Thanks to a Mediocre East, Playoffs Still a Possibility for the Islanders
How a 23 win team that is in the midst of a 5 game losing streak can still be in great playoff positioning on February 3rd is beyond my realm of belief. So it goes in the “New NHL.” I’ve always been against “loser points” that award a team that loses in overtime a point in the standings, as well as losing in a shoot-out (skills-competition). I’m sorry, this isn’t kindergarten . . . you shouldn’t get anything for losing in a professional sport (except an earful from the coaching staff). However, as an Islander fan, it is the loser point that has actually given this team some hope early on in their rebuild process (for those that think Tavares was anything close to the final piece, get real – the rebuilding is far from done). Besides the loser point, however, and maybe more importantly, is that the teams directly around the Islanders in the Eastern Conference standings simply aren’t that good (that’s right, I’m talking about YOU New York Rangers! YOU SUCK!).
10 out of the 15 teams in the East would be sitting OUT of a playoff spot if they were playing in the Western Conference. Why, oh why has the Western conference always been so much better? Does the fact that there are better teams in the West mean their conference always produces Stanley Cup Champions? Clearly not, with Pittsburgh winning it last year, and Eastern teams such as Tampa Bay, Carolina, and New Jersey having championship seasons in the past decade. Having a strong regular season doesn’t automatically translate into playoff success (see: San Jose Sharks), but the amount of strong teams in the West compared to the East has always intrigued me. Why is it so? The L.A. Kings and Colorado Avalanche have recently started a rebuild process and currently sit in 5th and 6th respectively in the Western Conference standings. That says a lot to me, being that the Islanders have seemingly been in a rebuild for a few years now and currently sit in the 13th position in the East. Is it in the water!? (L.A. water can’t be good . . . .).
The Western Conference’s ease of rebuilding aside, the Islanders still – oddly enough – are “sitting pretty” with their current positioning (sitting pretty means something different in Islander Country). Would they be lost if they played in the West? Of course, but luckily enough for Islander fans – they play in the East. Why the teams directly ahead of the Islanders (Flyers, Rangers, Rangers, Panthers, Bruins, Thrashers etc.) are struggling as much as they are shouldn’t concern me that much right now . . . what concerns me is whether or not the current young Islanders can find a way to take advantage of their situation. They’ve lost 5 straight, yet I’m still oddly optimistic. The return of Rick DiPietro may have done more temporary damage to the team than good . . . but they had to go through that process at some point. Hopefully, they’re over it. Biron will eventually be traded – Roloson will once again get the majority of the starts, and Tavares will start scoring again. Bergenheim will forecheck and Sutton will body-check. Things will turn around. This team needs a losing streak to remind them, as well as us fans, that they are in no way the Chicago Blackhawks – at least not yet. It’s too soon, and this team needs to learn how to win consistently. I still have hope, and I hope my fellow fans still believe in our team!
Bottom Line: Simply put . . . LET’S GO ISLANDERS! LET’S GO ISLANDERS! LET’S GO ISLANDERS!
NHL Hockey, New York Islanders, Sports | admin | February 3, 2010
Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Flyers, Hockey, John Tavares, Kings, L.A. Kings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, NHL, Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Thrashers
I’m too nervous about tonight’s game to read this whole blog. If they win tonight I will have a renewed sense of being playoff bound and comment more in depth tomorrow. I don’t want to get my hopes up in the mean time talking about it; this will only make my anticipation more unbearable.
I hear ya – - – we shall discuss after we know the state of the team post-Lightning game! But at some point this team is going to have to stop relying on the ineptness of other teams and focus on getting back on track . . . .
We’ll see what happens.
Well, that didn’t work! I was just reading on tfp.com about the Kovalchuk trade….did you know Oduya is from Stockholm!? I never would have guessed he was Swedish; it almost puts me in a good mood because it’s so strange!
hahaha yeah you didn’t know that about him? I thought we discussed this at length at an Islander game a long time ago . . . maybe I had that convo with myself . . . I do that. I’m gonna buy you a Thrasher Oduya jersey lol