By Brian Bohl
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Thousands of screaming young fans witnessed three simultaneous fights during the Islanders 7-1 drubbing to the Sabres Monday afternoon. Those matinee melees resulted in 150 combined penalty minutes, though they did nothing to stem Buffalo’s momentum as the Isles dropped to 1-2 to start the season.
Fighting in front of a Kids Day crowd was about the only thing involving youth for the Islanders; a bad sign for a team that stressed playing young players during the offseason. But first-year coach Scott Gordon hasn’t played two forwards who were expected to benefit from a change in direction.
Blake Comeau, who logged eight goals and seven assists in 57 games last season, was scratched the first three games before finally being demoted to AHL Bridgeport Tuesday. General manager Garth Snow, with owner Charles Wang’s full support, dismissed former Coach of the Year Ted Nolan in favor of Gordon, who held no previous NHL coaching experience. Snow cited Nolan’s lack of willingness to play players like Comeau, Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen on a consistent basis.
But Gordon has relied on a top line feature two former All-Stars pushing 40 in Doug Weight and Bill Guerin. In the summer, Snow passed up on the chance to select Russian scorer Nikita Filatov, who many scouts said could be a potential impact scorer right away. Instead, Snow traded down in the draft to select Josh Bailey ninth overall.
Bailey broke camp with the Islanders, signing a three-year entry level contact. The 19-year-old has not even dressed for a game yet, while the 22-year-old Comeau also spent more time in a suit than in uniform.
It’s puzzling why an Islander squad pegged to finish last in the Eastern Conference would shelve two key components of a supposed youth movement.
Gordon hasn’t shown an inclination to clarify the moves for the fan base, refusing to say if the absences are performance-based or injury based. It’s another slap in the face to the fans, whom haven’t seen a playoff series victory since 1993.
Speaking of injures, the Brocktown, Mass., born Gordon is taking a cue from fellow New Englander Bill Belichick in his injury policy. No updates or specifics will be forthcoming from Nassau Coliseum regarding hurting players. A perfect case in point is Radek Martinek, who will miss 4-6 weeks despite the Isles refusing to divulge what is wrong with the defenseman.
Details have been just as sparse regarding Rick DiPietro. Entering the third season of a 15-year contract, DiPietro and Gordon maintained the netminder’s health was not an issue following offseason surgery to his left knee. But DiPietro has served as the backup to Joey MacDonald the first three games. Think about that. DiPietro was not healthy enough to play but yet would be forced into a game situation in case MacDonald suffered an injury.
The last thing the franchise could afford is a long-term absence of a player who is covered under an uninsurable contract that stretches well into the next decade.
Yet when asked about the logic of keeping DiPietro on the bench if he isn’t ready, Gordon was dismissive of the questions
“You know what, I’ve done a lot of talking about Rick and I love talking about him but I’m not going to take away from what our team did tonight,” Gordon said Saturday following the Islanders 5-2 home opening victory over St. Louis. “For the time being, we’re going to pass on that tonight and I appreciate your patience with that.”
It’s unclear if DiPietro will be available the next two games as the Islanders face Tampa Bay and Florida on the road. MacDonald was forced to play three games in four days despite not winning an NHL game since in over a year.
The 28-year-old was stellar in the first two games and looked steady Monday when the Islanders entered first intermission down just 1-0. Buffalo then rattled off four goals in the second period’s opening 11 minutes, which could be seen as a sign of fatigue. MacDonald’s 24-save effort against the Blues marked his first NHL win since March 27, 2007. Instead of calling up Bridgeport backup Yann Danis to fill in as DiPietro rested, MacDonald was left to take one for the team as the Sabres continually crashed the net.
Gordon said he doesn’t believe in pulling goaltenders, though with his brief time here, that could have just been his way for explaining why DiPietro was on the bench when it was clear he was not ready to see game action.
“I’m not a strong believer in pulling goalies to change momentum,” Gordon said in defense of keeping MacDonald on the ice. “I want our goalies to not get the feeling that, if things don’t go right for them, they can look to the bench and look over their shoulder, thinking, ‘When am I coming out?’ I want them to find a way to battle.
DiPietro said Saturday that he was ready in an emergency. The former No. 1 overall draft pick also denied a published report that claimed his left knee experienced swelling.
“If I wasn’t backing up, there’d be something to talk about,” said DiPietro, who also had hip surgery in March. “I’m going to do everything the doctors tell me to do and whatever the coach tells me to do. The doctors have a plan for me so that once I start playing, I’m not going to have to take nights off.”
The Islanders surrendered 12 power play chances and three goals, including a 5-on-3 tally. Guerin, the captain, said those infractions need to be held in check even when DiPietro returns.
“That’s a lessoned learned,” captain Bill Guerin said. “We took a lot of bad penalties. Like Scott said, if it doesn’t save a goal, it’s a bad penalty.”