Ship Sinking For Islanders?

This time last year, as a fan of the New York Islanders, I had a lot of confidence in my team. Last year, at this time, after the 71st game, the Islanders sat at a record of 43–24–4, which was good for 90 points. Things were flying high. Everybody was playing good, the young guns were scoring, things were going good for the Blue and Orange. Now, after the 71st game of the 2015-16 season, things don't look as swell as last year. This time, the Islanders sit at 38–24–9, good for 85 points. That puts the team at 4th in the division and sitting in the top wild card spot. The team that beat them last night, the Philadelphia Flyers, are just three points back. The last two weeks for the team haven't been very good for the team, leaving one to wonder if they will even hang on to make the playoffs.

Just two weeks ago, the Islanders were sitting pretty, holding down the 2nd spot in the Metropolitan Division, behind only the Washington Capitals. Since then, the wheels have fallen off at an alarming rate. Jaroslav Halak getting hurt has been a factor, lets not forget about that. No disrespect to Thomas Greiss, who has done a solid job trying to pick up the slack with Halak hurt. Both goalies have been doing a good job to bail the team out, because lets face facts, the team hasn't really been showing up the last two weeks. Ever since that Rangers game on March 6th, the Islanders have not once played a complete sixty minute hockey game. They got a little bit lucky against Pittsburgh on March 8th and very lucky showing up for the final ten minutes in the win over the Panthers on March 14th. That has been it. They've now lost four straight games, and are in danger of missing the playoffs alltogether, with ten games remaining on the schedule.

It should be noted that John Tavares hasn't scored a goal in six straight games, and as a team the Islanders have scored just five goals in the last five games. That can't happen in crunch time. Some observers have said that the team is just having no "puck luck" right now. Some feel that the team isn't getting the right breaks. Well, news flash here people, that's all on the players. They aren't showing up at all. Don't believe me? Just watch them play, and look no further than last night against the Flyers. Sure they fired 24 shots on net, only getting the one goal off the stick of Kyle Okposo. But the best quality chance was the breakaway in the first by Nikolay Kulemin. Philadelphia outplayed them the entire game, from start to finish. The Isles had a handful of quality scoring chances all night.

Not only during the Flyer game, but the losses to Dallas, Nashville and a shootout loss to the Penguins, the Islanders look like they're just standing still in their defensive end. And when they do manage to go on the attack all they do is skate around and try and force an open look and try and make the big play. They don't have to do that just start firing the puck on net and crash the cage. Its easier said than done I know. Still it has to be done. But wait, there's more.

The Islanders haven't had a solid, set, top line all year long. Tavares is their number one center, there's no denying that fact. But he has had a revolving door of wingers all year. Head Coach Jack Capuano has spent way too much time mixing his lines up and its making me sick. Just stick Kyle on one side and Brock Nelson on the other and leave it at that. Then for the 2nd line go back to the F Lee Bailey line (Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson), because that line worked well together for a stretch. This team is starting to rely way too much on role players going above and beyond the call of duty. Every player on this team should have a role and play to that role, and its not there right now. All great hockey teams have roles for their players, and they play them to the best of their ability. That's why teams like the Kings and Blackhawks are so good year in  and year out. The Islanders and their staff don't really knnow how to do that at the moment with the team they have.

Ryan Strome, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson, the core of young players who general manager Garth Snow still believe are talented enough to not go out and add a veteran presence up front following last season’s playoff disappointment, have combined for just 43 goals. Nelson has 23 of them, but only three in the last 21 games he’s played. The disappearing act by the Isles’ offense is the same problem they had last season. Down the stretch last year, the Isles struggled through a 1-6-1 stretch that featured just 12 goals. Though they ended up with 101 points, the best point total they had put up in 30 years, they faltered again in the regular season’s final days and ended up losing the divisional tiebreaker to Washington and finishing third. Then, in their first-round playoff series against the Capitals, the Isles were forced to play Game 7 at Washington instead of at what likely would have been a blood-thirsty Nassau Coliseum.

The way things are going right now for the Isles, they may not even get that far and could miss the playoffs altogether. This team had sky high expectations and are not even close to meeting them. Some of the blame should fall on management for getting in players who could have helped this team win right now. But since that didn't happen, the blame falls now on the guys on the ice who aren't getting it done. If they don't start showing up and giving a full sixty minute effort every night the rest of the way, this could go down as one of the greatest choke jobs in the history of hockey.