How YOU Can Help Keep the Islanders on the Island

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. This coming Tuesday, February 24th, there is a critical public meeting being held at the Town of Hempstead's Town Hall. It's being called "one of the two" most important public events in the Lighthouse approval process. If you support this project as an Islanders fan or a concerned citizen of Long Island, you can play your part by coming out for this meeting and demonstrating that support.

Here are the specifics:

Tuesday, February 24th at 10:30AM
Town Hall
One Washington Street, Hempstead, NY

For more and better information than I could possibly hope to provide, please click over to Nick's Let There Be Light(house) blog. And while I'm on the subject, kudos to Nick for the great job he does.

This is a hockey blog, so from purely that perspective I'd encourage everyone who possible can to make it out to this meeting. There's some real evidence that public sentiment is finally having an influence on Kate Murray and the Town. This is a great opportunity to further that influence and help ensure our franchise's future on the Island.

MC

A George Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

Like my friend Homer in the picture to the left, I've recently acquired a visitor on each of my shoulders. Prior to the Islanders current 3-game winning streak, I only had one voice in my ear. The devil was there, savoring every loss as the Islanders marched towards victory in nothing but the Draft Lottery and the opportunity to grab a cornerstone talent like John Tavares. Somewhere in the midst of winning only 2 of 22 games, I grew to accept the fact that utter failure was in the best long-term interest of the team. While one player does not make a team (especially a young talent like Tavares), it would certainly improve our chances of turning the franchise around. I mean seriously, do the Pens make the Finals if they don't win the Crosby Lottery? I think not. As much as I love the team, I was willing to accept some short-term pain to make the horizon that much brighter.

Now, though, things have gotten a little more complicated. Somewhere on the way to the cellar the Isles woke up and started winning. Relatively speaking, 3 straight is an absolute tear. More important than the wins, though, is the way they are winning. And in that regard, it's all about the kids. The Comeau, Bailey, Okposo line has been leading the charge. They are providing us a nice glimpse of what the future might hold. And Nielsen has been playing very solid hockey all year (when healthy).

Now, an angel has emerged on my other shoulder. Rather than look at this season an an opportunity for Tavares, why not see it as the year of Okposo, Bailey, and the other kids? If our wins are coming as a result of their development, how can I root against that?

So I'm torn. In a perfect world, the kid line will continue to tear it up, we'll win our share of games, but still secure that #1 lottery pick (Go Thrashers!). The playoffs are out of the question, so I would find it hard to stomach, say, the #5 pick (before trading down, twice...again).

MC

Double Standards

Yesterday, we learned that the Detroit Red Wings signed Henrik Zetterberg to a 12-year extension. The deal is worth a reported $72M and will keep him in a Wings uniform through his 40th birthday. Sound familiar?

Just for fun, Google the following:

"Zetterberg Contract", then "DiPietro Contract"

Click through the first 5 or 6 stories returned from each of those searches. If you don't feel like taking the time, I'll give you a preview of what you'd find...

On Zetterberg: talk of a "landmark" deal, references to how he's coming off his best season, how the Wings have secured a major piece towards defending the Cup this year and for many years to come.

On DiPietro: phrases like "dumbest move", "idiot owner", "rookie GM", and regrets, regrets, regrets.

Sure, the DP deal was the first of its kind in the NHL. Frankly, I don't have any problem with people criticizing it. It's a polarizing topic. What frustrates me is the double standard in reporting on Rick's deal relative to the several similar contracts that have followed. His injuries of late are irrelevant, since all of the harsh words I'm referring to regarding DPs contract were spoken before injuries were a reality.

To me it's another example of writers looking to take pot-shots at the Isles, Charles Wang, and Garth Snow. So be it. Time will tell which of these deals end well and which cripple their respective franchises. Unfortunately, our contract is the one that looks the riskiest at this point. Clearly, though, not risky enough to scare off Detroit from traveling down a similar road.

MC

Number Running Pt. 2 - From Bad to Worse

Back in October, when hope still lingered for the 2008-2009 season, I prepared an analysis of some statistics relative to last season. Now here we are, 46 games into the year...let's update and revisit those numbers.

2007-2008 ; 2008-2009
Goals For 2.3/gm (30th); 2.4/gm (29th)
Goals Against 2.9/gm (23rd); 3.5/gm (29th)
PP% 14.5% (29th); 17.3% (18th)
PK% 81.8% (19th); 81.4% (15th)
Shots for 29.7/gm (10th); 29.4 (14th)
Shots against 30.3 (21st); 32.8 (29th)

If you're looking for a glass-half-full conclusion to draw from these number, I recommend you only look at the power play stat. Clearly this was an area that needed to be addressed after last season. The addition of players like Mark Streit and Doug Weight have helped tremendously in this regard.

Beyond that, it's pretty much all doom and gloom. Being 29th (out of 30 teams, by the way) in both Goals For and Goals Against speaks for itself. And for a team relying primarily on inexperienced NHL goaltenders, our defense hasn't been successful in clamping down on the opposition, falling to 29th in Shots Allowed.

But the good times don't end there! Here are a few additional mind-boggling stats:

- In last year's disappointing season, we averaged 0.96 points (in the standings) per game. This year? 0.63 points per game. Ugh.

- You look at the stats above and think our special teams are respectable? True. So what does that mean for our 5-on-5 play? Our goals-for vs. goals-against ratio in 5-on-5 play is 0.57. Meaning we allow almost twice as many even-strength goals as we score. Think about that. We are at the bottom of the league. The next worst team, Ottawa, has a ratio of 0.77. The best team, Boston, sits at 1.60.

- When we score first, we only win 42% of the time. We are the only team in the league under 50%. For comparison purposes, San Jose wins 82% of the time when scoring first.

- What about when we are lucky enough to lead after 2 periods? We win only 64% of the time, also good enough for bottom of the league. This means that when we enter the third period with a lead, we lose 1 out of every 3 times. Unacceptable. Colorado has won every game this year when leading after two.

I hope it doesn't seem that I report on these numbers with any happiness. They are sickening. But looking at things this way really points out that there are deep, systemic problems with this team. A team built on character is not good enough. And on a side note, a team supposedly built on character should at the very least work hard every night, which we have not gotten from the group.

We are rebuilding. Numbers like this can be tolerated in the short-term. But at some point, Gordon's system needs to click, we need to add some skill, and we need to get our #1 goaltender back. Things can become respectable quickly. Hopefully the team will still be on Long Island when that happens.

MC

The Fans

As of this posting, the Isles record stands at 12-29-5. Like many of you, I've got a bit of agita. Despite the meager expectations, I'm not sure anyone predicted this. Injuries have been a plague on the team, there has been the slow progress on the Lighthouse project, talk of a move to Kansas City and a confirmed training camp move to Saskatchawan (won't mention the Dubie incident). All of this should be leaving Islanders fans even more disgruntled and frustrated than we normally are. Goals have been few and far between and my God... 12 wins!!

However, a funny thing happened on the way to the doom and gloom...

The fans are still showing up. OK, the detractors will still point out the fact that the Isles are at the bottom of overall attendance. Fine, I understand. But tell me if you wouldn't totally understand the Isles fan base throwing in the towel. Here's a fanbase that has survived the Spano purchase, the Milbury era, poor trades, rebuilding, and then rebuilding again, a rise to respectability, and then a quick fall. Did I mention the Milbury era??!!

Check out recent official attendance figures.

1/19 vs Caps 15,221
1/17 vs NJ 16,234
1/15 vs Boston 15.548
1/13 vs NYR 16,234
12/31 vs Fla 12,211

Would anyone think twice if these numbers were closer to 8,000? These number show me that the Isles fans are out there, that they still love this team, and that they're still willing to show up and give support. We're 1 or 2 steps from either rising again or falling off the face of the earth. Lighthouse Project + Tavares = a new era, and new hope for fans that deserve it more than anyone. The same Coliseum most like equals the end of the franchise.

Just imagine a young team, centered around DP, Bailey, Okposo, Neilsen, Comeau, (Tavares or Hedman). A new building. Don't tell me we couldn't fill a 17,500 seat arena. Don't tell me we don't have the fan base.

I don't want to sound like a commercial but we are all Islanders. We've known the passion for hockey this area has. Let's hope we have the opportunity to show the rest of the league once again.

BC