3 New York Islanders players who surprised us this season

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Before we start talking about which New York Islanders players more than exceeded even our boldest expectations this season, let’s first talk about one of the most exciting seasons in the league this year. Multiple times, the Isles looked finished, and few around the league would have thought highly of this team. But if the 2023-24 Islanders made us remember something, it’s that you can never count somebody out, regardless of how bleak things may look.

Even the most faithful Isles fans would have thought earning a wild card berth was their most realistic chance at the playoffs, so a top-three finish with a chance to knock off the mighty Carolina Hurricanes is a bonus. It also gives the Islanders a chance to avenge last season’s 4-2 loss, so this series will be one to watch when the Stanley Cup Playoffs commence.

But there isn’t a single team in the league that can surprise doubters unless some of their best players step up. Ilya Sorokin was one who made an impeccable late-season resurgence amidst a down year. Sorokin had just a 0.906 save percentage and 158 goals allowed on 1,689 shots on net between October 14th and March 24th, but with five goals allowed in his three of his final four starts, he snagged a 0.944 save percentage and excelled when it mattered.

A few Islanders players surprised us all season

Unfortunately for Sorokin, most of his surprises were rather unpleasant, and he finished the year with a 0.908 save percentage and a 3.01 GAA, but here’s the bright side: Not even one goal allowed above expected at even strength. While his basic stats don’t look great, the aforementioned advanced metric implies those statistics were more of the Islanders playing so-so hockey at best in the defensive zone.

When you need not one but two major resurgences, spotty play on both sides of the ice is the name of the game, but it shouldn’t define a team that still edged out a top-three finish. While this season was less-than-memorable for Sorokin and those who contributed to the roller coaster ride that was, the following surprises helped ensure a playoff berth.

Mathew Barzal turned in his best season since 2017-18

Mathew Barzal has been a good hockey player since his first full-time season in 2017-18, but he hasn’t reached the 80-game threshold since 2018-19. That said, he also never played at or at least near a point-per-game pace since 2017-18, and he rediscovered that in 2023-24.

Still a rather young player, Barzal has a lot of hockey left on Long Island with quite a few seasons left on his contract. So if he put up 80 points and 23 goals, what does this guy’s ceiling look like if he continues to factor in as a prolific scorer?

But let’s look beyond Barzal’s career-high in goals scored and a resurgent points total, and also check out his career-high average time on ice and whopping 84 takeaways. These show that he was far more durable and scored more while producing even better defensively. Besides his exceptional number of takeaways, Barzal also landed a career-high 54 body checks and had a respectable 52 blocks.

Right now, it’s more than safe to ask what he has in store for us next season, but not before he does everything in his power to help the Islanders shock the Hurricanes. If he proves to be a major factor in the First Round, Barzal could be a strong Team MVP candidate.

Few saw Noah Dobson shattering his previous points total

Noah Dobson has played a strong two-way game for a couple of seasons now, putting up 51 and 49 points between 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. While we knew his ceiling could supersede what was then a career-high 51 points back in 2021-22, nobody thought we would see him hit the 70-point barrier.

Dobson didn’t break the 13-goal threshold for the third year running, but he still hit double-digits with 10 goals scored, plus an eye-popping 60 assists, good for 70 points on the year. Speaking of career-highs, Dobson also shattered his previous average time on ice by three minutes, giving him 24:31 on the year, which led to an even greater presence in the defensive zone.

In 79 games, he logged 180 blocked shots, 84 hits, and 32 takeaways, which further made the 2023-24 season his most effective. At even strength, he was on the ice for nearly 17 more goals than expected, and with a 9.8 on-ice shooting percentage, the Islanders were, overall, a better team in the offensive zone when he was in the game.

Like Barzal, some effective performances in the playoffs will leave fans feeling even better about Dobson in what will be a contract season in 2024-25.

Simon Holmstrom exceeded expectations with increased ice time

Simon Holmstrom may be the surprise name on the Three Surprises List. But he played well in 75 contests. While Holmstrom showed a few flashes of brilliance in 2022-23, he gave the Isles some stellar play in even greater quantities this season, with 25 points, 15 goals, and an astounding 20.8 shooting percentage.

Holmstrom showed us that his floor in the NHL should be as a depth scorer with consistent middle-six minutes, and if he makes another leap in 2024-25, it would be hard to place his actual ceiling. Even more impressive is that Holmstrom knew how to constantly distract opponents when the Isles were looking to take back possession, evidenced by his 53 takeaways.

While Holmstrom’s minus-11.1 possession quality at even strength was nothing to look twice at, he was on the ice for 33 of the Isles goals despite an xGF of 27.7 and for just 39 goals against, which was one over his xGA of 38.8. Overall, you can’t argue Holmstrom is trending in the right direction. While his numbers overall may not have jumped out, he's nonetheless taken a significant step forward in 2023-24.

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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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