GDT: GDT #8 Detroit Red Wings vs New York Islanders | October 30th | 7:30 PM | F/4-3 OTL

[Uncle Lou]

Horvat has been excellent. Unfortunate he gave that away in OT. Looked like he was trying to play it back for possession and didn’t get enough on a bouncing puck. Might have had barzal with a chip up the wall. Oh well, didn’t deserve the 2nd point anyway after that disgusting 5min stretch. Team could really use mayfield right about now. Bolduc/Aho pairing is bad.

 

[WangMustGo]

He can't wait that long. Even when Mayfield comes back Aho is still a weak link.

In the meantime, send down Bolduc and call up Hutton. He's at least defensively sound.

Agreed, hopefully Mayfield is back soon. Atleast with Mayfield back they should be a bit more sound defensively. Mayfield would never make that horrible mistake Buldoc did to lead to that first goal. Likely wouls have come out of tonight with a regulation win if Mayfield was healthy.

Id really love to find a way to add Hanifin. Hopefully Calgary continues to lose. He would solidify our defense.

 

[YearlyLottery]

Thought they played okay. Good enough for a point but having Aho and Bolduc out there every night is not going to work. It should be noted that Pulock was the sole reason for a goal as well.

 

[PK Cronin]

Thought they played okay. Good enough for a point but having Aho and Bolduc out there every night is not going to work. It should be noted that Pulock was the sole reason for a goal as well.

The amount of times they miscommunicate on simple coverages down low is nutty.

 

[MJF]

The amount of times they miscommunicate on simple coverages down low is nutty.

The attention to detail left with Barry Trotz.

 

[Lights911]

Frustrating finish.

 

[Osakahaus]

Tonight is the kind of game the islanders haven't had in like 6 years. They played back to the Weight era and squandered an opportunity to impress against a very up and coming Wings team. They shit the bed from Aho, Pulock and Wahlstrom all being terrible. Horvat and Dobson and even Barzy did well. This is just the consequences of really poor coaching and really bad line juggling. Barzal should not be with Pageau and Holmstrom. We also need to get rid of Bolduc because its clear he isn't ready at all.

Horvat should not be the blame. Puck went off his stick and it just got away from him. they're now 6-19 in OT games dating back to last season.

 

[duster19]

Great coaching to move whalstrom with horvat and Lee. Paid off in spades.

 

[Osakahaus]

Great coaching to move whalstrom with horvat and Lee. Paid off in spades.

Wahlstrom and Lee are our worst forwards right now.

 

[Rehabguy]

Don't bother. He spent paragraph after paragraph in another GDT telling me he wants the players to play more instinctive and for the defense to jump up in the play, to be more aggressive. Both of the first goals were direct results of defensemen being aggressive. The first was Bolduc stepping up outside the blue line and whiffing, leading to a rush against. The second was Dobson creating offense in the offensive zone, trying a risky cross ice pass that was picked off an turned up the ice.

What actually happened doesn't matter to him because if the Islanders lose it's always because of the defensive shell. If they win it's because they finally did what he wanted and changed their system.

Pfft. If you claim that you like to engage posters is because you want to learn something then LEARN. My concerns were in every way exemplified in this game.

As for the above if this was true why did they lose the game literally a minute after I saw that they were backing off what they were doing in the first two periods? I mentioned how I didn’t like a couple of shifts and saw the momentum about to change. The game was lost EXACTLY as I said they were going to lose it. They played conservatively when they should have kept their foot on the pedal.

And while you were trying to lecture me about what you thought was happening I was looking at the bigger picture watching how our D was collapsing in front of Sorokin and as predicted allowed the opposing team to score on a screen shot just like they allowed against the Avs. Just as I told you opposing teams have been doing. You can’t do this in the game you have to get the puck out of the zone and keep the opposing team hemmed into their own D zone. When protecting leads they have to stop collapsing in front of the net and have a player approach the puck carrier at the blue line to cut down his angles and passing lanes. They play like they are down a man. They just all fall back and huddle around the net giving time for the point men to wind up and get a screen shot on the Isles goaltender. It’s predictable and every team now knows how to take advantage of it. A player must attack the puck carrier at the point.

On the offensive side there absolutely were some improvements. They absolutely were being more aggressive on offense and opening up the game a bit. I love seeing Dobson joining or leading the rush. I love how loose the players were relentlessly getting pucks to the net and driving towards the net. They were entering the offensive zone with speed and I thought they moved the puck quicker and less telegraphing their passes on the PP. Horvat is finally showing us why he was worth the salary and picks. This was an element I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact it looked like the Islanders were enjoying themselves. Unfortunately this last for only 2 1/2 periods and inexplicably they stopped pressing and allowed the opposing team to regroup.

If they can just fix this mental aspect of the game they will fix a lot of their problems in giving up leads. If they learn to open up the game at the right times during a game they will do well. The first 2 periods were fantastic and I couldn’t ask for more. The third not so much.

It’s early in the season. Glad they got a point but again no reason why they should have lost the game in a game they dominated the other team for about 90% of the game.

 

[Rehabguy]

This is what I wrote after the Columbus game. This is exactly what I saw happening in this game.

I think there are many times when they have been outshooting their opponents, getting better scoring chances, even scoring goals when they inexplicably go into a shell as you say and it cost them very important games. They almost tell themselves. "OK we have a one goal lead, if we just sit back and play defense we should pull this off" and the opposing team pelts our goaltender (yes oftentimes from the perimeter) relentlessly. Against mediocre teams like Columbus this might work, against the better teams in the league (which I think the Isles are as well) they are only asking for trouble. Eventually someone is going to miss an assignment, the goaltender will be screened, or there will be an odd man rush and it's game over. They need to eliminate this bewildering part of their game and learn to play to win for me to have confidence in this team. This really is why so many fans and the media lament the game plan the Islanders use. It's almost not sport anymore. It's too calculated and risk adverse.

I don't think it's the roster. Again, I think it's how they approach the game. Too afraid to take chances and open themselves up to defensive risks at the right time even when they are in the lead. There's no excuse for this line-up to be one of the lowest scoring teams in the league year after year. That's all a mirage caused but the risk adverse game plan they utilize. If you can accept an Eastern Conference Final appearance as being this team's Stanley Cup final then accept the way they play the game. Sure, there are 32 teams in the league and only 1 can with the Cup each year but to watch this team lose year after year for the same reason and not do anything about it edges on insanity. They need to understand that sometimes the best defense is a good offense. The time to change their mindset is now, not during a playoff run.

 

[Osakahaus]

This is what I wrote after the Columbus game. This is exactly what I saw happening in this game.

They actually MAINTAINED their composure in the Columbus game.

 

[BelovedIsles]

They’re both available, which one do you want to sign?

I'm thinking more Radek Martinek.

I heard Radek Martinek is available as well.

Ha, beat me to it.

 

[BelovedIsles]

On the offensive side there absolutely were some improvements. They absolutely were being more aggressive on offense and opening up the game a bit. I love seeing Dobson joining or leading the rush. I love how loose the players were relentlessly getting pucks to the net and driving towards the net. They were entering the offensive zone with speed and I thought they moved the puck quicker and less telegraphing their passes on the PP. Horvat is finally showing us why he was worth the salary and picks. This was an element I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact it looked like the Islanders were enjoying themselves. Unfortunately this last for only 2 1/2 periods and inexplicably they stopped pressing and allowed the opposing team to regroup.

Once again, I saw a team pushing the play... to a detriment. They played with pace and aggressiveness, however, made some mistakes (which seems to be a theme).

 

[scottywiper]

6 wins 13 losses in OT in last 2 seasons. Not ideal.

 

[saintunspecified]

Islanders have a .625 point percentage right now. That's not bad. You read these threads, and you'd think everything was going wrong.

The communication between D in the zone is bad right now. Only Pelech seems to be communicating as he should. Agree with others that Bolduc is a total liability at this point. Unlike Aho, he's plenty big enough to play the body, and take out the puck carrier if not the puck. That was embarrassing.

Any success NYI had on 3v3 in the past was due to Toews or Leddy being on the ice. NYI might be better playing 3 forwards sometimes, perhaps with Engvall being the "defender".

 

[PJGooch]

Islanders have a .625 point percentage right now. That's not bad. You read these threads, and you'd think everything was going wrong.

The communication between D in the zone is bad right now. Only Pelech seems to be communicating as he should. Agree with others that Bolduc is a total liability at this point. Unlike Aho, he's plenty big enough to play the body, and take out the puck carrier if not the puck. That was embarrassing.

Any success NYI had on 3v3 in the past was due to Toews or Leddy being on the ice. NYI might be better playing 3 forwards sometimes, perhaps with Engvall being the "defender".

Much of their past OT success also had to with Barzal playing the "pull the puck out of the O zone and bait the opponent into a shoddy line change" routine before it was cool. Now every team in the league goes for possession at all costs and that brief advantage the Isles had is long gone.

 

[Big L]

I was urgently destroying a UBS stall when Detroit and isles scored their third goals. Guess it didn’t help.

 

[Rehabguy]

Once again, I saw a team pushing the play... to a detriment. They played with pace and aggressiveness, however, made some mistakes (which seems to be a theme).

Nope. Anyone watching the game should have seen the Islanders letting off the gas about 3 or 4 shifts before the Wings scored their first goal. If you go into a shell you are going to make mistakes. If you are on offense concentrate on offense. If you one half of your brain is on offense and the other half is worried about defense you are going to cough up pucks. If you are on offense concentrate on offense and the defense will take care of itself. Play to win.

 

[CupHolders]

What a sh!t game. Seriously Lane, why the line juggling? Every line seemed to be working well, even if not closing on their chances. Then first two Det goals were scored against reshuffled lines.

 

[Satan'sIsland81]

Great coaching to move whalstrom with horvat and Lee. Paid off in spades.

Yeah, this is the one coaching decision I have to truly question. The first line was playing great the whole game, we were up 2-0 after 40 minutes of play, so what in the world is the purpose of making that change. And coincidentally we allow 3 goals in the next 12 minutes. I dont get this thing of him changing the first line heading into the third the last few games. Like if you had a true shutdown player up there swapping with Barzal that is one thing, but putting Wahlstrom there, what exactly does that accomplish?

One thing nobody can say (even though they still are around the league, proving how stupid people are when it comes to our team) is that we have been boring this year. Between this game, the Devils game, the Colorado game, we have been in several high scoring battles. Not to mention I saw somewhere that we are quietly moving into the top 10 (I believe 9th to be exact) in shots per game. Might not seem like a big deal but lets be honest, usually we are around 29th in that stat category.

 

[leeroggy]

I was urgently destroying a UBS stall when Detroit and isles scored their third goals. Guess it didn’t help.

That's PWJ's domain, you jinxed us . . . As Jesse said "stay out da Bushes"

 

[xECK29x]

Wahlstrom and Lee are our worst forwards right now.

No question, one can't skate and the other just doesn't fit.

 

[periferal]

f***ing turnovers. Can’t catch a goddam break.

I mean if you've egregiously giving up the puck I'd say you're the reason you're not getting any breaks.

 

[periferal]

I wish we had an Andy Greene / Denis Seidenberg type. This team desperately needs that guy

100% correct. Lou is going to trade a 2nd before the deadline to acquire such a player. Find a older vet D-man with good character on a non-playoff team on an expiring contract and you've probably identified Lou's target.