Analysis: A Deep Dive Into Last Night's Game

On the surface, the Islanders were dealt a bitter 3-0 defeat to the division rival Pittsburgh Penguins last night. However, while at the game, some different observations came to mind regarding the level of play the team was performing. 

Match-ups - I have no idea how many times Jack Capuano put Mike Mottau and Mark Eaton out against Evgeni Malkin's line. I also have no idea how many times John Tavares was sent out with Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, and Kris Letang out for the Penguins. The Islanders are the home-team, which means they get the last option for line changes before faceoffs. Capuano has discretion over who he wants to put out there before the draw. Yes, the Islanders like to roll four lines and three pairings. Generally, that's a sound option that helps evenly spread minutes and keep everyone fresh. However, when at home, coaches should use match-ups to their advantage. And that is something that Capuano is not currently doing. Quite frankly, this is something that needs to be adjusted, especially given that Tavares already faces top pairings in practically every road game. If you can get Tavares out against Ben Lovejoy and Matt Niskanen, why wouldn't you?

Passing - The Islanders have two major problems with their passing technique, which is hindering their offensive production. First, to put it bluntly, they are subpar passing team. Aside from a few forwards, including John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau, the Islanders have a hard time going tape-to-tape on their passes. However, when they do, the puck has been bouncing off their stick. On the contrary, teams like Pittsburgh have no problems with receiving passes. This tells me that the ice is not as much of a problem as it's made out to be. When looking further into it, the Islanders are not bringing their passes in. In other words, they aren't catching the pass - they are just letting it hit their blade. Of course, this is not going to work and is a major reason why passes are going off heels or bouncing off sticks.

Line Changes - Team speed has not been a major strength of the Islanders this season, but their line changes have been just as painfully slow. On multiple occasions last night were players gliding to the bench after their shifts, as their teammates waited more than a few seconds to jump on the ice. This single-handedly ruined a few opportunities the Islanders may have had on the rush. Now, players obviously get tired over the course of a long 45 second shift. That said, their shift does not end when they are called off. They should still be busting their behinds to get to the bench. This results in better flow and transition ability, especially in the second period when on the long change. To put it simply, the Islanders need to be quicker on their line changes before it results in goals against.

Confidence - Let's face it. The team just is not playing with much confidence right now. After the first goal by Pascal Dupuis in a somewhat solid first period, the team just derailed. They were sloppier and were pressing. They were not playing relaxed, which led to a multitude of mistakes - some of which were made through hesitation. This is a young team that needs confidence to perform at a high level. The question is if an inexperienced coaching staff will be able to carry them through a losing streak.

Stick-Checking - To be honest, I'm not sure if the Islanders coaching staff is telling the team to do this or not, but the constant poke-checks are to the point where it compromises team toughness. On more than one occasion last night, an Islander had the ability to line a Pittsburgh player up and hit them. They mostly passed on the opportunity to try a poke-check. In the case of Travis Hamonic, who is not afraid to make contact, this did not work often - especially against Steve Sullivan. The team needs to be physical to wear opponents down over the course of the game. They need to be physical to establish their presence in the game itself. No one is calling for boarding penalties or even fighting. But they have to be more engaged physically.

Special Teams - To be fair, the penalty kill was effective against last night. However, the Penguins had the Islanders powerplay scouted perfectly. The Islanders tried two things last night: Brian Rolston shoots or Mark Streit shoots. And that is the easiest powerplay to defend, especially given the Penguins aggressive style. It seemed somewhat robotic, which I'm sure is not what Doug Weight wants. It will be interesting to see if the team adjusts to this on Thursday, especially given they play the Penguins again.

Puck Possession - There just is not enough of puck possession. As it stands, only the Islanders fourth line has put together solid cycles consistently over the first seven games. The Tavares line has maintained control as well, but that is mostly due to the level that Tavares is playing at. The Nielsen and Bailey line are both seemingly always playing in the defensive zone, which does not allow for many opportunities. This is especially important for Nielsen's line, who thrive in a run-and-gun type game through transition. The fact that Michael Grabner has just two goals, with Nielsen and Kyle Okposo with just one point should say it all.

What's Next?

Well, the reality is nothing will probably happen. Since Capuano did not change line combinations and defensive pairings tonight, it's reasonable to expect that he won't change them for Thursday's game. The Islanders will have to find their game themselves before they dig themselves into a hole that is too deep.

What should happen is the Islanders should make some changes. Whether they are minor or major, management needs to send a message to the players that this is not working. For too long, management has been reactive to problems while being short-sighted in the aggregate. They need to start being proactive, and some sort of roster transaction would send a clear message to the team. As it is, status quo is not good enough.

-CH

Game Recap: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, New York Islanders 0

The Pittsburgh Penguins (7-2-2) defeated the New York Islanders (3-4-0) by a score of 3 to 0 at the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Boxscore:

(G, A)

1st Period: 

PIT: 1, NYI: 0 - Pascal Dupuis (3); Brooks Orpik (1)

2nd Period:

PIT: 2, NYI: 0 - Richard Park (2); Arron Asham (2)

3rd Period:

PIT: 3, NYI: 2 - Jordan Staal (EN - 6); Pascal Dupuis (5)

Goaltending: 

Marc-Andre Fleury - 33 saves on 33 shots, 1.000 SV PCT

Evgeni Nabokov - 26 saves on 28 shots, .929 SV PCT

Final Score: 3-0 Pittsburgh

Attendance: 10,681

Notables:

After a very strong yet even start to the first period, the Islanders began to taper off about halfway into the period. They continued their lethargic play until a defensive breakdown by Steve Staios and Blake Comeau losing their men led to a Pascal Dupuis breakaway and goal. After that, even though the Islanders had their chances, none of them were solid enough to really even come close to being a goal. Lots of shots from the point and a few shots in the slot right to Fleury were about it. The Islanders played another game with absolutely no urgency.

The only player who really looked great tonight was Evgeni Nabokov, who on a 4 minute double minor to Reasoner really stood on his head and kept the game at a 2 goal difference. He was solid all night and made some saves he probably shouldn't have. 

Josh Bailey had a very up and down game tonight. His defensive work was as usual pretty good, but he had some times where he had great chances and completely fanned on them. After a pass from Brian Rolston as he was set up right in the slot, Bailey hesitated for a good 2-3 seconds and didn't even get a shot on what was pretty much a wide open net. It was almost as if he'd choked up and forgot the point of the game was to shoot the puck into the net. He did however have a nice drive to the net with Rolston which he backhanded into Fleury. Although not a goal, a good drive by Bailey to get to the inside. A better game, but still pretty lackluster for his 4th year in the league.

PA Parenteau had an off game compared to what we had season earlier in the year. He was undressed on a 2 on 2 late in the 3rd which could have resulted in a fantastic chance and was just not playing with the offensive instincts we have seen. His vision in the passing lanes was not something to be desired.

Steve Staios both lost his man on the first goal and let Richard Park dwindle around the net for way too long on the first goal. He had an overall OK game and also had some nice shots on goal (and led the team in shots), but those two gaffes were unacceptable by any standard.

Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen are the lowest 2/3rds of the 2nd line right now. They are not doing a good job to create chances and generally are unseen on the ice. 

John Tavares was not playing the greatest defense tonight. Most notably was when he fanned on the pass early in the 2nd that led to Park grabbing hold of the puck and firing it on Nabokov.

Thoughts:

AT: Just another lousy performance from the Islanders right now. I'm not a "sky is falling" kind of person, but falling behind this early in the season is the last thing we want to do. It doesn't create a positive mentality going forward and begins to remind the team (and the fans) of last season's 20+ game losing debacle. This team needs a swift kick in the behind and needs to realize that they ARE a team that can win games as evidenced by the first few games of the season. They are capable of putting up offense and capable of playing solid defense. What they're showing right now is a reflection of laziness. 

Next game: The Islanders will face off against the Penguins once again at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 27th, 2011. Gametime is 7:00 on MSG+.

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (6-2-2) vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (3-3-0)

The Essentials

October 25, 2011 - 7:00 PM

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Uniondale, NY

TV: MSG+ (NY), ROOT (PIT)

The Season Series

10/25 vs. Pittsburgh
10/27 at Pittsburgh
11/21 at Pittsburgh
12/10 vs. Pittsburgh
3/27 at Pittsburgh
3/29 vs. Pittsburgh

The Goalies

PIT: 29 - Marc-Andre Fleury (Back-up: Brent Johnson)

NYI: 20 - Evgeni Nabokov (Back-up: Rick DiPietro)

The Scratches
PIT: 87 - Sidney Crosby (IR), 48 - Tyler Kennedy (IR), 4 - Zbynek Michalek (IR), 37 - Brian Strait (IR), 33 - Steve MacIntyre (Healthy), 10 - Mark Letestu (Healthy)

NYI: 14 - Trevor Gillies (Healthy), 25 - Nino Niederreiter (IR), 27 - Milan Jurcina (DTD), 35 - Al Montoya (Healthy)

The Line-Ups

Pittsburgh Penguins

26 Steve Sullivan - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 18 James Neal
14 Chris Kunitz - 11 Jordan Staal - 9 Pascal Dupuis
24 Matt Cooke - 12 Richard Park - 45 Arron Asham
15 Dustin Jeffrey - 46 Joe Vitale - 27 Craig Adams

7 Paul Martin - 58 Kris Letang
44 Brooks Orpik - 5 Deryk Engelland
2 Matt Niskanen - 6 Ben Lovejoy

New York Islanders

26 Matt Moulson - 91 John Tavares - 15 P.A. Parenteau

40 Michael Grabner - 51 Frans Nielsen - 21 Kyle Okposo

11 Brian Rolston - 12 Josh Bailey - 57 Blake Comeau

17 Matt Martin - 16 Marty Reasoner - 29 Jay Pandolfo

2 Mark Streit - 24 Steve Staios

47 Andrew MacDonald - 3 Travis Hamonic

4 Mark Eaton - 10 Mike Mottau

Let's Go Islanders.

Prospects: Kabanov still having trouble playing

In further obstruction to Kabanov playing in juniors this season, IslandersCentral has learned that forward Kirill Kabanov, who was recently traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes, must receive a release from the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia in order to play in a game.

We had all been hoping that this trade would be the end of Kabanov's issues for playing time, but as we know considering his history, nothing's ever drama free even when you think it is. This is by no means Kabanov's fault, but is certainly another roadblock in his final year of juniors.

When questioned about Kabanov, Cataractes coach Vellieux responded that Kabanov has been practicing since arriving in Shawinigan and his practice time is a reflection of what's to come: "He's smart with the puck. He's got great vision and he can put the puck right on your tape even if he's got someone on his back. I also liked his compete-level, as he was really intense during the practices. He's a young kid who really wanna learn and who asks a lot of questions. He's brought some fresh air to the group". 

While it may take up to 14 days to gain his release, the fact that Kabanov is at least training and working hard while not able to play is a positive sign. Even if he only gets to play in 40 or so games this year, it's better than nothing. He's just learning the ways of Shawinigan's chemistry right now and bonding with his teammates, so it's not a total loss as of right now. The sooner he can get into a game the better, but right now he just has to face one more roadblock before finishing up his junior career. 


- AT

Opinion: The Invisible Men

Blogger's Note: We are finally back full-time after a hectic weekend in which both of us were out of town. Look out for a lot of opinion posts as the season continues to progress.

Through the first six games of the season, the Islanders have been carried by the first line of John Tavares, P.A. Parenteau, and Matt Moulson. Combined, the three of them have 9 goals and have all been on for more goals for than goals against. While that generally does not tell the whole story, in this case it shows how effective they have been compared to the other lines.

Some had attributed the success of the Tavares line due to playing at home, where Jack Capuano is able to play matchups, allowing the first line to play against weaker defensive pairings and forward lines. That may be true, but after another two points for Tavares and one for Parenteau on Saturday (albeit on the powerplay), they have shown no signs of slowing down their production.

Eventually, however, that will happen. And when it does, the other lines are going to have to pick it up. The Islanders have played a total of 13 forwards in the first part of the 2011-12 season. Other than Tavares, Moulson, and Parenteau, the remaining ten have three goals between them - including two from 30-goal scorer Michael Grabner (Frans Nielsen has the other one). Kyle Okposo has looked sluggish and is off to a slow start, but you can see the effort is still there. Over the weekend, that beloved second line started to generate more chances - a much needed sign for a team that needs contributions from everyone who wears an Islander jersey.

The problem really starts to occur when you get down to the third line. Brian Rolston has looked slow, which is a far cry from the blazing speed he used to have. Blake Comeau has been shuffled in and out of the lineup, fueling speculation that he and Capuano have some sort of rift. But that is only speculation - the truth is no one outside that locker room knows what Comeau's situation is. Josh Bailey has been painfully ineffective thus far, as his compete level is lower than it has ever been. Bailey is struggling with simple strategies such as cutting to the front of the net and is not using his vision to generate offensive chances. That said, defensively he has been good - but the Islanders did not select Bailey to become a fourth line center.

The fourth line has largely done its job, which is to be a defensive-minded, smart line that understands the importance of puck possession. Matt Martin has been the shining star on that line, ranking second in shots behind John Tavares.

The problem is that without the second and third lines clicking, teams are able to focus on the Tavares line, especially on the road. Tavares will soon stop scoring at a goal-per-game pace. It will then be up to the secondary scorers - Michael Grabner, Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau - to chip some goals in. If this doesn't happen, the Islanders will not win many games this year. A team cannot win with one great line and nothing else, and the Islanders are no different even with the elite talent of John Tavares.

As we start a week in which the Isles play three games against very good teams, this issue should play itself out shortly. With two home games, the Isles have a perfect opportunity to show this past Florida trip was nothing but a fluke pair of games in a long season. I would expect Jack Capuano to shake some things up to try and get different players going. Maybe a player like Micheal Haley makes his season debut this week, not for his ability to fight and play physically, but his ability to provide an energetic jolt to a team that was largely lethargic in the last two games.

But even Haley won't provide the Islanders with many goals, and that's certainly what the team needs this week. It's going to be on Okposo and Comeau and Bailey to get going. And if that offense comes around, the confidence will come around, and wins will start to follow soon after. If not, it will be on Garth Snow to be proactive and make a move. But for now, the Isles need to roll with what they have. They need to see what this team is made of.

-CH

Recap: Lightning - 4, Islanders - 1

The Tampa Bay Lightning (2-3-2) defeated the New York Islanders (3-2-0) by a score of 4-1 on Thursday night.

Boxscore:

(G, A)

1st Period: 

NYI: 0, TB: 1 - (PP) Ryan Malone (2); Vincent Lecavalier (2), Marc-Andre Bergeron (7_

2nd Period:

NYI: 0, TB: 2 - Vincent Lecavalier (3); Marty St. Louis (3)
3rd Period:

NYI: 0, TB: 3 - Steven Stamkos (3); Teddy Purcell (3)
NYI: 1, TB: 3 - Michael Grabner (2); Mark Streit (4), Brian Rolston (2)
NYI: 1, TB: 4 - Brett Clark (2); Teddy Purcell (4)

Goaltending:

Mathieu Garon - 16 saves on 17 shots, .941 SV%

Al Montoya - 26 saves on 30 shots, .867 SV%

Final Score: 4-1 TB

Attendance: 18,181

Notables:

The Islanders came out looking both flat and unprepared after a solid first five minutes. Tampa Bay made the necessary adjustments and really closed off the Islanders offense in the neutral zone all night. They deserved the win and were the better time for practically the entire game. Certainly, not what the Islanders wanted in their first road game of the season.

Marty Reasoner and Brian Rolston both had bad games tonight. They were giving up pucks, couldn't generate any forecheck, and looked sloppy and lethargic all around. These two veterans will need to be better as the season moves forward.

Kyle Okposo looks lost out there. Where did the player of two years ago go? He needs to be better in all three zones, as he has the potential to be a key part of this team. Likewise, Frans Nielsen was practically invisible tonight as well. Both have had a lackluster first five games of the season.

On the third Tampa Bay goal, Mark Eaton made the right play by clearing it to the boards with Steven Stamkos right on him. No Islanders wing supported the play, Mike Mottau did his best "fish out of water" impression leaving Stamkos all along in front. By far the ugliest sequence in a very ugly night. That said, Eaton did have a solid game blocking a few shots and passes.

Travis Hamonic was a little off his game tonight. He wasn't smart with the puck and backed up on Lecavalier as he waltzed into the slot, wristing one by Montoya with a ton of time and space to make soemthing happen - which he did.

John Tavares and Steve Staios were the best two Islanders out there tonight. Tavares is at the point of consistency that separates the great from the good. He is becoming a nightly "must-watch" player.

The decision to scratch Blake Comeau for Trevor Gillies still remains a complete mystery to me. Comeau may deserved to be scratched, but the Islanders need to find a suitable replacement for him in the lineup. Simply moving Matt Martin up a line and throwing Gillies in for five shifts is not good enough for a team with playoff aspirations. As we saw tonight, this causes players to be mixed and matched every shift. It's not a recipe for success and needs to be rectified by Saturday night's game.

The best thing the Islanders can do is move on from this. A win against the Panthers would still make this a solid two-game mini road trip. This is not the time to panic.

Thoughts: 

CH: Simply put, this game was awful. The Islanders have now put two clunkers in the first five games of the season. Better to get them out of the way now. Over time, this team needs to get more consistent or else they will not be able to keep up mid-season when teams are ramping up for a playoff push. It's not alarming yet, as they showed they can be a very good team at times. They just need to put it all together. That all said, a calming presence in net in Evgeni Nabokov should get the call on Saturday. We'll see what Jack Capuano decides to do.

Next game: The Islanders next game is Saturday night in Sunrise, as the Isles take on the Florida Panthers in a rematch of opening night. Gametime is at 7:30 on MSG+.

Preview: New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (3-1-0) vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (1-3-2)

The Essentials

October 20, 2011 - 7:30 PM

St. Pete Times Forum - St. Petersburg, Florida

TV: MSG+ (NYI), SUN (TB)

The Season Series

10/13 vs. Tampa Bay - 5-1 NYI

10/20 at Tampa Bay

12/6 vs. Tampa Bay

3/24 at Tampa Bay

The Goalies

TB: 32 - Mathieu Garon (Back-Up: Dwayne Roloson)

NYI: 35 - Al Montoya (Back-Up: Evgeni Nabokov)

The Scratches

TB: 22 - Ryan Shannon (Healthy), 7  - Michel Ouellet (Healthy), 21 - Mattias Ritola (Healthy), 27 - Bruno Gervais (Healthy), 50 - Richard Petiot (Healthy)

NYI: 25 - Nino Niederreiter (IR), 8 - Ryan Strome (Healthy), 27 - Milan Jurcina (DTD), 39 - Rick DiPietro (DTD), 57- Blake Comeau (Healthy)

The Line-Ups

New York Islanders

26 Matt Moulson - 91 John Tavares - 15 P.A. Parenteau

40 Michael Grabner - 51 Frans Nielsen - 21 Kyle Okposo

11 Brian Rolston - 12 Josh Bailey - 17 Matt Martin
14 Trevor Gillies - 16 Marty Reasoner - 29 Jay Pandolfo

2 Mark Streit - 24 Steve Staios

47 Andrew MacDonald - 3 Travis Hamonic

4 Mark Eaton - 10 Mike Mottau

Tampa Bay Lightning

9 Steve Downie - 91 Steven Stamkos - 26 Marty St. Louis

12 Ryan Malone - 4 Vinny Lecavalier - 16 Teddy Purcell

11 Tom Pyatt - 19 Dominic Moore - 14 Brett Connolly

49 Blair Jones - 44 Nate Thompson - 18 Adam Hall

77 Victor Hedman - 2 Eric Brewer

47 Marc-Andre Bergeron - 13 Pavel Kubina

7 Brett Clark - 97 Matt Gilroy

Let's Go Islanders.

Game Recap: Islanders - 4, Rangers - 2

The New York Islanders defeated the New York Rangers in the first of a 6 game series in one of hockey's biggest rivalries to a sellout crowd of 16,234.

 Boxscore:

(G, A)

1st Period:

NYI: 1, NYR: 0 - Matt Moulson (2), P.A. Parenteau (4), John Tavares (3)

2nd Period:

NYI: 1, NYR: 1 - Marian Gaborik (2), Brad Richards (2)

NYI: 2, NYR: 1 - John Tavares (3 - PP), Mark Streit (2), Brian Rolston (1)

NYI: 2, NYR: 2 - Brandon Prust (1), Ruslan Fedotenko (2)

3rd Period:

NYI: 3, NYR: 2 - John Tavares (4 - PP), Mark Streit (3), P.A. Parenteau (5)

NYI: 4, NYR: 2 - John Tavares (5 - EN), P.A. Parenteau (6), Matt Moulson (2)

Goaltending:

Evgeni Nabokov - 29 saves on 31 shots, .935 SV PCT

Henrik Lundqvist - 30 saves on 33 shots, .909 SV PCT

Final Score: 4-2 Islanders

Attendance: 16,234

Notables:

There is absolutely no way to describe John Tavares anymore. Not in human words. What we've seen out of him in these first four games is, as Al Trautwig aptly put it, "Gretzky-like". He was all over the ice once again, creating chances almost every shift he was out on the ice. If not for a two misses by P.A. Parenteau, a 6 point night could have been very likely. His vision on the ice and ability to both set up plays and, as he showed today, get them himself, is at this point among the league's best. His backhander on the rebound over Lundqvist's shoulder was a total display of his ability to know exactly where the puck will go the minute it hits his stick. Beware, opposing teams. More of this is coming.

After the surprise start, Evgeni Nabokov did everything to show that he's still capable of being a #1 goaltender in the NHL. The two goals he let up were not his fault: The first was after Reasoner let his man go and Nabokov was yet another goaltender to fall victim to the quick release of Marian Gaborik, and the second was on a fluke bank off of Frans Nielsen. Other than that, Nabokov looked very sharp. He was aggressive on the puck, extremely alert and a very calming presence in goal. 

Mark Streit is an absolute maestro on the power play. We knew this, but he shows it more and more every game. He had a beautiful pass to Tavares on the power play all the way through traffic that beat Lundqvist on his left side. Not many players in the NHL have that kind of vision. 

Matt Martin, after receiving a promotion to the 3rd line following the scratch of Blake Comeau, completely took advantage of his opportunity and played at a very high level. He continued to finish his checks and was hustling the entire game.

The PK duo of Marty Reasoner and Jay Pandolfo continues to shine. The Islanders took way more penalties than they should have today, but they were lucky enough not to have to pay for it due to the mastery of man down play by these two. Subtle, yet two of the biggest additions made in this offseason.

The continuous improvement of P.A. Parenteau, who is now among league leaders in assists and points, is something to behold. He had a beautiful backpass to Tavares on the first goal and was in general an offensive force with 3 assists.

Kyle Okposo continues to do... nothing. He has been nothing short of invisible in these first four games and that continued tonight. The first line can only contribute so much offense, and Okposo really needs to pick it up. Grabner and Nielsen have both picked it up, it's time for Okposo to do the same.

Josh Bailey continues to be invisible.

Thoughts:

AT: Obviously, it's always nice to beat our most hated rival. The way we did it however was even better. We played a complete game against Tampa, and we carried that over tonight. The score essentially should have been much higher in favor of the Islanders, but the strong goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist as usual ensured that didn't happen. Still, pure dominance by the Islanders tonight. The breakout of John Tavares could be one of the biggest storylines in the NHL this season, and all we as fans have to do is watch and enjoy.

Arena: Mangano unveils economic development plan including new Coliseum

Ed Mangano, trying once more to get a new Nassau Coliseum at the HUB site, unveiled plans to develop a new arena at the HUB site along with a massive parking garage, residential and retail space and a bioscience research and development park. This plan will competing with several others as part of Governor Cuomo's Empire State Development Corp, which will give state funds to whichever projects win out. The state's decision will come in December. The plan also mentions Belmont as a possible site for a new Coliseum if the HUB is no longer viable due to restricted space or other concerns. You can read the full article here.

AT: Here we go again. Albeit, this project would be jump started from state funds and not be voted upon by the public, it's hard to be optimistic about anything concerning keeping the Islanders in Nassau County. If you look at the projected layout of what the HUB site would be, there is very little room for parking outside of the direct area outside of the Coliseum. If the parking garage - which would be shared with the bioscience center and the Coliseum - were to hold 7,000 vehicles, where does everyone else go? Plus, parking in an enclosed garage like that would create chaos on nights where the Islanders sell out. Getting out of the Coliseum as it is right now is already a major hassle, getting out of it when you're on the top floor of a multistoried parking garage sounds like a nightmare. This would have to be designed to the highest standards for easy in and out access for mass traffic, otherwise we'll have simply solved one problem and gained another.

It's notable as well that there looks to be plans for a light rail system, which Mangano is known to be in favor of, wrapping itself around the HUB area extending into the Nassau County Community College area and down Hempstead Turnpike. This would be a great addition to the HUB site as right now, the nearest LIRR station is not the most easily accessible site when coming to and from the Coliseum. An addition such as a light rail system would make it a lot more tempting for commuters who simply want to jump on the LIRR and not use a taxi or bus to finish the ride.

Obviously, we have to see more details. But this looks like it will be the final ditch effort for Mangano and Nassau County to really keep the Islanders in Nassau County and retain an arena in Nassau as well. I'm very curious to see Wang's opinion on this and where his support lies at this point, as a plan like this would obviously need private developers in addition to state funds to achieve anything. Would a plan like this even be economically viable for Nassau County?

Prospects: Kirill Kabanov traded to Shawinigan Cataractes

After accepting a 1 month tryout with SEL team Farjestad, Kirill Kabanov was traded from QMJHL team Blainville-Broisband Armada to the Shawinigan Cataractes, as so to give him a spot on a roster and the ability to play.

AT: Finally, this situation has been resolved. Of course, Kabanov will have to find chemistry with his new linemates once again, but being a 19 year old in a junior league he should find his way on to the top 6 in the depth chart and considering his skill should have no problem producing. According to his Facebook, he seems ecstatic to just have a place to play. Though the Cataractes have already played a solid amount of games, there is no doubt Kabanov will still have a solid chunk of the season to play through and hopefully help guide the Cataractes to the playoffs.