The NY Islanders imperfectly weathered the storm without Mathew Barzal

The New York Islanders had already lost Anthony Duclair and were off to a sputtering start when star forward Mathew Barzal was hurt in a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 30th.

The team was on an early three-game losing streak and now without two of their top goal scorers and defenseman Adam Pelech, the mission at that point for the next six weeks was to weather the storm and find a way to keep themselves well within the playoff picture until their star returned.

The NY Islanders imperfectly weathered the storm without Mathew Barzal

Six weeks later, and with Barzal's expected return to this afternoon in Chicago, Patrick Roy's team has done exactly that. The Isles were 3-5-2 and had the fewest points in the Eastern Conference when Barzal was hurt. They're now sitting with a record of 12-12-7, 11th in the East, a point out of a playoff spot, and three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first Wild Card.

Because of all the blown third-period leads and lack of success in overtime and the shootout, it doesn't feel like the Islanders have gone 9-7-5 in the 21 games without Barzal. Yet, most fans would've probably signed up to be exactly where the Islanders are after the injury timeframe was announced. That's partly a byproduct of a mediocre bottom half of the Eastern Conference but also because Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, and Simon Holmstrom have stepped up to provide scoring, and Ilya Sorokin is looking more and more like the 2022-23 edition every game.

It feels that things simultaneously could have been worse with Barzal, but it could also have been better. There were missed opportunities for sure, but the Islanders achieved the primary mission of staying afloat until reinforcements returned. With 51 games left and Duclair expected back soon, there is more than enough time for the Islanders to find their game with the roster GM Lou Lamoriello built and the one Roy was tasked with lifting out of mediocrity.