GDT: #04 | New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins | Jan 25 | 7:00PM | 2-4 L

[Nashology]

Nabby last night < DP tonight

That first line is not clicking. They haven't been the best line in a game thus far this season. That's a problem. Free El Niño ;-)

Not a chance on DP being close to Nabby yesterday.

Nabby had a bad start then let the team pull off a win by stopping 32 of the last 33 shots he faced in the 2nd and 3rd

 

[InformTheMasses]

wow. Expectations pretty high around here. 4 games in (2 Wins and 2 losses) and we need to break up the first line to get JT going?

Over analyzing 1 game is a big mistake. I mean honestly, after playing an up and down game last night in Toronto, then flying to Boston to play a game against a rested Bruins team with Seidenberg and Rask in the line-up, And Dipietro getting his first NHL start in over 13 months, what did you all expect?

I know Games 2 and 3 fired everyone up, but seriously it was against Ben Scrivins and Anders Lindback. Along with defenses that are about as soft as you are going to see in the NHL.

The kids are showing promise, let them grow. JT had an off night,big deal it happens, welsome to the world of Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. There aren't many guys who make them look bad. Doesn't mean the line has to be blown up. My one criticism of the first line is their lack of forcheck. The other Islander lines all have fantastic forecheckers, especially the Aucoin/Ullstrom line. If team don't wise up and put good puck moving defenceman out against them, they will wreak havoc and put pucks in the net on a regular basis.

Grabner and Nielson are also excellent on the forecheck. JT needs an ultra aggressive forechecking winger with him to help create pressure on the opposition in the other zone.

Try and have a little patience, we aren't going to score 7 goals a night, especially not against the Bruins. ALso keep the expectations low, most of these guys are still kids, and wont play perfect every night, this team has a long way to go, before it can be mentioned in the same sentence as 'playoffs', which I have seen thrown around here. Enjoy the ride, I saw things I liked from almost everyone out there at some point tonight, but I also saw some things I didnt like from mos everyone out there... EVEN AUCOIN (though he was pretty damn good tonight)!

 

[petrocelli]

wow. Expectations pretty high around here. 4 games in (2 Wins and 2 losses) and we need to break up the first line to get JT going?

Over analyzing 1 game is a big mistake. I mean honestly, after playing an up and down game last night in Toronto, then flying to Boston to play a game against a rested Bruins team with Seidenberg and Rask in the line-up, And Dipietro getting his first NHL start in over 13 months, what did you all expect?

I know Games 2 and 3 fired everyone up, but seriously it was against Ben Scrivins and Anders Lindback. Along with defenses that are about as soft as you are going to see in the NHL.

The kids are showing promise, let them grow. JT had an off night,big deal it happens, welsome to the world of Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. There aren't many guys who make them look bad. Doesn't mean the line has to be blown up. My one criticism of the first line is their lack of forcheck. The other Islander lines all have fantastic forecheckers, especially the Aucoin/Ullstrom line. If team don't wise up and put good puck moving defenceman out against them, they will wreak havoc and put pucks in the net on a regular basis.

Grabner and Nielson are also excellent on the forecheck. JT needs an ultra aggressive forechecking winger with him to help create pressure on the opposition in the other zone.

Try and have a little patience, we aren't going to score 7 goals a night, especially not against the Bruins. ALso keep the expectations low, most of these guys are still kids, and wont play perfect every night, this team has a long way to go, before it can be mentioned in the same sentence as 'playoffs', which I have seen thrown around here. Enjoy the ride, I saw things I liked from almost everyone out there at some point tonight, but I also saw some things I didnt like from mos everyone out there... EVEN AUCOIN (though he was pretty damn good tonight)!

Hence, the one change I would make is:

Grabner - Tavares - Okposo

Moulson - Aucoin - Bailey or Boyes

Ullstrom - Nielsen - Bailey or Boyes

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Hence, the one change I would make is:

Grabner - Tavares - Okposo

Moulson - Aucoin - Bailey or Boyes

Ullstrom - Nielsen - Bailey or Boyes

That is tempting, but you know Moulson will cease to point if that happens.

 

[InformTheMasses]

I understand, but my fear is that With Ullstrom pulled off his line and in between Moulson and Boyes that Aucoin is going to look mighty pedestrian, mighty quick. Ullstrom and Aucoin are working and so is Grabs and Nielsen. Unfortunately there aren't many other options. For what it's worth the best forchecker (and I guy who I think might attain Dustin Brown level of NHL forecheck one day) is Johan Sundstrom. I know he is a center but he's a Righty shot and can also play RW. I might try something like that before I broke up Grabs/Nielsen and Aucoin/Ullstrom. Of course Sundstrom is banged up and hurt and did not play against Norfolk tonight, not sure what his status is.

 

[petrocelli]

That is tempting, but you know Moulson will cease to point if that happens.

That is why I would leave Moulson on the first PP unit with Tavares, as Grabner remains our top penalty killer. Most of Moulson's points are on the PP anyway. Grabner fits Tavares' wing better then Moulson at full strength. Moulson is the better fir for the PP.. So let's have the best of both worlds..

 

[petrocelli]

I understand, but my fear is that With Ullstrom pulled off his line and in between Moulson and Boyes that Aucoin is going to look mighty pedestrian, mighty quick. Ullstrom and Aucoin are working and so is Grabs and Nielsen. Unfortunately there aren't many other options. For what it's worth the best forchecker (and I guy who I think might attain Dustin Brown level of NHL forecheck one day) is Johan Sundstrom. I know he is a center but he's a Righty shot and can also play RW. I might try something like that before I broke up Grabs/Nielsen and Aucoin/Ullstrom. Of course Sundstrom is banged up and hurt and did not play against Norfolk tonight, not sure what his status is.

I don't think the Isles are at a point where they'd consider calling someone up.. They still have Bailey and Joensuu set to return..... Secondly, Nino Niederreiter and his agent would bomb the Coliseum if anyone other than Nino is the first call-up from Bridgeport. Lastly, Sundstrom on the first line, way ahead of schedule for him to even make the team, yet alone be considered for the first line is a bit of a stretch..... I'm really high on Sundstrom, Nelson and Nino, but of the three, I think Sundstrom may be the furthest away from a call-up.... Heck, I'd like to see Nelson or Nino up here, but more realistically, I was just tweaking the lines with what we already have... I'm really interested to see what type of year Bailey is going to have....

Where do you think Bailey fits best??

 

[InformTheMasses]

I don't think the Isles are at a point where they'd consider calling someone up.. They still have Bailey and Joensuu set to return..... Secondly, Nino Niederreiter and his agent would bomb the Coliseum if anyone other than Nino is the first call-up from Bridgeport. Lastly, Sundstrom on the first line, way ahead of schedule for him to even make the team, yet alone be considered for the first line is a bit of a stretch..... I'm really high on Sundstrom, Nelson and Nino, but of the three, I think Sundstrom may be the furthest away from a call-up.... Heck, I'd like to see Nelson or Nino up here, but more realistically, I was just tweaking the lines with what we already have... I'm really interested to see what type of year Bailey is going to have....

Where do you think Bailey fits best??

I agree. I wouldn't make any changes right now, or call-ups. I admit, the first thing I thought of when I typed in the suggestion of calling up Sundstrom was Nino's head exploding. Made me laugh. Nino did't score tonight, but had several good chances (Im watching that game now).

Bailey? Wow, that's the million dollar question. He's a C/LW and hasn't shown he should be given a shot on PP. Meanwhile Moulson/Tavares, Ullstrom/Aucoin, and Grabner/Nielsen are showing great chemistry and results as far as LW/C combo's. Looks like I'd center him with Matt Martin for the time being, kick Reasoner to the press box. Try and get Bailey as much time as possible, roll 4 lines, get him PK time. Then see what he does, along with the rest of the team, adjust accordingly.

OR Flip Ullstrom to the RW (he's capable) with Aucoin, Move MacDonald down to 4th line or AHL have Bailey Join Aucoin and Ullstrom

 

[Renbarg]

Lets let the forwards be. 2nd and 3rd line have scored. Its only a matter of time before JT gets going. I just want Hickey and/or Marty get a shot again.

 

[original islander]

Lets let the forwards be. 2nd and 3rd line have scored. Its only a matter of time before JT gets going. I just want Hickey and/or Marty get a shot again.

I think that you're right. Realistically there was no training camp or exhibition games so changing linemates may actually disrupt things in a negative way. I would make that D change also as "Mean Joe" Finley is very limited and should only be dressed as a 7th D.

When you take a step back we lost our 2 games to last years Cup finalist 2-1 and lost to the Cup winners from 2 years ago in their building so there's no reason to panic.
It should be about another week before Moulson and Okposo will be in game shape since I don't think that they played in Europe.

 

[petrocelli]

I agree. I wouldn't make any changes right now, or call-ups. I admit, the first thing I thought of when I typed in the suggestion of calling up Sundstrom was Nino's head exploding. Made me laugh. Nino did't score tonight, but had several good chances (Im watching that game now).

Bailey? Wow, that's the million dollar question. He's a C/LW and hasn't shown he should be given a shot on PP. Meanwhile Moulson/Tavares, Ullstrom/Aucoin, and Grabner/Nielsen are showing great chemistry and results as far as LW/C combo's. Looks like I'd center him with Matt Martin for the time being, kick Reasoner to the press box. Try and get Bailey as much time as possible, roll 4 lines, get him PK time. Then see what he does, along with the rest of the team, adjust accordingly.

OR Flip Ullstrom to the RW (he's capable) with Aucoin, Move MacDonald down to 4th line or AHL have Bailey Join Aucoin and Ullstrom

I like that last option, but PLEASE don't make him the 4th line center. Let's not forget he was almost a PPG player over the last 20 games last year. In Islanders terms of actually earning a position on the top 2 lines, well that's a lot more than most players have done to actually earn a slot. Besides his strong finish to last season, he was a top 10 overall pick not too long ago, so can we please put him in a position to actually succeed...... I'd hate to see the kid run out of town after this year because of a lack of production when he was never put in a position to succeed, and in all reality, could have put up just as many points as anyone else playing alongside of Tavares or getting regular second line minutes.

I like that line!

Bailey - Aucoin - Ullstrom!!

I think Bailey deserves a spot on the top 3 lines over McDonald.... No??

 

[MattMartin]

Tons of negativity for a game we basically lost in the 3rd period to a much better team on back to back nights in their home building. I saw 2 great periods and maybe a team that just got tired. I was very impressed in the fact that Bruins fans were booing in the 2nd seeing how well we were playing. DP (who i have no love for) played ok, nothing great nothing horrible but his career as a starter is long over. I'm purely saying he played decent as a back up. I do agree with the fact that Finley should not be suited up barring major injuries and Okposo i just dont know anymore. I would not do any drastic line changes at the moment considering how well the 3rd and the 4th (- reasoner) has played. Man people jump off the bandwagon quick here killing Matty ice after a bad game i guess his 100 goals over the last 3 seasons from a guy we picked up for nothing has most people here soured.
Actually after further review move up Boyes put down Okposo.

 

[redbull]

Will admit, I'm surprised by the general sentiment in this thread. Thought the Isles played well, especially considering a road game, against one of the best teams in the NHL, after a huge win last night.

I thought Cappy was a bit out coached with BOS twice getting their top line out against the Isles 4th line, with Finley on the ice to boot, scoring twice. Damn.

And, yeshehadlastchange, butBergeron andChara went up against Tavares the whole night, boy are they stellar defensively. Very impressive. The make the ice small, win battles and suffocate theIsles flow. Moulson is useless unless its in the offensive zone and I thought his near goal did cross the line, but proved inconclusive.

DiPietro looked real good, I was very surprised.

Tavares tried hard, didn't get much done. I think the extra time and space he has in Europe has messed up his timing. Moulson looks sloppy, as does Okposo, but I thought Kyle worked hard tonight.

Aucoin is just a smart little player....even McDonald played well.

I think all the Isles played fairly well. Finley wasn't horrible, looked foodwith Streit, he skates fairly well for his size bit he just isn't good enough for the NHL. Not on defense and not against good teams.

Liking Strait, Hamonic and MacDonald.

Nielsen and Boyes weren't good, they did nothing. Grabs still looked great out there.

Overall, solid game, great opponent, a good road loss. Time to move on.

 

[BaileyToOkposo]

I agree. I wouldn't make any changes right now, or call-ups. I admit, the first thing I thought of when I typed in the suggestion of calling up Sundstrom was Nino's head exploding. Made me laugh. Nino did't score tonight, but had several good chances (Im watching that game now).

Bailey? Wow, that's the million dollar question. He's a C/LW and hasn't shown he should be given a shot on PP. Meanwhile Moulson/Tavares, Ullstrom/Aucoin, and Grabner/Nielsen are showing great chemistry and results as far as LW/C combo's. Looks like I'd center him with Matt Martin for the time being, kick Reasoner to the press box. Try and get Bailey as much time as possible, roll 4 lines, get him PK time. Then see what he does, along with the rest of the team, adjust accordingly.

OR Flip Ullstrom to the RW (he's capable) with Aucoin, Move MacDonald down to 4th line or AHL have Bailey Join Aucoin and Ullstrom

There is no way you put Bailey on the 4th line and I think him being a center is out of the question. IMO he's a better player when playing that wing. The way he played at the end of the year is the way I hope he plays this year. Third line at worst he should be on if anything you bring McDonald to the 4th line

 

[steveat]

Yeah, I thought McDonald played well..better than I expected anyway. There is some chemistry with Aucoin...either that or Aucoin makes chemistry with who he has. I believe more of the latter.

DP was better than previous outtings. He usually looks overpumped and does some really stupid this. He played more sound this game, but everytime there is confusion around the net. He looks lost. It's like he has no ability to anticipate and just stands there. The ONLY shots he saved were when the Bs shot right AT him...half of those shots at him, DP didn't even see. Watch the game again. DP gives bigger rebounds than Montoya. The guy has a great attitude, but he's just NOT what we expect out of him. WE did a good job at intercepting passes and clearing the puck so DP wouldn't have to save the harder shots. The Isles were limited this game because they were so worried about DP. Watch how open the game becomes when Nabby is in net.

 

[bigd]

I thought they played pretty well. It got a little sloppy there in the third and I think that was definetly due to playing the night before. I will agree that we need to try Hickey. Finley is just not up to NHL speed. Up until that 4th goal I still thought we could come back. We are playing well but just some little breakdowns against a good team like the Bruins and they will make you pay.

 

[Uncle Lou]

Guys are all so upset on this thread. Isles continue to play good hockey and lose to a good bruins team after games on back to back nights. Not much to worry about, like I said lets go 3-2 this road trip and we have a ton of home games in February.

 

[steveat]

Ok, well the positive here is that we only lost by 2 goals. I was actually expecting a blowout with DP in net. We kept it close which is a lot more than I can say about previous years.

We act like we should win every game. I would rather lose to the Bs than be outplayed by the Jackets.

I notice whenever JT is off, the whole line is off that night. We need both secondary and primary scoring to be on track to win. Then again, they are tired from the back to back. Get some rest boys. Next game.

 

[camper*]

I liked that the team is a bit more physical, but theres nothing like watching Martin handing out the boom.

 

[OlTimeHockey]

I'm guessing you're rooting against the Isles tonight for "the greater good"? DP getting sent down/bought out/injured?

How does anyone root for DP when you have the thought police chirping in his defense?

Either you root for DP and say everything he does is swell or you root for the rest of the team and hate the Isles as a result.

I thought DP had a pretty good game considering the amount of screwups he had was minimal. But the posts like this throughout the thread have me hating on Rick now - BECAUSE IT'S NOW FUN!!!

I'm not worried. I said elsewhere - Rick being up means we're leaving Poulin (who needs time) and Nilsson (who also needs time) to develop properly. I'd rather still have Montoya who, ironically, had people ripping him to shreds that are defending someone special as we speak.

But our future looks brighter and when both kids are ready, we will see a buyout IMHO.

That spells out my growing faith in Snow thanks to the CBA neutralizing Wang.

(and be cheerful as it's protecting Reinhart and others by aking us use Finleys and Aucoins et al.)

 

[OlTimeHockey]

And I'll submit this for Blink, a sound, thoughtful poster with a bias like all of us - DP had a pretty good game.

 

[Brunomics]

And I'll submit this for Blink, a sound, thoughtful poster with a bias like all of us - DP had a pretty good game.

Was DP fully screened on Chara's goal that went glove side? I thought he had line of sight and just got beat but I'm not sure.

 

[SI90]

This really felt like a winable game..... DP over plays the puck and a few times it almost cost us, but for the most part he was solid imo....First 2 goals were not on him last 2 were....

Johnny needs to get going, he's making the right moves but not much is working for him.... The Finley experiment should be over and I think its Hickeys turn to see what he can do....

Ullstrom-Aucoin-McDonald line is really clicking, they are working extreamly hard out there.

 

[Brunomics]

Two other things I noticed

Also on the Chara goal wasn't Thornton sitting in the crease? Shouldn't that have been a whistle and face off outside?

That subtle little move by Bergeron for the breakaway goal was pretty nasty. No wonder DP bit.

 

[KnishOfTheCrease]

Was DP fully screened on Chara's goal that went glove side? I thought he had line of sight and just got beat but I'm not sure.

He looked to be screened but I also think he was squeezed in the crease by (Streit?) pushing the Bruin player in front which didn't allow him to challenge the shot. A good shot will beat any goalie when their sitting on the goal line.