With three loses in their last four games, the Islanders have put them in a hole similar to last season. They’ll have to run the gauntlet and defy the odds again. However, they don’t have players like Ryan Smyth, Alexei Yashin, Jason Blake and Viktor Kozlov to carry the load offensively. With character guys like Andy Sutton and Mike Sillinger also out and youngsters Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli on the sidelines as well, the Isles will have to get a blue collar performance from the rest of the team if they have any chance.

If their 53 shot performance on Sunday is any indication of how badly they want to get into the playoffs, then I’m not satisfied. Right now, the Islanders are like a fat man that finds the love of his life, but doesn’t want to settle down for fear of the woman cramping his style. The Islanders effort is good intentioned and at times it’s darn solid, but it just feels like they can’t put everything into this. If they did, they would have won on Sunday and wouldn’t be on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in.

This season has been so perplexing that I can’t even find the words to describe how flaccid the offense is. You have proven goal scorers like Miroslav Satan and Bill Guerin struggling for consistency, you have guys like Josef Vasicek, Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko getting more ice time than ever before and not taking full advantage of it and you have players like Andy Hilbert, Trent Hunter and Sean Bergenheim that can’t finish, despite having plenty of golden opportunities.

Seriously, despite the fact that these guys contribute in plenty of other areas on the ice, they should all have 15 to 20 goals at this point in the season considering all the chances they’ve had. Combined this season, they have 333 shots, for a measly 24 goals. For those that can’t take stats like shooting percentage very seriously, this is still a scary number. For those that do, you’re probably crying as I speak. While these guys don’t technically control the Islanders destiny, they could make things a lot easier if they started chipping in more offensively.

I’ve said it before, I think Hunter is the next captain on this team and Bergenheim can be a 20-30 goal scorer in this league if he finishes more. Hilbert has been a consistent goal scorer at every level he’s played at, except the NHL. If he doesn’t step up his game soon, he may get another chance for a 20-goal season…in the AHL.

A few goals from these guys tonight against a surging Rangers club might be just what the doctor ordered.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2008