Is Jack Capauno The Right Coach For Your New York Islanders?

I’m still not sold on Capuano as the guy that can take the Isles to next level and, at times, I would swear that the team wins despite him as coach. This could also be due to the more improved roster the Islanders have to work with this season.  What isn’t for sale, however, is that he has everyone on the roster playing better in 2014-15. They have well balanced scoring and an improved defensive game on most nights -- all showing that this team has pretty consistently been able to overcome much adversity. That's a fact.

Capuano has gotten better, along with the team around him. We are told that players like and respond to him as their guiding leader.  Several players have matured as pros under his watch & Garth Snow has supported him enough that he is now the second winningest Isles coach behind the legendary Al Arbour. Snow has made it clear to me that Capuano should be the guy, at least as long as he calls the shots.  Consider that the team’s depth is beneficial to the organization for injuries or underperforming players and that their deep and maturing prospect pool is an even bigger bonus. That has never been more evident than the past two seasons with guys like Lee, Strome, Nelson & de Haan contributing as much as they have. Not to mention the Isles injury issues over the last several seasons have probably impacted their record more than we care to admit.  The team’s defensive lapses and their struggling special teams should evolve as the season goes on.

Watch the maturation of teams like the Blackhawks, Kings and even the surging St Louis Blues. They all took time to mature and grow into consistent winners.  That included finding the right coach and allowing him to play his system and find synergy with his squad.  As with Garth Snow’s master plan, the Islanders are doing things the same way. Jack Capuano has the Islanders in control of their own destiny. 

When you check out the NHL stats at the time of this article, the Islanders are:

2nd in the NHL in wins with 37.

3^rd in NHL scoring with 172.

5^th in goals per game with 3.07.

1^st in 1-goal game winning percentage (.815%).

1^st in OT/SO wins with a 12-1 record.

5^th in plus/minus at +21. 

They have a 13-6-1 record (.650%) when leading after 1^st, 18-2-1 record (.857%) when leading after 2^nd. 

The Isles are 21-11-1 when scoring 1^st and an impressive 16-7-0 when they yield the first goal to the opposition.

 

Special teams and team defense have struggled this season:

The Isles are 23^rd in goals with 2.77 against on defense and while they are ranked 11^th with a 19.1% on the PP, their PK is 29^th in the league at 73.6%.  Only Buffalo (16-36-3 w 35pts) is worse at 73.5%. 

When trailing, the Isles have a 7-7-0 record (.500%) when trailing after 1^st, 4-11-0 (.267%) when trailing after 2^nd.

So while there are more positives, than negatives, Coach Capuano has the Isles going in the right direction.  We all need to be realistic and have even more patience.  This team has a good thing going and have become the envy of many around the NHL.  The chronic shortcomings have been frustrating, but we all need to have a little well deserved faith and practice even more patience before complaining about how good we really have it as fans of this team right now.  The glaring missteps in the defensive game & special teams are on watch, but even their inopportune lapses in focus and occasional meltdowns aren’t enough to keep this team from winning their share of games.  They are a tight-knit group that has dangerous ability to come back from adversity to get the win.  And remember that just like when the team unravels can be pinned on the coach, the ability of the team to execute the improbable comeback must be credited to him as well. 

So, while my fist line of this article says “I’m still not sold…”, as of right now, at 37-18-1 with 75 points (1^st in metro, 2^nd in east), Capuano deserves to remain head coach and see where he can take this team moving forward this season.  He has earned that right.