Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Close, But No Cigar

Positives to take out of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee at the Coliseum:
  1. The Isles finally scored on the powerplay, something which has haunted them all season long.
  2. Solid defensive play against a high powered Washington Capitals team.
  3. Good play by emergency call-ups Kurtis McLean (in for Trent Hunter) and Jack Hillen (in for Chris Campoli).
  4. Three out of the Islanders last four games have been great efforts against playoff caliber teams.
  5. Blake Comeau has set himself apart from the pack as someone who will deliver the big hit along the boards at any point in the game.
Negatives to take out of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee at the Coliseum:
  1. The Islanders need to stop taking bad penalties. Even though it was a questionable call (at best) on Brendan Witt for slashing Alex Ovechkin during the overtime period, it's still a bad penalty to take.
  2. More quality shots need to be taken. Even though the shot totals for the Islanders have been averaging around 25 per game, many of them have been taken from poor angles or low percentage areas of the ice.
  3. With the exception of Okposo's power-play goal late in the third period, the Isles couldn't finish on an offensive play if their lives depended on it. Missed nets, hit posts, and poor passing has led to only one goal per game for four straight home games.
  4. THE ISLANDERS ARE STILL 0-FOR-JANUARY!!!
If the Islanders have any interest in securing two points this month, they need to start finishing plays and getting on the scoreboard. Their defense, despite being depleted with injury, has played very well. Over the last four games, they have given up three or less goals each game to the Rangers, Bruins, Devils, ad Capitals, four explosive offensive teams. If the Islanders can simply start putting the puck in the net and the defense plays as well as it has around backup goaltender Yann Danis, the wins will come.

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