• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • Fantasy Hockey
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • Fantasy Hockey
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Advanced Stats

Islanders’ Cizikas Enjoying a Career Season

By Ryan Kamber March 18th, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

One of the most important things any hockey team can have is depth. Even if you field elite players on your first two lines, a team is only as good as its weakest link. In order to truly contend for a Stanley Cup, a squad must be solid on all four lines. 

Related: Copp Critical to Jets’ Fourth Line Success

One of the best fourth lines in hockey belongs to the New York Islanders. When it comes to the Islanders’ fourth unit, it’s wingers Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin that get the majority of the attention.

Clutterbuck and Martin have long been fan favorites, as both of their prowess for getting hits against the opponent are well appreciated by any Islanders supporter. While in the past it’s been Clutterbuck scoring most of the goals for the unit, this season has seen a shift in production on the fourth line. Clutterbuck still has a solid 21 points on the season in 61 games, but only eight goals. So who has been scoring those goals?

A Career Season for Cizikas

Look no further than Toronto native and lifelong Islander Casey Cizikas. “Zeeker,” as the Coliseum faithful refer to him, is having himself a career season. With 12 games to go in the season, he has already surpassed his career highs in points, goals, plus/minus and shooting percentage.

Tampa Bay Lightning Andrei Vasilevskiy New York Islanders Casey Cizikas

New York Islanders fans are starting to get used to the sight center Casey Cizikas scoring goals (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The 28-year-old Cizikas has seriously elevated his game and has evolved into the unit’s leading goal scorer. After having never topped eight goals in a season, he has already found the back of the net 19 times in 2018-19. He places third on the team in goals, behind only Anders Lee and Brock Nelson. Of his 63 career goals, about 30 percent have been scored since the start of the current season. That is quite the ratio for a player in his eighth season in the NHL.

Cizikas’ plus/minus of plus-26 is not only the best mark on the team, but it’s currently the 10th-best mark in the NHL. For reference, his previous career high in that category was plus-nine.

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has high praise for Cizikas.“You’re talking about a player who leaves everything on the ice every day,” Trotz said. “It’s not only during the games. It’s practices. He’s got a motor, and that’s a skill in itself. He’s grown. He’s had a terrific year.”

Buy or Sell?

So are we seeing a fourth-liner grow into a superstar before our very eyes, or is it just an outlier?

As much as Islanders fans hate to hear this, a great deal of Cizikas’s success this season can be attributed to luck. His unsustainably high 19.6 percent shooting percentage is over six points higher than his previous career high of 13.3, a mark he set in his second season in the league back in 2012-13 when he played just 45 games. It’s also tied for the eighth highest of anyone in the league.

Casey Cizikas - New York Islanders

Are Cizikas’s numbers this season sustainable? (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Cizikas’s stellar season fails the analytical test as well. PDO, a statistic that combines on-ice save and shooting percentages, is one of the best ways to measure how lucky a player or team has been. A high PDO means a player or team is due to regress to the mean. Cizikas’ PDO of 1.054 leads the Islanders and places in the top-30 in the league.

While stats such as PDO and shooting percentage can provide context, they do not tell the whole story. It is still very possible the Cizikas has taken a step forward. Perhaps it’s unfair to expect such an elite level of play from him next season, but we still may be looking at one of the Islanders’ most improved skaters.

  • Tags
  • Casey Cizikas
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Facebook Comments

Editor’s Picks
'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe

'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe

9434
'Brass Bonanza' - The Sound of Hockey

'Brass Bonanza' - The Sound of Hockey

8363
Recent Posts
Dec 5th 11:55 AM
Montreal Canadiens

NHL Rumors: Canadiens, Flames, Devils, Oilers, More

Dec 5th 10:50 AM
Vancouver Canucks

9 Takeaways From Canucks 5-2 Win Over Senators

Dec 5th 10:35 AM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres’ Krueger Pushing All the Right Buttons

Dec 5th 10:20 AM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Glaring Defensive Issues

Dec 5th 10:05 AM
Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes Earn Three Points in Up-and-Down Week

Dec 5th 9:50 AM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning: Where Has Johnson Gone?

Dec 5th 9:35 AM
Column

Jets’ 3 Stars of the Week: Nov. 28- Dec. 4

Dec 5th 9:20 AM
Montreal Canadiens

THW’s Goalie News: Jarry Makes His Case and More

Dec 5th 9:05 AM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Prospect Report: Robertson Out, Kara’s Streak & More

Dec 5th 8:50 AM
New Jersey Devils

5 Options for Devils to Replace Hynes

Stay in Touch
Contact Us

Via our Newsletters
RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Our Partners
HFBoards

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.

© The Hockey Writers 2018. All rights reserved.
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • Atlantic Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Metropolitan Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Dallas Stars
    • Minnesota Wild
    • Nashville Predators
    • St Louis Blues
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • Pacific Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle NHL
    • Vegas Golden Knights
    • Vancouver Canucks
  • Store
  • The THW Archives
  • Prospects
  • The Goalie Page
  • NHL Salary Cap Information
  • Join Our Team
  • Search THW