Islanders Down Pittsburgh 4-1
Will the REAL New York Islanders please stand up?
Twenty four hours after getting taken apart by Philadelphia (in part due to a lack of discipline and and inability to get organized defensively), the Isles dished out a little payback to the Flyers’ Pennsylvania neighbors, the Pittsburgh Penguins. New York got tallies from Richard Park (shorthanded), Bill Guerin, Sean Bergenheim (power play) and Trent Hunter en route to a 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh last night. Petr Sykora got the lone score for the Penguins.
The Islanders looked like a completely different team last night. They were well organized, aggressive and played an intelligent game in both zones. Bill Guerin had one of his finest games this season with a goal, an assist and a near miss that clanged off the crossbar. G Wade Dubielewicz continued to make a strong case for himself to be re-signed as a backup with an acrobatic 28 save performance. Rookie Kyle Okposo recorded another point (an assist on Park’s goal) and looks better with each passing day.
So, the question on the minds of many Islander Supporters is: Where the hell was all this cohesion and effort when it mattered?
The fact that such a fine demonstration of team unity and enthusiasm was exhibited now that the team has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs is infuriating, to say the least. Now that New York finds itself in a position where they can only benefit from losing (since they can secure a higher draft spot with a poor record), this is when they decide to come together as a team to win a few? Many fans understand the mentality of creating a winning culture, but they’d rather see them with an opportunity to grab a top flight prospect like Steve Stamkos or Drew Doughty than to win a few meaningless games. They are willing to sacrifice the Present for the Future Good.
On another note, a situation that needs to be addressed immediately is a complete scarcity of Team Toughness. Blake Comeau was run over by Maxime Talbot, Kyle Okposo was roughed up in front of the net and there wasn’t a single Islander who could do anything about it. Tim Jackman and Rob Davison are average fighters at best and will not deter any team from taking a potshot at the young players. If Coach Ted Nolan wants to keep his players healthy, he’d better look into bringing up some muscle from the AHL immediately.
Author Bio
Frank has been a fan of the New York Islanders since seeing his first hockey game way back in 1977.
He reveled in the success of the Dynasty years and endured the time the team has spent in the basement of the league.
He also covers the Isles and New York Jets for www.sportstalkbuzz.com and writes a regular fantasy hockey column for www.rotoexperts.com.
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