The New York Islanders are hanging around the playoff edge despite a brutal injury list, but the latest stretch has reminded everyone how thin the margin really is.
At 7-6-2 heading into their game against the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders are still in the mix. That alone says something about how much they’ve managed to absorb while key players have been out.
But the last two games also showed the gap between surviving and truly contending. New York was shut out by the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, then fell to the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3.
There were rough patches in both losses, though not everything was discouraging. Head coach Peter DeBoer said he saw plenty he liked against Carolina, a team that keeps coming even when it’s at a talent disadvantage. Still, the defeats pushed the Islanders in the wrong direction in the NHL power rankings from Sean Gentille and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic.
New York had climbed to No. 14 after back-to-back wins over the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. Now the Islanders have slid to No. 19 after losing consecutive games for the first time this season.
The competition was elite, and the timing was unforgiving. To steal a win from either Edmonton or Carolina, the Islanders needed near-perfect hockey while also covering for all the missing pieces in their lineup.
That list is long. Defenseman Alexander Romanov is out for the season with an ACL injury.
Star forward Mathew Barzal still hasn’t played this season. Center Calum Ritchie and winger Matias Maccelli were injured on Oct. 17 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
More recently, Ryan Pulock went down with an upper-body injury.
For a team that wasn’t exactly loaded on paper to begin with, that’s a heavy load to carry. Even so, DeBoer has kept the group organized, with his structure giving the Islanders a solid foundation and several players stepping into larger roles than expected.
That’s why the outlook still has some promise. New York is currently missing two of its top six defensemen and three top-six forwards, which means there’s room for the roster to look much better once it gets healthy again.
And as long as Matthew Schaefer is on the ice, the Islanders are going to have a chance to win games.
In Other News...
Islanders Attendance Slide Sends A Bigger Message About This Team
A quieter building has become part of the early-season story on Long Island, and it says something beyond just the numbers on the turnstiles. Through the first stretch of home games, the Islanders have not given fans many new reasons to show up in bigger waves, even with a few names on the roster who can still draw interest. The concern, as Arthur Staple points out, is less about one rough week than about a franchise that has not clearly defined where it is headed.
For a fan base that wants a team worth investing in, the current mood feels familiar in the wrong way. The Islanders do have pieces that can still matter, including Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin, but promising talent alone does not always fill the seats if the larger picture is hazy. Until the organization gives the market a clearer sense of direction, the attendance dip looks like more than a temporary lull. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders May Finally Get The Speed Boost Their Top Six Needs
The Islanders top six may soon get a needed jolt of pace, with Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli making visible progress at practice. Both forwards have moved out of non-contact jerseys and into regular warm-up gear, a small but meaningful sign that they are getting closer to returning from injury as New York looks to sharpen its attack.
Ryan Pulock is still working back in a non-contact jersey from an upper-body injury, so the blue line remains a separate question. For now, the Islanders are hoping all three players can be available for the upcoming three-game road trip to California, though each will still need to clear further medical evaluation before anything is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Waste Sorokins Huge Night In Brutal Loss To Devils
Ilya Sorokin gave the Islanders just about everything they could ask for, and it still wasnt enough. New Jersey kept coming all night, but New York had built a 4-2 lead on goals from Anthony Duclair, Victor Eklund, Simon Holmstrom and Matthew Schaefer before the Devils clawed back to force overtime in a game that felt like it was slipping away in real time.
The ending only added to the frustration for an Islanders team that needed a clean finish after letting the lead get away. Sorokin was under siege for most of the night, and the overtime sequence left plenty to chew on after New Jersey turned the game with a breakaway chance that decided it in the extra period. [Read more 🡒]