Islanders win!!!!!!! well hang on

A win is a win. so 2 points is more than we have gotten in a while but........lets be honest. Isles played the same game they play most nights.

a.solid and at times spectacular goaltending yet this is hurting team..will explain later
b.top line of tavares, moulson, (pa,grabs,anyone) played very well as usual. john tavares improved strength and skating ability plus his ability to stay with the puck and create/prolong o-zone pressure and scoring chances is almost spectacular. its even more impressive considering the horrible defense and defensive zone play and rediculous amount of careless turnovers by almost everyone who isnt named tavares or moulson. will elaborate more on this later.
c.what many still critisize and i was guilty of this too is becoming more evident that the islanders fowards whom arent the top line are not playing well or hard enough just isnt the case at least 2/3 of the time. the problem again, and its the teams biggest is the poor puck clearing and puck moving skills of the islanders defensemen in their own zone. by the time the puck is cleared or moved up the ice, the only offense the other 8/9 fowards can generate is off the rush. they have no energy left to forecheck. but lets face it, the nhl game is not a speed/pass/pretty play league. most decent d-men and goalies can stop most rushes most of the time. tonight though, the isles scored twice on the rush. while talented fowards like okposo,neilson, and comeau need to shoot more(like the wicked wrister that beat lundquist) , these goals dont come often especially for the isles.
d.garth snow seems hellbent on showcasing nabakov to get that coveted 3rd round pick. seems like garth snows main concern every year is to get draft picks. while i cant say nabakov has hurt the team (except the sharks game) at all, the fact that hes been banged up with a (unbelievably) healthy dp and the the best goalie on the team montoya on the bench/pressbox, i dont see the benefits of forcing nebakov into every game. its eveident at this point that no matter what nabakov does, no one is giving snow what hes holding out for. so trade him or trade montoya. but get rid of the 3 goalie system. again, all 3 have played well, but none have been allowed to get hot and really play great enough to steal games.
e.if trades arent there for better defensive d-men, and the young guys are clearly struggling, time to then do the bridgeport shuttle. hamonic and amac still have a bright future, yet their play in their dzone has been bad. thats generous. there is no physical play that gets teams away from the puck, there is no transition game at all since they turn the puck over almost every shift. and even wwhen theres no pressure on them, they either dont skate(moving the legs)to start rush nor do they make many good passes to get the fowards moving in tandem. so would it really hurt to bring up de haan and wishart. they cant play any worse.
f.can we really expect john tavares to show this much heart and effort every game, every shift if this team doesnt start winning, and get back into the hunt. theres so much losing a guy can take before the effort starts to wain.

well i was breaking down the game but it lead into the usual rant about the teams problems...sorry

now heres the part i get killed for. i agree its wangs cheapness and snows inability to bring in better nhk caliber players, especially on the defensive side that is hurting the team. but honestly, there is one glaring problem and ive mentioned it a hundred times. the teams lacksadasical play in their dzone and rediculous amount of turnovers thats really kept the isles in the cellar. as much as i like coach caps and i know he gets his team to play hard and fight every game.
BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT ADDRESS THE TURNOVERS??? HOW DO YOU NOT EVALUATE UR TEAM AND SIMPLIFY THINGS TO JUST CLEAR THE DAMN PUCK OUT OF THE ZONE? JOSH BAILEYS REDICULOUSLY LAZY AND STUPID FLIP UP THE MIDDLE THAT LEAD TO THE RANGER LOSSS IS INEXCUSABLE. COACH LAVIOLETTE USED TO SAY THIS ALL TIME AND COACH TORTS DOES TOO, WHEN THE TRANSITION GAME ISNT THERE, CHIP IT OUT, OR ICE THE PUCK. DONT GIVE THE DAMN PUCK AWAY IN YOUR ZONE!! IT EXHAUSTS THE FOWARDS, IT DEFLATES THE TEAM, IT HURTS THE GOALIES. IT LEADS TOO LOSSES. TONIGHT WHEN WE TOOK THE 3-0 LEAD, MONTREAL THEN HAD A 4 MINUTE SPAN WHERE THE ISLES SIMPLE NEVER GOT OUT OF THERE ZONE. AND THEY HAD LIKE 6 CHANCES. OFF THE BOARDS, UP TO THE JUMBOTRON, ICE IT, HECK TAKE THE DOG PENALTY. BUT DONT TURN IT OVER. AND THIS IS WHERE COACH CAPS TAKES A HUGE HIT. IF THIS CONTINUES, HE WILL BE FIRED.

all this being said, the team is 3 under 500. and really a hot streak from being back in contention. but that streak wont happen unless the turnovers stop or at least are brought under control. until then, we are doomed.