What's Next For New York? More Very Tough Games

Bottom Line:
To make the playoffs in a sixteen team conference with only three top seeds guaranteed a spot, it's going to take at least ninety five points.

This means the three games under five hundred New York Islanders from this entry forward must play about eighteen games over.  

The team matched my projected wins for the month, they have played some very competitive hockey although a free falling Nashville Predators team is not the best barometer.

The Kings held a hot Devils team to zero goals on 11/15. They came here 11-6 good for only 9th place in a fourteen team conference.

Aaron Ness had the best finish by a defender this season, tying him for the team lead in five on five goals at one.

I like what I'm seeing from Nelson, Donovan, Ness. Outside of the first Kings goal in the third period, Kevin Poulin's been excellent.

The goaltender overall has not been the problem for this organization in 2013-14. 

Matt Carkner had his usual redirection/screen leading to the tying goal. To constantly put him out in key situations much less shorthanded just gives talented fast scoring forwards on other teams an advantage.

No doubt Carkner's doing his absolute best.  

Still despite the competitive play reality does not lie. Three games under, few regulation wins, so many weaknesses from penalty kill to faceoffs.

This is with three players in the top ten in NHL scoring. One (Okposo) who had four goals in forty eight games in 2013. Another (Nielsen) having a career year.  

It only get's much tougher from here. One look at the rest of this month with the December schedule likely spells the end.

The criticism will be brutal, some of it will be justified, others well over the top. A lot of it from the professional ranks will come from a place of ignorance from afar, but you know that.

No one wants this franchise to prove me wrong more than myself. 
Colin McDonald has not been healthy. The struggles by Grabner/Bailey are obvious recently.
Niederreiter's on pace for 12/43+20 with limited minutes. Clutterbuck mostly eats minutes as a fourth liner, who's not been healthy, and never going to make this trade salvageable unless he becomes a poor man's Milan Lucic.

Cizikas/Martin have to give this team a lot more production.
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Bridgeport:
Joe Finley is in the hospital for his second blood flow/hand issue since 2010. Pedan has been out. The list of recalls/PTO/injuries, and a few demotions to Stockton reflect a lot of turnover that this year goes beyond Scott Pellerin recently.

They have even won some very competitive games.