It's kind of late news now, but I wanted to share my thoughts about the Islanders-Thrashers "game" on Saturday. I put the word "game" in quotes because it was anything but; by the time the evening was over, the Islanders were getting blown out and found themselves resorting to taking cheap shots and instigating fights.
I'm a pretty big fan of what Scott Gordon has done so far in his tenure as Islanders head coach. But Saturday was one of those nights where I scratched my head, wondering if he was really as good as the press says he is. First, he went with Joey MacDonald. MacDonald, in case you haven't noticed, has started sixteen straight games for the Islanders. In the last five of those sixteen, he's allowed five, five, two, four, and five goals. Gee, you think he might be tired? You can't just take a career backup and throw him out there for a consecutive month of games. And yet, that's exactly what Gordon has done. Wasn't this the same franchise who swore they were going to rotate the goalies better this year? Or did that all go out the window when Rick DiPietro went down? Yann Danis has played exactly one game this year. It's hard to expect much from a backup when he never, ever plays.
Getting back to Saturday night, the Isles came out firing on all cylinders, playing much of the first period very well. We had ourselves a nice, physical hockey game. There weren't a ton of goals; there didn't need to be. It was a defensive-minded hockey game that had its share of big hits and good chances. However, once Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the second period, the Islanders stopped playing their game. Suddenly, they were trying to make the perfect play, which is something they don't do very well. Worse than that, though, they stopped hitting. Blake Comeau threw some nice checks, but that was about it. This was in stark comparison to the first period, when the Islanders hit everything that moved.
Then, in the third, everything devolved. The Islanders became completely unglued and started trying to hurt people. Or do you suppose it's a coincidence that Gordon threw Nate Thompson, Tim Jackman, Andy Sutton, and Brendan Witt out there as a four-man penalty kill unit? It seemed like Jackman was tapping an opposing player on the shins with his stick every other second. Witt was going after players with reckless abandon. Even Joey MacDonald came out to the f'ing blue line to play a puck down four goals in a game the Islanders had no chance of winning. All in all, it was an embarrassing display, one that has no place in hockey.
This isn't a seven-game series. This is a regular season game between two teams in the league's basement. What message are you trying to send? I'm sure the players were frustrated, which is fine, but it's no excuse to send your goons out there and try to start fights. But then again, discipline wasn't exactly the Islanders' strong suit on this night. At one point, Tim Jackman engaged Chris Thorburn in a fight while the Islanders were in the Thrashers' zone. Someone had actually just taken a shot on goal a second before the fight started.
What's more important - scoring goals or starting fights? Apparently, Gordon went with the latter; he himself got a bench minor for abuse of official. And even that didn't stop him from sending his goons out there to start something. This, despite barely playing Mitch Fritz when he was on the team, especially after the Frans Nielsen-Mike Mottau incident. You'd think Gordon, who came from the more physical AHL, would know the right time to start a fight. Apparently, you'd be wrong.
It's sad when you can't beat the Atlanta Thrashers at home on a Saturday night. But it's even more sad when you completely stop trying to win and just try to beat people up instead. And with four games coming up this week, now would be a good time for the Islanders to remember what worked for them in November. It wasn't passive play followed by thuggery. It was solid play and great goaltending. Maybe - just maybe - it's time to sit MacDonald and let Yann Danis have a chance to play. But that's probably too much to ask.
I'm a pretty big fan of what Scott Gordon has done so far in his tenure as Islanders head coach. But Saturday was one of those nights where I scratched my head, wondering if he was really as good as the press says he is. First, he went with Joey MacDonald. MacDonald, in case you haven't noticed, has started sixteen straight games for the Islanders. In the last five of those sixteen, he's allowed five, five, two, four, and five goals. Gee, you think he might be tired? You can't just take a career backup and throw him out there for a consecutive month of games. And yet, that's exactly what Gordon has done. Wasn't this the same franchise who swore they were going to rotate the goalies better this year? Or did that all go out the window when Rick DiPietro went down? Yann Danis has played exactly one game this year. It's hard to expect much from a backup when he never, ever plays.
Getting back to Saturday night, the Isles came out firing on all cylinders, playing much of the first period very well. We had ourselves a nice, physical hockey game. There weren't a ton of goals; there didn't need to be. It was a defensive-minded hockey game that had its share of big hits and good chances. However, once Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the second period, the Islanders stopped playing their game. Suddenly, they were trying to make the perfect play, which is something they don't do very well. Worse than that, though, they stopped hitting. Blake Comeau threw some nice checks, but that was about it. This was in stark comparison to the first period, when the Islanders hit everything that moved.
Then, in the third, everything devolved. The Islanders became completely unglued and started trying to hurt people. Or do you suppose it's a coincidence that Gordon threw Nate Thompson, Tim Jackman, Andy Sutton, and Brendan Witt out there as a four-man penalty kill unit? It seemed like Jackman was tapping an opposing player on the shins with his stick every other second. Witt was going after players with reckless abandon. Even Joey MacDonald came out to the f'ing blue line to play a puck down four goals in a game the Islanders had no chance of winning. All in all, it was an embarrassing display, one that has no place in hockey.
This isn't a seven-game series. This is a regular season game between two teams in the league's basement. What message are you trying to send? I'm sure the players were frustrated, which is fine, but it's no excuse to send your goons out there and try to start fights. But then again, discipline wasn't exactly the Islanders' strong suit on this night. At one point, Tim Jackman engaged Chris Thorburn in a fight while the Islanders were in the Thrashers' zone. Someone had actually just taken a shot on goal a second before the fight started.
What's more important - scoring goals or starting fights? Apparently, Gordon went with the latter; he himself got a bench minor for abuse of official. And even that didn't stop him from sending his goons out there to start something. This, despite barely playing Mitch Fritz when he was on the team, especially after the Frans Nielsen-Mike Mottau incident. You'd think Gordon, who came from the more physical AHL, would know the right time to start a fight. Apparently, you'd be wrong.
It's sad when you can't beat the Atlanta Thrashers at home on a Saturday night. But it's even more sad when you completely stop trying to win and just try to beat people up instead. And with four games coming up this week, now would be a good time for the Islanders to remember what worked for them in November. It wasn't passive play followed by thuggery. It was solid play and great goaltending. Maybe - just maybe - it's time to sit MacDonald and let Yann Danis have a chance to play. But that's probably too much to ask.
First of all, Jackman, Thompson, Sutton and Witt are not goons. Gordon wasn't trying to "beat people up" instead of trying to win, he was trying to shake up his own players to get them out of their slumber and change the momentum of the game. That can happen when your physical guys raise the excitement level by being competitive and playing with an edge. It didn't work, but that is what it was about.
ReplyDeleteI agree about overplaying Joey Mac. Danis needs to start a couple of games ASAP.