for all the rush chances the Isles got, did anyone actually see the Isles get near a rebound off rask? Pretty sure all night was one and done.

Nabby has to have that first one in a game like this. He can play as well as he did in the third but a softie against a team like the Bruins is going to kill us every time. This year he's allowed at least 1-2 soft goals damn near every game. With better goaltending this team is .500 and in the playoff picture.
- Isles_since_6

Nabby has been good sometimes great. Rask has been borderline elite for the Bruins playing with an incredible team in front of him. ANY team would be better with elite goaltending. If you think Nabby is the difference with this team being playoff bound I'll tell you to insert any goaltender not named Osgood(who was nothing special) that the Islanders have had in the last 10-15 years and tell me they'd be better for it. I don't like Nabby bcs of the BS that went on with him but he's been the best Islander not named Tavares this year. If you think we had a remote shot beating that team last night with another goaltender I don't agree. Our defense and 90% of our offence is the worst I've seen since I can remember and I've been watching this team since the seventies. You put RDP, Macdonald, Danis, Poulin, Snow, or any other Islander starter in there from the last 20 years and our record is worse. Should we get better goaltending? Absolutley but there are far worse areas on this team. Especially our defense. That first goal could be labled soft bcs it squeaked through but how about the 5 borderline highlight reel saves he made before when AMAC and Hamonic were completely out of positiion. Don't expect ANY goaltender to be able to right this ship with the defence we have.

Who's Nielsen been playing with?

On this team. If your not playing with JT or MM your at a disadvantage.

If your on a line with KO or Aucoin your doomed.

Put Neilsen on the wing with JT and MM and he'll get double digit goals also.

That being said, Nielsen has been playing on the wrong line for way to long.
- SCLI

Nielsen should be a third line center, even Snow said it and said he was going to address it then did absolutely nothing. I'd love to see Bailey on the 1st line for a brief stint.

with a better D, the goalie doesn't have to face as many dangerous shots or worry about rebounds. Nabby cant do this all himself.

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

Said the same thing. Our defence is atrocious. I can't even find a word horrible enough for our defence.

Not sure which Dman it always is (want to say AMAC) but everytime there is an odd man rush he goes down way too early just as the other team crosses the blue line and then the player with the puck just skates around him and then gets off a good shot or pass.

I just don't get this team when they are on they are pretty damn good but when they are off its like an AHL team out there. Its seems its one or the other, right now i would take consistant mediocracy.
- special_k1074

Correct

Nabby has been good sometimes great. Rask has been borderline elite for the Bruins playing with an incredible team in front of him. ANY team would be better with elite goaltending. If you think Nabby is the difference with this team being playoff bound I'll tell you to insert any goaltender not named Osgood(who was nothing special) that the Islanders have had in the last 10-15 years and tell me they'd be better for it. I don't like Nabby bcs of the BS that went on with him but he's been the best Islander not named Tavares this year. If you think we had a remote shot beating that team last night with another goaltender I don't agree. Our defense and 90% of our offence is the worst I've seen since I can remember and I've been watching this team since the seventies. You put RDP, Macdonald, Danis, Poulin, Snow, or any other Islander starter in there from the last 20 years and our record is worse. Should we get better goaltending? Absolutley but there are far worse areas on this team. Especially our defense. That first goal could be labled soft bcs it squeaked through but how about the 5 borderline highlight reel saves he made before when AMAC and Hamonic were completely out of positiion. Don't expect ANY goaltender to be able to right this ship with the defence we have.
- Cptmjl

dont be surprised if you see Nabby here next year. He wants to be a starter and the Islanders are the only team so far that will give him that chance

Obviously Nabby is not the issue here. He's been good. But the Isles don't have a better D, so, without a major change there, they need goaltending that's better than good. That might be too much to ask of a 37-year-old Nabby. On a team with a better D, he'd be a perfect goaltender. But with an elite goalie that clearly outplays his counterpart more nights than not, it's hard to argue that the Isles wouldn't have squeezed out an extra four or so points, bad D and all.

Smaller D means more people crowded by the front of the net. Boston's simply a better team...at every position. Nabby made big saves last night, but Rask played better. Our D, small as it is, did a pretty good job tying up sticks and keeping things mostly on the outside, but Boston's D did a better job at those things. Our forwards skated well and generated good scoring chances, but their forwards were able to finish their chances. If the team had a coach, or leadership in the locker room, or whatever...to get that kind of effort every night, things might be a bit different around here. In 2006-07, that kind of effort was a given. Was it the coach? The players? I don't know, but it'd be nice if they could figure that out.
- UIF

It's difficult to use 2006-07 as an effort benchmark simply because that team was much better equipped to compete. I get the idea of 'consistent' efforts but the thing that worried me about Nolan as a coach is the same issue I see with Gordon and Cappy. As the old saying goes, you should work smart, not hard. The ability to be sound in positional play ultimately allows you to be economical in energy spent. This is why so often we see the Isles running around like chickens with their heads cut off. All teams have off nights effort-wise, but ones that are fundamentally and technically flawed are more easily exposed when they do this. There's no question that Nolan had his players more motivated than Cappy does, but I think both were horrendus coaches from an X's and O's standpoint. You can get away with this against other teams who aren't positional teams like Boston but more system driven teams like New Jersey tend to expose you. Boston doesn't need to win with sound positional play against the Isles, they simply mow us over.

The Isles competed last night by being positionally sound for the most part, but their constant positional lapses seem to always get the better of them. We've seen a few times where the Isles have pelted the other teams goaltender yet lose the game on a few breakdowns. I'm afraid our system is as much to fault for this as anythiing and that may endure well beyond Cappy's tenure.

if the Isles had a .500 home record, they'd be in the 4th place...

if the Isles had a .500 home record, they'd be in the 4th place...
- Mr.Black

I know they said that last night. Unbeleivable I tell you. I dont get why we suck at home

It's difficult to use 2006-07 as an effort benchmark simply because that team was much better equipped to compete. I get the idea of 'consistent' efforts but the thing that worried me about Nolan as a coach is the same issue I see with Gordon and Cappy. As the old saying goes, you should work smart, not hard. The ability to be sound in positional play ultimately allows you to be economical in energy spent. This is why so often we see the Isles running around like chickens with their heads cut off. All teams have off nights effort-wise, but ones that are fundamentally and technically flawed are more easily exposed when they do this. There's no question that Nolan had his players more motivated than Cappy does, but I think both were horrendus coaches from an X's and O's standpoint. You can get away with this against other teams who aren't positional teams like Boston but more system driven teams like New Jersey tend to expose you. Boston doesn't need to win with sound positional play against the Isles, they simply mow us over.

The Isles competed last night by being positionally sound for the most part, but their constant positional lapses seem to always get the better of them. We've seen a few times where the Isles have pelted the other teams goaltender yet lose the game on a few breakdowns. I'm afraid our system is as much to fault for this as anythiing and that may endure well beyond Cappy's tenure.
- keaner17

Just because Nolan wasn't a fan of rigid systems doesn't mean people were just running wild all over the place though. Folks still had positions to play and assignments they had to take care of. I thought that team was pretty structured and responsible defensively, almost to the point of boredom sometimes. That focus on D is something that's gone out the window entirely since he's left, even with the adherence to fancy systems under Gordon. Also, Nolan was much better than any coach since at making sure he had the right match-ups. Top lines always saw Hunter-Sillinger-Hilbert (and Witt). They rarely got caught in the horrible mismatches we see nightly these days.

I know they said that last night. Unbeleivable I tell you. I dont get why we suck at home
- kasperrko

lack of fan support!!!

NY fans are too negative...

lack of fan support!!!

NY fans are too negative...
- jimmc7722

Last season they got their doors blown off in virtually every sellout, including the sleepiest shutout loss I've seen in years in the home opener against Fla. If anything, they played better in an empty building!

Obviously Nabby is not the issue here. He's been good. But the Isles don't have a better D, so, without a major change there, they need goaltending that's better than good. That might be too much to ask of a 37-year-old Nabby. On a team with a better D, he'd be a perfect goaltender. But with an elite goalie that clearly outplays his counterpart more nights than not, it's hard to argue that the Isles wouldn't have squeezed out an extra four or so points, bad D and all.
- UIF

Any team with an elite goalie could squeeze out some more points. Of course any team "needs" an elite goalie. While were at it I'd like 4 elite Dmen, 2 more elite forwards, an elite coach, GM, and owner. Like I said if we had any other goaltender that the Isles had over the last 20 years besides Osgood our record would be MUCH worse. Nabby is the least of this teams problems

It's difficult to use 2006-07 as an effort benchmark simply because that team was much better equipped to compete. I get the idea of 'consistent' efforts but the thing that worried me about Nolan as a coach is the same issue I see with Gordon and Cappy. As the old saying goes, you should work smart, not hard. The ability to be sound in positional play ultimately allows you to be economical in energy spent. This is why so often we see the Isles running around like chickens with their heads cut off. All teams have off nights effort-wise, but ones that are fundamentally and technically flawed are more easily exposed when they do this. There's no question that Nolan had his players more motivated than Cappy does, but I think both were horrendus coaches from an X's and O's standpoint. You can get away with this against other teams who aren't positional teams like Boston but more system driven teams like New Jersey tend to expose you. Boston doesn't need to win with sound positional play against the Isles, they simply mow us over.

The Isles competed last night by being positionally sound for the most part, but their constant positional lapses seem to always get the better of them. We've seen a few times where the Isles have pelted the other teams goaltender yet lose the game on a few breakdowns. I'm afraid our system is as much to fault for this as anythiing and that may endure well beyond Cappy's tenure.
- keaner17

and whose fault is that?

I know they said that last night. Unbeleivable I tell you. I dont get why we suck at home
- kasperrko

Ask Snow and Dee Karl, it's definitely the fans fault.

Ask Snow and Dee Karl, it's definitely the fans fault.
- Cptmjl

Yeah I am sure of it. I went there the other night and they lost so it is not my fault

lack of fan support!!!

NY fans are too negative...
- jimmc7722

Oh and look what you did there. Like i said to you yesterday, great minds think alike. You share this opinion with the Likes of Dee Karl and Garth Snow. You are a genius amongst geniuses!

Just because Nolan wasn't a fan of rigid systems doesn't mean people were just running wild all over the place though. Folks still had positions to play and assignments they had to take care of. I thought that team was pretty structured and responsible defensively, almost to the point of boredom sometimes. That focus on D is something that's gone out the window entirely since he's left, even with the adherence to fancy systems under Gordon. Also, Nolan was much better than any coach since at making sure he had the right match-ups. Top lines always saw Hunter-Sillinger-Hilbert (and Witt). They rarely got caught in the horrible mismatches we see nightly these days.
- UIF

I recall there being an article that came out at the time of Nolan's hiring to NY in the Toronto Sun that quoted several Buffalo players about Nolan's system. I've tried to find it but can't. The title was "Nolan's system is No system". It went on to explain how technically flawed he was as a coach but made up for it with his motivational abilities. Peca was actually quoted in that article stating that they didn't know where they were going but they knew they'd go through a wall for him. It also went on to detail how Nolan's teams were giving up some of the highest shot totals in the league.

In the end, I never thought much about Nolan as a coach but the one thing I could say about him was he always go maximum effort. I do think come playoff time his lack of true system failed him but the Isles had a pretty good team at that time but ultimately failed against the more composed system of Ruff in Buffalo

* had to edit, brain fart on the playoff matchup!

Any team with an elite goalie could squeeze out some more points. Of course any team "needs" an elite goalie. While were at it I'd like 4 elite Dmen, 2 more elite forwards, an elite coach, GM, and owner. Like I said if we had any other goaltender that the Isles had over the last 20 years besides Osgood our record would be MUCH worse. Nabby is the least of this teams problems
- Cptmjl

who do we consider elite?? I ask because before you state the obvious if those goalies did not have good D we would not put them in elite status

Yeah I am sure of it. I went there the other night and they lost so it is not my fault
- kasperrko

Oh yes it is. You didn't cheer loud enough when the noise meter came up.

and whose fault is that?
- Cptmjl

Well, considering we stripped the team the year after and started building from the ground up.....

who do we consider elite?? I ask because before you state the obvious if those goalies did not have good D we would not put them in elite status
- kasperrko

To an extent you are correct. We don't need to have the who is elite goalie convo, we've all been there done that

Last season they got their doors blown off in virtually every sellout, including the sleepiest shutout loss I've seen in years in the home opener against Fla. If anything, they played better in an empty building!
- UIF

Exactly no pressure to win. This team is way to fragile and they really are like newborn babies to much noise and they do nothing or play like crap

Well, considering we stripped the team the year after and started building from the ground up.....
- keaner17

you just can't say it can you?

To an extent you are correct. We don't need to have the who is elite goalie convo, we've all been there done that
- Cptmjl

Just saying defense wins game it is the same in every sport. and even though it is up tto the goalie to make the saves when called upon if the defense is doing there job that goalie can win every night.

I played goalie for a while and when my d played awesome I was giving up maybe a goal when they were not I was giving up af ew more since the rebounds were nto being cleared