Game 1 Fantasy Report: Devils 2, Islanders 1

Okay, here's how this is going to work (unless I find a need to revise it later): For each game, I will award fantasy stars of the game to five players. The 1st Star will receive five points, the 2nd Star will receive four points, the 3rd Star three points, and so on, for the purpose of tracking fantasy value over the course of the season.

Tonight's Fantasy Stars of the Game:

1st Star: Mark Streit (1 A, 1 PPA, 3 shots, 1 blocked shot, 2 PIMs, 1 hit)
2nd Star: Joey MacDonald (27 saves on 29 shots)
3rd Star: Bill Guerin (1 A, 1 PPA, 4 shots, 1 hit)
4th Star: Doug Weight (1 G, 1 PPG, 2 shots)
5th Star: Trent Hunter (3 shots, 2 hits)

Other notables: Richard Park was 10-3 on faceoffs and Nate Thompson went 6-1.

And just a couple of quick comments on how Scott Gordon used his roster tonight. Ice time was distributed much more evenly than we were used to seeing last year. Only one skater clocked in at under 10:00, and that was Thompson at 9:42. So Gordon was very successful at rolling four lines.

What might distress some was that Kyle Okposo and Jeff Tambellini received virtually no time on the power play (Okposo was out there for nine seconds). It will be interesting to watch how those minutes are doled out over the next couple of games. Tonight Gordon didn't break up his top forward line for the man advantage, which resulted in Guerin, Weight, and Jon Sim getting the lion's share of the power play minutes.

1/29/08: Senators 5, Islanders 2

I want to give them credit. I want to give them credit for not letting the floodgates open and not getting hammered the way the Lightning did right before the All-Star break. You know, the night Daniel Alfredsson's linescore looked more like an NFL defense. And I guess I can do that--give them credit for holding it together at 3-0, at least long enough to make a game of it. In fact, at about the 3-minute mark of the third, with the score 3-1 thanks to Sean Bergenheim's second-period tally, I actually thought that the Islanders had a chance to go for the steal. The Senators were being uncharacteristically sloppy with the puck, and the Isles were responding with spurts of sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

That's the reward you get for not completely collapsing against a powerhouse: the chance to grab points that you don't necessarily deserve. Before long, the score was 3-2 and that chance was a ripe piece of fruit on a low-hanging vine. Apparently, the Islanders are picky eaters and generous hosts. "Here," they said to the Senators, "have this fruit, which is neither ripe enough for our taste nor low enough for our reach." That is why I can only give the team credit where it is due begrudgingly. If I start giving things away, and they keep giving things away, we'll all be giving things away, it'll be anarchy. That is to say that the deficits the Islanders found themselves in during this game were the direct result of physical and mental lapses. It's one thing to be outclassed by world-class talent. It's another to provide the opportunities for that talent to stage its show.

I also want to feel positive about the power play producing the second Islander goal on a nice combination play by Miro Satan and Bryan Berard, two players whose offensive contributions have fallen well short of expectations. In actuality, my reaction was more along the lines of net half-empty than net half-full. The goal served more to magnify the frequent absences of these two players from the scoresheet, as well as the overall impotence of the power play. Yes, Berard has spent a good amount of time in the press box lately and it's really hard to score from there. But being scratched isn't exactly the kind of excuse you want to have in your back pocket.

Now for the good news (that's not to say that there isn't more bad news--five-game losing streak at home?). There was a time in this franchise's recent history when it seemed like every mistake, physical or mental, led directly to a goal by the opposition. These days, this collection of players seems more able to recover from such mistakes. They don't all end up in the back of the net. You can attribute that to greater composure in the defensive end and the instincts and reflexes of the goaltender. Against most teams, a number of lapses accompanied by a good number of recoveries may be good enough. Of course, just don't make those mistakes against Ottawa, because then they do all end up in the back of the net.

We don't want Rick lighting himself on fire.

11/10/07: Islanders 2, Devils 1

DiPietro, Isles Shut Down the New-Look Devils on Military Appreciation Night

This simply is not the same Devils team you're used to seeing. Martin Brodeur can still stifle an offense single-handedly on occasion. Other than that, the Devils defense does not suffocate opponents the way it has for over a decade, and the offense fails to mount a consistent attack.

It used to be that the Islanders had to play a near-perfect game if they had any hope of defeating New Jersey. Any less than that, and a 4-1 victory for the Devils was almost pre-ordained. Right now, there just isn't anything threatening about the Devils. Maybe the return of veterans Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White will provide the red and black with greater stability. Even if they do, Brent Sutter has his work cut out for him. The team has not responded to the transition to a more attack-oriented style. The result has been a tentative effort that leaves the Devils ripe for picking off. The free-agent losses may be too much to overcome this time.

Entering the game, I wondered how well the Islanders would take advantage of a team off to a tepid start. Save for a pinball-action own-goal, they never really had much to worry about. Playing strong, disciplined hockey, the Islanders dominated play as much as a team that needs a third-period goal to win 2-1 can. For the game, the home team received 4 power plays, including a gift 2-minute 5-on-3 thanks to excessive griping from the opposing bench, and took no penalties of their own. Through two periods, the Isles had won 17 out of 23 faceoffs (74%). A busy third closed the gap slightly, but for the game, the Islanders totaled 30 wins out of 48 faceoffs (63%).

I asked Ted Nolan about his team's success in the faceoff circle and its effect on their ability to control the game. "Well, any time you have a guy like Mike Sillinger who's out there...you know, Mike, he takes a lot of faceoffs," Nolan said. "Mike Comrie was good on faceoffs tonight. Joe Vasicek's getting better because he gets to see a guy like Sillinger. When you win the draw, you have a good chance at having the puck a little bit more than the other team. Right now, it's good for us." As though we needed any more confirmation that the character guys on this team are turning everyone into character guys.

I also asked Rick "The Edge" DiPietro about the approach of the Devils, given that the Sutter-led version appears less like those led by Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson, Pat Burns, et al. DiPietro wasn't quite ready to turn the page on that era yet, saying, "Early on, yeah, they were a little different. Today, tonight, I thought they played a lot similar to the Jersey teams we played in the past, limited mistakes, and looked to capitalize on our mistakes. I thought we played a smart game."

I'll have more notes to add later on tonight. For now, I just want to say that the Islanders did a marvelous job honoring members of the military past and present. Special moments included messages on the scoreboard from soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, as well as an interview with Rick DiPietro's father, who was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

And we're back with some additional notes:

• Michael Schuerlein of www.islesblogger.com has a great photo of the 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard descending from the Coliseum rafters to deliver the puck for the opening faceoff in his post on last night's game. He also got a great shot of Satan banging home the winning goal.
• Leading up to the winning goal, the crowd grew impatient with the power play and cries of "Shoooot!" began raining down. I've seen teams respond to such encouragement by taking unnecessary, low-percentage shots, so it was nice to see the power play unit maintain its composure and be rewarded moments later.
• The second line was consistently dangerous and the fourth line, before it was broken up due to Bill Guerin's eye injury, continued to effectively keep the pressure on the opponent during its limited minutes.
• Brodeur deservedly has a reputation as a good puck handler, but given an opportunity to clear a puck while shorthanded, he seemed hesitant and was unable to get the puck past the blue line. When it comes to these plays, there's Rick DiPietro, and then there's everyone else.
• About 13 minutes into the third period, the Islanders seemed content to ice the puck repeatedly in order to relieve pressure. Normally, this tactic is asking for trouble. However, on this occasion I just had a feeling that they would be okay. This is a team that continues to attack when it has a lead, and shows poise in closing out games.
• What is with athletes discrediting the achievements of their New York opponents this week? First, David Wright's Gold Glove rendered Chipper Jones "speechless" and "confused." Then Brodeur fails to give the Isles credit for beating him. I understand the complaints, but verbalizing them was bad form.
• Finally, it was a lonely night in the Blog Box. When this all started, I wondered if we would feel like we were in a fishbowl because the Box is highly visible. That hadn't been my experience until last night, when I occupied the Blog Box all by myself for most of the game. I got plenty of "Where are all your buddies?" and "What happened--all alone tonight?" from ushers and nearby fans alike. It was all in good fun. Still, it was nice to be joined by Michael Schuerlein and Tom Liodice of The Tiger Track, who were in attendance in different seats, for the final few minutes in the Blog Box and for the post-game locker room activities. If you have some time, check out Tom's great appearance on Hockey Night on Long Island.

10/13/07: Flyers 3, Islanders 1

I had no expectation of seeing Saturday night's game. Despite teasing my wife about Cape May, where we were scheduled to be on Saturday, being close enough to Philadelphia for us to take in the game, it simply was not on my agenda. Imagine how pleased I was to walk into a restaurant that evening and find myself seated 20 feet from a TV showing the Flyers' pre-game show.

Of course, watching a game from 20 feet away with no sound while trying not to be completely rude to my dinner companions (who are very understanding) resulted in a very superficial absorption of the action. I did manage to catch the list of scratches, so I knew that Bergeron and Tambellini were not in the lineup.

We had a very leisurely (and tasty) dinner that took us well into the 2nd period. And then the harsh reality of being a hockey fan hit. The bartender acquiesced to a request for the ALCS, and Hockey Night in New Jersey was over. The restaurant had three TVs, but no room on them for hockey. At least I was able to catch most of the 3rd period back at the hotel. The Islanders put up a valiant fight trying for the equalizer, but it was not to be.

Ted Nolan's post-game comments indicate that he was pleased with the effort. However, you can't ignore the fact that the Islanders have been outscored 11-2 in the first two games of this road trip. Perhaps there has been a little too much line shuffling in the early going due to the Sim injury, the return of Chris Simon, and the use of seven defensemen.

The schedule won't be doing the team any favors either. Until November 6th, the Islanders will only play on Thursdays and Saturdays, and not even on all of the Thursdays in that period. The light schedule could make it difficult to keep up with the division and conference leaders. The Islanders will have to sit around and watch while their rivals have more opportunities to pick up points. On the positive side, maybe the team can use the time to get its lines clicking again.

New feature: No matter how good the Islanders are in a particular season, it always seems that they end up shorthanded more often than their opponents. Some years, you could attribute this to having a particularly aggressive team or an undisciplined team. But is it always one or the other? Or is there another reason? Whatever the answer, I'm going to shine the spotlight on this particular stat from time to time so we keep it in mind throughout the season. As of October 14th, the Islanders have had 26 power play opportunities, which places them 11th in the league. They have been shorthanded 34 times which ranks them 3rd most in the league. Currently, the power play is ranked 15th while the PK weighs in at #5.