Hockey Night on Long Island with Special Guest Greg Logan

Please join me on Saturday, March 28th, as I sit in for Alex on Hockey Night on Long Island. Steve and I will welcome Newsday's Islanders beat writer Greg Logan as our special guest. The show begins at 3:30 PM ET. You can click right here to listen live.

As always, feel free to join in by calling 718-664-9597, AIMing hockeynightli, or visiting the HNLI chatroom on the episode page.

Two-Minute Minors for 1/15/09

Lots of news to cover quickly before the Isles take on the Bruins with Yann Danis starting in goal, backed up by Peter Mannino...

Isles in KC
Don't you love it when there's news that you couldn't even have imagined before it breaks? The Isles moving to Kansas City? Yes, that you could imagine as news. But the Isles agreeing to play an exhibition game in Kansas City, thereby sparking debate of exactly what that means? I don't know how you see that one coming.

Certainly, it could all be just a big coincidence: a city with a brand-new arena wants to host a pre-season game and the Islanders jump at the chance to gain some revenue that wouldn't normally be available on the exhibition schedule. But you also can't ignore the symbolism of the Islanders being one of the teams participating.

Charles Wang has refused to play hardball with the local government where the Lighthouse Project is concerned. No threats, no ultimatums. It has been suggested that he may have to give up his Lady Byng-like conduct in order to push development forward. (Note: I actually wrote that before I saw Jim Baumbach join the fray today.) Just the mere association of the Islanders with Kansas City could be one step toward doing that.

But it's also too early to assume this is a major milestone in the history of the Islanders or the start of a more aggressive political game by the club.


Oh, Dubie Boy
That was supposed to be "Oh, Danis Boy" but current #1 goalie Yann is no longer the big story. In one of the easiest reconciliations imaginable, Wade Dubielewicz returns to the Islanders to fill their ever-growing hole in net. Or maybe he won't so much fill it, if you take Scott Gordon's words to heart:

"He stops the puck. You look at him, and you say to yourself, 'There's a lot of net there.' But I imagine he competes really hard.

Perhaps Dubie should pay a visit to Lighthouse Hockey for tips on how to make himself look bigger in the net. No bears required.


Lessard-Skinner Trade
I can appreciate any attempts Garth Snow makes to bring more skill players into the organization. Any time "Hobey Baker Award Winner" pops up in conversation about a player, my ears perk up a little. That being said, when you take into account Lessard's age and professional track record, I don't have any expectation of him being a solution to the Islanders' goal-scoring woes. To make the obvious Heisman comparison, Lessard is proving to be more Gino Torretta than Vinny Testaverde.

Anyway, as discussed in the comments on IslesBlogger, the real impetus for this trade may have been simply to create more ice time for the remaining Bridgeport defensemen.


HNLI
Join me this Saturday, January 17th, as I fill in for Alex as co-host on Hockey Night on Long Island. I've co-hosted with Steve twice before and it's always fun to do the show from the other side of the mic. Check the show blog for details on this upcoming episode and visit the show page on Blog Talk Radio Saturday at 3:30 PM to join in.

HNLI Appearance Today

Please join me as I join Alex and Steve for another appearance on Hockey Night on Long Island. Here's the preview from the hosts:

Hockey Night on Long Island will hit the airwaves this Saturday at 3:30 PM EST for another awesome afternoon extravaganza. Just hours before the Isles faceoff at home against the Ottawa Senators, HNLI hosts Alex and Steve will be joined by Ken Rosenblatt of the Islanders Outsider blog for an hour choc' full of Isles talk. On the agenda will be a recap of the Islanders' loss to the Boston Bruins, the team's recent ups and downs, and all of the latest news surrounding the team. Like always, HNLI will be taking your calls, IMs, and chatroom comments for an interactive hour of hockey talk. So, DON'T MISS IT! Be sure to tune in to HNLI at 3:30 PM EST Saturday.

Click here for the show page.

This will be my fifth appearance on the show, and it's always a great way to spend an hour on all things Islanders. I believe Mike Schuerlein of IslesBlogger.com also recently made his fifth HNLI appearance. As you may know, according to entertainment industry standards, members of the Five Timer's Club are afforded special status and perks. (And, unbelievably, I have not managed to find the accompanying video clip.)

HNLI Free Agency Recap Show

Thursday night's special Hockey Night on Long Island Free Agency Recap show is now available for streaming over in the sidebar. You can also download the show from the show site or from iTunes.

Thanks to Steve for having me on. He and Alex always do a wonderful job hosting. I thought this was a particularly great show with lots of interesting Islanders and NHL topics to plow through. Some very good callers added a lot to the discussion.

I was joined as a guest on the show by Bill from New York Islander Fan Central. Bill does an impressive job updating his blog every day with all news related to the Islanders and Sound Tigers. It's a must read for fans of both teams.

1/31/08: Kings 3, Islanders 1

It really was as awful as they're saying it was. Instead of piling on one more heaping spoonful of disgust, which last night's performance undoubtedly deserves, I'm going to focus on the positive. What's that you say? I'm letting them off the hook? I'm looking at things through blue-and-orange-and-blue-and-white-and-
orange-colored glasses (that's some sleeve)? Well, the following is a list of things from last night that encouraged me. The list is not many, nor is it much.

Wade Dubielewicz: I now have complete confidence in Dubie when he's out there. He doesn't make me worry at all. He may not appear to swallow the puck up like the Death Star's tractor beam the way an elite goalie does, but he manages to get some body part in front of most pucks and keep them out of the net. Perhaps with more playing time, he'd demonstrate that degree of sharpness. He will not get that playing time, so this version of Dubielewicz is more than satisfactory.

Bryan Berard: The defenseman I called out last game looked different last night. He looked like he wanted to lead. Perhaps the first-period goal infused him with confidence. Whatever it was, Berard, more than anyone else, played with an I-want-to-be-the-one-who-gets-this-done attitude. In the locker room after the game, Berard's demeanor suggested the same. He seemed relaxed, poised, and quietly confident. Again, maybe he was simply happy about scoring. But with Campoli gone, it would be nice to see Berard step forward and stay forward (not literally). Berard also offered what I thought was the most candid comment of the night when he admitted that yes, he's kind of glad to be getting out of town for a few days considering how dismal things have become at home. He did qualify that statement by echoing what the other players said about the importance of being a strong home team. So, no, he's not looking to run away from the problems.

Josef Vasicek: On two occasions last night, Vasicek skated right up the gut of the offensive zone, strong on the puck, and looking like a player you don't want to see coming your way. His combination of size, skill, and mobility creates space, something that the Islanders just don't do with the kind of frequency that gets a defense worried and running around (another topic of conversation from last night's parking-lot postgame). I made an effort to get to the Coliseum last night specifically because I wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to watch western talents like Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, and Dustin Brown. No skater for either team really stood out last night (maybe Matt Moulson and Blake Comeau), but Kopitar and Frolov did each have a couple of moments where they showed why they are always a threat. They can singlehandedly create scoring opportunities using only their puckhandling skills. The Islanders don't have anyone who does this. When this season is over, Vasicek will have been exposed again as a player who doesn't produce consistently over the course of a season. But maybe he can have another 20-game stretch like the one that had him leading the team in goals for a time.

See, not much there. And that last one is a bit of a stretch.

By the way, if I were Neil Best, I would point out that Matt Moulson went to Cornell. But I'm not, so I won't.


Please join me Saturday at 4:30 PM EST as I fill in for Alex on Hockey Night on Long Island. Steve and I will host a special edition of the show following the 2:00 PM game between the Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens. Click the button at the top of the sidebar to go to the show page.

Win-Win

I had a great time as guest co-host on Hockey Night on Long Island earlier today. Thanks to Steve for doing a great job running the show with a first-timer in the second chair and to all of the callers and chat-room participants who contributed with their comments and questions. If you missed the show, you can still listen to it right over there in the sidebar, by visiting the show page for this episode, or by downloading the podcast from iTunes. I haven't had a chance to relive the episode yet, but I'll probably let you know where I thought I screwed up and how I could have done better after I take a listen. Overall, though, it was a great experience and I was very pleased with how the show went.

Tonight I was treated to a wonderful night on the town (by my wife, not by HNLI), which included stone crab claws, tomato and mozzarella, and a delicious buffalo rib steak with mashed potatoes and sauteed mushroom caps. Perhaps the only thing more improbable than the thickness of the steak was the Islanders' 3-2 overtime win over the Lightning.

As though they were trying to answer the questions put forth by today's HNLI broadcast and the many previous criticisms of fans and bloggers alike, the Islanders put together the following elements to bring home the victory:

• A goal by Bill Guerin, his first tally in 17 games (coincidently, his last goal was a game winner against TB).
• A goal by Andy Hilbert, assisted by Trent Hunter--is this the beginning of the Hilbert roll?
• A game-winning power-play goal by Mike Sillinger, who now sits at 6-5-11 on the season.
• The first appearance of the year by Freddy Meyer, taking the spot of day-to-day Ruslan Fedotenko.

Guerin, Hunter, and Sillinger were all topics of discussion on HNLI today: Guerin for needing to do more than just being a great leader--he needs to back up his leadership with offensive production; Hunter for needing to be more than a role player--his hitting and gritty work are very valuable, but he has the talent to contribute more to the offense; and Sillinger for continuing to get power play time when he's not producing nearly as much as he did last year and at other points in his career. Well, they all stood up and made people notice them tonight.

Yes, the Islanders gave up a lead, and a precious point, to a team that was their equal in the standings when the night started. But this was no time to be picky. Take the two points, take a couple of days to get ready for Buffalo, and try to get the momentum swinging back in the right direction. The Isles still needed more than 60 minutes to come up with more than two goals. The power play went 1-for-8 while giving up two PP goals to the lightning in seven chances. 14:04 is a lot of time to spend with a man advantage and only come up with one goal, and that came on a 4-on-3 in OT.

As I said earlier today, this team can't wait around for a savior to come from outside the organization. I believe this group has people who can step up and be the answer. They can even take turns stepping up. Not everyone has to be firing on all cylinders all the time. They just need to pick each other up.