Fifteen: New York Islanders (2nd Metropolitan)

The Islanders are trying to be an elite team. They are much more mature as is their leader John Tavares C. Kyle Okposo RW is playing very good hockey. He's always been a playmaker that that can finish and he has not disappointed this season. This group may, however, be one defensive forward or one solid d-man away. This next fifteen days is difficult only because anything less than 11 points seems like a letdown.

Record: 18 - 8 - 5 41pts ( projected: 23 - 8 - 6 52pts)

Significant Injuries:
Ryan Strome C

Ryan Strome is a good young player - with him, the Isles become a little tougher to defend.

Next Fifteen Days 12/15/2015 - 12/29/2015:
Tuesday Florida visits
Thursday at Colorado
Saturday at Arizona
Monday Anaheim visits
Sunday Toronto visits
Tuesday at Toronto

The Islanders still have more to prove. If they rake through this fifteen with solid wins, as they should, they will certainly set themselves apart from the Islander teams over the past few years.

11 out of 12pts

5 - 0 - 1

Last Fifteen Days 11/30/2015 - 12/14/2015:
WIN 5 - 3 Colorado
WIN 2 - 1 (SO) New York Rangers
WIN 2 - 1 (SO) St. Louis
LOSS 2 -3 (OT) Ottawa
WIN 4 - 3 (SO) at Philadelphia
WIN 3 -2 (OT) at Columbus
WIN 4 - 0 New Jersey

6 - 0 - 1

13 out of 14pts

This might look a lot better than it is. Five of the seven went to extra time. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Isles are an upper echelon team and their team defense is playing tough. But this team has shown me that they can blow leads - that is not good for the playoffs. So even though this was an almost perfect fifteen days, I still have to see how they handle the next fifteen.