NY Islanders: Three Stars of the Week, 10/30/23- 11/5/23

SECOND STAR:

Noah Dobson. Dobson has continued to be a star for the Islanders, who will sorely need this to continue in the wake of Adam Pelech's hip injury. This week, Dobson had a goal and two assists in three games and is now up to three goals and seven assists in 10 games. While scoring a point-per-game is great, where Dobson has really flourished is defensively, where his game has reached another level from previous seasons. And importantly, this defensive improvement has not caused Dobson to sacrifice any offense; if anything, he's adding offense. With ten points in ten games after scoring 100 points over the last two seasons, Dobson continues to emerge as a star for the Isles.

Dobson opened the scoring last night for the Isles with one of the prettiest-looking goals of his career. Cutting in on his backhand in the face of former All-Star defenseman Jacob Slavin, Dobson showed patience, burying his shot past the blocker of Anti Raanta.

And with Pelech's injury, Dobson will now be expected to take over as the Isles' de facto #1 defenseman- a role I believe he is ready to fill. This week proved that he is more than ready for the opportunity.