It was another loss tonight for the Islanders 2-1 to the Flyers, it was also another fruitless night for John Tavares but don't blame the 19 year old kid from Oakville for New Yorks' transgressions.
Tavares was branded the tag of "savior" on draft night when he was selected 1st overall in June, instead of the Isles and their hierarchy doing the best to surround Tavares with help, they provided him with nothing,
As I have said before the Matt Moulson story is a nice one but he has fallen back to earth with 1 goal in his last 11, Blake Comeau has been playing well of late but the reality is he is a 3rd line forward in this league.
We can keep going on and dissect a roster not only void of any proven veteran offensive provider but a roster lacking a top defenseman, Mark Streit has taken a step back in all areas since last season and while the play of Jack Hillen and Andy Sutton has been stellar the rest of the unit has been abysmal more often than not.
Tavares still leads this team in goals and points and is clearly tired from the ridiculous condensed schedule and possibly banged up from the dozen or so big hits he has sustained in the first half...not that Garth Snow provided Tavares or any of the skilled young forwards (the only skilled players the Islanders have are young) with any toughness to keep the opposition in check. He's hit a plateau for sure but Tavares' track record is he will keep playing and be resilient even though the Isles ownership will surely subtract rather than add talent this season, another where their intentions are to secure their real estate...I mean arena deal.
Good thing for Tavares and the Islanders they just keep playing on as they have Columbus come in Tuesday night.
Game Stats:
-1/ 16:43TOI/ Faceoffs 5-6
Highlights:
Links:
CARTER SCORES AS FLYERS TOP ISLES FOR 13TH STRAIGHT TIME
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I think something is up with Tavares too. HOWEVER, he also gets robbed of the puck quite often which doesn't have anything to do with protection or getting hit. It has to do with youth.
ReplyDeleteAnd according to someone who has a clue, Matt Moulson's biggest problem is he started to believe he was a goal scorer. He needs to get back to HIS game that made him successful.
On Tavares giving up the puck: He has the puck more than most players and yes while he isn't as strong being a 19 year old,he also is often matched againt the opposing teams top checkers or D-pair.
ReplyDeleteWhen opposing teams look at the Islanders roster and key in on anyone who are they looking at---Tavares and maybe Okposo. It just triggers my point that the Isles did not help him at all...What do you think the sentiments would be if he had a Stamkos like start-and even Stamkos had Lecavalier and St. Louis...I'm not saying any one player would have put this team in a top position but they have not exactly helped ANY of their young players by throwing them to the wolves.
B. Just because I don't have a media pass does not mean I don't have a clue...I like Moulson, he is writing a great story but has has been passed on by two organizations and probaly wouldn't have made too many other NHL rosters out of training camp...Snow should kiss his lucky stars that Moulson has giving him 15 goals even if he never scores another one this season.
I think the key question is has Tavares' struggles hurt Moulson or vice versa...of course we will never know cause Gordon just keeps rolling them out there instead of splitting them up to try and spark something.
I understand your a Moulson fan and I respect that cause I am a big Tavares fan...the purpose of writing this is to not only absolve Tavares but the rest of the young Islanders. Is it not an indictment on the management when Gordon has to single out Okposo (21) and Tavares (19) for their offensive struggles.