Alex Ovechkin scored the game-winner as the Isles lost to the Caps, 3-2. (Photo: Keith Allison/flickr)

In what has probably been the most entertaining game in a while, the Islanders coughed up a 2-0 lead and ultimately lost, 3-2, in overtime to the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center.

Josh Bailey and Matt Moulson scored to give the Islanders the lead, but Troy Brouwer struck twice for the Caps, and then Alexander Ovechkin finished things off with his 26th (?!) goal of the season. Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves, while Michal Neuvirth stopped 22 shots.

There’s nothing to say about this game, other than, “Well, I’m SHOCKED that that meltdown didn’t happen sooner.” Because quite frankly, after allowing the Caps room and more in the offensive zone for half a period and then losing faceoff after faceoff- not to mention, oh, parading to the penalty box and missing an empty net in the last minute of the period- I think we can all see why I’m slightly peeved. There is no consistency and NO finish to this team, and it’s aggravating to watch this night in and night out.

Props to Brouwer and Ovechkin for bringing the heat and capitalizing on our mistakes. And Neuvirth came up big throughout the game, while Nabokov was just bailing us out left and right. It’s a shame we can’t get our defense to stand up in front of him more often.

Check out the boxscore for yourselves. As for me, I’m getting a stiff drink and a punching bag. See you later.

To be honest, I only included this picture because it's funny. So long, Mike. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Yaaaawn.

I’m sorry, it’s only 5:39? Geez.

The Islanders did a whole lot of nothing when it comes down to it, pawning away two veterans (one of them already waived).

Defenseman Mike Mottau and forward Brian Rolston were traded to the Boston Bruins for prospects Yannick Riendeau and Marc Cantin. Don’t know who they are? Good, me either.

Looking at their stats, Riendeau was apparently a decent player in the Q, even posting 126 points in one season (2008-09). Recently, though, he hasn’t impressed much, and he’s never played an NHL game (and he’ll be 24 this year). He’s also a smaller player, at 5’10 and 178 lbs., and according to Hockey’s Future, isn’t much of a skater, so who knows what we can make of him.

Cantin, meanwhile, is a defenseman who’s had a few decent seasons offensively, but he’s a bit younger and has a little bit more time to develop. He went undrafted, but also according to HF, he’s a good skater and a solid defensive defenseman- not the biggest of players, again, but if he can develop, it’ll be interesting. Both have been assigned to Bridgeport, and I don’t think it’s likely that either of them will see Island time anytime soon.

But let’s focus on the positives. We got rid of two guys who were probably great in the locker room, but in all honesty “Mr. Congeniality” doesn’t win you hockey games. I think Garth SHOULD have pushed a bit more for guys we can use right here and now, but I understand that it’s a likely idea that no one wanted to give up able bodies for the veterans we have. Meanwhile, Boston just got a lot slower… sorry, guys.

Other than that, nothing to report. PA is still here, Montoya is still here, and life continues on the Island. I managed to get through another trade deadline without killing anything, which is good. And now, let’s get back to some hockey.

Notes: Mark Katic was activated off of IR today and returned on loan to Bridgeport.

1:26 p.m.

AL MONTOYA IS BEING SHOPPED.

LORD HAVE MERCY.

Apparently, the Leafs have no interest in him, not that I’d want them to. But… AL MONTOYA IS ON THE BLOCK.

Sigh. I can’t say that we couldn’t have seen this coming. Montoya hasn’t started a game in quite a while since the ascendance of Evgeni Nabokov into the #1 spot. And with Kevin Poulin proving to be a capable goalie in his own right (when he’s called up, that is), that leaves Montoya as the odd man out.

On the flip side, I cannot say that the Islanders have given Monty a fair shake since his injury. I understand the idea of riding Nabokov while he’s hot, but Nabokov also needs rest, and when he’s gotten it (which is not often), Poulin has gotten the nod ahead of Monty. Al is a goalie who needs a few starts to truly feel comfortable, and he hasn’t gotten a chance to bring himself back into the fold and shake off the rust. My thought about it? Well, if Jack Capuano isn’t going to give Monty the opportunity, then by all means send him to a place where he WILL get that chance, but… I think it’ll be a mistake. It’ll put the onus on Nabokov and it could also rush Poulin’s development. Not to mention the 10-year-old gorilla in the room that is Rick DiPietro and his contract (and the thought that he may never play again). If that is finally let go, what happens next?

Again, highly overprotective. (But for good reason!)

Feb. 27, 2012. 9:58 a.m.

I’m going to go NUTS. I hear three names associated with negotiations today: Evgeni Nabokov, PA Parenteau, and Dustin Brown.

Apparently, Nabokov is going nowhere, but Garth Snow is listening to offers for Parenteau. It’s unclear whether anything will actually HAPPEN regarding these offers. Multiple sources on Twitter say that Snow is asking for a first-rounder and a player for Parenteau, which is steep, but it could also be a tactic to get PA to sign.

I don’t know. I’m just going out of my mind right now. There are people chatting about trading for Dustin Brown (HA, I’d like to know THAT asking price), people saying that PA’s doing so well only because he’s playing with JT (another HA), and fans of other teams speculating about getting PA (NO.). I can’t help it. I’m getting overprotective. And it’s only 10 a.m.

Ugh.

Robin Lehner made 28 saves in his team's 5-2 win over the Islanders today. (Photo: Michael Hiridjee/flickr)

What do you get when you combine a lack of offense, a lack of intensity for two and a half periods, and an empty net with over two minutes to go in the third period?

A 5-2 Ottawa Senators win.

After an uplifting shootout win against the Rangers, this is what the Isles do, apparently. John Tavares score 49 seconds in, and at one point in the first period the Islanders were outshooting the Sens 9-0, but once again that momentum failed to carry into the second period. The Senators tied it, then took a 2-1 lead on goals by Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza. (Interestingly, Spezza had left only one or two shifts before his goal, after taking a Daniel Alfredsson shot off of his leg. Ouch. That is not pleasant, and I speak from experience- not with Alfredsson, of course. Didn’t seem to hamper Spezz any, though.)

Jim O’Brien made it 3-1 at 5:13 of the third, and then PA Parenteau broke loose and got the Islanders back into it (sort of) with his 15th goal of the season (and 58th point). Suddenly, the Islanders looked like they were ready to play again- aaaand then the Sens’ fourth goal happened.

It happened like so: Mark Streit collected a pass at the blueline and attempted a shot. His stick got broken in the process. Suddenly, it was an Ottawa rush going the other way, and Streit hurried back (but got clustered up with Milan Jurcina in the meantime) to try and stop Nick Foligno and Chris Neil. Neil got the pass, Jurcina tried to block the passing lane instead of anticipating a shot, and boom. Goal. Done deal, and I was already reaching for some comfort food. Kyle Turris had an empty netter at the end, but that’s not really worth noting. Meh.

I just don’t get this team. There is zero consistency between games and even PERIODS. One minute, they look completely in control, and the next they’re being lit up for four goals against. You can’t blame Evgeni Nabokov much for this one, because he did make some big saves to try and keep the Islanders in it (and finished with 19 saves on 23 shots). It’s like they score one goal and decide to take the rest of the game off- and indeed, the only reason they have seven goals forced in four games is because four of them came against the Rangers in one night (and one of them was a shootout winner, so not really a ~goal). Take away that win, and we’ve scored three goals in four games and allowed eleven against. What’s going on, how can it be stopped… and more importantly, what is going on behind the bench that this is happening? After all, there’s only so much you can pin on the players themselves before looking at the person meant to be guiding them. This was supposed to be a deciding year for Capuano; Ted Nolan and Scott Gordon before him had much riding on their second seasons as head coach, and we all know what happened there. The line blurs when it comes to coaching responsibility vs. player responsibility, but either way, something has to change.

Anyway… the trade deadline is tomorrow, and with PA Parenteau and Evgeni Nabokov still not signed, who knows what could or will happen. You can check out one perspective, by Erol Bal of The Checking Line, in which he advocates trading Kyle Okposo in exchange for Dustin Brown (his point being that Brown will score goals and provide some physicality, unlike KO). I highly doubt it would happen, in part because it’s a bigger cap hit (at $3.175M) than Okposo’s is ($2.8M, though we barely hit the cap floor each season as it is, so no biggie). Also, looking at the comparative stats for these guys, though KO’s plus-minus is way lower (more a result of his teammates than himself), he has 35 points to Dustin’s 31 and only four fewer goals. So I think this would be a hypothetical trade solely based on the added physical dimension, which is of course needed on the Island, but… let’s face it, Garth Snow is not the type of GM to come out with blockbuster trades, and there are whispers that Brown is staying put anyway. So this sounds like a lot of wishing, as most of these trade ideas are.

Do I think some guys should be moved? Yes. Marty Reasoner, Jay Pandolfo and Milan Jurcina could all find homes elsewhere and I wouldn’t bat an eye. Pandolfo’s penalty killing hasn’t done us any good recently, Jurcina’s game is full of holes, and Reasoner still hasn’t even scored a goal. Of course, while some of these guys could still have appeal to teams in need of highly specific role players in their lineup, I don’t see them going anywhere but the waiver wire (if possible). Same for Mike Mottau, whose God-awful giveaway up the middle led to one of the Senators’ goals tonight. But the best thing for Snow to do should he decide to sell is get capable, ready-to-play bodies, preferably defensive-minded, to patch up our woebegone blueline. We’ve been relying on drafting and prospects for a while, and clearly our farm team is in no dire need of help. Focus on helping the big-brother team stop the bleeding. If that means giving up a guy like Parenteau or Nabokov, well… do what you have to do, Garth, but I think both have a place on our team and should stay a bit longer. Even Nabokov. Can you believe that? (Considering Snow is still in talks with Nabokov’s agent, yes, he can.)

That’s all for now. I try not to talk too-too much about trade stuff, because I still have much to learn and am always afraid of sounding dumb. (True story.) But the trade deadline is a part of NHL life, and as such, just like everyone else, I’ll be glued to Twitter and nhl.com.

Until next time.

P.S. The title? I had Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” stuck in my head after I heard it playing at Scotiabank Place. Whoops.

Bye bye, Brian. (Photo: Robert Kowal/flickr)

Per the Isles’ website, winger Brian Rolston has been placed on waivers.

The 39-year-old was drafted the same year I was born (how’s that for dating myself AND him), and in 49 games with the Islanders he has posted four goals and nine points total. He’s also a -12. Definitely not what the Islanders had expected of him, but Arthur Staple of Newsday speculates that a team may well pick him up before the day is done. Which brings this question: Why waive him when you might have been able to trade him for at least a couple of picks or prospects (or both), if not a replacement for him on the third line?

Then again, with David Ullstrom being called up to the Island, perhaps that question has been answered. Ully had posted four points in 14 games played at the beginning of the season, but after sustaining a concussion in a game against the Winnipeg Jets (yeah, the same team that put Monty on the shelf for over a month), he spent some time recovering and then went back to Bridgeport and… well, never came back up. Until now. You can expect him to take Rolston’s spot on third-line wing with Martin and Cizikas, and seeing as that’s been more of an energy line than our fourth-line has been… yeah, I’m excited to see how this will turn out.

Until next time.

PA Parenteau lit up his former team tonight, scoring two goals. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

The Islanders gave away a 3-1 lead, but ultimately won over their crosstown foes, the Rangers, in a shootout, 4-3. The big story? No, not Evgeni Nabokov, though he made 33 saves and stopped 3 of 4 in the shootout. Not even Travis Hamonic, though he was a +2 and scored an assist in his return to the Coliseum ice.

No, instead, I’m highlighting a guy who may not even remain an Islander much longer. God forbid, but it’s the truth. However, PA Parenteau gave his former team a taste of just what they’ve been missing out on. He scored two goals, bringing his career points total to  56. John Tavares, of course, helped out with two assists (both gorgeous passes), and Matt Moulson scored the opening goal and the shootout winner, giving the top line an all-around A+ for tonight’s effort.

The Isles were up 2-0 when Marc Staal split the lead in half on a power-play goal (that was when I left to meet up with some friends). Matt Moulson was the recipient of a wonderful pass from behind the net by Tavares, and made no mistake elevating it over Martin Biron’s right shoulder at 6:07 of the first period. Then, just over two minutes later PA Parenteau came barreling into the offensive zone and fired a cannon right through Biron, benefiting from (again) a great Tavares play, this time a pass from between JT’s legs. Marty Reasoner put a damper on things by taking a penalty just afterward, giving Staal the go-ahead to blast one from near the blueline. 2-1, and that was all I knew.

Looking at the boxscore, I have to say that the Islanders were either incredibly undisciplined (which wouldn’t surprise me) and/or they were really screwed over by the refs (which also wouldn’t surprise me). Either way, their penalties led to two Rangers power-play goals, which isn’t encouraging considering the penalty kill was at 83.2% coming into this game. (It’s now at 82.6%, good for 13th in the league. :\) For their part, the Rangers took a few penalties too, but the difference was that the Isles’ power-play hasn’t exactly clicked at the right times recently. I can imagine that there was a lot of skating back into their own zone to pick up a cleared puck. Something has to change there, because I’m sure that if the Islanders’ PP had been functioning well, the game wouldn’t have gone to a shootout. Special teams really can make or break a team.

But either way, the Islanders were able to come away from this one with two points and all of their major cogs healthy and back in the lineup. (Aside from Josh Bailey, of course. I still don’t know what happened to him. That’s not good.) That is what I’m really happy about. Plus, any time we can beat the Rangers and silence the multitude of their fans who decide it’s Occupy Nassau Coliseum time every game they play against us, is fine by me- especially since they’re at the top of the East and we can always provide that little speed bump that juuust might knock them down a few pegs. (I dream, of course.)

As for Parenteau… well, nothing’s been mentioned re: contract JUST yet. At the same time, there are whispers about Nabokov being re-signed, and while we certainly aren’t lacking in cap space and can sign them both, I hope this doesn’t become a case of “let’s ditch one and keep the other.” Parenteau has great chemistry with virtually any line he’s on, he’s a hard worker and he provided some major finish today off of some good plays. As I’ve said before, I think a lot of the time he’s overshadowed and forgotten, especially when you consider Moulson or Tavares when they’re hot. But Parenteau is talented in his own right, and after the Rangers pretty much gave up on him, he’s fit in very well on the Island and is getting noticed more and more. I just want him to stay a bit longer… is that so bad?

Well, if it is, I don’t care. Let’s go, Isles!

So the Islanders need to win some games in order to even sniff at eighth place.

Good news? Evgeni Nabokov is back from stomach flu. Though the goalie was somewhat rocked in a 3-0 shutout last time he faced the Rangers, he still has a .925 save % and is the Isles’ current best hope in net.

Better news? Casey Cizikas is set to make his NHL debut tonight. The 20-year-old center is filling Josh Bailey’s place in the lineup, after Bailey left the Sabres game with an injury. There are definite high hopes for this kid, and I’m looking forward to see what he can do.

And possibly the best news yet? Travis Hamonic is playing tonight! The Isles reported on Twitter that the defenseman will be back in the lineup tonight, and I assume he’ll be wearing a cage to protect his still-healing nose, but… ultimate, infinite flailing has commenced. I am so, so, so excited to see him back in the lineup, especially since we need some serious defensive help.

Considering this is a Rangers team that is first in the Eastern Conference, the Isles have their work cut out for them. They lead the season series 3-1-0, and are 7-3-0 in their last 10. Captain Ryan Callahan has led the charge, with seven points and two game-winners under his belt in that 10-game span. While the Isles have two top-30 scorers in their lineup (John Tavares and PA Parenteau), they haven’t had any offense in their past two games and the left wing on their top line, Matt Moulson, has been conspicuously quiet (he used to be in the top 30 as well, and has since been overtaken by PA). No telling who will be in net tonight for the Rangers, since both Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Biron have great numbers and are solid against the Isles. Either way, they have to be aggressive and not let up.

We’ll see what happens, I guess.

Let’s go, Isles!

Travis Hamonic has been taken off IR after missing three weeks with a concussion. (Photo: Anastasia Reilly/flickr)

I suggest you guys all take a look at this article by the Isles’ Cory Wright about Travis Hamonic’s ongoing recovery after taking a puck to the face on February 4. It’s a pretty eye-opening read about what exactly happened to Travis, plus how he’s been dealing with not playing. Here’s a couple of quotes:

“It’s been a long couple weeks not to play,” he said. “That’s behind me now and I’m grateful it wasn’t worse than it was.

“It’s definitely a blessing from God… Someone was looking after me out there and helped me turn my head at the last second and made sure I didn’t damage my eyes in any way. From a spiritual standpoint, I’m pretty grateful that it wasn’t a lot worse than it was.”

Definitely scary to think about how the puck, shot by Christian Ehrhoff, shattered his nose and tore his septum clear off of the bone. He had to take tons of precautions in order to make sure it healed correctly and didn’t get infected. And since his injury, the Islanders have gone 4-5 and allowed 22 goals against in nine games. They’re definitely missing his shot blocking and other defensive capabilities.

There’s no distinct timetable on when Hamonic will return, though it’s certain he will wear a face shield. I know that, protection and all, I’ll be glad to see him on the blueline, since this defense definitely needs him. In just a short amount of time, he’s become the cornerstone of the Isles’ blueline; even if the Islanders cannot make a playoff push, in order to still be competitive, they need a defenseman to lead them. With Mark Streit having a down season, Travis Hamonic, along with Andrew MacDonald, has become that guy.

Get well soon, Trav.

Notes: Tim Wallace was picked up on waivers today by the Tampa Bay Lightning. (They really do love our players. -_-) Also, Casey Cizikas was called up from Bridgeport, and Aaron Ness and Kevin Poulin were both returned to the AHL.

I’m slightly worried.

Tim Wallace has, yes, slammed his way into my little heart. And the Isles have now placed him on waivers.

The 27-year-old scored only one point-an assist- in 31 games on the Island after being called up, but his physical play had me in love. I just hope no one grabs him and that he just goes right down to Bridgeport and stays in our farm system.

Also, Ty Wishart was sent back down to Bridgeport, which has me wondering… daaa-dum, daaa-dum… is a certain… defenseman… who wears… number 3… coming back from injury? (GOD, I HOPE SO.)

We shall see.