Ok, so the players believe in the management, and at the trade deadline Garth Snow made clear by his actions (no quotes) the feeling is mutual beyond the third traded for Shane Prince.
No team traded a 1st rounder (unless conditional) at the deadline, Snow did not have a second/fifth.
People do not like to read this again---- nor do I like writing it---again, but this is largely a very young team, maybe it's just not their time or it never will be for this group.
We all know it could take 4-5 years for Michael Dal Colle, Josh Ho-Sang/ect to become reliable NHL players via Bridgeport or wherever the Islanders have an AHL team.
As I wrote a while back it seems the league has figured this team out, but for now the record reflects a playoff team that has won a lot of ugly games where the coach/players are critical of themselves afterward.
The scheduled/lack of rest will only keep getting worse, they will not see poor opposition goaltending gift wrap soft goals, the best players must carry this franchise, the young players have to produce for any chance.
I do not see many Matt Martin/Casey Cizikas/Thomas Hickey goals keying enough 1-0, 2-1 wins, the pressure/stakes will keep going up.
What has worked (penalty killing/other positive intangibles) with solid goaltending must continue.
Folks know where I stand based on most of the first sixty games, and from day one of camp. I just
do not see a playoff team here based on how they have been outworked far too
often for large portions of games.
Maybe they prove me wrong? I'm absolutely hoping they do.
This is all I can contribute to the end of the season regardless what date that is.
Now they play hockey games----a lot of them, we get our answers.