For the last few weeks I have not had the opportunity to blog, but I have been able to read many others and quite frankly a lot of material that is out there is just plain fiction, or for the purpose of this blog a myth. Here are four myths that have occurred in the month of March followed by the facts I will provide.
Myth #1: As of March 22nd, the Isles were still in the playoff race.
FACT: The Islanders have been out of the playoff race since my last blog on march 11th when Rob Schremp was out for the rest of the year. You could even go back before that when the Islanders lost MacDonald for most of the season and Captain Doug Weight chose to have season ending surgery on his shoulder. Folks when your Captain leaves, it's over.
Myth #2: The Islanders will tank the rest of the season.
FACT: Have you seen the injury list lately? Bruno Gervais is the latest casualty. Bridgeport is bone dry on defenseman and will have trouble making the playoffs themselves because of all the injuries. The Islanders will not have to tank, they'll play hard until the end, but with the injuries piling up, don't be surprised if the Islanders fall to last in the East. Remember my preseason prediction: If the Islanders aren't injured they won't be in last place. Well....let the lottery begin.
Myth #3: Islanders will not land Hall, Seguin, of Fowler.
FACT: The Islanders have been in the lottery running for the last 6 weeks (call it 8 if you want to count the Olympic break). Most would say that the Islanders were still in the playoff hunt by then. This is true, but so was everyone else, so at that time everyone was in it for the three future stars. Due to the injuries of this team, the Islanders may land any three players. In all honesty, it will depend on where they land when the lottery is over. If things go from bad to worse, look for the Islanders to pick no worse than third. Make no mistake, one of them will be an Islander.
Myth #4: Islanders will not compete for a playoff spot next year.
FACT: Garth Snow expects his team to make the playoffs next year and many fans/bloggers/media will not drink the "Kool-Aid" that Snow is giving out. Make no mistake fans, the Islanders will be MUCH better than this years squad simply with the method of addition by subtraction, a solid draft pick and around 31 million dollars to spend on the free agent market. Last year the Islanders made it to Nov/Dec before fans started talking about the draft. This year it's March to start talking about the big three. By this time next year fans will be talking playoffs back at the Coliseum.
My final thoughts: For the remainder of this year I will see how many points the Islanders can pile up. I had set a goal of 80 points at the beginning of the year. They may not get there due to certain bad luck, but the closer they get, the more excited Islanders fans should be for next year knowing what they know now after reading this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment