Point Blank: Chris Botta in his blog makes a some good points on an NHL season being a marathon and that after the win against Ottawa the club was 9-4-1 over fourteen games. Now they go into the Bruins game tonight 2-7 in their last nine games after losing Saturday. Mr Botta also points out Carolina and Tampa Bay proved in their Cup years, the key is how your team comes together for the home stretch.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
All fair and reasonable points, however when a team shows a weakness where they score two goals or less in twelve straight games with a captain making close to five million who has not had an assist since October 10th, there is a problem that goes beyond the record win or lose.
Like Mr Botta I enjoy the wins and the great defense this club has shown, it's a great long-term sign and without a doubt the team respects it's coach/captain and seem to like one another a lot, but the alarming lack of scoring for this long also is a terrible sign at present and moving forward.
If the Islanders defeated the Rangers and Atlanta 2-1, I would be asking the same tough questions just as I did when through most of the season because this is about a team coming together to be able to win come playoff time and show the character past teams have not shown.
I do the post games reviews here with my comments. I find myself constantly writing I'll take the two points and move on but in the end I want to see a team showing signs it's built to win long-term come playoff time. That was the idea behind making the decisions regarding the free agents the club decided not to resign.
Sometimes you have to show the ability to win a high scoring game. The Islanders have not only failed to do that but are producing at near record low numbers in terms of offense overall on the season. Right now the team defense and goaltending is keeping them in the marathon, but to stay in it, they have to start scoring and show this team is built for the long-term.
Too many night's this team needs a good thirty minutes before they start scoring.
It's time to see some sprinting from the opening minute.