Report Card: Grading the NY Islanders through the first two months of 2024-25

If I were to have projected where the NY Islanders stood through roughly the first two months of the 2024-25 season, I would have gotten one thing right. That fans would be looking at an average team eerily similar to what it was last season, and they haven’t disappointed me.

Before Thursday’s matchup with the Seattle Kraken, the Isles are 9-10-7, with just 67 goals for but a fair 77 goals against. Again, the team is a mirror image of what they were a season ago. Oh, and their cap situation also hasn’t gotten any better, so it’s tough to tell if anything is different between 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

Clearly, a team just meeting expectations, in my mind, warrants a grade no better than a ‘C.’ One more than in playoff contention, however, as it’s not like the Islanders are that far out of fourth place in the Metropolitan as I write this. And that stands for something. 

Hey, it’s not their fault they’re in an ultra-competitive Metro Division. And by the way, they’d be a solid fifth going into Thursday night with a chance to leapfrog the Tampa Bay Lightning if they were in the Atlantic. 

The NY Islanders are a decent team in a rough, tough division

Few NHL teams are in a more unfortunate situation than the Isles, who are also dealing with a couple of overachievers in the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. They also have a cross-town rival in the NY Rangers, a team that is struggling right now to gain any traction. Still, the Blueshirts have one of the most talented lineups in hockey and could get hot again any time. 

So, one reason it looks so average on Long Island is that this team has neither improved nor regressed while those who finished below them last season have gotten better. But, they’re in a position to repeat what they did last season. 

In case you need a refresher, the Isles struggled, struggled, and struggled some more until the climactic, down-the-stretch part of the season took fold, and they ended up sneaking into the postseason. 

Is what we’ve seen through the first two months of the season a foreshadowing? If there’s a positive in this situation, it’s that at least Ilya Sorokin is doing a better job holding up in the net. 

So, if the Isles star goaltender can keep playing elite hockey, then maybe we’ll see them find a way to acquire a top-six scorer who can routinely put pucks into the net and take this team a little further than they went last year. 

But right now, considering the overall lack of team improvement amidst bad circumstances, I’m sticking with the average ‘C’ I gave this team earlier. Until they turn the corner and embark on another exciting run, the Isles will remain mired in mediocrity.