Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The craziness of the last two games has left fans reflecting on just how much of an upside-down season this has been. None of it makes any sense.
We root for a team that takes leads with the best of them and holds leads with the worst of them. If there were no such thing as O.T., the Islander’s record would be 16-18-21. Let that sink in. That’s the record of a pretty lousy team.
The Isles have the worst penalty kill in the league and, incredibly, have not scored an empty net goal all season, which is hard to do. They have a -23 goal differential, that’s worse than the Arizona Coyotes, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, three teams not in the playoff conversation.
All of the above and the Islanders are somehow in the postseason mix.
This meme was posted by Offside (formerly Offside Tavern), and it made me laugh because it’s true. The way overtime or the shootout breaks can have such an impact on our psyche. It shouldn’t, but it does. Take a listen to Chris King’s call of Adam Pelech’s O.T. winner on WHRU and try not to smile; you can’t.
It is much easier and healthier if they could just win in regulation like a normal team, but that’s not our Isles. Blown leads, bad penalties, poor execution, and always at the worst possible time. That’s our Isles right now. It’s the new normal.
It’s why our seat on the bus bounces back from the fellow on the left to the fellow on the right. Sometimes, the night ends, and we’re looking at a wall; others, we’re gazing at the sun with a smile on our faces.
Who knows what’s in store for us tonight? Would a brutal loss to the Blues surprise anyone? Of course not, but in a season that hasn’t made any sense, perhaps making the post-season would be the greatest example of it.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Isles Fix to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.