After a wild hot streak in December that coincided with the return of captain Alexei Yashin from a knee injury and ended with a shutout win against the rival Rangers at Nassau Coliseum, things have cooled off drastically on Long Island. The Islanders find themselves riding a tremendous slump, winners of only 2 of their last 11 games and only earning five points in that span.
In the span of a few days in November, GM Garth Snow dealt defenseman Alexei Zhitnik and underachieving forward Mike York for Freddy Meyer and Randy Robitaille, respectively. The moves cleared approximately $5 million of cap space off the Isles payroll, and was also designed to add speed to the backline in Meyer and some offense on the power play from Robitaille. While Meyer has played respectable since joining the lineup, Robitaille has seen himself getting fourth line minutes. With the Eastern Conference a jumbled mess in the standings right now, currently 11 points separate the 4th through 14th seeded teams, and the trade deadline 40 days away,
many teams are in contention for playoff spots. While a lot of hockey will be played in that 40 day timeframe, if the standings remain the same, many teams will be hesitant to make deals with rival clubs they’re competing with for playoff spots. Teams like Florida and Washington, both expected to finish at the bottom of the standings, are only 6 and 5 points out of the final playoff spot in the East. Tampa Bay, who are anxiously looking to move Vinny Prospal or Ruslan Fedotenko’s salary, currently occupy the eighth spot in the conference.
While the Islanders have been a solid team 5-on-5, their sluggish power play has been a major thorn in their side that has cost them valuable points in the playoff race. Changes are needed on the island to invigorate their offense, and they should look within for them. Currently at their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Robert Nilsson and Jeff Tambellini quietly rack up points while patiently waiting for their names to be called up to the big club. Nilsson saw some time with the big club last year playing on the top line and did not look out of place. A gifted puckhandler with an uncanny passing vision, Nilsson impressed fans with his slick stickhandling and creativity while earning 20 points in 53 NHL games. Playing alongside Yashin for the majority of his NHL stint last year, he helped contribute to Yashin scoring 10 goals in the final 21 games of the year. Currently in Bridgeport, Nilsson is averaging a point a game, with 8 goals and 24 assists in 32 games. Tambellini made the big club out of camp, and coach Ted Nolan sung many a praise for the young winger, but after playing in the season opener found himself back down on the farm. His play was not affected as he’s posted 19 goals with 19 assists in 35 games, 6 of those games on the power play, and a solid +11 for a Sound Tiger team that isn’t exactly tearing up the AHL right now.
Nolan was hoping to create a veteran presence on the Islanders with the signings of players like Chris Simon, Sean Hill and Andy Hilbert, but they’ve done little to spark the offense. Simon has only 5 goals in 46 games, and Hilbert only 4 in 45. Combined with Miroslav Satan struggling all season to find the net potting 13 in 46 games, well below his career average, it’s time for the Islanders to look from within to improve themselves and start the youth movement.
