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After snapping a seven-game losing streak in mid-November, the New York Islanders have actually seen some improved results.
Over their last eight games, New York has gone 5-1-2, and the team is currently riding a three-game point streak, following their frustrating blown lead against the New Jersey Devils last week. However, it’s hard to feel any more optimistic about the group.
The Islanders snuck out an overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Thursday to begin the point streak, despite being outshot by a massive 43-16 margin and blowing two leads in the process. If it weren’t for another pretty disastrous goaltending performance for the Hurricanes, the Islanders probably didn’t have a chance in that one.
Then this weekend, New York managed to pull out another road win, this time over the Florida Panthers. Once again, the Islanders were outshot badly (by a final margin of 45-27), but managed to take a two-goal lead in the second period, and ended up counting on Ilya Sorokin for a huge workload and performance to help preserve that lead for the win. Still, the team was without Mathew Barzal in the win and it was probably the most optimistic to feel about any of their recent performances. Again though, in the two wins, they were outshot by a 88-43 margin overall.
But in the first game of their homestand against the San Jose Sharks last night, the Islanders had an opportunity to extend their win streak to three games, and all they had to do was protect a three-goal, third period lead at home against the worst team in the NHL. Of course though, that’s a tough task for this team. The Islanders gave up three goals in roughly the last eight minutes of the game, before falling in overtime.
It’s tough to comment much on last night’s loss without sounding like a broken record, but it’s almost unbelievable how this team continues to blow leads. If the Islanders were just able to protect a lead, they’d have one of the better records in the Eastern Conference.
Looking at how the Islanders start a game versus finish it, the team just seems to take their foot off the gas at a certain point. In terms of goals allowed by period, New York has given up 15 first period goals, 23 second period goals, and 34 third period goals.
But the strangest part about all of this is that on a broader look at things, the Islanders are actually getting results right now, with only one regulation loss in their last 10 games. With a point percentage of .563, the Islanders also rank eighth in the Eastern Conference, which is pretty much exactly where we would’ve expected them to be hovering, coming into the season.
Offense has been coming a little easier recently. After a slow start to his tenure with the team, Bo Horvat has been a key contributor for the Islanders, as the team’s most impactful external addition up front in a long time. Meanwhile, Mathew Barzal is shooting the puck more, and Noah Dobson is in the midst of a huge start to the season. Even down the lineup, Simon Holmstrom keeps getting better and Julien Gauthier is going to be very tough to take out of the lineup.
Defensively though, the Islanders often just look like a different team than they were a couple years ago. Once their opponent gets set up after an entry, players are getting left open, or even if there is coverage on them, they’re often still just being freely given the opportunity to get to loose pucks. Even when the Islanders have the puck, there’s no guarantee they can get it out, with some failed clearing attempts at key times.
Then whether it’s a pulled goalie or a power play, as soon as there’s an extra attacker for the opponent, New York really, really struggles. So when Ilya Sorokin may not be putting up show-stopping numbers like he has over previous years, New York often isn’t getting the job done.
But more than anything, the Islanders remain inconsistent. For a team sitting in a playoff spot based on points percentage, the number of complete performances from the team this season is extremely low. Rarely have we seen a full, 60-minute effort from start to finish and while the hope was this was just a slow start, it's now becoming a trend.
So we’ll see if the team can turn things around – not just based on results, but seeing if the Islanders can actually build some momentum. While their record may not really reflect it, things aren’t working, or at least not consistently.
The Islanders will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second matchup of their six-game homestand.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
- Islanders sneak past Hurricanes, but win doesn’t inspire much confidence 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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