Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:
In playoff action last night, the Ottawa Senators got absolutely shellacked by the Penguins 7-3, including a four-goal third period. Ottawa netminder Craig Anderson was given the hook after 48 minutes, allowing six of those goals. While it was bounced around on Twitter last night, and may seem like a convenient and lovely narrative, Anderson’s struggles do not automatically endorse Evegni Nabokov being an excellent goaltender who happened to fall victim to a high powered Penguins offense.
The Penguins have a hell of an offense, there’s no doubt about that. However, Anderson has still played much better against the Penguins in this series, and throughout the 2013 season, than Nabokov did. And Nabokov’s play, or trying to relate Anderson’s play to Nabokov, doesn’t change the fact that the Islanders have a goaltender question to solve this summer.
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After dancing around whether or not his plan of six Islander games at a renovated Coliseum would need Madison Square Garden approval in an interview on Bloomberg last week, developer Bruce Ratner was more to the point yesterday afternoon on Fox Business.
“I don’t think it requires [MSG’s] approval,” Ratner told Fox Business Network yesterday. “It doesn’t, actually.”
And so continues the back and forth. I’m sure someone, somewhere, knows who has to approve it.
You can watch the full interview here.
Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:
This might be one of the more unusual scenarios that we’ve heard regarding coaching positions, but if reports are to be believed, Islanders coach Jack Capuano may be coveted by his alma mater, the University of Maine, for their vacant head coaching job.
After enduring a few bad, losing seasons Capuano guided a young Islanders team to the playoffs this year. That’s got to be more than enough incentive for coach and team to continue to work together, but it’s not clear if Capuano is under contract for next season. The Islanders don’t release coach contract info but the prevailing wisdom seems to be that Capuano’s contract was up after this year (after three years at the helm, and that sounds like a standard contact, anyhow). Back in April, Newsday’s Arthur Staple wrote that Capuano’s contract was likely up:
On the subject of Capuano’s contract status, neither he nor GM Garth Snow would comment. It was believed that Capuano’s contract runs through this season, but Snow steadfastly refuses to reveal any information about his coach’s status.
There’s been no news of an extension, at least not yet, and with the Maine job vacant since early April — a seemingly extended amount of time — that has led to lots of speculation. That speculation has included Scott Pellerin, also a Maine alum, as well as Capuano.
Yesterday, College Hockey News cited two sources that said Maine was interested in Capuano:
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The Islanders announced they have signed forward Chris Bruton to a one-year, two-way contract.
Bruton, 26-years-old, scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 69 games last season with the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League. He posted a -2 rating last year with Peoria.
Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:
For the sake of equal time, Point Blank is providing some insight into the vision of the other major player in the RFP –- the Madison Square Garden Group. Although MSG cannot offer the tease of six annual Islanders games -– but the Garden, the NHL and seemingly everyone else can block it -– their proposal is not without merits. Take away those Islanders games and there’s as much, or arguably more, to admire about MSG’s plan than the Ratner plan.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to bring the power and magic of The Madison Square Garden Company’s legendary brands to the Nassau Coliseum and the people of Long Island,” said Hank Ratner, President and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, in a statement provided to Point Blank.
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Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:
Earlier today, Switzerland lost to Sweden in the gold medal game of the IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championships. In front of the home crowd in Stockholm, the Swedish team took home gold with a 5-1 victory. They did it while wearing some shiny gold helmets (pictured), almost something out of the University of Oregon’s wardrobe catalog.
The Islanders’ Nino Niederreiter finished the tournament with five goals and eight points in 10 games, including a goal and assist against the United States to send Switzerland to the final against Sweden.
The gold medal game was the only loss of the tournament for Switzerland, and it was a tough pill to swallow for Niederreiter.
“It’s a big success for… Switzerland,” Niederreiter told iSport, referring to the tournament as a whole. “But it’s hard to think of it that way. Maybe we will in a few hours, but now we really feel empty and [it's hard to describe].”
Eric Boulton agreed to a one-year deal with the Islanders, the team announced.
Boulton, 36-years-old, appeared in 15 games with the Islanders last season. He was a -4 on the ice, with six blocked shots and five shots on goal.
Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:
Ratner was asked about the recent news that the NHL and Madison Square Garden would each have to approve the Islanders playing six games at the Coliseum after they move to Brooklyn. This stems from Articles 4.2 and 4.3 of the NHL’s Constitution, according to ESPN.
“The NHL has to approve it,” Ratner replied, dodging MSG’s possible involvement in the process. “Given the fact that the team has been there before, the fans are gonna want it, I’m sure [the NHL will] approve it.”
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The Islanders’ Matt Moulson has been named a finalist for the 2013 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
The award is given to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Moulson had only four penalty minutes while playing in 47 of 48 games, and averaging 19:09 of ice time per game. Moulson was pegged with two minor penalties in a three-game span in early February, then played the final 37 games without visiting the penalty box.
Moulson was a finalist for the Lady Bynd trophy last year.
If he wins, Moulson would be the third Islander to win the Lady Byng, following Pierre Turgeon (1993) and Mike Bossy (1983, 1984, 1986), according to NHL.com.
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning are also finalists.
The NHL has officially announced that the Islanders will host the Rangers at Yankee Stadium next season.
The game is scheduled for 1/29/14 at 7:30PM.
From the NHL release, “The innovative nature of the Stadium Series affords the opportunity to have all three NHL teams in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area play, outdoors, at one of the most-recognized stadiums in the world,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We’ll be able to create a multi-faceted, multi-day experience for our fans, and we thank the teams, Coors Light, the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium for their support of this memorable NHL event.”
