NY Islanders' Three Burning Questions Heading Into the Season

Believe it or not, the NY Islanders 2022-23 season is upon us. The Islanders began training camp this week and will open preseason tonight against the New York Rangers. There are three burning questions about the blue and orange heading into the 2022-23 season. Let's break down each as we inch closer to the regular season

Do the Isles Have Enough Scoring?

The first question that everyone is asking is do the Islanders have enough scoring to get back to being a Stanley Cup contender? Last year the Isles finished 23rd in scoring during the regular season. The Isles are going to need to improve that mark. Granted the Islanders play a defensive style and when they are going well they are among the top teams in goals allowed per game, however, they still need to figure out how to fill the net.

Interestingly to note under the Barry Trotz era the Isles finished between 21st and 24th in terms of goals per game before last year. However, the difference is before last year the Islanders finished either second or third in goals allowed per game during Trotz's first three years behind the bench.

Last year they slipped to seventh in GA/GP and it greatly affected their record. It's not easy constantly winning low-scoring one-goal games and if a team's game is a little off in that regard it will significantly impact their record. We saw that last year with the Isles.

So the Isles need to stay true to who they are but they also need to improve their scoring which will surely be an obstacle after no outside additions this offseason. Offensively other than Brock Nelson, Noah Dobson, Anders Lee, and Zach Parise everyone had a down offensively year. Production and consistency were down across the board.

In addition, the Islanders need to find the right linemates for Mathew Barzal so the team can get the most out of him on both ends of the ice. Barzal last year offensively had just 15 goals, and 59 points in 73 games while sporting a -15 plus-minus. The Islanders can't be a prime-time contender with that kind of production from Barzal.

linematesBarzal is an elite player and the Islanders need to get those kinds of results from both him and his line mates. This is critical to the Islanders having huge success this season.