The New York Islanders have had a rollercoaster of a year. From a 15-0-2 streak at the beginning of the year to winning just two of their last 13 games, it would be interesting to see which team returns from the time off should the season resume. Here’s a look at some of the notable positives and negatives of the season thus far.
GOOD: Brock Nelson proving last year wasn’t a fluke
After Brock Nelson hit the 25-goal mark and a career high of 53 points, he was given a six-year contract with a $6 million AAV. It wasn’t necessarily an overpayment but he had never scored more than 45 points prior to that season and it wasn’t a given that Nelson could be the long-term No. 2 center for the Islanders. Well it seems clear now, as Nelson was on pace to hit both 30 goals and 65 points this year and has established himself as a quality top-six center.
BAD: Inability to score goals
While Nelson is scoring, many others aren’t. It’s not unexpected, as players aren’t necessarily underperforming, New York still just doesn’t have enough true goal scorers on the roster. The Islanders rank 22nd in goals scored per game, which clearly isn’t good enough for a playoff team.
GOOD: Ryan Pulock continuing to develop as a top defenseman
This year, Ryan Pulock has continued to develop, solidifying himself as the best all-around defender on the team. He can move the puck, skate with it and he’s great defensively– he really can do it all. At just 25 years old, he’s going to be a key player in New York for many years to come.
BAD: Lack of quality goaltending in 2020
In what seemed like one of the NHL’s top goaltending tandems to start the year, Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov have struggled since the midway mark of the season. In 2020, Varlamov holds a 5-11-3 record with a .908 save percentage, while Greiss holds a .901 SV%, despite a 5-2-4 record. For a team whose goaltending is supposed to be a major asset, the lack of reliable goaltending in the last couple of months was a major factor in the Islanders’ recent skid.
GOOD: Jordan Eberle returning to form
Though re-signing Jordan Eberle was the right move, the Islanders committed to him the year after his worst season in his NHL career. He started slow and dealt with an injury early this season but since December he’s been one of New York’s top forwards. Eberle has 35 points in his last 44 games, a pace of about 65 points per 82 games and if he’s able to keep those numbers up, that $5.5 million AAV will only look better and better.
BAD: Integrating prospects
The Islanders have a fairly old core group, mainly up front. With some great prospects in the system, the hope would be that slowly, they’re brought up and start to make an impact on the NHL roster. While the Islanders tried, none of their prospects became impact players this year. Noah Dobson has shown signs that he can become a key piece for the Islanders in the future but has yet to round out his game and spent a good chunk of the year in the press box. I thought Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom both looked pretty good in the NHL but again, neither stuck with the Islanders, while Otto Koivula hasn’t been a huge factor and Michael Dal Colle can’t be considered a prospect anymore. The likes of Bellows, Dobson, Koivula and Wahlstrom still have tons of time to develop into NHL players but little progress was made this year by the Islanders in starting to transition to a younger group. In a league that keeps getting younger, that’s not ideal.
GOOD: Lamoriello making moves
Making the deal for Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the trade deadline was a statement from Lou Lamoriello and was a step towards solving New York’s offensive troubles. Regardless of my feelings towards the contract Pageau was signed to and the assets the Islanders gave up to get him, it was a big win to see the Islanders actually making moves to put themselves in a position to contend.
BAD: The power play
This is bound to come with the fact that the Islanders are lacking a true top-line goal scorer. Operating at just 17.3 per cent, the Islanders are tied for the seventh-worst power play in the league. It’s no secret that New York has trouble scoring but figuring out how to make the power play work would go a long way.
For more,
follow @BenShelley_20 on Twitter.
OTHER ISLANDERS ARTICLES FROM MARCH
Islanders need answers
Islanders have a favourable schedule to end the regular season 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»