Well, another game with Carolina. Hopefully, the pace isn’t as lackluster as it was yesterday. For one, the Islanders need to start finishing more on offense. Four losses in overtime over the course of their past ten games is absolute proof of that.

I know I’ve said that players like Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek are on pace for their usual numbers this year, but I forgot to mention that they’re getting more ice-time this season than they’ve pretty much ever gotten over the course of their NHL careers. They need to start producing more. There’s no other way to say it.

Sure, people like Richard Park, Tim Jackman and Blake Comeau are working their tails off every night, grinding it out in the corners and Bill Guerin is starting to score more, but the people that the Isles spent money on last season need to start producing. Fedotenko’s scored 26 goals in this league before and with the ice time he’s getting, he should have twice as many goals as he has now. Vasicek, on the other hand, needs to park his rear in front of the crease more.

During yesterday’s game, he was taking low percentage shots, instead of looking to start a cycle and get in front of the net. Then, once he and his line started to cycle, Vasicek was auditioning as Wayne Gretzky behind the net instead of getting in front of the net and scoring garbage goals.

However, despite the play of Fedotenko and Vasicek over the past few weeks, Miroslav Satan has been the biggest offensive disappointment on this team. He’s showed flashes of brilliance at times, and yesterday he was playing well in both ends, but he has to start to develop some type of consistency and start scoring. Satan is supposed to be a sure-fire 30-goal scorer. This season though, he’s been on pretty much every line the Isles have because he can’t get going for any prolonged period of time. If Vasicek starts doing his thing in front of the net and Sean Bergenheim can start finishing as well, Satan will have things much easier. Nevertheless, despite Vasicek’s size and Bergenheim’s tenacity, Satan is obvious the skill player on that line and it all starts with him.

If this team can start producing more on offense, they can begin to separate themselves from rest of the other mediocre teams in the East that are barely hanging on to their playoff hopes. They have an All-Star goaltender; they just have to start supporting him more.

Posted under Pregame Musings