The Islanders aren't boring

[carparkno1]

I'm not one for breaking down stats and numbers to the thousandth to prove a point that was lost sixteen pages ago, but I wanted to point out my experience of watching the Isles of late vs the run and gun comedy of the recent Capuano / Weight era.

The islanders are in the ECF by right. They beat Florida comfortably, they beat Washington comfortably, and whilst there was a stumble, they closed out Philly with one of the most dominant game 7 displays I've seen in a long time.

They are ONE game behind Tampa, and those are the facts.

Across the four remaining teams, including the play in / seed round robin games, the Isles have the HIGHEST goals scored @3.09 per game and note they have had three shutout, and 13/21 games have seen the opposition score two goals or less.

Now, on these boards, I have seen a tremendous amount of pushback that they are boring to watch. Some of it I take as just bitter tears from a few fanbases and one or two fans in particular who have an unhealthy obsession with trying to undermine the franchise as a whole, and a few fans from teams who went out to the Isles complaining about the style they play. I've also seen some more balanced posters state that it's interesting to watch teams fail to work out how to beat them. I love this tactical side of hockey.

There's a few things here.

1) Find a way to beat them. It's on you to unlock the door, not for the Isles to open it.

2) Stop them scoring. Considering the Isles PP is a godawful thing, it's interesting they have the highest goals count overall which means from open play they excel.

3) Maybe it's a young person thing, but hockey, like soccer, doesn't have to be a twelve goal epic every game. There's a fine art to having a controlled game plan that is executed relentlessly.

4) The Isles had a 15 game win streak (17 game point streak including OTL) earlier this season which was tremendous to watch. That's not boring.

Simply put, it isn't dull watching the Isles. The numbers don't support it, the wins don't support it either. They don't have elite goalscorer talent and yet they do score goals, right up and down the lines.

The "eye test" is always important here and I'd put my savings on half the posters here just thinking it's Trotz hockey so it must be dull. Try watching it, try watching a team forecheck another team into oblivion, because it's a key part of hockey. Not everything is NHL 20 dekes and showboating, and those aren't the things that win a Stanley Cup.

A "dull" team that wins a cup is a cup winning team all the same, and that could be Dallas or the Isles this year or maybe next. 5on5 hockey is the bread and butter of the game, and the islanders are extremely good at it over the least two seasons. That isn't boring in any comparative measure, it's exciting, tough matchups where teams have to outwork and outthink a group of guys who play as one unit.

And no, it isn't dead puck hockey, or trap hockey. Anyone who says that just looked it up on Wikipedia.

I really think they deserve more credit for their style, it's nowhere near as dull as people say it is.

Click to read more...

 

[HabsQC]

Theyve been my favourite team as soon as they eliminated the pamphlets.

 

[Oddbob]

Their play style is boring no matter what numbers you want to spin to make it sound better. Teams don't pick up the boring tag just because, they get it because they were and are boring. Example: 95-03 Devils were the epitome of boring hockey and I am sure even some of their fans while enjoying them winning 3 Cups still thought their style was boring. Boring styles do work when trying to win, but don't expect people to get excited by it, especially non team fans who are no doubt going to be bored to tears of it.

 

[SotasicA]

They sometimes dress Ross Johnston, so they are already one of the more interesting teams in the league.

Boring often just relates to a team that never hits or fights.

 

[Khelandros]

I'm not one for breaking down stats and numbers to the thousandth to prove a point that was lost sixteen pages ago, but I wanted to point out my experience of watching the Isles of late vs the run and gun comedy of the recent Capuano / Weight era.

The islanders are in the ECF by right. They beat Florida comfortably, they beat Washington comfortably, and whilst there was a stumble, they closed out Philly with one of the most dominant game 7 displays I've seen in a long time.

They are ONE game behind Tampa, and those are the facts.

Across the four remaining teams, including the play in / seed round robin games, the Isles have the HIGHEST goals scored @3.09 per game and note they have had three shutout, and 13/21 games have seen the opposition score two goals or less.

Now, on these boards, I have seen a tremendous amount of pushback that they are boring to watch. Some of it I take as just bitter tears from a few fanbases and one or two fans in particular who have an unhealthy obsession with trying to undermine the franchise as a whole, and a few fans from teams who went out to the Isles complaining about the style they play. I've also seen some more balanced posters state that it's interesting to watch teams fail to work out how to beat them. I love this tactical side of hockey.

There's a few things here.

1) Find a way to beat them. It's on you to unlock the door, not for the Isles to open it.

2) Stop them scoring. Considering the Isles PP is a godawful thing, it's interesting they have the highest goals count overall which means from open play they excel.

3) Maybe it's a young person thing, but hockey, like soccer, doesn't have to be a twelve goal epic every game. There's a fine art to having a controlled game plan that is executed relentlessly.

4) The Isles had a 15 game win streak (17 game point streak including OTL) earlier this season which was tremendous to watch. That's not boring.

Simply put, it isn't dull watching the Isles. The numbers don't support it, the wins don't support it either. They don't have elite goalscorer talent and yet they do score goals, right up and down the lines.

The "eye test" is always important here and I'd put my savings on half the posters here just thinking it's Trotz hockey so it must be dull. Try watching it, try watching a team forecheck another team into oblivion, because it's a key part of hockey. Not everything is NHL 20 dekes and showboating, and those aren't the things that win a Stanley Cup.

A "dull" team that wins a cup is a cup winning team all the same, and that could be Dallas or the Isles this year or maybe next. 5on5 hockey is the bread and butter of the game, and the islanders are extremely good at it over the least two seasons. That isn't boring in any comparative measure, it's exciting, tough matchups where teams have to outwork and outthink a group of guys who play as one unit.

And no, it isn't dead puck hockey, or trap hockey. Anyone who says that just looked it up on Wikipedia.

I really think they deserve more credit for their style, it's nowhere near as dull as people say it is.

Forecheck all you want, but when a team only has 24 shots in a 2OT game,

 

[Rehabguy]

I remember watching the dynasty era Islanders in the 80's. The one thing that stood out when they won those 19 consecutive playoff series and 4 straight cups was that they always found ways to pull off the seemingly impossible. Whether it looked like they were out of a game or a series the other team always feared that they would find a way to win regardless. It was the hallmark of that great team. I'm seeing some of the same in this team. I think they are going to pull it off. You know that Tampa always has that bugaboo hovering over them.

 

[serp]

I don't think they've been boring all the time in the playoff run but man yesterdays game was a massive boring slogfest . Its not entirely the Islanders fault because Tampa wasn't exactly good either but still that game was no bueno .

 

[carparkno1]

Forecheck all you want, but when a team only has 24 shots in a 2OT game,

And Tampa had 37 and scored once. On paper, that's not very exciting.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I turned on the game at the start of OT last night and couldn't watch another period after that, despite the stakes. As I was watching, I could not shake the feeling of how boring the Islanders play. It's a super defense oriented system with extremely minimal risk taking. I am not saying it is not smart or effective, but I do think it's damn boring overall.

 

[Rehabguy]

Forecheck all you want, but when a team only has 24 shots in a 2OT game,

I'd take 10 shifts watching Matt Barzal over 10 shots on net by some talentless scrub any day!

 

[Riseonfire]

I'm just happy we're no longer the punch line here. When I joined, every fan base in the league shit on the Isles and their fans.

Now they're all watching them from their couch.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

24 or 25 shots whatever they had in a game that went nearly 5 full periods is a horrible representation of the sport...

think about what they're competing with in the NBA. Murray and Jokic putting on a show versus Kawhi & PG, and an overtime thriller with a game saving block by the Heat against the Celtics. Not even close.

 

[Rehabguy]

There isn't anyone playing on the ice whose as exciting as Barzal, so how can anyone possibly get bored?

 

[JT Kreider]

It was the hallmark of that great team. I'm seeing some of the same in this team. I think they are going to pull it off.

You mean two of the Lightning's best players are hurt and the GWG in the Islanders two wins were the equivalent of a Lightning defenseman picking the puck up and just tossing it behind Vasilevskiy into the net.

 

[Oddbob]

And Tampa had 37 and scored once. On paper, that's not very exciting.

Boring teams can force any game to be boring, as they clog up the ice and try to prevent the game from opening up. The Devils did it to many a team in the late 90s early 2000s.

 

[AD1066]

Finding a good forecheck exciting is awfully subjective. I find them dreadfully boring to watch outside of Barzal. They're good at what they do and get results, but it's not great entertainment value relative to what some other teams offer.

 

[stopclickbait]

It was a boring game to watch but if that gives you a better chance of winning why not. I was hoping for a Vegas TB final for some good fast pace hockey. As long as every other team in the league doesn’t go full DPE again I’m ok with it.

 

[Oddbob]

I'd take 10 shifts watching Matt Barzal over 10 shots on net by some talentless scrub any day!

Barzal is basically their only exciting player and guess what, no one is calling him boring, they are calling his team boring which forces him to be less exciting to watch.

 

[Suntouchable13]

If you have to declare “the (team X) is not boring”, they are boring.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

There isn't anyone playing on the ice whose as exciting as Barzal, so how can anyone possibly get bored?

Because Barzal only has the puck a fraction of the time.

 

[Oddbob]

There isn't anyone playing on the ice whose as exciting as Barzal, so how can anyone possibly get bored?

There are plenty of guys in the NHL more exciting to watch then Barzal.

 

[SI90]

You mean two of the Lightning's best players are hurt and the GWG in the Islanders two wins were the equivalent of a Lightning defenseman picking the puck up and just tossing it behind Vasilevskiy into the net.

the injury excuse is for losers. Every team
Has injuries at this point. The isles are down one of their biggest spark plugs and best defensive forwards in Cizikas. Make no mistake this is a huge loss. You don’t luck your way this far. You want to make excuses the series could very well be 3-2 isles. If not for a bad icing call that lead to a TB goal. Shit happens.

 

[carparkno1]

I turned on the game at the start of OT last night and couldn't watch another period after that, despite the stakes. As I was watching, I could not shake the feeling of how boring the Islanders play. It's a super defense oriented system with extremely minimal risk taking. I am not saying it is not smart or effective, but I do think it's damn boring overall.

Turning it off in OT because one team is too boring? That seems a little extreme.

 

[Chardo]

What exactly makes for exciting hockey?

 

[Evergreen]

The Islanders are obviously a good team, but I don't know how anyone who actually watches them can say they play an exciting style. They are extremely boring to watch. I actually have a bit of a soft spot for the Isles somewhat because I lived in NY for 4 years and they were the punching bag in the Metro at that time, but I am actively rooting against them just because this is a copy-cat league and I fear that if they win, more teams will try to emulate their style and that will lead to a more boring product for a lot of fans.