league are under 25 .. secondly I bet the 50 year old guy on our team (electrician during the day) could pound you to a pulp.... and would ... he makes guys half his age look really bad .... we play modified checking ... which most adult leagues do not allow ... and opposing team's players shy away from him because they are afraid of him. His nick name is "Bulldozer" (6'2" 230lbs) ... so I'd love to see you tell him what you posted above to his face. I'm still younger than a lot of NHL players ... so personally I don't take offense to your comment ... I just think it was stupid.
BTW .. he's a huge Ranger fan and thinks that kiddie Ranger fans today are ridiculously stupid .. mostly because of what they say to Devil fans .... he and a few other Ranger fan players I associate with say they are ashamed by what some young Ranger fans say about the Isles and Devils and their stupidity in insulting them ... because he cherishes the ONE cup they have ... it was so hard to come by... and sandwiched around that ONE cup ... was 4 by the Isles ... and 3 by the Devils all in his LONG lifetime ... so what does that say about his Rangers when fellow fans try to belittle both the Isles and Devils?? ... They've enjoyed a lot of success vs. the Rangers ..... he'll still tell you he hates the Isles and the Devils ... but he's a hockey fan first ... and will not insult the sport with stupidity.
.... and Busey .. you are invited to play in our tournament..... or are you just CHICKEN!!!!! As long as you are 21 or over you can play.... or am I asking to much? The Ranger fan team had 7 spots open last I heard ... so if you have the plums better hurry ... they will be snatched up quicker the closer we get ... 1st weekend in April. Courtyard by Marriott right across the street .. so no excuses ... you don't need to drive back and forth.
Hey sam, "cannot" is one word ! I see you are stupid also!
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ho...t_results.html
this is funny.
This has resulted in the tilting of the ice at NVMC. The rangers are trying to make up excuses which is just as bad as there fans excuses.
Steady - I had to check in today the day of a rivalry game just to read and get some good laughs. Comical at best some of the stuff that goes on around here. Both boards are full of fans that don't have a clue and want to play the my team is better game.
As for the Mets I am having trouble being optimistic at all. Reyes, Wright and Santana are the only healthy bright spots headed into the season. Going to be a rough year I think.
Nautika the page is not found. I am interested in reading it. What did it say?
Mook....The Mets will be good this year...I am always negative, but not this year....They are going to have a strong strong year....I just got that hunch going!!!
Gotay will be fine...Marlon will be fine....Church will be fine...Beltran/Delgado/ and Alou will be in and out all year. With Wright and Reyes another year mature, I am not worried!
Good luck tonight...I hope your team all gets the flu and cannot perform :)
Steady + Mook : be very worried about your Mets and see if they are in condition to make a playoff run.
Besides that Lets go Isles
I am glad you feel that way. I will go the route of pleasantly surprised and low expectations. Kinda like I did with the Rangers. So right now I am a pretty happy Rangers fan. I wasn't silly enough to think playoffs when I was playing with fireworks on July 4th. LOL
With the little fella playing again you should be hoping for the flu bug to hit the Rangers. Something tells me that Nolan is playing a game and DP starts tonight.
Besides that are the Ice Girls playing tonight?...lol
nautika what was that story about tilted ice?