Biron in goal tonight

Friday November 6, 2009 12:58 PM By Katie Strang

 Martin Biron will start in goal tonight as Gordon has once again flipped the rotation. Gordon said he looked at the upcoming schedule and said he liked how Dwayne Roloson matched up against Atlanta, who the Isles play at home tomorrow.

So, it looks like the exact same lineup as Wednesday against Buffalo.

Here is what Gordon said about former goaltender Yann Danis, who helped fill the gap last year when both Rick DiPietro and Joey MacDonald went down with injury and will get his second start of the season for the Devils tonight.

"Really his season came together after the West Coast trip in January. When we got back he had an opportunity to go in after Joey got hurt. From that point he really took the ball and ran with it," Gordon said.

"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a guy who played better during his stretch where he was on top of his game from a goals-against and save percentage standpoint. For me, he really cleaned up a lot of the little things that were missing in his game, and he worked at it. That's all you can ask for your players--to work hard and get better--and he did that."

Danis says tonight's game will be "special"

Friday November 6, 2009 11:28 AM By Katie Strang

 Making his second start of the season Danis said it will be a little odd playing against his former teammates, but definitely "something special."

Danis, who was 10-17-3 in 29 games started last year, said he's grateful for the opportunity he was given with the Islanders.

"It was a lot of good things," Danis said. " They gave me a chance to play. I'm probably here right now because of that."

"I had a lot of fun, it's a great group of guys over there and I have a lot of respect for them. But, I've moved on. I'm here now and I'm trying to get the win tonight."

Danis is coming off his first start of the season, a 2-1 win over Boston October 29 in which he made 31 saves.

"I gained a lot of confidence in my last game," Danis said. "I definitely feel ready for tonight."

***

Patrik Elias is back in the lineup tonight for the first time since missing 13 games after undergoing groin surgery in September.

While coach Jacques Lemaire said he "definitely" would rather ease Elias in at wing, he doesn't have much choice but to play him at center in place of the injured Rob Niedermayer. Lemaire he expects to play Elias between 17-19 minutes toight.

Any time a player is out of the lineup for a significant chunk of time there are some nerves, Elias said, and that's what he'll have to deal with tonight.

"It'll be  exciting. I'll be a little nervous," Elias said. "I'll just try to calm myself down and play a good hockey game."

Yann Danis in goal against former team

Friday November 6, 2009 10:35 AM By Katie Strang

 Here at the Prudential Center for the Devils morning skate (Isles take the ice at 11:30)

Former Islanders goaltender Yann Danis will get his second start of the season tonight against his former team, so I'll check in with him soon to see if that adds a little extra emotion to the experience.

Patrik Elias, who missed the first 13 games of the season since undergoing groin surgery in September, might play tonight. If he rejoins the Devils lineup, he'll likely take the place of Rob Niedermayer, who suffered an upper body injury in Wednesday night's win over the Capitals.

I'll check back in as soon as I know.

Worst loss ever

Tuesday April 7, 2009 9:15 PM By Greg Logan

As bad as the Islanders' 9-0 drubbing by Carolina looked last night at the RBC Center, it sounds even worse when you put it in context as the "worst loss ever" in the history of the franchise. There's no denying the numbers. The Islanders had lost by eight goals five previous times but never this badly even in their expansion year of 1972-73 when they suffered two of the aforementioned eight-goal losses and three seven-goal losses.

On the other hand, I don't consider last night's loss the worst of this season. That dishonor is reserved for the 9-2 pounding they absorbed on Dec. 11 in Pittsburgh, which conveniently is the site of the Isles' final road game Thursday night. That loss to the Penguins exposed the defensive problems they were having at the time as much as any game they played.

A month later, first-year coach Scott Gordon made the necessary adjustments to his system to tighten up the defense and give his team a chance, and that coincided with the beginning of a hot streak in goal by Yann Danis. Over the past 34 games, the Islanders have been a respectable 14-15-5.

There's no excuse for the subpar effort the Isles gave against the Hurricanes -- not even the 11 penalties against them. Those obviously contributed to the 57-12 difference in shots on goal, but they don't entirely explain why the Isles were unable to generate more than six shots on goal over the final 45 minutes of the game when they were outshot, 52-6. That's pathetic.

Yet, I can't help but view this loss as the culmination of all the injuries and adversity this team has faced, including the loss in the first period of forward Blake Comeau with a broken wrist. That and some very poor goaltending by Danis and Joey MacDonald, who allowed the final six goals after Danis gave up two easy ones in the first period. When the other team scores as easily as the Canes did, it just sucks the life out of a team.

Danis admitted he barely saw the first goal at the last second after Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the high slot had ticked off teammate Dwight Helminen to go in. The second goal by Eric Staal past defenseman Mark Streit from left of the crease and the third with 38 seconds left in the first period by Scott Walker on a rebound that came off the back wall made it clear Danis was not into the game mentally.

"I don't have any explanation," Danis said. "The second one, I wasn't expecting the shot. He made a move and kind of cut in and shot it. He beat me five-hole. It shouldn't happen. The third one, I was surprised by that bounce off the boards, but I was slow coming back.

"You think about it tonight, but tomorrow is a new day. You can't focus on those games because you've got to try to keep it positive."

That's the best thing the Islanders can do. Their effort in Carolina hardly was typical of the effort they've given over the second half of the season night in and night out. The defense has been much better over the second half.

If there is a concern, it's that Danis and MacDonald have not been at their best with the backup job for next season on the line. If anyone is under pressure, it's those two, and while MacDonald shut out the Red Wings in Detroit and Danis won a 3-1 decision over Tampa Bay on Saturday, the Islanders have lost seven of their past nine while yielding at least five goals in six of those losses. They're playing behind a makeshift lineup, but it's still not a good sign for the future.

ISLANDERS INSIDER: Breaking news and my travel schedule this week have forced me to push Islanders Insider back to Friday, when it will appear online at Newsday Sports. With the final two home games coming up on Saturday and Sunday, it seemed like an appropriate time to examine the progress this season of several of the kids, focusing primarily on Josh Bailey, last year's first-round draft pick as the Islanders look ahead to the possibility of selecting No. 1 or No. 2 overall at the NHL draft on June 26-27 in Montreal.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: Just when it seemed Colorado was doomed to end its season with an avalanche of losses, the Avs not only scored a road win at Vancounver, but last night at San Jose, they picked up another point without scoring a goal in a 1-0 shootout loss to the NHL's best team. Amazing. That means the Islanders could win all three of their remaining games and still be no worse than second in the lottery because Colorado would have more wins. The 30th-place Isles with 61 points trail 29th-place Tampa Bay (66) by five points and 28th-place Colorado (67) by six points. So, it's down to the Islanders and Lightning for the the No. 1 spot in Tuesday's NHL draft lottery. Any combination of the Isles losing two points in their final three games or the Lightning winning two points in the standings in their last two games will assure the Islanders of the best odds in the lottery. Although there's still only a 48.2 percent chance of winning the lottery and the No. 1 overall pick, that's far better than finishing 29th and having only an 18.8 percent chance of winning the top pick. Also, the No. 1 spot in the lottery means that team can fall no lower than second if another team wins the lottery, so, the team picking second is assured of getting either John Tavares or Victor Hedman, the two franchise-type prospects...More good news for the Islanders: Pittsburgh clinched a playoff berth last night, which means the conditional fifth-round pick the Islanders received in the Bill Guerin trade just got upgraded to a fourth-round pick and has a chance to become a third if the Penguins win the first round and Guerin plays in 50 percent of the games.

Columbus claims 'Dubie'

Saturday January 17, 2009 7:50 AM By Greg Logan

Shortly after Wade Dubielewicz came off the ice at the Islanders' pre-game skate this morning at the Coliseum, he received a telephone call from general manager Garth Snow informing him that he had been claimed on waivers by Columbus.

"I thought he was joking at first, but he wasn't," Dubielewicz said. "He was disappointed, and I'm disappointed."

Dubielewicz quickly packed his gear and headed out to catch a flight to Vancouver to meet the Blue Jackets. He will be the backup to Steve Mason. If nothing else, Dubielewicz said, he will have a chance to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, which he said is a good opportunity professionally. But obviously, he was torn emotionally.

"I have mixed emotions a little bit," Dubielewicz admitted. "Once I signed with the Islanders, my heart was set on being here."

The Islanders now must recall Peter Mannino from Bridgeport to back up Yann Danis against the Devils tonight at the Coliseum.

Dubie agrees; DP likely done

Thursday January 15, 2009 7:32 AM By Greg Logan

The Islanders have reached an agreement with former goaltender Wade Dubielewicz on a contract for the rest of the season for the pro-rated portion of a $500,000 annual salary, according to an NHL source. The club has indicated plans to provide an update later today on the condition of starter Rick DiPietro, but the signing of Dubielewicz is a strong indicator that DiPietro might be done for the season because of continued swelling in his surgically repaired knee.

Dubielewicz, who has been living with his family at their Connecticut home since receiving a buyout from Ak Bars Kazan in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, is expected to practice with the Islanders tomorrow morning and likely be available for their game against the Devils Saturday night at the Coliseum.

Earlier today, coach Scott Gordon announced that goaltender Joey MacDonald, who suffered a strained groin five minutes into Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers, will be out for 2-4 weeks. Realistically, MacDonald's recovery is expected to be at the high end of that time frame. Yann Danis will make his third start this season for the Isles against Boston tonight at the Coliseum, and Peter Mannino has been called up from Bridgeport to serve as the backup.

At least, Gordon has some familiarity with Dubielewicz from his days in Bridgeport playing against Gordon's Providence team in the AHL. Asked for his assessment of the undersized Dubie, Gordon said, "He stops the puck. You luck at him, and you say to yourself, 'There's a lot of net there.' But I imagine he competes really hard. In the games I saw, they were always tough games, and he finds a way to play his angles well and compete. We didn't see him a whole lot, but that's what I saw when I did see him."

Dubielewicz came to training camp in poor shape last season and got off to a poor start, but after the Christmas break, he never allowed more than three goals in any of his 14 starts. He finished with a 9-9-1 record and a goals-against average of 2.70 and save percentage of .919, both team bests.

Check back here later today for more details of DiPietro's situation if and when they become available.