Through the first twelve games of the season, a lot of the attention around the Islanders has centered around rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer and rightfully so. The number one overall pick is off to a sensational start with five goals and five assists for ten points and that puts him in a tie with Bo Horvat for the team lead in scoring.
But while Schaefer has been the headline story, there’s another reason why the Islanders have rebounded from an 0-3 start to get to 6-5-1 following Sunday night’s 3-2 win over Columbus at UBS Arena.
The Islanders have been getting contributions from up and down the lineup.
“When that tends to happen, you tend to play good hockey,” said Islanders Captain Anders Lee following Monday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center.
So far this season, Lee has two goals and seven assists for nine points.
“When everyone is chipping in, we have success. You love to see it and you love to get rewarded for it. It keeps everyone feeling good about themselves.”
When it comes to putting the puck in the back of the net, 14 different Islanders have scored at least one goal this season and there are five players who have lit the lamp at least four time.
One of them is right winger Simon Holmstrom who scored the game winner Sunday night with just 38 seconds left in the third period.
“I think that just shows how deep this team is and how connected we are,” said Holmstrom who has come on after a slow start to collect four goals and four assists for eight points. “We all know what to do out there and I think everyone is doing their best.”
In need of more scoring following last season, new Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche dipped into the free agent pool and brought in former Colorado Avalanche left winger Jonathan Drouin. The 30-year-old former first round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning has contributed a goal and six assists for seven points and he’s also played well defensively with a +5 rating.
“I feel like we have good depth from the defensemen to the forward lines,” said Drouin. “It’s not only one guy or one line. Everyone is contributing.”
After back-to-back wins over the Capitals and Blue Jackets, the Islanders hope to keep the momentum going when they welcome the Boston Bruins to UBS Arena on Tuesday night. This will be the second meeting of the season between the Islanders and Bruins after they first squared off last Tuesday in Boston, a game that the Islanders let slip away.
After taking a 2-0 lead after one period, the Islanders surrendered five unanswered goals in a 5-2 loss.
“I thought we played a really good game against (in Boston),” said Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy. “I don’t think they beat us but they won the game. We need to make sure we find a way to win the game.”
After jumping out to the lead, the Islanders were their own worst enemies over the final two periods as they were not able to capitalize on their chances scoring just two goals on 35 shots. They were horrible on special teams going 0 for 5 on the power play and 2 for 4 on the penalty kill.
“We just hope it’s not ourselves again,” said Lee on that first meeting with the Bruins. “And make sure that we take care of the puck and our game and continue with the momentum that we gained a little bit from (Sunday) night and hopefully have a great crowd behind us.”
“Our first period against them last time was a really good period,” said Holmstrom. “And then we didn’t play as good in the second period. We want to get that one back.”
That loss in Boston, was the second of three straight Islanders losses and one, to a man, that still doesn’t sit well with them. This time around, the Islanders hope to play a full sixty-minute game against the Bruins.
“We weren’t happy with the way those two periods went after the first in Boston,” said Drouin. “I’m sure we’ll be ready. Boston is a good team. They make you earn it and it’s going to be a good game.”
The season could have turned south on the Islanders twice in the early going, once after the first three games and then again after a second three-game losing streak. But the Islanders have shown to be a resilient and, at time, a pretty exciting team to watch over the first dozen games. We’ll see if that continues this week.