Islanders Played Injury Waiting Game; Time To Reap The Benefits
The Islanders stayed alive without players and now it's time to climb.
CHICAGO — New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello could never have envisioned losing four key pieces just a few weeks into the 2024-25 season.
Losing one, okay, but seeing Mathew Barzal, Adam Pelech, Mike Reilly, and offseason signing Anthony Duclair go down, along with Alexander Romanov for a bit, was just not something a GM could game-plan for.
However, with Barzal ($9.15M) and Duclair ($3.5M) on LTIR, with the opportunity to throw Pelech ($5.75M) and Reilly ($1.25M) on there as well, given how much time they did end up missing, Lamoriello had a little under $20 million to play with.
He chose to stand pat, showing faith in his team.
I mean, let’s not kid ourselves. That was an absolute gamble because if any team in the wild-card race got hot, the Islanders would be way out of a playoff spot.
But the Islanders found a way to stay afloat in their absences and now are gearing up to welcome Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech back on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, with Anthony Duclair likely to return on Tuesday in Carolina.
Reilly is not yet ready to return after a heart procedure, but surprisingly, he was back on the ice on Saturday morning, so maybe we’ll see him sooner rather than later.
Since losing Duclair, the Islanders have gone 10-11-5. Since losing Barzal, they've gone 9-7-5, and since losing Pelech and Reilly, they’ve gone 8-7-5.
Carry the one…somehow that has them just a point out of a wild-card spot.
So what does this all mean?
It means it’s time for the Islanders to start climbing.
“We've been in almost every game,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said following Saturday’s practice. “We've obviously had mistakes here and there and ups and downs of a regular hockey season, but I think we've done the best we could. Definitely walking away from this stretch wishing we had a few extra points. We all know those moments, but all in all, we didn't let the ship sink or anything like that. We're right there, and there's still a lot of hockey left to be played.
“So let's get things going and keep trying to build our game. I think no matter what part of the season it is, you obviously want to be playing your best hockey, but we just have to continue to raise that standard and raise the bar and continue climbing,”
A win against Chicago would have the Islanders in a playoff spot, leapfrogging the Ottawa Senators and tying themselves with the top wild-card Tampa Bay Lightning with 34 points. If the Isles win, and the New York Rangers beat the St. Lous Blues later in the day, then Long Island is back out of a spot.
To end the 2024 portion of the season, the Islanders play three teams on the outside looking in (CHI, BUF, PIT X 2) and two teams holding down a playoff spot (CAR, TOR x 2).
Will the Islanders be sitting in a playoff spot come Jan 1, 2025?
Skate before a game at The Park at UBS Arena (click image for details):
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Love Roy more when he shows his fire and compete. Gotta think he knows this team can’t go on like this. He has got to be frustrated, and rightfully so. Management needs to rely on him to run Hockey Operations. A lot to correct organizationally with big club and Bridgeport. Lou at this time can provide Patrick with Administrative Support, and mentoring. However Patrick should have complete control of the on ice product.