DiPietro set to return on Saturday

I have not posted in a while, but I received what I will call an exclusive tonight. Sources close to Islanders goaltender Kevin Poulin informed NYI Five Hole that the netminder will be returned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this Friday.

Based upon this information, one can surmise that while Rick DiPietro had not been placed on Injured Reserve, he will be returning to active duty on Saturday versus the Buffalo Sabres. I do not have any info whether it will be Lawson or DiPietro in net on Saturday.

Kevin has played well in his brief stint with the big team, but his proper place for now is developing in Bridgeport. Kudos to him on a fine 48 save performance this evening against the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe he will get one more game in net for the big team this Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.

Wiz suspended for two games

Defensemen James Wisniewski received a two game suspension for his actions during the Islanders-Rangers game on Monday October 11th. Per the New York Islanders website, Wisniewski does not plan to appeal his suspension. Expect Jack Hillen or Bruno Gervais to take his place in the lineup.

Happy Comeau Day

Today's tilt with the New York Rangers at Nassau Coliseum was quite an entertaining event. It was a close game throughout. There was never more than a one goal score differential until Frans Nielsen scored an empty netter to finalize the goal scoring sheet for a 6-4 Islanders lead.

P.A. Parenteau and Blake Comeau made the Rangers pay for their undisciplined play late in the third period. Parenteau scored on a five on three advantage to tie the game at 4-4. Fifty-Eight seconds later, Comeau scored the go ahead goal on a five on four power play.

Blake Comeau continued the energetic and smart playing that was evident on opening night against the Dallas Stars. He scored the Islanders' first and fifth goals of the game and was awarded the First Star of the Game. He is hitting and playing with gusto. Mr. Comeau now has three goals in two games. Let's hope this continues.

Josh Bailey continues to play like a new man. Or maybe it is because he is actually a man now physically. No disrespect intended to Mr. Bailey who has been very impressive in these first two games.

Matt Moulson was solid as usual. Logging a goal and an assist. Continuing kudos to Garth Snow and the scouting staff on this find.

Zenon Kenopka and Brandon Prust had a heavy weight fight late in the first period. The fight lasted about 90 seconds and was a draw. Both took the hits and gave them equally until they ran out of gas.

After a verbal altercation with Rangers prime instigator Sean Avery, Islanders defensemen James Wisniewski apparently lost self control and made an over-the-top lewd gesture towards Avery. You can expect Wisniewski to receive a one or two game suspension for this maneuver. Islanders fans will stand behind their new top two defensemen simply because it involved Mr. Avery. http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/10/11/james-wisniewski-makes-obscene-gesture-toward-sean-avery/

Announced attendance at today's matinee was 11,748. This is the smallest crowd on hand for an Islanders-Rangers game that this writer has ever witnessed and is probably the smallest of all time. Is it the fact that it was day game when many adults were not off from work? Is it the fact that the New York Jets are playing the Minnesota Vikings at home this evening? Regardless, it was an extremely disappointing turnout. Primary blame is assigned to Islanders' fans but where were all the Rangers fans that usually tend to dominate our arena?

As reported this morning by Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank, the organization has once again changed the Islanders goal song after a locker room led coup by new resident tough man Zenon Kenopka. When will the organization learn that with simple things like a goal song, fans want consistency. The new song is “Live is Life” by Opus. Don't expect it to last long.

Based upon observations from today and Saturday's games, there are a lot of new Game Ops staffers with the organization this year. There was a problem with security officials not letting patrons re-enter the game from outside with alcoholic beverages before the third period started though no announcement had been made regarding this matter. This was quickly rectified and most patrons re-entered the arena peacefully.

Finally, I attended the game with my father today. Dad, who is 77, is a lifelong Rangers fan. We had a great day together and it refreshing to see the Islanders win, since the Rangers usually win when we go to a game together. Maybe next time Pop!

Parking Price Conundrum

Over this past weekend from Friday to Sunday, I read much conjecture on the ever popular Islanders Point Blank blog (by Chris Botta) about the pending increase in parking prices at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (NVMC). By Sunday afternoon, it seemed pretty clear that the prices for next season would be $15 for Preferred Parking and $10 for General Parking. Preferred Parking would be in what is currently called Breakaway Parking (for Season Ticket Holders) and possibly others areas immediately surrounding the building while General Parking would be in the outlying parking areas on the Coliseum property.

Much to my surprise when I arrived at the game last night versus the Toronto Maple Leafs the new sign above the parking gate that I entered read the prices that are cited above. I am currently a season ticket holder and I had my Breakaway Parking pass so I did not have to pay this rate, but I was rather shocked to see that these new prices were being implemented immediately. I mentioned this to a few season tickets holders inside the game who seemed very surprised to hear this news. But wait, the story does not end there.

My full time job is in within one mile of the NVMC. So today I decided to go out at lunch and capture a picture of this sign on my cell phone for use on this blog. When I got to the Breakaway Parking entrance it was closed and I could not approach the sign so I drove around to the Charles Lindbergh Blvd entrance across from Nassau Community College. When I got there, there were also new signs above each of the approximately five gates, but these signs cited the prices that we are all used to, which is $7 for General Parking and $14 for Oversized Vehicles. Now I was really puzzled. So I drove through the lot and made my way to the Breakaway Parking entrance, where I discovered that out of the signs posted above these four parking gates, three cited the old prices and one cited the new higher prices (this being the gate I entered through last night). Finally I drove to the Hempstead Turnpike entrance where I also saw new signs posted above the approximately seven parking gates at this entrance. These signs all listed the old $7 and $14 prices as well.

So it would appear that Standard Parking, which is the new company handling parking at NVMC, wanted to put up signs that reflected their business. Obviously signs citing the new prices have already been prepared and one of these signs was mistakenly put in place over the weekend. I’ve made a couple of assumptions here but I would fully expect the new prices to immediately go into effect for the first event to take place at NVMC after the Islanders season ends on April 11, 2010.

The State of the Islanders Address

So this is my first post in a long while, I felt like I had something to say that is different from what I have been reading on my regular Islanders stops. This is basically my view on the future of the Islanders as they are currently constructed. Most of our top prospects are either injured, just recovering from injury or are playing in the KHL (Petrov). Money will be spent this summer. Guaranteed!

Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) Forwards - Sim, Weight, and Jackman will not be back. By the way that is $4.5 million in Salary Caps hit combined. Richard Park could stick around for one more year.

UFA Defenseman Frederick Meyer IV will likely be extended before July 1st.

Of the Islanders Restricted Free Agent ‘property’, I only expect Rob Schremp and Matt Moulson to be signed for next year. Moulson XXX should get a $1 million contract as reward for his service this season. If his productivity continues next year expect him to get a two to three year extension at about $2 million a year. Rob Schremp will probably get a modest raise next season from his $715,000 salary this season.

When Coach Gordon is asked if they are still trying to make the playoffs, the answer that follows should not invite further questions. He does not need to answer organizational decisions. That is the General Manager’s job.

Reporter: Are you still trying to make the playoffs?

Coach Gordon: We are trying to win every game.

Reporter: So, you are still trying to make the playoffs?

Coach Gordon: As I said, we are trying to win every game we play.

That would be Jack Ryan style.

I don’t understand the Sutton trade without that second round pick and one of our goalies being packaged for a first round pick. Maybe a potential follow up trade fell apart.

Has anyone ever thought about the fact that if the organization did a buy out of Rick DiPietro’s contract, that it would only cost the team $2.25 million against the salary cap per year even if it is for the next 24 seasons. How can that really be considered different from $4.50 million for the next 12 seasons? You can only plan so far ahead. A buyout could or even possibly should be coming.

Brendan Witt’s contract will be bought out after this season (unless Snow puts him through Re-Entry Waivers knowing there is a taker). This is not going to be a Jon Sim resurrection project where Witter turns into Steve Webb for the 2010-11 season.

It is unfortunate that Joel Rechlicz that was sent to Bridgeport to get game time and experience has spent a lot of game time as a healthy scratch. He is signed for next season.

Au Revoir for next season:

I wish good luck to Sean Bergenheim wherever he lands up, whether it be in the NHL, Sweden or the KHL.

To Jeff Tambellini, I wish you much success with whatever Western Conference team that you sign with.

The New York Islanders will not be competitive for the rest of the season. With the trade of Andy Sutton and the loss of Andrew MacDonald due to injury, our defense is decimated. Welcome to the NHL Dylan Reese, enjoy your stay.

The organization is approaching the line of no return. Suck it up for the rest of the season. That is…almost…okay. Get the best picks you can and then spend some money. Bolster the young talent with some players that can not only protect our younger players but can also contribute to their development.

This Blog is Closed

For anyone that visits this blog, I just want to inform you that it is shut down. I may choose to reactivate in the future. In the meanwhile I recommend IslandersPointBlank.com or Lighthouse Hockey for informative Islanders reading.

Long Island Press report - Lighthouse without Light

Please see the link below to the story on the Long Island Press website. To be honest, I don't give this report much credence, but Islanders Country is up in arms so it is worthy of reporting.

http://www.longislandpress.com/2009/10/14/press-exclusive-plugged-is-pulled-on-lighthouse/

Please also check B.D Gallof's take over at HockeyIndependent.com. This is a great new site that B.D. has set up to attract hockey bloggers from all over the NHL landscape.

http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=3231

Finally I always recommend Chris Botta's blog which will be continuing throughout the upcoming Islanders season thanks to a new sponsorship agreement with AOL's NHLFanhouse.

http://www.islanderspointblank.com/2009/10/report-lighthouse-project-goes-dark/

I'll add thoughts on this whole potential debacle as more information becomes available.