Pride Is Returning To Long Island ... In Diapers

By The Lantern

Usually, when a team starts the season with just eight wins in its first 21 games it's not time to book reservations in some strange city for a championship series, but in the case of the Islanders there are plenty of reasons for their fans to come out from under whichever rock they've been hiding under for the last decade.

In the wacky world of the NHL, where a loss is as good as a tie, the Islanders find themselves within a moderate hot streak of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. This coming from a team not expected to finish above 13th or 14th in its half of the league -- John Tavares or no John Tavares.

But yet, at 8-6-7 the Islanders are tied with the Rangers for sixth place in the East, just seven points back of first-place Washington heading into two winnable games -- at Minnesota on Friday and at St. Louis on Saturday.

Back when this seven-game road trip started I was hoping for the Islanders to come out of it with seven points or around .500, but so far they have six points in four games, going 2-0-2.

Say what you want about this team's lack of star power, but it seems to be unfazed playing on the road. So far the Isles are 3-4-5 away from Nassau Coliseum, or they have 11 points in 12 games. If you're a fan of any NHL team you will take a point a game on the road. It just doesn't happen all that often.

So, Islanders faithful, keep up the optimism.

Second-year coach Scott Gordon's high-intensity, high-speed forechecking system came under fire last season from veterans after several of them went down with injuries that cost the Islanders more than 600 games in man power. Brendan Witt was the most vocal of the team's elder statesmen, but Witt has kept his mouth shut this season. There's a good chance he'll be moved prior to the trade deadline because A.) he's not the same player he once was and B.) he's one of the team's vets that still has some value, especially to a Cup contender looking to beef up its blueline. For now, though, Witt is acting like a pro so let's let the future, if and when it comes around, take care of itself.

The Islanders are built on youth and speed. Tavares has been everything the fanbase had hoped for when he was drafted No. 1 overall in June -- great hands, great vision, nose for the net and maturity beyond his 19 years. The next 10 years will be something to behold with No. 91 zipping around the Coliseum ice. Just pray he stays healthy.

The continued development of Kyle Okposo has been another positive. While he's nowhere near being the next Jarome Iginla yet -- a comparison that's been made on many occasions due to his college scoring prowess and ethnic makeup -- the talented winger has shown heart, grit and the ability to contribute on a team level, as opposed to being just a guy who shoots the puck every time he gets it. After finishing his rookie season with 39 points in 65 games, Okposo is on pace for more than 50 points as a sophomore.

Then there's the revelation that is "Mighty" Matt Moulson, the guy nobody wanted. With a team-leading 10 goals, to go along with 8 assists, Moulson is just one point behind Tavares for the team points lead, and has quickly become the steal of the 2009-10 free agency class.

The best part about all of this is the fact that these three young studs are just 19, 21 and 26, respectively. If Garth Snow -- a GM villified by many of the non-believers for apparently being in over his head -- ever finds a way to lock all three up long term, look out.

Sticking with Snow, it's hard to really quantify the job he's done. With all the constant off-ice distractions surrounding this team, whether it be the Lighthouse Project, a possible move to a Midwestern city, or owner Charles Wang's reining in of the spending, Snow has done an incredible job of putting together a team that can not only be competitive, but that also CAN make the playoffs and be one tough out.

Just some quick highlights of what Snow has done over the last season-plus:

* Played the entire league by holding out on the Tavares selection at the draft. A team like the Maple Leafs still hasn't recovered.

* Signed Moulson, a guy with all of 10 points in 29 career NHL games heading into this season.

* Signed two goalies who could start for half the teams in the league -- Dwayne Roloson, a 40-year-old athletic specimen and great locker room presence who is 6-1 with a 2.76 GAA and .915 save percentage, and Martin Biron, who, despite his penchant for giving up softies, is still a pro's pro and, if packaged in the right deal, could give the Islanders useful pieces prior to the playoff push.

Snow did all this knowing full well that one day he'd get franchise goalie Rick DiPietro back. The pressure will be on Snow to trade someone like Biron when DiPietro proves he can withstand the test of time following all of his hip and knee problems. But if DP shows he can't, the Islanders can go forward with confident they have a pair of reliable netminders.

So all this "backup-goalie-as-your-GM" nonsense has to stop -- and it has to stop now.

At the end of the day, how far this team goes will depend largely on health, depth and scoring from players not on that top line. Jeff Tambellini, Josh Bailey, Sean Bergenheim and Frans Nielsen are all just baby-faced guys who've barely gotten their skates wet in the NHL. But they need at some point to prove they belong. We've seen glimpses, but not nearly enough to warrant any faith beyond a game-by-game, wait-and-see approach.

Proven veterans like Richard Park and Trent Hunter up front, and Mark Streit and Andy Sutton on the blueline just need to keep doing what they have done for the first 21 games.

Role players like Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman, guys who are relatively faceless in NHL circles, just need to keep grinding, keep making positive decisions out there on the ice.

Sure, it's a lot to ask for. A playoff berth would be an unbelievable accomplishment considering the Islanders did not spend any money in the offseason following a year in which they had the worst record in the NHL. But give Snow, Gordon and Wang credit here. They have stuck to their guns and not deviated from the long-term rebuilding plan.

It's just that the players, for the first time in a long, long time, seem to understand and feel the pride that comes with pulling on that orange and blue sweater.