Eyes On Isles
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New York Islanders Top 10 Productive Defense In 2016-17

By Michel Anderson

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 18: Johnny Boychuk #55 and Nick Leddy #2 of the New York Islanders in action against the New Jersey Devils on February 18, 2017 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 3-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 18: Johnny Boychuk #55 and Nick Leddy #2 of the New York Islanders in action against the New Jersey Devils on February 18, 2017 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 3-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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The New York Islanders defense doesn’t look like much on paper. But when you look at its productivity it was one of the better teams in the league in the 2016-17 NHL season.

In today’s NHL if the New York Islanders want any success they’ll not only need production from up and down the lineup. That includes from the blueline.

We all know the advantages of having a Brent Burns/Erik Karlsson/Victor Hedman type player chipping in goals. But there’s only three of those in the league. And neither of them play for the Islanders.

Does that make the Islanders blueline worse than those teams from a production standpoint? Nope. Not at all. The Islanders have a nicely balanced and productive defensive core.

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The Ol’ 1-2

The New York Islanders ranked ninth in the league based on production from the backend. With 168 points from defensemen, the Islanders were more productive that playoff teams like Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, Toronto and Columbus.

TeamPointsNashville Predators

181

San Jose Sharks

181

Pittsburgh Penguins

177

Calgary Flames

176

Washington Capitals

172

St. Louis Blues

172

New York Rangers

171

Minnesota Wild

169

New York Islanders

168

Philadelphia Flyers

165

Outside of Brent Burns’ San Jose Sharks, Ottawa and Tampa, with their Norris trophy level defensemen finished just below the Islanders. Having one of those three would be outstanding to have, but it’s not necessary in order to have a productive blue line.Spreading the points around

Spreading the points around is the Islanders strength. They had five of the nine defensemen they used this season scored 20 or more points.

Side note. It feels odd to say they “used” nine defensemen. Because one of those is Ryan Pulock. Who didn’t even play a full game! He broke his foot after 3:57 of playing time.

Spreading the scoring around has allowed the Islanders to maintain an offensive flair no matter who’s on the ice defensively.

Not only do the Isles rank at the top of defensive production but they rank seventh in terms of production disparity with a 13.03 standard deviation. The spread from Nick Leddy‘s 46 points to Ryan Pulock’s zero is one of the lowest in the league.

Only some of the worst teams are better. Like Vancouver who hit an 8.01 standard deviation. But that’s not hard to do when your top producer on the blue line scored 23 points.

Going into 2017-18 the Islanders will be missing Travis Hamonic from the previous years’ setup. His 14 points should be easily made up by Ryan Pulock. Assuming, of course, he stays healthy.

Next: What Are the Biggest Blunders In Tavares Era?

The New York Islanders have a nicely balanced blue line from a production standpoint. And with the addition of Ryan Pulock, it should be even better. And that’s assuming we get the same from Calvin de Haan, who should have a better 2017-18.

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