Struggling again at the Bell Centre

The Islanders can't seem to catch a break in Montréal, where they managed to make a game of it tonight despite being thoroughly outplayed most of the game. The power play continued to click magically, but even-strength was a mess once again. Is it a team regressing to the mean, or a team weary from so much travel in a grueling road schedule? Either way, it didn't help that the Isles ran into the best defensive team in hockey, and it plays in front of a goaltender who can do no wrong this season.

Positives

The power play has mostly worked to perfection. James Wisniewski was a worthwhile addition on this front, adequately replacing Mark Streit's production and supplying a badly needed right-handed shot. He's been dead-accurate with it recently. Puck possession has been really good, and all five guys on the first unit have great vision (even P.A. Parenteau). It's been keeping the Isles in games, but it's anybody's guess as to how long the power play output continues at this blistering rate.

The set plays and chemistry look much better. The deflections and tap-in attempts are very well synchronized, one of which led to a goal tonight (Tavares's deflection). The Isles have undoubtedly been working on this throughout the last couple months. This is a natural byproduct of the continuity in personnel, an element of the team for which Garth Snow deserves a lot of credit. The clear evidence that these guys know each other well and enjoy playing on this team is a real credit to what the GM is putting together.

Negatives

The Islanders were dominated at even strength again. Not nearly as mortal a sin as the abysmal performance in Florida, mainly because Montréal is an excellent team that was playing absolutely airtight defense until halfway through the third period. Carey Price was also bulletproof from the opening bell on every variety of shot except a slapper from the point. Nevertheless, it's a concern that the Isles still spent tons of time in their own zone and looked completely outmatched by Montréal in every area. This time, the shot differential accurately reflected which team had the better of play.

The team still can't clear the crease or the zone. This is the one factor that will keep the Isles from stringing together several wins in a row. Even if Mark Streit were healthy, this would still be a huge concern. We knew Mark Eaton wouldn't be that guy. We were hoping James Wisniewski was that guy, but he's not. Milan Jurcina needs to get a little more physical if he wants to fill this role. No matter who it is, someone on the Isles' blue line has to step up and shoulder these responsibilities; preferably, it'd be at least one guy on each pairing. Mottau and Jurcina are certainly capable.

Dougie Weight needs to keep the puck in the zone on the PP. This time, the mistake was fatal. Weight had a problem with this against the Rangers, when Gaborik got past him. Weight hooked Gaborik from behind and the Ranger sniper missed the penalty shot. Here, the result was a two-on-one misplayed by Wisniewski that resulted in a Travis Moen shorthanded goal. This type of gaffe has to be inexcusable going forward.

The team is giving up too many odd-man rushes. Montréal had several throughout this game, most of which were the results of forced errors. Some of that is the Canadiens' doing, but some of it is due to mental mistakes from the Islanders. Dwayne Roloson had to be very good to keep the score manageable at the end of the contest. If not for his heroics, the score could've been 7-3.

The Isles can't handle speedy teams. When the other guys are faster, the Isles have no real solution. That's something that Scott Gordon will have to work out strategically, considering they're not getting another personnel overhaul anytime soon. Missing Grabner really hurt, and guys like P.A. Parenteau and Matt Martin were really exposed.

On the Habs

I have little doubt that this is the best defensive team in all of hockey, especially given Carey Price's performance. He was spectacular tonight. The Isles couldn't break the Canadiens' defensive formation if their very season depended on it. They're in first place in that division for a very good reason: they execute their system to total perfection. The speedy forwards, particularly Cammalleri and Plekanec, gave the Isles fits all evening.

Their defense is excellent 1-6; after dropping Marc-Andre Bergeron, they imported sensational rookie P.K. Subban. Subban is such an incredible player at such a young age that it's simply astounding-- he could be the best defenseman in all of hockey by the time he hits his prime, even with Doughty, Hedman, and Larsson in the League. Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are underrated but nevertheless extremely effective. Finally, note that Montréal played suffocating D without Andrei Markov in the lineup (he's scheduled to return Friday, when these two teams play in the Coliseum).

I'll have a brief post tomorrow on Nino Niederreiter and Matt Martin before heading northwest for the weekend.

The Return of Ricky D

Tonight's game in Tampa was a heart-pounding affair with a bizarre ending as the Isles notched a victory in OT after a ten-minute review that came almost two minutes after the play in question occurred. Rick DiPietro and the Isles' defenders came up huge against a star-studded group of Lightning forwards that could comprise the most dynamic top six in the entire NHL. The whole team gutted out another quality performance on the road against a quality team, walking away from this one with two points. Though the Isles are now tied with the Fighting Sidney Crosbies for first place in the Eastern Conference, they have a game in hand.

Positives

Rick DiPietro is back, baby. DP looks a lot like he did before he got hurt, needing only a couple performances before regaining something resembling his old form. He made several really good-looking stops when the Isles were getting outclassed at even strength, especially in the third period. Particularly good was his stop on Marty St. Louis when he had to go East-to-West to get in the correct position.

The PK came up enormous. Constantly aggressive with tons of movement, and Tampa had a great deal of trouble working around it. The biggest moment, obviously, was when the blue and orange killed off a five-on-three that lasted for an eternal 40 seconds and made it look easy. Mark Eaton has been the unsung hero here, proving that the Isles needed to bring him in simply for his ability to clear the zone in these situations. That goes for Milan Jurcina as well.

Nino Niederreiter sure does look like he belongs. El Niño came up big again in subtle ways, always finding the right spot on the ice to make a contribution. On the Isles' first goal, he made the first shot on Dan Ellis before Michael Grabner swooped in to bury the rebound. However, even before that, Niederreiter was strong on the cycle and got himself open in the low slot. He may not be exceptionally noticeable, but give him time: he's already shown he can make it here, and sooner or later, he'll prove he can thrive at this level also.

Just in case you didn't believe, Matt Moulson is for real. The guy knows his way around the front of the net, he works harder than 90% of the other players in the League, and his hands are very, very good. I advocated a long-term extension for him this summer, but it wasn't to be. He has four goals in seven games, and the likelihood is that this'll be his second 30-goal season. We can only hope he's willing to stay on for a reasonable price come season's end.

The team refuses to fold in high-pressure situations. Down two goals? No problem. Third period deficit? No problem. Killing a five-on-three? No problem. Four of your top eight players injured? No problem. Rolling three lines for two periods in the Air Canada Centre? No problem. Five defensemen for two periods against a Tampa offensive juggernaut? No problem. The team just keeps on rollin'. Gotta love the fight in this squad.

Negatives

James Wisniewski needs be more careful. Couple gaffes from him tonight, two of which led to Bergenheim's breakaways. What's surprising about the Wiz through the five games he's played is that he doesn't seem like a traditional Garth defenseman. The Isles didn't miss him very much for the two games he was gone. He does add some good power play skills, but he's almost a liability at even strength.

The Isles need to be more effective as a team at clearing the zone. The problem came up once again this game: the team had a shot to clear, and the player with the puck on his stick was overanxious to start the rush. The funny thing about this phenomenon is that Gordon preaches to keep things simple, but I've seen nearly every member of the squad pass up a very good opportunity to send the puck out of the zone. Eventually, that'll come back to bite them as a team. In the third, the Isles spent way too much time in their own end for this reason.

On the Bolts

Good to see Sean Bergenheim, one of my favorite Islanders of recent memory, continue to do what he's known for doing, even if it's in another uniform. I'm obviously way more happy about this idea because the Isles ended up winning the game. He generated a couple breakaways and nearly missed the shot he ended up scoring on, but he causes so much havoc and frustration through his relentless puck pursuit that all his warts make him a worthwhile player if you can notch the right contract.

As for the rest of that team, it's gonna be a serious contender for awhile. Victor Hedman is already exceptionally impressive for such a young kid. The Isles would've been very well off with him on the team also, though it's not like I'm complaining about Tavares. The addition of Gagné rounds out a ridiculous top six with arguably the most talent in the whole Show. Stamkos is such a beast at this age that it's astounding; the sky is truly the limit for him. Marty St. Louis looks like he'll never get old-- a constant threat every time he's out there. His goal tonight was insane. Tampa, lest we forget, also finished tonight at the top of its own division despite losing in OT.

Next up, the Isles enter the time machine to play the 2008-2009 version of themselves in Miami.

Coming up big in T-Dot

The New York Islanders somehow found a way to scrape out a victory in the Air Canada Centre tonight, an encouraging sign considering the Maple Leafs entered this game as one of the two remaining undefeated NHL teams (the other, the Dallas Stars, also fell at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning). The Toronto media, as usual, took their annual potshots at the Islanders franchise with all the self-assurance of your garden-variety Cialis user.

The Positives

Dwayne Roloson stole another one. This much was obvious. He received some help from his defensemen, though, and not just when they made game-saving stops in the crease area. Radek Martinek had another excellent night against the other team's best player, this time marking Phil Kessel to near-perfection as the highly creative winger was left zero space to operate. Mark Eaton and Andy MacDonald were all over the passing and shooting lanes. But I can't take away from Rolo here-- the guy came to play. Other than one broken sequence on a power play that never should've happened late in the third, he was perfect.

Is Frans Nielsen the League's best defensive forward? His body of work over the last two and a half seasons speaks for itself. I always thought this title belonged to Pavel Datsyuk, and no one else was close. The Russian's backchecking and stick work are out of this world. However, he doesn't function in a system where he's constantly recast as a defenseman every time someone pinches. Nielsen's play to prevent Phil Kessel from going to the net in the second period was something I'm not sure any other forward does in that situation. If the Islanders are fortunate enough to make the playoffs this season, Nielsen may get nominated for the Selke.

John Tavares has greatness written all over him. It's not just because he returned to his hometown that he played like a man possessed tonight. His play to seal the win against Colorado shouldn't be overlooked, either. His skating is worlds better, and he's stronger on the puck than last year. He made several high-level plays tonight to create offense out of whole cloth. His hockey sense continues to impress, and he made some good-looking defensive plays. The mark of greatness is continuing to improve out of the absence of complacency.

The team is showing its mettle in crunch time. The Young Islanders of the past two seasons would fold in the kind of pressure-cooker situations in which they found themselves the last four games. Instead, the New Isles managed five important points in four games. Blake Comeau's penalty was the difference between walking out of the Verizon Center without points and walking out with points, but to the Isles' credit, they continued to battle in the next couple games and fought for points against good teams. The NHL has been put on notice early: even when they're down-- as they've been all year without Streit or Okposo, and without Schremp, Tavares, and Bailey at times-- the Islanders are for real. They're not going away.

The Negatives

James Wisniewski can't take that penalty late. The cross-checking was entirely unnecessary. Obviously, that late, the only acceptable penalties are those that prevent sure goals. J-Dub almost prevented the victory with his blunder, which really took the wind out of the Isles' sails. They were visibly exhausted after rolling three lines in the last two periods because Bailey was incapacitated; you could see how demoralized they were after they knew they had to kill one last penalty. The boys in blue and orange almost did it, too, but a freak bounce to Kessel's stick made the difference. Luckily, the Islanders still pulled it out.

The Isles have to do a better job of clearing the zone. Unlike last year, it's no longer about aggressive pursuing the puck to gain control. Now, it's about making the simple play when the opportunity arises. On the game-tying goal, Jon Sim tried to rush the puck up ice instead of making the easy play and clearing the zone. It came back to bite the team. There were several other close calls in the Isles' zone when they had the puck firmly on their sticks and couldn't get it past the blue line. They're getting way better at this, but there's still room for improvement.

On the Leafs

I hate the Toronto media-- not mentioning any offenders-- just as much as anyone, but I have to admire what Brian Burke is doing here. Ever since his Anaheim days, I've understood that this guy knows exactly how to build a contending team. Sure, there's the Cup to his credit and the Olympic silver medal as GM of the Gringos in British Columbia. However, note also that Vancouver has made a string of playoff appearances with a roster whose foundation was brought in by Burkie. Nowadays, after adding Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, the Harvard Law grad has Toronto going in the right direction.

Here's the thing: Kessel and Phaneuf are the only headliners on the Leafs. However, Burke has cobbled together the right depth to support these guys. They play an up-tempo style under a really good coach (Ron Wilson) that puts tons of pressure on the opposition, especially at home. I was confounded as to how that team could go undefeated on paper, but seeing them in action, it's quite obvious.

One more thing: I'm not a huge fan of Tyler Seguin, so I don't think this Kessel trade will come back to bite them so much. Ultimately, that's a fair price for a guy who can create offense for both himself and others, not to mention the 40-goal potential. Kessel's a true game-breaker; ask yourself how many other wingers in the whole NHL you would take over him for both now and the future. The Bruins, in the meantime, essentially passed over this guy and thought they could replace him with Nathan Horton. Methinks that one's not gonna work out so great.

Kessel's brother Blake, by the way, isn't so bad either.

Bring on the Fighting Stamkoses.

So let's talk about how good Josh Bailey is.

In spite of the warts all over this game, you have to be satisfied with the pair of balls on this Isles team. Two rousing comebacks in the third, overcoming some serious mistake-filled hockey in the first couple periods. It could've been way better, but this is as satisfying a win as I could remember. Despite the result, there are probably more negative things to take away from this game than positive things, but as you all know, I like focusing on the upside first.

Josh Bailey has become an unbelievable player almost overnight. The mitigating arguments: yes, this is one game; yes, the opponents are a little below par; yes, he's only 21; yes, he has not peaked. Fine. We've been watching his upward trajectory since he was an overmatched, fresh-faced teenager skating around on the third line for a last-place team. He made progress during that lost season, but it was subtle and slow. The next season saw him have a bit of a coming-out party in the middle of the year, stringing together multi-point games for awhile to give us a glimpse of what was to come. By the end of the year, he was noticeably affecting games, but sometimes missing the scoresheet.

These first two games of this season were entirely different, though. It's not just that Bailey has four points so far. If anything, his all-zone contributions and play without the puck have been even better than some of the spectacular plays he's made to score those points. He's forechecking and backchecking with great tenacity, he's throwing hits and winning battles in the corners, and his stick work is better than ever. Top all that off with a great sense of what to do in front of the net, and you've got yourself a pretty good NHL player.

For the record, this is all coming at the center position, where I didn't expect to see him again until two years from now. His faceoffs are still below average, but with the work this guy is putting in, I'm sure that'll eventually change. In the meantime, he's carried the team to three points almost by himself.

Is Blake Comeau really going to spell Kyle Okposo until December? Other than a few minor miscues, Comeau did everything Okposo normally does today. His forechecking is really on point, plus he's making some great defensive plays. It seems like things have officially clicked for him; he knows exactly how to translate his skill set to high-level production.

Comeau is a great example of the type of patience we need to show when young guys clearly have something to offer but aren't quite putting it together. For every Sean Bergenheim, who can't get it together mentally in time to salvage his career, there will be a Blake Comeau. At one time, I was laughed at for calling Comeau a referendum on Todd Bertuzzi. Though Comeau will probably never see 70 points in a season, it's looking more and more like Comeau can mature into a top six all-around power forward. Keep your eyes on this kid, because as I mentioned before, he's the most important forward until Okposo returns.

Andy MacDonald is officially the #1 defenseman until Mark Streit returns. This guy just continues to be steady-as-she-goes in his own end, nullifying oncoming attackers in all sorts of situations. This is my official campaign to get this guy more minutes, considering I'm most comfortable when MacDonald and (begrudgingly) Mike Mottau are on the ice (more on him later). He's showing great stick work and body positioning, and he seems to have no problem taking on the opponent's best players.

My hate for Mike Mottau wanes by the day. A couple minor goofs from him, but other than that, he was sensational. As a last-minute pickup, he's been a godsend so far. Not only is he tough as nails, but he looks right at home in this system in all three zones. He's been sneaky-good on the power play, and he picked up two assists this afternoon.

We're seeing a new and improved Radek Martinek. My pre-season observations told me that Radek was putting a different emphasis on being physical and being offensively-minded this year. So far, he's shown exactly that. He's put a couple good-looking wrist shots on goal, and he was even trying his best to bring the nasty today. When he was faced with a physical challenge, he'd normally back down; these past two games, he's snarled back at the antagonist and answered in kind. Very pleasant to see that this guy's finally playing with a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't look nearly as scared or tentative anymore.

There were, of course, big negatives from this game.

The sloppiness must cease! The own-zone turnovers were horrific, and the neutral-zone turnovers were equally cringe-worthy. There are a lot of new players trying to learn the system, which probably accounts for some of this stuff, but a large portion of these gaffes have come unforced. James Wisniewski and P.A. Parenteau were the big culprits tonight. I'm giving them a couple more games to get it together, but the two of them have now put together two consecutive really bad games in the defensive and neutral zones. A lot of their screw-ups were just inexcusable.

On a team level, a second bench minor in as many games proved extremely costly. Those types of mental mistakes can't continue happening. Last year, the Isles were among the most disciplined teams in the NHL. That needs to continue if they want to stay afloat until Okposo comes back into the fold.

Ricky D must continue adjusting. He gave up two very soft goals today. I understand he's getting back in the groove when it comes to fighting through screens and moving laterally, but as I mentioned two days ago, he can't be weighing down the team while working out the kinks. He made some great, great saves, but the day when he's fully re-adjusted to the NHL game and playing close to how he used to can't come soon enough.

I think El Niño can hold his own, but he needs to show more if he's gonna stay. Niederreiter's been treading water so far and having some nice moments here and there, but we knew he'd be able to grind at this level already. The question is whether he can do something more. Otherwise, the Isles have a guy (Joensuu) who can do all these things in his place while Nino logs key development time in Portland and at the WJC.

In other news, I'm gonna try to get to some college games this week. I have Minnesota and North Dakota on DVR. Comcast sucks, so I missed UNH and Blake Kessel. On a final note, I'm sticking to what I said about Stepan: good player, but he's up too early. I think he'll definitely be a long-term second-line center, but expect the rest of the year for him to continue sort of like Bailey's first season on the Isles.

Josh Bailey is a Man's Man (and Other Observations)

In typical Islanders fashion, game one was an absolute heartbreaker, with the Isles clawing back from being down two goals in the third period only to lose in the shootout. Fun game to watch, though the mental mistakes were very ugly. Turnovers led to two goals, DiPietro leaked another, and Jurcina's failure to clear Morrow from the front of the net surrendered the third. On the positive side, the team was flying all night and overcame the early loss of John Tavares to a mild concussion. Couple key points to take from this game.

Josh Bailey is a man's man. The kid had his best game as an Islander, registering two assists and the only positive rating (+1) on the whole team. He was a man possessed, possibly the best player on the ice for either side. When Tavares went down, he slid into the #1 center role seamlessly. That's something I didn't expect out of him for another two years, but he's well on his way to assuming the role without an issue. I've always felt he'd be capable of 70 point seasons down the road, and he showed why tonight.

James Wisniewski is up to the task. A couple pylon moments from him, but those were far overshadowed by the gorgeous slapshot goal and thunderous hit on Jamie Benn in retaliation for the Tavares cheap shot from Burish. Really good showing from this guy tonight. I have faith that he can spell Streit offensively.

Blake Comeau is ready to take the next step over a full year. A crucial thing, as I have detailed previously, since Comeau will be relied on for everything Okposo used to do at the wing position. He filled in pretty admirably tonight, chipping in a key goal and throwing his weight around with abandon. He also did very well on the penalty kill.

Andy MacDonald looks like he's for real. Did pretty well for himself tonight, logging 23-and-a-half rock-solid minutes. Let's watch his progress over the next few games and see if he solidifies the notion that he'll be taking over for Streit on the defensive side of things.

I don't hate Mike Mottau... as much. When Mottau laid out Frans Nielsen two years ago, "seething hatred" was the best phrase I could use to describe my feelings towards him. Now that he's in an Isles uni, I guess I'll have to get used to seeing him out there every night. He did well in this game, logging a healthy amount of minutes in a system he's had about two weeks to learn.

And now for the negative...

P.A. Parenteau doesn't look like an NHL player. He'll need to be way, way better than this if he wants to stick, especially on the power play. Ugly game from him tonight.

Mark Eaton needs to cut down on the pylon moments. Pens fans were talking about how he wasn't very physical, and they weren't kidding. I hope he gets steadier as the season progresses, because he didn't look like a very good fit out there tonight.

Nino Niederreiter shouldn't be doing this over a full season. I'd rather have Jesse Joensuu do what he's assigned to be doing right now. I've been saying that from jump street. Niederreiter's holding his own, but he frankly doesn't look like he belongs. Juniors is the best route for him.

Rick DiPietro needs to get back in the swing of things. Had his ups and downs tonight. Two goals weren't his fault, two were. If he's gonna stay healthy and get into games, Ricky needs to sharpen up his lateral movement and his reflexes. I think the guy deserves 10 or so games to get his legs back under him before we all call for his head, but the Isles can't afford to deal with him shaking off the rust when they're going to be jockeying for position in this division quite early.

One more thing, before we all freak out...

Derek Stepan still has a long way to go. Rangers fans will undoubtedly proclaim the kid to be the next Guy Carbonneau or something, but it's an 82-game season, and he's still only 18. An auspicious start to his career for sure, but I don't see him being a goal scorer by trade. I wrote on IslanderMania quite awhile ago that I thought Stepan was a no-doubter for a top six role. That obviously hasn't changed. However, I also wrote that he doesn't have the hands to score 30 in the NHL. I still believe that, hat trick be damned. Stepan comes off to me more like a mini-Brad Richards. Good player for sure, but let's not get ourselves carried away over one performance.

Thoughts on the Isles' 2010-2011 Outlook

Considering the season is on the verge of commencing, I thought this was the best time to share my opinion on how I regard the Isles' upcoming campaign. I understand there's a bit of a pall on Opening Night because Streit and Okposo will miss significant time due to injury, but as always, I remain pretty optimistic. I'll be bouncing between statements and questions in this post, followed by a bit of discussion.

Thought: Blake Comeau and James Wisniewski are going to make or break the Isles' season. All other things being equal, I think these are gonna be the two key guys because the team will look to them to replace the production of its injured leaders.

Comeau in particular will be the most important player-- not because he's the best, but because it's his performance that will determine whether the Isles can hold the fort until Okposo comes back. I highly doubt Comeau can bring the constant effort, hockey smarts, and grit at quite Okposo's level for these three or so months until the Ox comes back into the fold. Rather, I think Comeau will need to continue his great defensive play against the other team's top line-- an assignment Kyle normally handles-- and he'll need to toss up 55-60 points, which would be a career year. Playing with John Tavares, who's will probably have a monster year (see below), it may be possible. We all have to cross our fingers and hope that this is the year Comeau figures it out. The tools are there.

As for the Wiz, he's now thrust into the first pairing role he always wanted. His response to this new burden will determine how the defense holds up. The depth is much improved over last year, this much is true-- you can even go to war with Reese, Kohn, and Gervais as your backups in the AHL-- but Wiz will need to be a frontline guy if the Isles will succeed and fulfill expectations. Like Comeau, the talent is there, but he'll have to put it together to both keep the team afloat and justify whatever new mega-deal he seeks in the off-season.

Prediction: John Tavares, Andy MacDonald, and Josh Bailey will have banner years. This is based on how they performed toward the end of last year, how they looked in the pre-season, and their new responsibilities coming into this year.

Tavares will carry the chemistry he had with Moulson and Comeau into Opening Night and throughout the season. You could already tell how much his skating has improved, and I think the year of NHL experience will be huge for him because of how hard he works and how well he learns. I don't think we'll be looking at a Stamkos-level breakout, but I do think 80 points is within reach in spite of how much other teams will zero in on him (especially with the Isles' roster being so depleted).

MacDonald will try to repeat his stellar 50-game run during his debut season. I, for one, believe he's up to the task. He's probably going to get paired with Wisniewski, an arrangement that I think will work well because of how their styles complement each other. While I don't foresee MacDonald doing much in the way of offensive production, I think he'll be up to snuff defending some of the looming threats in the Atlantic Division.

Bailey will spend the full year on the wing-- one of two or three before he is inevitably shifted back to center-- and I believe that will be a huge benefit to him because of the relaxed responsibilities. In the first month of the season, with Robbie Schremp out, Bailey will team with Frans Nielsen to make a nice all-around second-line tandem. Nielsen, who's a sneaky-good offensive player in his own right, will probably pair well with Bailey in all facets.

Question: How will the goalie arrangement work out this year? Rick DiPietro looked pretty good against Calgary, and he supposedly followed that up with another good performance. How often do you play The Franchise, and how often do you play Rollie the Goalie? Valid question, considering Dwayne Roloson thrives on a huge workload. We saw his performance dip when the Isles interrupted his rhythm for the sake of getting Marty Biron out on the ice at certain points last year. Even when DP came back, Roloson was once again thrown off his game. You figure the healthier guy gets the bulk of the time, but if his production is affected by the stop-and-start nature of his schedule, that's gonna be an issue.

DP's health is no longer a serious factor in the organization's future, considering Snowy has done a great job planning around his issues. Nathan Lawson waits in the wings as the 20-game backup in case Ricky goes down. Mikko Koskinen will probably be ready to play the part of Semyon Varlamov in your program by next season. Anders Nilsson and Cody Rosen are your lottery ticket insurance policies. So in reality, a healthy DP is just a bonus.

But it's a huge bonus if he's 80% or better. We're talking about a guy who, the occasional gaffe notwithstanding, handles the puck better than anyone else in the sport at his position. He rises to the occasion when it matters most. He can steal one game in a proverbial playoff series against any opponent. Personally, I'd rather have him playing (so long as he's still effective) than not playing. So we can sort of lay back for the very first time and see how this all plays out without freaking out every time Goalie 2021 breaks a nail.

Prediction: Barring catastrophe, the Isles will not end up with a top five overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft. Even with the Streit and Okposo situations, plus the back spasms that will sideline Robbie Schremp for a month, I think the Isles will improve on their position last season. While they may not make the playoffs-- which is what I'd like out of them, ideally-- I just can't see them dipping down that low.

Too many substantial additions have been made to improve depth, which was the team's main problem last season (especially on defense). This season, the Isles are probably OK for the first nine defensemen (Streit included), and they can bring up Hamonic in a pinch later in the year. As far as the top six, the loss of both Okposo and Schremp hurts, but they'll both be back by New Year's Day.

During the second half of the season, if the Isles are in striking range, I see Okposo's return being a huge boost for a potential run at a low playoff spot. If they're sort of languishing, I think Okposo will propel them above the dregs of the bottom five.

Question: Will Charles Wang have the stones to stick with Gordon and Snow in the face of what already looks to be an injury-riddled season? Some rumblings are talking about Scott Gordon as a potential coach on the hot seat if the Isles don't show some improvement this year. If the roster stayed intact, I'd agree with that assessment. However, without Streit and Okposo, things will be slightly more difficult to say the least. Given the development of some of the young guys so far, I think Gordo deserves a pass unless this season really turns out to be a mess.

Snow's trade for Wisniewski, along with his Eaton signing, looks extra responsible after Streit's unfortunate injury. He's been doing a really good job in light of the fact that he's had his hands tied with regards to how much he's able to spend on the roster. I think it'd be a serious mistake to let him go, but the alarming lesson we've learned after a decade of Wang's ownership is that he's capable of nearly anything.

Here's to what will hopefully be an exciting Islanders season, even in spite of the challenges they face in the months ahead.