SB Nation User Blog: Dominik

11-11 Reflections: Anyone to remember?

Dominik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:56:54 -0000

Isles home opener shot from Doug at Official's Outlook.

The Islanders, for a variety of reasons, are one of the more proactive NHL teams when it comes to recognizing military service. So this seemed appropriate here.

Veterans' Day. Remembrance Day. Armistice Day. By any name, from any political or philosophical stance, people unite to honor military service members and vets in part because everyone can at least agree that we, as a species, put these people in perhaps the toughest position you can ask of a human life.

Nothing crystallizes the often absurd nature of that position for me more than the story of Armistice Day, the famed "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" in 1918, a moment chosen ahead of time in part for its numerical impact -- at the cost of how many extra lives? Western "leaders" (and I use that term loosely) agreed to end the war at that hour, yet on that day there were still, by one account, 10,944 casualties; 2,738 died (320 Americans), most after the Armistice had been signed.

Have a Story?

This is not intended to be political nor sanctimonious (I save sanctimony for my shootout rants, don'tcha know), but I know we have some veterans around here -- and just about everyone has a vet or service person in their life. So if you'd like, treat this as a way of showing a different side of yourself. (Obviously you might prefer to keep your participation specific to hockey, and that's cool.) But if you want to say a word (or 900) about yourself or any service person, in any uniform, who's meant something to you, take it away in comments. I'll start, after the jump:

* I never met my grandfather. He was one of the first Czech officers executed by the Nazis in 1939. His body was sent back in a coffin that was bolted shut, and his family was told he committed suicide -- and they were instructed not to tell anyone any different. (In reality, post-war accounts confirmed he was tortured extensively, then killed.) The impact of that death on my father was pretty indescribable, something we never could quite pin down. Suffice to say my dad looked up to his father, and losing him then, in that way ... well there were psychological consequences.

* Later in that war, my (American) uncle landed in Europe shortly after D-Day. He literally "marched across France" -- and that is all he ever revealed to us about the experience. We always wanted him to share more stories; we probably had no idea what we were asking, and we probably shouldn't have asked twice.

* On the other front, another American uncle was on a ship being deployed to the Pacific "theater" when The Bomb was dropped on Japan, ending the war. He was spared from combat, and he -- ever the comedian -- told me the biggest lesson he learned was not to take the bottom bunk, because when your bunkmate got seasick ... well, gravity always wins.

You could go for hours about war, armed forces, the requirements for a "just war," the proper context in which to honor those who serve. For me, the point of days like Veterans' Day is to recognize those put in that position by the collective conflict resolution flaws of the human species. There is no telling how my life would be different (or whether it would exist at all) without their involvement. So when this day comes around, the above are the people I think of most.

Isles junior prospects update at HF

Dominik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:23:30 -0000

Isles junior prospects update at HF

A little run-down at Hockey's Future. High on Hamonic of course.

Islanders Gameday: No Ovechkin, no Martinek - no problem. Flu bug? Problem.

Dominik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:37:43 -0000

Silly humans, we like to view things in groupings, whether or not said groupings relate to one another. So we'll talk about how our team is "such-and-such in November," even if November is just an arbitrary cut-off that's more to do with Pope Gregory than the fortunes of 21st-century hockey teams.

But a seven-game run away from home: that's a grouping that might just matter.

New York Islanders (6-6-5, 5th/Atl) at Washington Capitals (10-3-4, 1st/East)
7 p.m. | [some really annoying telco] Center | MSG+2 (twice the plus!); radio
"They don't, they don't speak for us": Japers' Rink | On Frozen Blog

The Islanders begin that grouping against the Capitals without Radek Martinek, the underrated defenseman who actually did a pretty good job defending Alex Ovechkin the last time these teams met. Then again, for this third Isles-Caps meeting of the season, the Caps are without Ovechkin. So back to square one. Of course, sans Ovi the Capitals just swept two games from Florida -- who has a similar coach, but different 2008-09 results, than our own Scott Gordon.

So group it however you want. I'm probably going to group it under "in games without Kyle Okposo..." [Update: TMC notes in comments that Blake Comeau is ill now, too. Enter Rob Schremp Hockey...]

But in the capital, the drama over Ovechkin's injury prognosis is, well, slightly more intense than the "what else is new?" Island reaction to Martinek's. Hell, even the drama over where an unwanted Caps' soldier is headed is consuming more bytes.

While the Islanders without (future captain?) Okposo is uncharted waters, the Caps rather impressively pulled off victories without both Ovechkin and Mike Green. Yikes. I look forward to Trent Hunter's return, but somehow I don't find it to be of equal impact.

Oh, and about those margin-thinning, depth-depleting challenges to the Islanders lineup: Not only is K.O. out with Ye Olde Pig Flu, but now Doug Weight's upper body injury has changed from "week to 10 days" to "4 to 6 weeks." That's not only more realistic and more predictable; it's also a strong hint that it's a more significant shoulder injury, perhaps closer in nature to the one that kept him from Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals with Carolina. (Okay, not that serious.)

We've come, I think, to expect frequent injury from Weight's body at this age. But this one, coming so soon after the captain's own recovery from the H1N1, is a blow. I was among those hoping for a .500 performance on this road trip. With at least half of it missing Okposo and all of it missing Weight, my expectations are lowered. Add that to our tin six-defensemen depth, and hopefully Mr. Snow is watching the wires for potential reinforcements.

Regardless, another challenge means another lens with which to look at this young team.

* * *

The Cycle of a Rebuild: 1. Suck and get picks. 2. Use picks on future stars. 3. See future stars arrive and evolve. 4. Get good enough to discover that some stars maybe aren't as great as once thought.

Is that where the Caps are at with Alex Semin? Been interesting to see Caps fans debate whether he should be part of the core. Not just penalties and off nights, but the ominous comment from his agent on whether he'd adjust contract demands to fit into a championship structure in D.C. His agent: Mark Gandler. ... Gandler .... Gandler ... now where have I heard that name before? Ah yes, that's the tool. Good luck, Caps fans and Semin-lovers.

* * *

He Who Shall Not Be Named Until Healthy: I've sort of pledged not to do this, but what the hell, these quotes were interesting in a goalie-rehab sort of way. Scott Gordon on Rick DiPietro's first consecutive days of practice with the team:

He did multiple butterflies, some rapid recoveries, a lot of edge work. It was all good.

Nobody's holding their breath. But at the same time, it's nice to see the team continue to take the conservative approach with The Franchise. Strang adds that DP will do Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday work next week (so, two days of back-to-back real practice). Whatever works.

* * *

Tonight should be an interesting one, particularly if Green is still out. Lineups without their best players, going at it, trying to make do: Somehow, there's something cool and pure about that. And what would be strange and unholy? If the Isles lost in OT to move their record to 6-6-6.

NHL Shootout Myth #47: Look! People are standing!

Dominik — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:14:17 -0000

"You think the shootout is a bad way to end regular-season games? What if I told you the Olympic gold medal game could be decided that way? Because that's the truth. What an ugly thought that is. But as for NHL regular-season games, I don't mind it, my friend. Walk into an NHL rink during a shootout and tell me how many people are actually sitting down."

>>Pierre LeBrun, espn.com

The most tired, circular and evasive justification for the shootout there is.

You like the shootout? Fine. We can agree to disagree on taste. If you think a breakaway drill -- that takes place at half of game speed, mind you, without even the threat of a backchecker to make the shooter think twice -- is a great way to award half a win's worth of points after 65 minutes of hockey, fine. If you're just tickled pink by some dangler spinning in circles, crashing into the goalie, and then fist-pumping as if he just accomplished something, then we just like hockey for different reasons. If your tie-allergic self needs a "winner" (falsely) declared so bad that you must "settle" games this way, great. I lose the vote. I concede.

But stop using the "no one is sitting down!" argument as justification. Because people aren't sitting down during OT scoring chances either. You know why? The game is on the damned line.

You could have a bow-and-arrow accuracy contest at center ice, with the players in their skivvies. You could have a stuff-the-clown-in-the-VW contest at center ice. You could make the players shoot for the empty-net wrong-handed and blind-folded. For all of these, if the outcome determined which team just earned another point in the standings, people would not be sitting down.

So stop the fallacy. Stop pretending that the artificial value ascribed to the shootout justifies its existence. If the two points in the standings were determined by who won the 2nd period, guess what? Few people would show up for the 1st for the overpriced pizza and beer, and not a sober soul would still be around for the exhibition 3rd.

I get that some people like it (and flippancy aside, I don't mind that you do). I get that it's exciting. Hell, I'm standing during shootouts, too. But that doesn't mean I like it. And it doesn't mean I feel good about things afterward, win or loss.

So please: If it must stay (and surely it will), at least stop letting teams who resolve their games via shootout earn the same reward as teams who take care of business in 60 minutes of actual teamwork.

Retort, refute or hallelujah in comments.

Blasted Swine: Kyle Okposo has H1N1 flu

Dominik — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:51:26 -0000

More photos » by Stephen Chernin - AP

Hey Marleau: You might not want to stand so close, 'kay?

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Yesterday he was getting time on defense in practice (just for numbers with Mark Streit having the day off, honest). Today Kyle Okposo has been diagnosed with the H1N1 "swine" flu. Coincidence?

Damn pigs. Okposo follows teammate Doug Weight, who had it in mid-October. That's a fine how-do-you-do for the start of a seven-game road swing. I guess the Isles don't have to worry about who sits for the returning-to-health Trent Hunter anymore.

We can talk about the need for better public health policies, and we can talk about washing hands and the what-not. But when #21 gets the swine flu and messes with our Islanders hockey, well that's when it's time to get medieval.

(I'm not really sure what that last sentence means. It just felt right. And it's fun when The People gloss over real issues until it messes with important things like TV. Almost as fun as general panic in the populace.)

Islanders links: Moulson love then and now

Dominik — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:28:55 -0000

Been busy on some other things, so no major thesis or probing question today. Hoping to add a news widget to the left-margin, but I have to tinker with that still before the porridge is juuust right. Mean time, here's stuff goin' on with the Isles and various other headcases before the road trip begins tomorrow in Washington:

Matt Moulson love: If you missed him on NHL LIve, Dee has a nice recap of an engaging interview about his journey to this point. A little love at the end of this Duhatschek column. And from the wayback machine: A chat Moulson did on ESPN while he was still a young pup at Cornell.
Eric notes that seven games ties the max for an Isles road trip, and joins everyone hoping for a .500 return [Forever1940]
But about that road trip: Is it season-defining? [L.I. Press] Trent Hunter is "possible" for Wednesday [from Newsday's Hillen feature] ... The Post devotes another lovely four-sentence update, with the ol' DiPietro bait ... Botta specs on who will sit for Trent Hunter psst: Sim ... Tambellini?
The Rivalry has a very fun take on which Islanders jerseys are acceptable to wear, which are iffy, which are nicht nicht. I can never go wrong with the Bossy.
Haven't talked Lighthouse in a while. Suozzi's fate still up in the air, and with LP and ToH, is this a stalemate between two movable parties? [Hockey Independent]

Off the Island: Crazy Goalies.

Already FanShotted Scott Clemmensen's hilarious inability to adjust to life away from the Devils system, but J.S. Giguere's lament about "having fun" only when he's starting, and preferring retirement to a backup role, had me laughing and thinking of Clemmensen all over again.

Dear NHL goalies: Your job is hard, this we know. But there are only 30-60 of them available, so you might accept that no one is entitled to diddly squat, and hope your bosses don't look to Europe for a guy who's both good and glad to be here.

Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen says he's had to operate in survival mode with "total chaos" in...

Dominik — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:23:30 -0000

Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen says he's had to operate in survival mode with "total chaos" in front of him for the four games he's played with his new team.

>>Funny after he was mentioned a few times recently here. Apparently, Clemmensen isn't loving life away from New Jersey's far more defensive system. Come on, be a goalie.

Replacing Martinek: What'll it be?

Dominik — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:09:51 -0000

"To me, [Martinek]'s one of best kept secrets in NHL," Gordon said. GM Garth Snow agreed and wouldn't rule out a trade: "It's a big hole for us to fill. If something makes sense, we'll do it."

>>NY Post, paying a blip of home-game attention to Islanders hockey

Well yeah. Of course you wouldn't rule out a trade. When you enter a season with just seven NHL blueliners -- at least four of them no strangers to X-rays -- you're going to reach this point where a replacement of some kind is needed.

That's not to say Garth Snow's job is easy here: It's difficult to sit two quasi-NHL defensemen every night and get them enough work to be competent when you need them. If one of them is a green Jack Hillen, you get stuck wondering if all the sitting is right for his development. That's why a known depth quantity like Freddy Meyer is nice to have.

But now Hillen and Meyer are both in the lineup, and Martinek's 22:47 TOI (2:22 on the PK) per game is not. So what do you do?

The Islanders are headed on the road, where they could be an Andy Sutton shot block or a Brendan Witt awkward hit away from needing another defenseman. Bridgeport's Andrew MacDonald makes for a nice call-up in a pinch; otherwise, none of the young AHL prospects are ready for this role (the Sound Tigers have lost 5 in a row, by the way). But unless they want MacDonald up with the team as The New Meyer, a depth move seems prudent. You're not replacing Martinek -- an already busy Mark Streit and the rest split up his duties -- but you do want someone with enough upside to claim a regular role, plus enough negative leverage to accept whatever the Isles give him.

Any ideas or pet waiver gems out there? (Side Q: Would you have claimed Randy Jones and half of his $2.75 million off re-entry waivers if the injury happened then?) Any *cough* realistic trades? Remember that if you look to Europe, at this point a guy has to pass through Dubie-waivers. And if you bring up Chris Chelios, I swear ...

Biron v. Roloson: You make the call

Dominik — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:09:14 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

"I'm old enough, I'm crotchety enough, I'm good enough, and doggone it, people like me."

Browse more photos »

Maybe it's a sign of how close they are, but I've been surprised at the wide array of very firm opinions on whether Martin Biron or Dwayne Roloson: a) is a better 'keeper, and b) has been better this season. I'm not talking just fans who have watched Islanders games, but fans of the Sabres and Devils who were alternately relieved that Biron or Roloson started against their team.

It's especially fun for me because I don't have yet have a preference -- not on this year's work. You can cite their (rather minimal) playoff histories, you can cite the teams they played behind, and you can talk about specific goals allowed this year that expose tendencies in their game. Plus, there's always: Roloson is old. But I'm unconvinced, at least for their performance thus far.

So I'll throw some figures out there -- there's a little more after the jump -- and you make your argument. One thing I'll concede, though it's very early: Continuing his recent trend, Roloson's save percentage on the penalty kill is quite strong (.925), whereas Biron's thus far is not (.867). On the other hand, the Isles have scored far more for Roloson than they have for Biron. (NYI-GF is goal support, or how many goals the Islanders have scored when they're in net.).

	GP	MIN	W	L	OT	NYI-GF	GA	GAA	SA	Tot-Sv%	PK-Sv%	SO
2009 - Martin Biron	9	509	1	5	2	15	24	2.83	283	.915	.867	1
2009 - D. Roloson	9	526	5	1	3	28	24	2.74	278	.914	.925	0

Note: GF/GA totals don't match the team GF/GA you'll see in the standings, because for some insane reason the NHL counts shootout W/L as a GF or GA in the standings, just one of many reasons the shootout is an unholy affront to Western civilization.

Opponents: One more factor I don't put too much stock in, particularly at this point, but it's fun to toss out there: Which teams have they played against? Here are the combined records (as of today) of the teams Roloson and Biron have started against. (That means Buffalo is counted once for Roloson and twice for Biron.) The first record excludes the games these two started.

Biron opponents (minus his starts): 69-43-8 | Including Biron's starts: 74-44-8
Roloson opponents (minus his starts): 72-51-15 | Including Roloson's starts: 73-54-17

So what'll it be? I know many of you have expressed opinions already or over the summer, but has your opinion changed at all? Do these numbers influence you? And while I'm focused on this season's performance, you can consider this an open thread to debate the traditional "he's playoff-tested"/"He's old"/"His contract makes him better trade bait" ideas as well.

Islanders 6, Thrashers 3: Off-the-schneid goals overfloweth

Dominik — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:00:36 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

These colors, and these expressions: Exactly what Saturday nights should look like.

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Let us pause now and admire the 2009-10 Islanders' commitment to a balanced record.

If 5-5-5 was pretty, then 6-6-5 begs for an OT loss Wednesday against the Capitals, who have a history of handing OTLs to the Isles.

You knew something was up when scoring opened with Andy Sutton down low, making like John Tavares by slipping Tavares's pass to his backhand and going top shelf on Ondrej Pavelec.

Game Summary | Event Summary | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles

Final - 11.7.2009	1	2	3	Total
Atlanta Thrashers	1	1	1	3
New York Islanders	3	2	1	6

Complete Coverage >

Dwayne Roloson let Thrashers phenom Zach Bogosian tie it on a weak stick-side goal (a favor Pavelec would return early in the 2nd for Blake Comeau, one of three Islanders who got off the schneid). Both Sutton's and Bogosian's goals were results of their young coaches encouraging their defensemen to jump up in the play, which makes things a little more entertaining than, say, Islanders-Devils.

Thankfully, 1-1 was as close as it got.

Because then: Sean Bergenheim with his 1st goal of the season, knocking in a rebound by driving to the net. Jack Hillen with his 1st goal (4-on-4), on a nicely placed screen slap shot. Comeau with his 1st goal (also 4-on-4), for the aforementioned Pavelec wave. Matt Moulson (on another sweet Tavares pass) with his team-leading 7th, and then to complete scoring in the 3rd, Josh Bailey with his newly assertive shot from the slot on the powerplay.

At home, on a Saturday, for the last home game before the Thanksgiving holiday, that's just what the doctor ordered.

Despite the loss of Radek Martinek for the year and Doug Weight for at least a week, I expected a good effort. But I didn't expect an explosion like that, even against rather free-wheeling Atlanta.

Freddy Meyer Steps In

Solid game from Freddy Meyer, who stepped in for Martinek with his first game since Oct. 22. We know what we get in Meyer: Never stellar but often a nice fill-in (truthfully, a good 7th man in that way), he deceives you with his size and can deliver hits like this:

I don't expect that all the time -- consistency is hard at this level -- but with Meyer it's nice to know you'll get the occasional unforgiving check to keep the opposition honest.

Meanwhile, with the scoring spread out evenly, you know who had the prettiest night on the scoresheet? Nate Thompson, with two assists and a +2 (Tavares, with his two assists, was only +1). Ha.

Turning Points

The Islanders won this game -- or the Thrashers lost it -- in the first period, with the Isles outshooting Atlanta 21-11. Bogosian's tying goal turned out to hardly be deflating, and the Islanders answered right back to close out the period 3-1. Said Atlanta coach John Anderson:

"We just didn't come ready to play," Anderson said. "Our first three or four shifts were good, but after that, we were nonexistent out there. I have to give them a lot of credit for the way they played after a hard loss last night. They came back and played very, very hard."

Comeau opened the 2nd to make it 4-1, and the Isles were on their way. Final shots were 45-34 for the Isles. This year's first meeting of the NHL's aggressive young coaches goes to Scott Gordon.

Up Next

Before a November-defining seven-game road trip, the Islanders get a rest before their next game in Washington Wednesday. But don't go away; we'll have some more wonky posts, as well as an epic tome about the RBK effect in the days ahead.

And of course -- as always -- if there are ideas ruminating in your head, have at it with a FanPost to keep the rest of us warm.