12:14 pm: Morning notes from practice with thanks to the Twitter feed of @NYIslanders. The lines from yesterday are the same with Joensuu on the line with JT & Moulson. They were working on power play moves today with Dean Chynoweth running the show.
No one took the "country club" quote that appeared in Katie Strang's Newsday article after the 17th loss very well. The media pounced on it, the fans who love this team, felt cheated, and the organization cringed.
The first day I hit practice after Jack was named head coach, he was asked about his "style" of practice. He admitted he was a little more lenient with his players making game day skates optional. That day Jack looked sharp in his Islanders warm up suit and his eyes were sparkling. Coaching an NHL team was an opportunity he was looking forward to, maybe just not now.
During his post game interview after losing on Sunday, 12/5, I noticed how tired he looked. I commented to a staffer on the dark circles parked under his usually smiling eyes. "He's working round the clock. He doesn't stop."
Well, yesterday, according to Ms. Strang who was there, Jack decided the team itself should work just as hard and skated them for two hours with only a ten minute break. This should be nothing new for them.
When they would fall into slumps last season, I would call for Scott Gordon to "skate them till they puke" the next day. Katie didn't mention if anyone did.
But the problem may not be work ethic. It may be chemistry, capability and even the current phase of the moon. However, the work-out may have been a wake-up call to the players and a hint to the fans that they took the bad PR that one quote created very seriously.
Capuano, who is far more used to dealing with his local media in CT more than he is with the clump of MSM and bloggers, probably could have chosen his words post practice a little more carefully.
The quote went out over the Twitter feed: "(Winning) has to come from within... They have to have swagger and believe they can win."
"Swagger"? And in Newsday he is quoted as saying they need to have an "edge." Really Jack? You want to see this team have an "edge" let Trevor Gillies run the practice and for Pete's sake, tap him on the shoulder and let him loose. That's the only "edge" the team has.
Jesse Joensuu took PA Parenteau's spot on the line with JT and Moulson. This made some fans very happy on Twitter. PA skated on a line with Grabner and Nielsen.
Whatever they need to do to be ready for Thursday's game against the Bruins, Jack has to find it. Seriously.
Other Facts: Brock Nelson was chosen to the WJC preliminary roster. Good for the kid that was just graduating high school when he was drafted. Russian bad boy Kiril Kabanov was not selected. If you text "Islanders" to 266-266 something happens. I don't know what. I haven't tried it yet. But it's something about a 'game day promo.' You can enter to win a trip with the Islanders curtesy of Sharp. Check Twitter or the main website for details. I aksed, there will never be a BLOGGERS travel with the Islanders contest. That is not fair. With the long lay-over before a game, Dylan Reese was returned to Bridgeport. Not sure if he will be recalled before Thursday or not
Lastly, GM Garth Snow will be answering questions LIVE on ITV on Friday, Dec 10 at 10:30 am (probably with Chris King) in the next installment of their ITV Live series. (Check out the one with Rob Schremp.) You can Tweet your questions for Garth by @'ing the @NYIslanders, submit via facebook or by emailing
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