Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is content with the state of his team with just one game to go before the holiday break.

National voices seem to agree the Islanders are outside the top 10 teams in the NHL. The question here is: Do they have a point? Or, more eloquently put: Is there good reason for a dose of healthy skepticism about the Islanders place in the standings?

How can you miss whats impossible to ignore?

Go ahead and call Woody The Grinch Who Stole Christmas if you disagree, and enough of you who focus on You Are What Your 17-32 Record Says You Are during the Saleh Era undoubtedly will. But Woody got this one right.

With back-to-back games at the Garden against the Oilers and the Sabres on deck this weekend, however, the Rangers remain focused on going into the three-day break on a high note.

Welcome to Groundhog Day. Welcome to the Aaron Rodgers Jets. We are officially out of the dark, and officially through the looking glass all at the same time.

Lets be honest: It would feel better to be able to scorch the Knicks after a game like this one, after a result like this one, this 130-111 loss to the Bucks in which they led for exactly 13 seconds all afternoon.

They will be back in action on Wednesday against the Penguins the first of two home games before a four-game trip.

I walked out of the Garden following Saturdays 4-3 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres thinking the New York Rangers probably arent going to be able to keep Michael Peca on their staff as an assistant coach for all that long.