At the end of January, the situation was looking bleak for the New York Islanders.
They had just given up the game-winning goal in the last minute of the game against a handicapped Washington Capitals team and coach Barry Trotz criticized the players, saying they weren’t showing a playoff mentality.
“It’s playoff mentality right now and I’m not sure we have our playoff mentality yet,” Trotz said at the time. He was clearly irked.
“We need more. I just felt we had one line,” the coach also said, promising he would shake things up.
The Shakeup Is On
Trotz did shake things up, changing up the line combinations, and the Islanders have responded.
Anthony Beauvillier, who returned Tuesday from a nine-game injury absence on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres, played alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom instead of his usual linemate Brock Nelson.
With Beauvillier out, taking the place of Leo Komarov in the lineup, Trotz used the opportunity to experiment with other combinations.
“I liked (Mathew) Barzal, Beauvillier and Wahlstrom together,” Trotz said. “They got a couple of looks off of that.”
It took some time for the Islanders to get untracked. Trotz’s comments about lacking a playoff mentality came amid a five-game losing streak as the Islanders looked in disarray.
Sorokin stopped all 20 shots on his way to his first NHL win, the Captain netted ✌️ goals and the #Isles won their third-straight game!
Read more in our 5️⃣ Takeaways ⬇️https://t.co/HpEsQxT5ij
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 17, 2021
Since that five-game losing streak, the Islanders have gone 5-1, with their only loss coming in a shootout against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In defeating the Sabres 3-1 and 3-0 this week, there was much optimism in their game. In the 3-1 victory on Monday, the Islanders held the Sabres without a shot on goal for the whole third period, which was the first time this was achieved in franchise history.
“He [Sorokin] was unbelievable. You saw the athleticism. He made some huge saves.”
Trotz ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gxRAu5RFPv
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 17, 2021
Then, in a 3-1 victory on Tuesday, 25-year-old rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin (20 saves) recorded his first career shutout.
Sorokin, who led the KHL in shutouts in each of the last two seasons (20) and earned KHL playoffs MVP in 2018-19, became just the seventh rookie goaltender in Islanders history to post a regular-season shutout.
He also joined Anders Nilsson (March 4, 2012) as just the second goaltender in Islanders history to record a shutout in his first career regular-season win.
The shutout should raise his confidence because Sorokin owns a 1-2-1 record with a mediocre 2.74 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
“He was outstanding,” Trotz said. “The athleticism. He made some huge saves. As a goaltender, you want to get your first win and to get it with a shutout is huge.”
Can’t pick one awesome Sorokin save, SO all of his awesome saves are our @NewYorkLottery Moment of the Game! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/jficIjpgrP
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 17, 2021
The Islanders are on a nice roll. They extended their points streak to eight games (5-0-3), which is halfway to their franchise-record 17-game points streak achieved in the 2019-20 campaign. And they have taken over second place in the East Division behind the Boston Bruins.
“It’s really hard to win both games of a back-to-back,” Trotz said. “You usually see teams split. A lot of the things that we’re doing have allowed us to win consecutive games.”
While the defense is tightening up, the Islanders are getting production from the bottom six forwards too.
Pageau On Fire
Against Buffalo on Tuesday, Pageau scored his fifth goal in four games and now has six goals on the season. Topping the leaderboard is Anders Lee with seven goals, followed by Pageau, Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal with six each.
But the bad part is the scoring power is concentrated in these four players — Lee, Pageau, Eberle and Barzal — who have contributed 65% of the team’s offense (38 goals). At some point, Beauvillier (0-1) and Josh Bailey (1-7) are going to have to raise their production.
The Isles have used quick starts to their advantage. This season, the Islanders have scored an incredible 19 first-period goals, which ranks them No. 3 in the league behind Edmonton (22) and Columbus (21).
But there’s a considerable drop-off after that.
Half of the Islanders’ 38 goals this season have come in the first period. Those starts have allowed the Islanders to settle into their protective defensive structure and smother teams the rest of the way.
“It’s good preparation,” Pageau said of the Isles strong starts. “Being ready to play your role as best as you can and that’s why we come out strong.”
The second period is where the Islanders drop off. They have scored a league-low six goals in the second frame, and this trend may get them into trouble going forward.
Barzal is Mr. Consistent
Of course, the Islanders aren’t going too far without the continued production from Barzal, and he’s been the most consistent player on the club.
The centerman extended his points streak to nine games with an assist on Monday before it ended on Tuesday. But Barzal is producing at a point-a-game pace with six goals and a team-leading nine assists for 15 points.
Barzal has registered a point in 11 of the Islanders’ 15 games as he continues to make good on the new $21-million, three-year extension he signed prior to the season.
This season has been a tale of two Islanders teams: The lousy one that started the season 3-4-2 in the first month, and this one that has caught fire in February, going 5-1 so far this month.
The Islanders will see if their strong run can continue when their four-game road trip continues with a two-game set against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and Saturday.
