SB Nation - Dwayne Roloson

Islanders All-Decade Team: The goalies

Dominik — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:40:47 -0000

More photos » by Douglas Healey - AP

Rick DiPietro's long, strange 2000s trip begins and ends in Bridgeport*. >>*alright, technically 2000-01 was with IHL Chicago, but still: poetic license and all that.

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Note: The "aughts," a regrettable hockey decade in many ways, are coming to a close. Sure, sets of 10 begin with one, not zero -- but picking a starting point when marking time is a subjective human pursuit, like picking your favorite player. We don't call the avocado green appliance decade "the '70s plus 1980," so we're not going to pretend the aughts continue past the fast-approaching Dec. 31, 2009. With that in mind, we'll close out the year by picking our Islanders All-Decade Team. It's a little bit sorrow, a little bit nostalgia, a little bit regret, and a little bit hope.

With five more wins, Dwayne Roloson will become the fourth-winningest Islanders goaltender of the decade.

That speaks not so much to a goalie merry-go-round as to the prominence of three guys: A "15-year" guy whose acquisition defined Mike Milbury decision-making, a future GM who's determined to avoid Milbury's mistakes, and a supposed future Hall of Fame waiver claim whose hot-and-cold 103 games in Orange and Blue was symptomatic of his NHL career.

A poll, and a little more about these guys, after the jump. We'll be tallying votes, but in the comments you can elaborate on your 2000s memories, or even pick who you'd have as backup and third-stringer on the all-decade team.

Rk	Player	From	To	GP	MIN	W	L	T/OT	PTS	PTS%	SO	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%
1	Rick DiPietro	2001	2009	273	15674	117	112	29	263	0.51	14	729	2.79	7681	6952	.905
2	Garth Snow	2002	2006	127	6718	44	52	13	101	0.463	4	309	2.76	3196	2887	.903
3	Chris Osgood	2002	2003	103	5736	49	39	10	108	0.551	6	253	2.65	2639	2386	.904
4	Joey MacDonald	2008	2009	51	2912	14	27	7	35	0.365	1	163	3.36	1657	1494	.902
5	John Vanbiesbrouck	2001	2001	44	2390	10	25	5	25	0.313	1	120	3.01	1177	1057	.898
6	Wade Dubielewicz	2004	2008	37	1926	16	13	2	34	0.548	0	82	2.55	1020	938	.920
7	Yann Danis	2009	2009	31	1760	10	17	3	23	0.383	2	84	2.86	933	849	.910
8	Dwayne Roloson	2010	2010	22	1301	11	5	5	27	0.643	0	63	2.91	688	625	.908
9	Wade Flaherty	2001	2001	20	1017	6	10	0	12	0.375	1	56	3.3	470	414	.881
10	Mike Dunham	2007	2007	19	979	4	10	3	11	0.324	0	61	3.74	552	491	.889
11	Martin Biron	2010	2010	15	830	2	9	2	6	0.231	1	46	3.33	450	404	.898
12	Chris Terreri	2001	2001	8	443	2	4	1	5	0.357	0	18	2.44	205	187	.912
13	Peter Mannino	2009	2009	3	133	1	1	0	2	0.5	0	10	4.51	87	77	.885

This data is from Hockey-Reference.com, and the goalies are listed by games played between the 2000-01 season and 2009-10. The years in the "from/to" columns denote the calendar year in which a season ended. (Yes, I left off the last half of the 1999-2000 season; like I said, human markers of time are as subjective as "player X was bad in November but December magically made it all better.")

Rick DiPietro's save percentage includes his developing-on-the-fly years as well as his playing-while-hurt figures from after the 2008 All-Star break. 2006-07's .919 was his high mark, and he was carrying that same form under Ted Nolan into 2007-08 until ... well, you know.

Chris Osgood's 103 games include that bright 32-25-6/2.50/.910 in 2001-02, as well as the 17-14-4/2.92/.894 he put up the following year, when he was dumped to the Blues for Justin Papineau and an exchange of picks that netted Jeremy Colliton. (Yes, a goaltender who would later appear in two more Stanley Cup finals was traded for Justin Papineau -- and it didn't even feel wrong at the time. This is why every "Osgood for the Hall" discussion always feels caveat-heavy unless you're an Osgood fanatic or family member.)

Garth Snow played 24 more games than Osgood, yielding a higher GAA, lower save percentage and fewer shutouts. But bigger pads. Definitely bigger pads.

Heh, Dwayne Roloson after 22 games has by far the highest win/points percentage of the lot. It will be fun to revisit this after this season's over to see where he stands. The flip-side of such small sample sizes and that particular stat: Martin Biron currently has the worst.

Outliers: The highest save percentage on this list belongs to Wade Dubielewicz, but please don't use that for your "he could have been a starter in this league!" argument. (Alright, seriously do whatever you want. This is for fun.) Breaking my plea from the previous sentence, Yann Danis' minimal sample size but lofty numbers tells me, again, that the Maple Leafs picked the wrong Islanders 2B goalie from last season. To be fair, I'm not sure if the new father Danis would've picked Leafs chaos over Lemaire safety anyway.

Your Islanders Goalie of the Decade

So this position was an easy one: For longevity, for prominence, for a star that shined the brightest, for a guy who carried this team the longest, the straight-forward pick for goaltender on the Islanders 2000s All-Decade Team is Rick DiPietro. Injuries and curious contract aside, he's been the man. It is funny, though, that the guy on this list with the most playoff wins in an Islanders uniform is actually Chris Osgood, who picked up three during that exciting 7-game playoff series with the Leafs that I'm, finally, ready to put to bed.

It's somehow fitting that the brightest star is a guy whose career now hangs at the mercy of rehabbed knees and hips; the second-busiest guy became -- overnight -- the club's scoffed-at but actually quite astute GM; while the guy with the most Isles playoff wins in the decade didn't even win a series, continued to hit rock bottom after he left the Island for Justin freaking Papineau, then resurrected his game enough to play a much-maligned role in the Red Wings winning one Cup and falling just short for a second.

If that doesn't paint a representative picture of the Islanders' curious highs and lows in the 2000s, I don't know what does. I heartily look forward to the 2000-teens, where the future looks brighter at this and every other position. Thank god.

Poll

For the Islanders 2000s All-Decade Team, your pick in goal is:

Smurfs 5, Islanders 2: Goaltending, special teams, the end

Dominik — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:52:33 -0000

What a difference 24 hours makes -- though not quite in the "let's get revenge" burst one might have expected to see. The Islanders still got the first nine shots of the game, aided by some merited powerplays. But they exited the first period outshooting the Rangers 14-4, yet behind in goals 2-0. Henrik Lundqvist shut the door; at the other end, Dwayne Roloson didn't bail out the few early Islanders mistakes. A stark disparity in special teams efficiency (which is always strongly tied to goaltending) completed the story.

Game Sum. | Event Sum. | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles | Blueshirt Banter

Final - 12.17.2009	1	2	3	Total
New York Rangers	2	1	2	5
New York Islanders	0	1	1	2

Complete Coverage >

There is a nascent body of evidence that suggests playing the same goalie on back-to-back nights is not the best move if you have a viable alternative. But with Roloson's play and his 2-0 record against the Rangers before Thursday, I was happy to accept this night as an exception. I was probably wrong. Live and learn.

I'm not hanging all of this on Roloson by any means. The Islanders had some rough luck, Lundqvist was sound all night long, and the Isles never really got the in-close high shots and rebounds that are required to beat Lundqvist when he's on his game.

But in clear contrast to the previous night at the Garden, Roloson never looked very sharp, and even on non-goals his side-to-side movements were late or misaligned.

The Rangers certainly played better and more spirited. But the final score flattered them -- again, they got good breaks on Roloson, Vinny Prospal narrowly avoided knocking the Isles net off on their first goal, Chris Drury somehow actually scored, and the 5-on-3 call that put the game out of reach was an embarrassing display of officiating.

Still, the sum of all parts earned the Smurfs this win. But Lundqvist's was by far the biggest part, and without him they'd probably be stewing over another display of flaws (outshot in every period, and 37-22 overall) rather than celebrating an easy win. In short, that team's going to be in the dirty section of the standings for a while -- and I wouldn't credit tonight to any magical Tortorella Tirade.

We can only hope there isn't another Bob Gainey waiting by the phone to take their cap mistakes off their hands.

After the Garden victory, statman Eric noted how rare the Islanders' intended task was: They have only swept a back-to-back home-and-home with the Rangers two times in history:

The Isles swept the home in home on November 21/22, 1981 (4-3 and 7-2) and on October 19/20, 2005 (3-2 in a shootout, and 5-4).

(Eric also reported that the win at the Garden was just the second road divisional win of Scott Gordon's tenure. Pretty remarkable, albeit reflective of last year's struggles and (much) tougher divisional opponents.)

Goal Scoring, or Lack Thereof

So we know the Islanders are heavily reliant on John Tavares and Matt Moulson for scoring. When those two don't score -- and without Kyle Okposo, that's more often than with him -- the Isles rely on a balance of uncertain secondary scoring. And often, on a shallow-depth team, that secondary scoring goes dark. Which is why they have 12 goals in their last 7 games.

Nate Thompson's open-net miss was stunning, but that's hardly the problem. Maybe it's reflective of part of the problem, which is that this team is simply offensively snakebit right now. But whether your checking line and PK center is getting a couple goals isn't the make-or-break sign of offensive health: No, that's more to do with whether whoever's on JT/Moulson's wing is contributing, whether Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo are scoring, and whether a Rob Schremp or a Jeff Tambellini is helping the powerplay tick. Tonight the powerplay looked promising at first, but Lundqvist's play -- that early save on Schremp most of all -- seemed to deflate them, and the unit ended up 0 for 7.

Telling individual stats, for me: Kyle Okposo had six shots, Trent Hunter had seven (and some tough luck), and John Tavares had four. Lundqvist stopped them all.

Or, as Scott Gordon put it:

"You're not going to hear any complaints from my side," he said. "I think it's obvious what it was. The guy with the pads on in the other net was pretty good. At the end of the day, had there been another goalie in the net, we might have won this 6-5."

That's probably a little too nice. Even without Lundqvist in net, the Islanders offense has flaws. But yeah, without him it's a different game.

Andrew MacDonald: Keeper

One guy who was a surprise help to the powerplay was Andrew MacDonald on the second unit. Wow. I've been impressed by this guy's quietly solid defensive play all along, but his confidence on the puck with the extra man was a revelation. He looked like a, heh, "young" Jack Hillen. Just reward, then, that he popped his first NHL goal in from the point later on at even strength. Congratulations to #47, who I continue to hope sticks around a while. I can think of three defensemen I'd scratch before him.

The Bailey Project

Some of us talked a few days ago: How long do you run Josh Bailey out at wing? We figured 5-6 games before you reassess and hopefully move him back, unless Rob Schremp is lighting the world on fire. He's been steadily improving his play on the wing, but I can't help mourning his potential at center, where he can be a bigger part of play (on his good nights, which were few this year). Still, keeping him at the wing for a while shouldn't sabotage him: He's got a level head, and it's not unheard of to put a young center at wing to learn the NHL ropes before being set loose. We'll see how this goes.

Faceoffs: No Home Advantage Tonight

Schremp was 1-6 on faceoffs, Nielsen was 4-10, Tavares was 4-9. They had some losses on the powerplay that didn't help the unit. But Nielsen won a big one that led to MacDonald's goal, and his deflection after a nice combo from Blake Comeau to Andy Sutton was a nice subtle touch, albeit after the game was out of reach.

Ahead: Visit from the Habs

Saturday the long December continues. I hope we don't have to talk about a Rangers hangover. The last two home games, for two completely different reasons, have been lopsided losses. I trust Saturday night will be better.

Rangers Recap: Rangers snap losing streak, whip Isles 5-2

Jim Schmiedeberg — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:40:35 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

1 day ago: New York Rangers center Chris Drury, right, checks New York Islanders defenseman Jack Hillen against the boards in the first period of their NHL hockey game in Uniondale, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Player's only meetings, tirades from the coach, lineup changes, and fan discord. It was a full day in the world of the New York Rangers.

Oh yeah, they played a game too, and it was Henrik Lundqvist putting the Rangers on his back early, and then the offense did the rest.

Only the end result of tonight's first period looked different than last nights. The Rangers were still outworked and outshot for most of the frame, but managed to score twice off of Islanders goalkeeper Dwayne Roloson and took a 2-0 lead in to the intermission despite being outshot 14-4. The Rangers got goals from Ryan Callahan, who continued his recent hot streak, and Chris Drury (not a misprint) also found the back of the net. Drury's goal was his first since October 19^th.

Callahan didn't waste any time adding to his totals, scoring his second of the game and ninth of the season just 27 seconds into the second period. The goal came on just the fifth shot on goal for the Rangers. Tonight was the first time in 8 games the Rangers found their way to the three goal mark, and they weren't done.

Marian Gaborik added the Rangers third power play goal of the night, scoring his 24^th goal of the season with the Rangers on a two man advantage early in the third period. Artem Anisimov broke out of his drought as well, picking up his sixth goal of the season a few minutes later. Callahan assisted on Double A's goal, giving him the first four point night of his career.

Lundqvist was incredible for the Rangers tonight, making 35 saves. He kept the Islanders off the scoreboard early, when the Islanders were buzzing hard to the net, the Rangers were able to feed off their goalkeeper, and turn it into a big victory.

So after all the turmoil of the last 24 hours, the Rangers and their fans can take a deep breath and enjoy a well deserved victory. It feels like it has been a month since the last one.

Final Thoughts:

Can't say enough about the Rangers special teams tonight. 3 for 6 on the power play, and killed off all 7 minor penalties they took.

Michal Rozsival has deservedly taken a lot of heat from all of us, but he probably played one of his best games of the year tonight. Same goes for Chris Drury. Maybe Torts knew what he was doing by not benching them along with Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik. He dropped Drury to the fourth line early in the game, and at least for a night, it paid off.

Now can Artem Anisimov get more playing time?

How long has it been since my last apology for agreeing with the Brashear signing? Probably too long, so again, I am sorry. I was so wrong. Like "New Coke" wrong. Like the Wilpons giving all their money to Bernie Madoff wrong. Like Garth Brooks trying pop music wrong.

Ilkka Heikkinen looks to be getting more and more comfortable every game. If he keeps playing like this, he could make it very tough for the Rangers to keep him out of the lineup.

Banter Star of the Game:

Ryan Callahan

#24 / Right Wing / New York Rangers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 188

Born: Mar 21, 1985

Islanders 2, Rangers 1: Roloson & Co. slip by Sather's ghosts

Dominik — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:31:04 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Jon Sim guides the puck into the net with his eyes -- a method studies show to be 63% more effective than using his stick.

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That was a superbly played game by the Islanders, in front of a quite dead crowd at the Garden (other than the "FI-ER SA-THER" chants), in which John Tortorella kept running his top guys out there, but Glen Sather's compilation of lifeless players just wouldn't go. I almost shed a tear.

Dwayne Roloson was a minute short of a shutout as he outplayed Henrik Lundqvist, and get this: Jon Sim and Blake Comeau were not only the goal scorers, but also two of the better Islanders forwards. Both played the body, both went to the dirty areas, there were eight shots on goal between them, and Sim was a nuisance while Comeau broke up a 2-on-1 with a diving sweep of the stick. Those two as "stars" is not the recipe for a lot of wins, but their cohesive effort was reflective of a smart team game played by the entire Islanders squad. The score was probably closer than it should have been.

Game Sum. | Event Sum. | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles | Blueshirt Banter

Final - 12.16.2009	1	2	3	Total
New York Islanders	1	0	1	2
New York Rangers	0	0	1	1

Complete Coverage >

I do hope the "FI-ER- SA-THER" chants never make an impact. It is too much fun having him guiding the boo-shirts. As Chickendirt said, Sather is "the gift that keeps on giving." The Rangers had one shot in the first 16 minutes, so I was a little nervous when the Isles went to the first intermission with only Sim's miracle foot goal to show for their efforts.

Thankfully, the Smurfs only made a marginal push-back in the second, and Roloson was solidly in control the rest of the game.

Gabby Was Here

I was hoping someone would sneeze on Marian Gaborik's groin to put him on the shelf again, but no such luck. In nearly 27 minutes of ice time, Gaborik managed six shots on goal and attempted eight more. Yet I'd say the Islanders played him pretty well, mostly keeping his shots to the outside and not leaving him alone too many times. In nearly half an hour of ice time -- including four minutes on the PP -- a player like Gaborik is going to get his chances. But the Isles defense and Roloson combined to keep him off the score sheet.

And of course, for Sather's Rangers, if Gaborik doesn't score then...yeah.

Four Lines Rolling

John Tavares was probing, again learning what will and won't work at this level. Trent Hunter was noisy, Josh Bailey was getting shots on goal (!), Sim's line was a responsible nuisance, and Comeau mostly overcame his reluctance to leave the perimeter. In short, guys on all four lines were doing effective things, so it never felt like their rhythm faded.

On the back line, Mark Streit was a steady anchor, and Jack Hillen was very effective -- amusingly bewildering two Rangers on his pinch in that led to Sim's make-your-own-luck goal.

No Rest for the Victors

So these teams have an encore tomorrow in front of a, heh, hopefully louder crowd than what we saw tonight. I don't expect a "Rangers hangover" -- that will come against the next opponent -- but I do have to expect the Short Island Smurfs will come out with a little more life. If not now, is there any hope for their season? Who knows, maybe even the neutered Sean Avery will figure out a way to be effective for a moment.

So I'd think the Isles will have to play a little better to pull off another regulation win, but everything they did tonight was a positive -- certainly a vast improvement over the Panthers debacle.

More to come during the day. For now, drink this victory up. The season series is now Islanders 2, Rangers 0. Nice.

Rangers vs. Islanders: "The Little Brother Syndrome", everything to lose, nothing to gain

Jim Schmiedeberg — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:37:59 -0000

Little brother comes to town tonight (photo courtesy of LIfe.com)

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New York Sports is replete with inner rivalries. The Yankees and Mets, the Giants and Jets, the Rangers and Islanders, and even the Knicks and Nets, although I can't say I've ever heard anyone ever get really excited for a Knicks-Nets game.

But each of these rivalries has a big brother-little brother complex to them. The Yankees have been around over 100 years, average a championship every 4 seasons, and have a worldwide fan base, while the Mets haven't had a team identity in over 20 years, and have just two measly banners to their credit, and years of futility and underachievement in their history.

The Giants and Jets follow a very similar path, with the Giants being one of the oldest teams in the league, numerous championships, and really only one prolonged bad stretch in their history (the 70's). The Jets have always lived in the shadow, and continue to live off a championship that happened forty years ago. (Yes Joe, we've heard the "Guarantee" story, at this point I can tell it better than you.)

That brings us to the Rangers-Islanders. The Rangers, with their 80-plus years of history, the flashy names, the bright lights of Broadway, and when newspapers pay attention to hockey: the headlines. The Islanders? Sure, they had their amazing dynasty in the early 80's, but they still suffer the same fate as the Mets, Jets, and I guess the Nets. I call it "The Little Brother Syndrome".

If you have younger siblings, remember when you used to play games with them? You'd beat them, usually by a wide margin, but you were supposed to. You were the big bad brother or sister: older, smarter, and presumably with more tools and resources for defeating your younger opponent. It felt good to win, it usually does, but there was also something missing because you felt like you were just doing what you were supposed to.

When the Yankees and Mets play, if the Yankees win, the Yankee fan mostly takes it in stride, its just another day at the office for them. Same goes for the Giants when playing the Jets, and Rangers when playing the Islanders. It's just big brother doing what big brother does.

But when little brother gets the best of you, your life becomes a living hell. Jet fans live to beat the Giants, and some Met fans would be ok with the Mets being 6-156 as long as those 6 wins came against the Yankees. Same rule applies for Islander fans; when the Isles beat the Rangers it makes their whole year. If you've ever been around an Islander fan after they've beaten the Rangers, you will know what I mean.

And in the case of the Islanders, baby bro is catching up to the Rangers. They are a hard working team that has played better than their record, and they have a flashy new toy in John Tavares. Meanwhile, big brother is struggling right now, his head isn't quite screwed on straight, like his girlfriend dumped him or something. But the Isles are still the little brother, and a couple of games against little brother may be just what the Rangers need to get their confidence going again.

Let's hope so, because nothing is worse than losing to your little brother.

Also, we are doing a Special "Blueshirt Banter Radio Rally" at 5:30 PM, leading up to the game. You can click the link below to listen to the show:

Blueshirt Banter Radio w/Mouth and Jim

Horton (4 points), Panthers nuke Islanders 7-1

Whale4ever — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:46:16 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

4 days ago: Florida Panthers' Nathan Horton (16),hits the puck past New York Islanders' goalie Dwayne Roloson for his second goal of the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 14, 2009, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

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Final - 12.14.2009	1	2	3	Total
Florida Panthers	1	2	4	7
New York Islanders	0	1	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Huge night on the scoresheet for Nathan Horton (3g, 1a) as the Cats roll at Nassau Coliseum. Eleven Panthers gained at least a point, while Tomas Vokoun stopped 30 shots to gain the win.

More to come in a bit, but enjoy the highlights; been a long time coming...

Bruins set to face Islanders

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:44:50 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

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The Bruins are on Long Island to face the New York Islanders tonight. The Bruins are looking for revenge after a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Islanders back on November 16th. The B's enter tonight's game looking for their third straight win after two impressive victories over the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Isles will try to stop a three game skid.

Know Your Enemy

New York Islanders (11-13-7)

Head Coach: Scott Gordon

Bruins record vs. Islanders this season: 1-1-0

Leading Scorers:

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - John Tavares	15	11	26	-1	6

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Matt Moulson	14	9	23	5	16

Projected Starting Goaltenders:

Tim Thomas

#30 / Goalie / Boston Bruins

Height: 5-11

Weight: 201

Born: Apr 15, 1974

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Tim Thomas	17	1016	7	7		42	2.48	488	446	.914	3

Dwayne Roloson

#30 / Goalie / New York Islanders

Height: 6-1

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 12, 1969

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Dwayne Roloson	18	1079	9	4		50	2.78	585	535	.915	0

Injury Report

Boston Bruins Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Dennis Wideman	other-excused	12/12/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Byron Bitz	other-illness	12/12/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Milan Lucic	ankle	11/26/2009

New York Islanders Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Radek Martinek	knee	11/07/2009
Andy Sutton	groin	11/29/2009
Doug Weight	other-excused	11/07/2009

Notes:

- The Islanders have only played 11 games at home this season, but have looked relatively good in their own building (6-3-2).

- Bruins are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

- The Islanders and Bruins are both 18.3% on the power play this season.

- The B's now have the best penalty kill in the league with 86.4%.

- It will take more than an SUV to stop Brendan Witt

- Byron Bitz and Dennis Wideman both skated in the morning skate.

- For more on tonight's game, check out Lighthouse Hockey

- Game starts at 7:00 and can be seen on NESN. Public Skate open tread starts at 6:30.

Today's Obligatory Embarrassing Islanders Fan YouTube Video

Islanders at Leafs

Chemmy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:54:54 -0000

More photos » by Nathan Denette - AP

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Yesterday we wrote that Chris Pronger would bring a mean streak that Team Canada needs in the Olympics and last night Chris Pronger lived up to his billing by drilling Tavares into the glass from behind. Pronger received a two minute penalty and Tavares lost one of his front teeth so that he can now rock the Dany Heatley look.

No one from the Islanders started a fight with Pronger. No one on their team stood up to a guy who intentionally drilled their star player, their 19 year old wunderkid. Let's hope that streak continues for tonight, because I watched an Islanders team put their tail between their legs last night when faced with physical play. The Leafs don't have Carter, Richards, Briere, Giroux and Van Riemsdyk, but we've got Phil Kessel and a mean streak. Let's make this an unpleasant game for a team that was banged up before last night.

Martin Biron started last night but got torched by the Flyers so I'm guessing we'll see Dwayne Roloson in net tonight. This will be a good chance for the Leafs to exorcise the demons of last week's soul crushing loss to Roloson. I'd say "the Islanders" but that wouldn't be very accurate.

Toskala should be starting for the Leafs, he played very well in the Atlanta game before our defense gave up in the third once the game was well out of hand. However the Leafs play in Boston tomorrow so Joey MacDonald might get the start to save Toskala for tomorrow night. I don't like any of these scenarios to be honest. With Toskala I feel like he plays well just long enough to make you say "oh, maybe I was too harsh" before he shits the bed in a spectacular soul crushing display of aloof ineptitude.

The preview's up early today because we're going to have a bunch of content this afternoon so stay tuned. Remember your SPG picks, check out the excellent Lighthouse Hockey (where we'll make a 2nd period field trip tonight) for Islanders coverage and go Leafs go!

Flyers 6, Islanders 2: Isles continue flat play in front of Biron

Dominik — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:25:12 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

"Yeah, sure we looked beaten up, but you should have seen the other truck."

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This one was all stink from beginning to end, with a couple of trademark John Tavares poached powerplay goals thrown in to temporarily ease the pain. The Islanders didn't show up in the first half, their penalty kill was ineffective (as it always is in front of Martin Biron), and the powerplay didn't come to life until it was too late.

Worst part is, the Islanders chose to lay an egg in a way that gets the Flyers out of their slump, hands them their first bit of affirmation under Peter Laviolette, and lets them leap the Isles in the Atlantic standings. Way to go, guys.

[Update: No, even worse: Two injuries, with Tim Jackman and Sean Bergenheim out for the Toronto game]

Game Sum. | Event Sum. | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles official | BSH

FINAL	1	2	3	Total
New York Islanders	0	2	0	2
Philadelphia Flyers	2	3	1	6

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Until the last couple of games, Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron's surface numbers were relatively similar. But as mentioned a few times here, even before tonight -- when the Islanders killed only two of five Flyers powerplays -- Biron's PK save percentage was considerably lower than Roloson's. Something is going on here:

While Shorthanded	Shots	Goals	Saves	Sv %
Roloson	97	9	88	.907
Biron	88	16	72	.818

Tonight's short-side goal by Jeff Carter was a Biron mistake -- and one of the "book" weaknesses oft noted about him. But is that the only explanation? Does simple bad luck have something to do with it? Do the Islanders come out flat (outshot 37-24, 15-5 in the 1st) and have to climb up a hill of bad penalties (and zero goal support) in Biron's games, simply by chance? I can accept that Roloson is the better goalie, but not by this margin.

Not much more to say about this disaster, but I do have a little Chris Pronger retrospective rant to get off my chest, along with video highlights after the jump.

Chris Pronger: Still a Tool after All These Years.

This is the devil's bargain you sign with Chris Pronger. Watching a decade of his awkward puppy years in St. Louis, where he grew from awkward, spoiled overpaid deer in the headlights to essential team captain and quarterback, I saw this all the time from Pronger: A dumb penalty behind the play, like his not-very-sneaky hit from behind on John Tavares last night, followed by an indignant expression of feigned innocence, as if there is no conceivable way he could have done ANYTHING wrong (Tavares lost a tooth on the play). That, along with a few more second-period Flyers penalties, nearly let the Islanders back in the game last night, briefly changing the game from 4-0 to 4-2. Apparently this will always be Pronger's Achilles heel, but there's simply no need for it.

For the life of me, I will never understand how a 6'4" tower of reach and strength, who can easily demolish and intimidate opponents with legal hits (which in my book always send a FAR more effective message than the cheap team-killing sutff), nonetheless chooses to try to do it with dirty, easy-to-call penalties. He's grown up so much since the days Mike Keenan (of all people) had to shame some sense into him, and yet you know even in his "mature veteran" 30s there will be multiple times this season where he will confound more discerning Flyers fans with dumb penalties that show he still hasn't figured out the balance between hockey intimidation and human douchebaggery. A pitiable trait for a future Hall of Famer, but there you go. We can't design our hockey players in a laboratory.

Next: The End of the Road

So Wednesday the Islanders' epic stint on the road comes to an end. After that, they have 11 of the next 13 games at home to look forward to -- with the only two "road" games at that cozy place in Manhattan. If they're thinking of looking past that challenging road tilt against the Leafs, who are on a 6-2-2 run, in the name of eagerly anticipating home cooking, I hope they think again. The Isles are in 12th place now, just one point above the Panthers and four points over the Leafs (two points with a regulation loss tomorrow).

Please show up, boys.

Islanders Gameday: Laviolette's limping, identity-crisis Flyers

Dominik — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:15:10 -0000

After a couple of days between games, now the really crazy part of December's schedule begins, against a team that is still disorganized under a new coach and, frankly, ripe for the kill.

[Note: This game is on Versus in the U.S. Apologies for the copy/paste error earlier.]

New York Islanders (11-11-7, 4th/Atl) at Philadelphia Flyers (13-13-1, 5th/Atl)
7 p.m. | The [R.I.P. Spectrum] Center | VERSUS, TSN, radio
New Laviolette Disciples: Broad Street Hockey

The Flyers are playing on back-to-back nights (the Isles get that pleasure tomorrow in Toronto), and while last night's 3-1 loss in Montreal showed mild signs of improvement over Peter Laviolette's debut, they still have miles to go. Travis's recap at Broad Street Hockey reminds me of the early days of Scott Gordon, with lots of talk of systems and the challenge of transforming a team overnight. Watching last night's game, the number of times the Flyers announcers said "Laviolette's system" -- as if trying to decipher a teacher's methods with an unruly classroom -- told me the Philly team is still going through those new coach pains we know too well.

But while a new system and new forms of blueline pinching can bring initial chaos, a team with talent can still gut out a win on any given night. The Islanders better be ready. They better bring it. If they get the first goal, they better go for the kill. A slot in the standings is at stake. [Continued after the jump, with a look at faceoffs...]

For a moment I thought to myself, "Wait...do you remember any such chaos when Lavi took over the Islanders?" Followed immediately by: "Of course you don't!" Not only was Laviolette's 11-2-1 2001-02 start this decade's greatest Islanders run (still), it followed a summer hiring, when he had plenty of time to plan and work in the new blood who would lead that team.

I'm really intrigued by what Laviolette might be able to do, though. If that team is to reach the promised land with this core, they've pretty much wed themselves to doing it with Laviolette. Even this season, there is still plenty of time -- more time than when Pittsburgh brought in Dan Bylsma -- and the Flyers have legit talent in a lot of places that Laviolette should be able to employ in a cohesive whole. The one thing Laviolette doesn't have is a motivated-by-something-to-prove Chris Osgood or a pure talent like Cam Ward. In the end, my expectation for the Flyers will remain as it has been for the last 18 years, revolving around one question: Can this goaltending take them all the way?

But enough about those punks in Philadelphia. There is another proud flyer of the Orange banner to think about...

Tonight's Lineup

Goaltending: Dwayne Roloson isn't the officially declared #1 goalie, but he's been playing and starting like he is. Still, tonight is a great chance to put Martin Biron back in, to hopefully get revenge on his old team while allowing "58-save" Dwayne Roloson to haunt Toronto tomorrow night. The last NYI-PHI meeting -- John Stevens' final win as Flyers coach -- didn't go so well, but not because of Biron's play. True to form*, the Islanders gave him no goal support after Brian Boucher stood on his head for two periods. Yes, that game on Long Island remains the Flyers' only win in their last ten games. Please don't let tonight be their second.

*In fact, among goalies who have played five or more games, Biron has the worst 5-on-5 goal support in the league, with just 1.25 GF/60 minutes (5-on-5). In contrast, the Isles give Roloson 2.88. But the record isn't all on Biron's teammates (unless they're tanking the PK): On the PK, Biron is allowing 11.08 goals per 60 minutes (of 4-on-5), while Roloson is allowing just 5.43.

Lines, Damn Lines and More Statistics: Otherwise, during this relative period of health, the lines remain the same. Jack Hillen is banged up but will play, while Andy Sutton (soon) and Doug Weight remain on the shelf (not soon), and Rob Schremp Hockey and Blake Comeau continue to sport the yellow jerseys.

What are the Islanders missing without Sutton and out-for-the-year Radek Martinek? Well, two of the 20 best defensive defensemen through the first quarter by James Mirtle's metrics, but also the two most prolific shot blockers on the team. At 5-on-5 this year, Sutton has blocked 7.4 shots per 60 minutes, while Martinek blocked 6.8. Witt has also blocked 6.8/60. There is some warranted thought that a lot of blocked shots in no way indicates you're a good team -- if you don't have the puck much, you face (and block) more shots, and if you don't have the puck you're probably the weaker team. But on an individual level, it's hard to not value a guy who can get in the shooting lanes, particularly in the anti-obstruction (hallelujah!) post-lockout NHL.

For the record, the Isles are again near the top (3rd as of last night) in blocked shots with 490. And who's in fourth, with 479? Why, your Stanley Cup champ Pittsburgh Penguins.

Faceoffs: Not Just a Crappy Travolta/Cage Sellout Film

Since we're wading into team stats, how's that once vaunted, later de-vaunted faceoff acumen coming along? The Islanders are currently 19th, at 49%. Not as good as they were in the early-going when we were in awe of their video work, not as bad as they were when they came crashing down from that high. But all of them are above 53.9% at home, while only Nielsen is even above 50% on the road.

NYI	Faceoffs	Win%
Frans Nielsen	323	52.6
Richard Park	399	52.4
John Tavares	411	48.4
Nate Thompson	152	47.4
Josh Bailey	284	43.0

As with any consideration of faceoff proficiency, we should remember that shorthanded faceoffs are harder (fewer teammates on the ice means less help to "win" the puck after it leaves the faceoff dot), so keep in mind that Nielsen, Park and Thompson's numbers come under more difficult circumstances than Tavares and Bailey, who never take PK draws. (Okay fine: Tavares has taken 5, Bailey has taken 16. Never say "never.") But for the shorthanded go-to guys, Park has taken 91 shorthanded draws (41-49), while Thompson has taken 45 (18-27) and Nielsen has taken 27 (12-15).

Anyway you slice it, Josh Bailey still needs work at the dot. But he's 20, so he still officially has slack from me.

That's the story for now. Let's. Go. Islanders.

Prediction: It's been a whole five games since we tasted OT (the Roloson Miracle in Toronto). It's time we renewed acquaintances, and it's time Kyle Okposo's post luck changes.