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.
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).”
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment