The news NY Islanders defenseman Mark Streit was possibly done for the season with a serious shoulder injury was barely fresh on the newswire when the speculation started linking the Islanders to Sheldon Souray.

Some bloggers and fans immediately leapt to the conclusion Souray was the only option available for the Isles now that Streit, their top defenseman and among their team leaders, was gone.

Losing Streit is a devastating blow for the Islanders, and there’s no way they’ll be able to adequately replace him.

Management may consider looking outside the organization, perhaps via trade or free agency, for another experienced defenseman with a decent offensive touch, but don’t expect them to take on Souray.

We can debate the pros and cons of a Souray-to-Islanders deal but the big show-stopper is the salary. Souray will earn a cap hit of $5.4million per season for the next two years, far too rich for Isles ownership to accept.

If Islanders GM Garth Snow decides to look toward a trade or free agency there are likely other less expensive options to be had.

The New Jersey Devils are desperate to dump salary so perhaps a deal could be had there.  It’s rumored Bryce Salvadore might be available and while he’s not an offensive blueliner he would bring grit and defensive experience to the Isles, plus his $2.9 million per season salary would be considerably cheaper than Souray.

If a trade can’t be had there remains Marc-Andre Bergeron in the free agent market. Granted, Bergeron’s play at even strength can at times be an adventure and he’s lousy in short-handed situations.

He does however possess a cannon for a shot, netting 34 points in 60 games last season with the Montreal Canadiens, and he could probably be had for a bargain basement price.

Again, replacing what Streit brings to the Islanders is a nearly impossible task but if Snow decides to look for experience there’s better options out there than Sheldon Souray.

Lyle Richardson

SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

It was nice to see them play a full team game even though they played short a couple of guys as Gaborik tried but couldn’t go after about 4 minutes of ice time in the first as well as Del Zotto, who was cut early in the game by an accidental skate into his side. This also was their first win over the Pens in their last 8 tries and was their first win in Pittsburgh since 2007, so this turned out to be a huge 2 points for them. Even though I don’t see them going anywhere, they remain in the hunt for the last few playoff spots.

Well, the final game before break is on Sunday vs. Tampa and then it’s 2 weeks off while Olympic Hockey is being played. I plan on doing a summary of the pre break highlights and lowlights as well as preview their final 20 games afterwards so stay tuned.

Until next time,
Howie

Looking at this game tonight, the top performers for this game were:  Callahan, who had a pair of goals including a PPG, the first in 6 games as well as 2 assists; Dubinsky, who had a pair of goals including a SHG; Gaborik with a goal and 2 assists; Drury, who had a goal and 2 assists; Prospal who had a pair of assists, and Lundqvist; who once again was solid in net when he had to be as the Rangers D limited the number of chances to score the rest of the evening after allowing 2 in the first.

Callahan’s goal broke a 147 plus minute goalless drought and the floodgates just seemed to open with goal after goal coming.  It then became a boxing match with a few fights with Redden and Avery being some of the featured pugilists.  Hey even Drury scored tonight and he played solidly for a change and acted like the Captain that he is out on the ice.  It was nice to see the Garden rocking and really loud for a change as it has not been pretty in the building lately.

Going forward this month, they will face Tampa on Tuesday at MSG and then they are off to Philly on Thursday to take on the Flyers at the Wachovia Center.  I will be in the building on Tuesday evening for the Tampa game.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight folks.

Until next time,

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

What I’m seeing over the streak is that this team looks like they are starting to build off of these wins and are beginning to make the climb up the standings as they have gone back over the .500 mark also after tonight.  The team played like they were one in these last 3 and I’m wondering if they possibly have turned a corner, but I guess I will just have to wait and see if this can carry over to the games at home, where they have not played quite as well and are currently 2 games under .500 there.  What they need to do is to make the Garden a place where opponents fear coming into going forward and it’s my belief that doing this can possibly help them in making the playoffs.

Anyway, their next game is at MSG on Wednesday evening where they will face the Panthers in the first game of another 3 game home stand where they will also see the Isles on the 26^th and the reeling Flyers on the 30th before they head back out on the road on New Year’s Eve to face the Hurricanes after which they come home for another 3 game home stand to begin the 2010 portion of the schedule in which they have 17 games in January due to the Olympics.

Well folks, that’s it till next Wednesday.

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

What I’m hoping is that maybe this team can build off of these 2 wins and continue to climb up the standings and that they play as a team like they have in these last couple after the disaster at MSG on Wednesday evening.  The team most certainly looked like they actually cared about winning in these last 2 and if they can carry that attitude over from game to game, they might actually still have some hope yet this year.  Other than that, there’s nothing else to talk about today related to today’s game.

Their next game is in Carolina on Monday evening where they will face the worst team in the league followed by another 3 game home stand.  As I have said before, I still want to reinforce that these games are important and the continued need to pick up some points is vital if they want to remain in the playoff race.

Well folks, that’s it till next time.

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

One huge thing that Tortorella did was to sit a couple of veterans who were not playing well after last night’s game and they were Redden and Kotalik.  Hopefully watching the game from the press box sent a message that the coach is no longer tolerating lousy play from any of his players.

Lundqvist played extremely well as he made some great saves tonight and was the best player on the team in last night’s debacle at MSG.  The bright spots tonight were that the power play scored three times with Gaborik on a 5 on 3 and Callahan tallying twice, there was a Drury sighting as he scored his first goal in what seemed like ages (20 games) and Anisimov tallied on a beautiful move.  One huge moment came in the 3^rd when they were short handed for 4 minutes and played well not allowing the Isles anything.

What I hope is that maybe this team can build off of this win and maybe start a vertical climb up the standings and that they can finally put the puck in the net on a more regular basis.  I’m still not letting Sather off the hook though; he still is responsible for the team that is on the ice that for the most part has been awful a lot of nights with Wednesday’s game being true rock bottom. 

I know I’m going back and forth between games, but I had to get the point across that after the disaster against the Isles on Wednesday at MSG, I wanted to talk about the effects of what a team meeting and being lambasted by the coach can do for a team.

Their next game is Saturday afternoon in Philly where they will face a reeling Flyer team and then they are off to Carolina on Monday evening where they will face the worst team in the league.  Once again, I just want to reinforce that these games are vital and they need to pick up some points soon before the playoff train leaves them in the dust.

Well folks, that’s it till next time.

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

I want to give full marks to Lundqvist, who played well again last night and kept the Atlanta from getting a go ahead goal in the 3^rd when they were on a 3 on 5 shorthanded situation with some great saves.  Higgins also had a great game, but just can’t seem to finish the opportunities as the majority of the team has the exact same problem.  The need secondary scoring and continue to get none and it’s a huge concern now.  Another issue is that even though they scored 2 on the PP last night, they pass the puck way to much, flashing me back to last season’s inept PP.

As I’ve said before, its time that Captain Invisible (Drury) (2 goals, 7 assists) gets this team to step up already, they do have talent but the chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there and it’s a head-scratcher at this point.  Maybe it’s because our schmuck of a GM Sather put a lousy team together and this is what we are stuck with thanks to the awful, overpriced contracts of Drury, Redden and Rozsival, who are totally untradeable at this point.

This was their 6^th loss in their last 7 games and 4^th straight at MSG and the fans are getting restless with the team.  Again, the only thing that helps them is that nobody has pulled away in the conference yet as it’s a tightly packed bunch from 5^th place on down to 14^th.  There still is time, but it’s starting to run out on them as lost points cannot be regained and the worst of it is that they continue to lose at home where they should make it a house of horrors for the opposition.

Their next game is day at home vs. the Islanders on Wednesday in the first half of a home and home set.  This set will end on Thursday at the Coliseum (Mausoleum).  I’m hopeful that facing the Isles is maybe what this team needs to turn things around; it always seems to bring out better play so let’s hope for the best.

Until the next game,

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

One of the bright spots was Callahan who scored the lone goal tonight and Bobby Sanguinetti made his NHL debut as a replacement for the injured Redden who is going to miss 5-7 days with a shoulder injury.  It was a truly embarrassing performance and there was no life in the team which is a scary thing to see.  The bottom line tonight was that the whole team sucked from top to bottom and there’s really not much more to say other than that they need to pick it up tomorrow in Pittsburgh or the same result is going to happen.

Briefly on my soapbox, I want to mention that I’m still miffed by the league’s inaction when it comes to helping get the DirecTV/Versus (Comcast) dispute resolved.  All the league keeps saying is that they want the subscribers to continue to call and we have done so and nothing that we have told them is taken seriously.  The bottom line is that the league made a mistake with its US TV contract.  They should have stuck with ESPN instead of going for the small $$$ offered by Versus.  It is now going on 3 months since DirecTV subscribers have been blacked out from this channel due to a few pennies.  We’ve been told that the cost to bring it back would jack up our rates a bunch, what from the $100+ per month that it costs already, give me a break DirecTV and Comcast, cut the crap already and settle this dispute before the playoffs or viewership could fall off even more.  I would want to continue, but I don’t want to take up too much of this blog entry related to this issue.

Anyway, their next game is on tomorrow night at the Igloo where they will face “Crybaby” Crosby and Malkin in the final game of their trip.  They then return home for a rematch with the Pens on Monday at the Garden, a game which I will be attending.  I do hope to see a better performance there than I witnessed on TV tonight.

Well folks, that’s it till next time.

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

 Lundqvist was his usual great self as he was solid throughout the game and shootout and P.A. Parenteau, who got his 2^nd Shootout winner for them.  Captain Chris Drury made his return and didn’t miss a beat from the games which he had missed from a concussion that he suffered from a hit by Curtis Glencross.  It was truly nice to see a team effort this evening and hey, maybe this is the start of a nice streak of wins for them.  These 2 wins have pushed them up to 6^th from 10^th place on Monday and not that it’s a big thing now, these points are really important to rack up, especially the intraconference ones as those become 4 point games which can affect their standing in the conference.

It looks like they might have to call up a D-man from Hartford if Redden is hurt badly as he left the game about 5 minutes in.  It’s a shame since he had been playing well going into the game tonight and actually was one of their best D-men.  I guess we will wait and see what happens with him.

On another note, it has become a trend in the league with the head shots and I personally would love to see the instigator rule go away as its being in the rules has prevented the players themselves from taking care of business.  If the rule was gone, you would see less of these kinds of cheap plays from certain players and they would have to deal with the other team’s enforcer usually with an ensuing fight.  It’s a shame that the league has become so soft that they allow this to happen and have selective punishment based on the players reputation is a joke.  A suspension is a suspension and should be in black and white, not a gray area which has become a huge issue.

Well enough of being on my soapbox as I’m just beside myself with the league and their policies.

Anyway, their next game is on Friday night in Tampa Bay where they will face LeCavalier and St.Louis as they take tomorrow off for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hey even they deserve a holiday to be with family if they can be.

Well folks, that’s it till next time.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your NYR blogger,

If I had to boil down the Senators over the past two years to one tweet, it would be this: Senators…Epic Fail.

They had a monumental collapse two seasons ago and were swept from the playoffs by the Penguins. Then they had the audacity to miss the playoffs for the first time after being part of the dance the previous 11 years.

The Senators traditionally had a strong defensive corps. But everything went south after GM John Muckler made the asinine decision to re-sign Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara. At least Redden is earning the worst sports salary somewhere other than Ottawa.

The Senators biggest issue was their transition game. When their defensemen took possession, they had difficulty getting the puck to the forwards. Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov remain a great shutdown pairing, but both lack mobility and are prone to puck-moving gaffes. It may be time to split them up, but that doesn’t appear to be the case to start the season.

Ottawa’s final cuts revealed a surprise with the demotion of Brian Lee. Some have suggested it was a salary-related move, but he’s on a rookie contract…which is telling…and disconcerting. Lee was taken with the ninth overall selection in the 2005 draft, three spots ahead of Marc Staal. Word came out recently that Bryan Murray, then the Senators coach, pleaded with Muckler to draft Staal. Again, nice move Muckler.

The Senators kept blue-chip prospect Erik Karlsson, who looks like he’s going to be the next Sergei Gonchar. This kid is a gamer. He’ll keep you on your toes with his creative plays in the offensive zone and his chicken-with-his-head-cut-off approach in the defensive zone. Filip Kuba is a reliable defender. Reliable is about as exciting a term as we can use for Kuba. He can make the simple pass, has decent vision, can skate well and has a hard shot from the point. All good traits, yes, but he doesn’t do anything spectacularly well. Plus, he’s 6’5″ with the demeanor of Snuffleupagus. Too bad he didn’t have the determination of T-1000 Mike Fisher, then he’d be a smaller version of Chara.

Chris Campoli looks like a slightly better version of Karlsson…for now and he’ll keep the power-play quarterback seat warm until Karlsson takes over full-time at some point this season. Then there’s Alexandre Picard. He also falls into the puck-moving category, which is a good thing for Ottawa, but like many of the other blueliners, he doesn’t throw his weight around enough. Matt Carkner is the requisite seventh defender that can hit and fight, which means he’ll dress against the Leafs and Flyers, but sit against the Mighty Mice of Montreal.

Here’s how the blueline looks:

Phillips – Volchenkov

Kuba – Karlsson

Campoli – Picard

Carkner

So, to sum up, much more puck-moving defensemen this year, which will lead to increased offense on the whole. But the only one that will hit anything is Volchenkov. But they’re better off than last year.