The Bridgeport Islanders had a busy week, as they played two games on the road over the weekend and saw the return of Grant Hutton, who just finished up a stint at the NHL level. The Islanders dropped both games they played this past week – on Saturday (Dec. 9) they lost in Utica to the Comets and on Sunday (Dec. 10) they lost in Springfield to the Thunderbirds. After these matchups, Hutton was sent down to Bridgeport from the NHL club. Here are some key takeaways from the past week.
Offensive Frustration
The Islanders have had a frustrating season offensively thus far. At times it has seemed like they have done all the right things but still can’t find the back of the net, none more so than this past weekend. On Saturday, they outshot the Comets 32-25 and lost the game by a score of 4-1. Sunday was no better, as they outshot the Thunderbirds 35-29 and lost 5-1.
Their 67 shots on goal over two games this past weekend were not bad at all; only finding the back of the net twice in those matchups, however, was just not good enough to put themselves in a position to be competitive. Quite bizarrely, this has been the story of the Islanders’ season on offense. Their 2.09 goals per game is the worst in the American Hockey League (AHL) by a sizable amount, however, they are good at putting pucks on net: their 31.1 shots on goal per game is ninth in the league. The Islanders have scored on an astoundingly low 6.7% of their shots on goal: for context, no AHL team had a shooting percentage (SH%) below 8.8% last season. It has been simply impossible to build sustained offensive momentum with so few of their shots ending up in the back of the net.
Struggles in Net
Jakub Skarek has had an up-and-down season for the Islanders thus far. He has played the second-most minutes out of anyone in the AHL, and his 11 losses are four more than the second-most in the league. His .880 save percentage (SV%) has not been enough to bail the Islanders out in many of their poor offensive performances. He underwhelmed over the weekend, allowing three goals on 24 shots in Saturday’s game (.875 SV%) and really struggled on Sunday allowing five goals on 29 shots (.828 SV%).
Related: Bridgeport Islanders Drop Second in a Row to Providence Bruins
Backup goalie Ken Appleby has posted a marginally better SV% and goals-against average (GAA) than Skarek thus far this season. Whether head coach Rick Kowalsky continues to go with Skarek or decides to make a change, the Islanders will need to see an improvement in net if they hope to contend for a playoff spot.
Road Losing Streak
The Islanders have struggled away from Total Mortgage Arena this season. After winning their first game on the road, they have now dropped ten in a row away from home. Their inability to win road games is a large part of the reason that, despite being a .500 team at home, they have the second-fewest points in the AHL.
Despite where they stand right now, reaching the playoffs is not out of the realm of possibility, as 23 of 32 AHL teams find themselves in the postseason. However, the Islanders will need to start winning games away from home to be in the picture down the stretch.
Looking Ahead
The Islanders will have four more opportunities to break their losing streak away from home before Christmas, as they will travel to Charlotte to face the Checkers twice on Dec. 15 and 16. The following weekend they will head north for matchups with the Thunderbirds and Providence Bruins. While it may not be time to panic just yet, the Islanders need to win some of these upcoming games to start narrowing the 11-point gap between them and the rest of the Atlantic Division.
