Friedman: Relax, Everybody — The Isles Are Not Down For The Count

By Daniel Friedman
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Forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but the Islanders are not down for the count.

They have lost six of their last seven games. They have scored just 10 goals in those seven games. They have lost to five (currently) playoff-bound teams -- as well as a Boston Bruins squad that's right on the outside and will probably sneak back in -- and their last two wins have come against lowly opponents in Toronto and New Jersey.

And yet, they still find themselves sitting with 93 points, good for second place in the Metropolitan Division. They're two points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins (who've also lost six of their last seven games, by the way), and they've got an eight-point cushion on the final wild-card spot -- with seven games remaining.

That, of course, is not to say that the Isles don't need to get their act together. However, this notion that they're not going to make the playoffs or that all is lost is highly improbable.

The Penguins certainly provided some insurance by failing to take advantage of the Islanders' recent misfortune, but at the end of the day New York is right in this thing.

I think it's very important to remain cognizant of the fact that the Isles are still a young team. I recognize that people get tired of hearing that, but it's true nonetheless.

When I asked Sportsnet's Jeff Marek about the current state of affairs, his response was in tune with this theory.

"It'll come," he told me. "Teams run hot and cold like that when they take the next step, ya know?"

In the midst of that phenomenal stretch earlier on, it was easy to get caught up in the hype and raise expectations. For many reasons, Islanders fans are hungry for a winner, and so the reaction is completely understandable.

For me, the Isles showed they were capable of reaching that next level. But if they were able to sustain that over an entire season, that would've been a pleasant surprise.

As I said in my column last week, it's quite common for an inexperienced team to hit a wall -- especially late in the year, when the games get tighter. That's something the Islanders will have to learn to adjust to, and it appears that they've been able to do so in two of the three zones on the ice.

That's what makes me less worried -- the fact that the games have gotten tougher, and their defense and goaltending has risen to the occasion.

Jaroslav Halak's been outstanding and appears to be morphing into a superhero at the opportune moment. Scoring goals against the Islanders has not been an easy feat of late, and that will serve them well in the playoffs.

And how about the penalty kill, which has been successful 28 consecutive times now? That was a major concern for the Isles, and it looks like they've plugged up the hole.

If they were getting completely manhandled in these games, that'd be one thing. But with the exception of one or two of those contests, that hasn't been the case. They've been right in most of those games.

If not for Devan Dubnyk's performance in the first period on Tuesday night (and don't tell me that was just a typical strong showing from a hot goalie -- it was something special, something you don't see every day), they probably win by several goals.

If John Tavares doesn't turn the puck over when his team's on the power play Thursday, they probably take the defending champs to overtime. Considering the way Los Angeles has played lately, I think you'd happily sign up for at least a point against them.

If the Islanders should've beaten Carey Price and Cam Talbot, explain to me why nobody else has really been beating those guys? If the Islanders should've beaten Andrew Hammond, why were 13 other teams unable to do so in his first 15 starts?

These might sound like excuses, but really, they're just facts. To say that, "well, they've gotta just find a way to score anyway" is kind of like saying that Patrick Roy's dominance in the 1986 Stanley Cup Final was of little consequence, in the sense that Calgary should've figured out how to score on him (as if that were even a possible feat).

The offense does need to make some adjustments as these games get tighter. Coach Jack Capuano even alluded to that in his postgame press conference Tuesday, saying that he would like to see more bodies in front of the opposing goaltender.

You're not going to win with these dizzying passes and fancy dekes at this point in the season. Those tactics might've worked in November and December, but rarely are they effective in March, April or the playoffs.

To me, that is the biggest concern coming down the stretch here. It's not whether the Islanders can score goals -- we know they can; they're fourth in the NHL in goals per game -- but whether they can make those changes to allow that scoring depth to inflict the type of damage it's capable of.

I'm not worried about them if they play Pittsburgh in the first round. That's a matchup you can probably win without making all of those adjustments on offense, because knowing these two teams, the style of play will likely be free-flowing, with constant chances back and forth. Also, Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't had a strong postseason showing in about half a decade.

However, if you want to have a chance against a better-rounded opponent like the Rangers or Montreal Canadiens, this is something that needs to be addressed. That's something to be concerned about, but it's also something that's entirely solvable.

Hopefully for the Isles, they don't learn that lesson the hard way. (Although, given the outcomes of their last several games, one could argue that they already are learning the hard way.)

There are seven games left, six of which are absolutely winnable (five, if you're not including Detroit). If things go the way they should, the Islanders will probably finish with around 100 points, and they'll be able to put this behind them and roll into the playoffs.

Exactly how they drew it up. Well, minus the whole "let's lose a whole bunch of games and panic the fan base" part.

Buckle up, Islanders Country.

Follow Daniel Friedman on Twitter @DFriedmanOnNYI.