No column for moral victories

You get the feeling that Islanders fans may see a lot of games like Friday night's season opener at the Devils. The team battles in a low-scoring struggle, but ultimately loses.

We can't complain too much about the outcome. The Devils are one of the better teams in the conference and the Isles lost a close, 2-1 game on the road. And while the Devils controlled the action for much of the game, the Islanders had some good scoring opportunities. They even scored on the power play!

Kyle Okposo got the rare penalty shot, stopped by Martin Brodeur. Then there were three posts in the first 25 minutes, and a couple of other good scoring chances, including one for Jeff Tambellini after some nifty stickhandling by Radek Martinek.

I'm still not sure how Patrik Elias wasn't called for being in the crease on the Devils' second goal. He skated in without being pushed. Chico Resch called it, but somehow no one on the Islanders complained. Oh, well.

Joey MacDonald got the start in goal for the Isles and no one should have been surprised. Rick DiPietro has played only once in the preseason and his practice time has been limited. We presume he'll play in the home opener. In any case, MacDonald played very well, making 27 stops, which should ease the minds of anyone missing Wade Dubielewicz.

Jon Sim also looked good, as did Mark Streit in his Isles debut. Coach Scott Gordon said he was happy with the effort in his NHL debut.

The home opener is tonight and your truly will be there in the Blog Box with some old friends and possibly some new ones, as the box is growing in year two.

Maybe we can get two goals tonight? Hey, it's the start of the season -- optimism abounds.

P.S.: Yeah, everyone loves The Rock and think the Coliseum is a dump. But at least our place is up to code. We think.

Liveblog: Devils 2, Islanders 1 (OT)

Live from the Blog Box tonight for the Newport SoundIsles against the New Jersey Devils. Drew Fata, Matt Keith, Kip Brennan, Joey MacDonald... my son's kindergarten class has a higher average age than this crew. But we love the kids - they're playing for jobs, which means they're at least playing for something.
Isles looking to improve to 7-1 against the Devils this season, and the Hummer Metro Ice title is within sight. So they're 6-1 against the playoff-bound Devils. I know I've mentioned it before, but it warrants mentioning. Who did we lose to?

Isles news today - they signed recent Colorado College defenseman Jack Hillen to a two-year deal. A free agent, Hillen was the top-scoring defenseman in Division I college hockey with 6 goals and 31 assists in 41 games. He could make his NHL debut against the Rangers. An outstanding pickup for the Isles, who add to their stable of young talent.

I have to admit I'm a bit distracted with Pedro pitching for the Mets tonight against the Marlins. Pedro's first two batters of the season: HBP and a two-run homer. Ouch. Read all about it at Metsfanclub.com. Please.

Devils on the power play, a shooting gallery but MacDonald comes up big, and so does Freddy Meyer, who gets his stick on a shot headed for an open net. Isles kill it off. Can we get a JO-EY MAC! chant started or what? (C.J. Papa suggests 'GO JOE GO' - that works.)

Vasicek scores - in the Dave & Buster's Power Minute! Just 51.7 seconds left and the Devils cough it up at their blueline, thanks to a diving effort by Bill Guerin. Vasicek picks it up, dekes
Martin Brodeur and puts a backhand into the net. Isles up, 1-0, after one.

Getting ready for the start of the second - nice to hear Jiggs McDonald doing the play-by-play again tonight. Jiggs and Eddie will always have a place in our hearts.

FYI, the NYI Mobile fan poll tonight is, "Who is the Isles' MVP - Hunter, Guerin or Park?" Gotta go with Park. The guy's done everything Nolan's asked for this season and brings it nightly.

Devils tie it on the power play, their third advantage of the game courtesy of a penalty called on Okposo - his first foul of the season. Goal scored by Elias on a slapper from the left point. By the way, too many Devils fans in the house tonight. Go back to Joisey!

The more I think about it, the more I dislike the fact that the Isles play on 'MSG Plus.' It's not so much who owns it, but the name. Can't they just call it SportsChannel again? So we feel like we're not second-class citizens?

Left pad save by MacDonald, who's playing well tonight. Tom Liodice at The Tiger Track says Joey has had a fine season at Bridgeport. End of two, and it's still 1-1.

We had a meeting of the minds pregame with all the Blog Boxers, and I had a chance to sample some of Clark Gillies 2007 Chardonnay. You can, too, tomorrow in Farmingdale. Read all about it here, in an article written by our own Dee Karl. It's all for a good cause. There's also a 2005 Pat LaFontaine Cabernet Sauvignon. How did the Gillies wine taste? Audacious and crisp - and definitely not fruity.

Meanwhile, in Florida, the Mets have come back from 4-0 down to tie the game 4-4 in the fifth. Not a good night for Pedro, who apparently pulled a hamstring or something. Damn.

Back to the game, where the Devils are outshooting the Isles, 38-18 with 8:40 left in the third. Devils clinch their playoff spot with a win tonight, so we're playing spoiler. Again. (Sigh.)

One of the Blog Box favorites tonight (particularly Tiger Track Tom) is Kip Brennan, up from Bridgeport. Check him out on YouTube for some of his greatest bouts, including one with a fan. Fun for the whole family.

Three minutes left and Guerin has a chance on the doorstep, stopped by Brodeur. Less than a minute left, and MacDonald comes up huge, stoning Elias and then the rebound. A little "Old MacDonald" on the organ here at the Coliseum. Nice.

Oooooovertime! Ouch. Just 29 seconds in, Devils score on a deflection by Parise. Devils are in, Isles have two more against the Rangers and that's all, folks.

POSTGAME REPORT

Ted Nolan:

MacDonald I thought he played a very solid game.

Especially with the number of people we have out we have to make sure we keep it as simple as we can. And it worked in the first period. That's a very talented team on the other side.

Sutter is a real good coach in this league and his team is well-prepared. They play strong, fundamental hockey and that's the type of team that wins in the playoffs. We match up pretty well against them.

I thought Matt (Keith) did well, especially with the limited ice time that he had. I thought he showed great poise and good skill when he knocked that pass out of the air and walks in and had a good shot. First time seeing him, I was impressed.

This is a great test for a lot of these young kids, to see how they react. It's good to play one good game, but to see if you can play two or three in a row, and to play at this level you have to play at a consistent level. So far, so good.

It's a long season and young legs are very important. You have 22 or 23-year-old kids full of energy.

Joey MacDonald:

We have a lot of talent on this team, a mix of young guys and old guys, we have Okposo and Comeau and guys like Spiller playing almost every night between here and Bridgeport. It was a tough loss, you don't want to lose the game but they got a break at the end when they got a stick on it and it changed direction, but overall it was a pretty good game.

That's how they score a lot of goals - ugly goals, jamming it in, getting their sticks on it a lot of times. Overall I thought I saw the puck pretty well tonight, and I tried to keep all the rebounds to myself, and the ones I didn't, the 'D' were there to kick them out.

(On familiarity with the other former Sound Tigers): I think it's huge, playing all together down there. You kind of know what everybody's doing, and what to expect. We've got Spills and Fata playing there, you see them every game, and they're just keeping it simple. They're logging a lot of minutes there and a lot of minutes up top. It's easier when you've got a bunch of guys you've played with all year.

It's not a good situation to be in, you don't want to be out of the playoffs, but you've got to stay positive. The guys that don't have contracts, those guys have got to step up and perform and try to earn a job for next year. The guys that do, you have to earn their respect from the coach and play as well as they possibly can.

Game recap: Islanders 3, Devils 1

One of the main postgame themes after the Islanders dropped their sixth straight game Tuesday against the Maple Leafs was the lack of effort by the veterans. With so many callups from Bridgeport in the lineup because of injury -- and with Kyle Okposo making his NHL debut -- the Isles' vets were called out by Ted Nolan and Bill Guerin for not providing the kind of example they should be providing to the young players, never mind committing the sin of going half speed while the team was in a tailspin.

Consider the message received. In a hard-fought (literally) game on the road against the Devils, a team with plenty to play for and Stanley Cup aspirations, the Islanders played their best game in weeks, winning a 3-1 decision that featured terrific goaltending by Wade Dubielewicz and Okposo's first goal.

Of course, the joy is tinged with more than a bit of frustration with the knowledge that the Islanders can somehow be 6-1 against a team like the Devils and yet be out of the playoff picture. Dubie has become a Devil-killer himself, with three wins against the Jersey boys.

Not surprised to see Guerin mix it up, especially after his pointed comments Tuesday. It was surprising to see the Isles actually score three goals on Martin Brodeur despite having a season-low 18 shots.

As for Okposo, he said he was happy to get his first NHL goal "out of the way" so soon. So were we. The Isles look to continue to play spoiler Easter Sunday in Philly.

Who will stay and who will go?

You didn't think we'd go 6-0 against the Devils, did you?

After winning six in a row overall and five straight against the Devils, the Islanders were more or less doomed by the law of averages Saturday. Two quick goals by the Devils in the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and the Isles fell quietly, outshot by a large margin as the team was way off what they had been lately.

Still, picking up 12 points in six games with a playoff spot on the line was pretty impressive, and now we turn our attention to Tuesday's trade deadline. As of Monday morning, all has been quiet on the trading front in the NHL, although there are plenty of rumors.

One has Bryan McCabe returning to the Island, and you'd figure that if the Isles were to do that and make another trade it would involve dealing a defenseman - figure Bergeron to a team that could use a boost on the power play. We shall see.

Game recap: Islanders 3, Devils 1

What more can you say about Rick DiPietro? The guy was outstanding tonight as the Islanders bounced back big-time from their lackluster performance against the Canadiens, beating the Devils at the Rock, 3-1. The Isles are now 5-0 against the first-place Devils, four wins supplied by D.P.

DiPietro made 37 saves and stood on his head in the third period, stopping 15 of 16 shots as the Devils threw everything but Chico Resch's hairpiece at him in a desperate effort to tie the score. DiPietro has allowed just five goals in his four games against New Jersey this season.

DiPietro made a terrific glove save against Zubrus but also stopped Gionta, Langenbrunner and Zajac down the stretch. Zajac scored the Devils' only goal to cut the Islanders' lead to 2-1 on a deflection of a shot by Gionta.

Bill Guerin gave the Isles a 1-0 lead on a two-man advantage in the first period, set up Satan and Comrie. Mike Sillinger made it 2-0 in the second, taking a feed from Trent Hunter and beating Martin Brodeur. Guerin's empty netter secured the win.

The Devils are now winless in 9 games against the Isles and Rangers, and the Islanders have beaten the Devils six straight. Some bad news - Chris Campoli left the game with a shoulder injury and missed the final 2 periods. He joins Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek on the list of injured blueliners.

Game recap: Islanders 5, Devils 2

And we thought the Toronto game was exciting.

The full house at the Coliseum Saturday night not only saw the Islanders score five -- count 'em -- FIVE goals in a game but were also treated to some Eddie Shore-type hockey, with a handful of fights and tough defense as the Isles went 4-0 against the Devils this season with a 5-2 victory. It was the Isles' fourth win in five games and the first time the team scored as many as five goals in a game since Oct. 18.

Quite a bit different than the 5-2 loss at Ottawa two nights earlier. Instead of being bombarded with shots, winning goalie Wade Dubielewicz had some help in front of him, and his defensemen not only clamped down on Jersey but joined the attack, with three d-men scoring goals.

Chris Campoli, who loves to jump in on offense, got the Isles the lead with a shorthanded goal in the first and then Marc-Andre Bergeron scored on the power play in the second. The Devils rallied to tie, but then Andy Sutton of all people scored what proved to be the game-winner, one-timing a nice feed from Mike Sillinger from the top of the slot. Sean Bergenheim finally scored a goal, ending a 25-game drought, and Mike Comrie added the empty-netter. Sillinger had another strong night with three assists, as did Richard Park, who had two helpers.

Sutton recorded the Gordie Howe hat trick, with a goal, assist and a fight, taking on Michael Rupp. It was the third bout of the evening. Comrie and Mike Mottau threw down in the first after Comrie creamed Mottau with a devastating hit. Bill Guerin and David Clarkson exchanged pleasantries right before the Sutton-Rupp main event.

As if that wasn't enough good news, Kyle Okposo has signed for three years at $2.55 million. Okposo helped the USA improve to 3-0 at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic with a 3-2 win over Russia, assisting on the first goal of the game.

Okposo will join the organization when he returns but it isn't clear whether he'll report to Bridgeport or make the jump to the NHL immediately. Figure the Isles, as long as they're winning, play it safe and start him with the Sound Tigers while Garth Snow weighs his options on how to improve the team for the playoff push.

Game recap: Islanders 1, Devils 0

Martin who?

Rick DiPietro's shutout of the Devils Friday night was just what the doctor ordered for a team that had lost two straight. Sure, the losses were close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as Col. Sherman T. Potter once said, and the Islanders were looking at a three-game skid if Martin Brodeur was able to win his 500th career game playing at home.

But DiPietro was stellar, stopping 26 shots but also playing smart and displaying a growing maturity that Ted Nolan didn't hesitate to mention in his postgame comments. This team is built around DiPietro and needs him to be the kind of netminder that teams hate to face and he is playing that way so far this season. His biggest save may have been when he stoned Patrik Elias in the final minutes.

And how 'bout that Josef Vasicek? The shorthanded goal against the Devils was a thing of beauty. You only get a chance to deke the goalie that many times when you're practicing one-on-nones in the driveway, but Vasicek came through, thanks to a godawful turnover. Hard to believe, with his size and skills, that Vasicek has been a career third- or fourth-line player. If he's blooming late, we're glad he's blooming here.

Another solid game from Chris Campoli, and Trent Hunter also played big, drawing comparison's to John Tonelli from Jiggs McDonald on the play-by-play. When Jiggs compares you to J.T., you know you're doing something right.

You kind of feel sorry for Brent Sutter. He looks like his head is going to explode one of these games.

Up next, the Rangers at MSG Monday night. Think Sean Avery will get into a pre-game scrap with Brendan Witt? We can only hope.

Game recap: Islanders 2, Devils 1

You know who must be feeling pretty good these days? Garth Snow.

I know, it's early, but let's give the guy some props. The Islanders are 9-4 with 18 points, just two points behind the first-place Flyers and one behind the Rangers (who they've beaten twice) despite playing three and four fewer games than those teams, respectively. His off-season acquisitions have pretty much all played very well - Guerin, Vasicek, Comrie and Fedotenko chief among them.

Snow took a lot of heat as he watched an exodus take place and then fill the void with players who were less than no-brainers. But you could see now that the man had a plan, one that coach Ted Nolan shares in completely. Nolan talks a lot about 'character guys' and the Isles have them in spades, and all the preseason talk about how tightly-knit the team was in training camp wasn't just smoke. This group has come together quickly and it works hard, and so far it has paid off.

It helps when you have someone like Rick DiPietro in the net, and Saturday night D.P. was outstanding, making 20 saves in the 2-1 win over the Devils. DiPietro and Martin Brodeur staged quite a duel, but in the end it was Miroslav Satan -- again -- who came up big with the game-winning goal.

It was a thing of beauty and came on a 5-on-3 power play in the third. With the crowd hollering for the Islanders to SHOOOOOOOOT (I never understood that -- these guys know what they're doing, let them work the advantage, please) Chris Campoli (2 assists) threw the puck down to Trent Hunter at the lower left circle, and Hunter fired a perfect pass through the crease to Satan at the right post. I've run that play many times in dome hockey, with similarly successful results.

It got a little hairy at the end as the Isles missed two good chances to put the game away with the net empty, and sure enough the Devils came too close for comfort in the final 20 seconds, but DiPietro held strong. The win gave the Islanders a 5-1 homestand, and that's what you like to see - a team that plays big at home. And with 15,000-plus on hand, that helps, too.

Fun fact learned on the broadcast: the Isles' Ben Walter is the son of NHL standout Ryan Walter, who played 15 seasons, mostly with the Capitals and Canadiens. He scored 38 goals and had 49 assists for the Caps in 1981-82, and yet Washington still traded him to Montreal, where he eventually won a Cup. The Caps did get Rod Langway in the deal, though.

Game recap: Isles 4, Devils 3 (OT)

That was one heck of an entertaining overtime, and that was before Bill Guerin scored the game-winner in the final seconds. Of course, the game shouldn't have gone to overtime in the first place had the Islanders not let down in the third period, but overall another solid win -- and a division win at that -- for the Isles, who now get six days off. Enjoy it, fellas!

The Islanders absolutely dominated the second period, outshooting the Devils, 16-7, getting tremendous work again from Vasicek, Satan and Bergenheim. And what was up with Satan's dance moves after scoring the go-ahead goal in the second? He looked like he was channeling Tony Manero there.

Islanders were again productive on the power play, with Comrie making it 3-1 later in the second, pouncing on a loose puck after Bruno Gervais rang a shot off the crossbar. And how impressive have Campoli and Gervais been? Marc-Andre Bergeron was scratched again. Something to ponder with such defensive depth.

But you could sense the letdown coming after a fluky / bad goal by Pandolfo cut the Isles' lead to one early in the third, and when the Devils tied it 10 minutes later, you thought back to the play of the second period and wondered where it all went.

But give the Isles credit for hanging on, with DiPietro making some nice stops. The overtime was wide-open with chances for both sides, and then Andy Greene was whistled for tripping with 32 seconds left in the OT. Brent Sutter was livid and let's face it, if a call like that went against the Islanders that late, you'd be just as ripped. But that's the new NHL and they're calling it tight, and that allowed the Islanders vaunted -- yes, I called it vaunted -- power play to work its magic. Nice pass from Campoli down low to Comrie, who threw it out front, where Guerin found it for the winner. Sweet.

And to cap off the night, we learn that the Rangers -- who lost to winless Atlanta this week -- got shut out by the Bruins to remain in last place in the division. Now if only the Jets could win tomorrow ...