The New York Islanders (3-3-1) are only seven games into the regular season, but one of their biggest problems from last season, and the few seasons prior, is already showing itself.
When the team plays well collectively, with Pete DeBoer able to roll all four lines and all three defensive pairs, they can compete with any team in the National Hockey League.
But when there are too many offensive passengers, as we saw in Thursday night’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators, they struggle to find ways to win.
Through seven games, the Islanders have allowed just 16 goals, three of which were empty-netters. That’s the fewest they’ve allowed through their first seven games since 2003, when they also allowed 16.
Despite some costly mistakes, the Islanders’ defensive structure at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill has been good enough for the team to find consistency.
Their inability to capitalize on offensive chances at 5-on-5 has been their Achilles’ heel.
The power play still needs work, as the Islanders struggled mightily in going 0-for-3 against Ottawa, but there have been encouraging signs.
What’s become clear as day is that this offensive problem wasn’t a Patrick Roy problem.