This season was supposed to be different for the New York Islanders.
The team was starting the season with Patrick Roy as the full-time head coach, they went through Roy’s grueling training camp, learned Roy’s system, and seemed prepared to make a lot of noise this season after finishing strong under Roy last season to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Things were in place for the Islanders to get off to a good start this season and position themselves as a tough team to play against and one that will make the postseason.
Unfortunately for the Islanders and their fans, things have not been pretty. As of this writing (Wednesday night, October 30), the Islanders are 3-5-2, which puts them sixth in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference, and 27th in the NHL.
After being shutout 2-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, October 30, the Islanders have dropped three straight games. Their losses have come against two teams that did not make the playoffs – the Anaheim Ducks (3-1) and Blue Jackets – while the other loss was to the Florida Panthers (6-3).
There are several reasons why the Islanders are playing poorly right now. One reason why the Islanders are off to a bad start is that they are struggling to put the puck in the net.
The team is currently 31st in the league in goals scored. They have scored just 21 goals in 10 games, which means they are barely averaging two goals per game.
The club is not getting a lot of scoring from big guns, which has hurt the team because they do not have a lot of offensive depth to begin with. Players like Mathew Barzal (two goals), Bo Horvat (three goals), Brock Nelson (four goals), Kyle Palmieri (four goals), and Anders Lee (three goals) are not finding the back of the net with any kind of regularity.
It also does not help that forward Anthony Duclair is hurt with a lower-body injury and will miss 4-6 weeks. Before getting hurt, Duclair had three points in five games on two goals and one assist.
Another problem the Islanders have is that they cannot say they are not getting chances to score. The team is currently (as of Wednesday night, October 30), fourth in the league in shots on goal per game (33).
This means that they lack finish. Roy knew this going into the season and probably wanted the team’s general manager, Lou Lamoriello, to make more moves in the offseason, which did not happen.
Lastly, because the team’s offense is struggling, that means that their power play has also been off to a slow start. As of this writing (Wednesday night, October 30), the Islanders are 28th in the league with the man advantage as they have converted on 13.3 percent of the opportunities they have been given so far.
When the team is on the power play, they have trouble generating quality scoring chances and when they do get a real chance to put the puck in the net, they do not cash in on the opportunity to do so. When your team is struggling to put the puck in the net at even strength, you need to be able to score with the man advantage and the Islanders are having trouble doing that right now.
Things are not going to get any easier for the Islanders. They play in an extremely tough division with likes the New Jersey Devils (6-4-2), New York Rangers (6-2-1), Washington Capitals (6-2), and Carolina Hurricanes (6-2) all off to good starts and in a conference that has a lot of up and coming teams vying a wild card spot such as the Blue Jackets (5-3-1), Ottawa Senators (5-4), and Buffalo Sabres (4-5-1).
Both Roy and Lamoriello need to put their heads together and figure out a way to construct a lineup that can put the puck in the net consistently. It could get late early for the Islanders if that does not happen.
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