Takin' 'em to Slovakia

The Isles come away from the Coliseum with a win to show for all their hard work lately. Colorado's a great team this year, so it was good to see the boys take this one both because (a) they flat-out played better and (b) they were actually the more talented team, even with Streit and Okposo out. This is the type of game you were looking for them to put together to continue the encouragement that they could be a playoff team this year. Both teams were coming off back-to-back games, though the Isles had to travel while Colorado was already in the area capping off their tour of the tri-state hockey squads.

Milan Jurcina showed why he belongs. I was a little worried after the first couple games, but eventually, Jurcina came through on several fronts-- culminating in his effort during this Colorado game. It's not just that he scored the two goals, though they were obviously huge tallies. He's put together three really good games in a row on the PK against very tough teams, ramping up his physical play to make even more of an impact. He's the best defenseman on the team at clearing the crease, and he showed it again tonight. The slapshot he unleashed to open the scoring was just a bonus. I was all about slotting Hillen over Jurcina in the beginning of the season, but as they say, that's why I'm blogging and Scott Gordon's coaching.

Frans Nielsen is without question one of the top five defensive forwards in the NHL. Last night, he was instrumental in silencing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Tonight, Matt Duchene, Chris Stewart, Paul Stastny, and Milan Hejduk had tons of trouble trying to solve him. He was all over the ice and constantly made his presence known despite not showing up on the score sheet. Snow's contract for him always looks better with every game Nielsen plays.

Good to see Dwayne Roloson's still got it. His effort shouldn't be overlooked. One questionable bad-angle goal, but a host of other spectacular saves to give the Isles momentum. He matched Craig Anderson's excellent first period effort and outlasted him through the rest of the game. He even showed more of an affinity for playing the puck, an activity in which he normally refrains from participating altogether.

Josh Bailey is finding even more ways to get better. Tonight, it was in the faceoff circle, where despite winning only three out of seven draws, he had two key victories in huge situations. One of them led directly to the first goal in a shorthanded situation. Bailey now has seven points in five games, and he's playing like a #1 center. Granted, Bailey doesn't really need to continue performing at this pace to make a huge contribution to the Isles' effort to make the postseason. However, if he does, then he'll establish himself as a bona fide top line center in the NHL. That'll be something interesting to watch throughout the season.

No mental mistakes tonight. Dougie Weight took two pretty smart penalties, but other than that, the Isles did a good job staying out of the box. No offensive-zone penalties, no bench minors, no boneheaded turnovers, no ill-advised passes. This is the type of game the Isles can play when they minimize the goofs.

P.A. Parenteau might actually have some chance of winning me back over. Maybe. He did a good job creating on Bailey's goal and Grabner's goal. He also didn't screw anything up tonight. It's possible he's getting his act together. We'll have to see if he's for real.

One negative from this evening:

The early third-period goal is a drag. You never wanna give another team momentum like that. The Isles couldn't convert on a huge power play to start the stanza, then Stewart comes right back down and scores. I'm sure the team will put the clamps on the opponents next time they come out with a third-period advantage.

On the Avs:

The Avs are similar to the Isles in that they're a young team reaping the benefits of all their kids coming together at once. Last year's magical season speaks to the idea that the draft is the right way to build. The thing about Colorado's roster is that while they are chock full of talented kids, they lack serious star power. Many Avs fans will argue that Duchene is that guy for them, and some will even go so far as to say he's gonna be better long-term than Tavares. I don't think that'll be the case at all, but they're entitled to their opinion.

I also like Stewart, Cumiskey, Yip (didn't play tonight), and Galiardi. The Avs also have some nice prospects in the pipeline, including but not limited to Kevin Shattenkirk and Steve Silas (who they absolutely stole this year). That being said, Stastny doesn't really qualify as a headliner. The Isles, in the meantime, look like they're putting together a top six full of headliners. That being said, it's still early, and either team can still end up anywhere. My feeling, though, is that the Isles will have the star power to pull through to the next level.

On to Toronto, where the surprising Leafs await.

Sloppy is as sloppy does

Give the Isles credit for walking away from the Consol Energy Center with a point tonight, because it certainly could've turned out quite differently if they didn't receive a friendly call from the refereeing staff on Kris Letang's shoulder to Blake Comeau's... shoulder. Granted, this is the same group of zebras that called a phantom hook on Milan Jurcina when he had the audacity to breathe in Sidney Crosby's direction, but by that point, the boys in blue and orange had already guaranteed themselves one point in the standings. There wasn't much about this game to like except for the notion that the Islanders could even exit the building with something to show for this type of effort against a premier NHL team in its own rink.

But let's try to focus on the positive, shall we?

The PK was finally on point. The right personnel were being used, everybody looked aggressive, and the Pens were frustrated throughout the game's three periods before finally breaking through in overtime after what was frankly a bad call. The Isles generated two golden shorthanded chances, both of which they couldn't convert. While the breaks of the game can unfold like that, it was encouraging to watch guys like Bailey, Comeau, and Nielsen really create something in the face of adversity.

Ricky D had a spectacular game. He gets screwed on two lucky bounces, then lets in a scorcher from Goligoski off a rebound created by the fact that an Isles defender (can't remember who right now) allowed a Pens attacker to screen DP with impunity. Other than that, he had several spectacular stops to keep the Isles in it. This was the DiPietro we know and love, the guy we remember stealing games for the team during a season in which they eventually made the playoffs. This is probably the most important takeaway of the night when you look at things in the long-term.

Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau are for real. Their all-around contributions tonight cannot be exaggerated. There was no phase of the game in which they did not have a serious impact. Bailey in particular had several unbelievable offensive moments. Comeau continues to do his thing and prove to everyone that he's officially turned the corner.

Radek Martinek has successfully re-invented himself. Not only is he positionally sound, but he's turning into more of an asshole while finding it in him to contribute offensively. I've constantly written that Martinek always had the skills to be one of the best all-around defensemen in hockey. Slowly, he's beginning to realize that for himself. Isles prospect Matt Donovan is similar: he doesn't even know his own strength, blissfully unaware of his own gifts because he's a nice guy. I hope he learns what Martinek has apparently learned: you need to get angry and you need to let that chip on your shoulder motivate yourself to achieve new heights.

But of course, how could we forget the negatives:

The horrible mental mistakes need to stop. Before the agita takes even more years off my life. I believe the team has had at least one bench minor in every regular season game thus far. That is insane any way you slice it. Nino logging six PIMs in the first period is inexcusable, even if he's 15 years old. Offensive-zone penalties are total murder on your team, and the Isles have racked up too many thus far for my liking. Mike Mottau-- who has officially converted me, by the way-- can't be making blind passes to the center of the rink in his own zone. The guys can't keep thinking 8 steps ahead and whiffing on easy clears and tape-to-tape passes. Will they sort it out? I'm confident they will, because Scott Gordon is the real thing. But I hope it happens way sooner than later.

Once more, with feeling: Andy MacDonald needs to be removed from the power play. I guess he'll be supplanted by Wisniewski upon James's return to the roster, but Andy Mac just wasn't made for this in any capacity. If Hillen's gonna play, you have to put him here. He ran one of college's most successful power plays for a very long time. This guy's completely capable of bringing that contribution to the NHL level.

If there is a God, P.A. Parenteau has played his last game in an Islander uniform. Not much more to say, really. It is what it is.

Protecting the front of the net is an area of concern. Now that Sutton is gone, the Isles don't have a guy who will flatten opposing players if they try to hang out in front of DiPietro. This was a problem on the game-winner, and it'll continue to be a problem until Travis Hamonic suits up for the Isles full-time (at least a year away) unless Snowy gets on the phone and imports a bruiser in the interim. Obviously, no one's gonna be available this early in the year. Nevertheless, I'd start giving it some real thought.

I cannot wait until the day the team learns to step on the opponent's throat. Two straight games with golden opportunities, both of them blown. In Washington, the Isles had two solid one-on-one chances with the goalie: Grabner making Carlson look like a pylon, and Moulson breaking away alone. Both didn't go their way. Tonight, the Isles went on the power play with 2:16 to go, and they couldn't hammer one home. They'll learn it eventually, but great teams always seize those moments. It's too much to ask for the time being, but the youngsters must incorporate that element to their game somewhere down the road if the Cup will ever come back to the Island. I know, I'm delusional for talking like that.

Quick thoughts on the Pens:

I understand Jordan Staal was out this game, but my goodness does that look like one shallow team. Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and a blue line that's looking awfully overhyped. Zbynek Michalek and Brooks Orpik (favorite non-Islander defenseman in hockey) being absent from this game had no impact whatsoever on the PP units, both of which looked dreadful (continuing a theme from last season). Ray Shero might end this season with serious egg on his face if he imported two defensemen to eat up the rest of their precious cap room and they didn't have the impact he anticipated.

Right now, Shero probably doesn't look too good for failing to address the age-old problem in Pitt: Crosby has no winger. The Pens draft too low for a winger to have an immediate impact, and it's an awful lot to ask of your scouting staff to identify a mid-rounder who can ride shotgun to the Next One with spectacular results. Crosby is the greatest player in the world at the moment, but he can't carry the likes of Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi to the Promised Land. When the Pens won the Cup, Crosby's superhuman effort was good enough to elevate a guy like Billy Guerin. Now, he doesn't have a guy who comes close to even that caliber. Shero learned last season that your biggest deadline import on wing can't be Alexei Ponikarovsky.

In the meantime, the Isles gear up for the Avalanche, who already head up the Northwest Division and don't figure to relinquish that lead for the rest of the year. On the tail end of slugfests with two bigshot teams from last year, the Isles will be paid a visit by another squad that saw playoff action in '09-'10. Can they come away with an impressive victory? We'll have to tune in on Saturday night to find out.

A surprising effort comes up short

I had the pleasure of seeing this game live and in person at the Verizon Center. I was happy to see the Isles make it interesting, but ultimately, they couldn't capitalize on several golden opportunities. While Blake Comeau's penalty was the obvious difference-maker, give some serious credit to Michal Neuvirth. The kid was able to stonewall the Isles in his third NHL game with a (frankly speaking) terrible defensive corps in front of him.

I have some comments about the Isles before I end things with a paragraph or two on the Caps, who I follow by default down here in DC.

Dwayne Roloson kept the Isles in it. Good to see that Rollie hasn't missed a beat. Several textbook saves from him, some of which DiPietro definitely wouldn't have made at this stage of his comeback. Roloson's a reliable option to have in case it hits the fan with DP, and I imagine Nathan Lawson can answer the call for ten or so games in an emergency situation. Many people might've questioned how Dwayne could hold up at 41, but he looks sharp as ever.

Radek Martinek is the Ovechkin kryptonite. I mentioned this in a post over at Islander Mania before the game started, but I'm beginning to notice it at an increasing rate. Despite Ovechkin factoring into both goals tonight, Radek stymied him at several other points in the game. When Ovechkin scored, Eaton was defending him, and there was nothing more the big guy could've done-- Alex is just that good. When Backström scored, Martinek wasn't on the ice. You don't hold the Caps to two goals at home very easily, and Martinek was the biggest part of that tonight.

Nino Niederreiter is probably here to stay. He had his first NHL goal this evening, and he nearly had another one off a great release from the high slot after a faceoff win. His instincts are top-notch, and he still has rhino strength on the puck at the NHL level. I think all of us underestimated his ability to succeed this quickly in the pros. He's gonna be an all-around contributor to this team for a long while.

Michael Grabner has a place here if he works hard. The Isles haven't had a guy with that kind of speed since Palffy left the building. I liked his offensive creativity as well. If he can meld into the system, I like the idea of having him on the team. He gets my tentative approval for now.

The negatives:

Blake Comeau must learn that he can't take that kind of risk in that situation. I understand he was just finishing a check, and it was a very ticky-tack call, but that's the kind of knowledge he will have to gain with experience as a go-to guy in the final five minutes. Comeau will probably never completely eliminate the brain farts from his overall repertoire, but he made great contributions in other areas tonight and peppered the net with some quality shots. He's officially turned the corner, but it's now time to work out the kinks; this is the second really bad penalty from him in a late-game situation.

I don't understand why Andy MacDonald is on PP1, even with Wisniewski out. MacDonald had another sound defensive game tonight, but I put his power play troubles on Scott Gordon. Jack Hillen is a power play quarterback by trade. He anchored an atrocious second unit to the tune of 20+ points last year. If he's gonna be in the lineup, he should be playing the point, especially with Wisniewski sitting out. I'd even argue that Hillen and Weight should be playing the points on PP1, then Jurcina and Mottau should be out there on PP2.

Trent Hunter doesn't appear to belong anymore. It's a speed-oriented system that favors players with quick releases. Hunter, unfortunately, brings neither. He does have virtues: strength on the puck, high character, a good slapshot. The reality is, though, that it's time for him to move on. He's an NHL player, but he'd be better in some other system... Calgary would be good for him, or Jersey might even be the right stop at his price tag.

I've seen enough of P.A. Parenteau. The experiment was nice, but I believe it'll end as soon as John Tavares is re-inserted into the lineup. He's not quick enough with either his feet or his decision-making, he turns the puck over in every zone, he's easily overpowered, and he doesn't play much defense. The team-- get this-- has too much talent for him to stick around. Nice knowin' ya, buddy.

On the Caps:

I still don't understand George McPhee's thinking. Three things were clear after the Capitals dropped their first round series to Montreal: (1) Bruce Boudreau needed to go; (2) the team as a whole needed to get physically tougher; and (3) the defense just wasn't gonna cut it as is. What does he do in response? Returns the same defense corps, puts his stamp of approval on Boudreau's failures with the NHL's most talented squad for multiple consecutive years by keeping him around, and imports DJ King in exchange for one of his most intriguing prospects.

What did we see tonight? King made his debut, had zero on-ice impact, and clearly hasn't effected the top-down change that the team desperately needs if it wants to win the Cup. Boudreau promotes a system sorely lacking in fundamentals that allows Ovechkin and Backström to dance around with the puck and hopefully make something happen through sheer force of skill. The defense is barely able to handle a tenacious Islanders forecheck, leading the crowd to applaud almost every time the puck was skated out of the zone.

Let me ask a stupid question: does a team whose achilles heel is its defense look smart if it returns all of its top four and supports them with two fresh-faced rookies who can't play in their own zone? John Carlson looks lost in every area of the ice except the opponent's blue line. I didn't even know Karl Alzner played in the game until my buddy John told me after it was over. Mike Green had his usual abominable game in his own end. This Tyler Sloan character is not gonna be the elixir. Where was, say, Anton Volchenkov? Andy Sutton? Sergei Gonchar? They certainly had the cap room.

If McPhee wants to take home the Cup, he should flip some of his farmhands and his first-round pick for the best defenseman available come the deadline. Because in spite of an explosive offense-- one that the League is slowly starting to figure out, by the way-- and an encouraging young goaltender, the Caps have no shot at any hardware if they continue along with these six guys on the blue line.

For the Isles, it's on to Pittsburgh, where they can hopefully take advantage of a reeling team that can't seem to find any giddy-up in spite of really positive changes in the off-season.

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.