On Vacation

Figured I'd make this post to let you guys know I'm not in town for the weekend. No TV, which means no Center Ice, which means I didn't see the game last night and won't get around to the game tonight. Hit up Lighthouse Hockey or Islanders Point Blank for game recaps until then.

I have a bunch of college hockey DVRed that I can get around to sometime next week, so be on the lookout. See you when I'm back!

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.

Taking their talents to South Beach... and forgetting to use them

I hope tonight isn't a reflection of the Isles possibly getting complacent with their modicum of success to begin the season. As encouraging as their start has been, this game might've been equally discouraging. Keep in mind for a second that Florida is the consensus pick to finish last in the League, and they have by far the least talent of any team in the NHL. No disrespect to David Booth, who is good, but he's their headliner. He's complementary top six on any other team. Tonight, though, he and the Panthers outworked the Islanders so badly that it was legitimately appalling. The game ended 4-3 because John Tavares has unbelievable hockey sense.

Positives

John Tavares had a hat trick.

Negatives

The Islanders were badly, badly outworked at even strength. Two heads-up power play goals from Tavares disguised what was a horrible effort 5-on-5. The Panthers spent long stretches in the Isles' zone, and their trap was excellently game-planned to totally frustrate the visiting team. They screened with impunity, absolutely owned the crease area, and peppered DiPietro with shots at every turn.

I hope you're sitting down for this bombshell: The Islanders were abjectly unable to clear the zone all night. Twice, this led to goals. The Panthers' cycling looked like Philly's during last year's playoffs. The likes of Steve Reinprecht, Rostislav Olesz, and Stephen Weiss-- all respectable players, sure, but come on-- cranked up the pressure in the Isles' zone and never let up on the gas pedal. DiPietro obviously didn't have a wonderful night, but regardless of his bad pass and squeaker on a deflection that should've been called a high-stick, he made some pretty damn good saves. The Islanders let up 30 shots to the worst offensive team in hockey, and they paid for it, plain and simple.

Somebody needs to clear the crease when the opposing team decides to screen. Nobody stepped up to the plate tonight. Granted, I'm not a coach, but why Jack Hillen is on the PK while Mike Mottau plays the PP is completely beyond me. Hillen was absolutely dominated in the crease all night-- to be expected considering his size-- and Mottau struggled to run PP2 (overshadowed by the success of PP1). Mottau, the vet with the mean streak, makes a lot more sense in the role of punishing Reinprecht when he tries to get cute in front of Ricky D; the shifty, creative Hillen makes a lot more sense in the quarterback slot on the second unit. Or maybe I'm delusional.

Rick DiPietro has to lay back with the puck. His turnover led to the first goal of the night, which made the difference. A total brain fart. He had Wisniewski unmolested right next to him, and he instead chose to try to clear it himself. A totally boneheaded decision, and I'm sure he knows it. The Rick needs to understand that he doesn't have to be a hero anymore. He's not trying to singlehandedly generate offense for the likes of Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek; the team in front of him is more than capable of handling things by itself. Just how DP settled in with his technique and awareness, so too will he settle in with this puck decisions. Frustrating as tonight was, it's worth the wait long-term.

On the Panthers

Give the Panthers a ton of props for game-planning correctly. Tomas Vokoun came up huge tonight as well in spite of being conquered by Tavares three times. His play in the last 60 seconds was phenomenal. The Panther forwards were money, and with the support of Weaver and Wideman, they were able to generate enough offense to topple the Isles. That's a team pretty devoid of any talent whatsoever outside Booth and Weiss; DeBoer is just trying to do whatever he can to score some goals while hoping Vokoun steals a few.

I'm a little leery of Tallon's 2010 draft; I think he could've done a lot more with the picks he had. I'm not very high on Gudbranson, and though I do like Bjugstad, I'm unsure of how the rest of the picks will turn out. Florida will be able to leverage Vokoun for a king's ransom come the deadline, considering they have both Jakob Markstrom and Marc Cheverie primed to take over. That should get them a headstart with regard to talent importation and securing the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, which will end up being Adam Larsson unless either Sean Couturier or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can cure testicular cancer, genital herpes, and the common cold.

The Isles needed this one going into the home-and-home with Montréal. They'll very certainly welcome the return of Josh Bailey when that one comes around.