What Went Wrong With the NY Islanders this season?

Injuries are part of the sport, but the Islanders' loss of Tony DeAngelo in game 75 of the season was crucial. DeAngelo’s ability to break out the puck and skate zone to zone was heavily missed as both he and fellow right-hander Ryan Pulock dealt with injuries down the final stretch.

Reserve defenders like Carson Soucy, who was wastefully acquired from the Rangers before the Olympic break, were not able to pick up the load left due to injury. The results showed in must-win hockey games in March and April. Other additions, like Ondrej Palat, served the Islanders no good. The jury is still out on Brayden Schenn, who did bring much-needed offense to the Islanders but undeniably was a poor defensive centerman. He will play wing next season under DeBoer.

Last and certainly not least, the Islanders' power play was just abysmal for another year. Finishing at a 16.5% success rate and ranked 30/32 NHL teams, it was another dreadful year for the Isles man advantage. Eight of the 40 power-play goals the Islanders scored this season came off the stick of an 18-year-old defenseman. The Islanders have not been a top 15 power play team in the NHL since the 2017-2018 season. John Tavares was still the Islander captain; Matthew Schaefer was nine years old. It has been a long time since the man advantage was actually an advantage. The Islanders need to fix this to get back into the playoffs. Of the top 10 power plays in the league, nine will get to compete for Lord Stanley. The Rangers are the only team inside the top 10 reaching for their golf clubs early. The Islanders will be joining them.

In what will subjecively be another long Islanders offseason, there is plenty of good to build off of that we saw this past season.

The Islanders have a generational talent on the backend, and emerging young forwards like Cal Ritchie and Emil Heineman have plenty of potential to continue to get better.

What is left for Mathieu Darche to decide is how much roster turnover is still needed entering year two. The Islanders still have plenty of veterans who may have overstayed their welcome. Darche, who over-managed much of this season, has his hands full this summer. Fortunately for him, he has a head coach in Pete DeBoer who should certainly help.

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