Let’s be honest, if someone had said at the beginning of the season the Islanders would hold the eight spot in the Eastern Conference roughly 50 games into the season, you would have asked them to lay down while you called a physician…right?
Well, that same someone might be approaching you again sometime soon to say, “I told you so,” as the Isles continue to defy all logic and make a serious run at a playoff spot.
So serious in fact are these young guns from Long Island, their head coach Scott Gordon has taken to posting the NHL standings in the locker room to make sure his club is aware of exactly what’s at stake each night. The fact that something is actually at stake in mid-January is a feat very few thought possible back in October.
Add to this excitement the fact Rick DiPietro started his first game at home this past week, and won in a SO 3-2, and it’s clear to see why things are perking up at the Nassau Coliseum these days.
It’s enough to move some folks to tears…well, almost.
“I was trying not to cry on the ice,” said the 28-year-old DiPietro, back from what seemed like a lifetime of surgical procedures, after Saturday’s win over a red hot Buffalo Sabre team. “That’s the one thing I told myself. I wouldn’t cry. It’s an emotional time for me. It’s been a long time coming, been a rough road. Just to get the win was amazing.”
During the on-ice post-game interview the emotional goalie seemed to choke up just a bit as he told the crowd, “I can’t tell you how much I love you guys. I appreciate all the support.”
DiPietro looked steady against the Sabres on Saturday, though you sensed not razor sharp, as the Islanders produced yet another solid team effort during an 8-2-1 streak that has featured their best hockey of the year. The 6-0 win over Detroit last Tuesday looked like something from the early 80s as they simply toyed with last year’s Cup runner-up all night.
With the condensed schedule prior to the olympic break, there’s not exactly time to soak it all in for this club as they play 14 games in the next 27 nights—all but one of which (Nashville on Feb. 9) are within the conference. While the fact DiPietro played well and felt fine afterwards is great news regarding his physical condition, this club will desperately need two goalies playing well with a schedule that daunting.
The breakneck pace of games will also provide lots of opportunities to positively effect those standings posted in the locker room each night.
“I want them to see what’s at stake each time they take the ice,” Gordon explained about the postings. “You can treat these games as regular season games, but they are not.”
They are apparently getting the message as the their level of play has found another gear since the successful trip through the Midwest (Colorado, Dallas, Phoenix) two weeks ago. The defense has been rock solid of late and the scoring up front has been both balanced and timely.
The club can only hope that recent tallies from John Tavares and Matt Moulson will get their leading goal scorers back on track. Kyle Okposo simply continues to be their best player every night and now leads the team in scoring (31 pts) and Rob Schremp has turned into a diamond in the rough.
Tough week coming up as they host the Devils this afternoon followed by a game in Pittsburgh Tuesday night before coming back home to face Florida on Thursday and the Devils again on Saturday.
Look no further than the Eastern Conference standings to see how big a week this is—we know the Islanders will be.
ICE CHIPS
Kovalchuk Rumors
Larry Brooks stoked the local trade rumor fires with a piece last week in the NY Post that indicated GM Garth Snow was involved in talks with Atlanta about bringing Ilya Kovalchuk to Long Island. Calvin de Haan, Kirill Petrov and either Kyle Okposo or Josh Bailey was allegedly discussed. While Snow hasn’t exactly denied an inquiry may have been made he did suggest that the organization has no plans of deviating from their plan to build with the young talent they have and will draft in the future.
Witt Out
Defenseman Brendan Witt’s injury might be more serious than originally thought. What was originally diagnosed as calf tightness is apparently now a bad knee that has been bothering the veteran all season. No word yet on how long he’ll be sidelined but you can bet it’ll be till at least the end of the month. While Witt wasn’t exactly having a banner year, his nightly nastiness will be missed.
JT Loses Lead
Tavares’ recent slump—two goals in his last 17 games—has seen the 19-year-old lose his grip on the NHL’s rookie scoring lead. A once big lead in points has disappeared as Colorado’s Matt Duchene has tied JT in points (30) and New Jersey’s Niclas Bergfors and the Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk have crept within three. Tavares still leads all rookies with 17 goals.
Not-So-Special Teams
The Isles’ special teams units still need to get going as the power play currently ranks 25th at 16.3 percent and the penalty kill is an even more abysmal 28th in the league at 76.2 percent. Imagine what it can mean to their chances if either one of these units can get going.