A Silver Lining

Leave it to the Islanders to finally score four goals in a game now that their playoff chances have all but vanished. Of course, in that same game, the other team scored eight. That other team, as it turns out, was the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that is hardly the 1984 Oilers.

Truly, the Islanders need more than a miracle at this point. Even selling their souls to the devil might not do the trick.

Again, I can't stress enough that now is the time for the Islanders to look toward Bridgeport to give some young players a chance. Say, Kyle Okposo would sure look good in orange and blue, wouldn't he? After all, the only thing we're playing for at this point is draft position. The Islanders are currently in 26th place in a 30-team league where there are, at most, five really good teams. The Devils have scored more goals than us. Let's face it - this team isn't even close to the team it was last year; a playoff run this year would have lasted for five games at the most. Why not try to turn this negative into a positive, get the young guys some experience, and see what's in store for next year?

Now, I would never encourage any team to tank their season. But this upcoming draft is said to be extremely deep and a good draft position can only help this team rebuild. The Islanders could easily find themselves with a top-ten pick this June, which could be an extremely valuable commodity. That pick will probably end up becoming a can't-miss prospect, but it may well end up as a significant trade chip. Perhaps Garth Snow can turn that pick into the scorer we've craved all season long. Whatever happens with the pick, it's a good problem to have.

After the Islanders lost to Buffalo last year, I believed it was the best possible scenario for this team. They weren't going to beat Buffalo no matter what, but they were able to lose with dignity and could blame the refs for the two home losses. This year isn't quite the same, but can be seen with the same sort of cockeyed optimism. We were never going to be a threat for a deep playoff run under any circumstances, and we'll at least get a premium draft pick for our struggles. Sure, the two games of playoff revenue would have been nice, but far from essential given the team's room under the cap and Charles Wang's deep pockets.

So it turns out that our Islanders not only can't make the playoffs, they can't even beat the second-worst team in the league. Worse, we're not that far ahead of them. But maybe there is a silver lining to all of this. Maybe we'll be better off for our struggles this season. That hope is all we have left to hold on to.