Was at the game yesterday (2 periods anyway) and aside from popcorn, nachos, soft pretzel, and 2 bud lights, I saw some interesting stuff.

1) I was really impressed by the determination and physicality of this team yesterday. Haley, Howes, Gillies, Colliton--we literally tossed the River Rats around like rag dolls, and there was a really high compete level for loose pucks. Haley basically wrecked the whole River Rats team on one shift. Its a bit hard for me to understand why he isn't on the fourth line on Long Island (maybe bc Pando is PK unit #2?) Either way, I saw a lot of really hard nosed plays.

2) Related to #1, I am wondering how Brent Thompson is managing to do so much with these players? Even without Cizikas and Ullstrom, the team looked good. Their line changes were great too. This coach deserves a lot of credit for doing what he has with this team, esp while losing key players to call ups throughout the year.

3) We have some real team speed. Romano made an awesome play in the 2nd, really nice stick handling skills, and Sean Backman is unbelievably fast. Howes did some great work too. These guys were flying around the rink.

4) Aaron Ness looked awesome, and I think he should get the call up again. 2 goals, both pretty shots.

5) De Haan looked good on the puck, but a little tentative (understandable in first game back). Hope these injuries aren't long term liabilities.

6) Nilsson is FRIGGING ENORMOUS. He was a little off his line on both goals--if he gets his angles tighter he is going to be very hard to beat.

Lets face it guys, the Islanders have plenty of talent. We have 5 first round draft picks (Tavares, Bailey, Okposo, Niederetter, de Haan ) from the last 5 years that have appeared in the lineup this year. Somebody either needs to acknowledge that either a) the picks werent good, which reflects on Garth or b) the picks were good but the system/coach stinks, which reflects on Capuano. I think its the latter. I like Laviolette, but Stirling, Gordon and Capuano are completely unproven coaches. There is a reason why those other guys dont have NHL head coaching jobs--they arent great. The issue for the team is Wang cant handle strong personalities around him. So Garth is forced to pick guys that they can run over (remember Neil Smith?). How in the world can the Isles pass up on Hitchcock? Pick a guy that has won the Stanley Cup, that has got the respect of the people in the room, that can hold people accountable. We arent getting the best out of these players. Time for a change.

One other thing--our defense balows. Worst in the league by far. We needed Cam Fowler or Adam Larsson

The Islanders need to hire a demanding, proven leader to get the most out of their talent. Everyone here who wants to dissect guys like Comeau and Tavares should really look at what Lemaire has done with the Devils instead. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games with a really patchwork team that is not really better than the Islanders (I would argue Isles actually have better depth).  What the Islanders need to do is hire a Cup-winning experienced coach who can take the players they have ( and will have--Nino, Cizikas, de Haan) and show them how to be winners. We havent had a seriously tested coach since I dont know when--Laviolette was unproven, Gordon same, Capuano same. Get 
a guy who is going to show Comeau to pass and make simple plays, show Tavares that he has to play every second of every shift, show Bailey to just get the puck out of the zone. I think it will add more than any one player that we all obsess over.  

The worst thing that can happen to a rebuilding team is to have an overachieving year when you get started. The Islanders have been overachieving all year--credit to Scott Gordon and the young players like Okposo and Bailey. But you want them to add another premier player and to do that you need to draft high. Who knows, you could even move up. I think the recent losses have showed that the Islanders are really not a playoff team yet, as much as that pains me. But with another year, another great young player, and Hamonic and de Haan in the lineup, 2010-2011 is the year the Isles really make their move.