Reality Check for Isles

Last night’s 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins shouldn’t sit well with Islanders fans. The loyal Islanders fan has been told to give this team a chance—that this team will fight for every point and fight for every puck on every shift on every night. But all too frequently, that is not the case. Had the Isles come out with a strong performance in Boston, they might have been able to head into all star weekend with the notion that they have over-performed thus far this season. Had they emerged with two points last night, they might have been able to look down the stretch with a hint of optimism as well as confidence. Instead last night’s 4-1 loss to a mediocre Boston team should signal a reality check for the New York Islanders.

But how can the Isles have a winning record (4 games over .500) and still be subjected to the kind of criticism I am portraying here? Well it’s quite simple. The Isles are the only team in the NHL who are capable of defeating the best teams in the league, while losing to some of the worst; and this signifies a team that straight out refuses to work on some nights.

The Isles frequently take nights off and shifts off, which leads to clunkers like the 4-1 loss to the Bruins last night. The Islanders epitomize the classic NHL tease—showing you signs of dominance while mixing in some lazy inattentive play. It makes you wonder had the Isles kept their word and come out skating and hitting (aka outworking) their opponents every game, then they might be sitting atop the Atlantic Division today. And so far, that’s still not beyond a possibility. Last night’s game should signal to Coach Nolan that the Isles cannot afford to take shifts off if it hopes to win the Atlantic Division.

I mean, who cares if the Isles outwork their opponents on 60% of their games and sneak into the 8th spot and get blown out in the first round? The hockey world doesn’t remember those teams just as they don’t remember the Isles of last season. That is shown by every expert predicting the Isles to finish last in the league this year once again. On the other hand, the hockey world does remember those teams that weren’t supposed to go anywhere, yet pull it together in order to make a deep Cup run, a la the Edmonton Oilers a few seasons back. This needs to be the goal of the New York Islanders franchise—to make a run at the Cup. Presently, it seems an Isles’ season can be deemed a success if we slip into the playoffs and last at least 5 games in the first round (no brooms!). Everyone considers last season a success. Will it be a success if the Isles duplicate that performance this season? Probably. Makes you wonder what happened to the idea of building on the previous season.

The Isles inability to outwork opponents is evident in the streaky goal scoring of its top forwards (which is probably more nonexistent than streaky). Let’s take a peek at some of the Isles “top-6” forwards as of late.

Mike Comrie – 1 goal in his last 11 games
Miro Satan – 1 goal in his last 15 games
Josef Vasicek – 1 goal in his last 19 games
Ruslan Fedotenko – 1 goal in his last 12 games, 2 in his last 31
Sean Bergenheim – 1 goal in his last 13 games, 2 in his last 39
Trent Hunter – 1 goal in his last 17 games, 3 in his last 38

Each of these players above has seen ample time on the Isles first and second lines. And each of these players’ goal scoring is mostly nonexistent. Yes Tank and Hunter have seen more 3rd line duty recently, but each is still given plenty of time on the PP and should therefore be analyzed as a top forward. These guys simply don’t get the job done offensively and it’s time to give others a shot. Why not insert Blake Comeau on the PP instead of a Comrie or a Hunter? Yes Comrie is creative and Hunter can dig pucks out of the corner, but look at the stats I just divulged! NONE OF THOSE PLAYERS HAS AT LEAST TWO GOALS IN THE PAST 11 GAMES!

Trent Hunter is becoming more and more replaceable as this season progresses. I hope the Isles don’t make the same mistake that they made with Jason Blake last season. Ship Trent out for a 2nd rounder at the deadline, and let him take his puck-digging abilities elsewhere. There’s got to be a puck-digger somewhere out there who can score. Or even occasionally score.

DP has looked at bit rusty and only has one win in his last 5 starts to show for it. Perhaps it’s from being overworked, but it more and more looks like he’s struggling with some sort of knee injury but refuses to go down and miss his first all star game. Hopefully this decision won’t backfire on the Isles’ season.