Islanders Finding A Way, Despite The Obstacles
The Islanders head into the Olympic break third in the Metro, overcoming injuries and inconsistency with resilience, belief, and timely goals.
NEWARK, NJ — “They don’t ask how” is the best way to describe what the New York Islanders have been able to do this season. They haven’t played their best brand of hockey in what’s been a busy schedule, but they’ve found a way.
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The Islanders enter the Olympic break sitting third in a tightly contested Metropolitan Division, thanks in large part to Bo Horvat’s overtime winner Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and a go-ahead goal with 3:27 remaining in regulation against the New Jersey Devils.
Here’s what the standings look like:
They’ve been able to accomplish this feat without Kyle Palmieri since Nov. 28, and Alexander Romanov since Nov. 18. Bo Horvat missed 14 total games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau missed eight games. Calum Ritchie missed six games, and Ilya Sorokin, the Vezina favorite, missed seven games.
With the injuries and the inconsistencies that led to numerous line changes, nothing came easy.
“There’s a lot of resilience in this club,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “I mean, this has been a tough stretch. We’re gassed. There’s a lot of hockey and not a lot of rest. But we found a way every night, regardless of how we were playing.”
From training camp, head coach Patrick Roy has been preaching for his team to be bold, be compassionate, and have fun. It’s been a mindset that has allowed this team to gel and overachieve through the hectic schedule.
“Think that’s a big part of it. You can’t get too high or too low,” Lee said. “I think when we’ve had a loss for two in a row, we’ve been able to bounce back and find the joy of the game. And Roy’s had some really great messaging. And I think we’ve taken it as a group too, and done a good job in our room of keeping guys on, on task, and on target.”
Now, the Islanders and the rest of the NHL go on hiatus. The Islanders won’t play another game until Feb. 26, when they battle the Canadiens in Montreal. They can return to practice on Feb. 17.
“We’ve been out of the house a lot the last six weeks, and we all get to go spend some time with our families and enjoy that quality time we’ve been missing out on the last little bit,” Lee said. “And that’s just a part of every season. But I’m looking forward to it. I know the guys are, too. Go spend some time with your kids and put the phone down, not have to check standings or scores or whatnot, and just be present and not have to worry about a game the next night, or what time practice is, or how long we’re gonna be out of the house on a road trip.
“It’s what we’re all gonna enjoy the next 10 days, and then we’ll come back and start ramping it up again and get our legs going. And that’s nice too, because when you play hockey as much as we have in the last six weeks, you start breaking down in different ways, and this is just a huge time for all of us to get healthy and fresh.”
The Islanders only have two players going to the Olympics, an NHL-low, with Horvat going to represent Canada, while newcomer Ondrej Palat will represent Team Czechia.
But, before the Olympics, the goal was to help this team finish in as good a spot as humanly possible — that they did.
“That win was huge not only standings-wise, but for our confidence, our confidence going into the break, knowing we’re in a good spot,” Horvat said. “It’s up to us to keep ourselves there and keep getting wins after the break, too.”
Horvat knows how much of a toll this seaosn has been, especially given that he’s missed time on two separate occasions due to two separate lower-body injuries.
So, for the Islanders to be where they are says a whole heck of a lot.
“It says a lot about our group. Says a lot about our character, our will in here, our belief in this group,” Horvat said. “We’re playing some pretty good hockey right now. Obviously, we can keep getting better, and it gives us confidence coming into the back half of the season.”
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It’s basically a 24 game season, everyone is packed in. Only the Rangers are completely out of contention. The Islanders are going to have to come out of that break hot. All these teams are fairly even in the Atlantic and Metro, with the exception of Tampa and Carolina (they seem to be a lock) Islanders need to secure one of Metro 3 slots. Atlantic has the two WC most likely. Darche has three choices Do Nothing, get lower level help, or pursue Jordan Kyoru. It’s all depends on price and how he sees the stop gaps and Kyrou. Eiserman is coming and so is Nelson after NCAA season, so I would stay the course. Eiserman is a very similar player to Cole Caufield, which is exactly what the Islanders need. Hope the Vets can hold the fort till then. Eiserman was a little off due to the injury, I expect to see him finish strong and sign the ELC. I think that’s where Patrick and Darche are. If Eiserman, Nelson, George, and Jefferies can bolster this roster who knows. Shit Sorokin is capable of getting a team out of the East. If the proud vets sag so be it stay the course!
The season has been fun. Team is not ready for prime time, too many passengers. I don’t know what Darche can do to help this year, outside the depth deals he has already done. The under performing players on the roster hold the keys to the post Olympic Run to the Playoffs. If they make it they make it great, if not get ready for draft and sign ELC’s for blue chip prospects. There will be plenty of deals in the off season available. I would sign JG to a reasonable two year. Hopefully 🤞 Eiserman, Nelson, and company sign their ELC for the big club or North America. Hopefully the youth wins out in Training Camp and the team gets better. The show goes on they are heading in the right direction.