New York Islanders

New York Islanders Don't Even Get The Steak Knives

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

To say that the New York Islanders do not get coffee would be underselling this year so far considering how many third periods they have mangled this season.

“Coffee is for closers only”. Unfortunately, the New York Islanders third period woes are only just the tip of the iceberg. The Islanders’ possession numbers are in the basement right next to their record. The picture becomes even grimmer when you add a little context to the few wins they’ve been able to eek out. Turns out, the Islanders don’t even get the steak knives.

Contextualizing the Islanders’ Wins

Date	Opponent	Goalie	GAA	SV%	Note
10/16/16	Anaheim	John Gibson	2.62	0.906	Both teams had played the night before. It was the Ducks’ 3rd game in 4 nights.
10/21/16	Arizona	Louis Domingue (backup)	3.21	0.904	Isles had 2 night off, Coyotes played the night before. It was the Coyotes’ 3rd game in 4 nights.
10/23/16	Minnesota	Darcy Kuemper (backup)	2.94	0.908	Isles had 1 night off, the Wild played the night before. It was the Wild’s 3rd game in 4 nights.
10/30/16	Toronto	Jhonas Enroth (backup)	4.21	0.866	Isles had 2 nights off, the Leafs played the night before. It was the Leafs’ 4th game in 6 nights.
11/7/16	Vancouver	Ryan Miller (option A)	2.67	0.91	Both teams had 1 night off. It was the Canuck’s 4th game in 6 nights.
11/22/16	Anaheim	Jonathan Bernier (backup)	2.02	0.933	Isles had 3 nights off. The Ducks had 1 night off.
11/28/16	Calgary	Brian Elliott (option B?)	3.31	0.885	Isles had 2 nights off, the Flames played the night before. It was the Flames’ 3rd game in 4 nights.

It turns out the Islanders are not only unable to close, but when they do close it’s against tired teams and their backup goalies.

Five of the Isles seven wins came against backup options. I’m going with Brian Elliott as a backup at this point. Chad Johnson has effectively stolen the crease from Elliot at this point for the Flames.

Of the seven wins, six teams had played the night before. Only the Ducks had a layoff before playing the Isles for a second time that season.

Here is where I don’t know where the analogy to Glengarry Glen Ross goes.

It’s possible that the Islanders wins are the ‘sale’ the Shelley Levene makes using the leads he steals that ends up being a dud. The sinking feeling in my stomach tells me that the Islanders trips to the playoffs the last two years are the better comparison and this season is the slow walk into Willaimson’s office to fess up. The real question is why aren’t Jack Capuano or Garth Snow being forced to take that walk into Jon Ledecky’s office.