The Isles lost to the Boston Bruins by a 2-1
score. They are 1-3-2 in their last six
games after a 6-2-1 start and have scored just 9 goals over those games. Because
of this, they have fallen to a 7-5-3 record (17pts), putting them in 5th place
within the Metro and ranking them 7th in the eastern conference (and 12th
in league). They are 5-3-2 at home and
2-2-1 on the road.
Offensively, they are ranked 8th in goals for,
with 40. John Tavares and Kyle Okposo
lead the team with 11pts after 15 games (JT played 12 games due to flu) while
Frans Nielsen has 10 points on the season.
Once a strength, the Isles offense is starting to abandon them in close
games with trends like JT being held without a point in his last 4 games.
The Isles have struggled to find offensive
production lately. They are 6-1-0 when
they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-4-3 when
they do not. This stat presented by Eric Hornick was proven last season
when they were 40-8-4 when scoring at least three goals (including SO winners).
Their on and off PP is still 4th in the NHL
(23.1%) despite going 1 for 7 in their last game against Boston on
the man advantage.
Defensively as a team, they are 17th in goals
against with 36. Jaroslav Halak and
Thomas Greiss have played well so far. Halak is 4-3-1 with a .928Sv% and a 1.88
gaa & Greiss is 3-1-2 with a .924Sv% and a 2.45 gaa. Still pretty good numbers, but the team’s inconsistency
have worn away at their place in the standings.
They are ranked 4th on the PK (87.8%) and their ability to succeed in
man down situations has kept them in games in which they have struggled. However, recently the Isles have allowed PP goals in three straight games (7-10, 70% PK).
Remember that Pulock & Mayfield are right
handed shots, so the Isles called up 21 year old D, Adam Pelech today. Pelech has 2 & 2 for 4 points for the BST
with a team-high +9 rating in 14 games. Both
of Pelech’s goals were SHG. The
Islanders selected Pelech in the third round (65th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry
Draft. He tallied 11 assists in 65 AHL games last season as a rookie with Bridgeport.
“It was a big surprise, but a dream come
true for me,” Pelech said about his first NHL call up against the Sharks in San Jose or Kings in LA. Pelech has the size and offensive ability to
make him an interesting experiment to upgrade the Isles defense and he has
earned a shot with his play in Bridgeport.
I have written my opinion on the shortcomings
and successes of Jack Capuano in past KoC articles. He has progressed with his team and there is
no arguing that Jack Capuano is 172-153-49 behind the Islander bench, putting
him 2nd behind the great Al Arbour.
But the Isles team inconsistency has hurt them over the last few seasons
despite their improving roster. With
their 3 game west coast trip starting tomorrow, Capuano and his staff had
better win some games or you would think his time may finally be nearing an end. However, Garth Snow has never worried about
what you or I think, so there is that.
But the team has been struggling lately and
are starting to misfire their way down the standings. The struggles of Ryan Strome have gotten him
sent down to the BST while Anders Lee and Brock Nelson have netted 7 & 6
points in 15 games so far. Young players
in major roles aren’t always able to consistently find their rhythm game in and
game out. As a matter of fact, vets
often have troubles with this as well.
That is where coaching comes into play.
A coach needs to be equal parts tactician and motivator to be successful
on the NHL. A legendary coach like Al
Arbour was a master at relating to his players and got the most out of them
because of it. Jack Capuano has gotten
the team to be better and, while his current roster leaves little room for
excuses, it is an ongoing project.
Still, the team’s game must keep improving.
Capuano, Weight & Cronin have helped make noticeable improvements, but the clock is ticking on JTs prime, so the reality is that
the team needs to start consistently evolving and not struggling with the same
problems holding 3rd period leads or floundering on special teams. If not, Garth Snow must be on the lookout for
proven & available NHL coaches that fit his system, as well as potential
trades or player acquisitions of quality veterans.
Consistency is key. The team’s focus must be on
who is playing hard & the coaching staff should run with them. All players, both star or rookie, need to understand that. A player’s talent must equal their effort
in order to win consistently. But in
order to find true consistency throughout the lineup, it needs to be managed by
coaching. Players must be accountable, and so must coaches.
Isles Notes:
The Isles have lost 31 man games this season
due to injury/illness.
Sound Tigers Notes:
The Sound Tigers are 10-4-0-0 thus far this
season.
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