Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Scott Gordon Gone as Islanders Head Coach (THANK GOD)

Yesterday morning the announcement was made that Scott Gordon has been removed as head coach of the New York Islanders. He has been moved to the GM office as a special assistant to Garth Snow. Replacing Gordon on the bench will be Jack Capuano. Here is the story off the Islanders website:

It was undoubtedly a tough day at Iceworks when the news came down that Scott Gordon had been reassigned and that Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Jack Capuano had been named interim head coach of the New York Islanders.

In light of the Islanders current 10 game losing streak, management has made the decision to promote Capuano to fill the role as interim head coach of the Islanders. Scott Gordon will remain with the organization as an adviser to General Manager Garth Snow.

“Having a coach like Jack Capuano that has a familiarity with our players not only in our system through Bridgeport, but from taking part in our training camps here, there’s a comfort because there doesn’t need to be a feeling out process with our players,” Snow said. “He knows our players and that familiarity to me made it seem like the best fit at this point.”

This will not be Capuano’s first stint behind the Islanders bench. He served as an assistant coach during the 2005-06 season before becoming the head coach the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate.

Islanders interim head coach Jack Capuano on the bench coaching the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate.
In three years as Bridgeport’s head coach, Capuano led the Sound Tigers to a 133-100-8-14 record, including a team best 49 wins during the 2008-09 season. His record brings confidence in Snow’s opinion, especially since Capuano has coached 10 players on the Islanders current roster includingBlake Comeau, Frans Nielsen andMatt Martin.

“He’s helped guide a team that had a record of 49 wins two years ago in Bridgeport,” said Snow. “We have a young group there as well where we’re in a mode to develop and he’s done an excellent job in that area. For me, it’s a good fit.”

But as he tries to inspire his players to turn the club’s record around, having the opportunity to coach the Islanders is a little bittersweet.

“Scott (Gordon) and I were close, even before the Islanders we coached in the ECHL together, so I’ve known him a long time,” said Capuano. “It’s not the ideal situation, but at the same time I have an opportunity now that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I’ll do whatever I can to help these guys try to get back in the playoff picture, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

Capuano thought his first day at practice went well, adding that the players were very approachable. During their morning meeting, he told the players that there are “controllable and uncontrollable circumstances” and right now, the Islanders are the ones in control of their future.

“Right now, that’s our work ethic and passion and trust in one another,” Capuano said. “I just wanted to explain to them that there could be some minor tweaks. They were very receptive to the meeting this (Monday) morning.”

Islanders captain Doug Weight met with the media and made no excuses for the team’s current situation, saying that management had to make the change to shake things up and it was not solely the fault of Gordon. Instead, what happens next is the hands of the players on the ice.

“Cappy (Capuano) is coming in here with a great mindset,” said Weight. “It’s a new start. It’s a fresh beginning for all of the guys on the team. It’s up to us to take advantage of this opportunity to play and have this fresh feeling. We have to win some hockey games, enough of the excuses or whatever has been going on. We are starting new and hopefully Wednesday begins with a win.”

Despite the coaching change, Capuano only plans to simplify a few areas of the Islanders system and doesn’t want to shake things up too much by planning a complete revamp of the same system he used in Bridgeport.

“I think the coaches here have done a real good job with structure,” said Capuano. “I think that’s the one thing Scott (Gordon) did when he first got here; played a lot more structured hockey than we’ve played in the past. Obviously, there’s a few tweaks that we’ll make. But for the most part, it’s not going to be a major overhaul, especially right off the bat.”

Although, Weight said small changes were made immediately.

“We changed a lot of things today,” said Weight. “Simplistic things, but things I think some guys are having trouble with. Cappy (Capuano) came out and simplified our game a little bit. We need to use our speed and put the puck in good spots and our systems aim towards to all of that. You have to rely on your defense to make some plays from time to time. I think we’ve made some changes that some of the guys are excited about.”

The Islanders will continue with one more day of practice before Capuano makes his debut as interim head coach on Wednesday. In light of the change, assistant coaches Dean Chynoweth and Scott Allen will remain on staff in their current capacities. In Capuano's absence, Sound Tigers assistant coach Pat Bingham will assume head coaching duties.

The new head coach will make his debut tomorrow night at the Coliseum when the Islanders play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And of note the last team the Islanders were able to gain a win against was the Lightning in Overtime down in Tampa on October 21st.

Monday, November 1, 2010

After the First Month of the Season Islanders Are Looking So-So

New York Islanders Pictures, Images and Photos




So the first month of the NHL Season has come and gone and for the New York Islanders it has been an interesting one at that. As of now the Isles sit 4th in the Atlantic Division with a 4-5-2 record, good enough for 10 points, just a tad bit better then the New Jersey Devils who sit in last place in the division. The Isles opened the season with a 5-4 Overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. What impressed me the most about that game was the fact that the team twice overcame 2-goal deficits to force overtime and earn a point. They followed that up with a 6-4 beating of the rival New York Rangers (who i oh so lovingly call the New York Retards). 3rd game of the season saw the team's first regulation loss a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Washington Capitals. The lone positive taken from that game was the 1st career goal from Nino Niederreiter. If you have yet to see the video here it is:



So after the loss to the Caps, the Isles moved on to Pittsburgh where they lost another heartbreaker 3-2 in Overtime to the pens. The next night was a 5-2 beatdown of the Colorado Avalanche. The Biggest game to this point, in terms of emotion, was a 2-1 overtime win by the Islanders in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on October 18th. For the 2nd time in less then a year the Islanders basically steal 2 points from the Leafs in Toronto in a game they really had no business winning. Dwayne Roloson made 29 saves and got help from 2 goals waved off and Martenek making a diving stop late in the 3rd period and John Tavares winning it in the extra frame with a wicked wrist shot. The Isles next game 2 days later was another overtime win this time against Tampa Bay and with Matt Moulson being the hero. Since that game however the Isles have lost 4 straight games. The only bright spot during that losing skid was John Tavares scoring his 1st ever NHL Hat Trick against the Panthers in a 4-3 loss.

So theIsles seem to be holding their own in the division without their 2 best players in Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo, who are both out with shoulder injuries. The injury bug has flown around the Islanders room a bit as Rob Shremp, Trent Hunter and Josh Bailey have missed time due to various injuries. All 3 are now back in the lineup. The big surprise on offense early on has been the play of both Blake Comeau and P.A. Parenteau. Rick DiPetrio has been able to stay healthy through the 1st month which to me is a bit of a surprise given his injury problems over the past 2 seasons. James Wisnewiski is leading the team in points right now with 11 on 2 goals and 9 assists. Next on the list is team Captain Doug Weight with 8 points. Weight is tide with Parenteau and Moulson with 8 points each. The team seems to have a bit more of a balanced scoring attack this season then they did last year but it is still early on in the year.

November is going to be a tough month for the team as they have the west coast swing early in the month. Here is what the month looks like for the Islanders in November:
11/3-@Hurricanes 7pm
11/4-@Senators 7:30pm
11/6-vs Flyers 7pm
11/10-@ Ducks 10pm
11/11-@ Sharks 10:30pm
11/13-@ Kings 10:30pm
11/17-vs. Lightning 7pm
11/20-vs. Panthers 7pm
11/21-@ Thrashers 5pm
11/24-vs. Blue Jackets 7pm
11/16-vs. Devils 1pm

So as you can see the month of November is gonna be a tough one for the team but here's to hoping they can get through it and be in the top 8 in the Eastern Conferance by the time december hits.