Playoff Push in Brooklyn

With less than ten games left for the blue and orange in the regular season, they are barely hanging on to playoff position. A few weeks back, this team was in the conversation of overtaking their rivals, the New York Rangers, for the #2 seed in the Metropolitan division. Now, they are in the conversation of not making the postseason, and completing a tremendous collapse, comparable to the '07 Mets. But as supporters of the Brooklyn Islanders, we must keep our eyes looking forward and not get ahead of ourselves.

The team currently sits in 4th place in the division, one point behind the up and coming Pittsburgh Penguins. They are sitting in the first wild card position, which would give them a first round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that just lit the lamp seven times against the Isles last night, if the season ended today. It was the first time all season the Islanders have given up more than six goals in a game. The Isles have nine games left on the schedule, including games against playoff bound teams such as the Lightning, the Rangers, the Penguins, and the Flyers. The Isles can end up in any position really, with the exception of the top seed that the Capitals clinched like four months ago. Despite the struggles this team has had, both off the ice with the new arena and the fact that no one wants to be there, and on the ice with their pathetic play for the majority of March, they still can wind up in a very favorable position if they can get their shit together before it is too late.

The Islanders, if they make the postseason, want to avoid one team, in my opinion, and that team is the Washington Capitals. Every other team would like to avoid the Caps, but the Isles in particular, I believe, would have a hard time winning one game in a seven game series. The only way the Isles play the Caps is if they wind up with the second wild card spot, which is extremely possible. Another team that the Isles want to avoid in the first round is the Boston Bruins, because the Islanders, unlike the Rangers, never beat the Bruins. The Isles would play the Bruins if they get the first wild card, and the Bruins win their division, which is currently a three team race between the Bruins, the Lightning, and the Panthers. The Isles could maybe win one or two games in a series with the Bruins, but again, it would be an early exit for the blue and orange.

Three other potential dates for the Isles in the first round are the Lightning, the Rangers, and the Panthers. All three of these teams I consider to be favorable for Brooklyn. The Lightning, despite the seven spot they put up on the Isles last night, have struggled against the Isles in the recent past. The Panthers, despite their surge towards the top of the division, are a young team with two potential hall of famers leading the charge, Jagr and Luongo. The Isles have had great success against Florida. And lastly, the Rangers, would be an insane series that I believe would, without a doubt, go seven games. These two teams play classic games almost every time they take the ice against one another. The Islanders always seem to be up and ready to play their cross town rivals, and I see them coming out on top in a seven game series against them in April.

The New York Islanders have not won a playoff series since 1993, that's 23 YEARS AGO. This team needs to get their shit together, and win some hockey games down the stretch and get their asses into the postseason, where they can do some damage. Yes, they lost their starter goaltender for the year, Jaro Halak, but they have two goalies right now, Greiss and Berube, that are doing a lot more than expected, and are not the reason for the team's recent struggles. The goalies on the current roster can carry this team deep into the postseason.

A lot can happen in the next two weeks, but I fully expect this team to be sitting in either the #3 spot in the division and going to MSG to face the Rangers game one, or sitting in the top wild card spot, traveling to the Atlantic division winner for game one. I do not expect this team to be going golfing as early as a lot of other people are starting to believe!