New York Islanders Miss The Point

Our New York Islanders finished with a 41-29-0-12 record this season. The accumulated 94 pts accounted to just 3 wins away from last year, but still missed playoffs by 1 point, just behind Toronto. It’s a tribute to the team when you think how far they came from since the middle of January. They were last in the east and looked to be without hope of any kind. A coaching change and some renewed enthusiasm sparked them to make a strong, though ultimately unsuccessful post-season push.

I wrote about how important it was for the Isles to beat the Rangers and Penguins towards the end of March. I felt it would show how they could rise to the challenge of a playoff push. Well, they beat the Rangers and Penguins and things were looking up. The Boston Bruins were next. A team they were tied with in the standings and if they could win, it would be one of those “4 point” games and a huge boost to reach their initial goal. Unfortunately, they lost that game, and the next two games, against Nashville 3-1 and to Philadelphia in an ugly 6-3 blowout. I wanted Ryan Pulock called up to add a spark to defense and help their horribly unreliable power play. I wanted Jaroslav Halak recalled from Bridgeport. Halak was 17-7-3 with the Sound Tigers at the time and looked refocused and ready to help the Isles waffling defense keep and maintain leads. JF Berube had struggled in the backup role and Thomas Greiss was playing too many games as a result. I also wanted a much better offensive effort, especially on special teams. Josh Ho-Sang was making a difference since his call up, but they needed more.

Things were looking hopeless and the team looked as if they couldn’t get out of their own way. The loses, failures, shortcomings on the ice had fans pulling their hair out and demanding that things change in a hurry. The injuries were mounting. Strome (broken wrist), Cizikas (finger), Hamonic (thumb), Tavares (hamstring) and Prince (leg) were all out at the worst possible time, and that time was running out. It was clearly necessary for guys to step up, and they did. Some of the standouts include Anders Lee (52 pts), Josh Bailey (56), Josh Ho-Sang (10 in 21 games), Anthony Beauvillier (24) were difference-makers along with major contributions from Andrew Ladd (31) and Jason Chimera (33). Dennis Seidenberg (22 & +25), Scott Mayfield (9) and Adam Pelech (10) made a mostly unexpected difference on the blue line for some (not me, ;). It was a great effort, that was fun to watch, but ultimately just wasn’t enough.

The Islanders saw the Maple Leafs eliminate them after game 81 with a last-minute win over the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s a shame that this Isles team won’t be able to ride that season-long 6 game winning streak into the post season. Guys would start coming off injured reserve and once he was called back up, Jaroslav Halak looked to be entering his top 10 goaltender groove along with the strong play offered by Thomas Greiss. Just imagine Josh Ho-Sang on the play off stage. Well, we will have to imagine, because despite all the near heroics and getting bounced by 1 point, they still got bounced. They fell short and they didn’t get the job done. Several players and the now interim head coach have spoken about how that bad taste will stay with them all summer. Hopefully, they truly are close to taking that elusive next step I keep talking about. Ownership has a lot to think about. A new president of hockey operations, the status of Snow, who the head coach will be and who should get a shot at making the roster and who should go, along with the entry draft and expansion draft. These are all good questions that I will attempt to address in my season recap, coming soon.

UPDATE: 4/12 Per Arthur Staple, "#Isles have named Doug Weight head coach." Interim tag has been removed. This may be the first step in keeping JT happy. He was mentored by Weight & has publicly stated that he would like Weight to remain as head coach.

And to add a little more craziness to the mix, expect a lot more of things like this to go down in the coming weeks …

Chris Botta, “I understand all replies. Of course, Snow should go. But I doubt it. At worst, owners will give him a pseudo-demotion. 11 years.”

Per E.J. Hradek, “Great run by Lombardi/Sutter in LA. Two Cups. Time for a change? Probably. Both could be major upgrades for several other franchises.”

Per James Mirtle, “The next organization to keep an eye on is the Islanders. Could be big changes there.”

Keep the faith Isles fans. Seriously.

Isles Notes:

4/9 Anders Lee was named the 2016-17 winner of the Bob Nystrom Award, given to the Islanders who best embodies leadership, hustle and dedication. 

4/5 Former Islander, Kyle Okposo was hospitalized and in intensive care (4/5) for an undisclosed ailment and was released a couple of days after (4/7). Okposo’s return is “hopeful.”

4/3 Mangano can see path for “Isles return to Colisieum.” 

Ho-Sang on Lemieux’s “blessing” to wear 66, “Josh Ho-Sang on Mario's comments: "I’m very grateful that he [said what he said]. It definitely takes a lot of heat off of me."

Per Eric Hornick, “Isles won 7 of last 8 from #NYR, matching their BEST- EVER REGULAR SEASON STREAK against the Blueshirts (1977-78).”

Webster Hall Sells for $35M to AEG Live and Barclays Center Ownership.

Sound Tigers – Prospect Notes:

4/10, “Josh Ho-Sang, Adam Pelech and Connor Jones have been reassigned by the @NYIslanders to Bridgeport.” 

4/5 “Congratulations to @DevonToews6 on being named to @TheAHL All-Rookie Team!”

4/3 “Parker Wotherspoon (D) has been reassigned to Bridgeport from @TCAmericans."

3/29 “Tanner Fritz has agreed to a two-way deal w/ the @NYIslanders that begins in 2017-18." 

3/24 “Brant Harris (RW) has been released from his PTO. He will rejoin the @FL_Everblades.”

The #SoundTigers have signed John Stevens & Matt Gaudreau to ATOs. 

3/23  BST's Trio of Moves.

3/23 Per WHL, “Congrats to @SeattleTbirds @Barzal_97, 2016-17 Western Conference Player of the Year! #WHLAwards”

Per Arthur Staple, “Barzal finished the reg. season 10-69-79 in 41 games. Wotherspoon was 10-56-66 in 69 games, 4th among WHL defensemen.”

“As for G Linus Soderstrom, who just finished a standout year in the SHL, #Isles may sign him and allow him to remain in Sweden next year.”

“For those who have asked: Sounds like #Isles G prospect Ilya Sorokin will remain in KHL next season. Has one year left on deal.”

NHL Notes:

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on 2018 Olympics: "Assume we're not going."

Rumors have mentioned players like Ovechkin, Scheifele, McKinnon and Duchene intend to play at the upcoming World Championship.

@NHLCentralScout will release final rankings for the 2017 #NHLDraft on Tues., April 11, at 10 a.m. ET on NHL.com.