New York Islanders middle of pack according to latest power rankings

The New York Islanders are ranked 18th in the league according to The Athletic’s latest power rankings. Like most of us, The Athletic had picked the Isles to be playoff contenders this season. Thus far, the Isles aren’t too far off the pace.

However, the elephant in the room has been the rash of blown third-period leads this season. Now, I agree with The Athletic’s analysis, pointing toward to overwhelming number of injuries as a reason for the lack of consistent results.

Yes, the Isles are down two regular blue liners in Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly. Yes, the Isles have been forced to deploy an AHL-caliber defenseman in Dennis Cholowski and a rookie in Isaiah George. Yes, the club has had issues with depth scoring. But overall, the team has held its own thus far.

Nevertheless, the big issue is the number of missed points. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple summed up the point with this Tweet:

So, the biggest question is: Will these missed points come back to haunt the New York Islanders by the end of the season? If the Isles’ playoff chances come down to a handful of points, will we be looking back to October and November and lament the blown leads?

The fact of the matter is that the Isles are running out of time to make up ground in the Eastern Conference. The Isles are six points back of the New York Rangers for fourth place in the Metro. While the Isles could go on a run, we must face reality. The Isles need to rack up points quickly in order to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Can the New York Islanders realistically land a playoff spot?

I hate to say this, but it seems the ship has sailed on the Islanders making one of the top three spots in the Metro. Unless the Washington Capitals begin to fade (the loss of Alexander Ovechkin could play a huge factor in that) or the Devils and Hurricanes fall back down to Earth, the Isles will have to compete for a wildcard spot.

That would leave the Islanders to compete against the Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres, and Boston Bruins. We could add the Detroit Red Wings in for good measure. As you can see, there looks to be a logjam in which six teams could be vying for two spots.

Now, the Boston Bruins look to be on the verge of disaster. The Sabres and Lightning could be duking it out for third in the Atlantic, while the Red Wings and Ottawa Senators could jump back into the playoff conversation.

So, that means the Islanders will need to catch the Rangers. Finishing lower than fourth won’t cut it this year. Of course, there’s always a chance things could change. But realistically speaking, the Isles have their work cut out for them.

The good news is that reinforcements will be coming once everyone returns from injury. However, Lou Lamoriello will need to look at getting reinforcements at the trade deadline. The wishlist should include another solid blue liner, a depth middle-six forward, and perhaps other pieces around the fringes to help the Isles manage the rest of the season.