Islanders are down, DiPietro is out

Well, at least the third jersey is a hit.

Scott Gordon's first 10 games as head coach are among the worst in team history, down there with Earl Ingarfield and Phil Goyette, who posted their stanky stretches in the inaugural and historically bad 1972-73 season. But you can't completely blame Gordon for what's gone on so far.

Yes, the team has had its troubles adapting to a completely new system after a tough training camp, and those growing pains were expected. But injuries -- to defensemen Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer, and goalie Rick DiPietro, who will be out 4-6 weeks after surgery to repair an unidentified damaged meniscus -- combined with an inability to capitalize on scoring chances when they present themselves have conspired to sink the Islanders to the bottom of the standings and dampen whatever enthuiasm the fans had at the start of the new campaign.

Regarding DiPietro, whether the meniscus in question is in his right knee or his left, it really doesn't matter. Let's say the injury he suffered was unrelated to his previous injuries, as the team has stated. It doesn't change the fact that DiPietro has had three surgeries in the last seven months and is looking as stable as a one-legged stool.

We're willing to give DiPietro a chance -- he played 62, 62 and 63 games the previous three years -- to get healthy and be the team's horse. But there may not be much of a race left to run by the time he gets back.

Getting a point on the road in Philly is something, but the overtime loss is still a loss. What happened Saturday night, in the third jersey's debut, was just awful and sort of typified the Islanders' young season.

You just cannot blow a 4-1 lead at home. I understand the Canadiens are a popular choice to win the conference, but after playing so well for 40 minutes, to allow four unanswered goals -- regardless of who was or was not in the net or on the ice -- is unacceptable. That third-period collapse is the kind of thing that can rip the heart out of a team, and here's hoping the Islanders learn from it and not let it drag them down any further.

What made it worse was the sound of so many Canadiens fans cheering the outcome. Watching the game on televison, it sounded like the game was being played in Quebec. Fellow Blog Boxer Frank Trovato has an excellent point -- many Islanders home games are almost like road games with so many fans of opposing teams buying available tickets at the Coliseum.

It's disheartening and it sucks and I can imagine what it's like as a player to hear that in your own arena. But I cannot condemn Islanders fans for not filling those seats, considering how much tickets cost, especially in this economy, and considering the team's recent lack of success and amount of turmoil the franchise has experienced.

Put a winner on the ice, and fans will come.

As for the third jersey, I was unsure about it at first glance, but having watched the Montreal game and seeing the jersey "in action," I am sold. Getting one with 27 TONELLI on the back is a given at this point. I've added it to my Christmas list.

That, and a couple of victories. Please, Santa?

Memo to Islanders: We can handle the truth

First of all, setting a team record for shots on goal in a loss doesn't mean a whole lot to me. A loss is a loss (the third in four games at home, by the way) and scoring only three times on 60 shots isn't much to be proud of. I'm sure Mike Bossy in his day could do better than that blindfolded.

Yes, the Islanders played well enough to win, but the last I looked there was no such column in the standings.

The real news, unfortunately and again, surrounds Rick DiPietro and his health (or lack thereof), with the added twist supplied by the NHL policy of injury nondisclosure, which the Islanders have taken to like tween girls to the Jonas Brothers.

What does it say that the team captain, Bill Guerin, wasn't aware of an injury when he gave his postgame interview? I find it hard to believe that during the first intermission, the players weren't aware of DiPietro -- the franchise goalie -- being hurt. And why no announcement during the game? When a player is hurt and comes out (like Witt the game before), an announcement is always made.

So Guerin, who is asked to stand before the media every night and tow the company line like a good soldier, is hung out to dry and looks out of the loop. Nice.

Was there an injury? Was Gordon using the injury as an excuse to punish DiPietro by yanking him without embarassing the player who supposedly is protected from on high by the owner who gave him a 15-year deal (a deal with which I have no problem, by the way)?

We don't know because of the NHL's policy allowing teams to reveal nothing about injuries, and the Islanders' strict following of said policy. Newsday's Greg Logan had a humorous take on the situation, but it isn't funny. If DiPietro was hurt, it should have been revealed immediately. Instead, we're left with clouds of suspicion.

Blame the league for sanctioning such shenangians and the Isles for following along in lockstep.

We can only assume that DiPietro really was hurt and Guerin was in the john or something when the coach told the team, or maybe Gordon forgot to tell the team, or ... you get the idea.

But if D.P. wasn't hurt and was pulled for once again trying to clear the puck up the middle -- something my six-year-old son's dek hockey team is implored NOT to do on a weekly basis -- or for coughing the puck up one too many times, then fine. Charlie Manuel of the Phillies was praised for benching Jimmy Rollins for not running out a ground ball and Rollins basically said, "He's right. My bad."

We'd rather have seen the same from Gordon -- again, IF DiPietro wasn't really hurt, which is only speculation, which is the rule of the day around the Islanders. (You want some mystery surrounding the new uniform? Be my guest. Forgive me for the anticipatory cringe.)

No one is above the team. Just ask Mike Singletary, who benched starting QB J.T. O'Sullivan and gave a detailed explanation as to why he ordered highly-touted tight end Vernon Davis off the field during the Niners' loss to the Seahawks. A coach like that you'd follow to the gates of hell.

It's called accountability, and the great teams have it.

What also bothers me about the Islanders and their injury policy is that it's the way the Patriots do business, and I hate the Pats and Bill Belichick. Sure, they've been successful, but in a league where all injured players are not only named but categorized (for the gamblers, of course), the Patriots are the standard-bearers for subterfuge, and it stinks.

And as far as Belichick -- a so-called defensive genius whose teams have a habit of imploding in big games -- I often wonder what his record would look like without Tom Brady, or Adam Vinatieri, or without cheating, or without Ernie Adams behind the curtain.

What can I say? I'm a Jets fan.

Welcome to Goaliegate

The conspiracy theorists are out in force surrounding Rick DiPietro, Scott Gordon and Joey MacDonald, wondering what DiPietro's true condition is, and why he wasn't inserted into the game Monday after Buffalo jumped out to a 5-0 lead in a 7-1 embarrassment at home.

(Note to the kids who were there -- that was NOT Islanders hockey, at least we hope not. Please don't try that at home.)

Newsday's Greg Logan wrote: "This was a case of chickens coming home to roost. DiPietro wasn't healthy enough to start the first three games of the season, but he was deemed healthy enough to be the backup.

Don't try to look for the logic here. There isn't any, which probably is why Gordon pulled a Sarah Palin, ignoring a question he didn't like and changing the subject when he was asked directly if DiPietro's readiness was a factor."

Gordon later said: "I'm not a strong believer in pulling goalies to change momentum. I want our goalies to not get the feeling that, if things don't go right for them, they can look to the bench and look over their shoulder, thinking, 'When am I coming out?' I want them to find a way to battle.

"Ask any of the goalies that have played for me. It's been the same thing. I've been through that, and I know what it's like when your coach has a quick hook ... We might have suffered a little bit tonight, but Joey will know when he's in this situation, it's his battle."

I have no problem keeping a goalie in when there is a rout on. If that really has been Gordon's philosophy all along, and he is a former netminder himself, I'll take him at his word.

And if DiPietro is not 100 percent, which he clearly is not, and is only on the bench in case of emergency -- and Gordon doesn't think a 5-0 lead qualifies as one -- then I can see why they would not want to put DiPietro into a losing cause and risk injury just by being on the ice, since anything can happen; better to just leave him out.

But it's hard to see what the Islanders have to gain by having DiPietro on the bench at all. If he's out, he's out. If he's on the bench, he may as well be in street clothes. What's the harm in having Yann Danis back up MacDonald for a week or so while D.P. gets in game shape? And if his injury is worse than they are letting on, then this is truly a ridiculous charade.

Based on the team's actions, you would assume DiPietro would be ready to play at a moment's notice, and if MacDonald was knocked out in the crease, DiPietro would be able to come in and play the rest of the game without risk of injuring himself any further.

You would think.

Hopefully, that is really the case and this is all much ado about nothing, and is a situation that has only been exacerbated by the NHL's policy of saying virtually nothing about injuries, which is a terrible policy to begin with. The Isles, like every other team, are behaving like a gang of Belichicks because they have been allowed to by the league, so they're just playing by the rules they've been given.

Reporters, bloggers and fans may not like it, but hey -- we just help pay the bills. Who are we to judge?

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.

Gordon hired as new Isles coach

OK, so he's a former Eagle. I can deal with that. The bottom line is that Scott Gordon is a solid choice to lead the New York Islanders as their new head coach.

The AHL Coach of the Year was hired Tuesday night by Isles general manager Garth Snow, getting the nod over more experienced NHL coaches like Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley, Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella, as well as Mike Sullivan, who coached Gordon's old team, the Providence Bruins, as well as the Boston Bruins.

It's clear that the Islanders were looking for a coach who could help develop the growing number of young players on their roster, and there are a bunch. Gordon seems eminently qualified to do so.

Providence was 55-18-3 last season under Gordon, who had a record of 221-141-20-27 as the Providence head coach. He was an assistant with Providence for three seasons prior to taking over the squad.

Gordon was a goaltender at Boston College and led the Eagles to the Frozen Four in 1985. His NHL goaltending career can best be described as nondescript, but he soon turned to coaching and has done extremely well in the AHL and ECHL. Whether that will translate into success at the highest level remains to be seen, but it looks like Snow -- who first met Gordon in the Quebec Nordiques camp in 1987 -- got his man.

Besides developing young players, Gordon may also bring some excitement to Nassau Coliseum with his coaching style. Gordon's teams have been some of the top-scoring teams in the AHL, and goal scoring has been an Islanders weakness. If Gordon can get Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau, Sean Bergenheim and Frans Neilsen to start lighting the lamp with regularity, then the Coliseum could be a happening place to be in 2008-09.

In any event, the future begins now. Welcome, Scott Gordon.

Sullivan intrigues as Islanders head coach candidate

I'll be up front about it: I went to Boston University and have a bias toward Terriers. But that isn't the only reason I think former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan may be a good choice as the Islanders head coach.

First off, I have a feeling that none of the so-called "big three" candidates -- John Tortorella, Paul Maurice or Bob Hartley -- will be a match for this club, although it seems that of the three, Hartley has the best chance, and not just for his relationship with Garth Snow. The guy won a Cup with Colorado and had great success there.

So, putting them aside, let's look at the other four candidates that have been confirmed by Newsday.

Sullivan was outstanding the one year he coached the Providence Bruins and he was 41-19-15-7 in his first year behind the Boston bench, when the Bruins were booted in round one of the playoffs. The team regressed the next year and didn't make the playoffs, and Sullivan was then fired by incoming GM Peter Chiarelli. He spent last season as Tortorella's assistant in Tampa Bay.

With so much youth on the Islanders, Sullivan - who is 40 - looks like a good fit. He's had success working with young players and has worked or played alongside some pretty good coaches, including BU legend Jack Parker.

Side note: Sullivan played four seasons for the Terriers, finishing in 1990. I covered the Terriers for the Daily Free Press, the daily student-run newspaper at BU, his sophomore and junior seasons before graduating in 1989. He was one of the top players back then and everyone thought highly of him, as I recall (my memory is a little hazy - it was college, after all).

Joel Quenneveille is not as attractive; he is a retread who isn't the guy who should be leading this squad. Islanders assistant coach Gerard Gallant is a possibility but one would think as an internal candidate, if he was a strong possibility he would have either been hired already or you would hear much more buzz around him.

The other interesting candidate is current Providence Bruins coach Scott Gordon, a former goaltender who has had terrific success the last five-plus years in the AHL. Gordon, who played at Boston College (boooooo) was named the AHL's top coach last season, when Providence won the regular-season points title.

Boston coach Claude Julien, who coaches a defensive style, led the Bruins to a winning record in his debut last season and isn't going anywhere. Gordon has paid his dues and coaches a wide-open, offensive style that has been described as entertaining; it's also been pretty successful at the minor league level, at least.

So Sullivan and Gordon look like the most interesting possibilities, at lease from my point of view. If I had to pick, I'd go with Sullivan. After all, he is a Terrier.