Danis Heads To New Jersey

Yann Danis officially became an ex-Islander today, signing a contract with the New Jersey Devils. It was clear he wasn't coming back, and if there was any chance of him re-signing, it went out the window when the Isles signed Dwayne Roloson. Danis now takes his trade to the Devils, where he'll likely back up Martin Brodeur.

Danis didn't have much help last season with the Islanders, but still put up fairly respectable numbers. Now, he heads to the Prudential Center, where he'll make a handsome salary to operate the door of the bench. He actually might see more playing time than is customary for a Devils backup if their next coach wisely gives Brodeur a rest every now and again. And no team will make Danis look as good as the Devils will.

There's one absolute certainty in all of this. The Devils will sit Brodeur for at least one Islanders-Devils game this year, and Danis will come in and absolutely stonewall his former team. How could Islanders fans expect anything else?

A Guide to Day 2...

Sorry for the influx of posts, but here is a list of the free agents still available who can help a team. Or, in the case of Ryan Hollweg, Marek Malik, Yann Denis, and Thomas Pock, a list of ex-Islanders and Rangers of whom it will be interesting to see if they sign anywhere.

Ales Kotalik, Alex Tanguay, Alexandre Giroux (AHL MVP), Andy Hilbert, Antero Niittymaki
Blair Betts, Brendan Morrison, Brendan Shanahan
Chris Chelios, Cory Murphy
Dan Fritsche, Dean McAmmond, Dennis Seidenberg, Derek Armstrong, Derek Morris, Dmitri Kalinin, Dominic Moore
Eric Perrin, Eric Reitz
Jed Ortmeyer
Ken Klee, Kevin Weekes, Kurtis Forster, Kyle Calder
Manny Legace, Manny Malhotra, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Martin Biron, Mats Sundin, Maxin Afinogenov, Mike Peca, Michel Ouellet, Mike Comrie, Mike Grier, Mike Sillinger, Mike York, Miro Satan
Olaf Kolzig
Paul Mara, Petr Sykora, Philippe Boucher
Richard Zednik, Robert Lang, Ryan Hollweg
Thomas Pock, Todd Bertuzzi, Travis Moen
Yann Denis

The More Things Change...

If you didn't know any better, you'd think Tom Renney was still coaching the Rangers.

Sure, there were moments that inspired you. Markus Naslund dropping the gloves with Ian White. Chris Drury, Michal Rozsival, and Wade Redden collaborating on a power play goal. Petr Prucha getting 15 minutes of ice time. But in the end, you got the same results you're used to getting - yet another shootout, and yet another loss against an eminently beatable opponent. A point is a point, but this probably should have been two.

After 62 games, the Rangers have won 31 games and lost 31, although eight of those losses came in overtime or the shootout. They have 20 games left, 14 of which are against the top ten in the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow night, the Rangers host Florida in what is not only a four-point game, but is the biggest game either team has played all year. Who would have ever thought that would be the case? If you're a Rangers fan, you hope John Tortorella can at least inspire a solid effort in back-to-back games; however, tomorrow's game will not be easy. The Rangers have to travel overnight from Toronto, while the Panthers are steaming after getting destroyed by Boston last night. Should be a good one.

Speaking of Toronto, how ridiculous is it that they played the Rangers at home tonight, but will be traveling to New York overnight to play the Islanders tomorrow? It makes no sense, at least if you choose to ignore the fact that the Knicks played at home tonight. Anyway, the Islanders probably deserved a little more than they got against Pittsburgh, losing 1-0 on a Petr Sykora goal with less than three minutes left. Yes, it's true that the Islanders didn't manage a shot on goal on the power play. But they also hit the crossbar twice, got some great saves from Yann Danis, and were more than up to the task for facing a reeling, Crosby-less Penguins team. However, as all good teams do, the Penguins answered the call with about five minutes left, finally turning the intensity up and shutting the door once they finally scored. It didn't help that the Islanders were extremely sloppy after allowing Sykora's goal, a telltale sign of a young, inexperienced team.

Watching the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Eastern Conference champions, celebrate their only goal against a 30th place team like they had just won the Stanley Cup was a bitter pill to swallow. Forget the whole race for the first overall pick for a second. This one hurt. This is the point we're at with these Islanders - they'll play well enough to be competitive, but more often than not will fall just short. The Isles are a somewhat respectable 5-7-1 since the All-Star Break, and they have a better chance than you might think at finishing the second half with a .500 record; of course, should this actually happen, you'll never see it mentioned once in any newspaper or on any talk show. The Islanders dug their grave long ago, and a lot of it has to do with Scott Gordon's stubborn refusal to bench Joey "12-24-4" MacDonald in favor of Yann "5-8-2" Danis. Nevertheless, each game is an opportunity for these Islanders, and there are 22 chances left to watch these young players learn and show the occasional flash of brilliance.

Two New York teams, two results we all saw coming. Both teams are back in action tomorrow night. The Rangers desperately need a win; the Islanders, on the other hand, are 16 points back of Toronto and can play as well as they'd like. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better night for New York hockey than this one.

A Big Two Points...

Yes this was indeed a big two points - two points that if the Rangers wound up losing this game and missing the playoffs by 1 or 2 points, you look to this game as being the reason.

However, a (basically) 2-1 victory against the worst team in the league when you are desperate?

 

I will still harp on the fact that Scott Gomez does not deserve such grandiose amounts of power play time. It was a crappy shot - one of his famous ones - that happened to go in. 99 out of 100 times, that shot is saved, but Yann Danis dropped it, it fell, and went in the net.

It was Gomez's second PP goal of the year. No doubt, he plays more time on the power play than nearly anybody on the team.

Wade Redden - highest paid defensemen on the team, 5th best in terms of talent - still gets put out on the point regardless of how many times he can't shoot and can't control the puck. Oh, the perks that come with an irrationally high contract.

Listen, it was a big win. They needed the points. But if they can't score more than 2 goals with a goalie in the net against the worst team in the league (while they are playing a cache of AHL players, no less), you are going to have a hell of a tough time playing Boston, Philadelphia, and/or New Jersey in the playoffs.

Islanders Win Preseason Opener

The Islanders started their preseason on a positive note, beating the Bruins 2-1 in overtime. While it doesn't really mean anything, it never hurts to see the young guys playing well and beating another team, even if both teams were about a 50/50 split between NHL and AHL players.

Of course, since the game wasn't on TV last night - we wouldn't want anything to get in the way of the 2007 boxing match MSG Plus showed instead - we didn't get to watch this one. However, The Rivalry has come through with the real scoop on what happened last night. And away we go!

- The Islanders are back to their old tricks again, putting 38 shots on goal but only scoring twice. You have to applaud the effort that yields 38 shots, though you'd like to see more goals scored, especially against the likes of Tuuka Rask and Kevin Regan.

- The Islanders' winning tally was scored by Trevor Smith, which is all well and good. However, the Islanders have given him #77 for training camp. With all due respect to Mr. Smith, that number will always belong to Pierre Turgeon. Fun Fact: The last Islander to wear #77 was Cliff Ronning in 2003-04. Yes, I'd forgotten all about him as well.

- Jon Sim, the Isles' big catch on the first day of the 2007 free agent signing period, scored a power play goal. Everyone's already forgotten about Sim, but he should be able to do some pretty neat things on the Island. Sim also wore an A last night, apparently because there was nobody else better to wear it.

- New coach Scott Gordon claims he was expecting a "laundry list" of problems, but was pleasantly surprised. On one hand, so am I; on the other, it's a preseason game against the Bruins. It's not going to hold much water when they play real teams. Still, a nice starting point to be sure.

- New signee Yann Danis - remember that name - posted a clean sheet (or, as they say in America, a shutout) for the half of the game he played. Something tells me Danis is going to be on the big club before long. He's absolutely sick in NHL 09; in my Be A Pro season, his GAA is less than 1.

So, a quality opener for the Islanders, who could use a solid preseason to show their fans that the season isn't over before it starts. The Isles play again tomorrow night against the Flyers in London, Ontario. Again, no TV for this one, as the NetJets Showdown between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer is simply a must-see.