Nice article by Newsday’s Mark Herrman on the budding rivalry bewteen DP and Lundqvist as goaltenders for the two New York teams. Although I would like to see Lundqvist fall on his face as often as possible, I have to say it is good for the rivalry when stars emerge at the same position. Here’s hoping DP keeps it up and stays a step or two or twenty ahead of Lundqvist.
One reason the Islanders (winners of four of the past six) are much better than they were last year is the same reason why the Rangers (six straight losses) aren’t quite as good as they were last year: goaltending.
DiPietro is 16-10-1, Lundqvist is 14-10-2 and each has played 27 games. But DiPietro has made the bigger impact. He has lifted his team higher and more consistently.
With Mighty Jason Blake’s so far stellar season, we here at IslandersArmy took a closer look at his stats. Here’s what we found:
- Blake is scoring on 17.9 percent of his shots. An outstanding mark. #55 had scored on 8 percent of his shots during his prevous eight seasons.
- The only current Islander forward who has ever posted a better scoring percentage in a full season is Miroslav Satan. Miro scored on 19.2 percent of his shots with the Sabres in 1998-1999 when he had 40 goals.
- Blake is taking 3.3 shots a game, up from his career average of 2.7 and down from last year’s even 4 shots a game.
- Blake has 28 career power play goals, 11 of which he has scored this season.
- Blake is on pace for 89 points. His career high is 57 set last season when he had 28 goals and 29 assists.
- He is averaging 1.09 points per game.
- And, not that we have any stats to show it, he’s fast.
[Update] Nice post by Tom digging up the stats on the always hustling J. Blake. Just wanted to add this link to Newsday’s article about Blake’s impending free agency and the Islanders’ desire to resign him. -murph
“Blake fits in the picture for sure,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. “I’ve been associated with hockey for a long time, but very few times do you have a player of his determination and grit. He just wants to score and win and he battles. The fans appreciate him and we appreciate him. He’s definitely a big part of this team.”
[Update 2] Looks like it’s Jason Blake day in Islander country as Newsday’s Greg Logan has posted a story about #55 on his Islanders Blog.
No doubt, Blake is on the hottest roll of his career with 20 goals through 34 games, which is just eight goals short of his best full season. Presumably, talking about it might upset the hockey gods who control these things, and what’s the point of jinxing himself?
Coach Ted Nolan has another theory. He suggested Blake’s competitive zeal has rubbed off on Alexei Yashin, whose playmaking ability, in turn, has shoveled coal into the fire in Blake’s belly, fueling his desire to score. The symbiotic reaction generated by Nolan’s decision to pair them on the top line clearly has been one of the major reasons for the Islanders’ transformation into a legitimate playoff contender.
Newsday’s Greg Logan has the update on various Islanders injury situations. DP’s back tonight, Yash is on schedule to return next weekend, and we MIGHT get to see Jeff Tambellini with the big club soon.
The Islanders have gone 2-3 since Yashin suffered a sprained right knee, and his prolific linemate Jason Blake just got his first goal in that span in Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss to Ottawa. But after home games against Montreal tonight and Florida on Saturday night, they have a five-day break to recover before playing a back-to-back set at Pittsburgh on Dec. 15 and home the next night against Atlanta.
Yashin is expected to play in at least one of those games, according to the club’s current plan. It’s unlikely he would attempt both ends of a back-to-back, especially when the Isles play just one game against the Rangers in the next five days after that weekend set. That would allow Yashin gradually to regain strength for two sets of back-to-backs that bracket the Christmas break.
In the short term, the Islanders sent backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz and forward Jeremy Colliton back to their AHL affiliate for a game last night in Bridgeport.
No.1 goaltender Rick DiPietro, who was rested against the Senators, will be available tonight, and the Isles will call up another minor-league forward. Jeff Tambellini, who played in the opener and leads the Sound Tigers with 11 goals and 22 points, seems to be the leading candidate, but nothing is official.
Islanders and NHL notes from around the web…
- The Toronto Sun speaks with Ted Nolan on his return to the NHL. They’ve also got some comments from Nolan’s past and present players. Here’s what Jason Blake had to say about the new coach.
“The atmosphere has totally changed with the New York Islanders,” said the 33-year-old Blake, now in his fifth full season with the National Hockey League club. “He is such a fun coach. He is a great fit for this team.”
- Newsday’s Steve Zipay says the new “streamlined” team jerseys we’ve been hearing about are definitely coming to the NHL. Nothing personal, but I hope you’re totally wrong on this one Steve.
The snug sweaters that would be tucked into uniform pants could be unveiled at the All-Star Game in Dallas, we hear, and depending on the reaction, could be worn by all clubs as soon as the start of the 2007-08 season.
Officials originally wanted to launch the post-lockout league with a tighter, stretchy fabric that hugs equipment, like the NFL, but held off to preserve some visual attachment to the pre-lockout game.
In addition to a sexier look, NHL executives have said the style would further prevent players from using the looser, outside-the-shorts jerseys for hooking and obstruction. Maybe.
But let’s cut to the chase. It’s always about the money. The NHL is counting on a double revenue stream: Younger fans will buy the new merchandise (although some husky older ones might find the new duds a little tight around the tummy, right?) and voila! The current jerseys will instantly become retro and trigger a separate revenue stream.
As long as the logos remain untouched - and naturally, there’s no guarantee of this further down the road - the change shouldn’t be earth-shattering to older fans. The third jerseys started this spiral away from the old look. A few folks already have warned me of the potential loss of the horizontal stripes on the bottom of horizontal stripes on the bottom of some Original Six sweaters in the Reebok plan, and who genuinely cannot sympathize?
- New updated Islander Prospect Watch is up at NewYorkIslanders.com. Robert Nilsson was named AHL Player of the Week with 4 goals and 3 assists in 3 games last week.
- As we hit the quarter pole of the NHL season, Alexei Yashin’s strong play makes SI.com’s Top 20 Surprises of the Season so far list.
[Update] Two more Islanders links for you today.
- CBC Sports also has an article about Nolan and the “overachieving” New York Islanders.
Ted Nolan is up to his old tricks, maximizing what talent there is on the Islanders roster much like he did nine years ago with the blue-collar Buffalo Sabres.
“His teams are always the same, they just work real hard,” Toronto Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice said of his fellow Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native. “He finds a way to get some guys whose names weren’t on the top of everybody’s lists to play hard and to develop into good players. He does a lot through emotion in getting his players to play at a very high level.
“I’m not surprised where they are,” added Maurice. “You take away their start and they’re one of the best teams in the NHL.”
- Stan “The Maven” Fischler thinks the Islanders might be the best of the three local hockey teams. Who am I to argue with The Maven?
Greg Logan’s article about the Islanders’ Dads coming on the road trip is now online at Newsday.com.
Goaltender Rick DiPietro treated his father, Rick, to his first shutout of the season, Bob York and Stan Hunter got to see their sons, Mike and Trent score goals, and a good time was had by all. “The plane was crowded with the dads having a good time with some drinks and talking about what they enjoyed,” Shawn Bates said. “It was fun. Obviously, it’s very different. Normally we just do our thing, but now, we can sit down with our dads and shoot the [breeze].”
The traveling party didn’t get to their beds until about 3 a.m., but it was a good tired and certainly a feeling hockey parents are used to. They tell stories of getting up before dawn to ferry their kids to practice before school or to countless games and tournaments as junior players. Call it a labor of love.
“It was a lot of work when the boys were young, but it was still fun for us then, too,” Stan Hunter said. “Basically, it becomes a social group. We’ve got some friends that we’ve had since the beginning of hockey. Most of the people we know are hockey people.”
Great win for the Islanders last night, once again showing what kind of team they CAN be when they put it all together. 3 goals, solid goaltending (35 saves), and quality penalty killing (7-7) led to a 3-0 win and a 2-0 start to this 5-game road trip.
Mike York started the scoring on a PP rebound of Satan’s shot in the first. The Isles PP was 1/6 last night.
In the second, Yashin forced a turnover in the Islanders zone. There was an up-ice pass to a streaking Blake into the offensive zone. Blake pulled up short, passed over to Yashin who had joined the play. Turco slid over to challenge Yashin, who fed it back to Blake for the easy goal. Yashin and Blake are playing so well together. Both are off to career best starts, stats-wise.
DP was solid, at times spectacular, and didn’t wander from the net too much. Dallas had a 2-man advantage in the first period, and DP made some great saves to keep the game 1-0. The Isles were outshot by more than 2-1 over the last two periods. Trent Hunter iced the game with about 5 minutes left in the third on a 2-on-1 rush that left him 1-on-1 with Turco. Turco who entered the game with a GAA under 2.00 allowed 3 goals on 22 shots.
Two notes from the game last night…
- Last night’s game was the last game the Islanders will play outside the Eastern Time Zone THIS SEASON! That’s a pretty crazy stat. It also shows how ridiculous the current NHL schedule format is.
- Mentioned on the broadcast last night, the Islanders have allowed the players to bring their fathers or a hockey mentor along with them on this road trip. This is the first I’ve heard of this, but apparently other teams have done this in the past. Very cool idea. Greg Logan will have an article in Friday’s Newsday about the Islanders dads/mentors.
Video highlights from NHL.com
As mentioned over at Off Wing Opinion, last Monday there was NO Islanders coverage in the print edition of Newsday. This was the second time in recent weeks this had happened with Long Island’s “Hometown” paper.
Greg Logan of Newsday, explained the situation on the Newsday.com Islanders blog.
A WORD OF EXPLANATION TO THE READERS: Serious Islanders fans (Is there any other kind?) undoubtedly noticed there was no story in the print edition of Newsday this morning. This is the second time it’s happened in a couple of weeks, and the reason in both cases has to do strictly with the space available in the paper to handle major breaking news stories.
It is not a reflection of Newsday’s commitment to Islanders coverage. Today, the Gary Sheffield trade by the Yankees was major news, and previously the settlement between former Knicks coach Larry Brown and Madison Square Garden forced a decision at 11 p.m. when most of the section had been “put to bed” and couldn’t be changed.
In both cases, Newsday had backup writers at practice while I was off or was working on another Islanders assignment, and both stories moved over to our Web site, which is where Isles fans should go if no story appears in print. Also, because their schedule has five straight days without a game and no practice was scheduled Saturday and Sunday, no Islanders story is planned for Monday’s paper. When practice resumes Monday, we will have a writer there, and of course, we are the only newspaper traveling to every road game.
As I have stated previously in this blog, I will do all I can to expand Islanders coverage, which is why the news of Campoli’s return appeared here first today. Naturally, if the Islanders win this season, their news value goes up, and it becomes much easier to find space. Hope that answers most of your questions.
Newspapers? You mean people still read them? Wow. Seriously though, I’m not surprised by this development. It is similar to the Islanders TV situation where they are frequently “bumped” to a 2nd or 3rd “overflow” channel, depending on how many other local teams are playing hockey and/or hoops. If you are depending on the print edition of Newsday for all your Islanders info, you’re missing out on a lot. But then again, if you are reading this…you already know better.
Ted’s pissed. He even dropped the “Q-word” the other night talking about the 5-1 loss to the Lightning. He said he thought the team quit trying at the end of that game. First Ted spoke with the team leaders and encouraged them to hold a players only meeting. Then he went back into his office and shuffled the lines.
Simon makes the jump to the top line with Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake. When asked why he didn’t move Asham, who previously has teamed with Yashin, Nolan said it’s possible Asham might alternate with Simon.
“You could probably do a double whammy with those guys,” Nolan said. “Arron’s been playing well. You look at that so-called fourth line. They’ve been working every game, and they deserved to play a little bit more. So, Simon’s there. Asham could get up there. Andy Hilbert’s with the other guys. We’re going to try to reward people who work.”
Hilbert moved to left wing on the second line with right winger Miroslav Satan, and Mike Sillinger replaced Mike York as the center on that line. York and left wing Trent Hunter were dropped to the third line along with right wing Viktor Kozlov, who was playing on Yashin’s wing. Richard Park and Shawn Bates will form a new fourth-line combination with Asham.
Other Islanders and NHL news…
- GM Garth Snow is hanging with his new co-workers, the 29 other GM”s of the NHL at the GM meetings in Toronto. On the table for discussion is the NHL schedule. It appears the unbalanced schedule will be staying with us for at least one more season. Personally, I hate the schedule - the league has it’s most marketable young superstars in years but the schedule prevents some NHL fans from seeing them.
- Canadians would apparently rather steal stuff instead of drinking Bud Light beer. Well can’t blame them for that with those deeeee-licious Canadian beers available up there. Bud Light is running a promotion in Canada with NHL Vintage Hats inside cases of Bud Light. Canadians are opening the cases and stealing the hats instead of being seen buying that swill.
- Ex-Islanders beat writer for the NY Post Evan Grossman is now writing for NHL.com. Last week he covered the television production crew of the Islanders/Devils game to give fans an behind the scenes look at what goes into getting a game on the TV.
- Finally Greg Logan (Newsday) discusses DP’s contract and how that effects fan’s expectations in light of DP getting booed last week.
On Monday, Newsday ran a story by Greg Logan on the Islanders sagging attendance. On Tuesday, Logan followed it up with some attendance discussion on the Newsday Islanders blog (oooh, competition!). Finally as if to prove Logan’s point, less than 8,700 fans showed up for Tuesday night’s game vs the Blackhakws, a season low.
“I don’t think anybody gives him (Wang) credit for keeping the team here,” said former general manager Mike Milbury, who now is senior vice president of sports properties, focusing on the marketing side.
“That’s why he bought them. He’s lost, I’m sure, over $100 million by now. All he wants to do is to get it right. Have we made some mistakes? Yes. Has it been easy? No. On the ice will speak for itself, but at least from a business perspective, I think our effort has showed.”
You could say that’s a shame, but in the course of putting together the article about Islanders attendance that appeared in Monday’s Newsday, it became evident that the majority of markets in the league have survived the lockout in reasonably good shape. Even assuming that every team inflates its attendance to some degree, approximately two-thirds of the NHL is running around 85 percent of capacity. So, credit those teams with doing something right to connect to their fans.
If there’s one refrain coming from the fans that hits home with me, as a family man with a mortgage, high property taxes, one kid in college and another set to enroll next fall, it’s the high cost of tickets. It’s not just the Islanders. It’s all major sports franchises.
My take? The number one problem is ticket prices, they are too high. Raise your hand if you’re over 25 years old and you’ve used your old college ID to get 1/2 price day of game tickets. I know I’m not alone. As long as the Islanders aren’t selling out, why should I purchase season tickets when I can get them cheaper this way?
Center-ice, 300 level tickets are $70 at the Coliseum. The same ticket is $47.50 at Madison Square Garden. That’s a HUGE difference, especially up in the 300’s where the most cost conscious fans are going to be sitting. I shudder to think of the day when I have a family and try to take them to an Islander game and it costs me over $200 just for upper-deck, non center-ice tickets. There are just too many other (cheaper) entertainment options on the island for the casual hockey fan. At those prices, going to an Islanders game is more akin to going to a concert or “Disney on Ice” event - something I would take my family to once or twice a year. Last time I checked, the Islanders were not offering any two game season ticket packages.
The season ticket packages this year are good, you can get a package with as few as six games. The six and thirteen game plans don’t start until late November, so there is still time if you’re on the fence. This is a huge improvement from pre-lockout when partial season tickets were sold above face value because you were “paying a premium” for the option to buy playoff tickets.
I do believe that Wang, despite his crazy contracts and desire to reinvent the art of running a hockey team, does mean well and wants the team to succeed. He also would obviously like to make money on the team instead of throwing money down a hole. It pains me to say this, but kudos to Wang and Milbury for listening to the fans (a little) and offering all these different packages and discounts this season to try an increase attendance. Even if it isn’t an across the board ticket price decrease, it’s a step in the right direction.
That being said, the second biggest problem with the Islanders attendance is the on-ice product. I had the pleasure of sitting in the 100’s for an Islanders/Rangers game last season…only to watch the Isles get hit by a train 6-1. Thank goodness the tickets were a gift. This past summer’s front office shenanigans did little to shore up the eroding support of long time fans. Some fans have given up on the organization, while others are taking a wait and see approach and don’t want to commit to any kind of season ticket package.
Below are some NHL Attendance figures. The most interesting fact to me is that the Islanders are down about 10% or 1,600 fans per game from last season. In the Logan article, Milbury mentions that Islanders ticket sales historically pick up around Christmas time. If the Isles can continue to play competitively they should be able to make up this early season difference, and hopefully get out of the NHL attendance cellar.
2006-07
Bottom 5
(With rank, team, average attendance and percentage of capacity.)
30. Islanders 11,014 67.6
29. St. Louis 11,819 62.1
28. Chicago 12,451 60.7
27. Washington 13,017 69.7
26. New Jersey 13,336 70.0
Top 5
1. Montreal 21,273 100.0
2. Tampa Bay 20,089 101.7
3. Detroit 20,090 100.0
4. Philadelphia 19,467 99.8
5. Toronto 19,382 103.1
2005-06
Bottom 5
30. Islanders 12,609 77.4
29. Chicago 13,318 65.0
28. Washington 13,905 74.5
27. St. Louis 14,213 74.7
26. New Jersey 14,230 74.7
Newsday.com’s Greg Logan (the last Islanders beat writer left?) has more info on DiPietro’s groin pull.
Goaltender Rick DiPietro tested his pulled groin for the first time yesterday in the morning skate, was on the active roster last night and could return as soon as tomorrow night against defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina if his conditioning is deemed sufficient. If he skips that game, the Isles have four off days before their next game Thursday against Buffalo. DiPietro admitted he played with the injury in the first three games and was affected by it. “The rehab’s gone really well,” he said. “I felt good on the ice today. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go soon.”
After that info, I say sit him Saturday and start Dunham one more time. Carolina (3-3-1) is struggling, Buffalo (6-0) is rolling. Not to look past the Hurricanes, but we’re going to need a strong performance vs the Sabres next week (not to mention staying out of the #%^@ penalty box).
