Reality bites

It's a good thing the holidays are upon us, because between decorating the house and going to parties and shopping and managing long lists for Santa, there's little time to spend fretting over the state of the Islanders.

Four losses in a row -- with a game Thursday night in Pittsburgh looming -- is bad enough, but the Isles have been mediocre to putrid for almost three weeks now, losing seven of their last 10.

Look closer and you notice that one of those wins was aided by an own goal, and another, the home victory over the Senators, did not feature the team's best effort and could have been a loss if not for the superhuman effort of Freddy Meyer.

So is the stark reality finally settling in? Are we in for a long winter's nap?

Tuesday's loss at Philly wasn't all bad. Andy Hilbert continues to play well, picking up his seventh goal of the season, this one on the power play. And Doug Weight moved closer to 1,000 points with his sixth goal of the year.

Leads, however, are as fragile for the Islanders as a daisy dipped in liquid nitrogen. Philly scored the next three goals to move ahead, but Blake Comeau scored early in the third -- his first of the season -- to make a game of it. That is, until Simon Gagne put the Flyers ahead for good six minutes later.

There's still reason to believe. Sillinger is back, DiPietro is at least skating again, and Okposo will return soon enough. The addition of Comeau is a welcome one, and hopefully he will find the mojo that he enjoyed for a time last season, while Jeff Tambellini goes through a "conditioning" stint in Bridgeport, where it looks like he belongs.

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As far Sean Avery's six-game suspension, I am amazed at some of the reactions from the media. Anyone who thinks that Avery got six games solely for his comments in Calgary isn't paying attention.

This was a warning shot across the bow for years of negative behavior. Mike Emrick delivered an audio commentary on the Avery escapade before the suspension was handed down, and in it he pointed out that, behind the scenes, people who have worked with Avery in the past say it again and again: he never learns. He has been talked to, lectured, yelled at -- nothing gets through to him. Emrick also refers to one unnamed front office person who said that there are many incidents with Avery that will never come to light. Scary, considering all that we do know.

But what gets me are the people who think the penalty was too harsh. I saw one female analyst on SNY comment that what Avery said was no different than what guys say to each other all the time. Which is true. But a guy who says that to a buddy in the bar isn't doing so as someone getting paid millions to represent his team and his league, and he certainly isn't saying it to international television.

It's apples and oranges, or to put it in a context that Avery can understand, it's like comparing haute couture to pret-a-porter.

And then there are the media types who say the NHL is crazy to discipline a player who is actually interesting and brings attention to the sport. I could care less about the mainstream media. If they don't get hockey, fine -- the NHL should focus on its core fan base anyway. We don't need that kind of attention.

Maybe the suspension will get Avery's attention, but I don't think anyone in the NHL believes it will. It allows the league to say, "Hey, we tried," for when Avery does something stupid again and they finally kick him out of the league.

And despite what may be said by the clueless media people who wouldn't know a hockey puck from a crab cake, it would be good riddance.

Game recap: Islanders 4, Penguins 2

Break out the New Year's champagne early, folks. The Islanders finally broke the three-goal barrier. That they won on the road against the division-rival Penguins is perhaps more important than the goal total, but when you look at how this team has struggled offensively, it's nice to have finally popped that cork.

Since November 1, a 23-game stretch, the Isles had not scored more than three goals in a game. Two-goal leads may as well have been 20. But now Blake Comeau is in the house. In his second game with the big club the 21-year-old assisted on Andy Hilbert's game-tying goal and scored what proved to be the game-winner with a slap shot midway through the third. Just 37 seconds later, Trent Hunter gave the Isles a two-goal lead to secure the victory.

A quick primer on Blake Comeau (not to be confused with Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo or Lake Como, the Italian Rivera resort where George Clooney lives large with supermodels): He helped Team Canada win gold at the 2003 U18 tournament in Russia, and then led the Kelowna Rockets win the Memorial Cup a year later. In 2005, Comeau scored 21 goals with 53 assists for 74 points in 60 games, and also helped Canada win gold at the IIHF Under 20 World Championships, leading the team in points under head coach Brent Sutter. So the guy is a winner.

He had 12 goals and 31 assists for 43 points with the Sound Tigers last season. He wasn't exactly setting Bridgeport on fire this season, with three goals and six helpers in 25 games, but he has a great opportunity now with Chris Simon suspended for 30 games.

Comeau teamed with Hilbert and Tim Jackman for a productive line, while Miro Satan scored 44 seconds into the game for his fourth point (three goals) in four games against the Pens this season.

Up next, the Capitals tonight at the Coliseum in what Isles fans hope will be an early Christmas present. Hope to see many, many of you there!

Game recap: Islanders 3, Lightning 2 (OT)

As goes Bill Guerin, so go the Islanders.

Certainly seems that way after Guerin's first goal in 16 games gave the Isles a 1-0 lead in a game that they eventually won in overtime, 3-2. Guerin had registered just one assist in his long scoring drought, which has coincided almost perfectly with the Islanders' current stretch of 18 games scoring three goals or less. We knew Guerin was going to be key to the team's success, but that's ridiculous.

Mike Sillinger netted the game-winner in OT, converting on the Isles' second power play of the overtime to snap their five-game losing streak. The power play played a significant role in the game in more ways than one. Both of Tampa's goals came with the man advantage and both were scored in the third period by Mike Richards, including one on a 5-on-3 late in the third that forced the OT. Andy Hilbert put the Islanders back on top, 2-1, after Richards' first goal.

Tampa's power play was ineffective in the first, with the Islanders missing out on not one but two shorthanded breakaways, one by Sillinger and another by Richard Park. Then in the second, Tampa had a 5-on-3 advantage where Richards broke in alone on Rick DiPietro, only to see D.P. come up huge (again). DiPietro finished with 32 saves and was called the Islanders' "best penaty killer" by Sillinger.

The win came one night after the Isles were blanked by Florida, 3-0. Tomas Vokoun made 25 saves but wasn't tested too much, which has been typical of the Islanders in this stretch of offensive mediocrity. DiPietro did his best to keep the team in the game, stopping Stephen Weiss on a penalty shot, but Weiss score two minutes later on a power play anyway.

The Isles' four-game road trip ends Wednesday night in Buffalo, followed Thursday by a home game against the Coyotes. Plenty of good seats available, for sure. Come on down!

Doubleheader recap: Isles vs. Bruins

On the plus side, it's nice to know players like Andy Hilbert and Richard Park - who will never be confused with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier - can step up and score a goal when the team needs it. On the negative side, you know things are going bad offensively when the team needs a couple of grinders to give it a boost.

But a win is a win, and when it comes in front of a full house like it did Saturday night, all the better. The 2-1 win over Boston salvaged a split against the Bruins and stopped a two-game losing streak from growing any larger. What continued was the Islanders' habit of keeping it close. Since shutting out the Lightning, 4-0, the Isles have played 10 games and nine of them have been decided by one goal.

The Tums concession has never been more popular.

Friday's loss was lackluster - maybe the L-tryptophan hadn't left the players' systems after Thanksgiving. The Isles fell behind 2-0 before Mike Sillinger scored on a redirection.

What killed the Islanders was futility on the power play, a common theme lately. They blew a two-man advantage early in the third and had another opportunity wasted late in the period when they were desperate to tie the game.

After getting off to a strong start, the power play is 1-for-26 over the last seven games. Marc-Andre Bergeron, a healthy scratch in the last five games, was on the ice Saturday but couldn't spark the unit.

Not that the Islanders weren't getting chances - they outshout the B's 12-2 in the first and 23-7 through two periods. But even when the Isles are outshooting their opponents these days, it's not the quantity but the quality of the shots that are lacking.

Rick DiPietro had an eventful game, making 20 saves and getting an assist (with Sillinger) on Hilbert's goal. He was also whacked in the head in the final five minutes but stayed in the game.

In other news, Newsday reports that Shawn Bates may finally be ready to rejoin the club, which is good news for his fans and the team. Maybe he can be the spark that gets the offense going.