Recap: Sabres - 2, Islanders - 1

What more is there to say? The Islanders traveled to Buffalo tonight after a brutal drubbing by the Ottawa Senators in the annual President's Day Matinee at the Nassau Coliseum. With the team just 6 points back of the eighth-place Toronto Maple Leafs, the team had the chance to keep pace or even gain ground in the playoff race with a big matchup against the Sabres.

Kevin Poulin and Ryan Miller battled each other, both making some impressive saves and performing under pressure, but with goals by Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek on horrible defensive efforts, the Sabres took a 2-0 lead that the Isles were not able to overcome. That said, the Islanders made it a game as Frans Nielsen went short side on Miller to make it a 2-1 affair, but the team was not able to breakthrough for an important second goal.

To put it simply, the Islanders played an abysmal hockey game tonight. While the score was close, the game was not as tight. The Isles constantly lost board battles, puck races, and battles in front. While these things don't show up on the stat sheet, they are essential to winning hockey games. In other words, when cliches like "will to win" and "extra effort" come out of players' mouths, they are talking about these little things. Tonight, the Isles lost on every one of them - and subsequently, the game.

With only 22 games remaining, the Isles will have to jump five teams and make up at least 7 points. They are one point out of 15th in the conference. It is clear at this point that the Islanders will sell veterans like Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina off. Questions remain on whether they will choose to trade P.A. Parenteau and Evgeni Nabokov.

Most importantly, the Isles failed to show up in yet another "big game." This is an indictment on everybody, from the general manager down. The team is constantly unstructured and unprepared. At what point to fingers start to be pointed at the general manager (for putting this team together), the coaching staff (for not meeting supposed expectations), and the players (likewise)? For now, all that matters is another lost game as the team continues to collapse.

-CH