If one didn't know better, with all the screaming fans, one would have thought the Isles were playing in Montreal. Until, of course, they then spied the dilapidated structure and facilities. And, suffice to say, some empty seats.
What has been most interesting to me after their Saturday collapse is the ensuing fan reaction on websites, boards and comments. I guess some people thought the Isles knew how to hold onto a lead? That they knew how to close out a game? Like last season, right?
Why some fans are parking themselves on the cliff upon every hiccup, fizzle and disappointment, well, is making me exhausted. It has to be be making others exhausted too.
Hey, it's not like someone did not mention rebuild. New coach. New system. Injuries galore.
Good teams close out games. Good teams can close the door on the top dogs. The Isles are not a good team, and I watched their unraveling without horror, whining, crying and drama. I watched them show me they have a long path ahead of them with glimmers of hope and the knowledge the only way is up. In other words, a giant reality check slammed the Isles and fans in that final 20 minutes on Saturday.
The Isles are running with almost two full lines of inexperienced players. Okposo, Nielsen, Tambellini/Fritz, Bergenheim. Now add a defense of a ragtag motley crew with Pock, Skinner with major minutes due to injuries to 3 starters. Now add two goalies who don't have much NHL experience.
Getting the picture yet?
In a lot of ways, due to this mishmash of youth, vets and injuries, the Isles are a lot like an expansion team. Add to this the new coach and system which is far from mastered, and you can see why games where they make spectacular mistakes and fall apart are more expected. Don't get me wrong. They are not acceptable in the least. But, lets get a grip here . . .
But, they are going to do some doozies folks. But they will get to a point of learning the hard way and knowing what to do the next time.
Whoever though that this team was going to somehow come out the gate and play for the playoffs is either working for a political campaign or just fooling themselves. Nothing has quite gone right, especially when our all-star starting goalie that needs his own personal surgical unit.
It can only get better. But it might get worse to get there. This is a tough pill to swallow if you also swallowed the rhetoric of playoff dreams or other notions recently.
If you are going to measure by the obvious, then you are in for a long haul from atop a steep slope. If you are willing to watch beneath and see a top dman in
Mark Streit that the Isles were able to lock-in for 5 years, a sparkplug kid in
Sean Bergenheim who is generating shots and playing with tons of heart, that
Chris Campoli is blooming into a solid #2 or #3 dman, that
Bruno Gervais is FINALLY starting to turn a corner and show some growth, that
Freddy Meyer has turned into a solid dman who is sorely missed when out, that two aging vets that many thought were washed up in
Bill Guerin and
Doug Weight are logging substantial icetime and tallying offense, that when Dubie moved on there was no solid backup...now there are two in
Yann Danis and
Joey MacDonald, with indications that they can solidly play on a longer stint.
No, things are certainly not . . .
Hearts, stars and horseshoes!
Clovers and blue moons!
Pots of gold and rainbows!
But things need to be weighed under a heaping load of realism and understanding. The Isles were a huge questionmark at seasons start, and how many teams have had to deal with so many injuries across the board?
Like many who will pull a lever come Election Day, there are no easy answers or quick solutions. The same can be said of your NY Islanders.
Tonight: Isles vs Bluejackets as Okposo is now on the top line
The Isles meet Columbus tonight, who are also having some trouble this season. Per Greg Logan of Newsday, Kyle Okposo is going to be used on the first line. Also per Logan, Scott Gordon also put the team on an extended video session and a practice in response to the same on Saturday.
Stay tuned tonight for a live blog.
- BD 
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