The New York Islanders hosted the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night as part of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy. If you watched it and not this game exclusively, you probably forgot these two teams existed. They combined for one goal on a night where goals were being scored left and right.
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This game was a reminder of where the Islanders and the Red Wings stand in the Eastern Conference and how their rosters are built. They have a lot of top-end talent but not much else. It explains why the Red Wings barely clawed their way to a 1-0 victory while mustering only 10 shots on the net.
The depth of both teams is nonexistent. It’s also one of the reasons why both the Islanders and the Red Wings can be borderline playoff teams but not much better. The elite players can get them to the playoffs and that’s the ceiling.
Star Power Will Steal a Few Games
The Islanders have Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson, and Noah Dobson who can carry the offense and lead the team to victories. It’s why they made the playoffs last season, sneaking in as the third-best team in the Metropolitan Division. The four skaters can lift an offense when not much is happening otherwise.
The Red Wings have a similar core leading the way. Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat are the three forwards carrying the top six while Moritz Seider is the two-way defenseman anchoring the defense. The rest of the roster has question marks but the core makes them competitive.
The problems with both teams are twofold. The first issue is that these players, the stars who are meant to lead their teams, are good but not great. None of the above-mentioned players are superstars who can singlehandedly carry their teams. It leads to the second issue which is that when they are good but not great, the roster needs its depth to be there and with both rosters it’s not and ultimately, it’s what lets them down.
Ultimately, the Depth Is What Makes a Difference
It felt fitting that Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko connected for the only goal in the recent game, allowing the Red Wings to win. They are the veterans who were signed in recent offseasons to add a spark to the middle of the forward unit. Sure, both Kane and Tarasenko used to be elite players back in the day and have declined in recent seasons but they play a key role of adding depth to the Red Wings.
The Islanders meanwhile have a few interesting players on their third and fourth lines but they have underachieved early on. Anders Lee has two goals while Maxim Tsyplakov has a goal and two assists, making him one of the better young skaters on the roster, but the rest of the offense has struggled.
Only five active forwards have three points and nobody has three goals six games into the season. When the stars can only do so much and the depth is underachieving, it’s a roster set up to fail. So far it has and the issue is further amplified with Anthony Duclair, the big signing of the summer, out with a long-term injury.
The Red Wings so far have seen their depth step up, notably in the last two games and particularly on the defensive end of the ice. The combination of veterans and young skaters has given them a boost with Ben Chiarot and Simon Edvinsson combining for 1.3 defensive point shares to give the defense multiple reliable pairings. The big thing is seeing the depth step up throughout the season. They looked like a playoff team for most of last season but fell apart at the end so it’s hard to call them one this early in the season.
Red Wings Youth Movement Gives Them Hope
The Red Wings have the younger skaters and the farm system to become contenders in the near future. Yes, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 but general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman has rebuilt the prospect pool over the years and now, the group is ready to make an impact at the NHL level.
The Islanders on the other hand don’t have a promising pipeline. It’s part of the trade-off of GM Lou Lamoriello pushing for the team to contend and keeping the group together. It hasn’t cost the Islanders in recent seasons as they’ve made the playoffs in five of the last six but with the team desperate to add young talent, not having any could cost them not just this season but in the long run.
The Islanders and the Red Wings are in the same tier and will be elbowing for playoff position all season. The Islanders have an advantage in the net with Ilya Sorokin being one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL but ironically, that didn’t help in the recent game as they lost 1-0. It’s early in the season but the recent Red Wings’ victory could end up going a long way.
