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.
3rd in NHL scoring with 172.
5th in goals per game with 3.07.
1st in 1-goal game winning
percentage (.815%).
1st in OT/SO wins with a 12-1
record.
5th in plus/minus at +21.
They have a 13-6-1 record (.650%) when
leading after 1st, 18-2-1 record (.857%) when leading after 2nd.
The Isles are 21-11-1 when scoring 1st
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 23rd in goals with
2.77 against on defense and while they are ranked 11th with a 19.1%
on the PP, their PK is 29th 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 1st, 4-11-0 (.267%) when trailing after
2nd.
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 (1st in
metro, 2nd 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.
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