It’s typical of this Islanders season that, after taking part in what coach Barry Trotz stated “would possibly’ve been our greatest recreation of the yr” Thursday night time, they left San Jose with only one level.
Forty % of the way in which by their western swing, the Islanders haven’t maximized factors, however they've at the very least discovered themselves taking part in higher hockey. After a 4-3 shootout loss to the Sharks on Thursday, they’re carrying a four-game factors streak right into a weekend back-to-back in opposition to the Kings and Geese.
Given the failure to capitalize this week on shootouts in opposition to the Canadiens and at San Jose (a continuation of a yearlong wrestle within the format), perhaps it’s clinging to silver linings to notice the positivity. Given the Islanders’ 19-20-8 report, no one is kidding themselves in regards to the final path through which that is headed.
There may be this stat: The Islanders, per Pure Stat Trick, have recorded two of their three highest shot totals this season within the final two video games, 37 in opposition to San Jose and 33 in opposition to Seattle on Tuesday. They did so rolling out a new-look prime line of Zach Parise, Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri, which has seemed pretty dominant. Possibly they’ve discovered one thing. Possibly not.
That prime line, although, has been a problem all yr, with the Islanders biking by companions for Barzal and discovering little. If this threesome finally ends up being the reply, then it'll at the very least encourage a sigh of reduction.
The truth for the Islanders is that subsequent yr’s roster will seemingly find yourself wanting quite a bit like this yr’s roster, that the so-far disappointing Palmieri is beneath contract by 2025 and at the moment has a no-trade clause, and that a failure to compete this yr has ramifications past the top of the league’s calendar.
Additionally of notice, the Islanders put collectively their efficiency Thursday with Josh Bailey a wholesome scratch. Whether or not that turns into a development — Trotz has been harsh on teenager Oliver Wahlstrom this yr and famous afterward it wasn’t “considered one of his higher video games” — isn’t but clear. However seeing what they've in Wahlstrom and the 23-year-old Kieffer Bellows is vital for the Islanders for the remainder of this season, and that math may go away Bailey, the workforce’s longest-tenured participant, on the surface some nights.
Why care in regards to the final two months of a season that can typically really feel like going by the motions?
That’s why.
“That’s a transparent image of how we play once we’re profitable,” Adam Pelech stated following the sport Thursday. “So I believe it’s much less frustration and extra one thing for us to construct off of.”
At five-on-five, the Islanders rolled 4 traces, dominated the puck and created a majority of probabilities. They performed the kind of hockey we’ve hardly ever seen from them this yr, and did so for the second straight recreation. The penalty kill, 0-for-2 on the night time, left one thing to be desired, but when not for the context of the season — and that could be a fairly giant caveat to make — it might be an encouraging state of affairs.
“I assumed we performed a extremely good recreation,” Parise, who scored his four-hundredth profession purpose, stated. “Deserved a greater consequence.”
“You possibly can stroll away from video games like this and in the event you play to that degree each night time, you get away with a number of factors,” Trotz stated. “We have been actually good. The hockey gods didn’t bless us tonight.”
Sustaining it nearly definitely received’t get the Islanders within the playoffs. Nevertheless it received’t be meaningless.
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