The Islanders are going through the toughest stretch in Doug Weight’s 81-game tenure as head coach, having lost four-straight games, allowing 21 goals. They’re 5-10-2 in their last 17 games. They reached the halfway mark last night with 44 points, four more than they had halfway through last season.
Weight, has been nothing short of honest during his post-practice and post-game conferences. On Wednesday, he called his team frail. Usually a coach doesn’t call out players like that. But was he really calling out his team, or the man who put together this team, general manager Garth Snow?
Weight’s team once again came out flat to start a stretch of three all important division games, trailing the Flyers 5-2 after two periods. The team showed some life in the third, bringing the score to 5-4. An empty netter brought the score to 6-4.
What concerned me more than the team coming out flat once again was Weight’s comments following the game calling this the “best lost of the season.… Playing 20 minutes of a game and showing some fight against a team who is behind you in the standings doesn’t mean squat.
This culture of losing has gone on way too long. The Los Angeles Kings fired general manager Dean Lombardi after the team missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. The three seasons before that, the Kings hoisted the Stanley Cup twice. That’s an organization where management is held accountable. The Kings are now among the leaders in the Western Conference.
Snow’s latest move, was ill timed, as they extended defenseman Scott Mayfield for five years. The team has struggled defensively all season, allowing the most goals in the league, more than bottom-feeders Arizona and Buffalo. Couldn’t this move been announced following the season? Did Mayfield’s agent give Snow an ultimatum? I doubt it.
Two goaltenders have been traded in the past week, Eddie Lack and Al Montoya. Neither would have solved the defensive problems, as Martin Brodeur would’ve struggled behind this D. Neither Lack nor Montoya were had for much, but it would have been a upgrade from Thomas Greiss, who has struggled all season. More importantly, it would’ve shown the fan base that their general manager, the fourth-longest tenured in the league is trying to improve this team.
Now that the Islanders have secured their future home, hopefully owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin can turn their attention to the on-ice product.
The team returns tonight home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have lost three of four games and got blown out by the Carolina Hurricanes last night.