Reason to Believe: Islanders 6, Red Wings 0

Just some things I'm thinking about following a joyful night of joyful hockey...

Matt Moulson's offense is heating up again. And he's finding the net while playing with Frans Nielsen. Both circumstances help negate the ideas that Moulson is a flash in the pan who got off to a hot start and that his production was due mostly to his pairing with John Tavares.

How nice it is to once again be able to legitimately pin the future of the Islanders on Kyle Okposo, Tavares, AND Josh Bailey. Bailey looked like a boy last year. Suddenly he looks like a man, and plays like one too.

Despite his slow start in the goal column, Okposo will surpass his goal total from a year ago. Watch him light it up in the second half.

Seeing my favorite player of his era, Kenny Jonsson, back in the Islanders family for one night.

The part of NHLer Rob Schremp now being played by...Rob Schremp.

BD might be right that keeping Martin Biron on ice (as opposed to on the ice) might improve his trade value. At the very least, it won't harm his value and it will also protect him from injury (as much as that recalls the awkwardness of the Bill Guerin situation last year).

At first I was opposed to the idea of keeping Biron out of the rotation. I thought he deserved to at least dress on occasion and his exclusion reflected poorly on him and reduced his perceived value. But this is going to be all about Dwayne Roloson and Rick DiPietro, and who gives the team the best chance to win night in, night out. That's clearly not Biron.

I would, however, not be so quick to pull the trigger on a deal for Biron. Let's see DiPietro get the rigors of a few NHL games under his belt before the team puts itself one more injury away from last season's goaltending carousel.

It was a shame that the 6-0 domination of the Red Wings had to occur on the same night as a thrilling shootout (in more ways than one) between the other locals. Not good for getting the deserved local press. On the other hand, it was the kind of win that the rest of the league's cities will notice.

It's good to see some old friends still plugging away in the Blog Box.

I resisted doing this for a long time, but I finally caved.

10/10/07: Islanders 2, Rangers 1

Last night's win was the kind of game that makes a fan giddy and stokes the belief that his or her team may really have something to be excited about. The power play put a big goal on the board thanks to the free agent who was brought in for that specific purpose; the PK kept a clean sheet, killing off six man-down (or two) situations; the young franchise goalie was outstanding; and the team that historically has trouble protecting leads closed out a 2-1 win in regulation against its biggest rival despite a 6-on-4 disadvantage to end the game.

The Isles work the power play

I wanted to try something a little different for the post-game portion of the evening. Instead of taking stills during our player interview, I tried grabbing some low-quality video clips. Unfortunately, my camera kept cutting the clips short, so I have mostly questions with truncated answers. However, in the name of giving you a peak at what it's like in the press room, here's a brief clip of Bruno Gervais answering my question about managing ice time with seven defensemen in the lineup:

In case you're not sure what he was getting at, Gervais said that he really doesn't feel extra pressure with a seventh d-man available. He just waits for his name to be called, jumps over the boards, and goes at it as best he can.

The Blog Box had a great experience talking to Bruno. Hockey players have long had the reputation of being down to earth and more cooperative with the media than most athletes. Bruno Gervais epitomizes the good-guy label. He started by introducing himself to each of the bloggers and shaking their hands. He then answered every question thoughtfully, insightfully and with a sense of humor. If you're looking for a guy on this roster to throw your support behind, you probably can't do better than Gervais. I haven't really had a favorite Islander since Kenny Jonsson left, but I can see Bruno filling that void. He also had the following things to say:

• On playing against a superstar like Jagr: the team always has to be aware of him, but maintains focus on its own game.
• On playing back-to-back games: the Isles' strength and conditioning coach, Chris Schwarz, keeps the players in phenomenal condition.
• On the team's atmosphere: the team is close and always has fun together whether in the locker room or at a team event.
• On reading the blogs: coming from the hockey hotbed that is Montreal, he learned early on to focus on his game and what's going on inside the locker room instead of what's going on in the press.

During the game, I wondered whether Berard would have trouble getting into the flow on the power play without taking a regular shift on defense. I guess he answered that question. Still, it's something to watch as long as the team keeps dressing an extra defensemen. In his post-game press conference, Ted Nolan answered a number of Berard questions, so I chose not to pose this one. Nolan did admit to having a connection with Berard as another guy who was away from the NHL for a while and felt fortunate to be given the opportunity to get back in the league. Nolan also reiterated how impressed he was with Berard's desire to be on the team.

I was in the car for most of the game in Toronto tonight. As I listened on the radio, my mind traveled back to when the Islanders signed Dubie to his one-way contract and annointed him the backup goalie. I had two thoughts at the time: 1) He really deserves this shot. 2) Despite his heroics in the last week of the season, I question how effective he can be at the NHL level playing as sporadically as he will. Playing backup to a stalwart like Rick DiPietro wouldn't be easy for anyone. Maybe tonight was just a really bad night.