Islanders: 3 takeaways from 2021 season schedule

No Western Road Woes

Last season, the Islanders had trouble on the road. Over 33 games last year the Isles held a 15-14-4 record while on the road. That’s just barely over a .500 record thanks to loser points. In 2021 that’s going to have to change even if just a bit.

Thankfully, when you look at where all those dropped points came from, we might not have to worry.

Here are the Islanders record (by division) for road games last year:

Pacific Division: 0-4-2
Central Division: 2-4-1
Atlantic Division: 6-4-0
Metropolitan Division: 7-2-1

The Islanders dropped 19 of a possible 26 points between Central and Pacific Division opponents last year. But with regular-season play staying strictly within the division, the Islanders don’t have to worry about seeing those teams until the playoffs.

Playing road games within the division and even within the conference isn’t a huge problem for the Islanders. Last year they picked up 27 points from a possible 40 points. Or a 0.675 points-percentage from within conference road games.

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That type of form (0.675 points-percentage) is not only playoff hockey, it’s division-leading and maybe even league-leading hockey. In 2019-20, only two teams had a road point-percentage above 0.675. The Washington Capitals (0.681) and the Colorado Avalanche (0.676). Both teams finished in the top five for total points-percentage in the league last season.

Of course, the Islanders won’t play strickly within conference this year, but the point is clear, they play very well against the teams they will be seeing through 2021.