musky Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 It’s been years since the New York Islanders were Stanley Cup contenders. Since the 80’s when they won four-in-a-row? Well, get used to it. Because at least one site has them in their top four to win the cup this season. It’s been 33 years since the New York Islanders last won a Stanley Cup. Coming into this season none of us seriously thought the Islanders could challenge for one. I distinctly remember a lot of doubt surrounding the Islanders even making the playoffs. At the time you couldn’t doubt those claims. They’d missed the playoffs by just a single point the season before. What changed to make them better than teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Washington Capitals, or even the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers? If the New York Islanders were going to make it, they’d have to play as well as they did in the second half of the 2016-17 season and hope that one of those aforementioned teams would falter and drop down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 12 hours ago, musky said: It’s been years since the New York Islanders were Stanley Cup contenders. Since the 80’s when they won four-in-a-row? Well, get used to it. Because at least one site has them in their top four to win the cup this season. It’s been 33 years since the New York Islanders last won a Stanley Cup. Coming into this season none of us seriously thought the Islanders could challenge for one. I distinctly remember a lot of doubt surrounding the Islanders even making the playoffs. At the time you couldn’t doubt those claims. They’d missed the playoffs by just a single point the season before. What changed to make them better than teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Washington Capitals, or even the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers? If the New York Islanders were going to make it, they’d have to play as well as they did in the second half of the 2016-17 season and hope that one of those aforementioned teams would falter and drop down. Welcome to the site. I was one of those doubters, like many others before the season started. A LOT of things have gone right to put the Islanders in the mix. Mostly, the maturation of their young snipers has propelled the offense to the point that the odd bad goal allowed by a questionable tandem does not affect the team. I watched Bailey play his jr hockey in Windsor and never saw "this" type of production coming. Anders Lee has been good with Johnny T for a few years now, but really Barzel emerging as a star that has ignited the offense. Even though Ladd has been a disappointment, he has strengthened the lower lines. The story has not been told fully, but a few years back when Boston had those 3 first rounders in a row, they passed on Barzal for others, and that is looking like a huge mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 On 11/29/2017 at 7:11 PM, musky said: It’s been years since the New York Islanders were Stanley Cup contenders. HAHA...uh slow your roll bro you're just 4 points from being outside the playoffs!!! Still a long way to go in the season it is just december!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 I agree that the Islanders are still quite a ways from being dubbed "Stanley Cup contenders", though admittedly, they've been on quite the tear and the offense looks like it certainly has woken up. But first things first: Isles need to make the playoffs. With the wide open Metro (I don't subscribe to the theory that it is the TOUGHEST division...that still, IMO, would be the Central), the Isles certainly have a fair shot to do just that. Once in, of course, anything can happen. But while I buy into John Tavares being the real deal (duh!) and other guys like Anders Lee, Matt Barzal, and Jordan Eberle capable of reeling off some good offensive streaks, not so sure I buy into Islander defense (Boychuk and Leddy are good...but then.....????), nor do I buy into Halak and Griese being the kind of goalies that guide teams to Stanley Cups. As for sustainability beyond this season (regardless of what NY does in the postseason should they get there), pretty difficult to call them 'perennial contenders' at this juncture as well due to the large number of UFAs they have. Much will depend on who gets extended, who can be signed in the off season, and of course, the big elephant in the room... "Will John Tavares stay put?", and "Will Garth Snow get him some wingers long term?" Still too many questions to answer for the Isles to be called Cup contenders. Hey, but at least Isles fans have something to cheer about for the time being. One step at a time.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.