Power Rankings: Islanders lost at sea

For a change we're going to start this week's Power Rankings by looking up. You know, the way the New York Islanders have been viewing the rest of the league for much of a season that is getting more miserable for them by the day.

The Islanders have tried a coaching change, but Jack Capuano hasn't stemmed the tide. (Getty Images)

Supposedly the bright side about hitting rock bottom is that you can't get any lower. But these days it seems the train wreck that this franchise has become is doing its best to disprove that theory. New York has dropped 17 of its past 18 games, allowed 30 more goals than it has scored and has gone 11 games and 36 tries without converting a power play as it continues its fade into oblivion.
Remember all that hope surrounding the organization when it drafted highly touted John Tavares first overall in 2009 and immediately added him to a lineup that had several other promising young talents? Don't worry, neither does anyone else.
These days, Tavares' development is stalling and he has become nearly invisible as part of an Islanders roster that seems better suited to the minor leagues than the NHL. Injuries to key players like defenseman Mark Streit and forward Kyle Okposo haven't helped things, but New York is getting outhustled and outmuscled on a nightly basis and apparently coming undone as badly in the dressing room as it is on the ice.
"It's like a country club in here," one player told Newsday after New York embarrassed itself again at home Sunday in its latest defeat against Philadelphia.
Normally, that would suggest a coaching change is called for, except the Islanders already tried that when Jack Capuano replaced Scott Gordon three weeks ago. Meanwhile, the organization seems to be biding its time waiting for 2015, when its lease on Long Island expires and it can presumably move to a place where it will have an NHL-caliber arena.

extracted from cbssports.com