Be Careful What You Wish For

Last night, as the Islanders game ended, I was in bed sick. I didn't even make it through the end of the game. I guess it's just as well, though - it was pretty clear where the game was going.

Ever since this season began, many Islanders fans have been hoping and praying for a 30th place finish. We've been saying it since last July - the Islanders' 2008-09 season has been all about John Tavares. It didn't pay for the Islanders to battle valiantly for the eighth seed; we've been there and done that.  Similarly, just being bad wasn't going to work for this Islanders team. They had to be historically bad. Before the season, I predicted the Islanders would have 72 points at season's end, and Zach thought I was being much too critical. Guess not. But hey, the Isles' faithful got what they wanted in the end, so it's worth it. Right?

The problem is, as a fan, pride comes into play. Some fans have been rather vociferious about getting having a 48.2% chance at the first overall pick; others, like myself, hoped for the best but didn't want to compromise their fandom. Either way, it's hard for me to come out and state that I'm happy that the Islanders have lost their last two games by a combined score of 15-1. It's certainly nothing to brag about. We knew it wouldn't be pretty. And it wasn't.

The Islanders' season is essentially over, with only two meaningless games left - an afternoon game tomorrow against Philadelphia and a 5 PM game against Boston on Easter Sunday (who scheduled that one?). Just about the unanswered question is whether Kyle Okposo will score two goals to ensure that this won't be the first season in Islanders' history without a 20-goal scorer. (He probably won't.) The Islanders have done a great job of showing most nights in the second half, the last two games notwithstanding, so look for the Isles to make life very difficult for their far more skilled opponents. While Sunday's game means nothing to a Bruins team who clinched the East forever ago, imagine what a win over the Bruins in the season's final game would do for the Islanders.

Clinched...

The offense wasn't flying, the defense had holes, but the team got it done last night.

Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky had very strong games. Callahan had 2 points and was a great penalty killer last night. Dubinsky didn't score, but he was close on one, and he played great defense as well. Lauri Korpikoski played good also. Freddy Sjostrom, who went from 2nd line winger back to the 4th line, had a good game in limited use. Blair Betts was solid again in his specialty role on the penalty kill. Chris Drury, a guy who I like but wish didn't come at such with Salary Cap-smothering price tag, played real good as well, and looks a lot calmer and more confident than he did 6 weeks ago. Sean Avery was his usual self, albeit a bit milder, and was useful.

(The only negative I have about Avery was the flyer I received about the opening of a bar he is going to co-own with an art dealer. It said "AVERY-A-PALOOZA" and had a picture of Joey Kocur fighting someone else who presumably played in the 1990s. Were no pictures of Avery himself available?)

On defense, Paul Mara was a warrior, hitting everyone he could and playing well away from the puck. He got hurt, got back up, and still went for a check. Yes, he was out of position and that caused the power play goal against them, but I liked the effort.

As for Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival, I counted 1 good play between the pair, and that was a body check just outside the Rangers' zone when he level Joffrey Lupul.

But the night belonged to Henrik Lundqvist. When the Rangers couldn't crack through Braydon Coburn and the rest of the Flyers defense, and when the Rangers defense let Dan Carcillo, Daniel Briere (aka Lord Farquaad from Shrek, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, et al, slip through to the slot unharmed, Lundqvist was there to stop them.

Yes, that save on Carcillo was awesome, but there was so much more to him last night. He goes side-to-side like no other goalie I've ever seen, and he stopped a bunch of tip-ins and deflections last night. The best one I think, other than the glove save on Carcillo, was in the first period. A shot was quickly deflected as he was moving right, and he just stopped and caught it and held it for the whistle.

No, the team didn't play great. They gave up way too many shots, 38 in all, and they were good shots from prime real estate, not crappy shots from the perimeter like the Rangers take. But as long as Henrik Lundqvist is in net playing like he did yesterday, and as long as Avery, Drury, Callahan, and Betts are playing as good as they can, this team can will games. And maybe, just maybe, Redden and Rozsival will stop being a useless waste of a combined $11.5M.

Will that happen? I don't know. You like to think they'll all come alive for the playoffs, but isn't that how every team's fans think around this time?

* * *

My preference for playoff opponent is Washington, for two reasons...

1) They play a more wide-open game than Boston, which means it's high-scoring. And while the terms "Rangers" and "high-scoring" don't normally mesh well, I think they can score 4 on Jose Theodore and try to hold back Alex Ovechkin.

2) Judging by last night's game, how awesome and violent would a Bruins-Canadiens series be? Let those teams beat up on each other, leave us out of it.

Of course, I don't really care who they play, because if you want to go through the playoffs, you have to beat everyone.

Ranger Fan...

Listen, I might rail against half of the Rangers 75% of the time on this website. I might not care if Wade Redden plays another game or is banished to the AHL for the rest of his career and ruins their blueline. I might not even care if Scott Gomez is traded to Detroit for a 7th round pick at this year's NHL Draft. I think their GM is clueless and quite possibly never read the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and I think their owner is a ruthless, heartless idiot whose father gave him everything. He was voted worst owner in sports by ESPN, and I agree.

But one thing is for sure, I want this team to win tonight against Philadelphia. Win And In. And I want them to win.

I don't care about Redden, or Gomez, or even Michal Rozsival for that matter. I don't like that Markus Naslund and Chris Drury can never live up to their contracts (which isn't their fault).

But I will root for them.

I personally wish Redden will never get his name on the Stanley Cup, but as long as he is wearing a blue jersey at Madison Square Garden, I'm rooting for him to score the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Finals.

For all of the bashing I've done here, most of it deservingly so, for all of the times I've said this team doesn't care (you can't honestly believe Redden wants this team to win), for all of the negatives I've written, there has been one common factor...

I want this team to win. I want them to succeed. I want them to make the playoffs, and I want them to make a strong run at playing hockey in June.

While some of the players anger me, namely the five I've mentioned in this post, there is nothing I want more than to see them taking a victory lap around Garden ice after the handshakes.

Much like that tired cliche, "Don't play for the name on the back; play for the logo on the front," I don't root against the name on the back, I root for the R A N G E R S going down the front of that RBK Edge jersey.

I don't want Redden to fail; he just happens to and I point it out. What I want is for him to have a booming slap shot, impeccable defensive skills, and a wicked passion for the game.

Tonight, all that goes out the window. I couldn't care less how they get it done. All I care about it them winning.

Oh, and being on the ice after the game to receive a game-worn jersey would be sweet to.

As long as I'm not second in line...

Fedor Tyutin...

The Columbus Blue Jackets clinched a playoff berth today when their game against Chicago went to overtime. They sealed the deal with a shootout win. Rick Nash, Jonathan Toews and Pat Kane missed, but Fedor Tyutin, the second Columbus shooter, scored.

Also, today, I was listening to NHL Home Ice 204 on XM and they were listing the nominations for the Espo Awards, their yearly award ceremony. I highly disagreed with their list for Michel Bergeron Trophy (for Coach of the Year).

They had: Andy Murray (Blues); Barry Trotz (Predators); Claude Julien (Bruins); Brent Sutter (Devils); and Paul Maurice (Hurricanes). Phil Esposito added Ken Hitchcock (Blue Jackets) to the list.

Uh, where is John Tortorella in this list?!

No, kidding, but seriously, where is rookie coach Todd McLellan? The Sharks are far and away the best team in the league this season. While having Joe Thornton, Rob Blake, Danny Boyle, and Evgeni Nabokov helps, are you telling me he doesn't belong in the top six of all coaches this season?

If I had to pick a top 3 to nominate, I would say McLellan, Julien, and probably Hitchcock. All are good choices, and I think Julien would/should win the real award, the Jack Adams Award. He has taken a ragtag group of players and turned them into dominant forces.

Ahh, remember the good ol' days in the year after the lockout, when Lindy Ruff (Sabres), Pete Laviolette ('Canes), and Tom Renney (Rangers) were nominated? After this season, all 3 might not be on those teams anymore, especially if the Sabres miss the playoffs again.

All Is Well On This Night

You could say tonight went pretty well for the New York hockey teams. But that doesn't even begin to describe it.

The Rangers didn't just win tonight. They got a piece of themselves back. Their win tonight, coupled with Florida's loss, gives the Rangers a two-point lead with two games left. In essence, all the Rangers need to do is win one more game. One more win gives the Rangers 93 points and 42 wins; while Florida can still get to 93 points, they cannot win more than 41 games. The Rangers also did themselves a tremendous favor by taking two points from Montreal, as they've given themselves at least a fighting chance of avoiding Boston in the first round.

As for the Islanders... well, it's hard to draw positives out of 9-0 losses. Really, it is. If you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the accusations of tanking from up in Toronto. That's what happens when you get outshot 57-12. It was so bad that Scott Gordon changed goalies; if my memory serves me correctly, the only other time he changed goalies mid-game was during the Black Friday debacle in Boston. In any event, zero points is zero points, and there are some who will be thrilled with this result. As for me, I'm a huge Ric Flair fan, so I was more than happy to hear this over and over again.

So, what do we make of tonight? The Islanders have virtually wrapped up the top seed in the Draft Lottery. Tampa Bay is out of the running. Colorado will certainly fall to San Jose tonight, but it doesn't really matter. Assuming an Avalanche loss tonight, they will have 66 points with three games left. They would have to lose every game in regulation and the Islanders would have to win all of their remaining games to miss out on 30th place. That's not going to happen. So rest easy, Islanders fans. As for the Rangers, their playoff picture is much clearer. Truth be told, if they're truly a playoff team, they should be able to beat Philadelphia in one of two games. At this point, they'd have to be considered the favorites to beat out Florida. The hope now is that the Rangers play well in their final two games not just to get into the playoffs, but to get on a roll so that they can enter the post-season with some momentum.

Having said all of that, we close this entry out by throwing our support behind the Phoenix Coyotes in their game against St. Louis tonight. As much as we love John Davidson and the work he's done in St. Louis, a regulation loss by the Blues clinches a playoff berth for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have never made the playoffs. The Blue Jackets fans deserve a shot to see their play in the post-season, and if they draw Calgary in the first round, anything is possible.

If They Miss the Playoffs...

If the Rangers miss the playoffs by a point or two, they should look back to these games as the reason why...

November 28 - Rangers 4, Florida 3, shootout. They give up a goal to Radek Dvorak with under 2 minutes to play in regulation, sending the game to a shootout, giving Florida the extra point.

February 13 - Florida 2, Rangers 1, shootout. Fred Sjostrom scores in the first period, Rangers can't do anything else the whole game, relying on Henrik Lundqvist to stop 38 shots in regulation and 4 more in overtime. Richard Zednik scores the shootout-winner, Panthers get 2 points.

The other games the two played, for the record, was a 4-0 Panther shutout on a Sunday afternoon, 11/30, and another offensively challenged 2-1 regulation loss. It was John Tortorella's first home game, and they took a 1-0 lead in the first, but gave up 2 goals in a minute in the third and lost, giving Florida another 2 points.

An Open-Letter to Ryan Callahan...

Dear Ryan Callahan,

I know you're young. You just turned 24. You were 3 when Mark Recchi was drafted into the NHL. However, despite your age, you've been one of the few bright spots on a team that has been free-falling since November. In fact, I voted twice for the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award - once for Blair Betts, once for you.

Today, I wish I could rescind my vote.

This team can't score. Markus Naslund had a chance early in the game but was too close to Tim Thomas to do anything. Scott Gomez can pass pretty well, but that's about it. Brandon Dubinsky scored 3 goals in March, so you know he's tapped out. Nik Zherdev hates John Tortorella and won't play for him. Chris Drury isn't as "clutch" as his $7M salary tells you. And the defense scores so rarely that they show stats about how rare a defenseman's goal is when it happens.

We need you. We need you to SHOOT THE PUCK. When Sean Avery throws you the puck on a 2-on-1 and you're in a building where you routinely play 1-0 games, deep into the season, with an inept Wade Redden-esque power play, with a playoff spot on the line, SHOOT THE PUCK. If the rubber disc is bouncing, SHOOT THE PUCK anyway. If you see the goalie slightly out of position, SHOOT THE PUCK.

I keep watching the replay of when Avery gives you the puck, and it baffles me the amount of time you give Thomas to get back into position. You give him atleast 2 and a half seconds, and then you SHOOT THE PUCK right into him. Not above his head, not to the side of the net, right to him.

Next time you have a golden opportunity to tie the game against the best team in the conference, on the road, with 4 games left in the season, with a playoff spot not entirely guaranteed, please, please, Ryan, please SHOOT THE PUCK!

An Alcohol-Fueled Message To New York Hockey Fans

OK, I'll admit - I've been drinking tonight. A lot. But the following message rings true, regardless of whatever state you might find yourself:

CALM THE F*** DOWN.

Rangers Fans: You're fine. You still control your own destiny. In spite of the last two games, you're playing your best hockey of the year. Don't worry about Buffalo, and don't worry about Florida. Yes, I know the Panthers are just two points back with a game in hand. But barring a miracle, you hold the tiebreaker (wins). Two more wins will almost certainly clinch a playoff spot. They might be tough opponents, but these are the teams you'll be playing in the playoffs. And if any eighth seed is equipped to pull a 2006 Oilers, it's the Rangers.

Islanders Fans: Tampa Bay had no hopes of catching you no matter what. Even in light of tonight's result, they're five points back of you with three games to play. In other words, the only way they could catch you is if they win every game and you lose every game. As for Colorado... whatever. The worst team rarely wins the Draft Lottery anyway. All other things equal, karma always wins. Trust me, you'd rather play hard and let the chips fall where they may. Or would you rather the hockey gods exact vengeance upon you for tanking? It's much better this way.

You see? Both teams are fine. The Rangers still have a very good chance of qualifying for the playoffs. The Islanders still have a great chance at nabbing the best seed in the Draft Lottery and the 48.2% chance at the first overall pick that comes with it. There are still eight glorious days of hockey to be played. Let's enjoy it. No sense in worrying about what can't be controlled. Because for at least half of us, the season will be over next Sunday. For the sake of Rangers fans and the NHL in general, let's hope the Rangers get in.

Live Blog: New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Today's Games

It wouldn't be a stretch to proclaim today as the biggest day in New York hockey so far this season.

Last night, the results went the way of the local clubs. The Rangers were spared a huge blow when the Panthers inexplicably lost to the Atlanta Thrashers at home. The Islanders' faithful are more than happy with the point Tampa Bay picked up last night against the Devils. The events of last night only serve to make today's action more interesting - as if things weren't already interesting enough.

Boston will have plenty to play for against the Rangers this afternoon - while home ice in the East seems a certainty for the Bruins, they'd love to nab the President's Trophy from San Jose. The Rangers were hardly inspiring on Thursday night, but perhaps last night's debacle in Florida will inspire the Blueshirts. Not only do they control their destiny once again, but a tie in points between the Rangers and Panthers will almost certainly result in a Rangers playoff berth, as Florida would have to make up two wins in four games. If the Rangers can pull off a win today, they'll be infinitely more secure in the top eight.

As for the Islanders, this one is going to be ugly. Both teams will obviously play hard. The Islanders have not laid down for anybody, while Tampa Bay silenced any talk of tanking with a valiant effort against the Devils last night. The atmosphere of the Coliseum will be bizarre, as Islanders fans will be rooting for the home team, but secretly hoping for a Lightning win. How will it play out? Only time will tell. But if the Lightning win, the Islanders will only have to "beat out" Colorado for the first seed in the Draft Lottery. In reality, the odds of the Islanders losing their spot to anybody are extremely long, but for Islanders fans who feel they've earned their crack at John Tavares or Victor Hedman, nothing is secure just yet.

By night's end, we'll know a lot more about the fates of both the Rangers and Islanders. Until then, though, this is going to be one exciting day of hockey.

EDIT, 12:35 PM: Odds are pretty good that I'll be doing a live blog of tonight's Islanders-Lightning game. If any of the other Blog Boxers are doing a live blog, I'll post a link to it later. Either way, this game promises to be excruciating, so there will be plenty of booze involved. There has to be.

Pretty Horrible Game...

The Rangers never got a break today. Sure, the refs gave them some when they whistled Carolina for 4 straight penalties in the first. But they never took advantage, never pounded while the iron was hot, never cashed in, never put a nail in the coffin, except possibly their own.

John Tortorella said last night that if the Rangers can't wake up for a big game against a team in the same boat, then they don't have the right players. He said, "But we do." No, he doesn't, and he knows it.

Twelve forwards were all shut-out tonight. Twelve. Nik Zherdev tried for some of the game; Sean Avery played well; Ryan Callahan tried his best; Blair Betts was there for them as was Fred Sjostrom.

But where was everyone else? Scott Gomez took a few crappy shots straight at Cam Ward. Markus Naslund had 3 shots, all at even strength and all in the 2nd period. Useless the rest of the way. Chris Drury, the "new point man on the power play," had 1 shot all game, and none in the first period during those 4 failed power plays. Wade Redden? One shot, lots of ice time.

Let me put this in bold lettering...

The Rangers will not win with Wade Redden on the power play.

Tom Renney couldn't figure that out, or didn't want to admit it, and look where he is now - getting paid by James Dolan without working (okay, maybe that isn't actually horrible). I'm not a coach, far from it, and I can see it. Can John Tortorella not see that he does more harm than good for this team? I know GM Glen Sather gave him a monstrous, absurd contract. But he is good as a 4th or 5th or 6th d-man only, not a top player, and NOT a power play quarterback!

The Hurricanes scored to make it 3-2, and once the puck dropped, I said, "They're gonna score again." Sure enough, 10 seconds later, it's 4-2. Carolina scores fast and the Rangers unravel quicker. Once again, not a coach, but I know this. Tortorella should've called a timeout, given them a chance to regroup, not yell, and sent them back out to score. Instead, it was a quick faceoff and a quick goal.

Four games left, all against playoff teams. One is the best team in the East, one is now in 7th and will need a huge road game at MSG Tuesday, and two are against a Philadelphia team who plays real tough against the Rangers.

* * *

If they miss the playoffs, I won't be heartbroken, but I will be pissed. Pissed that only a handful of players play like they care (Antropov, Girardi, Betts, Callahan, Dubi, Mara, Orr, Sjostrom, Lundqvist, Avery), and even madder that players like Gomez, Redden, Rozsival, and Naslund are wearing a sweater that I've sworn by since I was 3 years old. They put shame to the blue and red, even more than Kevin Stevens, Stephane Quintal, and Alexandre Daigle did.

For the record, on the goal that made it 3-2, Redden's stick was behind him. He wasn't hitting anyone, he wasn't swinging his stick, it was behind him, he stood, a goal was scored. Crease-clearing defenseman? Offensive threat? Noif. Defensive threat and offensive liability is more like it.

Uh-Oh

This was not a good night for the Rangers to lose.

Zach will have more about this game later. But for now, real quick. The Rangers are still in the playoff hunt, but just barely. Florida is two points back of the eight-seeded Rangers; what's worse is that Florida has one game in hand. Even worse than that, though, is that the game in hand is against the hapless Thrashers. The Panthers play the Thrashers twice in their final five games, though games against the Penguins, Capitals and Flyers ensure that if Florida does qualify for the playoffs, it will certainly be well-deserved.

The Rangers' upcoming schedule? At Boston on Saturday, where the Bruins are making a push for the President's Trophy. Tuesday, they host the desperate Canadiens. The final two games are a home-and-home against Philadelphia, who will surely bring its A-game as the Flyers attempt to earn home ice advantage in the first round. To say that none of these games will be easy is a huge understatement.

You figure Florida will beat Atlanta in both matchups and should be good for three points in their games against Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington. That would leave them with 94 points. The Rangers would need five points in their final points to match that total. If the Rangers and Panthers tie for the eight seed, here's how the tie would be broken:

 - Total Wins. The Rangers currently have 40, while Florida has 38. Though those two games against the Thrashers makes this differential much more surmountable.

 - Points Earned In Head-To-Head Competition. The Rangers are 1-2-1 against Florida this year. So if there's a tie and the teams have the same number of wins, Florida gets the nod.

 - Goal Differential. It won't come to this, but Florida has an even goal differential while the Rangers' differential is minus-11.

Make no mistake, not qualifying for the playoffs would be a disaster for the Rangers. But it wouldn't diminish the fact that Florida is a pretty good team and has earned its place in the playoff picture. Part of me hopes they get in because it would help the franchise exponentially. But a Rangers team in the playoffs is good for ratings and publicity, things the NHL needs desperately. That path to the playoffs would have been infinitely easier had they beaten Carolina tonight. Now, they don't even control their own destiny.

Playoff Hockey On Long Island

OK, maybe the Islanders aren't going to the playoffs. But their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, are putting together quite the season. The Sound Tigers have 98 points, tying them with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Pittsburgh) for second place in the East Division, three points behind Hershey (Washington). The winner of the division will have the top seed in the Eastern Conference, as the Atlantic Division leaders, the Rangers' own Hartford Wolfpack, only have 92 points. And since there are only two divisions per conference, all four of these teams will have home ice advantage in the first round.

Charles Wang, who owns both teams, is well aware of the hunger for playoff hockey in these parts. As such, the Sound Tigers will play their first two playoff games at the Nassau Coliseum, much to the consternation of the Sound Tigers' faithful fans in Connecticut. Sorry, guys. Anyway, the two games will be on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. The game on the 17th starts at 7:30; the game on the 18th begins at 7:00. The nice thing is, tickets are extremely affordable, with the most expensive seats going for $29 and the cheapest going for $15. You could watch playoff hockey and enjoy a delicious pretzel twist for $20. How cool is that?

The AHL playoffs will certainly be worth watching for Islanders fans, especially since so many of the current Islanders roster will be playing for the Sound Tigers. Again, some local fans who have supported the team all year are a little miffed, but it's better for the Islanders this way. Some of the Islanders' young studs will gain some valuable playoff experience by playing for the Sound Tigers, so let's hope for a nice long playoff run.

Another Crushing Defeat

The nice thing about these Islanders from a writer's perspective is that you don't even have to wait for the game to be over to start your piece. That's because every game is exactly the same.

Islanders play some team with 30 or so more points than them. Islanders play hungry; other team barely shows up. Islanders come out and get an early lead. Other team starts to wake up. Islanders win a fight and hold down the fort in the second period. Other team fully wakes up. Islanders get victimized by dumb mistakes, bad officiating or both. Other team catches lucky break to take the lead. Islanders rally late, but can't score. Other team wins.

Howie Rose just said that the Islanders' games of late have been fun. I guess. That is, if you enjoy coming so close to winning every game, yet ending up on the losing end every night. Sure, the team is maturing before our very eyes. Sure, it's better to watch a competitive game than a blowout. But man, it's hard to watch the Islanders compete so hard, but lose.

If you've watched any of the NCAA Tournament, you might be able to relate to this. Big-name school faces plucky underdog school with a losing record. Somehow, the underdog keeps it competitive throughout, but inevitably craps out down the stretch. When the big team wins, it celebrates like it actually achieved something, as opposed to barely beating a team it was supposed to beat by 40 points. Don't you just want to smack everybody on that team? How could you be happy after a game like that?

That's what watching these Islanders is like. You get sucked in by their tenacious play. You feel such pride for them that they're staying with the big dogs. Then, the bottom falls out, and the Islanders lose. Tonight was a perfect example. After the Capitals tied the game at 3, Josh Bailey scored to make it 4-3... only thing is, Tim Jackman fell into Jose Theodore and got called for goaltender interference. Of course, Mike Green scored less than a minute later to put the Caps ahead for good. Funny how Jackman gets called for that, yet when Erik Cole bulldozed over Peter Mannino two weeks ago in Carolina, the ref turns a blind eye and Carolina gets the easy goal.

When the Islanders lost to Buffalo in the first round two years ago, I remarked that it was in the best possible way. The Isles lost, but they could point to controversial calls in Games 3 and 4 as reasons why they lost. This way, Islanders fans didn't have to think about the fact that they would have lost the series anyway. The last few weeks of Islanders hockey remind me of that same sentiment. We can point to bad calls, we can point to unlucky bounces... the truth is, the Islanders aren't good enough yet.

The great thing is, they're not all that far off. The Isles are making serious progress and can make teams pay for taking them lightly. Which leads me to my next point - so many teams are taking the Islanders lightly despite their (relatively) great play in the second half. Next year, if these same teams keep continue to underestimate what will be a much better Islanders team, they will certainly pay the price. And the road to respectability for the Islanders will be much smoother.

The Home Stretch

As the Islanders head into their matchup tonight against the Washington Capitals, a lot of Islanders fans are thinking the same thing. 

Enough already!

Every Islanders fan enjoyed last weekend's results, beating Detroit in their home rink and taking three out of four points against playoff teams. But fans are suddenly finding themselves full of worry. Have the Islanders kissed the first overall pick goodbye? Did they spoil their karma by sending Brendan Witt out during Saturday night's shootout? Did the Islanders give the Colorado Avalanche just enough room to step in and steal the 30th overall spot?

The truth is, these are things nobody can control. It doesn't make much sense to get worried. That said, Saturday's game against Tampa Bay is suddenly looming very large. The Islanders have two games in hand on the Lightning, who don't play until Friday night against New Jersey. If the Islanders win their next two games and Tampa Bay loses to the Devils, an Islanders victory over the Lightning leaves the two teams tied. That's a bit scary.

Fortunately, the Islanders play a ton of meaningful games down the stretch. Tonight, Washington can clinch the Southeast by getting one point against the Islanders. Tomorrow, the Islanders return home to face Montreal, who needs all the points they can get as they battle Florida for the eighth and final playoff spot. Next week features a home game against Philadelphia and road games in Carolina and Pittsburgh; all three of these teams are fighting each other for the all-important fourth seed and the home ice it brings. That takes us up to the final game of the season against Boston, who will have all hands on deck as they try to get one last tune-up for the playoffs.

In short? There really isn't much to worry about - though it's certainly understandable to panic. I, for one, maintain that if the Islanders play hard, all this draft stuff will take care of itself. In less than two weeks, we'll know where the Islanders stand - finally. Who says you need playoff hopes to make the end of the season exciting?