Island Hopping

Two games in two days, four days off. Two games in two days, three days off. Lately, the schedule brings to mind island hopping. With the most recent two games anchored in the middle of a nine-day ocean, I think it's a good time to reset.

So put on your seatbelts as we take this puddle jumper on a three-hour tour of the Islanders archipelago.

Greg Logan reports that Kurtis McLean's footy foot injury is a dastardly ruptured Achilles tendon. Saying that this type of injury is a major impediment to the career prospects of a 28-year-old career minor leaguer may be an understatement. All the best to Kurtis for a quick and successful recovery.

A lot of people want to get on him for the way in which he injured himself. These types of cross-training warmups are fairly common throughout sports. A pitcher loosening his arm by throwing a football (or in El Duque's case, a softball) is probably the most common example. I'm not going to get on McLean because I'm in no position to say whether the injury was directly caused by the activity. It's entirely possible that the tendon was already vulnerable and regular hockey activity would have brought the same result. That being said, I think it's worth it for trainers and physicians to explore further whether it's risky for even highly conditioned athletes to engage in activities that use the body in ways that aren't required by their normal training. But, again, sometimes you just get hurt.

Also in Newsday, Tim Jackman is satisfied with his role but still looking to improve his game, and Joey MacDonald is ready to return. This is an important stretch for MacDonald as he's lost some ground to Yann Danis. On the other hand, perceptions being what they are (hard to shake), MacDonald might do better on the open market than Danis.

In the most recent Islanders Insider, Brendan Witt and Kyle Okposo do not have a problem with Alexander Ovechkin's 50th goal celebration, and Garth Snow compares Okposo's stickhandling ability to a lizard's tongue. The column also makes us relive the horror of Teemu Selanne breaking Mike Bossy's record for goals by a rookie. (For me, the horror was not the celebration, but the fact that the record was broken.)

The Ovechkin question is a weird one for me because I usually can't stand this type of scripted celebration. Generally speaking, if you hit a home run, and that's your job, round the bases and get off the field in a dignified manner. If you're a wide receiver and you catch a touchdown pass, you have similarly merely done your job.

Of course, there are times when circumstances call for, and intrinsically create, displays of enthusiasm. Such displays often endure as a classic moments, whereas their scripted counterparts run for a day and a half on SportsCenter. Ovechkin's 50th is clearly the latter. However, his hot stick routine came across more as Look how much fun I'm having! than simply Look at me! That doesn't mean that Rick Tocchet won't have someone take a run at him next time. In this game, that's okay too.

In the Post, Dan Martin confirms what many of us having been saying all year: the current players aren't at all focused on who might be joining them from the 2009 NHL Draft class.

Point Blank shows that time heals by throwing some love to this space's actual lease holder (I'm the sub-tenant), BD, and also speculates that Thursday night's Meet Me at the Marriott event will be more interesting than you might have anticipated. Messrs. Wang, Rechler, and Suozzi have something up their sleeves?

Lighthouse Hockey gives careful and well-thought-out consideration to re-signing Doug Weight. It's a complicated equation, and Dominik does a terrific job of breaking down the contribution factors.

Following the recent no-point weekend(!), the Isles stand six points clear of Tampa Bay and eight points clear of Colorado for 30th place in the overall standings.

Starting Wednesday night, the Isles play three games in four days (Minnesota at home on Wed., at Detroit on Friday, and back home for Philadelphia on Saturday). The Wild come into town with a disappointing 34-30-8 record (4th in the Northwest division, right on the playoff bubble in the Western Conference). The holders of one of the best looking home jerseys in the NHL finally got Marian Gaborik back, but now face a stretch without leading scorer Mikko Koivu. The Wild will pay a visit to the Garden tonight before heading east to take on native Minnesotans Okposo and Jack Hillen (pending Andy Sutton's return).

By Sunday, we should be able to put much of the calculating to rest. One thing you can be sure of: St. Louis and Stamkos, Stastny and Svatos, and Mueller and Turris aren't playing for draft position either.

(This post was originally published at http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=20205.)

The Buzz on Gordon's Sandbox

For those of you who don't already know, I'm filling in for B.D. Gallof as the Islanders blogger on HockeyBuzz for at least the rest of this season. I still haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to manage the content in both places, but I don't intend to let this blog die.

I imagine there will be many times when the content will be mirrored from one place to the other. I respect that some people may prefer to read here, so this arrangement will work out well for you. On these occasions, I will probably post there first, and then re-run the content here on a delay. We'll see how that works out. Thanks so much to all that have supported this blog, and I hope you stay with me one way or another.

Here's the latest (and first), originally published at http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Celebrity-Guests/Introducing-Our-New-Islanders-Blogger-Kenneth-Rosenblatt/33/19250...


During the first period of the Islanders' 3-2 loss to Florida, I expressed both my disagreement with Scott Gordon's decision to start Joey MacDonald and my ambivalence over how much the decision really mattered. To sum up, I don't see how you deny Yann Danis the opportunity to keep rolling and to test how long he can maintain a streak of solid/winning play. The ambivalence comes from the idea that at this stage of this season, the winning doesn't matter, and Gordon is going to use MacDonald down the stretch anyway. So why not last night?

The overriding issue is that Gordon is free to play around (tinker toys?) with no fear of significant consequences. He isn't going to blow a playoff run, and he isn't going to lose his job.

The only possible dangers I see are Gordon hindering a young player's development or alienating the veteran players to the extent that the club atmosphere suffers. Let's look at these two dangers a little more closely.

Perhaps the prime example of Gordon being able to see what he has without worrying about consequences is his use of Kyle Okposo on the point during power plays. Did anyone imagine at any point until the coach put him there that Okposo would play the point? I certainly didn't.

But more to the point, what is the point of him being there? Does anyone envision that being his long-term role? I certainly don't. Which begs the question, Why put him there now? Wouldn't Okposo be better served, in this, a year of organizational development, by gaining experience down low where we all assume he will eventually be?

Maybe Gordon sees something and Okposo will be a fixture on the point for years to come. The coach has also explained that he views Streit as the sole point man, while Okposo and Doug Weight are really positioned more along the half wall. But it seems to me that both forwards spend plenty of time just inside the blue line with the man advantage.

We've seen Okposo blast a well placed one-timer home while playing point. We've also seen him rip a trio of one-timers wide of the net. Gordon is playing a delicate game of balancing what's good for the team right now and what's good for its future. Right now, he doesn't have many options to put alongside Streit on the power play. There's really no one else. So maybe Okposo is there only out of necessity. But if Gordon isn't intent on Okposo being in that spot next year, I'd rather see Chris Campoli (when Streit returns), Radek Martinek, Jack Hillen, or even a playmaker like Frans Nielsen on the point.

That being said, Okposo is showing himself to be every bit the professional both physically and mentally. He will not be ruined by playing out of place for a while.

As for the idea that the clubhouse could be poisoned by vets made unhappy by reduced roles, that's only a concern if the poison trickles down from the vets to the kids. That's not going to happen with Bill Guerin and Doug Weight around. And if they're not around? Then there's no problem to be had.

But those two have done everything the team has asked them to do, and been everything they've been asked to be. This team can continue to develop with Guerin and Weight in the fold for the rest of this year and next year.

By letting Okposo, Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Nielsen, and Trent Hunter feed off each other, Gordon has created a level of enthusiasm that his older players are forced to match.

Just as Gordon challenged Okposo not to be content with simply being there, the coach has challenged the rest of the young players to make it their team as much as it is Guerin's and Weight's. That is a significant step in the development of the team. Don't forget it.

I imagine that Gordon will continue to make the occasional small decision that leaves us scratching our heads. But let him have his sandbox for the rest of the year. That's where kids learn to play.

Jack Hillen Makes His NHL Debut for the Islanders

I'll say this: for two games that have no playoff implications for the Islanders, this home-and-home with the Rangers to close out the season has a surprising and worthwhile amount of buzz for the Long Island faithful.

First off, we have the NHL debut of defenseman Jack Hillen, straight from being eliminated from the NCAA tournament as a member of the WCHA's Colorado College Tigers. Unlike Kyle Okposo, Hillen has four years of college hockey under his breezers. Also unlike Okposo, Hillen was an undrafted free agent, so none of that pesky first-round draft choice pedigree stuff to live up to. What he does come with is a track record of continuous improvement that was appealing enough to spark a competition for his services.

When I found out that Hillen had signed with the Isles, I was immediately pleased that the team had added a solid prospect in an area in which it lacks depth. But it's awfully funny how surprising news such as this can make you react as you being to gather facts about the player. Here's a sample of my reactions:

Fact: An offensive-minded defenseman.
Reaction: Excellent! They are in desperate need of a power play quarterback!

Fact: Doesn't like to take slap shots from the point on the power play.
Reaction: What?! *confusion* You can't run the power play without a slap shot!

Fact: Has a knack for getting his wrist shot through from the point.
Reaction: Phew. I'll take it. I've seen enough point shots not get anywhere near the net this year.

Fact: Highest scoring defenseman in Division I this year.
Reaction: Excellent! I think I'm currently the highest scoring defenseman on the Isles. Or maybe it's Schuerlein.

Fact: Scored 37 points on 6 goals and 31 assists this year.
Reaction: Hmm...that certainly demonstrates a knack for creating offense, but only six goals? Wouldn't the dominant offensive defenseman in the NCAA put a few more pucks in the net? That's what we're looking for. Oh, yeah, he doesn't have a cannon. On the other hand, six goals in 41 games projects to 12 over an NHL-length season. Not quite Mike Green numbers, but at least we're in the ballpark. And if he really is as good of a puck mover as they say he is...

And more of that. But it's at this point that I rein it in and say: He's only 22, the idea that he'll step in next year and lead the power play is pie-in-the-sky thinking at this point, and let's just be excited about getting a look for two games. The Islanders did a good job in locating a needed asset and securing it. I'm just looking forward to watching what the future may bring. In April 2008 (and at lots of other times, unfortunately), that's what it means to be an Islanders fan.

The other sources of buzz? Finishing the season with back-to-backs against the rival Rangers still means something even if the Islanders only have pride for which to play. At stake? Bragging rights to end the season, and the Metro Ice Challenge. Perhaps one day the Metro Ice Challenge will equal the Mayor's Trophy game in luster. Then again, that one went on a good ten years after anyone stopped caring about it. At least this one involves games that actually count. If a sponsorship must be involved, maybe next year it can be the Bloomberg Mayor's Metro Ice Challenge. Of course, this competition involves only one team that plays in New York City. Foiled. That's what happens sometimes when you write out loud.

Finally, then, there is the question of where the Isles will finish in the standings and how much of a shot they will have at the #1 pick in the draft. I wonder how the top prospects of the past two years feel knowing that this year's draft lottery is getting the Crosby treatment, while theirs was broadcast to the world using one of those horns from the Ricola commercials.

It's not in my nature to root for the Islanders to lose, and I wish they were going into this home-and-home with a more accomplished lineup. But I am not above rooting for the teams the Islanders are jockeying for position with to win, just in case the Isles do come out with a couple of victories themselves.