The New York Islanders are in semi-decent position at 5-4-3 as they host the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, but the road ahead is fraught with landmines.
An Ugly Run of Form
Since a hardly deserved 3-0 win over the Capitals to open November, which was mostly due to Semyon Varlamov standing on his head until the Capitals gave up, the Isles’ form has continued while their luck has run out: A frustrating blown-lead, OT loss to the Hurricanes, followed by regulation losses to the Wild and Bruins which each featured their own maddening implosions. (And the win over the Caps followed a frustrating, blown-lead OT loss to the Red Wings.)
The Islanders do have stretches where it looks like they know what they are trying to do and execute it well, but 60-minute efforts have been absent.
Now they face the Capitals again, who have rebounded from a slow start and are on a 4-1-1 run.
Injuries
Adam Pelech is banged up again, Bo Horvat is still working his way back, and the non-Samuel Bolduc defensemen are logging lots of minutes due to the coaching staff not feeling much trust in Bolduc.
Line Confusion
The Islanders’ best line has featured Pierre Engvall, Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, but Engvall was scratched after a costly turnover in the loss to the Wild. The result? Anders Lee slotted in his place, and that line was torched for three goals by the Bruins.
Lee has been moved around a bit as Lane Lambert tries to settle on a top line, but the emerging Simon Holmstrom has recently found chemistry with J-G Pageau, which probably entrenches Lee back on the top line.
Probably. Lee has struggled to produce this season, his age 33 season, so all are crossing fingers that this isn’t The Decline. There’s some hope he can stay effective as a wing to Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat, hopefully not holding them back.
Daunting Western Trip
After Saturday night with the Capitals, it’s a big northwestern trip, with four games in six nights, including a back-to-back border crossing set from Vancouver (where the Canucks are on fire) to Seattle. (That’s before, stupidly, they go back across the border again to meet the Flames and finish the trip.)
The first opponent on the trip is a dangerously desperate one. The Oilers (2-9-1) are in a jaw-dropping tailspin and feel like they have no goalie, but that makes this a classic opportunity for the Isles to take a maddening 5-3 loss in Alberta.
Good Things Though?
On the bright side? Well…
- Noah Dobson looks to be having a breakout season.
- Simon Holmstrom has revealed a new, long-awaited dimension with his all-around play and a couple of impressive jailbreak shorthanded goals.
- The goaltending is still strong(?) Varlamov has mostly been great, and Ilya Sorokin has been just okay but is the type you can probably, fairly expect to go back into Beast Mode sometime soon.
Nervous about what’s ahead? Yeah.