Islanders are 9-0 in OT/SO

[islesfan186]

you picked (arguably) the two best ones. I'm not kidding.

Visnovsky, when healthy, is just as good, but I'd say deHaan and Hickey (along with Leddy) have been the best defensemen all season, probably the past two years.

Leddy came in with SOME chicago/cup pedigree and has also been excellent, above my expectations.....but deHaan had a breakthrough rookie year last year and has picked up where he left off, after being hurt to start the year.

Hickey's the best kept secret. He's a Leddy clone who might be even better defensively.

I rank them all equally, they are all clones. Hickey-Visnovsky-Leddy-deHaan are the same. Boychuk and Hamonic are very similar as well.

Reminds me a bit of the old Leafs defense - Ellett, Rouse, Lefebvre, Gill, Macoun, Mironov. All very good where the sum was greater than the parts.

I like deHaan a lot, but he has gone through a fair amount of struggles this year. I chalk it up to sophomore slump.
Hickey is one of those "Snow dumpster dive specials" that is really paying off. Solid in his own zone, but I think Leddy is way better offensively than Hickey. I wish Hickey was more physical though. He has shown it in the past that he can lay a good hit, he just needs to do it with more consistency
And Vis has been awesome this year. If anyone who isn't an isles fan watched the games, they would see he is playing very well even at the ripe old age of 39

 

[redbull]

no reason not to give them full credit for OT goals, but its true that while shootouts matter they don't actually tell you anything about the quality of a team.

standings with all shootouts counted as ties:

1. PIT 115pt pace (+27gdiff)
2. DET 106 (+17)
3. TBL 103 (+23)
4. TOR 101 (+17)
5. NYI 95 (+4)
6. MTL 95 (+1)
7. NYR 91 (+10)
8. WSH 91 (+7)
9. FLA 88 (-8)
10. BOS 82 (-3)
11. OTT 82 (-6)
12. PHI 76 (-4)

that's probably a better representation of how the teams have played so far.

tough to compare, as always, but I'd say the Islanders have underachieved based on their 5on5 play. The SO points probably reflect how well they have played, they make up for it in the standings anyway.

Consider Tavares, Okposo, Grabovski (their top forwards) have played FAR BELOW their capabilities (offensively anyway) and their special teams absolutely suck (PK worst in the NHL), backup C.Johnson's been terrible and Boychuk, Hamonic, Bailey, Grabner all missing 10+ games so far - this team can be much better than their non-SO record shows.

All the Isles threads on the main board annoy me, and other Isles fans, for sure.....but the team's been really, really good.

 

[Mikeshane]

If you pull the goalie in OT you lose the loser point if the other team scores

Thanks for the info, I forgot about that.

 

[RMimagery]

Besides the Isles' PDO and corsi, which are strong, look at their record when allowing the first goal. Something like 12-3 which is unreal.

They've also been without their two best defenders lately. Their OT/shootout record is not a negative.

They'll make the playoffs, most likely as a home team and have a legit shot of making some noise.

 

[Islesin93*]

I think that will come back to hurt them at the end of the season when things get tight down the stretch, when other teams have more regulation wins.

It is going to hurt in the Playoffs when it gets to OT, I am sure the Isles have the mentality "well we are going to take it in the shootout", and they play tight until the end of the OT, another reason why I hate the shootout

 

[DeanCorso]

You people are funny

What about those teams who goes a lot in OT and lost most of them....take away their lucky given point for losing...some of those teams wouldnt make the playoffs!!

The Isles as won all of their OTs and they were leading almost all of those games in 3rd period.

 

[Brooklanders*]

BUT IT'S INFLATED BY LOSER POINTS.

What if this were 1982, with that point system? Huh? How would the standings look then?

No one really knows. You can say that about every team in the league. NY rolls the dice knowing they are shootout kings.

 

[GusTheo]

If the Isles were 0-9 in OT/SO they would have 33 points, which would slot them tied for 7th with Washington overall in the East. So they'd still be in the thick of things, and one hot streak away from approaching top 4.

Is there luck involved in the shoot out? Absolutely. Is the shoot out ALL luck, no shot.

And for everyone making the no shoot outs in the playoffs argument, why does that automatically mean the Isles couldn't still win in the playoffs?

 

[DanZ]

BUT IT'S INFLATED BY LOSER POINTS.

What if this were 1982, with that point system? Huh? How would the standings look then?

Considering the Wings have more ROWs and less regulation losses than the Islanders, in 1982, they would be higher in the standings. I struggle to see how their points are inflated at all. They have 41 points while being 1-5 in shootouts. The Islanders have 42 points while being 6-0 in shootouts, but the Wings record is inflated?

You could also say their point total is inflated by shootout loses.

How? They lost the point, therefore it's not inflated...

 

[Curufinwe]

It's really annoying their SO record vs. their Rangers' garbage one makes it seems like they're better by leaps and bounds but when you realize most of the difference was in a skills competition it's an example of why the shootout sucks.

Haha, even you guys think it sucks, and Lundqvist has a great record in the SO.

The Flyers are by far the worst SO team in the league since it started and are 0-8 in 2014. When we got the Isles to a SO a few weeks ago the game was as good as over.

 

[Section32]

It's not that the Islanders don't belong where they are right now.

It is just that the main boards have a new Isle's thread every other day and then the same posters come on saying that it is only 3-4 fans that start these things.

Please, make some noise in the playoffs before this becomes sickening. (For a Ranger fan)

And to mention Chicago is weak. They have 2 Cups in this recent run already...

 

[PWJunior]

It's not that the Islanders don't belong where they are right now.

It is just that the main boards have a new Isle's thread every other day and then the same posters come on saying that it is only 3-4 fans that start these things.

Please, make some noise in the playoffs before this becomes sickening. (For a Ranger fan)

And to mention Chicago is weak. They have 2 Cups in this recent run already...

You realize that the OP of this thread is not an Isles fan, right? Seems like the majority of these 'daily threads' are started by non-Isles fans. We have one main thread about our start where the title gets updated quite regularly.

If you're sick of them, then ignore them. It's quite easy.

 

[Muston Atthews]

I don't know about examples, but we've been through this re NYI's shootout success. It's not a fluke. They can run out two shooters who are better than anyone the opposition can put out (Nielsen, Okposo). Then they've got a whole slew of shooters that are pretty good with Tavares, Bailey, Nelson, Strome, etc. Add a top-5 shootout goalie, and they're just the best in the league at the shootout. It's unlikely they go undefeated in the shootout. Still, they should still win the majority the rest of the way.



Let's be clear about this: points notwithstanding, the conference looks like this.

1. Pittsburgh
..
2. Tampa Bay
..
3. The Mess:
Detroit, NYI, Montreal, Toronto, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals
9. The underperforming Boston Bruins
10-15. Teams with major deficiencies unlikely to challege for a playoff spot.

I don't think there's much difference between teams with 40ish points and teams like the Rangers and Capitals who are a little down. I expect that to even out a bit as the season goes on.

As a NYI fan, I feel like it is unrealistic to think that the team has overnight improved from a bottom-feeder to a team expected to win multiple rounds in the playoffs. Despite the fact that goaltending is VASTLY improved (I hope for Tampa's sake that Bishop is not out for long if he's gone for long, they're in The Mess too) + the forward depth is excellent, NYI have no legitimate #1 Defender or top pairing (despite decent defensive depth).

The goal this year was playoffs. It's looking good. It'll look better with first round home ice + a matchup against another team in The Mess.

Tampa won't be far and away second place for long if Bishop is out for any length of time

 

[Pumpkin Pal]

It's not that the Islanders don't belong where they are right now.

It is just that the main boards have a new Isle's thread every other day and then the same posters come on saying that it is only 3-4 fans that start these things.

Please, make some noise in the playoffs before this becomes sickening. (For a Ranger fan)

And to mention Chicago is weak. They have 2 Cups in this recent run already...

The Islander hype threads were mainly started by 2 people who have both stopped. The last few were started by fans of other teams, and some of them (like this one) are actually bashing the team! So it is true that Islander fans by and large aren't doing this.

You could also do like PWJunior suggested and not click the threads as well

 

[Will Hunting]

No you actually haven't watched this team play. That's what it means to mean. They are well coached.
They have the passion and play as a team. They have had solid goaltending and the defense is coming along.
They have beaten very good teams and have out shot the opponents by leaps and bounds.
Shootouts aren't a given and since the Isles are pretty good at them its smart strategy to play it safe in the third period and OT.

OMG, I actually have watched them play A LOT. I´m a Pens fan who is also following the games around a league quite a bit. Who do you think that I´m watching in those other games.. Arizona? Edmonton? Buffalo? Or rather some actual rivals of Penguins?

I respect the Isles more than an average neutral fan, tbh. I respect them a lot. They´re definitely better than their 60-minutes record (12-10-9) suggests. They´re plaqying entertaining hockey. They´ve had pretty tough schedule and they are handling it well.

I just think that the shootouts are a bit misleading and I made the point that while they are REALLY good, that maybe they´re not "21-10-0" good in the longrun..

These rate in the SO is unsustainable and tells you nothing about the overall team´s play (which is still great though). Hell, even the talent-less Devils were extremely close to winning that skills competition last night if not for miraculous save by Halak on Severson in the 3rd round. It was awfully close and still tells you pretty much nothing. If the Devils would have won that shootout (and 5 other NYI opponents too), my opinion about the Isles would be still very HIGH and pretty much the same as it is now. Shootouts are just bs, but you can take advantage of it.. because why not..

 

[SladeWilson23]

I could say something negative about the Isles and how their record is boosted by OT/SO wins..

..but really that's just jealousy. Wings have thrown away 5 points in shootouts already, I'd love those points back.

Yep same here. The Devils are 1-5 in shootouts, and it's costing them dearly in the standings.

 

[Jester9881]

The Islanders are the only team in the league without a loser point..... and somehow, people here hold that against them.

 

[Rehabguy]

OMG, I actually have watched them play A LOT. I´m a Pens fan who is also following the games around a league quite a bit. Who do you think that I´m watching in those other games.. Arizona? Edmonton? Buffalo? Or rather some actual rivals of Penguins?

I respect the Isles more than an average neutral fan, tbh. I respect them a lot. They´re definitely better than their 60-minutes record (12-10-9) suggests. They´re plaqying entertaining hockey. They´ve had pretty tough schedule and they are handling it well.

I just think that the shootouts are a bit misleading and I made the point that while they are REALLY good, that maybe they´re not "21-10-0" good in the longrun..

These rate in the SO is unsustainable and tells you nothing about the overall team´s play (which is still great though). Hell, even the talent-less Devils were extremely close to winning that skills competition last night if not for miraculous save by Halak on Severson in the 3rd round. It was awfully close and still tells you pretty much nothing. If the Devils would have won that shootout (and 5 other NYI opponents too), my opinion about the Isles would be still very HIGH and pretty much the same as it is now. Shootouts are just bs, but you can take advantage of it.. because why not..

Well, really this is just a flawed and sour grapes argument.

For this to be true you would have to make a bunch of baseless assumptions some of which have already been posted here including:

1. You would have to assume they would have lost most or all of those overtime games if they were played 5 on 5. We all know that the Islanders are a fast dominating team that has already beaten some of the best teams in the league including LA, Pens, Chicago etc.... At best the Islanders would have won most of those games anyway at worse we don't know how they would have fared.

2. You are assuming that overtime points only applies to the Islanders and not the other teams in the league. Whereas, St. Louis has 14 points in overtime, Anaheim has 17 points in overtime, Chicago has 11 points in overtime, Montreal has 12 points in overtime, Nashville has 10 points in overtime and Pittsburgh has 12 points in overtime records. Yet you penalize the Islanders because they were successful in gathering the full number of points in overtime because they have depth in their line-up and a hot goaltender. Based on your argument, all these teams would not be as good as their standings based on points if it were not for their overtime wins AND losses. The fact that they gained only 1 point in overtime and not both is the Islander's problem- it's theres.

3. You are assuming that shoot-outs and overtimes are based on luck. But really, for the Islanders to be 9-0 in OT, there has to be more than luck there. Again, the odds for the Islanders to be 10-0 if it was based purely on luck would be 1 in 1024. Highly unlikely.

 

[Rehabguy]

The Islanders are the only team in the league without a loser point..... and somehow, people here hold that against them.

My point exactly above, you beat me to it.

 

[Butch 19]

It's not that the Islanders don't belong where they are right now.

It is just that the main boards have a new Isle's thread every other day and then the same posters come on saying that it is only 3-4 fans that start these things.

Please, make some noise in the playoffs before this becomes sickening. (For a Ranger fan)

GG!! - I welcome each and every Islander thread on the main board.

It's a breath of fresh air compared to the usual fare!

 

[wingnutks]

I am usually a pretty negative fan, but I see these wins as a GOOD thing for the playoffs. If you look back I would bet the Islanders have the one of the least number of multi-goal wins by any team in the league. They always just do what they need to do, and not much more. Its probably from **** coaching.
They have an absolute ridiculous record when not scoring the first goal. Their point percentage when being scored on first is better than any teams point percentage in the league. They are not giving up ever, and they are doing what they have to do to win... that kinda sounds like a decent recipe for playoff hockey.

 

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, but the real question is if this is the positive or negative Isles thread Not like the others and puts some things into the perspective btw..

Was thinking the exact same thing.

Isles are good team but their record is kinda skewed.

 

[IslesFanatic]

isles are ONLY team in the nhl WITHOUT a loser point. So you can say they have earned all of their points.

 

[Islanderfan17]

It's really annoying their SO record vs. their Rangers' garbage one makes it seems like they're better by leaps and bounds but when you realize most of the difference was in a skills competition it's an example of why the shootout sucks.

I don't think it's too ridiculous to say that we've been a better team so far considering the quality of opponents we've beaten. We've already put up wins against the Hawks, Ducks, Kings, Lightning, Bruins, Rangers, Penguins and I'm probably missing one or two more but you get the picture, we've been a dangerous team that has had some very convincing victories.

The Rangers have more playoff experience though which is HUGE, something the Isles don't have too much outside of Boychuck, Leddy, Vis and Halak.