Things are not going very well for the New York Islanders these days. They have a league-worst 15 points and it doesn’t look like anything will improve anytime soon. The team is having trouble winning inter-squad games, and the frustration of that is starting to boil over into contests that count. Once these kinds of negative emotions get into a player’s head, it’s almost impossible to get them out, and it certainly looks like the entire team has them.

The Islanders have yet to win a game in December, and have gone an abysmal 1-16-3 in their last 20 games. Saturday’s game against the Thrashers may have seen the Islanders bottoming-out, if such a place exists for the league’s whipping boy franchise. Not only did the Isles’ former number one pick John Tavares get into his first NHL “fight” (it wasn’t much of one), but goalie Rick DiPietro also let in a goal off a faceoff won by Bryan Little. DiPietro was looking down at the ice when the puck was dropped and didn’t stand a chance.

It’s tough to say that things will get easier for the team anytime soon. Their next four games are against Nashville, Anaheim, Phoenix and Tampa Bay, all of whom have more than double the number of points New York has. After that, it’s lowly New Jersey; the only team the Islanders have beat in their last 20 games. Escaping with five points in the next five games should be an accomplishment for this broken bunch of NHL misfits.

The next good thing that might happen for the Islanders is another last-place finish. At least that will give them a good shot at yet another first-overall selection, a player who could join Tavares in the attempt to rebuild what was once a juggernaut. The problem with that is the juggernaut fell years before Tavares and the next potential savior were born.  At least the Islanders fans are used to watching their team fail. If not, they can always cheer for the Rangers.