The Islanders' reality: They're just not a very good team
Islanders center Brock Nelson and defenseman Noah Dobson react after Seattle Kraken center Jaden Schwartz scored an empty-net goal in the third period of an NHL game at UBS Arena on Dec. 5. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
TORONTO
Whether the Islanders close out 2024 with a victory over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday afternoon is almost immaterial at this point, given that they struggle to replicate solid outings. They are good enough to win some games. They are inconsistent enough to lose more.
Three games shy of this season’s midpoint, this no longer is a trend. It’s the Islanders’ reality.
And if 2024, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, should demonstrate anything to Islanders ownership or management — because the signs seemed overlooked in 2022 and 2023 — it’s that the Islanders are not who they think they are. Unless they can prove otherwise, they are not a serious Stanley Cup contender.
If the Eastern Conference were stronger, they wouldn’t even be a fringe playoff contender.
When asked after Sunday night’s 3-2 loss in Pittsburgh if he could explain the Islanders’ inconsistency, Bo Horvat said, “No, I wish I could.” They again failed to win consecutive games. They’ve done that only twice this season.
Coach Patrick Roy criticized his team’s compete level after the loss in comparison with Saturday’s impressive 6-3 win over the Penguins at UBS Arena. Roy questioned whether his team was mentally strong enough after falling behind 2-0 on Sunday.
“When they scored that goal, I thought that we were affected by it,” he said. “All we had to do was focus on scoring the next one.”
To this point, Roy has proved to be no more the answer than predecessor Lane Lambert was, and that’s not a knock on either coach. The Islanders are not inconsistent because of schemes. They’re not the worst in the NHL on both the power play and penalty kill because of X’s-and-O’s.
The constant has been the roster. At this group’s height, when they went to the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021, the Islanders were an incredibly resilient squad that gave opponents physical fits in the biggest moments. The defense was a strength. Fast-forward to 2025 and none of that is true all the time.
The defense has been leaky in protecting the net. The Islanders don’t wear down opponents on a consistent basis. Though they haven’t blown a third-period lead in December, the season’s first two months left the Islanders with a reputation for doing so. Never the fastest team — and speed is a necessity in the NHL — the Islanders look too slow too often.
The time must be now for decision-making owner Scott Malkin to demand more. More answers from president and general manager Lou Lamoriello, who must weigh when to trade pending unrestricted free agents Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.
The Islanders are 14-16-7, and only the dysfunctional, nosediving Rangers are keeping them out of last place in the Metropolitan Division. They enter the final game of this calendar year 37-33-14 in 2024, which would be a non-playoff-worthy 88 points in an 84-game season (coming soon to the NHL).
Only a 10-2-3 run to end last season earned them a playoff berth and subsequent five-game, first-round elimination. Take those 15 games away and the Islanders are a very meh 27-31-11 in 2024.
This is the Islanders’ reality.
Happy New Year.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
