Sounds like your team minus the playoffs.
- Orange Julius

Except we don't have the player like Tavares. Islanders are better than the Sabres right now obviously. I just don't see them as a contender

First off going out in six while getting shut out 4 and 5 nothing isnt amazing. Like someone said they were 3 points out of 5th so its not like they were this massive underdog. The only wins they had are squarely on the shoulders on MaF. They have never made the playoffs in a full season yet as a team. Im pretty sure they have been in the playoffs at the 48 game mark a few different times in the last few years but falter down the stretch like the leafs do every year. There just wasnt time this year for it to happen this year. If this season went 82 games TO and the Isles would have been right in 9th and 10th ish and the flyers and devils would have made it in. If that story makes you feel good, more power to ya lol, reality is for communists anyways.

First off going out in six while getting shut out 4 and 5 nothing isnt amazing. Like someone said they were 3 points out of 5th so its not like they were this massive underdog. The only wins they had are squarely on the shoulders on MaF. They have never made the playoffs in a full season yet as a team. Im pretty sure they have been in the playoffs at the 48 game mark a few different times in the last few years but falter down the stretch like the leafs do every year. There just wasnt time this year for it to happen this year. If this season went 82 games TO and the Isles would have been right in 9th and 10th ish and the flyers and devils would have made it in. If that story makes you feel good, more power to ya lol, reality is for communists anyways.
- StabMastaArson

This is complete BS. Isles normally are out in the beginning of the year early November. The end of the year they usually pick their pace up. Also you acting like the pens destroyed the Isles is a joke, we outplayed you 4 out of the 6 games. One game was decided by the refs in ot and the last game could have gone either way. Also one can argue that your only wins were squarely on the shoulders of Nabokov who took the momentum out of the Isles the 5th game

First, the isles are more than JT and a couple of good players. They are led by JT and an entire team with heart, grit & character. Their ability to carry play was amazing. It wasn't all speed either, it was desire. And, now that they have tasted the playoffs, that same desire can propel them in year after year. 82 game season this year...who knows, but it wasn't. And, what they accomplished, was worthy of notice and praise. They may have lost in 6, but what they gave the Penguins will make the Pens a better team. So the "honorable mention" is well deserved.

look here, the islander are a pretty good team. but I don't buy that crap that they were the reason the series was close. the pens stinking were the reason behind that. yes they have speed and talent, but nothing compared to the pens. if you go back and look fluery knocked in 3 goals. martin 1. 3 of the other goals were a direct result of a deflection off a ref. take away those 7 goals. and the series wasn't that close. yes the isles are good, I called it at the beginin of the year. but the pens mistakes were the reason they this series went to game 6.

This is complete BS. Isles normally are out in the beginning of the year early November. The end of the year they usually pick their pace up. Also you acting like the pens destroyed the Isles is a joke, we outplayed you 4 out of the 6 games. One game was decided by the refs in ot and the last game could have gone either way. Also one can argue that your only wins were squarely on the shoulders of Nabokov who took the momentum out of the Isles the 5th game
- mighty13duck

If Vokoun played from game 1 it might have been 5 games. Listen I don't have anything against the Isles, they have some super prospects to go along with Tavares, I just think they are a good goalie and about 2 to 3 years from being a serious threat

First off going out in six while getting shut out 4 and 5 nothing isnt amazing. Like someone said they were 3 points out of 5th so its not like they were this massive underdog. The only wins they had are squarely on the shoulders on MaF. They have never made the playoffs in a full season yet as a team. Im pretty sure they have been in the playoffs at the 48 game mark a few different times in the last few years but falter down the stretch like the leafs do every year. There just wasnt time this year for it to happen this year. If this season went 82 games TO and the Isles would have been right in 9th and 10th ish and the flyers and devils would have made it in. If that story makes you feel good, more power to ya lol, reality is for communists anyways.
- StabMastaArson

yeah and if the playoffs were best out of 9 games last year the Pens wouldn't have been eliminated

If Vokoun played from game 1 it might have been 5 games. Listen I don't have anything against the Isles, they have some super prospects to go along with Tavares, I just think they are a good goalie and about 2 to 3 years from being a serious threat
- sbroads24

There is no doubting that we need a goalie and some more defenseman, but we are almost there and this offseason could put us there. The fact that everyone is blaming MAF for it being so close is not looking at how bad Nabby was for us. Penguins got many lucky and soft goals as a result Of Nabakov getting outplayed.

First off going out in six while getting shut out 4 and 5 nothing isnt amazing. Like someone said they were 3 points out of 5th so its not like they were this massive underdog. The only wins they had are squarely on the shoulders on MaF. They have never made the playoffs in a full season yet as a team. Im pretty sure they have been in the playoffs at the 48 game mark a few different times in the last few years but falter down the stretch like the leafs do every year. There just wasnt time this year for it to happen this year. If this season went 82 games TO and the Isles would have been right in 9th and 10th ish and the flyers and devils would have made it in. If that story makes you feel good, more power to ya lol, reality is for communists anyways.
- StabMastaArson

Really? games 2-4 and 6 we massively outplayed you. Nabby was equally as bad as MaF.

look here, the islander are a pretty good team. but I don't buy that crap that they were the reason the series was close. the pens stinking were the reason behind that. yes they have speed and talent, but nothing compared to the pens. if you go back and look fluery knocked in 3 goals. martin 1. 3 of the other goals were a direct result of a deflection off a ref. take away those 7 goals. and the series wasn't that close. yes the isles are good, I called it at the beginin of the year. but the pens mistakes were the reason they this series went to game 6.
- pensfan024

The isles were the reason the pens played that way. By their own admission, the pens were panicking at times. That's on the pens, but due to the isles

The isles were the reason the pens played that way. By their own admission, the pens were panicking at times. That's on the pens, but due to the isles
- cranktheradio

this

Eklund: The Islanders are the Islanders Again...and that is Awesome.
- Eklund

Ek, why did you remove the "Bio" part of this website?

love (and hate for obvious reasons) the islander's reemergence but i'm not convinced they'll be in the playoffs next season. a lot of their fans themselves say they probably would've finished outside the playoffs had this been a full regular season, plus a lot of their regular season success relied on nabby, who's only getting older.

that said, good luck islanders. if you guys don't make the dance next season, you're still only 1 or 2 years away from really being locked into a playoff spot practically every year once strome and nino and reinhart, etc. become mainstays on the roster.

Except we don't have the player like Tavares. Islanders are better than the Sabres right now obviously. I just don't see them as a contender
- sbroads24

Nobody was saying they're a Stanley Cup contender now. The point is they are relevant again and will be a playoff contender every year. Nobody realistically is thinking they are going to win the cup next season. Still have a lot of young talent developing down the pipeline, it'll be a little while. Unless we make some impact signings.

Is it not weird or sad that the Islanders are getting pats on the back and congratulations for getting knocked out in 6 in the first round? Should they receive a participation ribbon?
- sbroads24

Give us a break man. Its unreal how people view this team. Have you not watched the Isles suck for...lets see now, 20 years? With no direction at all.

They went head to head with a team that has the best player in the world, who is surrounded by so much talent it looks like an Olympic team. The Isles had looked terrible in the beginning of the year, figured out their identity, stuck to the game plan, and the played a damn good series while being heavily overmatched. Lets be honest, no one saw that coming.

love (and hate for obvious reasons) the islander's reemergence but i'm not convinced they'll be in the playoffs next season. a lot of their fans themselves say they probably would've finished outside the playoffs had this been a full regular season, plus a lot of their regular season success relied on nabby, who's only getting older.

that said, good luck islanders. if you guys don't make the dance next season, you're still only 1 or 2 years away from really being locked into a playoff spot practically every year once strome and nino and reinhart, etc. become mainstays on the roster.
- rangerdanger94

What??

Really enjoyed watching this series! Way to go Isles! Lots of things to be positive about!

What??
- Vukota

i really don't feel like going back to the old isles threads but i've been posting there on and off for the past couple weeks and brought up multiple times whether they think they'd be in the playoffs had there been 34 more regular season games and a lot of them said probably not.

Give us a break man. Its unreal how people view this team. Have you not watched the Isles suck for...lets see now, 20 years? With no direction at all.

They went head to head with a team that has the best player in the world, who is surrounded by so much talent it looks like an Olympic team. The Isles had looked terrible in the beginning of the year, figured out their identity, stuck to the game plan, and the played a damn good series while being heavily overmatched. Lets be honest, no one saw that coming.
- Dedshark

Like I said I got no real hate for the Isles, love JT. I just find it weird that there is a blog dedicated to a team that just got knocked out. You would have thought they won

look here, the islander are a pretty good team. but I don't buy that crap that they were the reason the series was close. the pens stinking were the reason behind that. yes they have speed and talent, but nothing compared to the pens. if you go back and look fluery knocked in 3 goals. martin 1. 3 of the other goals were a direct result of a deflection off a ref. take away those 7 goals. and the series wasn't that close. yes the isles are good, I called it at the beginin of the year. but the pens mistakes were the reason they this series went to game 6.
- pensfan024

Evgeni Nabokov NYI 6 6 152 24 4.44 2 4 2 128 .842

yet the series still went 6 games and two of the pens wins were in OT. If we had a goalie in this series it would have been over in 6 and it would have been the Isles advancing.

When your goaltender allows a softie or two every game and can't make a save when needed, then it's pretty damn difficult to make it a series. Yet it went 6 games. When you have Brad Boyes on the first line turning the puck over left and right, it shouldn't be a series, but it was.

When you have Crosby, Malkin, Iginla, Kunitz, Neal, Dupuis as your top six, it shouldn't even have been close. 6 games, 2 in OT.

Pittsburgh has more talent, a better goaltender and the best 1-2 centers in the league. Yet it still took OT in 2 games and 6 games in total. If Nabby had played one game like he did in the last month of the season the Isles would have taken this to game 7.

We weren't supposed to even bother showing up for this, every pundit had the Isles losing in 4 straight, just like everyone had them finishing at the bottom of the east before the season started.

Add in that we have almost 30 mil in cap space for next year, multiple prospects on the verge of stepping in and contributing plus a core that is extremely young and signed long term and our three holes we need to fill are:

legit starting goaltender
top line right wing
top four defenseman

and you'd think, hey, this team could actually be improving. Hence, the feel good fluff pieces after a good entertaining series.

ps, you can say it was all Fleury, but Vokoun didn't look too hot in game six. Unfortunately for the Isles, Nabby was worse. 4 goals on 21 shots?

I'd be happy for both the Isle and Luongo if that happened. But I'm not sure they can afford 2 billion dollars in goalies.
- BetterCallSaul

They have Rick DiPietro signed for next year, that's it, so I'm not sure what you're talking about?

Except we don't have the player like Tavares. Islanders are better than the Sabres right now obviously. I just don't see them as a contender
- sbroads24

not to be unkind, but the sabres are a mess. Terrible contracts, a goalie that doesn't necessarily want to be there, traded their captain, fired their coach and hired what looks like a stat geek, GM still can't make a trade but remains in place, Ehrhoff signed for the rest of his career. They look like they should be starting to rebuild but I don't think they've hit bottom yet. This is the team I'd pick for worst in the east next season.

They have Rick DiPietro signed for next year, that's it, so I'm not sure what you're talking about?
- LeftCoaster

i think he means that lu combined with DP's contract would be $2 billion

They have Rick DiPietro signed for next year, that's it, so I'm not sure what you're talking about?
- LeftCoaster

Honestly, if Luongo was a cap relief trade where nothing of value went back to the Canucks I'd consider it. I thought the Canucks made a massive mistake putting Luongo on the bench after two pretty decent games and playing a guy coming off a groin injury ahead of him who hadn't seen game action in two weeks. Bad move.

I'd think the best thing for the Canucks would be to hold onto Luongo as he's got no value in a trade, and move Schneider as they'd get some assets in return for him. Move edler as well, buy out Ballard and suddenly they have some flexibility and should be able to get some young decent prospects out of trading scheider and edler. Could be a quick retool rather than a rebuild.