After a Thanksgiving weekend record of 1-1-1, the Islanders enter the upcoming week a different team, despite a similar record. They won their first road game on Saturday in New Jersey, headlined by inspired goaltending from Al Montoya and a huge shorthanded goal by Michael Grabner. They probably should have won Wednesday at home against Philadelphia, but that didn't happen for a multitude of reasons, most notably three soft goals let up by Rick DiPietro.
Either way, the roster from last Monday night in Pittsburgh will be somewhat different than the lineup that will skate in Buffalo on Tuesday. For one, Blake Comeau was waived after a disappointing beginning to the season. He was picked up by the Calgary Flames (0 points in 2 games) on Friday. Mark Eaton sprained his MCL and won't be back until after the year turns. The Islanders called up Micheal Haley for some jam. David Ullstrom continued to nail down a spot on the third line. Marty Reasoner didn't play a shift. And then there is the curious case of Nino Niederreiter, who is still sitting in the press box, but now tweeting that he doesn't know why.
Quite simply, it is a mess right now. The Islanders are all but out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving for the second year in a row. Questions have risen regarding the status of Jack Capuano's job security. General Manager Garth Snow has been in hiding, aside from a few short-worded answers to reporters trying to get a little more out of him. All the while, the team continues to struggle and and the fans remain irate.
Chances are that Saturday's win just delayed the inevitable firing of Capuano. With three road games this week against good teams, it's certainly plausible that Capuano does not make it through if the team puts forth a few lackluster efforts. While the Islanders have stayed within their organization for personnel changes on the roster, it is clear at this point that it is not enough. That said, it's hard to expect the Isles to make a trade, so unless Capuano is able to mix and match to perfection, the Isles will have to fight through it themselves.
There were some promising signs this week. John Tavares was extraordinarily good on faceoffs against New Jersey, which means that he's still helping the team despite not finding the back of the net much. Kyle Okposo finally looks like the Okposo of old, as he's starting to use his body to go north-south as opposed to unsuccessfully attempting to dangle through defensemen in an east-west game. Al Montoya looks like he has no rust whatsoever, despite not playing much over the past six weeks. Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald are showing signs of being the defensive pairing we saw over the last 45 games last season. Josh Bailey looks like he's found his game in all three zones.
However, until the necessary chances are made, which stem from hiring an experienced coaching staff (when the inevitable firing happens) to dropping the dead-weight on the team, things will remain in status quo. The only question will be is if the Islanders can pick their game up enough to be competitive for the rest of the year. If not, this team will lose. A lot. And we all don't want to be back in the draft lottery. So after twenty games, it's time for management to evaluate what they have and make changes accordingly.
-CH
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