A look at the NY Islanders rough start to the season

It’s been one of the most frustrating starts to a NY Islanders season in recent memory. 

The team brought in a winger in Anthony Duclair to play alongside Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal, and also another cost-effective top-6 winger in Max Tsyplakov.

After five games, Duclair was placed on LTIR with a lower-body injury, leaving the Islanders without one of their most effective wingers to start the season. And now Mat Barzal joins Duclair on the injury front with what is being called an upper-body injury.

An uphill battle

The team has also missed defenseman Alexander Romanov for the last three games, after being on the receiving and delivering end of two massive hits against the New Jersey Devils.

Aside from the injuries, the fourth line has been a mess. Casey Cizikas has been plugging holes in other parts of the lineup, while Kyle MacLean has been playing with a different group every game. Even Patrick Roy has been frustrated with his team's bottom forwards.

"I won't lie," said Roy. "Spot number 11 and 12, we don't feel comfortable yet with the guys, and we're going to try until we find the guys that we are comfortable with."

Then come the Islanders’ goal scoring, or lack thereof. Through 10 games, the Islanders are tied for last in the league with the Anaheim Ducks in goals scored with 22. Four times the Isles failed to light the lamp once, and have scored one goal in the last eight periods, which came at 5-on-3.

It’s difficult to pin the lack of scoring on any one player or any group as it’s been a team failure. Only six players has multiple goals and only nine players in total have scored. The defensive core  has just a single goal, coming from Dennis Cholowski who is only in the lineup because of the injury to Romanov.

One of the few bright spots for this team has been Ilya Sorokin, who is posting a 1.80 GAA and .932 SV% in five games, both among the league leaders. Unfortunately, he has only two wins to show for his efforts, as he’s been given very little support.

It’s only ten games into the season so there’s plenty of time to turn things around. But frustration is growing around the players and the fan base. The Islanders will have to turn this ship around soon if they don’t want to become sellers at the trade deadline.