Can it get any worse?

If there was ever a team that needed to avoid the injury bug, it was the Islanders.

With a new coach, a new system and young players being plugged into the lineup, having the team stay healthy is all the fans really could have asked for. Expectations were low, but if the team was healthy we could have had a better idea of what the Islanders have to work with and see if they could begin building something.

Alas, life is not fair. The Isles have been hammered by injuries all season, the latest casualties being Andy Sutton (broken foot) and leading scorer Doug Weight (groin). Trent Hunter is back, but Mike Sillinger is still out, as is Rick DiPietro, who is being given plenty of time to come back from his knee surgery.

After all , what's the rush?

The Islanders saw a rally go for naught in a 4-2 loss to the awful Thrashers Tuesday night, and head into the Christmas break on a 10-game winless streak. Ten games! I feel privileged to have been there in person to see the only point gained in that stretch, the overtime loss to the Caps.

So that's a winless December for the Islanders, who are the only team in the area playing worse than the Jets, the other team I root for. Have I mentioned I'm a Mets fan, too? Bad times, people. Bad times.

We'd like to imagine what the Islanders' record would be had players like Martinek and Gervais and Comrie and Nielsen and Okposo not missed so much time, or if DiPietro had been able to start the season and stay here. But injuries are part of the game and no one has any sympathy.

Would the Isles be in first place? No. In contention for the playoffs? Maybe, maybe not. But we'd have a better read on Gordon and his system and whether it can work in the NHL or not.

We know it's an offense-first system that puts pressure on the defense, and Brendan Witt was right when pointed out the obvious. Gordon needs to figure out what works and what doesn't, and it would be a lot easier had he had a full deck to deal with. But he doesn't, and this team was talent-challenged to begin with.

Here's hoping the new year brings with it better health and at least gives this team the chance to play together for a while and make some progress.

Is that too much to ask for, Santa?

Game recap: Flyers 4, Islanders 1

Call this one 'Afternoon Debacle.'

It's funny that when the Islanders were winning six in a row, Ted Nolan talk about how the bounces were suddenly going the team's way, unlike the previous couple of weeks. Well, where are those bounces now? Going in for the opposition.

Take the Flyers, who a week ago were sinking like the FedEx plane in "Cast Away," but are now winners of three straight. Mike Knuble's fluke deflection midway through the third gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead and that was that.

Bill Guerin scored the Isles' only goal, his 20th of the season. He became only the second player in NHL history to score 20 or more goals for six different teams. Even he said, "I don't know if it's good or bad."

The Isles have now lost three of four, the only break a 5-4 OT win over the Thrashers on Thursday night. Sure, two points on the road are huge, especially given the logjam that exists for the final playoff spot, but you can't like blowing a three-goal lead. That's never good. But you had to like the two goals from Comrie and the OT winner by Trent Hunter, after Josef Vasicek capitalized on a Thrasher defensive error with a nice assist.

Meanwhile, on the injury front, Brendan Witt is back, but Frans Nielsen is out 2-4 weeks with a bad shoulder. We'll take that trade. Witt will be sorely needed down the stretch.

But the stretch of what? The Isles are now four points behind the Flyers for the last playoff spot, and Philly has a game in hand.

Condolences, by the way, to Rick DiPietro, whose grandmother passed away this week. He'll miss Sunday afternoon's game against Florida after starting 14 straight. Hello, Dubie.

It's getting better all the time...

Team records? Goals by the bushel? Free chili?

Quite a difference from just a week ago but the Islanders' fortunes are looking brighter with three straight wins coming into Monday's matinee against the Sharks. It's funny but when the Islanders lost to the Penguins and the Wild, the postgame commentary was all about how the effort was there and they were playing well, and while they did look better the results still weren't there and you got the feeling that it was just so much talk.

Well, three wins and 13 goals later, the Isles are three points out of a playoff spot. A big win against Philly followed by a terrific win on the road against Toronto, scoring four power play goals and killing four of five on the PK. Then Saturday's effort against the Thrashers in front of a sellout, limiting Atlanta to just 10 shots on goal, a team record. Wow. Throw in 49 shots for and you have as dominating a win as you'll see.

Imagine what the defense can do once Witt and Gervais get back. And it's great to see how well Freddy Meyer has been playing, and how guys like Fedotenko and Satan, Bergenheim and Comrie have picked up their games. Auditioning for the trade deadline? Perhaps, but the bottom line is the team is in the mix again and looks to be turning it on at the right time.

Game recap: Thrashers 4, Islanders 3 (shootout)

Ted Nolan wasn't happy with getting a point on the road, and we shouldn't be either, even if the Islanders finally scored more than two goals.

Of course, it was only three, and that's 16 games now that the Isles haven't scored more than that. But hey, baby steps.

The power play this time not only wasn't terribly productive (although Trent Hunter's goal in the third did come on the man advantage, tying the score), it was COUNTER-productive to the extreme as the Thrashers scored TWO shorthanded goals in the second period. Just awful.

The second shorty was the third straight goal by Atlanta, which erased a 1-0 deficit to go up 3-1. On the bright side, the Isles didn't fold on the road and battled back on goals by Sillinger and Hunter.

Slava Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the shootout for the Thrashers while Guerin and Satan failed for the Isles. DiPietro complained to the officials about Kozlov's hesitation move, claiming he skated a step back, which is against the rules. No matter - goal.

On a side note, the Thrashers' home sweaters are absolutely terrible, with ATLANTA down the left sleeve. Whoever designed that would certainly get an "auf weidersehen" from Keidi Klum on 'Project Runway.' (My wife watches the show. I watch for Heidi.)