When the Islanders acquired Jordan Eberle from the Oilers in June, it was expected that he'd play alongside former World Juniors and World Championship teammate John Tavares. 

Instead, Eberle has linked up with rookie Mathew Barzal on the second line and the results have been better than the team could have expected. 

"They've been tremendous this season, you can see their chemistry and their ability to feed off one another," Tavares said...

No words came out of Doug Weight's mouth when asked what has happened to his team that has now lost eight straight games ater their loss to the Oilers Thursday night. 

"No, I don't. I don't," he told Newsday's Neil Best. "Nothing. I can't."

The loss to the Canucks felt awful after an early 2-0 lead turned into a desperation tie at the end of regulation just to lose in overtime. However, this game blew that one out of the water. 

The Islanders lost their seventh straight game Monday night, and head coach Doug Weight says, "It's getting old."

New York did secure a point after forcing overtime late in the third period, but that meant nothing to a team trying to snap out of their current skid. 

"We just seem to find ways to lose," captain John Tavares told Newsday's Neil Best.

The Islanders lost their seventh straight game Monday night, and head coach Doug Weight says, "It's getting old."

New York did secure a point after forcing overtime late in the third period, but that meant nothing to a team trying to snap out of their current skid. 

"We just seem to find ways to lose," captain John Tavares told Newsday's Neil Best.

Kyle Palmieri scored two goals to lead the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday at the Prudential Center. >> Box score

Kyle Palmieri scored two goals to lead the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday at the Prudential Center. >> Box score

Jordan Eberle tied the game and Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead to help the Islanders overcome a third-period deficit and beat the Blue Jackets, 4-3. >> Box score

Goals by Ross Johnston and Jordan Eberle and a dynamite performance by Jaroslav Halak, who blocked 38 shots, carried the Islanders to a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. >> Box score

First period:

• No goals

Second period:

• 10:01 NYI Ross Johnston; Assists: Ryan Pulock, Cal Clutterbuck

Third period:

• 8:21 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assists: Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier
• 14:53 VGK Erik Haula (Power Play); Assists: David Perron, Colin Miller

A year ago, Garth Snow used the one chip he had - the dismissal of too-longtime head coach Jack Capuano - to save his own job and buy at least another season for himself under the Islanders' new ownership. Today the question is, what will Snow do to save his team's season?

Because this is a season worth saving. Because this is a team with a richly-talented core that deserves to be put in the best position to grab a playoff spot.

John Tavares, possibly in his final months as an Islander, has entered the prime of his career playing the best hockey of his life.

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

The Italian Stallion….always the under-sized underdog. Always fighting, scratching, and crawling for whatever scraps he could muster. In the ring, all about offense. If Compubox had been around in those times, it might have broken by the sheer volume of punches he threw.

Yet, there was no defense to be found. Took a beating, ended up battered, bruised and bloody, but always got up. Does the story end the same way for the Islanders, however? That part of the script is still being written.

Ryan Pulock had a goal and four assists, Anthony Beauvillier scored two goals, and the Islanders handily defeated the Blackhawks on Saturday, 7-3.  << Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter: The injury-ravaged Islanders have won two and lost two coming out of their league-mandated bye week, but let's be honest with each other here. They only played one solid game -- a 7-2 victory at Madison Square Garden over the Rangers.

They're going to need to be much better than a .500 hockey team if they're to crawl out of an 8-13-2 funk that has them at 53 percent of possible points -- slightly ahead of the 2013-14 team that finished 34-37-11 and out of the playoffs. As a reference point, last year's team that finished shy of the postseason by one point finished at 57 percent of possible points.

So, while the team licks its wounds, whether it be Johnny Boychuk, Casey Cizikas, Calvin de Haan, Nikolay Kulemin, Andrew Ladd, or Shane Prince, they need to figure out, once and for all, what they are doing, or attempting to do, in the defensive zone to even realistically start thinking about having a shot at Lord Stanley in April...

Thanks to a Patrice Bergeron hat trick, the Islanders fall to the Bruins 5-2. Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored the two goals for the Isles while the Bruins have extended their point streak to 15 games.  << Box score

First period:

• 7:35 NYI Jordan Eberle; Assist: Mathew Barzal
• 13:41 BOS Patrice Bergeron; Assists: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak

Second period:

John Tavares scored two goals, including the game-winner 1:51 into overtime after New York blew a 4-2 lead, as the Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Monday at Bell Centre. >> Box score

Two teams hoping to parlay some schedule certainty into sustained winning streaks will meet Tuesday night when the New York Islanders host the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center.

Despite the Islanders making a comeback, lack of penalty kills forced their hand in the loss to the Lightning, 6-2, on Tuesday night. 

It was a slow first period with the Isles only taking three shots on net. However, the second saw a different team that would muster two goals to tie the game up. Momentum looked to be on the side of the road team, but two penalties would change all of that as the Lightning capitalized on both power-play chances at the end of the second to take a controlling 4-2 lead that they wouldn't surrender the rest of the way. 

After awful penalty kills of late, head coach Doug Weight is confused as to what happened to his unit. 

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

The New York Islanders lost their first game in regulation at Barclays Center this season Friday night to the Ottawa Senators, a wild 6-5 affair, and the reaction on social media from some was….well, sadly, expected.

The Islanders mounted a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period and tacked on two more later on en route to a 5-2 win over the Canucks on Tuesday. >> Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

23 games in and it's clear to see these are not your 2016-17 New York Islanders, who stumbled out of the gate, leading to a one-point deficit in their chase to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

One of the laziest and corniest things you can do during Thanksgiving week is write a piece on everything you're thankful for. So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Please indulge me, Islanders Country. Fact is, after all these years in this business on one side or the other, I've never taken the opportunity to say thank you. Perhaps I've become a bit sentimental.

Or maybe I'm feeling especially grateful. So here goes. If you give me this one, I'll do my best to write at least one Grinchy rant before the New Year.

The Islanders scored three goals in the first period and held on to beat the Blues, 5-2, on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center. >> Box score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter: When GM Garth Snow decided to call his 'go-to' in Peter Chiarelli back in June, it was to finalize a lopsided trade that would send Ryan Strome to Edmonton for what was deemed to be an Oilers salary dump in Jordan Eberle.

The 27-year-old forward from Regina had been on the Islanders radar for quite some time and Snow pounced at the opportunity to land the scoring winger who had averaged 27 goals and 62 points in seven previous seasons playing in Alberta while carrying a cap hit of $6 million over the next two seasons.

Eberle then proceeded to marry long-time girlfriend Lauren Rodych before coming to Brooklyn in a ceremony that featured one last hurrah with former and current members of the organization he called home since he was 20-years old...

I wanted to love the Barclays Center when I went to my first Islanders game there two years ago. I grew up in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - twice, actually. The first time was as a child from Hicksville, with the sweetly-gruff security man Mr. Buonagura popping the door open for me and his son Paul on Saturday nights so we could take seats just before the press table in the last row of the old barn. The second time was for the first two decades of adulthood, where I learned a lot about life through some extraordinary times as an Islanders employee.

So when I walked into the Barc for my first game, I didn't want to be that guy who thought everything new was bad.

It didn't last long...

The Islanders couldn't capitalize on their third period forecheck, and in turn, dropped the contest to the Oilers, 2-1, in overtime. 

It was a lopsided third period as the puck stayed in the Islanders offensive end. However, Oilers G Cam Talbot was stellar, saving 13 shots to cap off a 36-save night. He allowed the one goal from Jordan Eberle in the second period, but was lights out after. 

Mathew Barzal knew the Islanders should have cashed in during their late surge. 

Nick Leddy scored two power-play goals, Mathew Barzal recorded five assists and the New York Islanders beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Sunday at Barclays Center. >> Box Score

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter : Islanders fans have been desiring a 'true' first line for some time now. To be more specific, a true 'first-line winger' to play with captain John Tavares.

Last season, it wasn't quite good enough that Josh Bailey combined with Tavares and rapidly improving Anders Lee to forge a line that combined for 75 goals -- 31 percent of the team's overall production -- and 174 points. This year, through 13 games, it's even higher at 48 percent.

'He'll regress,' they said. 'He will come back down to earth and be the player he's always been offensively,' they added. 'He doesn't shoot enough' was screamed from the rooftops. And my personal favorite of all, 'How many of his assists are secondary assists, though?'

Thomas Greiss will get the start in net and Jordan Eberle told reporters that he is ready to play Saturday night against the Sharks. 

The players are no longer getting coffee in the locker room and whispering to each other, "Cappy still here?"

A third goalie isn't being stashed on the roster, and limiting the reps of the excellent No. 1 and 1As, because of the long-shot notion he's the next Patrick Roy.

As a result, and because of the simple fact that they have the player personnel to get it done in a conference that is not steeped in quality, the Islanders will qualify for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs...

The Islanders open up their 2017-18 season on Friday night in Columbus. How will the season shake out? SNY's Brian Erni and Andy Graziano discuss…

Brian Erni, SNY.TV Twitter | Archive Posts

Alright, Andy. We're on the precipice of a new season, and everyone is curious how this campaign will go for the Islanders. Is it me, or are the outlooks that are rolling in for this team all over the map?

Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter

The summer is over. Fall has arrived and with it, the return of the NHL. Training camps around the league will all be open for business soon, with the first on-ice sessions slated to begin Friday morning.

For the Islanders, it seems every year lately has been 'make or break,' for a variety of reasons. This year, however, the term might never be more accurate as the team looks to re-sign their franchise captain, finally bring some closure to a long, drawn out arena drama and return to the playoffs. The results of those three factors, each under their own cloud of uncertainty, could also decide the future fate of long-tenured general manager Garth Snow, who seems to be running out of time to turn this team into a true contender.

Islanders RW Jordan Eberle took the ice for the first time with a handful of his Islanders teammates on Tuesday, and said he feels rejuvenated by a change of scenery.

"I needed a fresh start, to get some change," Eberle, who was traded to the Islanders on June 22 for Ryan Strome, toldNewsday's Art Staple. "I'm happy to be where they want me, to get an opportunity, and I think this summer was one of the better ones I've had getting ready for an NHL season."

And while most assume Eberle will get first crack at a spot on C John Tavares' wing, LW Josh Bailey's career year in 2016-17 could certainly act as a case for him remaining on his captain's flank.

"I'm all for winning, whatever makes this team better," Bailey told Staple. "That's what we're all focused on. Everyone here knows, wherever they put me I'll go out and give it my all, hopefully contribute the same way I did last year."