Weight a healthy scratch; Biron in net

11:43 AM By Katie Strang

 Martin Biron will get his first start in goal since December 27 against Philadelphia.

Biron recently went down to Bridgeport to play two games this past weekend, a good tune-up for tonight.

"It has been a while but I felt really good the past couple of days so I'm just going to try and carry that on," Biron said.

"it was fun, definitely enjoyed it," Biron said of his stint with the Sound Tigers. "I always embrace the time I spent in the American League...they were great memories."

Biron joked that him and Brendan Witt, who went to Bridgeport after clearing waivers last week even snuggled up on the bus together for the two-hour drive to Springfield.

"Really enjoyed it. The experience was great. A few weeks ago we were debating to go there and get a few practices in and maybe some games. At first I was a little resistant but now that I'm back I think it was the best thing for me to do."

***

Doug Weight will be one of the healthy scratches for tonight (assume Jeff Tambellini will be the other). Coach Scott Gordon said that he wanted to rest his captain tonight since the Islanders play in back-to-back games. Weight will play tomorrow in Pittsburgh.

***

Gordon said he ran into Ryan Suter in the hallway before the skate this morning and Suter said his team was having trouble scoring goals too. So that will likely be the theme of tonight's game.

"We haven't played bad enough to be in a 7-game losing streak, but we are," Gordon said.

***

A Swiss peewee team made a pit stop at the skate this morning en route to a tournament in Quebec. Naturally, Swiss Olympic team captain Mark Streit was a star.

***

Jesse Joensuu's parents will be in attendance for tonight's game against Nashville; unfortunately, Matt Martin's parents are battling a massive snowstorm in Windsor, ONT so they'll have to watch on television.

***

Speaking of battling snowstorms, that's what I'll likely be doing tomorrow.

Isles v. Predators....four more to go

10:27 AM By Katie Strang

 Islanders are about to take the ice for their morning skate to prepare for tonight's match-up against Nashville.

Tonight is the first and only time this season the Isles will take on the 31-22-4 Predators.

Tomorrow, the Islanders will make the quick turnaround to face the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Disclaimer: Snowstorm is looming, so my odds aren't looking too good at making it at the moment.

Here is a story in today's paper about Captain Doug Weight's quest to lead his team and make a crucial push before the break.

Big guys have arrived

Monday February 8, 2010 11:41 AM By Katie Strang

 Matt Martin and Jesse Joensuu are both on the ice this morning for the Islanders practice at the Coliseum.

"For them it's not as much about points as it is intangibles, going to the net, being big bodies, finishing checks and making good decisions with the puck," coach Scott Gordon said.

Captain Doug Weight said that while the decision to call up both young power forwards can bring an infusion of new energy, the team needs to find internal motivation.

"We need a spark from within and we've got to find it," Weight said.

Martin called the call he received, "a dream come true," and said he's looking to bring some bite to the team's game, an edge the Isles have been lacking lately.

I"m definitely looking to make an impact in the physical department," Martin said.

Martin carpooled to Long Island with Joensuu this morning. Joensuu will make his second showing with the big club on Tuesday.

"Be a presence to the net, drive to the front of the net," Joensuu said of the message he received from Gordon. "I've heard that we've been struggling with getting to the front of the net and going for the rebounds. That's what he's looking for me and [Martin] to do and hit a lot too."

Just as a sidenote, I asked Martin about his skating, something he has worked on with the Bridgeport coaching staff to improve...have to say I really liked his response:

"That's probably one of the biggest criticisms to my game," Martin said. "I don't really take criticsm lightly and I don't like when people criticize my game so I'm doing my best to make skating a strong point of my game and improve on it."

Two guys will have to be taken out of the lineup for tomorrow's game against Nashville to make room for the Bridgeport call-ups. Jeff Tambellini will very likely be one; the other one will be more difficult to predict, considering Scott Gordon didn't tip his hand today.

We saw a couple permutations of line combos today, so I wouldn't bank on these written in stone:

Moulson-Tavares-Comeau

Bergenheim-Nielsen-Okposo

Martin-Park-Sim

Joensuu-Schremp -Hunter

Jackman-Weight- Tambellini

On D:

Sutton-MacDonald

Streit-Gervais

Kohn-Meyer

Goaltenders:

Roloson

DiPietro

Biron

***Tim Jackman practiced with the team for the first time today, albeit with a full cage. He still cannot absorb contact.

***Jack Hillen skated on his own for the second time this morning before the rest of the team took the ice

Matt Martin and Jesse Joensuu expected to be called up tomorrow

Sunday February 7, 2010 1:40 PM By Katie Strang

In a move to bring more size and physicality around the net, the Islanders are expected to recall Bridgeport power forwards Matt Martin and Jesse Joensuu in time for practice Monday.

Both Martin and Joensuu are big bodies with offensive upside, something the Islanders have lacked recently in their season-worst seven-game skid. The Islanders have been outscored by an aggregate 27-9 during that span and have not scored more than two goals since January 19, a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.

“It’s an opportunity for them to come up here and see where they are as far as their development,” coach Scott Gordon said. “Both those guys are big guys, but they can play with the puck, too.”

Representative of the Islanders need for physicality around the net and toughness in the crease, was their paltry output—only one goal--against Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters in his NHL debut Saturday.

"We didn't have much traffic in front of him," Moulson said. "He saw almost every shot. Knowing him he's going to make those saves, especially if he sees every shot."

Martin, a fifth-round pick in 2008, has 9 goals and 9 assists in 53 games for the Sound Tigers this season.

Gordon said when he watched him in Bridgeport recently he was struck by Martin’s improved skating.

“[The Bridgeport staff] did a real good job at getting him to play out of his comfort zone. He’s skating lower to the ice, generating more power, and getting to places quicker than in training camp. “

Joensuu, who had one goal in seven games this season for the Islanders, will get a second chance this season to prove himself an everyday NHL'er. The 6-4 207-pound Finn has 11 goals and 22 assists in 46 games for Bridgeport this season.

After a disappointing training camp this summer, the Islanders saw Joensuu experience success by simplifying his game.

“Oh yeah,” Gordon said. “Those games he played with us there was a noticeable difference.”

When asked if an infusion of young guys could provide the team with a spark, or at least a reality check, Gordon said he hopes his players are more motivated than to need such a thing.

“If you need an outside source to jumpstart you, you may find yourself having a jumpstart from the stands rather than on the ice,” he said.

That said, the Islanders meager offense needs to be better.

“No one is playing poorly,” Gordon said. “But we need better than good. We need everyone’s best games.”

***

To accommodate both Martin and Joensuu, the Islanders will put Josh Bailey (upper-body) on injured reserve, retroactive to Sunday January 31, when he suffered the injury against Florida.

***

Doug Weight, Trent Hunter and Mark Streit all did off-ice conditioning while the rest of the team participated in a practice open to the public Sunday.

***

Super Bowl Sunday

Kyle Okposo predicts Colts by 4; Blake Comeau, Jack Hillen and myself are all going with the feel-good team in the Saints.

Scott Gordon (whose Patriots are not in the Super Bowl) said he won't even watch. He's going to go to a movie instead...in fact, he said may even be up for a double-header. That's a football purist if I've ever heard one.

Isles drop seventh straight with 3-1 loss to Canes

Saturday February 6, 2010 10:19 PM By Katie Strang

For a goal-starved team waiting to feast, Hurricanes' rookie goaltender Justin Peters must have been a tantalizing sight.

But the Islanders anemic offense could not spoil Peters’ 34-save NHL debut, as the team dropped a season-worst seven straight games with a 3-1 loss to Carolina and sunk even lower in the Eastern Conference standings.

The team’s punchless power-play also came up short for the fifth straight game (0-for-19 during that span) after five failed attempts last night.

How bad does the team need a win right now?

“About as bad as you could possibly need a win,” said goaltender Rick DiPietro, who made 22 saves last night. “We need a spark, something to turn it around.”

As was revealed in a first-intermission television interview, team owner Charles Wang seems to have as little luck duking it out against Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray as the Islanders had facing Peters last night.

Wang lamented the stalemate of the Lighthouse Project and said he has had no communication with the Town of Hempstead since September.

“Our hope and our love is Nassau County and Long Island. We want to be here, but in order to do something, you have to communicate,” Wang said to on-air personality Howie Rose.

As Wang struggled to paint a rosy picture of the team's future, his team had floundered on the ice.

Lurking in the crease, Jussi Jokinen scored his 20th goal of the season by tipping in a puck that bounced first off Andy Sutton’s skate then DiPietro’s stick at 14:32 of the first period.

The Islanders appeared to strike back with their own greasy goal early in the second period, when John Tavares made a nifty no-look feed from the end boards that Matt Moulson jammed through at 1:42.

The elation subsided quickly however, once the goal was waved off and the play was ruled dead before the puck crossed the goal line.

“We shouldn’t have to play a perfect game to win, but that’s the way it feels right now,” coach Scott Gordon said.

The Islanders tied the game later in the second period, on a shorthanded goal no less.

Blake Comeau’s aggressive forechecking and puck pursuit allowed him to snatch the puck from Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen along the boards and dish to the slot, where Frans Nielsen’s surgical strike served as the equalizer at 9:25.

After DiPietro stopped Brandon Sutter’s wraparound attempt, Patrick Dwyer took a successful hack and scored the go-ahead goal at 15:36.

With a minute to play and DiPietro heading toward the bench, the Islanders turned the puck over and DiPietro couldn’t scramble back fast enough to prevent Pitkanen from tallying on an empty net for a late-game insurance goal.

Indicative of the team’s snowballing scoring troubles, touted rookie John Tavares has now gone ten straight games without a goal.

Although Tavares sizzled throughout the first half of the season, the 2009 No. 1 overall pick has only six points—two goals and four assists—in the past 26 games. Tavares had 15 goals in the first 31 games and was on pace for a 32-goal, 54-point season at the midway point of the season, just as his production began to cool.

“We needed more life, more urgency,” Tavares said of last night's performance.

With four game remaining before the Olympic break, the wins now become even more important for a team on the outskirts of contention.

“It’s huge,” Moulson said. “This could basically determine the season these next couple of games.” 

Jack Hillen/Tim Jackman update; Isles scoring woes; Brendan Witt and Martin Biron play for B'port

Saturday February 6, 2010 12:30 PM By Katie Strang

Kudos to Jack Hillen's oral surgeon. The 24 year-old defenseman, who was hit by the face by an Alex Ovechkin-slapshot against Washington January 26, looks fantastic for suffering such a grisly injury.

"I feel great," Hillen said at Nassau Coliseum this morning. "I'm hoping to get back on the ice in a few days."

Following the game, Hillen underwent surgery and had two plates and 9-12 screws inserted to repair a broken jaw and damaged teeth.

Granted Hillen won't be able to absorb any contact for quite awhile and will have to practice with a specially-made new mask contraption, but all things considered, Hillen was pretty fortunate to rebound so quickly.

"I was lucky," he said.

"He looks pretty good for getting hit by a puck in the [face]," teammate Freddy Meyer said before cracking a playful jab at his friend. "He may even look better."

***

Tim Jackman skated before the rest of the team today; he has been skating on his own for a few days.

***

Same lines from practice today, with the exception of no Doug Weight.

***

This is no state secret, but the Islanders REALLY need to win tonight. John Tavares called it "probably the biggest game of the year."

The Islanders have lost six straight, including all four of their most recent road trip, making it only more imperative that they make a good push before the Olympic break.

"The biggest thing is we haven't been able to score," said Scott Gordon (who celebrates his forty-somethingth birthday today ;) )

Said Jon Sim:

"We need to win. Bad. We don't have our mojo right now, but it's there. We've just got to find Dr. Evil and get it back."

Rick DiPietro, who will get the start in goal tonight .said it's tough to duplicate an all-around dominant game like the Islanders had against Detroit, but the Isles just need to tighten the small gaps and holes in their game,

"Sometimes you just go through droughts," DiPietro said. "We've just got to be scrappy and get pucks to the net."

***

Scott Gordon used the game against Tampa Bay as a prime example of the Islanders problems right now. Gordon feels like the whole team is going cold, and when your most skilled guys are young, it can exacerbate the issue.

"You look at Tampa Bay, those guys [Lecavalier, St. Louis], every move they make is strong, they do everything hard, and that's from experience," Gordon said.

John Tavares' scoring struggles have kind of mirrored the production perils of the whole team. Thursday, Tavares was held scoreless for the ninth straight game.

"There's nothing you can really do, he's 19 years old, this shouldn't be surprising. You look at Steven Stamkos and he had his share of struggles this year. I think there's a false sense that we are further than where we are with our young guys....that's not really fair because they don't have the same age and experience as other guys."

"It's new, being in something like this, but I'm trying to stay as positive as I can," Tavares said. "We've got a big game tonight, probably the biggest game of the year. We've got to get some confidence back in a big home stretch before the Olympic break. There's lots of time for me to get going again along with everyone else."

***

Martin Biron made 39 saves in Bridgeport's 3-2 overtime loss last night; Brendan Witt played in his first AHL game since April 1997 

Brendan Witt and Marty Biron to play for Bridgeport tonight

Friday February 5, 2010 5:55 PM By Katie Strang

 Both defenseman Brendan Witt and goaltender Marty Biron will play for Bridgeport tonight while the team is in Springfield.

Witt, who the Islanders placed on waivers Wednesday, has played only 30 games in the AHL before tonight.

Biron will start tonight and tomorrow for a tune-up then will rejoin the team on Long Island on Sunday.

Isles drops sixth straight in 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay

Thursday February 4, 2010 11:16 PM By Katie Strang

All John Tavares had to do was glance across the ice to the other No. 91 to see what one more year of experience can yield.

Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008, finished with two goals and an assist for the Lightning in the Islanders’ 4-2 loss at St. Pete Times Forum last night.

Unlike the sobering six-game winless streak to begin the season, the Islanders haven’t even earned a point in their latest skid.

The Islanders have dropped six straight and seven of their last eight to fall even further behind in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

Tavares, who was held without a goal for his ninth straight game, now has only six points ( 2 goals, 4 assists) in his last 25 games.

However, his production perils only serve as a microcosm for the whole team’s recent scoring struggles.

The Islanders have not scored more than two goals since January 19, a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.

“We’ve got to score some goals, plain and simple,” alternate captain Kyle Okposo said. “They’re not going in right now and that’s what happens sometimes during a drought.

Despite superior 5-on-5 play and a wealth of scoring chances, the Islanders simply could not find the back of the net.

Nothing was more indicate of that than the second period when the Islanders aggressive forechecking allowed them three line changes and seven uncontested shots in Tampa Bay’s zone.

“It has snowballed. We’ve lost six games,” coach Scott Gordon said after the game. “Very rarely do you have your whole team go cold, and that’s where we’re at right not.”

The Islanders offensive woes have carried over to the power play, where they are 0-for-14 in the previous four games.

After four unsuccessful power-play opportunities last night, the Islanders are now 1-for-16 with the man-advantage against Tampa Bay.

Meanwhile, the Lightning scored on their first power play opportunity of the game, on Stamkos’s one-timer from the left circle at 14:15.

In his sophomore year, Stamkos leads the league in power play points (27) and goals (13).

The Islanders rallied back quickly to tie the game 1-1 however, as Matt Moulson earned his 21st goal of the season at 15:26 with a shot that deflected in off Lightning defenseman Andrej Meszaros’ skate.

The teams traded quick strikes again in the second period.

Jon Sim buried Doug Weight’s feed from behind the goal line that deflected off Antero Niittymaki’s stick at 9:12 and 25 seconds later Martin St. Louis snuck in a short-side goal in the narrowest of crevices provided by Dwayne Roloson.

Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier delivered the go-ahead goal on an odd-man 2-on-0 rush at 10:13 to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead.

“We worked hard, had a lot of good chances, but we just couldn’t put them in,” Tavares said.

Scoring his 31st of the season, Stamkos notched his second goal of the night with a blistering slapshot for a 4-2 Lightning lead at 11:49 in the third and Alex Tanguay scored the empty netter with 37.3 left in regulation.

“We’ve got to push it during these games before the break,” defenseman Andy Sutton said. “We’ve got to amass some points, because we’ve got some ground to make up.”
 

Live chat with Katie Strang

Thursday February 4, 2010 3:12 PM By Mike Rose

Katie Strang talks Islanders and takes your questions today in a live chat at 4 p.m.