Wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning (twice), Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Anaheim Ducks, the New York Islanders are […]
Wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning (twice), Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Anaheim Ducks, the New York Islanders are serving notice that they are not a means to an easy two points.
From Nov. 22-30, the Islanders played five games at UBS Arena. They scored six total non-shootout goals, and the Washington Capitals blew by the Islanders 4-1 on Nov. 30.
Since then, the Islanders are 5-1, the only loss to the Florida Panthers.
The NHL season began over two months ago. This season, Colorado has lost in regulation only twice, and the Islanders are responsible for one of those losses. Colorado’s record stands at 22-2-7, and they are on pace for 135 points (via HockeyStats). The Islanders threw those stats out the window and delivered an impressive 6-3 win when they faced off on Dec. 4.
Not only did the Islanders take down the best team in the league, Vegas and Anaheim are both tied for the Pacific Division lead. No matter, the Islanders beat both of them in back-to-back home games. Tampa is tied with the Boston Bruins for the lead in the Atlantic Division with a top-eight offense, scoring 3.29 goals per game. The Islanders beat Tampa twice in three games and surrendered one total goal in the process.
The Islanders will again host Tampa on Saturday. If the Islanders win, their record will improve to 19-11-3. If Carolina and Washington both lose their respective games in regulation, the Islanders will lead the Metro Division with 41 points.
HockeyStats projects the Islanders to finish with 100 points heading into Dec. 12. It would be an 18-point improvement over last season. The Islanders are one of ten teams projected to finish the season with triple-digit points.
Into December, the projections show them to win the Metro, beating out the Pittsburgh Penguins by one point.
The last time the Islanders finished a season with at least 100 points was 2018-19. The last time the Islanders won the division was 1987-88 as a member of the long-defunct Patrick Division.
Roy’s Offensive Scheme Change Propelling Islanders
Last season, the Islanders generated 2.71 goals per game. This season, that number is up to 2.96. One reason is their pace of play. According to Mike Kelly and SportsLogiq, the Islanders dumped the puck in the 6th most in the NHL last season. This year, they’re 32nd. They were 26th in possession entries in 24-25. This season, they’re sixth.
The Islanders were a dump-and-chase team last season, and anything but now.
The offense is now centered around carrying the puck into the offensive zone and establishing possession with speed and lane driving. Instead of giving up the puck and chasing in the hopes of retrieval, the Islanders are creating space for themselves around the blueline, backing in opposing defensemen.
Another Kelly and SportsLogiq-led stat to back this up: rush chances and rush goals. Last season, the Islanders were 22nd in rush chances and 15th in rush goals. This season, they’re 13th and 3rd, respectively. The Islanders are using their foot speed to generate offense whenever given space to operate.
One of the keys to this drastic shift is, of course, 18-year-old phenom Matthew Schaefer.
With Schaefer on the ice, HockeyStats shows the Islanders are averaging 2.59 expected goals per 60 minutes, compared to 2.09 expected goals against. He is leading the charge on both ends of the ice. The Islanders can aggravate opponents by playing keepaway in the offensive zone while disallowing momentum going the other way.
These are not the old New York Islanders. This is a fast team that has multiple ways of creating dangerous attack methods. If they keep this pace up, they’ll be deadline buyers, including some acquisitions that would make them even faster, if GM Mathieu Darche gets creative.
Blink, and you’ll miss the New York Islanders speeding by you for an offensive zone scoring chance.
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