The New York Islanders have played 15 games since this time last month, where they’ve gone 5-7-3, losing ground in the Metropolitan Division in the process. Thankfully, their hot start set them up in the case of a stretch like this- but they can’t keep sliding or they’ll risk losing their playoff spot altogether. So let’s take a look into what’s gone into it.
Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle are producing (I’d like to take some credit on the Eberle turnaround based on my article which, I’m sure, obviously made a difference). That said, Barzal’s shooting percentage is 6.5 per cent in the stretch with just three goals on 46 shots. New York needs more out of Anders Lee despite decent production recently. He’s been okay but for the contract he got and based on the Islanders’ lack of offense, he needs to be much better. He’s on pace to have his lowest goal total since 2015-16. Anthony Beauvillier has also cooled off and Josh Bailey’s five points in 15 games just aren’t good enough either. Derick Brassard is unreliable and aside from his play during the New York’s win streak, he’s been invisible a lot of the time. I will say Brassard has a least been doing his part in the limited faceoffs he’s taken during the stretch, winning 70% of his 71 faceoffs. He’s about the only one winning draws though.
Barzal is getting crushed in the faceoff dot, winning just 42 per cent at even strength in the 15-game stretch. Nelson is also around 46 per cent and Cizikas is just above 48 per cent. It looks like a small problem but over a period of time, it starts to become quite the disadvantage when your three players taking the bulk of the draws aren’t winning enough.
On another note, I’m not the biggest fan of plus/minus by any means as I’ve noted many times before but in the last 15 games, Barzal and Bailey are both minus-10, while Boychuk and Beauvillier are each minus-7. Not a great look.
On defense, Nick Leddy has been Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock/Scott Mayfield have both been decent. Devon Toews had a great start to the year but like Beauvillier, has cooled off, especially in this stretch of games, though his three points against Washington was good to see. In net, while Thomas Greiss, has a .920 save percentage during the stretch, he’s only started five games, meanwhile Semyon Varlamov has just a .901 in 10 starts. Might be worth it to use start using Greiss more, especially with the knowledge that he can play a high number of games.
A major area of concern down the stretch has been the power play. While the penalty kill has still been solid, ranked 12th in the league down the stretch, the Islanders are operating at just 12.5 per cent on the man advantage, ranking 29th in the league since Dec. 20. This is obviously a huge factor in New York averaging just 2.73 goals per game (22nd in the league) during this time.
Right now, there’s a cluster of problems. The power play and goaltending just haven’t been good enough and obviously the lack of offense is well-noted but probably not getting solved any time soon. The Islanders face the Rangers tonight before going on a three-game home stand and this is their chance to turn things around. Regardless, this can’t go on for much longer and with 34 games to go, there’s still tons of time to lose ground in the standings if this play continues.
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OTHER ISLANDERS ARTICLES FROM JANUARY
Jordan Eberle is due to break out of his cold streak
What Adam Pelech's injury means for the Islanders
SHORT READ: Wahlstrom/Pivonka and Team USA eliminated from World Juniors
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