Isles trade Comrie and Campoli; Get San Jose's first-rounder

Islanders Point Blank is reporting that Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli have been sent to Ottawa. The Isles also acquire veteran forward Dean McAmmond.

TSN reports that the first-rounder was acquired by the Senators last August. This figures to be a late-first round pick since the Sharks are kicking ass out West.

BILL'S TAKE: I agree with Chris Botta in the fact that I am surprised Garth Snow was able to get a first-rounder for Campoli and an expiring contract. Campoli goes home to Ontario and gets out of the dog house he was in with Scott Gordon. Does this move mean a playoff push for the Senators? Probably not. They'll probably tease their fans with a late run but I expect they'll be on the outside come April.

35 games to go; Sillinger officially ruled out for the season

This just in: the Isles are 13-29-5 in 47 games this season. That's "good" for 31 points. Our boys currently have the lead as the league doormats by a comfortable 8 point cushion over the Thrashers and Senators in the race to get the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery.

One thing worth mentioning: in the lottery, a team can only move back one spot in the draft order from where they finish. So, if the Islanders end up in the absolute cellar and are in 30th place, that the WORST the team will have would be the second overall pick in this June's Entry Draft.

Here are Red Line Reports' Current Top Five draft-eligible prospects from USA TODAY:

1. John Tavares C 6-0/198 L 20 SEP 90 London

2. Victor Hedman D 6-6/218 R 18 DEC 90 MoDo

3. Jared Cowen D 6-5/218 R 25 JAN 91 Spokane

4. Evander Kane C 6-1/180 L 01 AUG 91 Vancouver

5. Matt Duchene C 5-11/196 L 16 JAN 91 Brampton


Some interesting notes: We've all heard about Tavares and Hedman and other writers are talking up Duchene but let's not forget the impression Evander Kane made at the World Juniors. Will the Islanders do that trading down thing they mastered last year at the Entry Draft? Who knows. If they get the first overall pick it is going to be hard to sell the fanbase on trading down to get more picks and not select John Tavares.

The other thing to consider is that while Josh Bailey has had trouble scoring goals, he hasn't really had too many plays where his NHL experience (or lack thereof) has shown with glaring errors. He's proven that he can at least hang at this level and the league as a whole is incredibly young these days. Youth, speed, and skill is winning out over the old war-horse mentality that was squeezing the life out of the game before the lockout. Should the Islanders be in a position to select a guy like Tavares, Cowen, Kane, or Duchene, the pressure is going to be on the club to play him right away.

That sort of thing goes two ways and it all depends on which theory you subscribe to. The Bruins stapled Joe Thornton to the end of Pat Burns' bench for his rookie season when he was 18 and he was atrocious and had people questioning whether or not he was going to be a real top drawer player in the NHL. Of course, he was and is and the Bruins traded him away. Seems like we may have heard similar stories on the Island as well.

Would Bailey have been better off playing another year of junior? Who knows? Personally, I would have liked to see him get Christmas off to play for Canada in the WJC but it didn't happen. I think that the Islanders brass maybe didn't want Josh hanging around an old negative curmudgeon like Pat Quinn--but that is pure speculation on my part.

Of course, the trade deadline is coming and everyone is speculating on which current Islanders will be moved. Bill Guerin has a no-trade clause in his contract that he'd have to waive to be moved but you have to think that if a team like Boston came knocking that Guerin may be more receptive to play in his hometown for a team that looks like they're primed for a long spring.

Mike Comrie also is working under a one-year contract. He is a veteran but he is also only 28 years old. Going into the future, the Islanders are going to need Obi Wans to lead the way for the younger guys. Do they see Comrie as that kind of guy? Not sure. His reputation coming to the Islanders was not stellar but I think we all agree that from what we've seen and heard, Comrie may have been mis-characterized or even, perhaps, has matured. The guy is feisty and has a serious competitive streak. That right there makes him a popular rental choice as some secondary scoring for a contender.

Doug Weight has been the subject of trade rumors from the minute he signed on with the Islanders. He has also stated that he wants to stay with the Islanders and likes the area. There's no doubting his productivity while healthy but his recent injuries might scare off some teams who are fixated on his birth certificate.

My best guess is that if the Isles can include Jon Sim and/or Thomas Pock in any deals then they are going to swing those trades faster than Usain Bolt in a wind tunnel. Let's face it: the team has to clear roster space to bring up Trevor Smith and Andy MacDonald from Bridgeport. Reports are that MacDonald, who represented the Sound Tigers in the AHL All-Star Game, is ready to make the next step...and seeing Jon Sim on the power play is simply driving the fanbase crazy.

In other news, the team said Tuesday that center Mike Sillinger had hip surgery for the second time in a year and will miss the remainder of the season.

Sillinger had a microfracture procedure on his hip that forced him to sit out the final 29 games of last season and the first 24 of this one before he was able to play in seven games this season, scoring two goals. On Monday, the Islanders assistant captain had what was reported as "hip resurfacing surgery" and his career is believed to be in jeopardy.

His last appearance in a game was 12/29 versus the Rangers when he scored a goal.

The Isles are back in action tomorrow night in Atlanta.

Isles in Minnesota; Okposo and Comrie may return

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Work has been crazy busy trying to get projects in under the wire. Thanks to those who wrote in wondering what has been going on.

I will try to get updates in through the Christmas and New Year's celebrations where I can. I am guessing that things'll be just as backed up both at work and with family visiting.

Thanks also to those who asked me about the place I work. It was recently announced that my employer was laying off some people (not great timing) but so far, I am safe.

Anyway, enough of that. We are here to talk about the Islanders and a seven-game winless streak.

The good news is that the Islanders' website is reporting that Mike Comrie should make his return tonight in Minnesota. Newsday and other places like Point Blank are also saying that Sillinger and Okposo are coming back better than expected from their respective injuries and could possible play either tonight against the Wild or tomorrow night in Nashville.

Do you realize that the Isles have not played either Minnesota or the Predators since 2006? Do you realize that we haven't missed those game a-tall? I mean, playing the Wild at this time of year is great for the red-and-green Christmas spirit but the Predators? Outside of Shea Weber and Dan Ellis, do you ever hear much about their players?

Anyway, the Islanders are riding a one-point December so far and man, has it been miserable. If you're reading this, I don't have to tell you. Of course, the "frequency" of my updates has been tempered by not only work, but my realization that the team could be out of the playoff picture already. And that just sucks.

What we need to face is that yes, we are the collective beaten-down dogs of a fanbase and yes, rebuilding takes time. Year one of the process--assuming ownership stays the course--is always the hardest, most painful, and depressing of the four-year plan.

Call me an optimist--I've been called worse--but we need to take pride in the development of the young kids, assuming they can make it back to the ice. Also, with Bill Guerin getting close to 400 career goals and Doug Weight now 3 points away from 1000 career points, we can take some satisfaction that these great players--and American hockey players at that--will be hitting some very serious career milestones in the sweaters with our favorite logo on it.

On the other side, hard to take those comments in Newsday from Brendan Witt this morning. What he said in the report by Greg Logan sounded to me like the frustrations of a proud man who is on a team that has not won in seven games--not to mention that he was a minus-five the other night. Some will say that Scott Gordon is trying to teach the old dog a new trick. Read into this what you will.

Regarding the team's style of play: "I don't think we play well defensively five-on-five, and it shows," Witt said. "We're leading the league with goals against . It almost looked like [the Capitals] were on a power play [with 40 shots]."

Gordon's system: "We're showing progress, but we haven't showed it very often for 60 minutes," Witt said. "Until he says something different, we have to play the way he wants us to play."

And this chestnut: "Personally, I think it's more of a risky type of game," Witt said. "There's a lot of odd-man rushes. But that's the way he wants us to play, and until he decides he wants to change that, we're going to play that way."

Yeesh. I am a big fan of Brendan Witt's but...wow...to say he isn't on point is being kind. Of course, he could also just be frustrated as hell. I know I am when I watch the games.

It's also not out of the question that any of the veterans playing well could be moved at the trade deadline. In fact, they probably should be if they're not able or willing to fit into Gordon's system or understand their roles in said system. Nothing surprises me any more with the Islanders so guys with value like Weight, Guerin, Witt, Sillinger, and Comrie are probably going to be traded for value (draft picks) come March 4. Witt is frustrated and Comrie did not show anything that says he can play the up-tempo style Gordon and Snow want to play. Sillinger also has had difficulty coming back from his surgery and found himself sidelined shortly after making his return with groin issues that are directly attributable to the forechecking style employed by Gordon.

Tonight the Isles are in Minnesota. Okposo is enjoying the comforts of home. Let's hope he's back in the lineup tonight, too.

Islanders Team Report from Yahoo! Sports

Scott Gordon asks the Islanders to forecheck so aggressively during games that he often backs off on his team in practice.

That all changed Friday, when Gordon punished his players with a super-hard skate following numerous breakdowns and lazy plays in a season-worst 9-2 loss Thursday at Pittsburgh.

“You say, ‘I don’t want to kill them in practice and not get it in the game,’” Gordon told Newsday. “Well, now I’m at the point where it doesn’t really matter. This needs to be addressed, and it probably should have been addressed three games ago.”

The losing continued Saturday night in Columbus, the Isles’ sixth straight defeat and their eighth in nine games entering Tuesday’s return home against Washington. The Isles (10-18-2) have given up an NHL-worst 110 goals.

“It’s been an ongoing situation where we have not backchecked with awareness and purpose,” Gordon said. “We have to play with more desperation and more purpose all the time. When you’re not doing that, you become easier to play against. That’s not what we want our team identity to be.”

Blue Jackets 3, Islanders 1: Well, at least it wasn’t 9-2. Since that was the bloated score of the Isles’ previous game Thursday in Pittsburgh, perhaps this represented progress back into respectability. But perhaps not, as the Isles meekly completed an 0-4 road trip and fell to a mind-boggling 2-7-1 in their history against Columbus. Goalie Joey MacDonald and the Isles’ defensive efforts clearly were sharper than they’d been in the Penguins debacle two nights earlier, but their offensive woes continued with just one shorthanded goal on 25 shots against Jackets rookie Steve Mason. During their six-game losing streak, the Isles have scored fewer than three goals five times.

Notes, Quotes

• C Mike Sillinger, at 37 and five NHL games removed from February hip surgery, probably wasn’t the best candidate to survive coach Scott Gordon’s punishing “bag skate” on Friday. And he didn’t. Sillinger strained his groin and sat out Saturday’s game against Columbus.

“I guess it’s a mini-training camp for me, and the tightness with my hips is going to go to other areas,” Sillinger said. “It’s just a minor tweak, but I’ve got to be able to skate. It doesn’t help whenever you have one hip compensating.”

• C Doug Weight has been a rare and surprising bright spot this season, leading the Isles with 27 points and moving within four of reaching 1,000 for his NHL career.

“To play as long as I have and to be successful and to be coming up on that mark, I’m very proud of it and very excited about it,” Weight told Newsday. “It sounds like I’m answering in the politically correct way, but I want to mix it in with some wins. It’s more enjoyable around your team.”

Quote To Note: “It’s tough, but we have got to try to keep it positive and try to do the things that we know that work for us. We can’t be too negative. We have to keep on going. We can’t quit here.”—Winger Sean Bergenheim, after the Isles lost their sixth straight game Saturday, 3-1 at Columbus.

Player Notes:

• G Joey MacDonald returned to goal after getting yanked after one period in a 9-2 loss Thursday in Pittsburgh. MacDonald stopped 32 of 35 shots in a 3-1 loss to Columbus.
• RW Richard Park notched his second shorthanded goal of the season, and the seventh for the Isles, second-most in the NHL.

• LW Jon Sim returned to the lineup, replacing injured C Mike Sillinger, after being a healthy scratch for the first time this season Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Medical Watch:

• G Rick DiPietro, who underwent arthroscopic surgery Oct. 31 on his left knee, has resumed skating in full equipment and hopes to return by late December.

—C Mike Comrie, who underwent offseason surgery on his right hip, has resumed skating but missed his 16th straight game since Nov. 11 with inflammation.

• D Bruno Gervais was placed on injured reserve and missed his ninth straight game with an undisclosed leg injury.

• D Radek Martinek, who’s been limited to 10 appearances this season, went back on the injured list with a shoulder injury suffered Nov. 29. He is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks.

• C Frans Nielsen will miss 8-to-12 weeks after suffering multiple leg injuries, believed to include a high-ankle sprain, Nov. 21 in New Jersey.

• RW Kyle Okposo missed his 12th straight game since suffering a right wrist injury Nov. 17 and is expected to be out until mid-January.

• C Mike Sillinger, who missed the first 24 games due to February hip surgery, lasted five games before exiting the lineup again with a strained groin. He is day-to-day.

Islanders Team Report

Yahoo Sports

The No. 9 pick in the draft has gotten to Game No. 10.

And with that, the Islanders announced Saturday that first-round pick Josh Bailey will remain with the team “for the rest of the season” instead of being sent back to his junior team, the Windsor Spitfires. Bailey, 19, had five points in his first nine appearances, and the first year of his entry-level contract kicked in once he appeared in his 10th game Saturday night against Ottawa.

“Obviously, there were times I was sitting in my hotel room thinking it was almost a matter of time before I went back to junior,” Bailey said. “Once they told me I was staying … I told them I’m starting to get my confidence as a player.”

Bailey has shown enough glimpses to prove he belongs in the NHL, although it didn’t hurt his case that Isles centers Frans Nielsen, Mike Comrie and Mike Sillinger are on the injured list. Sillinger figures to return Thursday at Washington after completing a three-game conditioning assignment at AHL Bridgeport Saturday night. And Comrie resumed skating lightly Friday for the first time since shutting down his surgically repaired right hip on Nov. 11.

But Bailey has averaged more than 17 minutes per game in his last six appearances, quickly gaining coach Scott Gordon’s trust with his vision and passing ability, particularly on the power play.

“I think it really comes down to the maturity of the player, and Josh is a mature player and person,” Gordon said. “Like I said, he’s done everything right that we’ve asked him to do … Whoever he’s going to play with down the road is going to be a better player because he’s one of those players who can make something out of nothing. That’s an exciting thing to have because those players are hard to find.”

Islanders 4, Senators 2: Throughout their sixth game in nine nights, the Islanders had the energy level and willingness to forecheck relentlessly that coach Scott Gordon thought was missing one day earlier in a blowout loss in Boston. Led by two goals by low-scoring defenseman Freddy Meyer and a clampdown in the third period in a month filled mostly with meltdowns, the Isles skated to their third straight win over Ottawa, a team they had defeated only 12 times in 59 tries in their history entering this season.

“I thought our energy level was great tonight. Right from the get-go our guys, I think, made a statement they wanted to forecheck, which is obviously the key to our success,” Gordon said. “Like I said to the guys after the game, it’s one of those things where we just came off playing six games in nine days, and the game we had Friday (in Boston) should’ve been the game we had tonight. But for me, the guys came out and they showed it’s mind over matter.”

Notes, Quotes
• C Mike Comrie hasn’t provided much return since the Isles’ handed him a $4 million contract extension for this season at last year’s trade deadline. Comrie underwent season-ending hip surgery late last season and has missed the past 10 games with inflammation in his right hip. He had two goals and six assists in 14 appearances before he was assigned to the injured list on Nov. 11.

“I want to come back the way I started the season last year when I was fully healthy. I want to feel I can help make a difference in the game and that the team can rely on me,” said Comrie, who resumed light skating Saturday. “Before I was hurt this year … I felt like I wasn’t at the level I needed to be and that was the reason why.”

• G Yann Danis was recalled from a sharpening stint at AHL Bridgeport to serve as G Joey MacDonald’s backup after demoted G Peter Mannino allowed three goals on eight shots in barely 13 minutes Friday in Boston.

“It definitely helped,” Danis told Newsday about his three games at Bridgeport. “It was good to feel the puck a little bit and get back into some sort of rhythm. Played three in a row there….Things went really well last night. It was good to get back into it and get some confidence, too.”

Quote To Note: “Enormous. Obviously, Friday left a bad taste in our mouths and we wanted to play a good game and did that. It’s tiring because it’s six (games) in nine nights, but overall this was one of our best efforts of those six games.”—Winger Andy Hilbert after the Isles rebounded from a blowout loss to Boston on Friday with a complete 4-2 home win over Ottawa.

Roster Report
Goaltenders: Joey MacDonald, Yann Danis
Defensemen: Mark Streit, Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer, Chris Campoli
First Line: Sean Bergenheim, Doug Weight, Bill Guerin
Second Line: Andy Hilbert, Josh Bailey, Trent Hunter
Third Line: Jeff Tambellini, Richard Park, Jon Sim
Fourth Line: Nate Thompson, Jeremy Colliton, Tim Jackman

Player Notes:
• D Freddy Meyer, who entered this game with 12 goals in 184 career NHL games, scored twice and added an assist in a 4-2 win Saturday over Ottawa.
• RW Trent Hunter became the first Islander to reach 10 goals this season with an empty-netter with 1:01 remaining.
• LW Jeff Tambellini, who hasn’t scored in 41 games dating back to last season, played just 7:35, including two shifts in the third period.

MEDICAL WATCH
• C Frans Nielsen will miss 8-to-12 weeks after suffering multiple leg injuries, believed to include a high-ankle sprain, Nov. 21 in New Jersey.
• G Rick DiPietro underwent arthoscopic surgery Oct. 31 on his left knee. He will be sidelined at least 4-to-6 weeks after suffering his latest in a string of injuries on Oct. 25. DiPietro also underwent hip and right-knee surgery during the offseason.
• D Bruno Gervais was placed on injured reserve and missed his third straight game with an undisclosed leg injury. He’ll be eligible to return for the Isles’ next game Thursday in Washington.
• RW Kyle Okposo has resumed practicing with the team but missed his sixth straight game since suffering a hand/wrist injury Nov. 17.
• C Mike Comrie, who underwent offseason surgery on his right hip, missed his 10th straight game since Nov. 11 with inflammation. The Islanders have issued no timeframe concerning his return, although he has resumed light skating on his own.
• C Mike Sillinger was set to complete a three-game conditioning assignment Saturday at AHL Bridgeport, and is expected to make his first appearance since February hip surgery Thursday against Washington.

New Hockey Cards!

I love it when I find the new hockey cards each year. It's one of the three barometers that we are getting closer to hockey season; along with The Hockey New preview issue and exhibition football.

Upper Deck's Victory set is always the first out, so you can imagine how happy I was to see the boxes at our local Target. I picked up one of those boxes that has ten packs (plus a "bonus" pack--why not just say eleven?) for $9.99 yesterday. My wife and I ripped them open and as you have probably figured out, all we want really is Islanders. We don't mind getting cards of the stars and all, but our boys always are more important.

So, guess how many Islanders I got in a box of 11 packs and 66 cards? That's right: zero. Didn't get any Rangers either, which we are oddly okay with. Still, with 250 cards in the set and getting 66 cards in the box, you'd figure that the odds are pretty good that we would get some Isles, but we didn't. We did get Crosby and Ovechkin and an oversized Tomas Vanek card (yawn).

So, out of (let's say) five stars, I would give this rip about a two. One star for getting Crosby and Ovie and one star for just being happy that there are hockey cards out. We'll also give Upper Deck some credit for improving the design of the cards, which are much more appealing than last year's Victory set.

The Islanders players in the set are cards 71-76: Rick DiPietro; Bill Guerin; Miro Satan; Trent Hunter; Mike Comrie; and The Tank.

Thanks to The First Lady of NYIFORLIFE.com, my wife Linzi, for the photo. She's also the webmistress for this site as well.

Here I sit broken hearted...

I keep hearing this old song from the 1980s in my head...I think it is Loverboy..."It's o-ver! It's o-ver! It's oooooo-veeerrr!"

The Isles dropped a clunker to the last-place Lightning last night, 8-4. The good news is that our boys go right back at 'em tonight in Florida to meet the Panthers. The bad news is that with 71 points in 71 games, they're just about ready to call for mid-April tee times.

Another thing I just calculated: the Isles are fifth from the bottom in the entire NHL right now. It goes like this: Los Angeles (60); Tampa (68); Atlanta (68); St. Louis (69); and the Isles. How many ping pong balls does fifth-worst get in the entry draft lottery.

Ben Walter--up from the Bridge because Josef Vasicek came down with the flu--scored his first goal as an Islander on the power play. So right there, that is something positive. Of course, having a recent call-up playing on your power play isn't exactly standard operating procedure. Besides, Vincent Lecavalier had a hat trick for the hosts so that kind of negates any good will from Ben Walter. But good for him.

The other Islander goals were scored by Bill Guerin (a nasty wrister in the first); Ruslan Fedotenko (a breakaway kicked in by the Tampa goalie doing his best Darren Puppa imitation); and Mike Comrie.

Then, to add injury to insult, we have this headline in today's Newsday: "Nolan at odds with DiPietro after blowout loss."

Just what we need. The coach and the franchise are allegedly not getting along. These things tend to get overblown because they make good copy in what has turned out to be a completely unsatisfying season.

Nolan on Ricky, from Newsday: "We ask him over and over again not to play the puck as much," Nolan said of DiPietro. "He's one of the best puck-handlers in the league, but you just can't overhandle it. When you overhandle it, you get yourself in trouble a little bit."

Again, Islanders coach Ted Nolan: "The only thing you can do is keep going through it over and over again. You can't do that. You've got to let our defense handle it a little bit more. He just wants to play it. What can you do?"

DiPietro response, also from Newsday: "Whatever."

Indeed.

2007-2008 NHL Individual Statistics - New York Islanders

From The Sports Network and Newsday.com

POS	NO	Player	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT	S	PCTG
C	89	Mike Comrie	65	20	27	47	-18	79	4	0	3	0	170	11.8
RW	13	Bill Guerin	64	19	17	36	-11	54	6	0	4	0	189	10.1
RW	7	Trent Hunter	65	9	27	36	-8	35	2	0	1	1	179	5.0
RW	81	Miroslav Satan	63	14	21	35	-7	30	4	0	4	0	142	9.9
LW	26	Ruslan Fedotenko	61	15	16	31	-6	40	8	0	2	1	108	13.9
C	63	Josef Vasicek	65	14	17	31	4	30	0	2	2	1	100	14.0
C	18	Mike Sillinger	52	14	12	26	-10	28	3	2	2	0	94	14.9
RW	10	Richard Park	65	9	14	23	-5	16	1	2	2	0	102	8.8
D	14	Chris Campoli	46	4	14	18	-1	16	2	1	0	0	68	5.9
LW	20	Sean Bergenheim	61	7	10	17	2	48	0	0	1	0	105	6.7
C	11	Andy Hilbert	65	8	8	16	5	18	0	0	0	0	117	6.8
D	4	Bryan Berard	37	5	10	15	-11	40	4	0	2	0	58	8.6
D	8	Bruno Gervais	58	0	13	13	-5	32	0	0	0	0	55	0.0
D	24	Radek Martinek	52	0	12	12	-4	34	0	0	0	0	57	0.0
D	44	Freddy Meyer	40	2	7	9	1	16	0	0	2	0	33	6.1
LW	57	Blake Comeau	34	4	4	8	3	18	0	0	1	0	39	10.3
D	25	Andy Sutton	58	1	7	8	-6	86	0	0	1	0	57	1.8
D	32	Brendan Witt	53	2	4	6	-3	49	0	0	0	0	53	3.8
G	39	Rick DiPietro	58	0	5	5	0	16	0	0	0	0	4	0.0
RW	28	Tim Jackman	31	1	3	4	-2	46	0	0	0	0	28	3.6
LW	15	Jeff Tambellini	18	1	1	2	-4	4	0	0	0	0	24	4.2
C	51	Frans Nielsen	12	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	7.7
D	2	Aaron Johnson	18	0	2	2	4	14	0	0	0	0	10	0.0
LW	16	Jon Sim	2	0	1	1	-1	2	0	0	0	0	8	0.0
D	3	Rob Davison	17	0	1	1	-4	23	0	0	0	0	14	0.0
D	49	Drew Fata	2	0	1	1	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	0.0
C	17	Shawn Bates	2	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
G	34	Wade Dubielewicz	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
C	29	Ben Walter	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.0
C	72	Jeremy Colliton	1	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0

Isles win in OT; Yashin featured in the New York Times

Trent Hunter saved the Isles' bacon last night with the winning goal in OT after our boys had squandered a three-goal lead.

In the second period, the Islanders looked to be coasting along 3-0. Soon it was tied at 3 after a penalty shot score by Eric Perrin and tallies by Ken Klee and former Islander Alexei Zhitnik.

Mike Comrie had two goals and Josef Vasicek and Trent Hunter each made the scoresheet with a goal and an assist. The newest Islander, Rob Davison, added his first point as an Islander on a two-line pass that sprung Comrie in the first period.

Holik had tied the game at four with a little more than a minute left in the third after Comrie had reclaimed the lead early in the period. Hunter capped the game after Josef Vasicek intercepted Klee's pass and whipped the puck in front to Hunter, who made no mistake for his ninth of the season at 1:09 of the overtime.

The Islanders website reports that Frans Nielsen will be re-examined later today. He left the game in the second with a shoulder injury. Also, Brendan Witt traveled with the team and may be ready to come back Saturday for Fan Appreciation Day in a matinee with the Flyers.

As of the time I write this, with all precincts reporting, the Isles are in tenth place in the race for the playoffs. Every game counts here on out. The Sabres are in eighth with 71 points in 64 games and the Isles are 4 points behind them.

The New York Times has what I consider some strange comments about Russian hockey in an article by Michael Schwirtz. Mr . Schwirtz maintains that the NHL is losing some of the better Russian players to the Russian leagues who are trying to reclaim some of the home-grown talent. While that fact is undeniable, Yashin tried and tried to get an NHL contract for this season after the Islanders bought him out but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to meet his price, so he went back to Russia to play.

The article also touches on the planned European Superleague that is in the planning stages. Overall, an interesting read. You can find it here: www.nytimes.com

COMRIE SET FOR 2008-09!

Courtesy: New York Islanders

Islanders agree to terms with leading scorer on a one-year contract extension

The New York Islanders and center Mike Comrie, the team's leading scorer, have agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension for the 2008-09 season.

"I'm extremely happy to have reached an agreement with the Islanders for the 2008-09 season," said Comrie early Tuesday morning. "I love being an Islander and wanted to stay. The management and the coaches have shown great belief in us as players and I am honored to be a part of this organization. I would like to thank Garth Snow and my representative, Ritch Winter, for making this a deal that both sides are comfortable and happy with. I look forward to the rest of this season and I'm thrilled to be an Islander for at least another season."

The 27-year old Comrie has played in all 63 games for the Islanders this season and has recorded a team-high 45 points. The native of Edmonton has scored 18 goals (second to Bill Guerin) with a team-leading 27 assists. Comrie originally signed a one-year contract with the Islanders on July 5, 2007.

"Mike Comrie has been everything we could have asked of him in his first season as an Islander," said general manager Garth Snow. "He's been our top center, on the first unit of our power play and he has contributed in so many ways. He's also been a great teammate and a first-class pro, on and off the ice. We are delighted that he wanted to remain an Islander and we were able to work out a contract for next season."

In 449 career NHL games, Comrie has scored 141 with 166 assists for a total of 307 points. Comrie was selected by Edmonton in the third round (91st overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Besides Edmonton, he has also played with the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and the Ottawa Senators, whom he helped lead to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Isles Downed by Oilers; Canucks Tonight

Anyone else notice that Rick hasn't won since he hurt his knee the other night?

This Western swing has not treated our boys kindly. OT loss in Colorado--on a shot that DiPietro should've made--and a gak 4-0 blanking last night in Edmonton. The Isles should be treating games against teams like the Oilers--teams with losing records--as important games where they should not settle for less than two points. But here we are.

DiPietro is probably fired up to play against Roberto Luongo tonight, as he should. Luongo was essentially sent to Florida just so Milbury could shock the hockey world and pick Ricky first overall back in the day. Luongo hasn't really had a ton of playoff heat but he has done one thing Rick has yet to do--get out of the first round of the playoffs.

Now, saying that, does that mean Luongo is better than Rick DiPietro? Right now, I would not make that trade. Luongo has a little more experience than Rick does and yes, he was really good in the NHL Rock the Rink game for the PS1, but then again, so was Taylor Pyatt. To me, Luongo does not have the intangibles of a player like Rick DiPietro and he does not bring what Ricky can when he is in good form.

Was Milbury fleeced by the Panthers? Well, yeah. Kinda. But you have to recall that at the time, the Islander organization is not what it is now. Guys with talent and huge upsides had to take on bigger, more substantive roles than they were ready for. That's why players like Todd Bertuzzi and Eric Brewer blossomed when they left the Island. The teams that traded for them had time to let them grow and had infrastructure in place within the organization that allowed for the guys to mature at a reasonable pace. The Isles needed them to wake up, jump out of bed, and start vacuuming the house. Vancouver and Edmonton were able to allow for Bertuzzi and Brewer to have some coffee first and ease into it. Of course, both have regressed professionally but that's a column for a different day.

Let me ask a different question: what the heck happened to Ruslan Fedotenko? He and Josef Vasicek have been in-freaking-visible of late. These guys are counted on to chip in with the Scoring by Committee Plan as devised by Ted Nolan and Garth Snow. Instead, both guys are getting about the same ice time as I would if I were on the team.

Miro Satan is missing in action as well. This leaves the bulk of the scoring square on the shoulders of Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie. Both of them, by the way, have been known as streaky players. I guess Ted Nolan is really happy they're both on a bit of a hot streak...last night notwithstanding.

What does this mean going forward? Well, obviously, it means that the Islanders as constituted need to pick up the scoring. This is not new to any of us who follow the team, is it? in fact, if the first half of the season had a theme to it, that's what it would be: we need to score more.

And I'm not sure how the heck they are going to do it.

Where's the jokes?

First off, I want to say that I didn't see or listen to the game last night. We got snow up the ying-yang here in CT and I took the opportunity to get reacquainted with an old friend, The Sandman, so I hit the bed early last night.

The boys won 3-2 over the Coyotes and Bill Guerin had two rebound goals. The Tank returned after a couple of games off with an injured shoulder and he picked up an assist. Coach Nolan apparently had a chat with Mike Comrie before the game and Comrie responded with a couple of assists. Jeff Tambellini was the guy who took the brunt of Nolan's displeasure and was assigned back to Bridgeport. Seriously now, that guy has got to decide whether he is an excellent AHL player or is going to be a good NHL player pretty darn soon.

To me, the big news from yesterday wasn't that baseball players are juiced up like the Kool-Aid Man; it was that the Flyers signed their young captain Mike Richards to a twelve-year contract.

So, you know, I checked the Canadian papers this morning. Where are the jokes? The press had a lot of fun when the Isles signed Ricky to the fifteen-year deal so surely they must be having hart attacks running to their keyboards to rip the Flyers for making along-term investment too.

Um, not quite.

No one is making fun of the Flyers as far as the articles I've read--and that shouldn't be too shocking. In fact, I would have been less surprised to read that the Philadelphia chapter of MADD had named Eagles Coach Andy Reid their Father Of The Year. Now, that kind of long-term commitment is a sound business deal. When the Islanders did it, it was fodder. Go figure.

Bad News Friday

Look at Eli over there. The man is truly confused. Is he worried about the Islanders' scoring woes? His own play and the way the guy gets ripped for every little thing? Or is he taking the news about Evel Knievel's passing particularly hard?

Nope, I bet it is none of those reasons. I think Eli is as perplexed as we all were to read that Ryan Hollweg allegedly threatened to rip the stitches out of Radek Martinek's face during the game on Thursday against the Rangers.

What? Ryan Hollweg? White Hat to Chris Simon's Black Hat? Yep, he apparently said that to Martinek the first period scrum after Colton Orr tried to mug Mike Comrie and Radek came to his aid. Classy organization Dolan has going on over there, eh?

And since we are all friends, you can admit it. You didn't think Evel would ever die either. The guy had more replacement parts that a second-hand Terminator and used to drink like he was gonna win something for it, but we all kinda thought the guy was indestructible.

The TV peeps seemed to enjoy playing that slo-mo tape of Evel's crash in Vegas at Caesar's Palace in '68 at well. Fairly gratuitous stuff at this point. Still, it is some shocking footage.

Evel had apparently made nice with Kanye West for some reason just a few days ago. Hopefully the ego allowed him to make nice with Robbie, his son and heir to the throne for best drinker and daredevil.

So, that being said, Eli needs the Islanders' scoring to pick it up so he can get that look off his face there that we all have. Andy Hilbert has missed more open nets this year than you can shake a stick at (literally) and while you have to admire the fact that Nolan rolls him out there because the guy is making a great effort, something has to change. You can't blame Hilbert for the whole team shutting it off because he isn't playing with Bill Guerin or Mike Comrie or any of the other guys who aren't putting the puck in the net. DiPietro is going to keep our boys in most of the games anyway as he continues to ascend in the league, but goals are goals. We need them.

It's easy to also look at the guys who left the team in the off-season but if you check the stats, they aren't lighting up their new teams either. Kozlov has found his level back in DC and the Caps, by the way, are the worst team in the league. Jason Blake zoo pass to TO is not working out the way he'd like. Blakie only has 2 goals this season and the Leafs organization is under seige for poor play, poor management, weird guaranteed contracts, and disturbing pictures of a certain Leafs rookie.

The salary cap has made the NHL a no-trade league for now so the Islanders are going to have to look within for the goals and PP help. According to Newsday, Nolan is considering using Miro on the half-wall a little more on the top PP unit with Mike Comrie and The Tank--who always busts a good effort for his team. The Captain is going to slide down to the second unit with Mike Sillinger and Dancin' Stan's little boy Trent.

Tonight against the Thrashers may be a place to sit DiPietro as well. The guy has played 18 games in a row. Dubie started that debacle in TO that ended badly (we shan't rehash here) but also looked way solid in relief of Super Rick in the Al Arbour game in early November.

The Thrash have improved quite a bit since GM Don Waddell took over the bench after firing noted hard-ass Bob Hartley. Should be a good one tonight on the Isle.

Isles win; Sim Injured; Meyer on Waivers

How is that online petition coming?

After watching the Islanders' victory over the Sabres last night, one thing becomes very, very clear: this is going to be a team that no one wants to play. Up and down the bench, Ted Nolan's boys have what Peter Laviolette calls "jam". They're as aggressive without the puck as they seem to be with the puck. The up-tempo style is fun as heck to watch.

Mike Comrie potted another two goals and Chris Campoli added another with a laser knuckleball (I know, that doesn't sound right but if you saw it you know what I mean) in the first. DiPietro was solid in the cage and made a couple of his patented long passes out of the zone--one of which was tapped by The Tank to the captain who made another pass to Comrie to set up a tasty backhander past Ryan Miller that broke a 1-1 tie early in the third.

Not all the news last night was great. Jon Sim left the game with a knee injury. Sim, an impressively relentless forechecker, bounced around like a pinball out there last night but ended up missing a check and crashing into the boards. He's to be evaluated today but the FSN crew speculated that Nolan may have to dip into the Soundtigers roster for a replacement player to suit up on Monday afternoon due to the expected swelling around Sim's knee. Jeff Tambellini sort of springs to mind, doesn't he?

Also--and we noticed that he was not announced to the crowd before the game so something had to be up, Freddy Meyer was placed on waivers by GM Garth Snow on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to Bridgeport. According to the FSN crew, Meyer has until noon today (Sunday) to clear waivers and report to The Bridge if he's not claimed by another NHL team looking for defensive depth.

Meyer's assignment/departure will put the Islander roster to one below the 23-man maximum, opening the way for Snow to finally sign free-agent defenseman Bryan Berard, who has actually had to pay his own expenses to practice with the Islanders since training camp ended. It's been a poorly kept secret that Ted Nolan has planned to have Berard QB the power play for the Isles.

Islanders 6 Buffalo 4

I'm writing this post while eating some apple pie that my wife made. As usual, honey, it rocks.

BIG win last night in the opener. Mike Comrie is still playing like a man possessed. The guy took the opportunity to be a front-line center with the Islanders and he feels like he has something to prove. Great signing by Garth.

That whole rebuilt first line is looking great, eh? Comrie had two goals and the winner was simply spectacular. The Tank had a PP goal and two assists and captain Bill Guerin has 3 helpers. As Greg Logan of Newsday put it, it was a "spectacular debut". We really need for Hilary Duff to keep dating Comrie because he's been unbelievable so far in training camp for the team. A telethon or a online petition, whatever. Someone needs to make sure this happens.

Most gratifying to me was that in the third period, the Islanders outshot the Sabres 11-5. Last season it seemed like our boys were holing on tight when entering the last period with a lead. Trent Hunter added his first of the season in the third as well and the Islanders outshot Buffalo 34-26 overall.

The Isles' effort last night has to be mentioned. They were down at many points last night and even when they took the lead late in the first (after Chris Campoli scored on the PP) and the Sabres answered right back, the boys never out their heads down. That, my friends, is what strong leadership will do for a team.

Great article worth noting by the New York Times' Dave Caldwell about Billy Guerin. You can access it here: Guerin

Big ups to Radek Martinek, too. Radek got a new three-year deal yesterday before the season started. We are big Martinek fans over here. He's a lot like Kenny Jonsson in that he does all of the little things that make him such an important player for the team. Things that may go unnoticed at times.

Tonight we see the same Sabres team that raided their Conference Championship banner last night before the Isles hung 6 on them. I can't wait.

Garth Snow

After losing co-captains Chris Drury (Ranger$) and Daniel Briere (Flyer$) to free agency, the Buffalo Sabres weren't going to let high-scoring Thomas Vanek get away after the Oilers game of dirty pool. Buffalo matched Edmonton's seven-year, $50-million contract offer that they could make to Vanek as a restricted free-agent.

Anyone else like me and appreciating the Islanders' Jedi Council a little more after that kind of news? I mean, we all were incredibly bummed when Ryan Smyth left for Colorado. Rightfully so. And the fact that the team was seemingly inactive in the free agency period afterward while other teams were gobbling up the talent was hard to take. But after the Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie signings, you have to feel good that the Isles didn't jump in and begin overpaying for players who simply aren't worth what they received. It would have been another Yashin nightmare.

I like the Guerin and Comrie signings a lot. The one thing that I always wondered about Mike Comrie was whether or not he had maturity issues because again, for a young guy, he sure has moved around a lot. My guess is that since Ted Nolan has been so good at getting players to work up to their capabilities that we are going to be very impressed with the contributions in this upcoming season from Comrie.

The Guerin signing makes a ton of sense as well. He played well last year and is another locker room leader. Remember--they guy was a big voice for the players during the lockout. He must be one of those players who guys respect if they allowed him (or, most likely) trusted him to be a player voice in the bargaining. The Islanders Jedi Council has a good track record of bringing in the right kind of guys to shore up the leadership core. The pro scouts have done Garth and Mr. Wang proud in the past.

There are two paths teams can take in the pursuit of free agents. The first is to be prepared to pay the right guy for the right reasons. That was obviously what the team wanted to do with Ryan Smyth. The second is do band-aid the team the way the Flyers always have. Doesn't it seem like they always throw money at big-name guys to appease the fans? (Just an observation.) St. Louis tossed $18 million at Paul Kariya and I'm sorry, but Paul Kariya's contributions are not worth $6 million a year. I'm so glad Garth Snow was prudent on that one.

The deal to acquire Ed Jovanoski from Phoenix is intriguing. I mean, I can see not wanting to move right after you built a new house. But let's face it: the Coyotes are going nowhere. From a pure competition standpoint, you would think that he would want to move. But once families get involved--see Michael Nylander and Chris Pronger--everything gets chucked out the window. Still, we'd love to see it happen.