10 Reasons for Islanders Fans to Smile

Despite losing their 6th straght game last night in Tampa, Islanders fans still have some reasons to smile about this season.

1. The Isles are just 5 points out of the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

2. Last year the Isles played 82 games and won 26, this season the Isles have played 57 games and won 23 (will that 26th win ever come?).

3. In 2008 the Isles goals against was 279 in 82 games, this season its 177 in 57 games.
4. Robbie Schremp is an Islander.

5. In 2008 the Isles finished with 61 total points, this season they have 54 points in 57 games.

6. Islanders fans understand that a trade to make the playoffs isn't what we want anymore. We have a great bunch of talented kids that will one day bring the cup back to Long Island.

7. Its Friday.

8. No Islanders except Mark Streit will be in the Olympics, so a good vacation and lots of rest may help the team for the playoff race March.

9. Justin Kohn got physical against Tampa last night.

10. MSG + showed Al Arbour on TV last night to remind Isles fans that the 80's weren't that long ago.

Isles play Carolina at home Saturday night at 7PM.

Isles Drop 6th Straight Game

That is all I have to say today.

Isles Face Tampa

For Islanders Country, 2PM today will be more important than whatever their doing at work, home or on the road. I don't mean to sound too dramatic, but its time to get out of the dog house.

The Isles take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in a game that will surely be difficult to win. Josh Bailey is out for the next 6 games with an upper body injury, Hillen is spoon feeding, Brendan Witt is on waivers and we have lost 5 straight games. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, all hope is not lost, today is a great day to turn things around.

The isles have 6 games left before the Olympic break. How sweet would a 6 game win streak be? Nah, I'm crazy to even have that thought cross my mind. On Saturday we face Carolina (winnable), on Tuesday Nashville (fat chance), and on Wednesday Sid the Kid and the Penguins. The last two games will be against Tampa and Ottawa. That said, the Isles best get something brewing, and try and position ourselves for a good race in March and then April.

Today's Wake Up Call goes out to John Tavares and Sean Bergenheim. Neither have been productive as of late, but at least Bergy constantly has his feet moving. Tavares is often on the floor swatting at legs and the puck. Wake up!

Go Isles!

Witt Placed on Waivers

Brendan Witt was placed on waivers today.

Additionally, Marty Biron has been sent to Bridgeport on a conditioning stint. He will be with the Sound Tigers tonight as they prepare for their game on Friday.

Trevor Gillies will also rejoin the Sound Tigers today.

Josh Bailey left the team in Florida and returned to New York to be evaluated on an upper body injury that he suffered in the Islanders 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.

All Hope is Not Lost

Amid a 5 game losing streak, which could not have come at a worse time, all hope is not lost for the New York Islanders. With 26 games remaining in the regular season, I can promise you that other teams in this tight race will hit walls like the Isles did in the past week and the tide will change several times before it comes down to the wire in April.

The Isles face off against Tampa on Thursday and look to begin sneaking their way back into the middle of the traffic jam I like to call the Eastern Conference.


For the Isles to succeed they will need to start creating better scoring chances and will need players like Trent Hunter and John Tavares to start scoring again. Ideally, Brendan Witt will be back for Thursday's game and will add some much needed relief for McDonald and Kohn.

Lets not forget what we accomplished up until this point and the great teams we beat by wide margins in middle of January. 6-0 over Detroit, 4-0 over NJ and beating the Sabres. We won these games with hard work and determination. Its time to refocus and remember what this young team is made of.

Here is how the standings currently look in the Eastern Conference:


Standings
1 Washington Capitals 80
2 New Jersey Devils 72
3 Buffalo Sabres 71
4 Pittsburgh Penguins 71
5 Ottawa Senators 66
6 Philadelphia Flyers 59
7 New York Rangers 57
8 Florida Panthers 57
9 Atlanta Thrashers 56
10 Montréal Canadiens 56
11 Boston Bruins NE 55
12 Tampa Bay Lightning 55
13 New York Islanders 54

All hope is not lost, but hope doesn't win hockey games.

Isles Drop 5 Straight

At least we know its not the frigid weather across the country causing the Isles losing streak, as they lost their 5th straight to the Florida Panthers in the Sunshine State on Sunday.

In their fourth and final meeting of the season, the Panthers blanked the Isles 2-0.

Tomas Vokoun stopped all 33 Islanders shots and helped send the Isles to their fifth straight loss.

The offense has not been producing good scoring chances and despite a good outing by Ricky D. the Isles just left him hanging.

Hopefully the team can find some answers this week. The Isles face Tampa on Thursday and have a lot of time to correct whatever is going wrong.