Jack Capuano has coached 5 games for the Islanders and while the effort has been there for the most part the results have been mixed.
The Islanders are injury riddled. Out right now -
Mark Streit
Kyle Okposo
Milan Jurcina
Andrew MacDonald
Jack Hillen
Also, Trent Hunter, Doug Weight and Mike Mottau are all dinged up.
Capuano so far has "simplified" the Gordon system which was said was high on situational coaching and given the team more freedom to be creative.
What exactly this means is a matter of opinion. Capuano has been called a players coach while Gordon is an X's and O's coach. That's the best way it can be explained.
Under Gordon the Islanders were not getting out shot by wide margins like they are now but that issue can be traced to the expanded responsibilities of two players - Bruno Gervais and Radek Martinek.
Both players came through the Islanders system and seem to be able to keep their jobs despite their porous defensive play.
You can put Columbus' overtime winner directly on Martinek's shoulders who was faked out so bad on the rush that his pants and jockstrap were in the opposite corner while he sat there wondering what just happened as the Jackets celebrated around him.
Sitting in the press box makes it easier to see who is in the right and wrong positions and who is hurting the team.
Gervais and Martinek are hurting the team and need to go. Who takes their place?
There has to be someone better in Bridgeport that has more sense defensively.
Mark Katic? Dustin Kohn? They cannot be any worse and should fill those gaps until Jurcina and MacDonald get back.
Dylan Reese has not embarrassed himself in his call up and Travis Hamonic has played brilliantly in his own end and came within a whisker of winning the Columbus game.
When Jurcina and MacDonald get back they should not replace Reese and Hamonic, they should replace Gervais and Martinek.
They can't get back soon enough.
Rick Dipetro has stepped up his game and is showing that he has something left other than befuddled looks and poor positioning.
Rick may never be as acrobatic as he once was and that's probably a good thing as his acrobatics no doubt contributed to his injuries. The last few games he has rarely been caught out of position. Its amazing the saves you can make when you don't have to dive across the crease every other shot.
Dipetro has seemingly shaken off the 2 years worth of rust and settled into a nice groove here and I look forward to seeing him continue his resurgence.
The fans have had doubts about Rick but at the same time most Islander fans are rooting hard for him.
The offense continues to struggle. That is not going to change unless the Islanders can trade Gervais and Martinek for Malkin and Ovechkin.
They will have to continue to throw the puck at the net and see what happens. Okposo is still 2 weeks away and how much he helps when he returns is a huge question mark.
The biggest thing the Islanders have to do is get healthy to fill the monstrous holes on defense and try to find ways to score goals. The goaltending has to remain solid.
The attendance at the Coliseum against the Blue Jackets was announced at over 8,000.
If there were over 3,500 people there I would be shocked. Support has always been a hard thing to attain for any team that isn't performing.
Look at Yankee Stadium in the late 80's and early 90's. They were drawing 15,000 a game and everyone was talking about how the area and stadium would never draw big crowds back to the Bronx.
Look what success brings and it shows that no matter where you play, if you win people will come.
Teams that don't win do not get crowds especially in New York. Not in this economy or in any economy.
Unless the Islanders start winning hockey games they will play in front of empty seats.
Its an ugly cycle isn't it?
You don't win, people don't go, the politicians see no one and wont budge on the building, so you can't improve the team through free agency.
There is one cure for all of the Islanders ills. Winning. Can they save this season and still challenge for that playoff spot?
They have 14 games before new years. I do not think that its crazy to say the team needs at least 20 points out of those 14 games. Some of the Injured Islanders including Okposo will return in December.
The season isn't over but the Islanders have to turn it around NOW. December is the Islanders chance to turn it around starting with 2 games against the Rangers. If at the end of the month the teams record is 15-16-5 or better the team will be in business for an exciting second half.
Leave your comments below.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
New York Islanders: Scott Gordon is Fall Guy - For Now
The Islanders fired coach Scott Gordon Monday.
I only ask one question: What difference is this going to make?
Does Jack Capuano have a magic wand that is going to heal the Islanders injury problems?
Is he going to make Rick DiPietro regain the ability to stop a puck?
Is he going to make the Islanders a puck moving goal scoring sensation?
I can give you those answers right now. No, no and no.
This may have been the most pointless firing in the history of the NHL. If the Islanders are going to go somewhere this season its not because Scott Gordon failed the team and Jack Capuano is the answer.
There is no coach short of some Al Arbour - Scotty Bowman - Dick Irvin - Toe Blake mashed together super coach that can by himself make players score more goals, play better between the pipes and play better defense.
Scott Gordon did nothing wrong except maybe set a record for coaching a team with the most man games lost to injury during his tenure.
I am so sick and tired of people saying injuries can't be used as an excuse for poor play.
When you lose 3 of your best defenseman - news flash - its going to effect your defense.
When you lose your top winger - news flash - its going to effect your offense.
When Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau suffer injuries and come back and play half the game they did then before they got hurt - news flash its going to effect your play.
When Rick DiPietro has two hip operations and three knee surgeries - news flash - its going to effect your play.
Get the point? Injuries are a part of the game this is true and as long as players get hurt their absence will effect whatever team they play for negatively.
It would serve me great pleasure for Scott Gordon to leave the Islanders with his dignity in tact and become the next Peter Laviolette.
I like Scott Gordon and I think he will be a successful coach in this league if given another opportunity. The only problem for him is it looks like he is taking the token "assistant to Garth Snow" job.
What happens if the negative trend continues and the Islanders finish at or near the bottom of the NHL again? Does Garth Snow come out un-scathed or does he follow Gordon to the unemployment line?
This reeks of desperation. This stinks of placing blame. There is no one at fault except fate and if there is some sort of evil injury fairy cursing the Islanders.
Two weeks ago the Islanders were 4-1-2 and playing excellent hockey. Now they are at the bottom of the league and looking really bad doing it.
If Scott Gordon is going to be fired for this, then if Jack Capuano does not turn the season around and the team make a run at the playoffs then Garth Snow should be fired also.
Add coaching uncertainty to the list of reasons top free agents will not consider the Islanders as a destination.
If the Islanders bomb out and Capuano joins Gordon as a "special assistant" within the organization then that creates a coaching search at the end of the season. Another black eye on the team where free agents are concerned.
This firing was pointless unless the Islanders are over .500 by new years and if that does not happen Garth Snow should follow Gordon out the door.
Place your comments below.
I only ask one question: What difference is this going to make?
Does Jack Capuano have a magic wand that is going to heal the Islanders injury problems?
Is he going to make Rick DiPietro regain the ability to stop a puck?
Is he going to make the Islanders a puck moving goal scoring sensation?
I can give you those answers right now. No, no and no.
This may have been the most pointless firing in the history of the NHL. If the Islanders are going to go somewhere this season its not because Scott Gordon failed the team and Jack Capuano is the answer.
There is no coach short of some Al Arbour - Scotty Bowman - Dick Irvin - Toe Blake mashed together super coach that can by himself make players score more goals, play better between the pipes and play better defense.
Scott Gordon did nothing wrong except maybe set a record for coaching a team with the most man games lost to injury during his tenure.
I am so sick and tired of people saying injuries can't be used as an excuse for poor play.
When you lose 3 of your best defenseman - news flash - its going to effect your defense.
When you lose your top winger - news flash - its going to effect your offense.
When Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau suffer injuries and come back and play half the game they did then before they got hurt - news flash its going to effect your play.
When Rick DiPietro has two hip operations and three knee surgeries - news flash - its going to effect your play.
Get the point? Injuries are a part of the game this is true and as long as players get hurt their absence will effect whatever team they play for negatively.
It would serve me great pleasure for Scott Gordon to leave the Islanders with his dignity in tact and become the next Peter Laviolette.
I like Scott Gordon and I think he will be a successful coach in this league if given another opportunity. The only problem for him is it looks like he is taking the token "assistant to Garth Snow" job.
What happens if the negative trend continues and the Islanders finish at or near the bottom of the NHL again? Does Garth Snow come out un-scathed or does he follow Gordon to the unemployment line?
This reeks of desperation. This stinks of placing blame. There is no one at fault except fate and if there is some sort of evil injury fairy cursing the Islanders.
Two weeks ago the Islanders were 4-1-2 and playing excellent hockey. Now they are at the bottom of the league and looking really bad doing it.
If Scott Gordon is going to be fired for this, then if Jack Capuano does not turn the season around and the team make a run at the playoffs then Garth Snow should be fired also.
Add coaching uncertainty to the list of reasons top free agents will not consider the Islanders as a destination.
If the Islanders bomb out and Capuano joins Gordon as a "special assistant" within the organization then that creates a coaching search at the end of the season. Another black eye on the team where free agents are concerned.
This firing was pointless unless the Islanders are over .500 by new years and if that does not happen Garth Snow should follow Gordon out the door.
Place your comments below.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
New York Islanders: What the Heck Happened?
The Islanders were 4-1-2 and could have easily been 7-0 in their first seven games. Seven games later they are 4-8-2 and look like the team that the so called experts predicted we would all see.
What are the reasons the Islanders have taken a seven game nose dive? Let us examine.
1) Injuries.
Who says you cant use injuries as an excuse for losing?
This may be the most stupid, un-true sporting cliche in the history of organized sport.
So if the Indianapolis Colts are 7-0 with Peyton Manning and he gets injured and the Colts then proceed to go 0-7 without him can you blame injuries then?
What if Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mark Tiexiera, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte
Yes Injuries are a part of the game and all teams have them but the Islanders seem to be snake bitten and have been at the top or in the top 5 in man games to injury over the last 4 years than any team in the league.
Back to the current Islanders we are not talking about the obvious injuries to Okposo and Streit. No the ones to Andy MacDonald, Milan Jurcina, Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau.
Yes I know Comeau and Bailey are back but has anyone seen the fire in them we saw before they got hurt?
Nope. Neither have I.
It can not be overstated how much the injuries to Jurcina and MacDonald have hurt the team. Mostly because the team has had to depend on the ridiculously over-rated Radek Martinek who seems to be on the ice for every bad goal against and Bruno Gervais who you can sum up in one word - soft.
Martinek and Gervais are left overs from a time in Islanders history where all you had to do is show a little bit of talent on an awful team then that means you belong as a top 4 defenseman.
In both cases they are 6th and 7th defenseman at best and are proving it on a nightly basis.
2) Goaltending.
It was supposed to be a strong point for the team with a healthy Rick DiPietro and a solid back up in Roloson and neither has come close to expectation. I said in an earlier blog article that the biggest thing the Islanders had to do to make themselves a playoff team was improve their horriffic goals against totals froma year ago. This has not happened because of shoddy defense and bad goaltending. The Islanders sit at 29th in Goals Against.
3) Effort.
How did the team go from working hard every shift on the ice to a team that looked like it was skating with shoes on against the Flyers and Hurricanes? You can only blame the coach, but I wont place the blame entirely on the coach.
Play hard or your out has to be the team's mantra. If the team does not improve and the good thing is there is plenty of time for them to straighten it out Gordon will be fired and the team can only look inward for its lack of effort.
The good news is it is really early in the season and the Islanders have plenty of time to right the ship as they say.
Hopefully they will not dig themselves in such a big hole to get out of because playing .500 hockey the rest of the way will not get the team to the playoffs.
Post your comments below.
What are the reasons the Islanders have taken a seven game nose dive? Let us examine.
1) Injuries.
Who says you cant use injuries as an excuse for losing?
This may be the most stupid, un-true sporting cliche in the history of organized sport.
So if the Indianapolis Colts are 7-0 with Peyton Manning and he gets injured and the Colts then proceed to go 0-7 without him can you blame injuries then?
What if Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mark Tiexiera, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte
Yes Injuries are a part of the game and all teams have them but the Islanders seem to be snake bitten and have been at the top or in the top 5 in man games to injury over the last 4 years than any team in the league.
Back to the current Islanders we are not talking about the obvious injuries to Okposo and Streit. No the ones to Andy MacDonald, Milan Jurcina, Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau.
Yes I know Comeau and Bailey are back but has anyone seen the fire in them we saw before they got hurt?
Nope. Neither have I.
It can not be overstated how much the injuries to Jurcina and MacDonald have hurt the team. Mostly because the team has had to depend on the ridiculously over-rated Radek Martinek who seems to be on the ice for every bad goal against and Bruno Gervais who you can sum up in one word - soft.
Martinek and Gervais are left overs from a time in Islanders history where all you had to do is show a little bit of talent on an awful team then that means you belong as a top 4 defenseman.
In both cases they are 6th and 7th defenseman at best and are proving it on a nightly basis.
2) Goaltending.
It was supposed to be a strong point for the team with a healthy Rick DiPietro and a solid back up in Roloson and neither has come close to expectation. I said in an earlier blog article that the biggest thing the Islanders had to do to make themselves a playoff team was improve their horriffic goals against totals froma year ago. This has not happened because of shoddy defense and bad goaltending. The Islanders sit at 29th in Goals Against.
3) Effort.
How did the team go from working hard every shift on the ice to a team that looked like it was skating with shoes on against the Flyers and Hurricanes? You can only blame the coach, but I wont place the blame entirely on the coach.
Play hard or your out has to be the team's mantra. If the team does not improve and the good thing is there is plenty of time for them to straighten it out Gordon will be fired and the team can only look inward for its lack of effort.
The good news is it is really early in the season and the Islanders have plenty of time to right the ship as they say.
Hopefully they will not dig themselves in such a big hole to get out of because playing .500 hockey the rest of the way will not get the team to the playoffs.
Post your comments below.
Monday, November 1, 2010
New York Islanders: Which Team is the Real Islanders
Is it the team that gave the best in the NHL fits or is it the team that got blown away in Philadelphia?
Is it the 4-1-2 Islanders in the first 7 games?
Or is it the 0-4 Islanders of the last 4?
Let's take a look at both side of the coin with the first glance at the 0-4 Islanders:
1) True Colors - The Islanders are young and its showing. Experience is something this team does not have short of its Captain and its something that will only be gained through one thing and thats years playing in the NHL.
2) DiPietro a shell of himself - Rick is back and apparently healthy. That's where the positives end. DP is 2-2-2 with an abysmal 3.75 GAA and an even worse .867 save percentage. Those kind of numbers would get most goaltenders drummed out of the NHL.
3) Inconsistency Kills - The first 7 games the Islanders masked their deficiencies with hard work. Without this aspect of their game more results like the 6-1 drubbing by Philadelphia will not be the last time.
Ladies and Gentlemen here is the case that the 4-1-2 Islanders are the real Islanders -
1) DP will even out - Sure Rick's numbers are sub par but as long as he remains healthy he will shake the rust off. Rick has not played with full health in almost 2 years and it will take him some time to get back to any resemblance of his former self.
As long as he remains healthy he will improve. Rick is better than this everyone knows it.
2) Defense still strong despite bad game - The Islanders defense was not good against Philadelphia. Everyone has bad games. The Red Wings have allowed 6 goals in a game from time to time. Against Montreal the Islanders ran into a buzz saw. The Habs are playing excellent hockey right now and all it will take to turn it around is one win.
3) Philly game was not nearly as bad as score indicated - Sergei Bobrovsky had an excellent game for the Flyers or the score would have been a lot closer. The Islanders probably would not have won but he made 3 or 4 saves that easily could have made the TSN highlight reels.
Which Islanders team is the real Islanders team? Leave your comments below.
Is it the 4-1-2 Islanders in the first 7 games?
Or is it the 0-4 Islanders of the last 4?
Let's take a look at both side of the coin with the first glance at the 0-4 Islanders:
1) True Colors - The Islanders are young and its showing. Experience is something this team does not have short of its Captain and its something that will only be gained through one thing and thats years playing in the NHL.
2) DiPietro a shell of himself - Rick is back and apparently healthy. That's where the positives end. DP is 2-2-2 with an abysmal 3.75 GAA and an even worse .867 save percentage. Those kind of numbers would get most goaltenders drummed out of the NHL.
3) Inconsistency Kills - The first 7 games the Islanders masked their deficiencies with hard work. Without this aspect of their game more results like the 6-1 drubbing by Philadelphia will not be the last time.
Ladies and Gentlemen here is the case that the 4-1-2 Islanders are the real Islanders -
1) DP will even out - Sure Rick's numbers are sub par but as long as he remains healthy he will shake the rust off. Rick has not played with full health in almost 2 years and it will take him some time to get back to any resemblance of his former self.
As long as he remains healthy he will improve. Rick is better than this everyone knows it.
2) Defense still strong despite bad game - The Islanders defense was not good against Philadelphia. Everyone has bad games. The Red Wings have allowed 6 goals in a game from time to time. Against Montreal the Islanders ran into a buzz saw. The Habs are playing excellent hockey right now and all it will take to turn it around is one win.
3) Philly game was not nearly as bad as score indicated - Sergei Bobrovsky had an excellent game for the Flyers or the score would have been a lot closer. The Islanders probably would not have won but he made 3 or 4 saves that easily could have made the TSN highlight reels.
Which Islanders team is the real Islanders team? Leave your comments below.
Friday, October 29, 2010
New York Islanders: Lighthouse Project Still Dark
It has been 4 months since Kate Murray essentially blew up Charles Wang's plans for his mega project in Uniondale.
See - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419121-ny-islanders-murray-drops-bomb-on-lighthouse
Since then we have heard the following.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
For 5 years Charles Wang waited for an answer. He did all of the public relations, open town hall meetings started an entire corporation around his dream project.
One obstacle has brought any plans he had to a screeching halt. The Town of Hempstead and its grand leader Kate Murray.
So whats next?
Charles Wang made news this week when he entered into a contract partnering with developer Michael Dubb on his 144 acre property in Plainview.
Both Wang and Dubb have said nothing about relocating Mr. Wang's Lighthouse project to this site. All they have said is the want to "Create a Lifestyle community that will be an asset to the neighborhood."
Interesting words that mean essentially nothing.
Its no secret that this site is one of the handful that the Shinnecock Nation Indian Tribe was looking at as a possible Casino site.
Its also no secret that the Coliseum site was another high on the Shinnecock's wish list.
Maybe this site in Plainview will be what it appears. Or maybe its Charles Wang's Plan B.
Partnering with the Shinnecock Nation would allow any developer to bypass any local Town boards authority over the project. That prospect in of itself has to have Mr. Wang interested in a possible partnership with the tribe.
The Islanders lease is up in 2015. You can no longer say "well they have a long term lease, so they can't go anywhere."
Every year that goes by the lease gets less and less expensive for a possible buy out.
This does not mean the Islanders are bolting for Kansas City because no one would walk away from the Islanders cable contract unless absolutely necessary.
What it means is Charles Wang no longer has all his eggs in Kate Murray's basket.
You don't think the Town of Oyster Bay's Supervisor John Venditto would want the Islanders in his Town?
It would take 2-3 years to actually build an arena start to finish. Add planning to that, engineering, political red tape, union problems, protests, hearings, zoning problems, variances and government approvals could push this whole process if started today to 4-5 years.
Which means that if the Lighthouse project is in fact dead Mr. Wang has to be looking at alternate plans. Is this site in Plainview Plan B?
Charles Wang tried the public route to get his Lighthouse and ultimately failed because of the Town of Hempstead's road blocks.
Maybe he is trying the subtle route this time. Maybe he is waiting for the Shinnecock Nation to finally get its federal recognition.
Charles Wang has a plan. The Long Island community and the New York Islander fans would love to know what it is.
Only time will tell.
Post Your comments below.
See - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419121-ny-islanders-murray-drops-bomb-on-lighthouse
Since then we have heard the following.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
For 5 years Charles Wang waited for an answer. He did all of the public relations, open town hall meetings started an entire corporation around his dream project.
One obstacle has brought any plans he had to a screeching halt. The Town of Hempstead and its grand leader Kate Murray.
So whats next?
Charles Wang made news this week when he entered into a contract partnering with developer Michael Dubb on his 144 acre property in Plainview.
Both Wang and Dubb have said nothing about relocating Mr. Wang's Lighthouse project to this site. All they have said is the want to "Create a Lifestyle community that will be an asset to the neighborhood."
Interesting words that mean essentially nothing.
Its no secret that this site is one of the handful that the Shinnecock Nation Indian Tribe was looking at as a possible Casino site.
Its also no secret that the Coliseum site was another high on the Shinnecock's wish list.
Maybe this site in Plainview will be what it appears. Or maybe its Charles Wang's Plan B.
Partnering with the Shinnecock Nation would allow any developer to bypass any local Town boards authority over the project. That prospect in of itself has to have Mr. Wang interested in a possible partnership with the tribe.
The Islanders lease is up in 2015. You can no longer say "well they have a long term lease, so they can't go anywhere."
Every year that goes by the lease gets less and less expensive for a possible buy out.
This does not mean the Islanders are bolting for Kansas City because no one would walk away from the Islanders cable contract unless absolutely necessary.
What it means is Charles Wang no longer has all his eggs in Kate Murray's basket.
You don't think the Town of Oyster Bay's Supervisor John Venditto would want the Islanders in his Town?
It would take 2-3 years to actually build an arena start to finish. Add planning to that, engineering, political red tape, union problems, protests, hearings, zoning problems, variances and government approvals could push this whole process if started today to 4-5 years.
Which means that if the Lighthouse project is in fact dead Mr. Wang has to be looking at alternate plans. Is this site in Plainview Plan B?
Charles Wang tried the public route to get his Lighthouse and ultimately failed because of the Town of Hempstead's road blocks.
Maybe he is trying the subtle route this time. Maybe he is waiting for the Shinnecock Nation to finally get its federal recognition.
Charles Wang has a plan. The Long Island community and the New York Islander fans would love to know what it is.
Only time will tell.
Post Your comments below.
Monday, October 25, 2010
NY Islanders: First 8 Games a Good Start - Come and See
First of all for those of you who like to follow athletes on twitter there are currently four New York Islander players who are actually on Twitter. They are -
Matt Moulson - http://twitter.com/MMoulson
Rob Schremp - http://twitter.com/RobSchremp
Michael Grabner - http://twitter.com/grabs40
Bruno Gervais - http://twitter.com/bruno_gervais8
Anyone else is simply not who you think it is.
With that out of the way let us get to the business at hand.
Islander fans have been talking about the play this season of the Islanders and how exciting all of the games have been so far this season.
The record stands at the moment at 4-2-2. The two regulation losses to the Capitals and Panthers the Islanders were outplayed in very small periods of time in those two games.
One bad bounce and the either or both of the games could be in the win column.
The Islanders are showing that they may be in a rebuilding phase but the rebuilding phase is starting to show progress to make the hockey world take notice.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves and proclaim the Islanders as a contender however if you look at the body of work over the eight games this season you can tell two things.
1) The Islanders themselves believe they can win every game they play and will not be intimidated by the best the league has to offer.
and
2) Playing the Islanders is no longer an easy two points. Other teams are going to have to battle the Islanders every step of the way. This team will not take a night off.
Now what the team has to start doing is to make its fan base believe what they already know. The Islanders are competitive, young and exciting.
If you buy a ticket to watch this team you will no longer feel as though you would have been better off watching Avatar at home for the 6th time.
What you will see if a healthy Rick Dipietro, or is steady as oak back-up Dwayne Roloson.
You will see a defense corp. that will not wilt before your eyes in the 3rd period but a group that can and will stand tall and hold leads. One or two injuries will not cripple team defense as it has in seasons past.
You will see a very young and very fast group of forwards all on the upswing and one 39 year old who is keeping up with them in Doug Weight.
You will see a 21 year old sniper John Tavares coming into his own in the NHL beginning to carve out his place in the NHL along side its elite players.
You will see last years success story in Matt Moulson prove he is no one hit wonder.
You will see young forwards making the progress Islander fans have hoped they would.
What you will not see if you buy a ticket in the old barn to see the Islanders play is the home team embarrass itself on the ice, putting a 3rd rate product out there with coaches and management who don't seem to care.
What you wont see is visiting teams come in and treat the Coliseum ice as if they own it.
What the Islanders need to see is more Blue, Orange and White in the stands instead of blue and green empty seats.
Islander fans you are out there. I know there are tens of thousands of Islander fans who still remember the early 80's or younger fans have had their fathers tell them about the great Islander teams of the period.
For the fans who have written this franchise off I say this - It is time to come back to the team. It is time to fill the stands of the Coliseum again and breathe life back into that arena.
Sure its an old outdated arena. Fill it with 15,000 plus fans and no one is going to care.
If you remember the glory days of the Islanders and how much fun it was to go to the Coliseum come on back.
If you remember the Islanders playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs then come on back.
You will not be disappointed at the effort and skill this young team is putting on the ice.
Post your thoughts in the comment section below.
Matt Moulson - http://twitter.com/MMoulson
Rob Schremp - http://twitter.com/RobSchremp
Michael Grabner - http://twitter.com/grabs40
Bruno Gervais - http://twitter.com/bruno_gervais8
Anyone else is simply not who you think it is.
With that out of the way let us get to the business at hand.
Islander fans have been talking about the play this season of the Islanders and how exciting all of the games have been so far this season.
The record stands at the moment at 4-2-2. The two regulation losses to the Capitals and Panthers the Islanders were outplayed in very small periods of time in those two games.
One bad bounce and the either or both of the games could be in the win column.
The Islanders are showing that they may be in a rebuilding phase but the rebuilding phase is starting to show progress to make the hockey world take notice.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves and proclaim the Islanders as a contender however if you look at the body of work over the eight games this season you can tell two things.
1) The Islanders themselves believe they can win every game they play and will not be intimidated by the best the league has to offer.
and
2) Playing the Islanders is no longer an easy two points. Other teams are going to have to battle the Islanders every step of the way. This team will not take a night off.
Now what the team has to start doing is to make its fan base believe what they already know. The Islanders are competitive, young and exciting.
If you buy a ticket to watch this team you will no longer feel as though you would have been better off watching Avatar at home for the 6th time.
What you will see if a healthy Rick Dipietro, or is steady as oak back-up Dwayne Roloson.
You will see a defense corp. that will not wilt before your eyes in the 3rd period but a group that can and will stand tall and hold leads. One or two injuries will not cripple team defense as it has in seasons past.
You will see a very young and very fast group of forwards all on the upswing and one 39 year old who is keeping up with them in Doug Weight.
You will see a 21 year old sniper John Tavares coming into his own in the NHL beginning to carve out his place in the NHL along side its elite players.
You will see last years success story in Matt Moulson prove he is no one hit wonder.
You will see young forwards making the progress Islander fans have hoped they would.
What you will not see if you buy a ticket in the old barn to see the Islanders play is the home team embarrass itself on the ice, putting a 3rd rate product out there with coaches and management who don't seem to care.
What you wont see is visiting teams come in and treat the Coliseum ice as if they own it.
What the Islanders need to see is more Blue, Orange and White in the stands instead of blue and green empty seats.
Islander fans you are out there. I know there are tens of thousands of Islander fans who still remember the early 80's or younger fans have had their fathers tell them about the great Islander teams of the period.
For the fans who have written this franchise off I say this - It is time to come back to the team. It is time to fill the stands of the Coliseum again and breathe life back into that arena.
Sure its an old outdated arena. Fill it with 15,000 plus fans and no one is going to care.
If you remember the glory days of the Islanders and how much fun it was to go to the Coliseum come on back.
If you remember the Islanders playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs then come on back.
You will not be disappointed at the effort and skill this young team is putting on the ice.
Post your thoughts in the comment section below.
Monday, October 18, 2010
New York Islanders: TV Coverage is a Joke
We are 5 games into the NHL 2010-2011 season and there are many surprises around the NHL.
Some of them are:
1) The remarkable 4-0 start of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
2) Martin Brodeur's and Robert Luongo's sudden inability to stop pucks.
3) The hot start of the NY Islanders and more specifically Josh Bailey.
These are just some of the stories around the NHL right now and one that is bugging all Islander fans is the mockery of TV coverage that MSG+ provides.
Islander fans have no problems with Howie Rose (other than him being a Rangers fan) and Butch Goring who as a former player and coach brings a very nice perspective of the games. Butch has done an phenomenal job so far providing insights that Billy Jaffe didn't or couldn't or both.
The fans are speaking of something more subtle. Is it lost on no one that the Islanders have every one of their games broadcast on a network that owned and has the initials of where their blood rivals play?
It would be like the Red Sox being broadcast on YES2 or The Phillies being on SNY2.
If the Islanders received equally as slick production values as the top channel of the bunch, MSG network this would not be as big an issue as it is.
MSG+ is a joke. The name is a joke, the production values are a joke and whoever has been the director for the Islander games so far should be fired. Why?
I turned on the Islanders home opener and watched the pre-game show. Everything looked good. Then something happened. The color hue turned and everyone looked like a smurf with blue toned skin that made Avatar's Na'vi look pale.
It was not something that lasted for a minute and went back to normal, this was something that lasted for over 25 minutes.
I called my TV provider, DirecTV already knowing that it was not their feed causing the problem. I explained to the customer service representative what i saw and told him i don't think its you, its the feed from Cablevision. He proceeded to put me on hold and checked the TV they have in the office and came back laughing saying yes, i see the same thing the color is off and everyone looks like the smurfs.
He thanked me for reporting the problem and said he would contact the source of the feed.
The rest of the game went off O.K. except for the usual MSG+ issues of lingering on the announcers for uncomfortable lengths of time after they were done speaking or going to a shot to fast before someone was ready to speak.
Then there was the game against Pittsburgh. I turned on my new 63" HDTV to watch the Islanders take on Crosby and Company and what do i see? shadows around every player and advertisement along the boards giving me the look like the contrast was turned way to high. This lasted most of the game before the bumbling buffoons running the show fixed it.
What annoyed me even more is flipping over to the mighty MSG network and seeing perfection. Not on the ice mind you but a perfect picture. Sharp, colorful, full Dolby Digital surround 5.1 sound.
Then there was the game versus Colorado. Not the game itself. The picture was NOT HD. Why was it not in HD? Not because DirecTV does not have the bandwidth or because someone forgot to flip the HD switch, its because on the over flow channel that MSG provides for the games that are not on MSG and MSG+ simply are not broadcast in HD.
In this day and age how can ANY major sports programming not be broadcast in High Definition?
While your thinking about that one let me ask you this - During the Islanders-Penguins game why did the audio sound like it was coming through a cup with a string on it?
If you watch Islanders games on TV and judging from the ratings bump the Islanders have enjoyed since they drafted John Tavares a lot of you are then odds are you have seen mistake after mistake MSG+ has made in its Islander broadcasts. Its annoying, embarrassing and there is no excuse considering what fans pay for television these days.
Cablevision is paying the Islanders a lot of money for its broadcast rights and it shows. They take it right out of the broadcasts with what has to be interns running the graphics, audio and technical aspects. It is a disgrace and indicative of a company that is now depriving its customers of watching the FOX network of channels.
Sure FOX is greedy that much is a given but so is Cablevision any customer of theirs who has to endure their second and third rate equipment and customer service will tell you.
They would not dare put the kind of production value on their precious Knicks and Rangers. No. Mr. Dolan cares about those teams. Considering the level of success those teams have had however you would never know it.
If that's how he treats the teams he does love then you can imagine how he treats the "other" teams on his networks.
I have distanced myself as much as I can from the empire that is Cablevision, the owners of Madison Square Garden, The New York Knicks the New York Rangers, Newsday, Radio City Music Hall and countless other businesses. Its just a shame that no matter what we do Islander fans and Devil fans for that matter cannot get them out of our lives.
Post your bad experiences and comments below watching the Islanders and Devils on MSG+.
Some of them are:
1) The remarkable 4-0 start of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
2) Martin Brodeur's and Robert Luongo's sudden inability to stop pucks.
3) The hot start of the NY Islanders and more specifically Josh Bailey.
These are just some of the stories around the NHL right now and one that is bugging all Islander fans is the mockery of TV coverage that MSG+ provides.
Islander fans have no problems with Howie Rose (other than him being a Rangers fan) and Butch Goring who as a former player and coach brings a very nice perspective of the games. Butch has done an phenomenal job so far providing insights that Billy Jaffe didn't or couldn't or both.
The fans are speaking of something more subtle. Is it lost on no one that the Islanders have every one of their games broadcast on a network that owned and has the initials of where their blood rivals play?
It would be like the Red Sox being broadcast on YES2 or The Phillies being on SNY2.
If the Islanders received equally as slick production values as the top channel of the bunch, MSG network this would not be as big an issue as it is.
MSG+ is a joke. The name is a joke, the production values are a joke and whoever has been the director for the Islander games so far should be fired. Why?
I turned on the Islanders home opener and watched the pre-game show. Everything looked good. Then something happened. The color hue turned and everyone looked like a smurf with blue toned skin that made Avatar's Na'vi look pale.
It was not something that lasted for a minute and went back to normal, this was something that lasted for over 25 minutes.
I called my TV provider, DirecTV already knowing that it was not their feed causing the problem. I explained to the customer service representative what i saw and told him i don't think its you, its the feed from Cablevision. He proceeded to put me on hold and checked the TV they have in the office and came back laughing saying yes, i see the same thing the color is off and everyone looks like the smurfs.
He thanked me for reporting the problem and said he would contact the source of the feed.
The rest of the game went off O.K. except for the usual MSG+ issues of lingering on the announcers for uncomfortable lengths of time after they were done speaking or going to a shot to fast before someone was ready to speak.
Then there was the game against Pittsburgh. I turned on my new 63" HDTV to watch the Islanders take on Crosby and Company and what do i see? shadows around every player and advertisement along the boards giving me the look like the contrast was turned way to high. This lasted most of the game before the bumbling buffoons running the show fixed it.
What annoyed me even more is flipping over to the mighty MSG network and seeing perfection. Not on the ice mind you but a perfect picture. Sharp, colorful, full Dolby Digital surround 5.1 sound.
Then there was the game versus Colorado. Not the game itself. The picture was NOT HD. Why was it not in HD? Not because DirecTV does not have the bandwidth or because someone forgot to flip the HD switch, its because on the over flow channel that MSG provides for the games that are not on MSG and MSG+ simply are not broadcast in HD.
In this day and age how can ANY major sports programming not be broadcast in High Definition?
While your thinking about that one let me ask you this - During the Islanders-Penguins game why did the audio sound like it was coming through a cup with a string on it?
If you watch Islanders games on TV and judging from the ratings bump the Islanders have enjoyed since they drafted John Tavares a lot of you are then odds are you have seen mistake after mistake MSG+ has made in its Islander broadcasts. Its annoying, embarrassing and there is no excuse considering what fans pay for television these days.
Cablevision is paying the Islanders a lot of money for its broadcast rights and it shows. They take it right out of the broadcasts with what has to be interns running the graphics, audio and technical aspects. It is a disgrace and indicative of a company that is now depriving its customers of watching the FOX network of channels.
Sure FOX is greedy that much is a given but so is Cablevision any customer of theirs who has to endure their second and third rate equipment and customer service will tell you.
They would not dare put the kind of production value on their precious Knicks and Rangers. No. Mr. Dolan cares about those teams. Considering the level of success those teams have had however you would never know it.
If that's how he treats the teams he does love then you can imagine how he treats the "other" teams on his networks.
I have distanced myself as much as I can from the empire that is Cablevision, the owners of Madison Square Garden, The New York Knicks the New York Rangers, Newsday, Radio City Music Hall and countless other businesses. Its just a shame that no matter what we do Islander fans and Devil fans for that matter cannot get them out of our lives.
Post your bad experiences and comments below watching the Islanders and Devils on MSG+.
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