Tuesday Morning Islanders Thoughts

First, I must take the time to apologize for my brief absence from Hockey Independent. There was a death in the family, followed by an eight-day bout with the swine flu, all while soccer season here at my college in Connecticut was underway. This past Sunday, our season came to an end in the New England semi-finals, so now I can turn my focus towards schoolwork and my work here on Hockey Independent.

Since I have been gone, plenty has occurred, and my fellow bloggers have done an excellent job at providing coverage. Today’s blog delves into many different realms, looking specifically at the Islanders solid play as of late, Jeff Tambellini’s partial renaissance, and the success of Matt Moulson.

Islanders Overall Play:

There are few things as impossible to understand as streaks in professional sports. Things can be going great for a few games, and the next thing you know, you are losers of 10 out of 11 and you are dropping quickly from the playoff picture. In the case of the New York Islanders, the opposite is occurring. After starting the season with a 1-4-5 record, the Islanders have rolled off four straight wins. What makes these wins impressive are the teams that they have come against: Rangers, Sabres, Capitals, and Oilers. All of those teams, with the exception of the Oilers, hold winning records and have been playing excellent hockey early on this season.

So what is the reason for the sudden turnaround? I’d attribute it to several things:

First, the stellar play of both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Although they cannot be blamed for the rough start to the season, Roloson and Biron have truly picked up their play over the last five games and have dominated games for the Islanders from time to time. Against the New York Rangers, Roloson stood on his head in many situations and allowed the Islanders to maintain that 3-1 lead. Against the Sabres, Martin Biron was as solid as you could ask for, and he made sure that an Islanders early lead and dominant play was not wasted. If Biron can keep up this type of play, the Islanders can look for a first-rounder come December when he is on the block!

Second, the secondary scoring factor. Through the first ten games (1-4-5), the Islanders were relying heavily on the top line of Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo, and John Tavares to provide the scoring, not only during 5 on 5 play, but also while on the power play. Opponents were able to find success against the Islanders by simply focusing all their efforts on shutting down the top line because they knew they would not need to worry about the other forward lines. Over the last four games, that has not been the case. With contributions from Jeff Tambellini, Richard Park, and even Brendan Witt (yes, you can laugh…even Brendan was laughing last night after scoring his second goal), the Islanders are finally starting to get some offense from areas other than the first line. If the rest of the Islanders line-up can continue to provide offense, the Islanders may be a deeper team than many assume.

Lastly, the return of Doug Weight has been a nice boost for the team. Regardless of the fact that he is one of the oldest players on the ice, and he isn’t as good as he used to be, Doug Weight still provides a tremendous amount of skill and presence on the ice that is immeasurable. When he is playing at the top of his game, it causes others to play at the top of theirs as well. Now that he is the captain of the Islanders, he is beginning to instill his work ethic within others, and that has shown over the last five games. When the captain is in the lineup, you can sure bet that the Islanders will be working their tails off.

Oh yeah, and it doesn’t hurt that Mark Streit is beginning to return to the form that he maintained all of last year. Is there anyone who would even argue that he is a top-10 defenseman in the league?

Jeff Tambellini:

I already covered this partially, but it is extremely hard to not get excited over the play of Jeff Tambellini lately.

Two years ago I wrote an article that asked the question of whether or not the Islanders were going to give him a chance, or whether they felt that was the end of the line for him. Two years later, Tambellini is in the second year of a two-year, one-way contract that has been quite the failure up until five games ago. After playing in the home-opener, Jeff Tambellini became a healthy scratch and many people felt that it may be the end for him with the acquisition of Rob Schremp from Edmonton. After an unfortunate injury to Trent Hunter (pectoral), and after Gordon felt that Schremp could use some more time to adjust to the system, Tambellini jumped in and has not looked back since.

In the past five games, Jeff Tambellini has contributed 5 goals, 1 assist, and a +4 plus/minus rating to secure his place in the lineup. While you could look at these numbers and say he just hit a small hot streak, I would beg to differ. The attitude and confidence surrounding Tambellini is different this time around, and that is showing with his play on the ice. Normally labeled as a perimeter player, Tambellini has had no problem as of late going to the net, scoring the dirty goals, and working in all facets of the game to prove his worth on the squad. Furthermore, he is finally getting to open ice and unleashing his shot that is easily one of the best on the Islanders.

After an apparently productive offseason in Vancouver in which Tambellini altered his normal offseason program (Katie Strang first reported this several days ago), Tambellini has that extra jump in his step, and is playing up to his potential….finally! Let us just hope he can keep this up for the remainder of the season.

Matt Moulson:

One of the first articles I wrote for Hockey Independent, “A New Face at Camp: Matt Moulson,” took at look at the Islanders free-agent signing, and my personal prediction that he would make the team. I love being able to say I was right. A Los Angeles castaway who could simply not crack the line-up, Moulson is now proving he can play in the NHL. After 14 games with the Islanders thus far, Moulson has contributed 6 goals, 5 assists, for 11 points and a +2 plus/minus rating. For a player who could not crack the NHL line-up last season, these are great numbers.

Furthermore, these numbers, in my opinion, are not a fluke. If you watch Moulson’s play, you can tell he belongs at the NHL level, and he has the physical presence and skill to remain at the NHL level. Moulson does not mind going to the net, nor does he mind standing in front of the net and burying the dirty goals that many players shy away from. On the boards, Moulson fights for each and every puck, and has been very successful at coming away from it this season. Furthermore, his vision has been a pleasant surprise, and he seems to constantly know where John Tavares and Kyle Okposo are; definitely a major reason for their overall success. If Moulson can continue this success, it would not be unreasonable to think a 25 goal, 25 assist season is in reach.

Maybe it’s the Islanders chance to catch another team’s castaway and turn him into a legit top-six forward.

Do you think he can hit those numbers?

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to send me an email at IslesNet@Gmail.Com or leave them below in the comments section. Be sure to check back soon, as I will be able to blog much more often now. Also, be sure to add me on twitter, as I post updates throughout the day on there. My link can be found on the ‘Writers Page’ at the top of the screen. Enjoy your hockey tonight!

-Justin