Memo To The New York Islanders

As much fun as this season has been for the New York Islanders, and trust me its been a fun year to watch so far, there's been a bit of a hicup as of late. They started the year off like a house of fire, going 15-7-2 to begin the season. Since then, they've managed to win just six games, including a come from behind shootout win today over the Devils. But there's more to it then that. Its the fact that the offense has began to sputter a little and the defense is starting to show some leaks going into the bye week this week. They don't play again until they face the Rangers next Saturday, but between now and then, the Islanders have some things they need to work on.

Ever since the overtime win on December 27th against Buffalo (thank you Matthew Barzal), the Islanders had lost five straight games since then, with the last four coming in blowout fashion. It included a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg, a 6-1 loss to Colorado, a 5-1 loss to Boston, a 6-4 loss to Philadelphia and a 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh. When the Devils took a 4-2 lead today, I thought the life had gone out of the Islanders and it was going to be a 6th straight loss, but they fought back to get the extra point. It's becoming a problem when Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are having to face 35 or more shots a game, something they've had to do the last six games.

There are times where the goalies can't do anything to make a save because their defense has let them down by not picking up a guy in front of the net. Not having Johnny Boychuk on the ice because of an injury may have something to do with it, its always a possibility. At the same time, the rest of the guys who are on the club now, like Nick Leddy and Denis Seidenberg (when he plays) need to keep up the leadership. The younger guys need to step their game up too, guys like Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Thomas Hickey. Everybody on that blueline has got to chip in and make a difference and help cut down on those horrible shot numbers.

The offense is still near the top of the league in scoring, but they've looked a little off as well. Josh Bailey was dealing with an injury, so he is out for now. The rest of the team needs to try and rally and find that MoJo again. It was a month ago that the Islanders sat in 3rd place in the Metropolitan division. Now here we sit a week into the new year and the Islanders are a point ahead of the Penguins who are in last place in the Metro Division. Its a team that's really in need of trying to right the ship and get back to what was working for them in the early part of the season. With as well as some of the teams ahead of them, like Philadelphia, Carolina, the Rangers, New Jersey and Washington have been playing, the Islanders may yet again find themselves out of the playoffs.

Islanders fans I know are tired of seeing the team miss the post season, and with the way this season started it really looked like the Islanders may have turned the corner and hit their stride to make a run at a championship. Now it looks like they've gone into a slight spinout. So lets hope that today's comeback shootout win will be just what the Islanders needed to get things back on track for a playoff push. If they miss out again this year, some major changes need to be made for this team. Now's the time for the Islanders to get their act together!