It's hard to watch our New York Islanders flounder
at the worst possible time of the season with incomplete efforts in the final games. The excuses are running out and so is the time to correct their
mistakes. They have allowed the 1st goal
and only scored 8 goals in their last 6 games.
And the awkward loses aren’t even gathering loser points or helping the
Isles keep pace. The things they are
doing well haven’t been enough to compensate for their MIA offensive
production. Even Boychuk and Leddy have
failed to score recently. To make it
worse, the surging Rangers, Penguins & Flyers are threatening the Isles
fading playoff chances. You would assume
it a necessity to take the next step and salvage the season for Garth Snow and Jack
Capuano before the new ownership takes majority control next year. They remain in the 7th spot (38-24-9 with
85pts) for the eastern conference with a dicey 4-4-2 record over their last 10
games.
The Isles are 1 in 6 since Jaroslav Halak
went down. That is not a discredit to Thomas
Greiss who has played very well all season long and has kept his team in many
close games. In my opinion, it’s simply what seems to be a component of more inconsistency,
injuries and odd lineup changes that are seemingly too much for Coach Capuano and
the Isles to compensate for. Even a resurgent Mikhail Grabovski is back on the
IR again after possibly being rushed back into the line up to try and regain
some sort of offensive spark. Matt
Larkin chimed in on the season’s shortcomings from some of the Isles younger
players, “Anders Lee and Ryan Strome have COMBINED for 20 goals. Who knew? Did
lack of off-season signings breed complacency instead of confidence?”
Captain John Tavares is aging on the vine
much like the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist and if team mediocrity keeps the Isles
from taking the next step, JT may look elsewhere when he becomes a free agent
for the 2018-19 season. Tavares has looked
as out of sync this season and wasn’t much better than many of his team mates
in the recent loss to Philadelphia on Monday.
It marked the 3rd consecutive loss for New York. Three for the first time in 3 months and the
first time the team has been winless in 4 since March of 2015. The Islanders need to execute their game plan
and play much harder than they have been in recent games. I don’t know if a stop gap solution exists on
the current roster, in Bridgeport or is even possible for the season. But there is confidence in the Isles locker room. The players believe in each other. Travis Hamonic, “Last years was last year.
This is this season and we've played some really good hockey. We're confident
in our group."
My opinion on the coach is well known, but it
eventually needs to fall on their Captain.
John Tavares is an elite player, but has struggled in keeping the team
sharp on the ice. Tavares isn’t happy
with the team’s efforts, "It's not like we aren't trying. I think we just
have to execute better.” Accountability. The Isles have 7 of their next 11 games are home
where they are 21-9-4. They are 1-4-2 in
their last 7 games and on a dangerous pace to drop out of the playoff picture
if some changes aren’t made. Erick
Hornick points out that the Isles also need to finish ahead of Philadelphia,
Detroit, the Rangers or Pittsburgh in order to clinch a playoff berth. Their games at hand have fallen to 1 against
the Pens and 2 against the New York Rangers.
Their 4-1 (Okposo) loss to the Flyers put both teams at 71 GP and was a
4 point gain of sorts for Philadelphia with the win. The loss even snapped a 6-0-1 home point
streak. Things are not well in Isles
country at the moment.
The Islanders have games remaining against
the Penguins, Rangers and the snowed out make-up game against the Flyers on the
final day of their season which could end up being a much larger 2 points than
first anticipated. Or, may not matter at
all. Their magic number is at 19 to
clinch a spot while falling behind Pittsburgh by 3 and now only 3 ahead of
Philadelphia. They still hold their own
leash, but are we sure how long that will last? When will roster decisions like playing the erratic Brian Strait over
and over again hold Capuano accountable for the questionable coaching decisions? Will not acquiring a top forward to play with
J.T. cost Snow more than just frustration into a vital summer for the Isles
organization? All is not lost just yet.
The Isles will look to play the next biggest
game of the season against the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night at home before traveling
to Tampa Bay and Carolina on Friday and Saturday.
Isles Notes:
Per Eric Hornick, “Tavares, the only 2009
draftee to score 200 goals, 250 assists and 450 points, is also the first to
play 500 games.”
Ryan Pulock scored his 1st NHL goal against
the Nashville Predators.
Josh Ho-Sang has 82 points in 66 games with Niagara
of the OHL.
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