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Islanders Bits: Of playoff positions, prospect talk, Freudian slips

The New York Islanders wake up today in a very strange position.

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"Suck it, Hartnell!"
"Suck it, Hartnell!"
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Cheers to the New York Islanders for keeping it interesting. Long uphill road yet to travel, but they wake up today tied in points (35) for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The team with whom they are tied, the Rangers, have one game in hand but wake up today licking some wounds after a 3-0 loss to Ottawa.

Preds GM David Poile, at ESPN.com:

"This 48-game schedule is not normal. Everything about it is not normal. The condensed schedule, the travel, especially for us in the West, it’s all different," said Poile. "And consequently I have to imagine the trade deadline is different..."

Finally, Copper & Blue with food for thought:

The NHL is an efficiency contest and the teams that get the most bang for their buck will be the ones most likely to succeed. This applies to everywhere that teams are limited in some way. The salary cap is the most obvious place where efficiency matters, each team can only spend X dollars. But the same thinking should be applied to other aspects of the game like the distribution of contracts.

The Islanders have a ton of openings on their 50-man contract limit for 2013-14. For this season though, only two more spots remain. Looks like Butch Goring is among those who think one will go to Anders Lee.