In a strange twist of fate, with a karmic feel to it, the Islanders were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs Monday night by former coach Jack Capuano, now the associate coach of the Florida Panthers, falling meekly, 3-0, at the Barclays Center. It is the latest defeat in a confounding string of play that has seen the team win only nine games in regulation (12 wins total) since the start of the new year, which spans 38 games.
In 20 of those games, the Islanders allowed four or more goals. Six times, it was six or more. They have allowed a total of 276 goals in 77 games -- an average of 3.58 per game -- and have a team save percentage of .903 when the league average is .913. The penalty kill is the worst in the NHL, at 74.55 percent, while the team has allowed a league-high 10 short-handed goals.
The reasons for the Isles' demise this season are clear to everyone who cared to pay attention, maybe except for the man in charge, general manager Garth Snow, who did nothing to replace Travis Hamonic (traded at last year's draft), Calvin de Haan (injured Dec. 16 and lost for the season) or Johnny Boychuk (missed all of January with the team still in contention).
With in-season trades being much harder to complete and the timing of the injuries to de Haan and Boychuk occurring when almost all teams were still in line for a playoff spot, it’s hard to put that on Snow. What’s much easier is the failure to replace Hamonic after his trade to Calgary in June, when there was plenty to talk about, plenty of players to be had and Snow sitting with two first-round draft picks along with two second-rounders. Once again, a reliance (prayer?) on youth failed.
Add to that an inexperienced coaching staff, led by Doug Weight, who just couldn’t figure out the solution to the Islanders’ well-documented and seen-by-all defensive issues, and you have essentially wasted point-per-game performances by John Tavares -- perhaps his swan song in Islanders colors -- and certain Calder Trophy winner Mathew Barzal, as well as a career, All-Star and Masterton season from Josh Bailey and a potential 40-goal season from Anders Lee. Lest we forget a steal of a trade, acquiring Jordan Eberle (25 goals, 30 assists, 55 points) for Ryan Strome (13-20-33).
It’s almost unimaginable that the team could finish with its lowest points percentage since 2010-11, when they went 30-39-13 (.445). After Tuesday's 4-3 win at Ottawa, the Islanders sit at 32-35-10 (.481). It seems like forever since they eliminated those same, pesky Panthers in the first round of the 2015-16 playoffs, winning their first series in over 20 years. The fall from the brightness of that year to where they currently find themselves has been quizzical, confusing and frustrating. For everyone involved.
What rubs more salt in the wounds of the battered, beaten and bruised Islanders fan is Weight, who, make no mistake, is a terrific person and stand-up guy, is coming off as transparent as tracing paper in his postgame news conferences, continuing to imply his team is just unlucky.
“We had a good start and a good finish. We battled," he said Monday night. “These guys played the right way and played hard. It’s a 3-0 result and looks abysmal, but it wasn’t. We worked, and their goaltender played really well.”
Nine regulation wins in 38 games. Nine. There are only so many "we played well, they battled, the opposing goaltender was great" that you can throw out there in the hopes they all stick.
Tavares, who continues to refuse to answer questions about his future with anything but, "I’m just focused on playing hockey," added Monday that he didn’t think he would be in this position two years ago, missing out on the playoffs in back-to-back years.
"It is what it is," he told reporters.
What it is might be that Tavares and agent Pat Brisson will look to talk to some other teams that are a little closer to achieving the ultimate goal that every kid who first picks up a hockey stick dreams about -- lifting the Stanley Cup. With the negotiating window open a week prior to the official start of free agency, Tavares will know exactly where he stands before the opening bell July 1. The longer it drags on, the higher the odds become his run with the franchise might be at its end. Not to guess an outcome, it just "is what it is." It’s reality.
For co-owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, it's decision time. Do you stay with Snow, whose teams have made the playoffs four times in 12 years, winning just one round? Do you stay with Weight and his coaching staff, who just didn’t have the answers when trying to solve serious defensive deficiencies? Do you, finally, push Tavares and Brisson to make a decision? And if that decision goes against you, what is the P.R. plan to offset the backlash that would certainly come from all angles, especially north of the border and from its own tired, frustrated fan base?
With the draft looming right around the corner and the likely top-five picks all potentially ready to jump right into the NHL, the time to make these decisions is sooner rather than later.
New York will be sitting with two chances at the lottery -- their own and Calgary’s -- and hoping something goes right in what has been an awful, disappointing, troubling year. Even the plans for Belmont Park appear in a holding pattern, at a standstill with loud opposition standing in its way and no clear date on when ground will be broken.
We didn’t expect anything less, did we?