Isles' Niederreiter focuses on improving
Nino Niederreiter skates in pre-game warmups before the team's annual Blue and White scrimmage and skills competition at Nassau Coliseum. (July 16, 2011) Credit: James Escher
DALLAS -- In the visitors locker room after the Islanders' 5-4 shootout loss to the Blackhawks on Friday, Nino Niederreiter could have talked first about his crucial goal, the tying score with 11:05 left in the third.
It was the 19-year-old rookie's first goal of the season, a pinpoint wrist shot that beat Corey Crawford to the stick side. It's the sort of goal the Islanders envision Niederreiter scoring many of in the future.
But the young winger talked instead of his "not so good" night: on for two more goals against, a stick length away from breaking up one or both scoring plays, and then a failed shootout attempt that led to the Islanders grabbing only one point.
"Overall, it was a tough game," said Niederreiter, who has been on the ice for three of the five goals scored against the Islanders in the two games he's played this week after sitting out the previous four games as a healthy scratch. "It definitely feels good to get a goal, but if you see the whole game, I messed up a couple times."
Confidence is a huge part of any young player's development, but so is understanding what went wrong and then correcting those mistakes. Niederreiter was set to play his sixth game of the season Saturday here against the Stars, leaving him three shy of the maximum number of games he's permitted to play under the CBA if general manager Garth Snow were thinking about sending Niederreiter back to his junior team, Portland of the Western League.
Snow has said that is not in the plans. So Niederreiter will have to play through his mistakes and try to capitalize on his chances, as he did in the third period Friday.
He had help, for sure -- Matt Martin sprung Niederreiter over the Blackhawks blue line just as All-Star defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook collided with one another -- but Niederreiter's shot was perfect, and perfectly timed to tie the game just 3:47 after Chicago grabbed a 4-3 lead.
"That's something I practice, the far blocker [side] shot," he said. "It's a tough spot for the goaltender to stop. I was definitely happy about that."
He was less pleased with the Hawks goals he was on the ice for. In Buffalo on Tuesday, in his first game back after the four-game benching, Niederreiter didn't keep his feet moving on a back check and let Jochen Hecht swoop in for the tying goal in the third.
On Friday in Chicago, Niederreiter got caught in deep on a forecheck and couldn't get back to prevent Sean O'Donnell's pass to Andrew Brunette for the Hawks' opening score. And in the second, Niederreiter was in good position in his own zone, but both his defensemen left Ben Smith alone in front and Niederreiter couldn't get to Smith before he chipped the puck in.
"It's still a learning process away from the puck for him," Jack Capuano said. "He showed when he gets an opportunity, he can put the puck in the net."
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