The Islanders aren't boring

[Hunn]

"Boring" is very subjective term.

If you find 8:2 in playoffs less boring than 2:1 in 2OT, then I'm not in your camp.

The Islanders are not Devils of 1995. They are probably closer to 2000 Devils, than to 1995 Devils (but not better – that 2000 team was quite stacked).

They are neither a cinderella, nor a powerhouse. They are indeed similar to Lou's old teams in terms of grit and resolve.

They are like the Rags (god forbid) of several years ago – good enough to go deep, but missing something to be a bonafide contender.

 

[notDatsyuk]

A forward goes one-on-one against a defenceman. For some people, if the forward wins, that's exciting, but if the defenceman wins, that's boring. I find both exciting or boring depending on the play, more than on the outcome.

Maybe just because I always played defence and goal, and coached defence and goal for many years, I can appreciate a solid hit or pokecheck as much as a clever deke or great pass.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I agree with you but as an Islander fan I can say last game for most other fans not following Tampa or the Isles was boring. For Tampa and Islander fans it was over eighty minutes of extreme stress. Haha! The good news is most of our games have been entertaining. The boring label is pretty lazy. Even if all you do is glance at the scores a fan would notice few games of the 2-1 variety.

yeah I am pretty far from an Islanders fan, but in the playoffs they have definitely tried and been successful at trying to create offense. It's not like they just sit back and defend all game. They have just been a good overall team and opponents struggle to create against them, but that's not the same as being boring

 

[A Pointed Stick]

WHO THE f*** IS SAYING YOUR TEAM CANT EXIST? Your boring. This is a hockey forum. We talk about current events and past events in hockey. Currently their are 3 teams playing hockey. One of them is the most boring team in YEARS. We are trying to talk about it but some people cant handle that.

Most boring team in years? Hyperbole much? And calm down, just looking at all the anxiety expressed by hot takes right and left including yours says loudly that it is some sort of sin against hockey for our club to use conservative systems. I don’t know why so many fans of other clubs are threatened by this. I do know we are scoring more goals than our competition otherwise we wouldn’t be in the conf finals as opposed to 27 other clubs. So I guess if we are boring those teams we beat and the teams they beat must be more boring. Just following the logic here.

 

[Tom Polakis]

Sports are entertainment. As a fan of one of the most boring teams in the league, I can objectively identify the Islanders as playing boring hockey. I would have been pleased to see my team somehow advance on goaltending and clogging play. Instead, they were thumped twice in a row by a 6-goal margin in an easy series for the Avs.

Who did I root for after that? The Avs, because that's entertaining hockey. Grinding in the neutral zone and along the boards is not. I have great respect for Trotz and his players buying into that system, but just as a lifelong fan of the sport, I'd hate to see that again become the style that wins Cups. It doesn't have to be firewagon hockey; just give me teams that don't go for 8 minutes at a time without a single scoring chance either way. How is that possibly entertaining to anyone who's not a fan of the team?

 

[carparkno1]

OP is the only person who has yet to realize a hockey team can very good at winning games while still playing incredibly boring hockey.

The Isles are they team.

And it goes without saying that I’m sure most neutrals would happily be in the Isles situation. But it doesn’t make their brand of hockey entertaining. A game of Yahtzee was vastly more exciting than watching them play game 5 in the conference finals despite the fact I’m a huge hockey fan.

As the OP I still don't think it's boring hockey. I think what they do is exciting and not much different from what the other teams are doing. I don't find wide open mistake ridden 6-5 games exciting myself, because its sloppy and unstructured and just a series of who makes the most mistakes.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Your premise is that only fans of a limited number of specific teams find this style of hockey boring.

I reject the premise.

I my have phrased that poorly. Fans of teams that don't play as structured a game see it differently, because of how their team plays, and how it affects them.

Also, casual fans, who don't understand the game as well, often from not having played, miss the finess of good defence, and only see the puck going in the net. For those fans, yes, low scoring can be boring. A 45-20 football game can seems more exciting to a casual fan than a 20-19 game, as a 130-90 basketball game can seem more exciting than an 88-87 game.

Maybe it's just a matter of great defence in hockey not being as flashy as in baseball or football or basketball, so casual fans don't see it, so can't appreciate it.

 

[Chips]

... and the Isles are not playing to entertain you. We are satisfied, and I think that’s the most important part.

I think his point is at least tangentially about the fact Isles fans get pissy and super defensive over neutral fans not being happy w the isles games. Nobody expects Isles fans to not enjoy the fact their team is advancing, but yea neutral fans without emotional investment in the outcome itself, who dont see every other aspect as just a means to an end, the Isles can easily be one of the most boring teams in the league relative to others.

Its not about disrespecting the franchise itself from a competitive standpoint, or the city, fans, etc; but as a neutral fan (as in you dont love either team *and dont at least hate either team) a game is all about entertainment and most people judge that by hoow much pace, back and forth (as in end to end, not one end to neutral zone, other end to neutral zone, so on so on), amount of goals *preferably in an even game etc.

 

[AvroArrow]

Boring hockey but it's winning hockey. So unless you change the rules I don't see any reason why Trotz would change his coaching style.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I think the reason they appear "boring" is because they do a good job of limiting the opposition's chances, so there's not much offense from that end, and they lack a bunch of high-end skill so the chances they create for themselves don't translate to much offense, either. End result is 2-1 games.

If the Isles had more high-end skill up front, even if they played exactly the same way they do now, chances are they wouldn't look so "boring".

 

[Rich Nixon]

The Islanders aren't unpleasantly boring, but they're also not particularly exciting. You watch them and nothing particularly special or electrifying happens in either zone, it's just kinda of even-keel. They're a better team than they look, basically--there's a reason they are where they are right now. They make the most of their opportunities and they force their opponents to do the same, but there's actual zone play rather just broken garbage through the neutral zone.

For a truly, truly boring team, look at the Flyers in these playoffs...just a slow-as-f*** semi-trap team that only scored goals on long deflections and only allowed them on random, out-of-nowhere breakdowns. They iced the puck like crazy and played to make their opponents do the same, most of the games seemed to be spent with a defenseman on either side waiting in his own zone for his team to change lines. That was truly hideous hockey.

 

[SlapshotTheMovie]

Most boring team in years? Hyperbole much? And calm down, just looking at all the anxiety expressed by hot takes right and left including yours says loudly that it is some sort if sin against hockey for our club to use conservative systems. I don’t know why so many fans of other clubs are threatened by this. I do know we are scoring more goals than our competition otherwise we wouldn’t be in the conf finals as opposed to 27 other clubs. So I guess if we are boring those teams we beat and the teams they beat must be more boring. Just following the logic here.

WHO THE f*** IS SAYING ITS A SIN. Who cares your team is boring. NO ONE IS UPSET BUT ISLANDERS FANS. We are just talking about how watching paint dry is on par with watching the islanders. THATS IT. If you cant handle having a boring team ask them to change. Other wise embrace having a boring ass team.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I guess it depends on what you consider 'events'. Lots of hits, turnovers, blocks. Not so many low quality shots and easy saves. No lopsided scores, but lots of tight, close games decided late.

No, it's actual low-event hockey.
Green = above median, Red = below median

Islanders this playoffs:
Total shot attempts/60 - 87.4
Total turnovers/60 - 17.3
Total hits/60 - 78.1
1-goal games: 7

Lightning this playoffs: 1246.59 20.7765
Total shot attempts/60 - 89.8
Total turnovers/60 - 16.4
Total hits/60 - 73.7
1-goal games: 10

Stars this playoffs: 1286.6 21.443
Total shot attempts/60 - 83.4
Total turnovers/60 - 23.0
Total hits/60 - 81.2
1-goal games: 11

Golden Knights this playoffs: 1211.33 20.1888
Total shot attempts/60 - 88.0
Total turnovers/60 - 21.2
Total hits/60 - 75.9
1-goal games: 7

Note: Hits don't include round-robin games

There are simply fewer things happening on the ice when the Isles are involved. They play a style of game that suppresses the events that people find interesting. They do indeed hit a lot, due to their intense forechecking game, but that doesn't lead to scoring chances or turnovers at an interesting rate. Ultimately their games haven't been any closer than others. Those are objective facts, no personal opinions need be considered.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

I think his point is at least tangentially about the fact Isles fans get pissy and super defensive over neutral fans not being happy w the isles games. Nobody expects Isles fans to not enjoy the fact their team is advancing, but yea neutral fans without emotional investment in the outcome itself, who dont see every other aspect as just a means to an end, the Isles can easily be one of the most boring teams in the league relative to others.

Its not about disrespecting the franchise itself from a competitive standpoint, or the city, fans, etc; but as a neutral fan (as in you dont love either team *and dont at least hate either team) a game is all about entertainment and most people judge that by hoow much pace, back and forth (as in end to end, not one end to neutral zone, other end to neutral zone, so on so on), amount of goals *preferably in an even game etc.

Neutral fans are not the problem. Fans of the Rags post here because of their jealousy, I guess Dougie Howser is not the best coach in the league.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

WHO THE f*** IS SAYING ITS A SIN. Who cares your team is boring. NO ONE IS UPSET BUT ISLANDERS FANS. We are just talking about how watching paint dry is on par with watching the islanders. THATS IT. If you cant handle having a boring team ask them to change. Other wise embrace having a boring ass team.

Exhibit #1.

 

[The Sweetness]

As the OP I still don't think it's boring hockey. I think what they do is exciting and not much different from what the other teams are doing. I don't find wide open mistake ridden 6-5 games exciting myself, because its sloppy and unstructured and just a series of who makes the most mistakes.

Sure, that's your opinion. What people find entertaining is ultimately 100% subjective and if you enjoy it that's fine and there is no reason to change your opinion.

However, what you did in your post is to try to change people's opinion and in a long post you literally provided no evidence why their style of play actually is entertaining.

In my lifetime I've rarely seen neutrals unite so much against the brand of hockey that the Isles are playing. The reactions in this thread are clear as well.

That being said, the heart likes what the heart likes. There are going to be people in this world that think the Suicide Squad is the best movie they've ever seen and no one will be able to change their opinion (nor should we try) and I see your opinion to the Isles hockey to be the same.

 

[Fatass]

Every time I see this thread title i want to post, “YES THEY ARE.”

 

[notDatsyuk]

No, it's actual low-event hockey.
Green = above median, Red = below median

Islanders this playoffs:
Total shot attempts/60 - 87.4
Total turnovers/60 - 17.3
Total hits/60 - 78.1
1-goal games: 7

Lightning this playoffs: 1246.59 20.7765
Total shot attempts/60 - 89.8
Total turnovers/60 - 16.4
Total hits/60 - 73.7
1-goal games: 10

Stars this playoffs: 1286.6 21.443
Total shot attempts/60 - 83.4
Total turnovers/60 - 23.0
Total hits/60 - 81.2
1-goal games: 11

Golden Knights this playoffs: 1211.33 20.1888
Total shot attempts/60 - 88.0
Total turnovers/60 - 21.2
Total hits/60 - 75.9
1-goal games: 7

Note: Hits don't include round-robin games

There are simply fewer things happening on the ice when the Isles are involved. They play a style of game that suppresses the events that people find interesting. They do indeed hit a lot, due to their intense forechecking game, but that doesn't lead to scoring chances or turnovers at an interesting rate. Ultimately their games haven't been any closer than others. Those are objective facts, no personal opinions need be considered.

Hits - yes.
Turnovers - is that number comitted or forced?
Shots yes, as I specified fewer low quality shots.
Blocks you omitted.
One goal games doesn't address anything.

 

[Wanderson]

Sports are entertainment. As a fan of one of the most boring teams in the league, I can objectively identify the Islanders as playing boring hockey. I would have been pleased to see my team somehow advance on goaltending and clogging play. Instead, they were thumped twice in a row by a 6-goal margin in an easy series for the Avs.

Who did I root for after that? The Avs, because that's entertaining hockey. Grinding in the neutral zone and along the boards is not. I have great respect for Trotz and his players buying into that system, but just as a lifelong fan of the sport, I'd hate to see that again become the style that wins Cups. It doesn't have to be firewagon hockey; just give me teams that don't go for 8 minutes at a time without a single scoring chance either way. How is that possibly entertaining to anyone who's not a fan of the team?

Sports is about winning. Everything else is secondary.

Why would the Isles (or the Bolts) take any unnecessary risks in the OT? It doesn’t make any sense.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Turnovers - is that number comitted or forced?

Both, it's a total.

Blocks you omitted.

Because it's not relevant if you're already looking at shot attempts.

One goal games doesn't address anything.

It addresses the untrue statement: "No lopsided scores, but lots of tight, close games decided late."

The Islanders actually play fewer tight games than the field. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not a point in their favor.

 

[Breakers]

The 1st overtime of last game was some of the worst hockey I have ever seen
soooooooo boring.
In fact most of the game was very forgettable.

 

[Pure Slaughter Value]

WHO THE f*** IS SAYING ITS A SIN. Who cares your team is boring. NO ONE IS UPSET BUT ISLANDERS FANS. We are just talking about how watching paint dry is on par with watching the islanders. THATS IT. If you cant handle having a boring team ask them to change. Other wise embrace having a boring ass team.

GO TAILGUNNER GO!!!!11!!!111

LIKE THAT POST DANTHEMAN1967!!!!!!!!111

 

[Sparksrus3]

they are SO boring. a isles stars SCF would have been atrocious. thankfully we are getting lightning-stars

was game 6 this afternoon ? I thought it was tonight

 

[nystromshairstylist]

WHO THE f*** IS SAYING ITS A SIN. Who cares your team is boring. NO ONE IS UPSET BUT ISLANDERS FANS. We are just talking about how watching paint dry is on par with watching the islanders. THATS IT. If you cant handle having a boring team ask them to change. Other wise embrace having a boring ass team.

This has typically been the major issue between being a NYJ fan or a Giants; the Giants have been a (historically) grinding, defensive-focused, run the ball up the middle team that was boring but won SBs, while the NYJ were high-flyers with lots of passing and scoring - but didn't win much.

Which is ultimately more important, being entertained with an exciting, offensive-driven team that never wins titles, or a team that is boring to watch but does win them?

As a NYJ fan being an NYI fan has been an interesting ride for me, especially since I much prefer wide open, offensive hockey as played overseas.

 

[Tom Polakis]

Sports is about winning. Everything else is secondary.

Why would the Isles (or the Bolts) take any unnecessary risks in the OT? It doesn’t make any sense.

Sure, but that's not at all what this specific thread is about. It's a larger topic of what constitutes boring hockey, not what it takes to win. It's about the entertainment value of hockey returning to late 90's slogging along the boards and neutral zone, since that's what it takes to win.