PITTSBURGH – If you’re looking to point a finger – any finger – at someone for the Islanders’ dismal 5-11-1 start, Peter Laviolette says to stick it his way.
“The finger should be pointed at me,” Laviolette said. “I’m the guy in charge here. So the finger should be pointed at me. I’ve never hid and said, ‘Hey, this isn’t my fault.’ I’m the guy putting in the systems and motivating, so the finger should absolutely be pointed at me. It’s my job to make sure we’re motivated and prepared.”
But as professional hockey players, the Islanders should not be absolved.
“I think everybody accepts some of the responsibility, but I’m certainly not shucking mine,” Laviolette said. “That’s my job. My job is to figure out the penalty kill. My job is to cut down on our goals-against. I’m the guy in charge of all of it.”
Laviolette is famous for not ripping his players in the media. When asked if a certain player – say Alexei Yashin, for example – blew an assignment during a game, Laviolette bites his tongue. So if a coach takes such great lengths to protect his players who are making him look bad, does he take it personally?
“Absolutely,” Laviolette said. “Otherwise, I’d be saying it’s OK. I don’t take it personally, like they’re doing it because it’s me. But I take it personally because these games are important and it’s my job.”
So why not barbecue those who are bringing him down in the press, like some coaches around the league do at the drop of a hat?
“I played the game,” Laviolette said. “I know, as a player, some nights the effort’s just not there. Sometimes it’s just one player. Sometimes it’s a team. But I’ll remember that as long as I live.”
There’s no question last year’s success was due to the play of the Islanders’ core players. This season, those same players, whom the others should look up to and follow the lead of, have not earned their money.
“I personally had meetings with the core players [Friday],” Laviolette said. “They have the ability to change the course of the season, or a game.
“I’m counting on those same players that played hard last year and played hard in different games this year to grab hold of a rope and pull us out of it.”
*
Michael Peca was expected to play last night against the Penguins. … Former Islander Dick Tarnstrom, logging an average of 17:38 in 62 games last year, was waived following the season and landed on his feet with the Pens. He’s averaging a team-high 24:58 a game and had 13 points quarterbacking Mario Lemieux’s power play.
