Last night's debacle against the Rangers pretty much confirms that, with three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Islanders are going to be watching the playoffs from home.
The standings as of today are not pretty:
Eastern Conference
..Team.......GP.W..L.OT.PTS.GF..GA..PP%..PK%..L10
1 Montreal.. 68 37 22 9 83 217 192 25.0 80.1 7-3-0
2 Pittsburgh 69 38 24 7 83 202 190 20.7 80.5 5-3-2
3 Carolina.. 70 36 29 5 77 212 218 17.6 77.4 7-2-1
4 NJ Devils. 67 38 23 6 82 176 157 16.7 83.0 6-2-2
5 Ottawa.... 69 37 25 7 81 219 207 17.7 81.1 3-5-2
6 Rangers... 68 35 24 9 79 182 169 16.9 83.2 7-0-3
7 Boston.... 67 35 25 7 77 181 189 18.8 79.0 6-2-2
8 Philly.... 68 34 26 8 76 208 196 22.0 82.4 4-3-3
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x Buffalo... 68 32 27 9 73 206 197 18.4 83.9 4-5-1
x Washington 68 32 28 8 72 200 203 18.8 80.6 5-3-2
x Islanders. 69 32 30 7 71 169 200 15.4 83.7 5-5-0
x Toronto... 69 30 29 10 70 195 214 16.8 78.3 7-2-1
x Florida... 70 31 31 8 70 187 198 18.9 81.4 4-4-2
x Atlanta... 68 29 32 7 65 181 225 17.3 80.3 2-5-3
x Tampa Bay. 67 26 34 7 59 185 218 18.6 80.6 2-7-1
You'll notice that the Islanders are dead last in their conference in goals scored (12 behind a dreadful Atlanta team) and power play efficiency. They have fewer games remaining than the next five teams they're chasing, and have played worse over the last ten games than all of them - not to mention the seven-game losing streak they had in January that helped put them in this mess. They are also in peril of being caught from behind by Toronto. Even the pity points have them in a bind - the current difference between Buffalo, Washington, and the Isles is identical to the number of OT and shootout losses the teams have. (I HATE the pity point. HATE.)
Given their relative lack of talent, the Isles have to grind out wins, and a lot of their best grinders have been hurt: Mike Sillinger, lost for the season; Brendan Witt, in and out of the lineup; Chris Campoli, out for the year... The Isles are 2-5 when taking forty or more shots on goal, including a recent loss in which they took 53 shots but scored... ZERO. (I broke out the Fishsticks logo for that one.) This is indicative of the dearth of creative playmakers and reliable finishers on the team.
One can only hope that their several youngsters can take the leap next season and give them a reliable first line from within. It is unlikely that they can attract such a player (Marian Hossa, for example) in free agency; nor do they have the assets to trade for one. They have to get lucky in this year's relatively strong draft. From there, they may be able to move a veteran or two at next season's deadline for a young, high-potential player or two, and then sign someone to help them with the money they save. (At that point Yashin's buyout will be off the books.) 2009-2010 is the year to look for. And frankly, that really blows chunks. They should have been so much better now, building off of the 01-02 season. Frickin' Milbury. *(%#)(%$!
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