Islanders are picking up right where they left off last season
The New York Islanders have been on an absolute tear so far, winning seven straight games. What is the secret behind this continued success?
The New York Islanders have won seven-straight games and are currently second in the Metropolitan Division with an 8-3-0 record. While losing a Vezina-winning goaltender in Robin Lehner should have affected the team, it hasn’t. Both Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov have stepped up and continued right where Lehner left off.
The Islanders are fifth-best in the league in goals-against average (2.36) and sixth-best in team save percentage (.922). While both goalies have been playing well, the biggest reason is because of Barry Trotz and his defensive systems.
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New York continues to make their goalie’s lives easier as high-danger chances are taken away by their strong defensive structure in their own zone. Plus, they do a good job of limiting the number of shots that make it to the net which shrinks their goaltender’s workload.
On top of their continued stellar defence, the key offensive players from last season are continuing to put on a show. Brock Nelson, Matt Barzal, and Josh Bailey continue to lead the team in points production. Barzal scored five times in this seven-game streak and shows no intention of slowing down.
Another player that has been playing very well is captain Anders Lee. In their latest win against the Philadephia Flyers, the Flyers opened up the scoring a minute into the first period and Lee answered back just two minutes later to tie the game back up. Later in the game, he recorded a primary assist on Barzal’s goal to hammer the nail in the coffin for the Islanders.
After the game, Trotz has some glowing words to say about his captain.
“Anders Lee was a beast today. His goal was a great example of leadership. You don’t have a license to do less, you have a responsibility to do more. He knew it was a big game and he did more.” – Barry Trotz
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What made the Islanders so good last season was their stingy defence and consistent offence. Well, this year no different and no one in the league seems to have an answer for them. The team got a taste of what happens when they play this way last year and they’re going to want more this time around.