It has been a difficult twelve months for the New York Islanders after so much promise from the recent success under Barry Trotz. The tides are beginning to turn for the organization, just in time.
The team had a frustrating off-season and entered the season with a similar roster to the prior season, which had the worst results in the last four campaigns. The team was coming off two Eastern Conference Finals appearances and opening a brand-new arena.
Things did not go as planned and New York weas eliminated from playoff contention early with any questions regarding this veteran team. The team parted ways with Barry Trotz and hired first-year head coach, Lane Lambert.
After making several rumored attempts at top free agents, the Islanders failed to add scoring power to an offensively challenged team.
The Islanders are returning to form.
General manager Lou Lamoriello was able to sure up the defensive unit with the acquisition of Alexei Romanov. Romanov slides into the top four, pairing with Noah Dobson.
Currently, the Islanders are on one of the more impressive runs in recent history. Having beaten the reigning Stanley Cup Champions this past Saturday, the Islanders are on a three-game winning streak.
Three wins in a row is a nice accomplishment but nothing to warrant a Stanley Cup in the spring.
The most impressive part of the three wins is the opponents that fell at the hand of these Islanders. The first was a rivalry game against the New York Rangers.
The Rangers are trending upwards after a strong playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Emerging last season were Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Vezina Trophy winner, Igor Shesterkin.
The Islanders were able to shut down the offense and shut out the Rangers to begin the impressive streak of victories.
Heading down south to Carolina, New York faced another playoff team from the prior season: the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were coming off a very successful road trip and looking to steam forward in the standings.
Lane Lambert’s new system of pushing the puck up the ice quickly and often came out against the Hurricanes. In a surprising occurrence, the Islanders were able to keep the Hurricanes’ top young scorers at bay.
Ilya Sorokin has led the way in the winning this season, along with the perfect Islanders penalty kill.
The Colorado Avalanche visited the Islanders and like the previous two opponents, lost to New York in regulation.
It was a much more difficult task despite the Avalanche missing their captain, Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche had control of the game and the score early, but the Islanders showed resilience in killing penalties and continuing to press for goals.
The comeback victory capped the sizzling-hot Islanders’ last three games. The focus turns to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday as the Islanders look to make the streak four.
Can the success be sustained?
Prior to the start of this three-game winning streak, the Islanders entered the Rangers game on a three-game winless streak.
The coach and the team were rightfully being questioned as the season was turning out to be an extension of the prior season’s failures.
The minimal success early in the season was against teams that were struggling and coming into UBS Arena. The losses seemed to present the familiar lack of scoring and invisibility of the centers.
The success can certainly be sustained but the consistency of the 5-on-5 and power play will need to improve.
The penalty kill and goaltending have led the way for the Islanders, but that will only keep them in the games. The scoring depth will need to improve.
The style of play that helped the Islanders make two long playoff runs was contributions from all four lines. The team does not have superstar players at the top but has players on every line that have the ability to score.