They’re last in the Metro, and only above the East’s three most(?) laughable teams
The New York Islanders entered the NHL’s Christmas break with a remarkable thud, following up one of their best (and all too rare) performances of the season in Toronto with an embarrassing crash in front of home-for-the-holidays fans against the Buffalo Sabres. The visitors ended their own 13-game winless spiral with a 7-1 thumping of the Isles.
It’s been a frustrating, maddening, yet somehow dull first 35 games for Isles fans, but if you squinted at them through a certain lens and a healthy helping of benefit of the doubt, you could at least say injuries kept us from seeing what they might be capable of. Extended layoffs for Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal surely hurt, but far too often the Isles’ pains came through failures to defend and failures to do anything on special teams.
And of course, the trainwreck against the Sabres came with a healthy lineup.
I’m not sure what Lou Lamoriello expected of this roster heading into the season, but what he has as the season nears the halfway point is a last-place team.
There’s a mix of dysfunctional or forever-building teams in the Metro around them in the Flyers, Penguins, Blue Jackets and Rangers (welcome to the party!), and on the other side of the conference there are the Canadiens, Red Wings and Sabres, who are each doing even worse yet have nabbed one or more of their rare victories this season at the Islanders’ expense.
For a brief time when the Isles were routinely losing by coughing up well earned third-period leads, you could say the team was above average at 5-on-5 if they could only get their historically bad special teams worked out. But that’s no longer the case and additional reps show them settling into league-average or worse in most meaningful 5-on-5 underlying metrics.
To add to it, attendance and enthusiasm at [bank or tire or insurance company] Arena in Elmont has reflected their swoon. They were booed off the ice at the end of all three periods during the Sabres disaster.
The most charitable view of Lamoriello’s approach entering this season would be: a team that pushed the Hurricanes in a playoff series, has added Anthony Duclair, will have a full season under Patrick Roy, and a healthier Ilya Sorokin could be…better.
Even at those modest expectations though, they’re falling short — and of course the above ignores the risk of aging/decline among the many players on long-term contracts. Interestingly, Anders Lee has had a noticeable rebound but every returning member of the blueline has regressed, with surprise 20-year-old Isaiah George the only bright spot.
With some more aging key pieces and some trade deadline decisions to make, this franchise shouldn’t push for another “you just gotta get in and see what happens” season. They should be preparing to dis- and reassemble.
Islanders News
- Who is this team’s core, anyway? [THN]
- Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri each have modified (15-team) no-trade clauses, so Lou should be figuring out how to maximize return on these UFAs, especially since Nelson will head to the 4 Nations Tournament. [THN]
- Recapping that 7-1 disaster: [LHH | Post]
- Takeaways: “We were garbage.” “We should be embarrassed.” Yes and yes. [Isles]
- The Skinny: [Isles]
- The WJC begins today. The Isles have four prospects involved: Cole Eiserman and Danny Nelson (USA), Jesse Nurmi (Finland) and Marcus Gidlöf (Sweden). [Isles]
- For levity, Islanders players are asked about their favorite gifts. [Isles]
Elsewhere
- Super 16: The top half of the league and what they can be happy about. [NHL]
- Trent Yawney on how coaches approach the Christmas break. [NHL]
- Zack Werenski says Patrik Laine can take his Blue Jackets-bashing comments and shove it up his Hab. [Sportsnet]
- In contrast to our jovial country club, the Smurfs’ freefall is “taking a toll” on the locker room. [Post]
- WJC predictions here. [NHL] The Blues have a league-high nine prospects involved. [NHL]
- Looking back at many we’ve lost in the hockey world in 2024. [NHL]
- 2025 predictions: USA will repeat at the WJC and Sweden will take the 4 Nations. [Sportsnet]