Weathering the Storm on LI

How you doing Isles fans?  Make it through Irene okay?  Mother Nature proving once again who is boss.  I don't know what was worse; the fear and panic leading up to the storm or actually having to live through it fearing the house would collapse around you.

As if the devastating wind and rain weren't enough, they had to add a tornado watch in there too.  It was 48 hours of non-stop storm coverage on almost every channel so you couldn't escape it.  So we packed our "go bags," boarded up the big windows and hunkered down in the lowest part of the house with mattresses on the floor and battery powered lights waiting for the inevitable power loss -- that luckily didn't happen for my block.

However, this is a hockey blog and we should be talking hockey as September fast approaches.  Let's see what we can do considering I haven't been able to get straight answers out of anyone for weeks and my contact list is short.

So, are the Isles "Open for Business"? Unlike my local Stop&Shop that had to board up quickly as Montauk Highway is a flood zone, the Islanders ARE open for business as the new season fast approaches.

We've all heard the rumors and rumblings that Garth Snow is trying to add to the roster that many feel could be a playoff team this year. They are "that" close. Youth, talent and enthusiasm can only take you so far. Also, as injury prone as they have been the past few seasons, contingency plans have to be in place as well.

Do the Isles have enough power to get them into the post season? Much like the battery shelves on Friday night, the feeling is the Isles are lacking some power on Defense. While Mark Streit will reportedly "be ready for camp," I am not sure if they should put that much pressure on a man who is just recovering from two surgeries and didn't play an entire season.

Are the shelves bare? When we look at the list of remaining available UFAs that are still shopping for a home, there are drawbacks with each of them. There are those that may be too old, too inconsistent or too injury prone to make the difference on the Island or fit well in that locker room. Then throw in the report that a certain veteran native to the area was offered an invite and declined "for now," and you have to start to wonder if Garth Snow will be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and come up with that D man he's been shopping for.

The problems with the arena situation have long been deemed an issue in obtaining quality free agents. I believe the public rejection of the referendum for a new arena has made it worse. While their situation is difficult, it will not make them change their master plan or become financially irresponsible just to put a name on the roster.

Could it be that the only "new" names we see on the roster come October, are the Three M's we finally get back from injury: Mark Streit, Mike Mottau, Mark Eaton? Wait, have the Isles reached the cap floor yet?

Issues abound for the once proud team from the Island. Could there be just TOO many issues to overcome this year? Will the loyal and beleaguered fan base be able to put up with another year of failure and problems?

Or is there still be a rabbit in that hat.

Side note: Prospect game tickets now on sale for only $10. Come see Ryan Strome and all the young guns and start the season in September!

Another Big Loss for the Isles: Eaton Done for Season

Can it get any worse? Seriously? While I know you should never tempt fate with something like that, the bleeding has to stop.

The NY Islanders have been informed that Mark Eaton will undergo hip surgery in Colorado, in that wing of the hospital paid for by Islanders money, and the man who blocked the most amount of shots on the team is now finished for the year. He played 34 games and blocked 84 shots. He will be sorely missed.

Eaton is just another name being added to the list of NHLers who were on the Islanders roster this season.

With no word as to whether Frans Nielsen will be ready to play tomorrow night against Vancouver, I am ASSUMING that to be the case as they have waived Jon Sim today making me also assume that Jeremy Colliton will remain in the line-up.

No answer on Rick DiPietro either, but rumor has it, he should be back in the line-up some time this week.

Thanks to Blake Price on Vancouver Team1040am radio at www.teamradio.ca who called tonight for a segment that will air at 9:45 pm.

Hopefully they edited out the stuttering. I am no Chris King.

A huge thanks to @Mozy19, my favorite Canucks fan, and just awesome guy, for giving me a cheat sheet for the call in.

From Bad to Worse: Eaton out Indefinitely

If not for bad luck, the Islanders would have no luck at all. It's an old adage, but it has never been more true than it is today for the NY Islanders.

The Islanders will play Edmonton tonight after learning that veteran defenseman Mark Eaton requires surgery on his right hip. The man who has played 32 games for the Islanders and blocked 82 shots will be out of service indefinitely. Now, is that "indefinitely" Mike Mottau season ending indefinitely? Or is it more like Mark Streit "indefinitely" until maybe April if there is any season left to play? We are not sure.

But it now makes Jon Sim at 33-years-old the oldest player on the Islanders roster. Dwayne Roloson pushed up their average age all by himself, but he's not there any more. Doug Weight could help out here, and he was skating today saying his back is feeling better. But he has not been cleared to play and there hasn't even been a peep as to when that might be.

The Islanders start tonight having already lost 277 man games due (273 due to injury and 4 of due to suspensions). That is a staggering number.

Please let them call in an exorcist because this has gotten out of hand once again. It is surreal. While all teams go through injury problems, I don't believe any have been as decimated as this team... AGAIN!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Rick & Sim In, Hunter Out Isles WIN vs. Devils 11/26/10

And so it begins.
Rick gets the nod again, for good reason. He has been playing well. Jon Sim has been recalled to replaced injured Trent Hunter who is out with a knee injury suffered on Wednesday.

Sadly Rick won't be able to face off against Marty Brodeur as he is scratched along with Jamie Langenbrunner and Matthew Corrente for the Devils.

This game has significance as it could tie the longest Islanders losing streak or break it. I'm opting for the second one.

With 1:41 left of the third Jack calls a time out. There is an empty Devils net at the other end of the ice and an extra Devils attacker. Joensuu passes to Martin but he can't get a shot off into the empty net. The Isles keep the puck in the nuetral zone until it is forced back in where Rick has to make one final save.


Let's Go Islanders.

With three quick whistles in the first few seconds, the Islanders are the first on the board with a goal by Jesse Joensuu at 1:32 with an assist by Frans and Grabner.

That's how you start the game!

The Islanders have the first power play of the afternoon as David Clarkson heads to the box for interference. But they are spending way too much time chasing the puck out of their own zone. Nothing comes of it. They are still without a power play goal in almost 30 chances.



Colin White seems to have it out for anyone in a blue sweater. But sadly it was Bruno Gervais that answered the bell after White's hit on Parenteau. Let's talk about uneven penalties again, shall we. Bruno gets 2 for instigating, five for fighting and a ten minute misconduct while White gets 5 for fighting and 5 for boarding. The Islanders will have a short power play as Bruno headed to the dressing room with only 8 minutes left of the first.

Johan Hedberg is called for tripping early in the second with the Islanders out shooting them at 15 to 5 in front of an announced attendance of 10,897. Kovalchuk gets to sit in the box for their goalie.

With nine seconds left of the power play, Blake Comeau takes a goaltender interference penalty and the Islanders are on the PK for 1:20. Still no goals on the power play. Something isn't clicking.



With a pass from Blake Comeau to Rob Schremp, Rob manages to get the puck behind Hedberg from the far left corner. Or as Brad Kurtzberg, from InsideHockey.com, likes to call it "Schremp's Office

The shots on goal are 19 - 12 in the Islanders favor, but the hits are a staggering 21 to 9 in favor of the Isles.

With 1:41 left of the second, the clang off the post scared me but didn't go in behind Rick. Jon Sim has been doing everything that Jon Sim does naturally, but Mark Eaton has made some excellent defensive plays to keep the away from the net.


One minute remaining in the second and the Islanders manage to withstand a flurry of activity in their own zone and head to the dressing room still up by two. If they can hold the Devils off for another twenty minutes, the streak will be broken and a new day will dawn for the team.


The third begins and with four minutes gone, the shots are now in the Devils favor at 20 to 19. The Islanders defenders have done an excellent job keeping the puck away from DiPietro by giving themselves up to block. While Rick has made some excellent saves, none have been of the caliber of Wednesdays, that caused a DiPi chant -- until now when Mattias Tedenby takes a point blank shot at Rick and there is no rebound.

The third period has been all Devils. I've been watching without typing when Brad Kurtzberg notices I'm turning blue. "Breathe Dee." And I exhale as they break to clean the ice.

Reese takes an interference penalty at 10:04 and the PK is back to work. This is a turning point for the roster. If they can get past this, it will prove how much they really want it

And just as I said that, James Wisniewski takes a highsticking penalty for clipping Tedenby in the face with a high stick. Drawing blood, he gets four minutes. And the Isles are killing off a five on three penalty before they are only down one man. The game is on their sticks. Can they hold the lead?

Rick DiPietro does his best impression of Billy Smith clearing Clarkson out of his crease over and over again. With one rebound at the side of the net in a dangerous position, the Isles still manage to kill off the five on three followed by the five on four. Maybe they do want it as much as the fans who are now cheering "Let's Go Islanders!"

The Devils called a time out and left their net empty when they returned to the ice. With an extra Devils attacker on the ice it became a tense situation. The Islanders managed to keep the puck in the nuetral zone but couldn't manage to get it in the empty net. It didn't matter. With the clock ticking down the last two minutes, then one minute of the game, it was clear that the streakwould be broken. The Islanders would win this game 2 - 0 and Rick DiPietro would once again earn a shut out against the NJ Devils.



After the on ice celebration in net, Deb Placey spoke with Rick on the ice. He addressed the fans and thanked them for all their support during this terrible losing streak. He meant every word. The fans that were behind him today are the ones that mean the most to him.

In the dressing room he talked about this only being one game. And while he and everyone else was glad it was a win, they know there is plenty of work to be done.

"Four points in three games. It's a start." Matt Moulson told me before heading off. Rick told a another reporter with just this win, there was no way they should start getting cocky.

They won't. But they needed a good place to start. Today was day one.


Coach Jack Capuano with his first NHL win has a reason to smile and gets a few days to plot and plan before facing the dreaded Rangers in home and home games Thursday and Friday.



Locker room quotes to follow.