Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum is one of the few classic, old-school arenas left. Does it feel old and run down? Most definitely. Are the concourses narrow? Certainly. However, are the sight like great? Yes. Sure, it’s not a sparkling example of excesses in professional sports, but it’s not without its own charms. One of the greatest things about attending an Islanders’ game on Long Island, is interacting with the fans. Of course some out there would argue “what fans?” In the cause of the Islanders, the people that continue to attend games, tend to be of the die-hard variety. These are not corporate suits that have infiltrated pretty much every sporting venue around North America. While you might not have a lot of fans seated around you at a game (depending on where your seats are), chances are the few that are relatively nearby at least know the basic rules of hockey. Others will argue, “but these are New Yorkers, and they’re beyond rude.” Yes, they are New Yorkers, but those that are on the Island tend to be a little less self-absorbed than those in Manhattan. I attended a game at Nassau during the Wild’s inaugural year, and I will tell you that the hometown fans were friendly and open to this Minnesotan. Of course, perhaps it was because I was such a novelty, much like an exotic animal.
For the Wild’s Eric Nystrom, it probably feels as though he’s re-living his childhood as he spent time watching his dad play for the New York Islanders during the 1980’s when they were amongst the NHL’s elite forming one of the best dynasties ever. North Stars know this pain well, as they watched Butch Goring and the Islanders shoot down Glen Sonmor and his clubs Cinderella dreams. Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Ken Morrow, fiery goaltender Billy Smith, and Bob Nystrom aka “Mr. Islander” were apart of a well-oiled machine that just tore teams apart. I can only imagine what it was like to have been a kid and been around all of those great players, and who could forget their coach Al Arbour, the 2nd winningest coach in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman. The NHL expanded to Long Island in part as a way to combat the expansion of the World Hockey Association. Will the Islanders crowd be as friendly to Nystrom’s son tonight? Or will they be a bit annoyed that Nystrom, Sr. spent time in the “enemy” locker room, as Eric took his father in with him this morning?
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In the opening three minutes, Minnesota managed an impressive sustained effort. In fact it resembled a power play. I know I kept looking at the television screen and NHL.com to make sure it wasn’t a Wild power play. While the effort failed to produce a goal, what was appreciated, was the burst of energy early in a game. Even though the Wild have had okay success since the All-Star break, they haven’t always come out with energy. The energy has even been lacking in games where the Wild have come off a day or two of rest. However, one cannot always keep that energy at its peak. While the Wild’s penalty kill has been okay, they also know that they’re a team that absolutely needs to stay out of the penalty box. That axiom held true, when Nick Schultz found himself in the penalty box for hooking at the 8:34 mark. With a mere three seconds left in the Islanders’ power play, Blake Comeau got the puck behind Niklas Backstrom on a wrister from Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey.
For whatever reason tonight, the Islanders like to make waves at the “ends” of things. Just like they scored at the end of their power play, they also found success at the end of the period. While Minnesota tried to put pressure on Al Montoya, the Wild were running into various Islanders players, who managed ten blocked shots. Or there were players like Eric Nystrom, who is most likely feeling some pressure with family in the Coliseum, who simply got too much on the puck. While the Wild weren’t getting pucks through, it just felt like the Islanders were either everywhere, or it felt like they had eight skaters on the ice. They seemed to always be there to block the puck, to get the odd-man rush into the Minnesota zone. Then you have players like Kyle Okposo. With a nifty little move with the puck between his legs, the Minnesota-native scored the second Islanders’ goal at the 18:37 mark of the first period. As we all know, scoring a goal at the end of a period generally generates more confidence for the scoring team.
Things only got worse for Minnesota in the second period. Just forty-one seconds into the middle period, Comeau found the back of the net once again. That third goal in just over twenty minutes was enough to chase Backstrom from the net. Jose Theodore was slated to start tomorrow night at Madison Square Gardens. The starters were picked for the road trip based on numbers, as Backstrom had the numbers against the Islanders and Theodore had the numbers against the Rangers. What this all means for tomorrow night, has yet to be seen. While the game had been “clean” for the most part, it just seems that some people never learn from their previous (and recent) suspensions. At just over two minutes into the second, Cal Clutterbuck was going to be called for boarding. While it’s not a penalty you want your players to make, it happens. However, it was the retaliatory actions of Trevor Gillies that will once again have the NHL’s disciplinary offices busy once again. Instead of just letting his team get the power play, he made the stupid decision to check from behind into the boards (and a borderline hit to the head). Gillies was called for the five minute major as well as the ten minute game misconduct. Gillies just came off a nine-game suspension for his hit on Pittsburgh’s Eric Tangredi. Not only did he go for the head, he then taunted Tangredi as he was down on the ice. How the league let Gillies off with a mere nine games, is any one’s guess. While Clutterbuck was not injured, and committed a penalty of his own, it will be interesting to see if the league does anything at all. The Wild ended up with a three minute power play, yet once again had nothing to show for it. The bad luck continued heading into the end of the second. With just under four minuted remaining, Andrew MacDonald scored the Islanders’ fourth goal. While the unanswered goals are annoying, perhaps what is even more annoying is the confusion of how Clutterbuck found himself guilty of the instigator penalty, when he did not get into a fight.
The third period, was pretty much a summary of the game, albeit without the Islanders scoring any more goals. Minnesota simply couldn’t get pucks through all of the traffic in front of the net. The Islanders were able to block a total of twenty-eight of Minnesota’s shots tonight. What’s even more impressive about that stat, is that eight of them were blocked by Andrew MacDonald. Greg Zanon is often lauded for his willingness to sacrifice the body to block shots. Tonight was not one of his more successful nights when it comes to that stat, as he only managed to block two. Throughout the entire game, the Islanders were also willing to watch and wait, and then use their sticks and bodies to get in the way of the puck. Combine that with speed and their youthful exuberance, Minnesota really had no chance. If there is any sort of silver lining (although it’s probably more pewter than silver), is at the very least Minnesota dis manage to finally score a goal of their own. Just past the midway point of the third period, John Madden was able to tip the puck in beyond Montoya. While Madden is given credit for the goal, perhaps more credit should go to Pierre-Marc Bouchard for simply managing to get the puck to Madden in front of the net. Considering the difficulties that Minnesota had getting the puck near the goal all night, that was a near miracle in itself.
Well it’s official. The Wild have dug themselves back into their hole. This was not what one wanted to do on this roadtrip. Of course it didn’t help that tonight should have been an “easy” game. However, it’s those “easy” games that often become a team’s Waterloo. There’s no reason why Minnesota should have lost this game, but in the case of the Islanders, they had absolutely nothing to lose. Even if they had lost, it wouldn’t have meant much to them. For the Wild, a loss is devastating. Teams in the Eastern Conference don’t have the same kind of nightly battle for playoff spots that happens in the Western Conference. The top six teams in the East can “afford” a loss more than the teams in the 4th through 11th spots in the West. So now, we head to Manhattan. The Rangers who are in 7th in the Eastern Conference, should come out strong. They would like a little more wiggle room, since the Carolina Hurricanes are only one point behind them. If the Wild can’t turn things around at Madison Square Gardens, you might as well start thinking “off-season” instead of “post-season.”
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Matt Cullen, John Madden, Andrew Brunette, Brad Staubitz, Antti Miettinen, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Eric Nystrom, Martin Havlat, Jed Orymeyer, Warren Peters, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Marek Zidlicky, Clayton Stoner, Greg Zanon, Brent Burns, Jared Spurgeon, and Nick Schultz. Jose Theodore shared goaltending duties with Niklas Backstrom.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star, Blake Comeau; 2nd Star, Frans Nielsen; 3rd Star, Al Montoya.
~ Attendance tonight at Nassau Veteran’s Coliseum was 7,098.
Wild Prospect Report:
F – Mikael Granlund ~ HIFK Helsinki (Sm-Ligga)
2010-11 Stats: 35GP 7G 25A = 32pts 12 PIM’s
Small but talented Mikael Granlund continues to play well in the Finnish Elite League as his team heads into the post-season. A head injury (concussion) limited him a bit, but has been a regular contributor on the scoresheet. Like many playmakers, he has good scoring ability if he chose to simply shoot the puck more than he currently does. He still will have to add strength as well as work on his acceleration if he wants to survive at the NHL level. It should come as no surprise he is still considered the team’s top prospect as reported by both the Hockey News and Hockey’s Future.com.
RW – Mikko Lehtonen ~ Skelleftea HC (Eliteserien)
2010-11 Stats: 53GP 29G 28A = 57pts 32 PIM’s
Mikko Lehtonen was the featured player in the trade of cult-fan favorite goaltender Anton Khudobin to the Bruins. Lehtonen, is a 6’3″ 196lbs skilled forward that plays a game that may remind a lot of people of Benoit Pouliot had when he first entered the league. A flashy forward with some great stickhandling skills and reasonable hands that gives him the potential to be a top 6 forward at the NHL level. The Espoo, Finland-native was originally sent down to play in Providence by Boston, but he instead opted for an assignment back in Europe where he has been tearing it up in the Swedish Eliteserien with Skelleftea. His game is such that makes his assignment to the top 6 necessary because he doesn’t play the up-and-down checking type or role nor is he a shutdown player defensively. Originally Boston’s 3rd round pick (83rd Overall) in 2005, he started out playing for his hometown Blues where he showed just average potential. He was a reasonable scorer at the AHL level with the P-Bruins but not an elite type of player you’d think was on the cusp to do damage at the NHL level. That could make it tough for him to stick in the Wild lineup, but overall the organization does not have a lot of skilled forwards and so he will get a long look likely next season. Lehtonen has hinted he still wants to give the NHL a shot and obviously the Wild are hoping he can be a sort of steal.
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