After beating the Penguins on Monday in Pittsburgh’s first game since coach Michel Therrien’s firing, the Islanders visit the Rangers tonight.
And once again, the Isles will play a team facing coaching questions, as Tom Renney’s job security increasingly is on the line.
But Islander coach Scott Gordon – despite guiding a team that’s all but cemented itself as the worst in the league – doesn’t worry about his own situation.
“That’s the job,” Gordon said after practice yesterday in Syosset.
“I pretty much coached up until my last year in Providence on one-year contracts. All I can do is the best I can. If that’s not good enough, I don’t second-guess myself.”
Gordon and the Isles have a far different set of circumstances than the Penguins and Rangers, both of whom had lofty goals for the season and now find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs.
Youth and a rash of injuries have made the postseason unrealistic for the Islanders, but players such as Frans Nielsen, who has been playing better recently, like the way the team is progressing under Gordon.
“The biggest thing is I’m allowed to make a mistake and don’t have to be afraid of being taken out,” Nielsen said.
“It’s tough to play. He’s on us, but it’s not like we’re not going to play anymore if we do something wrong. That happened last year and the beginning of this year.”
The results have been better for the team of late, even though wins have been scarce.
“As a coach, if you think about losing your job, then you’re not gonna coach the way you think you should coach,” Gordon said. “Then you’re coaching the way other people think you should. I can just keep doing what I’m doing.”