The Isles threw everything they had at Ottawa’s goalie Craig Anderson last night, but despite their best efforts, this young M.A.S.H unit came out on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Senators. For the most part, the effort and execution was there, however the Isles simply could not get more than one past Anderson and a few breakdowns in their own end led to the defeat.
Anders Nilsson has struggled this season in the NHL, but at times last night he was outstanding. However, he let in a squeaky goal to Jason Spezza in the third, which proved to be the game winner. There was a lot of encouraging play from him during the game, but he was caught deep in the net again for the game winner. I believe the talent is there and Nilsson needs to play in the AHL next season and the Isles should leave him alone. He needs coaching and reps in Bridgeport, and the Islanders need to just let him play there; uninterrupted. In two and a half seasons in the AHL, Nilsson has less than 50 starts. He clearly isn’t ready for primetime, but he has shown some flashes of strong play - especially last night. We should not rush to close the book on him yet. He just needs to be placed in a situation where he can succeed - and that is not at the NHL level right now.
Long-time Bridgeport enforcer Brett Gallant made his debut last night and left an impression on Islanders’ fans as well as on the chin of Matt Kassian. With only one punch, Gallant scored a TKO sending Kassian to the ice. It was great to see Gallant make his debut after years of hard work in the AHL. Time will tell if he fits into the plans of the Isles, but he will surely be fun to watch over the course of these remaining games.
The final chapter on a dreadful home record for the Islanders is now complete and the team will head to Montreal to play their first of three road games to close out a disappointing 2013/2014 season. The Isles will then head to New Jersey on Friday before finishing out the stretch with a game in Buffalo on Sunday.
Then the off-season will begin in earnest. We will have all spring and summer to get into how this team can right the ship and have a bounce back 14/15 campaign, but that is impossible to do without first clearing up the ownership questions. There is no black or white right now as this franchise is operating in shades of grey. I simply cannot project this off-season until I first know who is in charge.
I can tell you one thing for certain: the next couple of months are going to be a roller coaster ride as it is safe to say that there is never a dull moment in Islander country. I’ll be with you all every step of the way providing coverage, insight and opinion (and quite possibly counseling and therapy). As always, for more on all things hockey, please follow me on Twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.