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Well, that was an ugly, ugly weak (yes, I spelled it weak, because it was).
I’ll assume you’re reading this because you’re into pain and torture. The Isles (0-2-1) managed to maintain 22nd overall, mostly because teams 23-31 either were too far back to pass them this week, or stunk just as badly as we did.
The Pros had very little nice to say about us:
Entry # 5 - Feb 17, 2019
| Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
| Buffalo News | 2/16/2019 | 6 | 6 | Playoff site decision using both arenas is probably best compromise. |
| The Hockey Guy | 2/16/2019 | 3 | 3 | There isn't a player on this roster that is not playing well. |
| Brian Simmons | 2/15/2019 | 3 | 4 | |
| ESPN | 2/14/2019 | 6 | 5 | What's so wrong about loving two goalies equally? Robin Lehner has gotten a bit more attention, but Thomas Greiss is only a slight step behind and has gone 4-0-1, saving 154 of 157 shots (.981 save percentage) in his past five games. |
| SportsNet | 2/13/2019 | 4 | 4 | Trade Deadline Prediction: Trader upgrader… we’re guessing. Lou Lamoriello’s lips are sealed like the Ark of the Covenant, but the GM has to reward a group that has rocked the Metropolitan, doesn’t he? While his lack of a 2019 third- or fourth-round pick gives us reason to think he’d be hesitant to let go of a first or second as well, the Islanders should be in the mix for the high-end forwards that become available. |
| NBC | 2/11/2019 | 7 | 7 | The Islanders are a perfect 9-0 in the second half of back-to-backs. |
| CBS | 2/6/2019 | 6 | 6 | They're legitimate. They beat who they're supposed to and give the real ones a fight. Barry Trotz really got this defense up to par. |
| NJ.com | 2/5/2019 | 5 | 5 | A 1-0 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning provided another example of how the Islanders can hang with the league's top teams. After being the NHL's worst defense in 2017-18, things have turned around dramatically on Long Island. |
The Division No One Wants To Win
Earthen Limp Toot
Washington (2-1-0) lost a tenth of a point, maintained 12th in the worst division in all of hockey, but still managed to fall up to the top of the chart. Philadelphia (1-1-1) also fell their way up the division standings even while falling to 15th overall. Pittsburgh (1-2-0) took a tumble, down 2.4 points, 2 spots in the division and 6 spots overall. Carolina (2-0-1) picked up 3.5 points, rose to 18th overall and passed the Devils (1-2-0) into 4th and the first wild card. The Isles sill sit in 6th, but lost 1.5 points in the standings. Columbus (1-2-0) dropped to 25th overall, and the Rangers (3-0-0) only picked up 4 tenths of a point by beating teams low in the standings and remained 8th in the division, and dropped to 28th overall.
Metro - 100.5
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | New York Islanders | 58 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 72 | 116.0 | 4 | 115.6 | 4 |
| 2 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 57 | 33 | 23 | 1 | 67 | 109.7 | 7 | 105.2 | 10 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 58 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 61 | 107.6 | 10 | 112.3 | 7 |
| WC1 | Carolina Hurricanes | 59 | 30 | 26 | 3 | 63 | 102.8 | 13 | 96.5 | 18 |
| WC2 | Washington Capitals | 58 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 62 | 102.6 | 14 | 100.4 | 12 |
| 12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 58 | 25 | 30 | 3 | 53 | 90.0 | 22 | 88.0 | 26 |
| 14 | New York Rangers | 57 | 19 | 30 | 8 | 46 | 87.7 | 25 | 85.8 | 26 |
| 15 | New Jersey Devils | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 87.6 | 26 | 88.7 | 25 |
The three team horse race
A Latent Itch
Not much change here. Tampa Bay (3-0-1) relinquished the top spot overall, but hold onto a healthy lead in the division. Boston (3-1-0) held on to second and 5th overall. Toronto (0-1-2) is still third and 6th. Florida (3-0-0) actually dropped a spot to 20th overall because their wins were all at home, and close or in OT. Among the also rans, Detroit (1-2-0) stayed in 26th, Montreal (2-0-2) moved up to 27th, Ottawa (1-2-0) held on to 29th and Buffalo (2-1-0) didn’t do enough to escape 30th.
Atlantic - 102.0
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 59 | 40 | 14 | 5 | 85 | 128.3 | 1 | 126.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 | 36 | 22 | 0 | 72 | 117.6 | 3 | 117.5 | 3 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 59 | 32 | 24 | 3 | 67 | 107.5 | 11 | 100.2 | 14 |
| 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 58 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 60 | 101.9 | 15 | 100.2 | 14 |
| 10 | Buffalo Sabres | 57 | 24 | 28 | 5 | 53 | 94.6 | 18 | 96.0 | 19 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 49 | 94.0 | 20 | 93.2 | 21 |
| 13 | Detroit Red Wings | 59 | 21 | 31 | 7 | 49 | 88.2 | 24 | 89.2 | 23 |
| 16 | Ottawa Senators | 58 | 22 | 36 | 0 | 44 | 84.1 | 31 | 81.7 | 31 |
Where real hockey gets played
Chart El Ten
Back to holding the #1 spot overall, and 4 teams in the top 10, the Central remains the toughest division in the NHL. Nashville (4-0-0) takes over the top spot overall. Winnipeg (1-1-0) falls to third overall. Minnesota ( 2-2-0) holds onto seventh and Colorado (3-0-0 jumps from 15th to tenth. St. Louis (1-2-1) held on to 13th, Dallas (2-0-1) jumped up to 14th, and Chicago (1-1-0) dropped 1 place to 21st.
Central - 100.7
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Nashville Predators | 61 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 68 | 110.8 | 6 | 114.7 | 6 |
| 2 | St. Louis Blues | 57 | 30 | 26 | 1 | 61 | 109.7 | 7 | 101.2 | 11 |
| 3 | Winnipeg Jets | 59 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 71 | 109.0 | 9 | 115.4 | 5 |
| WC1 | Dallas Stars | 58 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 60 | 104.8 | 12 | 108.8 | 9 |
| WC2 | Minnesota Wild | 58 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 55 | 95.1 | 17 | 100.4 | 12 |
| 11 | Colorado Avalanche | 58 | 23 | 34 | 1 | 47 | 88.8 | 23 | 92.3 | 22 |
| 12 | Chicago Blackhawks | 59 | 23 | 34 | 2 | 48 | 86.6 | 27 | 85.1 | 30 |
Don’t they know they’re supposed to lose?
Fat Ice Chip
Vegas (0-2-1) had such a lead built up that even after this winless week, they are still more than 11 points clear of 2nd place in the division. They did drop to 4th overall, but there isn’t much time left for anyone to catch them. Anaheim (1-0-1) held on to second and 8th overall. San Jose (2-0-1) moved up to third in the division and 9th overall. Los Angeles (3-1-0) moved to fourth and 11th overall. Calgary (0-3-0) had a bad week, dropping to fifth in the division and 17th overall (from 9th). Down at the bottom, Edmonton (1-3-0), Vancouver (1-1-2) and Arizona (2-1-0) continue to play out the string.
Pacific - 96.9
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Calgary Flames | 58 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 74 | 119.2 | 2 | 118.8 | 2 |
| 2 | San Jose Sharks | 59 | 35 | 21 | 3 | 73 | 115.4 | 5 | 111.6 | 8 |
| 3 | Vegas Golden Knights | 60 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 63 | 98.8 | 16 | 99.4 | 16 |
| 9 | Arizona Coyotes | 58 | 24 | 31 | 3 | 51 | 94.1 | 19 | 93.8 | 20 |
| 10 | Vancouver Canucks | 60 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 52 | 92.6 | 21 | 98.6 | 17 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Kings | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 85.2 | 28 | 86.4 | 28 |
| 14 | Anaheim Ducks | 58 | 19 | 34 | 5 | 43 | 84.9 | 29 | 89.1 | 24 |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 58 | 21 | 34 | 3 | 45 | 84.7 | 30 | 87.4 | 27 |
The weak ahead...
The Isles spare you the pain of watching them, as the tank heads west to lose to
Mon 3/5 - @ Vancouver (24)
Thu 3/8 - @ Edmonton (23)
Seattle fans ponied up over 25,000 season ticket deposits last week for a possible expansion team. When given the option to do the same for a relocating Islanders franchise, 32,000 of them said “Oh, hell no!”, demanded refunds, and burned the city to the ground.