The New York Islanders lost 3-0 on Oct. 12 against the Dallas Stars and in case that wasn’t bad enough, their American League Hockey (AHL) team managed to outdo them with a worse loss over the weekend. After losing their opening night game 3-2 to the Providence Bruins, the Bridgeport Islanders lost 3-0 on Oct. 13 to the Charlotte Checkers in a game where their offense was lifeless.
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This team wasn’t good last season, winning only 25 of the 72 games they played. To make matters worse, the Islanders have one of the worst offenses, defenses, and special teams in the league. They were bad across the board and the hope was that with some roster turnover, that would change. That’s not the case and there’s a chance that this team is even worse than last season’s group.
Islanders Lost Iskhakov & a Puck-Handling Presence
After one of the best seasons of his AHL tenure, Ruslan Iskhakov left the Islanders to head back overseas. Losing his 18 goals and 32 assists was already tough enough for the offense. Losing his on-ice intangibles and the skillset he provided makes Iskhakov a near-impossible player to replace.
Iskhakov was the primary puck handler when it came to moving the puck up the ice and operating in the offensive zone. He would allow the team to gain and maintain possession while setting up the offense in the process. For most of last season, he was the one bright spot and it’s why he was selected to the 2024 AHL All-Star Game.
He’s no longer on the Islanders and the team doesn’t have anyone who can replace him. Sure, they have scorers and playmakers throughout the lineup but they don’t have the skaters who can move the puck up the ice and help establish an offensive zone presence. It leaves the offense looking lost and searching for goals with only two in their first two games and none since their second period of action in the season.
Islanders’ Offense Remains Hapless
The Islanders went 0-3 on the power play on Saturday, Oct. 12, and 0-6 on Sunday. The unit was a weakness last season, scoring only 14.4 percent of opportunities, and it looks like this season’s group might be worse. In both games, the power play couldn’t establish a rhythm or generate many shots on the net.
The power play speaks to the greater issues with the offense. There’s a lack of puck movement and the scorers both fail to find open ice and take advantage of clean looks on the net. It’s part of the structural issue with the offense. The Islanders struggle to establish an offensive zone presence and when they do, the best hope is for one of the defensemen to fling the puck on the net and pray, a strategy that might allow them to score a few times but not consistently.
The question is where the changes will come from if they happen at all. An offense that has no identity is a red flag, a sign that the front office and the coaching staff have built a team poised to fail. It’s why the only hope for the Islanders this season lies in their prospects, notably, the new ones who have joined the team this season.
Young Additions Provide Hope in the Long Run
The good news is that for all the struggles, the Islanders have the young skaters who by season’s end, will be playing greater roles on the roster. Alex Jefferies joined the team late last season and is a regular in the forward unit two games in. Calle Odelius and Isaiah George are the top two defense prospects in the system and are playing their first seasons at the AHL level. The three skaters will play big roles and help turn the Islanders into a competitive team, especially once they find their footing.
On top of that, the Islanders will benefit from the veteran presence that, unlike last season’s veterans, includes some NHL experience. Pierre Engvall is the notable skater who comes to mind as he was placed on waivers before the season began but there’s also Hudson Fasching and Samuel Bolduc, two players who combined for 79 games on the NHL roster last season. Throw in a Chris Terry reunion, a familiar face who scored 27 goals and 51 assists in 2022-23 with the AHL team who is back with the Islanders, and they could be a good team a few weeks into the new season.
The Islanders have all the pieces in place to be a better team this season. They have an ideal balance of veterans who can contribute at both ends of the ice and young players improving and turning into top prospects in the pipeline. The task for this team is figuring out how to generate offense and take over games with the group they have.
