At one point in his postgame presser, a reporter asks Jack Capuano about the calls for his firing that were audible during the Islanders 5-0 loss to Detroit on Friday. Capuano's response was a glimpse into his frustration before he reigned himself back in:
Listen, I'm 47 years old. I've been in this business a long time: Players win them, coaches lose them. I'm not going to respond to that.
What am I going to do? At the end of the day, we're working hard as a staff to prepare our team to win a hockey game.
Capuano looks as confused and disturbed by the Islanders' sloppy play as the fans are. Problem for him is, he's there and we're here.
John Tavares' comments were more pointed. The Islanders are "an easy team to play against right now," which is apparently a pretty bold accusation to make on a team.
Confession: I have NEVER PLAYED THE GAME. But from one man's vantage point, all the "gotta work harder" talk is overshadowed by obvious missed assignments, questionable decisions, uncreative offense, inconsistent forechecking and extraordinary miscommunications.
I don't expect revelations from postgame interview 24 of 82 and I don't expect coaches and players to throw each other under the closest moving vehicle. But as other have said, whatever the Islanders are doing now, it ain't working. And at some point, changes need to be made to make "execution" more about performance than punishment.
