With a little under 48 hours to pass until the opening faceoff of the 2014/2015 Islanders’ season, the excitement has reached a fever pitch as this fan base has tangible reasons to hope and believe that this will be the season the Islanders take that next step. As usual though, many “experts…, especially those north of the border, are in mid-season form predicting a bottom five finish within the conference. For many years I would've probably agreed with them and cited what needed to break correctly for this team to make the playoffs. Not this season.
The more I look at some of these predictions, most notably TSN’s 12th place conference standing, I actually start to laugh. Yes, teams in the conference have improved, but find me a team that added two quality forwards, two reliable goalies, and two solid defensemen in the offseason. The Islanders had clear question marks and while, yes, some still exist, the organization for once aggressively tried to solve them. As long as this teams stays healthy, we should expect nothing less than a playoff berth.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have fallen for this trap of false hope. I was convinced last year that the defense was good enough and the goaltending was going to be fine. Boy did I look stupid. While the Islanders started adding pieces during the offseason, I was constantly reminded of the Public Enemy classic, “Don’t Believe the Hype.… I refused to buy completely in with all the question marks that were on this blue line, however, after this past Saturday and the acquisitions of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy, I am now all in. While the defense will still have its lapses, you cannot tell me this isn’t the best opening night roster that the Isles have fielded in years.
There are no excuses for this franchise now. No excuses from the owner all the way down to the last player on the roster. You fans have been begging for action for years. We finally got it this offseason. Maybe it is because of Brooklyn looming, maybe it is because of new ownership, or maybe it is because the general manager is fearful of losing his job, but none of that matters right now. We, as fans, got exactly what we have been asking for. Now it is time for this organization to get back the respect that it has lost over the decades of losing and incompetency. This offense is good enough. The goalies are solid and finally I see a defense that I can hitch my horse to. This team is deep and talented and if there are passengers on this boat (we all can think of some), they will be thrown overboard by the legit prospects itching and clawing to stick to this lineup.
I keep thinking that this team has all the makings of a squad that can really take off this season. If the experts and pundits want to underrate us, then let them. Now, as I sit here writing two days from the start of this final season at the Coliseum, I’m actually watching Herb Brooks’ pregame speech in the movie Miracle. I keep coming back to this line, “Screw ‘Em! This is your Time! Now go out there and take it!… This should be the motto of every player in the Islanders’ locker room. The pieces are now in place, go out there and take it! As always, for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.