The Islanders Season is Already Beginning to Spiral

It’s still very early into this new season, but it’s already beginning to spiral for the Islanders. After commanding wins over the poorly Ducks and Sharks, the Islanders completely fell apart. First was a loss to the rival Devils, who outshot the Islanders 15-0 to start things off. They then dropped back to back games on the road against the Panthers and Lightning. This three game losing streak has effectively killed the early season optimism and brought about some serious questions about the Islanders’ capabilities.

Isles Still Struggle Against Quality Teams

Amongst the many problems of last season, one of the biggest ones was the Islanders’ level of play against quality opponents. They held a record of 11-28-4 against last season’s playoff field. Last year’s team could only handle beating competition beneath them or that played at a similar level to them. And throughout the first six games of 2022-23, that quality hasn’t changed much at all. They beat up on two lowly teams but couldn’t take care of business against tougher competition.

What’s even more disturbing is that these games are following a similar pattern to last season. That is to say that they play well enough to keep the games within reach, yet can’t put it all together for a win. There’s always some kind of key mistake and or missed opportunity to go along with just getting generally outpaced by the opposition. This was true last year when the isles played quality competition last year and it remains to be true in a small sample size this season. With essentially the same team from last season taking the ice, this continuing struggle against quality opponents is definitely an early concern. 

Same Team, Same Problems

There’s a lot that can be said about what the team is struggling to do. The power play is iffy, they lack speed and scoring ability and they struggle to beat higher level competition. If any of that sounds familiar it’s because they’re all things the Islanders struggled with last season. And that would be because they brought back the exact same roster this season. There’s only so much a new coaching strategy can fix with a team. So far, the only real improvement under Lane Lambert is that more pucks are being put to the net. But even that doesn’t matter if they don’t have established finishers to capitalize on these chances. 

Lou Lamoriello persisted that the roster was fine and that the team just needed a “new voice” from the head coaching position. However, the early season results are seemingly pointing to the issues being attached to the personnel. If these struggles continue, the only place left to point the finger of blame is towards Lou’s roster construction. If the team can’t turn this thing around, the only new voice this team will need will be from the management position. 

The Road Ahead

This upcoming week of games will be a true test of the Islanders’ identity this season, as they have some tough competition. They host the Rangers on Wednesday, visit the Hurricanes on Friday and play hosts again to the Avalanche on Saturday. These games have the potential to either rejuvenate the Islanders or completely derail them early on. If the Islanders can play a disciplined game and take at least two wins out of this set they can gain some momentum and make a statement about their ability to contend. But if this three game set looks anything like the previous three, this ship is going to sink fast. It’s unusual to call the third week of the season the most pivotal of the year. But this week’s slate of game’s will be a true litmus test of what this Islanders team could be capable of achieving this season. 

Credits

Featured image courtesy of New York Post via Paul J. Bereswill

Check out our NHL page for more updates!

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers like Justin!