I just don't see it. Roberto Luongo was on the Panthers from 2000-01 through the 2006 season. He was regarded as one of the best goaltenders in the world during that time. Consistently over .900 save percentage and under a 3.00 GAA each of those seasons. The Panthers never made the playoffs during Luongo's time in Florida. And that's because it takes more than one player to get a team into the playoffs. Florida surrounded Luongo with s**t during his time there and they were consistently bad because of it.
- Jethro09

Anytime you have a player like Tavares and Moulson on the team you have a shot at the playoffs. Get rid of some dead weight and get a consistent goaltender and believe me we would be a lot closer to 8 than we are now.

Not to make excuses. I do agree this team has a ton of holes and needs changes, however being in the Atlantic division does not help this team. Toughest division in the NHL, no doubt. We need a top tier goalie. Poulin will not be that guy, I just do not see it.
- mighty13duck

Based on what? Little early to throw in the towel on the guy, isn't it? Last year he posted a .932 save % in the AHL and .924 in 10 NHL games before the injury...in his first year out of juniors. He's been thrown in three-goalie rotations to start his first two years in B-port, and had a pretty bad knee injury last year. He started slow in BPort this year as a result, but was getting into a very nice groove before Garth and Cappy decided it would be better to sit him on the bench for a week in the NHL, then throw him in cold. I'll hold off a little before I start saying a kid who in most normal systems would never have even seen NHL ice yet is a bust.

Anytime you have a player like Tavares and Moulson on the team you have a shot at the playoffs. Get rid of some dead weight and get a consistent goaltender and believe me we would be a lot closer to 8 than we are now.
- mighty13duck

Those are two guys. There are 21 other guys on the roster. This season, of those 21 other guys, about 17 of them haven't contributed s**t. To be fair, the only reliable "D" man on the team is Hamonic. Streit and A-Mac have both regressed. Staios is mediocre. Eaton, Mottau and Jurcina suck. JT and Moulson can't make up for these deficiencies. JT and Moulson also can't count for all the offense. No other forward outside of PAP and to a lesser extent Grabs have done anything this season offensively. This team is nowhere near a playoff contender right now.

Based on what? Little early to throw in the towel on the guy, isn't it? Last year he posted a .932 save % in the AHL and .924 in 10 NHL games before the injury...in his first year out of juniors. He's been thrown in three-goalie rotations to start his first two years in B-port, and had a pretty bad knee injury last year. He started slow in BPort this year as a result, but was getting into a very nice groove before Garth and Cappy decided it would be better to sit him on the bench for a week in the NHL, then throw him in cold. I'll hold off a little before I start saying a kid who in most normal systems would never have even seen NHL ice yet is a bust.
- UIF

I am just sick of waiting. I am sick of talking about what great prospects we have and then they get brought up and they do nothing. Is it because they are rushed? Maybe? Is it because they were bad picks by Garth? possibly. AT this point it does not matter. We need to win now if we want any chance of staying on LI. Trades have to be made. SO no more Fail for Nail. The time now is to trade or fade!

When the fans and the players even say the team came out flat against nashville, but the coach says otherwise you know something is wrong. Capuano is completely oblivious and has no clue as to what he is doing. He doesn't get this team prepared at all. You wanna know what a great coach can do to a team. Let me point to Exhibit A: The St. Louis Blues, they were under performing early in the season and were nearly in the western conference basement. They fired head coach davis payne and hired ken hitchcock as his replacement. St. Louis is now 1st in the western conference, and tied for 1st overall in the league with the rangers. Now for Exhibit B: The Los Angeles Kings, a team with high expectations going into the season after the big off-season they had were under performing and had been playing inconsistent hockey which led to them being in and out of the playoff picture. They fired coach terry murray, and hired darryl sutter as his replacement. Since sutter took over last month, the kings have played more consistent, are playing excellent defense, and are 2 points behind the sharks for 1st in the pacific division and 3rd in the western conference standings. So having a solid coach can make a big difference. Capuano needs to go, and we must bring in an experienced coach like a bob hartley, marc crawford, or mike keenan.

I am just sick of waiting. I am sick of talking about what great prospects we have and then they get brought up and they do nothing. Is it because they are rushed? Maybe? Is it because they were bad picks by Garth? possibly. AT this point it does not matter. We need to win now if we want any chance of staying on LI. Trades have to be made. SO no more Fail for Nail. The time now is to trade or fade!
- mighty13duck

Poulin's a goalie though. You brought up Rinne before...he spent three seasons with the Admirals before playing for the Preds (other than three starts over two previous years). His first year for the Admirals, his save% was .904. Even with his rocky start this year, Poulin is currently posting a .905 save% in Bport. Last year, he only played 15 AHL games before being thrown into the NHL fire, and he performed exceedingly well in both leagues until the injury. I just don't see what he's done wrong so far. A tough start to the season in a three-goalie rotation while coming back from injury? A rough start to the Nashville game after being stuck on the bench for a week?

He deserves time...probably more than defensemen typically require. He should not be thrown into action under demands he be a savior with no seasoning to speak of.

Anytime you have a player like Tavares and Moulson on the team you have a shot at the playoffs. Get rid of some dead weight and get a consistent goaltender and believe me we would be a lot closer to 8 than we are now.
- mighty13duck

the isles are a one line team and goaltending and one line does not propel you into the playoffs it doesnt happen ...
this squad is a mess fromn snow to cappy to rolston .. forget wang for a minute,
you need a big name g.m and that will get you a big name coach ..which would get you some decent players signing here even for the short term

Based on what? Little early to throw in the towel on the guy, isn't it? Last year he posted a .932 save % in the AHL and .924 in 10 NHL games before the injury...in his first year out of juniors. He's been thrown in three-goalie rotations to start his first two years in B-port, and had a pretty bad knee injury last year. He started slow in BPort this year as a result, but was getting into a very nice groove before Garth and Cappy decided it would be better to sit him on the bench for a week in the NHL, then throw him in cold. I'll hold off a little before I start saying a kid who in most normal systems would never have even seen NHL ice yet is a bust.
- UIF

yesterday obviously!!!.....its a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality here at hockeybuzz

I have to respectfully disagree. While I agree the Isles goaltending situation has been abysmal since Osgood was traded, you make it sound like if the Isles had hit a home run with RDP in the draft and he became a healthy, perennial top-five goaltender in hockey playing 65-70 games/season, this team would be a winner. Rinne hasn't been the goaltender in Nashville for the past 12 years. They had Dunham, Vokoun, etc. in that time as well. The team is good because the organizational structure and coaching is consistent and good, the total opposite of what the Isles have had going on during that same time.

You could put any goaltender on the Isles the past 5 years and the team would have still missed the playoffs each season. It takes more than a world-class goaltender to make a team consistently competitive.
- Jethro09

I don't deserve the respect.. but thanks. The one time in the last 20 years the Islanders were relevant was when Ozzy was playing goaltender for us and DP was playing at the level we thought he would play at when we signed him. All of the defensemen we end up getting rid of b/c they suk seem to have very solid careers in the NHL after Isles. Again.. am I saying we are cup contenders with a top notch goalie? no... but I am saying that we have had guys like Danis, Joey Mac, Doobie, and a million other guys who are Back up NHL goaltenders at best. If you disect all the losses the Isles have had this year I would bet u say we lost at least 50% of them based on their goaltending was far better than ours.

from IPB......

For kicks, here’s a little further detail on the subject. The Islanders have scored 25 goals in their last ten games. Of those, only six have come from outside the first line and the first power play line. Here they are:

Rolston CGY (EN)
Martin EDM
Martin ANA
Grabner DET
Grabner BUF
Grabner BUF (EN)

As you can see, those six goals include two empty netters. So in reality, four out of 23 non-empty net goals have come from outside those top lines. It’s been obvious watching this team that they’re only really getting production from their top line but it’s kind of amazing to see it broken out.



for what its worth, frans nielson is useless....trade him now while hell get something in return

the isles are a one line team and goaltending and one line does not propel you into the playoffs it doesnt happen ...
this squad is a mess fromn snow to cappy to rolston .. forget wang for a minute,
you need a big name g.m and that will get you a big name coach ..which would get you some decent players signing here even for the short term
- cmimbri

The Ducks have made the playoffs the last 3 years on Goaltending and one line.. fyi. I could look up Atlanta and their playoff days with one line. or the Devils 2 years ago.. .but I will just say if your top line is scoring enough and you have a top notch goaltender you WILL make the playoffs.

You know it's bad when you feel like the D has improved overnight because Dylan Reese was called up.

You know it's bad when you feel like the D has improved overnight because Dylan Reese was called up.

- Charlie21

I remember last year everybody hated him. He was worst than Gervais.

You know it's bad when you feel like the D has improved overnight because Dylan Reese was called up.

- Charlie21

Sadly, other than Hamonic, Reese has probably been our most steady dman this year. The blue line has to improve for this team to get better. They desperately need a big tough dman.

I remember last year everybody hated him. He was worst than Gervais.
- mighty13duck

NO ONE WAS WORSE THAN BRUNO! EVVVVERRRRRRRR!

from IPB......

For kicks, here’s a little further detail on the subject. The Islanders have scored 25 goals in their last ten games. Of those, only six have come from outside the first line and the first power play line. Here they are:

Rolston CGY (EN)
Martin EDM
Martin ANA
Grabner DET
Grabner BUF
Grabner BUF (EN)

As you can see, those six goals include two empty netters. So in reality, four out of 23 non-empty net goals have come from outside those top lines. It’s been obvious watching this team that they’re only really getting production from their top line but it’s kind of amazing to see it broken out.



for what its worth, frans nielson is useless....trade him now while hell get something in return
- LetsGoIsles

Trade seems to be a very frightening word in Islander nation. Seems that every Islander or prospect is so indispensable that we cant do without anyone. But the question is.
Who's so indispensable that we cant continue to finish in the bottom 5 of the league every yr with out them???? Humm? Who's so valuable that we cant take a chance on trading them to improve this team?

There are a few of those guys on our team but not the amount that you have been force fed. Not every player we've drafted or picked up over the past 3 yrs like some would have you believe.

Funny how the Flyers traded their supposedly two Best players and everyone was saying it was doomsday in Philly. It will be a yr or two until they get back into the PO's. Ha.

How has that trade worked out for them so far? Counting Pronger they argumentatively lost their top 3 players and are still a formidable team. Is the sky falling in Philly? It wont fall here either.

In case Wang and Snow havent noticed. The Islanders can only go in one direction.
So why are they so scared to make a Trade? It surely wont effect anyone's perception of the team, the attendance or a drop in the standings.

I remember last year everybody hated him. He was worst than Gervais.
- mighty13duck

This year he looks like Lidstrom compared to the guys we have

Trade seems to be a very frightening word in Islander nation. Seems that every Islander or prospect is so indispensable that we cant do without anyone. But the question is.
Who's so indispensable that we cant continue to finish in the bottom 5 of the league every yr with out them???? Humm? Who's so valuable that we cant take a chance on trading them to improve this team?

There are a few of those guys on our team but not the amount that you have been force fed. Not every player we've drafted or picked up over the past 3 yrs like some would have you believe.

Funny how the Flyers traded their supposedly two Best players and everyone was saying it was doomsday in Philly. It will be a yr or two until they get back into the PO's. Ha.

How has that trade worked out for them so far? Counting Pronger they argumentatively lost their top 3 players and are still a formidable team. Is the sky falling in Philly? It wont fall here either.

In case Wang and Snow havent noticed. The Islanders can only go in one direction.
So why are they so scared to make a Trade? It surely wont effect anyone's perception of the team, the attendance or a drop in the standings.


- SCLI

It will hurt Garth Snows pride this is the team him and Wang has put together and they are not going to admit they failed

If P.A. is saying it the right way — if that is really the issue, that the team is not prepared to play then that falls on the coach.

I like Cappy — he's a good guy. But I think he is in way over his head.

Consider that the Isles have had so many home shut-outs. Consider how many times teams are scoring on the first shot of games — it is not hard to see that the team is not fully prepared to play.

I am not suggesting it is easy. But the coach has to be the guy to get the boys ready to go. He has to be the one to set the team up, the systems and the structure. And if that is what is missing, then they need a new coach.

I have no desire to see Doug Weight as the head coach. Let him remain on as an assistant. I think that having Weight as a coach right now would be a big mistake.

The Islanders need a season cup winning coach. Either of Randy Carlyle, Marc Crawford would be great. If those wont work, then Michel Thierrien or Andy Murray would be fantastic options. I can't help but wonder where the Isles would be if Ken Hitchcock were the head coach.

I am also in favor of making a move. BUT — and this is the big issue, it can't be a "Milbury" type move, or the acquisition of a rental for a "Hail Mary" type of run just to get close to the playoff, and it can't be shipping a high level prospect for a player who's contract is up in two years. I have little desire in moving Okposo, Grabner, Strome or Nino and of course no desire in trading JT. So where are the movable assets?

Sure I can move Nino if the return is a signed star player who is a) willing to play here and b) fills a key need. I am not interested in a 35 year old with nothing left. It has to be a prime player if a prime asset is being traded.

The one asset I want Snow to move is this years first round pick. That pick could be highly valuable and could yield a very nice return for the Isles to help now. A team perhaps like the Jackets, Ducks, or canes who may be on the cusp of a roster "blowup" may want to secure another top pick, and the Isles could end up with a star in return. Would you trade the first pick for Getzlaf, Perry, Nash, or Ryan? I would.

It is not easy. Lots of players have NTC and the last thing we want is a Kirk Muller situation.

If P.A. is saying it the right way — if that is really the issue, that the team is not prepared to play then that falls on the coach.

I like Cappy — he's a good guy. But I think he is in way over his head.

Consider that the Isles have had so many home shut-outs. Consider how many times teams are scoring on the first shot of games — it is not hard to see that the team is not fully prepared to play.

I am not suggesting it is easy. But the coach has to be the guy to get the boys ready to go. He has to be the one to set the team up, the systems and the structure. And if that is what is missing, then they need a new coach.

I have no desire to see Doug Weight as the head coach. Let him remain on as an assistant. I think that having Weight as a coach right now would be a big mistake.

The Islanders need a season cup winning coach. Either of Randy Carlyle, Marc Crawford would be great. If those wont work, then Michel Thierrien or Andy Murray would be fantastic options. I can't help but wonder where the Isles would be if Ken Hitchcock were the head coach.
- HyeDray

Maybe PA should be the coach

Maybe PA should be the coach
- UIF

Oh no dont say that out loud they might make him retire and then tomorrow we will hear the press conference introducing PA as the new head coach. With Rolston, Pandolfo and Reasoner as his assistant and DP goaltending coach

Oh no dont say that out loud they might make him retire and then tomorrow we will hear the press conference introducing PA as the new head coach. With Rolston, Pandolfo and Reasoner as his assistant and DP goaltending coach
- kasperrko

Rolston will be the next coach before PA. Besides we all know Weight is next in line.

Rolston will be the next coach before PA. Besides we all know Weight is next in line.
- mighty13duck

Moronic, stupid maneuver, they'll definitely do it.

Rolston will be the next coach before PA. Besides we all know Weight is next in line.
- mighty13duck

what this team needs most is to lose an ungodly amount of games in a row and by some horrific scores to force management to do something about it.

with a new coach they could be a much better team. The defensive zone coverage is brutal and it looks to me like the players aren't playing a system, they're playing man on man and don't know where they're supposed to be on breakouts. It's pretty awful to watch.

i assume same lines as yesterday (and the past 4 weeks)?

why would they possibly change up the lines, they have been playing SO well.... (frank)ing bumholes