The New York Islanders have a situation brewing, and it isn’t a pleasant one. Scoring has been an issue for this organization for a couple of years, but the dismal start to the season has highlighted new problems that underscore the poor quality on the ice. While many are looking at the positives, there have been several screaming issues for the Islanders in the 2025-26 season already, and the first week of the season has not been easy for head coach Patrick Roy and his team.
Scoring
It’s not new, but that does not mean it is not a problem. The Islanders are averaging 2.75 goals a game through four games. That’s not good enough. With 11 goals through four games, that rate puts them in the bottom half of the league for scoring. It’s been a problem for a long time, but it’s underscoring the 1-3-0 start the Islanders have endured to the 2025-26 campaign.
Only eight forwards have goals. That’s two forwards scoring per game. That means to be certain of a win on average, Ilya Sorokin would have to allow a single goal or post a shutout. That’s a ridiculous ask, even for a goaltender as good as Sorokin. It’s going to be what sinks the Islanders if they are unable to find a remedy to the situation. You can argue the Islanders have played three excellent teams in four games, so it isn’t a fair reflection of their scoring power. In such a small sample size, it is a fair and valid point, but the history of these scoring woes does not favor a quick resolution.
Related: Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer Scores First NHL Goal Against Capitals
There is a case to be made that the Islanders are getting unlucky with the puck. They’re shooting at 8.3% through four games. Even last season, the Islanders shot at 9.6%, so that will go up. The shooting percentage likely reflects the quality goaltenders the Islanders have faced, but it isn’t a statistic that absolves the organization of guilt. The goal is to compete, and to do that, the Islanders must score on the top goaltenders in the NHL.
Goaltending
I said Sorokin is a good goaltender, and that’s usually true. However, the Russian shot-stopper has been dreadful. Twelve goals against on 82 shots gives him an .854 save percentage. Again, three games are not large enough to say he’s going to have a bad season. We’ve seen him wake up in the past and remember he can compete for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, but a brutal start to the season leaves him needing to catch up quickly.
According to Moneypuck, Sorokin has an expected goals against (xGA) of 10.33. We’ll get to what that means from the players in front of him, but it gives the Russian a goals saved above expected (GSAx) of -1.7. When the team is having offensive struggles, that’s a stat line that has to change. Without diving into the specifics of his contract, the Islanders need him to be better. He’s supposed to be one of the elite netminders in the NHL. He needs to steal games when the Islanders aren’t firing.
Is it too early in the season to be looking at average stats for a goaltender? Honestly, probably. So, let’s look at the simple stats. Twelve goals against on 82 shots is not good enough, but forget that for now. He’s averaging 4.00 goals against per game. If the Islanders have to score five to win, they’re going to finish towards the bottom of the standings. No team in the league can score itself out of a hole as deep as that.
Penalty Kill Struggles
The Islanders have struggled defensively, but specifically, the penalty kill is struggling. Killing at just 71.4%, that’s in the bottom seven of the league. When you cannot score and cannot kill penalties, winning becomes far more difficult. Especially when the Islanders have the 11th-most penalty minutes of any team in the NHL, despite having played fewer games than almost everyone else. It’s a sign of ill-discipline, which is precisely what the Islanders are trying to avoid.
With the way the team roster was altered in the summer, it will take time for Patrick Roy to acclimate to his style of play. That’s not something that will fix itself overnight. These growing pains will continue in all forms of the game, but the shortcoming when down a man is biting the team. Traditionally, the Islanders’ strong defense has allowed them to be passable at worst when on the kill, but the start to the season has challenged that.
As for what comes next, the schedule does not wait. The best deodorant is winning. With the games continuing to flow, breaking the team’s goose egg in the points column will start to cover the axe wound. It’s still early enough to overcome the struggling start to the season. However, the turnaround has to happen soon. There are too many instances of teams having their seasons sunk because of a bad start. Those points matter in April, and for a team with playoff aspirations, it can cause a complete season write-off.
