Isles make their point, one at a time

At the rate they're going, the Islanders will finish the season with 82 points -- not quite playoff-caliber, but a definite improvement over last season's last-place-overall finish.

Of course, at this rate, they'll be 0-0-82.

That's about as likely as Charles Wang and Kate Murray teaming up on "The Amazing Race," and while consecutive overtime/shootout losses isn't a trend you like to see continue, Thursday night's 3-2 loss to the Senators provided continued positives.

Like two points from Matt Moulson, who assisted on Kyle Okposo's second-period goal before scoring the equalizer for the Islanders in the third period, off a sweet pass from behind the net from Doug Weight, playing his first game of the season.

John Tavares assisted on that goal as well, giving him three points in the first two games of his career. Tavares had a terrific chance to score in the second period as well, but didn't get everything on the shot.

Okposo's goal, meanwhile, was a thing of beauty, as his displayed the kind of deft stickhandling that makes him so doubly dangerous as a power forward.

That's a fun line right now, the Okposo-Tavares-Moulson combo. What can we call it? The TOMahawk line? The TOM-tom Club? The OTM Machine? Suggestions are welcome.

Martin Biron had an uneven game, playing solid for the most part and dazzling in one sequence when he flat-out robbed Alexei Kovalev with about six minutes left. But he was sloppy on the Sens' first goal, a no-angle bank off the heel of his stick, and he should have gotten a piece of the game-winner by Mike Fisher.

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OK, it's time for my annual rant against Cablevision sticking the Islanders on the non-HD MSG Plus 2. Watching this game on my high-definition set was like watching it through a rusty old screen door. Immensely frustrating.

I think I have old VHS tapes of the 1984 playoffs that look clearer than what fans endured watching on MSGP2. Awful. And yet the Devils, the team from New Jersey, gets its road game in HD.

I continue to insist that there is no way on earth that the Devils get better ratings than the Islanders. No way. And you can't tell me Cablevision can't put the Islanders broadcast onto another HD channel.

It's just the owners of the Rangers sticking it to the Islanders fans. But the Isles have a pretty sweet TV deal with Cablevision, so I guess we shouldn't complain. Especially since the team gets screwed so badly by its current lease. Which will of course change with the new lease for the Lighthouse -- if it ever happens. Sigh.

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I'll never understand how people spend so much money on sports memorabilia. It's just not my thing. But the framed photo of Tavares with actual pieces of the netting from his NHL debut takes the cake. Are these really flying off the shelves?

The whole game-worn or game-used thing in memorabilia boggles the mind. Can I get a piece of Matt Moulson's socks from the Ottawa game to commemorate his first goal as an Islander? Sadly, I probably can.

Islanders' cure: Play the Senators

"You can't beat us!"

The chant cascading down from Section 317 Saturday night at the Coliseum was ironic but true. The Islanders were on their way to their third straight victory over the Ottawa Senators this season, a win that snapped a two-game losing streak that had knocked the Isles off their five-wins-in-six roll.

Yes, the Senators, a team that has positively owned the Islanders in recent years, have now become the Islanders' whipping boys.

The Sens are having a bad season, just a point ahead of the awful Thrashers for least in the NHL as of Tuesday night. The Islanders aren't that far ahead point-wise, but considering the talent differential between the clubs, the Senators' standing is surprising.

I was at the game, sitting in Section 218 thanks to my friends Tom and Mike, who invited me to enjoy a game from a vantage point even better than the one I enjoy in the Blog Box (thanks, guys). Midway through the Islanders' awful second period, I commented that the Isles have a bunch of good, complementary players -- just with no one to complement.

The Senators, meanwhile, have a top line of Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson, and they worked their magic a couple of times in a losing effort.

That's not to say that Josh Bailey -- thankfully here for the rest of the season -- and Kyle Okposo won't become top-line players and NHL stars someday. They just aren't there yet. And nothing against Bill Guerin and Doug Weight, but their best days are behind them.

There are plenty of likable players on this team, and players who give it 100 percent every night. But the skill level on offense is a couple of notches below most other clubs. Let's put it this way: the Isles' second PP line Saturday was Jon Sim, Richard Park and Andy Hilbert. Solid players, but they probably don't strike fear in too many goalies.

And yet, the Isles have won five of their last eight games, and with Bailey up for the season and Mike Sillinger back in the fold with Okposo hopefully getting back in the next few weeks, there is reason to believe that the Isles can compete on a nightly basis. Joey MacDonald is another reason to believe, and he was just named the league's third star for the month of November. Nice work, Joey.

While we wait for Thursday's game against the Capitals, why not delve into the Blog Box? Also, feel free to vote for your favorite Islanders blog at Yes!Islanders.

And check out Dee Karl's interview with Gary Bettman. Some gals have all the luck.

Islanders 3, Sens 1: The future is now

Okposo (Bailey, Campoli).

That stat line says it all. It's why we're watching. In a season where the playoff expectations are as low as Bush's approval rating, seeing how the Islanders' young players develop is what it is all about.

So to see Kyle Okposo score a goal with assists from rookie Josh Bailey and Chris Campoli -- three players who could be the core of this team for the next decade -- was for me the high point of the Islanders' 3-1 victory at Ottawa Thursday night.

Bailey may only be up for a nine-game tryout, but there are indications, particularly with Mike Comrie hurting and being otherwise unproductive, that the Isles may let Bailey stick with the big club for the duration of the season, the way so many other NHL teams are allowing their rookies to shine.

At minimum, it gives fans another reason to buy a ticket. At best, Bailey could pay immediate dividends on the ice as well.

Bailey was praised for his poise by coach Scott Gordon and the fact that Okposo's goal came on the power play is another good sign. The Isles scored two man-up goals in the game, the other by Trent Hunter.

Bill Guerin's goal early in the third upped the lead to two goals. It's a good thing the Isles didn't score again, because we know what happens with three-goal leads around here. There was no collapse this time, though, and Joey MacDonald had a solid game in net with 29 saves.

Thomas Pock may miss Saturday's rematch at the Coliseum after getting a game miscounduct for elbowing Ryan Shannon. A multi-game suspension is a possibility.

Tough times on the Isle

I've said all season that this Islanders team was a playoff team and I still believe that -- but they sure aren't playing like one and it's safe to say those postseason hopes are in jeopardy.

The losing streak increased to four with Saturday's 4-1 loss at Montreal, and while Rick DiPietro looked fantastic over All-Star weekend, nothing else has gone right for the Isles. Consider that in the last four games the Islanders have been outscored, 13-5, with the offense managing just one meager goal on three occasions. The Isles have also been less than dominant at home, going 13-11-3 so far.

In the first game back from the break, the Isles fell at home to Ottawa, 5-2, after spotting the Sens a 3-0 lead. They battled back to 3-2 but that was as close as it got.

OK, but Ottawa is a tough assignment. Surely they'd break out of it against the last-place Kings, right? Nope - another home loss, this time 3-1. Dubie played well in relief of an ill D.P., but there was precious little to feel good about. Ted Nolan hit the nail on the head when he called the effort 'unacceptable.' The Isles have a thin margin of error, and when the effort -- which has been strong most of the season -- isn't there, they have big problems.

Another bad stretch doomed the Isles against Montreal. The Habs scored three goals in the second period to put the hammer down and drop the Islanders into last place in the division and 10th place in the conference.

Sure, there's plenty of season left, but the Isles are in in the middle of an eight-team battle for the final two playoff spots so things need to turn around in a hurry. And with the Feb. 26 trading deadline fast approaching, does Garth Snow deal some of his promising young players for an impact player on offense? Does Kyle Okposo come up and make his mark?

The turnaround could start Tuesday night at home against the Ducks.

Game recap: Islanders 3, Senators 1

Tre-MEND-dous end to the road trip, beating the Senators on the road for the first time in more than five years.

And a successful trip it was. Six points in those five road games, and in the last 12 games, beginning with a road win in Pittsburgh on Dec. 21, the Islanders have managed at least a point in 10 of them, with seven victories. Take a look at the standings and the Islanders are only six points behind the first-place Devils and Penguins, with a game in hand on the Pens.

Look closer at the standings and while the Isles' 122 goals allowed isn't horrible, the 108 goals for is pathetic. Worst in the league. This looks like a playoff-caliber team when you consider the effort and the overall play under Ted Nolan, but it's going nowhere if it can't figure out how to score more often and more consistently.

Two goals by Marc-Andre Bergeron, and you think back a couple of weeks when he was a healthy scratch and you wondered what his future held. Now we're seeing how productive he can be, and when a team works as hard as it does for goals as this team does, getting production from the blue line is critical.

Another great game for DiPietro, making 31 saves against one of the top-scoring teams in the league.

Up next, les Canadiens in what should be a warm welcome home at the Coliseum.

Game recap: Islanders 3, Senators 2 (OT)

There are games over the course of the season that are measuring-stick games, and this was one of them for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the Senators are one of the best -- if not THE best - teams in the NHL, and they have absolutely owned the Islanders, winning the last eight games between the clubs.

Not this time. Thanks to tremendous goaltending by Rick DiPietro and terrific efforts from players like Mike Sillinger, Richard Park, Josef Vasicek and Bill Guerin, the Islanders overcame two fluky goals by Andres Meszaros of all people and came away with a 3-2 shootout victory Wednesday night at the Coliseum, before another disappointing crowd of just over 9,200.

Maybe the Isles' dismal recent history against the recently-cold Senators kept fans from coming to the barn, but past performance is no guarantee of future earnings. The Islanders came to play in a hard-hitting, tightly-played game that featured yet another standout performance by DiPietro, who's certainly playing up to his contract now, isn't he? D.P. made 35 stops in the first 65 minutes, includes a few of the WOW variety, and then came up huge in the shootout. He made the final stop on Dean McAmmond look easy, moments after Sillinger beat Ray Emery for what proved to be the game-winner. Guerin scored the first shootout goal for the Isles on their third shot, after Ottawa had put one in off the stick of Daniel Alfredsson.

The Isles continue to live dangerously. This was the 11th game in the last 12 decided by one goal, and the ninth straight game where the Islanders scored two or fewer goals (shootouts notwithstanding). When the margin for error is that thin, you're going to get burned by goals like Meszaros' second, which deflected off Park. But give the Isles credit for not letting the second point get away from them, as happened the game prior against Dallas. Fun fact - the Isles are now 11-1 against Eastern Conference teams who made the playoffs last season.

We'll see how much the Isles have left in the tank when they play the Rangers at the Garden Thursday night. One player who won't enjoy that game is Sean Avery, who's injured -- again, what a fragile flower he is -- having just had wrist surgery. Get well soon, big guy. We'll miss you. And say hi to Mary-Kate (or is it Ashley?) - we always get them confused.