By Brian Bohl
UNIONDALE, N.Y.- Across the street from Hofstra is where you can find the best-kept sports secret in the entire metropolitan area. That’s right: the area’s best NHL team doesn’t play between the East and Hudson Rivers. Nor does it play its home games in a swank new arena.
The Devils’ lone bright spot this season could be the club’s new home. Meanwhile, the Rangers are still trying to establish consistency after creating buzz with key free-agent signings. But a little over a month into the new season, the Islanders are the surprise team in the Eastern Conference.
That is a far cry from the summer image, when the Isles were in the news for all the wrong reasons. Ryan Smyth took less money to sign in Colorado as a free agent. Jason Blake parlayed a career-best 40-goal season into a megabucks contract with Toronto, while captain Alexei Yashin took his unfulfilled expectations to his native Russia, culminating a mass exodus from Nassau Coliseum.
Following a surprising playoff run, the Islanders were picked by most experts to finish near the bottom of the pack. After all, Blake and Smyth were All-Star caliber players who were replaced by talented-but-unproven projects like Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko. Bill Guerin headlined the free-agent replacements, though the new captain is 37 and played with three teams the previous two seasons before coming to Long Island.
In his second season, coach Ted Nolan was entrusted with developing a cohesive unit with an overhauled roster during a short training camp. Considering Nolan’s winning track record, it’s no surprise the Islanders responded. Thanks to Guerin’s leadership, Comrie’s scoring ability and goalie Rick DiPietro, the team started strong to keep pace with the rest of the Atlantic Division. Holdover Miroslav Satan picked up the slack when Comrie’s production started to sag, logging three consecutive game-winning goals last week.
Despite playing three less games than the Flyers, the Isles entered Monday just two points behind Philadelphia for first place, starting 9-4 thanks in part to DiPietro’s steady presence and three productive scoring lines. It also marked the dichotomy of last season’s 0-3 start, which put the team in a hole. In fact, it took the team nearly the full season to compensate. Consider it a valuable lesson.
“We brought a lot of good people in,” Nolan said. “All the guys from last year; they knew the type of system we have. They’ve helped with the coaching of the other players.”
Mike Sillinger and Brendan Witt are among the holdovers. Both wear the “A” on the sweater to signify their status as assistant captains, teaming with Guerin to provide the leadership corps. DiPietro’s also showing he should be listed in the NHL’s elite goalie class, posting a 2.44 goals-against-average in an 8-3 start. He is projected to start 76 of the 82 games-numbers that would put him in the company of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, who DiPietro defeated in a 2-1 win at home on Saturday.
“The biggest thing is that we’re coming out with a consistent effort, playing smart and the enthusiasm is there,” DiPietro said.
Special teams continue to be an asset and will only improve when Bryan Berard returns from a groin pull. Entering the week, the power play was the third- best in the league, scoring at a 23.7 percent clip. Perhaps just as important to Islanders’ fans is the 2-0 ledger against the hated Rangers, including a 3-2 come-from-behind win that featured three third-period goals against Henrik Lundqvist.
It’s still too early to make any definitive statements. The Islanders will likely endure a rough spot in the next few weeks or months. When that happens, it will be easy to see if Nolan’s praise about his well-disciplined team is just idle talk, or if the adversity reveals the Isles as a legitimate contender.