Islanders Have Only Beat Teams In Playoff Position Twice All Season

The New York Islanders have played 34 games this season. They are 14-14-6 and near last in the league in goals scored per game with 2.34. They have only two wins all season against teams that are currently in a playoff position. Yes, you read that right. They have only two wins against playoff teams.

After their last loss to Toronto, my frustration had gotten to a new level with this team, from coaching to effort to lack of ability to put the puck in the net. I wanted to do some digging on some deeper stats and came across this stat. The only two teams they beat were Vegas in the beginning of the year, and Boston when the Bruins had many players missing due to COVID-19.

Yes, the Islanders have faced more adversity this year than any team in the NHL, but being a professional athlete comes with adversity and being an NHL coach means you have to find a way to win. Barry Trotz is making the wrong decisions on a game-by-game basis, and the question remains if his time should be done with this team.

Islanders Have Only Beat Teams In Playoff Position Twice All Season

Many will try to say how Barry Trotz turned this team around, but the constant switch of wingers on Barzal's line, the refusal to bench useless Josh Bailey, and the constant head games with Oliver Wahlstrom has us scratching our heads. The Islanders veterans are old, slow, and really lack much skill.

Anders Lee and Brock Nelson produce, but Nelson is one of the softest players on the team and is really only good for 25-30 goals. Josh Bailey turns the puck over and fails to make the right play more than any player I have seen in quite some time and continues to get a lot of ice time. What is Barry Trotz goal with this team?

This is not a team that has the defense that can control games and give it up to the offense to score 3 to 4 goals. The defense first attitude has to switch because it is simply not working, and I question how much longer this can go on for the Islanders.