The Islanders are set to begin their 2022-23 regular season campaign this Thursday. This is a special season for the Islanders, as they’ll be celebrating their 50th anniversary in the NHL. There will be plenty of tributes to the great Islanders of the past, especially their 80’s dynasty teams.
While celebrating their past, the current team is looking to redeem a miserable 2021-22 season. After being heralded as championship favorites, the team fell flat on its face and didn’t even qualify for the postseason. This 2022-23 season proves to be a pivotal one for the Islanders, trying to find their way back to the playoffs under new head coach Lane Lambert. Here’s a preview of what to expect from this year’s Islanders regular season.
One of the biggest storylines from the previous Islanders season was the 13 game road trip to start the year. Traveling and playing on the road for 13 straight games was an extremely tough way to begin the year. This was made very apparent in their 5-6 overall record and four straight losses heading into their home opener last season. And once they did finally return home, they were greeted with a nightmarish COVID-19 breakout that took out a good portion of the team’s regular starters.
The 2022-23 season offers a much more encouraging opening schedule for the New York Islanders. They’ll be playing the first five games of the season from the friendly confines of UBS Arena. The toughest matchup from that five game set is the opening game against the reigning Presidents Trophy winners in the Florida Panthers. But having five consecutive games in front of the home crowd gives the Islanders a much better chance to start the season off right.
A major weight was lifted off the back of the Islanders franchise when Mat Barzal signed an eight year extension. The $73 million deal ensures that the face of the franchise stays on Long Island for the duration of his prime. Lou Lamoriello expressed the value of Barzal to the Islanders in his comments regarding the extension. “I’m a fan because Mat has the ability to raise his game and to be a special player,” Lamoriello said.
His comment on Barzal raising his game is especially important for the Islanders ahead of this season. The team is seeking to increase their offensive aggressiveness and they’re going to need Barzal to be a big part of that. His natural speed and playmaking ability are two very valuable assets for the team in this regard. If Barzal can also work on getting more pucks to the net off of his stick, he could be a huge point producer for the team this season.
The Islanders will once again have a great one-two punch in net with Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Sorokin’s 2.40 GAA (4th in NHL), .925 save percentage (2nd in NHL) and seven shutouts (2nd in NHL) cemented him as the 1A goaltender. It was such an impressive season that he has the third best preseason odds to win the Vezina, right behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.
Varlamov had his worst statistical season with the Islanders last season, but was nevertheless still a quality 1B starter. He’ll probably lose a few starts to Sorokin this season, but he should still manage to get 20+ starts overall. Varlamov is also on a contract year, so there is some extra incentive to up his level of play this season. Both netminders are going to need to be sharp in the early going as the transition to a new style of play may result in more shots and opportunities against them.
Promoting Lane Lambert to head coach led to a lot of speculation in regards to how he’d assemble the Islanders lines. If the last preseason game was any indication, they may not be so different from last season’s groupings. The lines from Saturday’s preseason finale went as such:
Parise-Barzal-Palmieri
Lee-Nelson-Beauvillier
Bellows-Pageau-Bailey
Martin-Cizikas-Johnston
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Dobson
Aho-Salo
The first two lines are very reminiscent from the end of last season, and for good reason. Those two line pairings produced great results together throughout the final stretch. It’s not surprising to see Lambert wanting to keep those players together to start things off. The bottom six is as expected, with Bellows and Johnston filling in for the unavailable Wahlstrom and Clutterbuck. Bellows has had a strong preseason, and could be a name that forces his way into the lineup if one of the established regulars struggles. The only new additions to this lineup is Romanov and Salo taking over the left defenseman spots previously held by Greene and Chara. Scott Mayfield is expected to be Salo’s linemate on the third pairing while Aho will be the team’s seventh defenseman on the roster.
Featured image courtesy of NHL
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!
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
