They are still out there, in numbers, in Long Island’s bedroom communities. Of course, that’s where Islander fans still largely sleep, as does their franchise, as do hopes to save it with a deal for a new arena.
But after two Rangers games this year failed to sell out, every seat was filled at the Coliseum last night. About 1,500 tickets that were distributed by a roller hockey league helped, but so had a streak of six straight home wins, ended 4-2 last night by a slumping Devils team motivated by a shutout loss to the Islanders six days ago.
“We stopped pushing the pace,” said an unhappy coach Scott Gordon after the Islanders, who hit three posts and scored twice during a Colin White major for hitting Sean Bergenheim from behind, lost on a Bryce Salvador goal through even more traffic than was at the walk-up windows.
These people remember Mike Bossy, have just been saving their money to see another one. And just because Gordon coaches the team that has the lowest profile in all four major professional sports doesn’t mean he came into this season with his expectations lowered accordingly.
“We didn’t have a No. 1 or, for that matter, a No. 2 goalie last year and we lost something like 35 one-goal games,” the coach said.
It told him that his Islanders were a lot closer to competing for a playoff spot than they are to getting a remodeled home or getting New York papers to cover them again on the road.
Never mind the 29th-ranked, $43 million payroll and skeleton veteran presence, the Islanders are, after finishing dead last in the NHL last season, just one point out of playoff position with 30 games to go.
Over 16 years, the bullet has been bitten down to the nub by bad decisions. But first and seventh overall picks have turned up true top-line forces in center John Tavares and right wing Kyle Okposo (goal and an assist last night) while general manager Garth Snow’s ridiculed trade down for Josh Bailey at ninth overall is starting to appear prescient.
If Rick DiPietro, who has had more operations than Mike Milbury had mind changes, can stay healthy, the franchise seems ahead of schedule on the rebuild, which can’t hurt hopes for either a Coliseum rebuild or to get the Islanders to Brooklyn or Willets Point.
“Our scouting staff has done a good job of finding character,” said Gordon. “We don’t have a bad apple on our team.
“Tavares and Bailey are mature kids at 19 and 20. I couldn’t compare myself at what I was like at 19 to what Tavares is. We haven’t come close to seeing what Okposo can do offensively, but even when he was not scoring, he was one of our most important players for what he brings every night.”
Snow and Gordon found a buried body in Kings reject Matt Moulson, who has 19 goals. A defense of only one player with an NHL track record of any note, Mark Streit, so far works, work being the operative word.
“They can all move the puck,” Gordon said. “I want our team to be so good on the forecheck we don’t have to play a lot of defense.”
The coach wants to push it, wasn’t pleased at all when his young team didn’t do that in the third period. The Islanders still played better than they thought they did, always a good sign that hope is growing from a patiently-executed plan. What a concept.