Quick Hits

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/17/2009 04:03:00 PM |
* I may be the only one in North America, but I picked this team for sixth in the Eastern Conference and stand by that. I still feel if not for all the injuries they would have been right there for a playoff spot. If I'm correct the team in sixth at this time scores less goals per game than the Islanders.

No, I do not see this as at least three or four years before they are a good team, they may have been one already.

Put 2006 version of Mike Sillinger, Comrie at their best with Guerin and Hunter scoring with all six defenders healthy this team is absolutely in contention for a playoff spot if not in one right now with Nielsen, Comeau, & Okposo only getting better. DiPietro's goaltending (or any franchise goaltender in the NHL) that would have stolen some games would not be much better than MacDonald and Danis have given this club most games.

A lot of the people writing it's a bad team are the same ones who need late 90's fodder because they have no current background.

There are fair questions about the coaches strategy.
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* Anyone notice DiPietro spoke with Peter Botte and Dan Martin but not Newsday?

Hopefully he is around the club and part of the team whether he is injured or not and the same goes for every injured player.
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* Playoffs in the East? Ask me in two months.

Teams peak early and the Devils could be a big time powerhouse but chemistry is a funny thing and it takes very little to take a red-hot team and just lose what they had going. One year the Caps were unbeatable, added Trevor Linden and never had the same chemistry. May have been Linden or anything but things just change.

One look at the 1980 Islanders who were struggling most of the season are a good example of this. They got Denis Potvin back, made the big trade and got Kenny Morrow from team USA and things just fell into place.

Of course for the Islanders this is just a long exhibition schedule. I do subscribe to Bill Guerin's comments there is always something to play for. How this translates to next season will be the true barometer of this.
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* Msg/+ telecast has the Islanders with one more game lost to injury than Newsday for those keeping score at home. After a while in coverage it gets old for people to keep bringing up the injury count and just write the Islanders are a terrible team.

Afraid not.

Whether it gets old or not it has to keep being part of the story. This is not a team with fifty man games lost here, they will pass last seasons number in about a week or so and the 402 games lost led the NHL last year.
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* I guess the Thrashers did not get the memo to tank with eight and seven goal wins on the West coast back to back. That's the difference between most teams and the Islanders, most can put up a big number and will for a select number of games this season.

Islanders have had one five goal game (recent win in Atlanta) but nothinge else. The opener they had five against the Blues with the open net.

Fifty plus games, one where they scored five against a goalie.
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* Imagine what Bergenheim with two skilled thirty goal scorers and how much more time and space he would have to create plays? For me Scott Gordon got it wrong saying he should not be worrying about his numbers, he knows a lot of this is about production and has been here a long time. He should feel pressure to produce.

It's almost like a Bruno Gervais where unless folks talk about his game the only barometer people use is plus/minus which is misleading often.
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* I'm looking very forward to where Garth Snow goes with his goaltending with MacDonald and Danis. I think both have been excellent (when Danis got the rust off) and can absolutely play at this level, they have proven it since the first preseason games.
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Point Blank: Mr Botta did an excellent interview with head coach Scott Gordon where he pressed the coach on the defensive system and asked the tough questions with some NHL scouts after the Kings game.

For those who recall Mr Botta was the first who brought up Ted Nolan altering his system last March.

As always visit Mr Botta's blog for the details of the information he generated for us, good stuff from Scott Gordon in response.
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* Whatever folks say/write about the Islanders at the trade deadline means absolutely nothing and that includes the general manager. If Snow decides to sign something that means they will be back, otherwise all bets are off beyond Guerin's NTC.



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