Streak Of Won

I worked all day in the lobby of the Park Tower Hotel in Buenos Aires today. The plan was to watch the Volunteers play the Rebels of Ole Miss and monitor the Islanders game. However, that plan changed,. After a sub par steak and a glass of Malbec, I went back to the room to listen to the Islanders take on the Pittsburgh in search of their first five game winning streak to start the season in team history. As I was walking back to the hotel I saw that Hickey scored the opening goal and that made me immediately feel like history was in the making. I was wrong.

The Islanders lost their first game of the season 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I cannot think of one Islander that played halfway decent tonight. In fact the game can be summed up with special teams. Islanders were Oh for 7 on the power play including a golden opportunity with a two man advantage with a one goal lead. If they had converted it could have set the tone for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, they did not score. Then in the second period the Pens had their own two man advantage and scored two goals to take the lead. Disappointing, but on the bright side they are still 4-1 on the young season. It is still early.. They did not get outplayed, they simply did not execute on the power play and gave the Penguins too many chances to get back in the game.

It is encouraging that they played so poorly and still were in striking distance. It is only one loss, but streaks always start at one. The next couple of games will be telling. They are home for Toronto on Tuesday evening and then go to Boston on Thursday before playing the Dallas Stars at home on Saturday. Another tough week with quality opponents. Will they turn it around and dominate on offense again? Will they solve the problems on the penalty kill? Will they get balanced scoring? Will they show more energy that they did in Pittsburgh? It remains to be seen. However, they need to pile up as many points as possible, because November is approaching and that usually is a barometer on where the season goes.

Its funny, but one loss seems like a long losing streak. Some of the air has been let out of the balloon, but there is still plenty of air left and the Islanders need to fill that balloon up again because it is a long season. Streaks always start at one. The question is where do they go from there. Hopefully the Islanders can win on Tuesday and start a new streak. Its always better when streaks start at won.