DETROIT – The Islanders are one week away from a potentially significant milestone in their season.
Approximately 75% of the NHL teams holding a postseason position at Thanksgiving go on to make the playoffs. And the Islanders are in the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot entering Thursday night’s match against the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena to conclude a seven-game road trip that’s started 5-1-0.
It will be Game No. 21 for the Islanders (11-7-2), meaning they’ve reached the quarter mark of the 82-game schedule, enough time to recognize both the positive trends and potential concerns.
“We’ve been playing consistent,” captain Anders Lee said. “It’s a result of guys playing their role, not doing too much, doing exactly what they’ve been asked to do, whether it’s kill penalties or be smart with the puck or be offensive. We’re playing as a team.”
Positive trend: Let’s start with the obvious. Eighteen-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer has exceeded the lofty expectations that come with being the first overall pick and is already one of the best players in the league. He’s tied for third in scoring on the Islanders with seven goals and eight assists and his 15 points lead all rookies. He’s on the brink of becoming the youngest to ever lead all NHL defensemen in goals at a season’s quarter pole. Plus, he’s good enough defensively to play on the top pair.
“He’ll skate by you pretty quickly,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “He’ll blow by you. He’s such a really, really good, young player who’s making an impact right away. In our league, that’s pretty special.”
Potential concern: The Islanders’ defense depth has been worrisome, and that was before Alexander Romanov was helped off the ice late in Tuesday’s 3-2 win in Dallas after taking a boarding major from Mikko Rantanen. The Islanders did not practice on Wednesday, so the earliest there will be an update on Romanov’s status will be Thursday.
Despite the Islanders’ fury at the hit, especially from coach Patrick Roy, Rantanen did not receive any supplementary discipline from the NHL past his game misconduct.
But if Romanov is out for a spell, that leaves a hole on the left side. Seventh defenseman Adam Boqvist is a righty who can switch to his off side. Or perhaps Laurel Hollow lefty Marshall Warren gets another call-up from AHL Bridgeport. General manager Mathieu Darche was probably already looking at having to acquire a right-shooting blue-liner to play ahead of Boqvist and, likely, Tony DeAngelo.
Positive trend: The Islanders’ penalty kill, woefully bad last season when it finished 31st in the NHL, has been a real strength of late, allowing the Islanders to win four one-goal games on this trip. The Islanders have killed 20 of 22 chances in the last six games, and one of those power-play goals came five-on-three.
Positive trend: The penalty killing success starts in net and both Ilya Sorokin and David Rittich have been excellent. The Islanders are 9-1-3 since Sergei Naumovs replaced Piero Greco as the goalie coach. The overall numbers for Sorokin (6-5-2, 2.91 goals-against average, .898 save percentage) and Rittich (5-2-0, 2.99, .896) reflect a rocky start. But Sorokin has allowed just 12 goals in his last six starts, while Rittich has been equally stingy, giving up four goals in his two starts on this trip.
Potential concern: There’s still some searching to be done to construct the optimum forward lines. Simon Holmstrom’s absence from Tuesday’s lineup because of illness highlighted that as Roy put the trios into a blender quickly. Holmstrom has skated on a reliable line with Mathew Barzal – who still prefers to play on Bo Horvat’s wing – and Jonathan Druoin. Horvat (13 goals, 11 assists) and Emil Heineman (nine goals, five assists) have been very steady with Kyle Palmieri. But the Islanders still need more from Anthony Duclair (three goals, four assists) and need to find a way to get Max Shabanov into a top-nine role while still having an effective fourth line. That’s now centered by rookie Cal Ritchie, who notched his first point as an Islander with a goal against the Stars.
This is another area Darche will likely have to address via trade.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.