Crazy game, eh? I think Isles play by play announcer Howie Rose said it perfectly when he said this team is impossible to figure out. After a disgusting seven-game losing streak a week and a half ago, the Isles now find themselves just one point out of a playoff spot with 22 games remaining.

Like I’ve said a few times over the past week, the Isles control their destiny much more than the media and rest of the NHL think they do. It’s pretty simple, keep winning and make the playoffs. Lose your consistency and play golf in late May and June. .500 hockey just isn’t going to cut it down the stretch and I think this team is beginning to understand that. They can’t control how the Rangers, Bruins, Capitals and other teams jockeying for position play, but they can keep winning. If they do that, the rebuilding process may be on hold.

From what we saw today, this team has definitely gotten it through their heads that they can’t make excuses for themselves. Despite injuries to Andy Sutton [who Ted Nolan said had injured his hamstring and will be reevaluated today during his post game interview] and Blake Comeau yesterday afternoon, the Isles stuck together and pulled out a come from behind win against the San Jose Sharks.

Like they have all season, the Isles won this one the tough and unexpected way. Never did I think Mike Comrie had another toe-drag goal in him and the last thing I would have expected was a Freddy Meyer snapshot goal. Every line had a spark in them in the third period and I think Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov wasn’t himself either. Nevertheless, it was a garbage goal that got them started, as Andy Hilbert swiped at a puck in front of the net. After that, the Isles put a mediocre 40 minutes behind them and were off to the races.

Kudos to Rick DiPietro for making several solid saves and covering up for several crucial defensive mistakes the team made over the course of the game. While it wasn’t his best game this season, DP was strong and controlled the rebounds he gave up much better than he has as of late.

However, one Islander who was absolutely horrible today was Marc-Andre Bergeron. How many times does this guy have to cough up the puck, make sloppy passes through the goal mouth or stop rushes by going offsides for this team to bench him? I know the Isles are already running thin on defense, but why not call up Drew Fata or Andrew McDonald? Bruno Gervais is currently day to day still with an oblique strain and once he comes back, Bergeron has to be the odd-man out. However, if Sutton’s injury is serious, the Isles may have to rethink that notion. For what my opinion is worth, I say the Isles bench him for a few games. I know they need him to produce on the powerplay, but at this point in the season, I’d rather have Miroslav Satan at the point than Bergeron.

If the Islanders make one deal this trading deadline, it has to be trading Bergeron to a team that needs a powerplay quarterback. What they need in return is a dependable two-way defenseman with some upside that needs more ice time and who doesn’t cough up the puck more than Marek Malik.

The sense of urgency is there. The Islanders know they have to keep winning or else their season is finished. They’re starting to score and the defense is playing their best hockey of the season, despite serious injuries to defensive stalwarts Brendan Witt and Chris Campoli. Rick DiPietro has been facing fewer shots as of late and should have the energy needed to keep the team alive over the last 20 plus games.

With three consecutive wins, the Islanders couldn’t have asked for a better opponent than the San Jose Sharks, who have been dealing with offensive and injury problems of their own. All the Islanders have to do is try and mirror their performance against the Thrashers, which means play physical, draw penalties, get traffic and then finish. If they can do that, there aren’t many teams in the NHL that can stop them.

I mean c’mon, the Thrashers and Flyers are anything but cellar-dwellers and the Maple Leafs have the talent to do plenty of damage in the Eastern Conference, but have no chemistry. If they can keep up this type of play and do some tweaking at the trading deadline [maybe picking up another well-rounded defenseman and a young winger with some spunk], they could be a sleep team. However, all of this wishful thinking hinges on how long the Islanders can keep winning. If they go on another seven-game losing streak though, all of this goes out the window of course. That’s when the Isles see what they can get for some of these unrestricted free agents and start building for next year.

That’s why the play of Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Trent Hunter is a two-sided sword. If Fedotenko and Satan stay hot, the Isles can trade them and start building towards the future. I really don’t even want to think about trading Hunter, as I think he should be the team’s next captain once Guerin’s tenure is over. Sure, his goal numbers are down, but he’s still on pace for his typical 40-point season and I really think he’s ready to turn the corner. The guy epitomizes what this team is all about. He works hard on every shift, takes the body and isn’t scared to get in front of the net. Fedotenko and Satan can be extremely effective players at times, but lack the consistent effort the Hunter puts forth every night. If the Isles trade him, it will be a grave mistake.

But like I said, if the Islanders keep winning, I doubt if anyone will be traded.

For the Islanders to go on the ice and defeat a team that not only won a huge game the night before against the Devils, but one that features two of the top snipers in the league in Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk was simply amazing.

To look at the score sheet afterwards and see that the Isles held the both of them to a combined three shots on goal and Trent Hunter and Sean Bergenheim had a combined 14 shots, put a smile on my face that I can honestly say had been missing for a while when it came to this team.

The reason why the Islanders were so dominant last night is simple. They did the three things they have to do every night if they want to win. They took shots with traffic in front, took the body and played shutdown defense. When you take the body, you create space on the ice and since the Isles had plenty of guys laying checks, every line had some mojo and space of their own. Blake Comeau’s line was being aggressive and had a cycle going all game, as did the Hunter, Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek line. Mike Comrie’s line had some solid opportunities and played an up tempo game and Sean Bergenheim and the rest of the “fourth line” had a great game too. Richard Park seems to have brought out something good in Miroslav Satan, which more than explains his recent offensive production. Either it helps get this team back in the playoff hunt, or it attracts buyers at the trading deadline. Take your pick.

The defensive effort though was the main reason why the Isles were all over the Thrashers. Freddy Meyer and Aaron Johnson were extremely solid in both ends and Andy Sutton looks like he’s been watching tapes of Brendan Witt. Bryan Berard stuck for Comeau in the third period [more on that later] and played a solid overall game and despesite the fact that he was the reason why DP’s shutout was ruined [he couldn’t clear the front of the net] Marc-Andre Bergeron’s goal was an absolute laser.

Nonetheless, this team can’t rest on their laurels. There is way too much work to be done. With a game on Monday against the Sharks at home, the Isles will need to quickly recharge their batteries and try to prove that last night was no fluke.

Okay, now on to the whole Garnet Exelby incident. I don’t know how you guys felt, but I think he had that look in his eyes that reminded me a lot of Chris Simon. Not only did he sucker punch Comeau, who nailed him with a clean check a few seconds earlier, he also tried to give the kid a proctological exam with his stick. Now why the Associated Press wouldn’t mention that in their recap or why it isn’t being taken as seriously as it should be is beyond me. Simply put, Exelby needs to be suspended for his actions on the ice. How long, I don’t know, but you can’t go fishing for male gonads with your stick because you got hit with a clean check.

Colin Campbell needs to take a long look at the tape and come to the right conclusion. Sure, it’s not the same as the stuff Steve Downie or Chris Simon have done this season, but it still can’t be tolerated.

Rather than give pregame analysis of today’s contest with the Atlanta Thrashers, I figured I’d discuss the Chris Simon situation a little with you guys. He started practicing with the team on Wednesday and could be in the lineup much sooner than we all think. Here’s what he said the other day to the press, [courtesy of Yahoo Sports]:

“I know what I did was wrong and the league did what they thought they had to do for me to realize that they’re not going to accept those type of actions. I wish I would’ve learned the first time, but I’ve got to focus on being the best I can be and to help my team to do whatever it takes to win and to move forward, but to learn from the past.”

For a guy that could have decapitated Ryan Hollweg last season and severed Jarkko Ruutu’s foot this year, that’s not the kind of emotion I‘d like to see. In my eyes, it’s a little too cliché. If Simon was smart, he would have owned up in a more personal way, admitted he had emotional problems and even maybe decide to go on ESPN or somewhere else and explain himself, apologize and attempt to move on with his hockey career. Instead, he basically disappeared from the public eye. I don’t know, maybe that’s what he needed more and maybe that’s what the Islanders told him to do. Nonetheless, he’s in a situation right now where the fans don’t want him back.

Let’s be brutally honest here. In his season and a half with the Islanders, Simon has been brilliant in about 10 of those games, while extremely flaccid and unenthusiastic the rest of the time. Right before he got injured last year, he was on fire, scoring five goals in his last eight games. That was the Simon that could have helped this team in the playoffs last year and the Simon this team really needed. This year, he had been a disaster and was taking ice time away from players that could have benefited more than he could of. With one measly goal all season, Simon even asked Ted Nolan for more time on the powerplay. That’s not the type of player this team needs in their lineup right now.

Speaking of the lineup, if Simon does get back into the lineup, who sits? I don’t know how you guys feel, but I think it’ll be a travesty [ok, maybe a little melodramatic, but it would stink] if Simon got back on the ice in favor of Blake Comeau, Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen or Sean Bergenheim. Even Andy Hilbert getting a healthy scratch wouldn’t work in my mind, considering Sillinger is out and the Isles need as many solid penalty killers as they can get right now.

Unless Simon can duct tape rockets to his skates, a-la Toe Jam and Earl, and plays defense, letting Marc-Andre Bergeron sit, I don’t see him fitting into the Isles lineup anymore. Unless someone gets traded and would you really want to trade someone to make room for him?

If you guys were in Ted Nolan’s shoes, what would you do?