Turning Point? Islanders Sweep Weekend, Back to NHL .500

The New York Islanders (11-11-7) are truly one of the more confusing teams of our time. Just when you think they might be circling the drain, the team rattles off two impressive wins to get back to .500 and have as many points as the New York Rangers.

The Carolina Game:

The weekend started with a Saturday evening game against the Islanders’ vanquisher in 2023 and 2024, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders hadn’t won a regular season home game against the Hurricanes since 2018. Still down Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and Adam Pelech, and coming off the blowout loss to Seattle, you’d hardly be alone in forecasting a not-so-good Saturday night for the Islanders.

Instead, the Islanders played, for my money, their best period of the season in the second period against the ‘Canes, jolting them to a spirited 4-3 victory. All four Islanders’ goals came in the second frame, all of which came at 5v5. The Islanders outshot the Hurricanes 12-2 in the second period.

Bo Horvat scored his first goal in 14 games. He added two assists as his two new linemates, Maxim Tsyplakov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, added tallies to the board.

Pageau, in particular, sparkled. He had two primary assists, and his one to Horvat truly took the cake. An odd-man rush streaking the other way, rifled in by Horvat. Elsewhere, Oliver Wahlstrom potted his second of the year. His line, with Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom, has also played quite well together.

Just when people may have started to write off Wahlstrom, he stepped up. His forechecking and positioning continue to improve; the key is his improvement when he’s got the puck. Too often, plays died on his stick this season. Perhaps that goal sparks more confidence, something he still can use.

Then came the third period. Up 4-2, the Islanders knew a surge was coming. Would it be like the previous playoffs, where silly mistakes doom the Islanders?

No. Despite being outshot 19-2, the Islanders held out until there were just 49 seconds left to concede a goal on an unlucky rebound that landed on Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s stick. The Islanders held on behind Ilya Sorokin’s sparkling start.

The Ottawa Game:

Following a spirited victory, the Islanders hustled aboard a charter plane and took it to Ottawa, Ontario. That’s where they’d play the Senators, with both puck drops coming down exactly 24 hours apart. The Senators benefitted from no travel, having defeated the Nashville Predators 3-1 the previous night.

Normally, Semyon Varlamov would take a start. Instead, with the veteran goalie tending to an undisclosed lower-body injury, Sorokin started both games.

Sorokin almost singlehandedly won the game for the Islanders tonight in Ottawa. The Senators outshot the Islanders 31-13. Sorokin stopped 29 out of 31, with only one goal beating him at 5v5 and the other coming on an Ottawa power play. Instead of finding a way to lose, the Islanders found a way to win. Nice change of pace, don’t you think?

Despite the Ottawa PPG, the Islanders killed 2/3 of Ottawa man advantages. Mix in a perfect 2/2 on the power play, and all of a sudden, the Islanders have a winning night on special teams. Seriously, the Islanders won the special teams battle for the fourth time in 28 games this year.

Want more feel-good stats? That’s just the second time the Islanders have won twice in a row all season. It’s also the first time both wins came in regulation.

Kyle Palmieri recorded his 500th and 501st NHL points. Noah Dobson extended his point streak to four games. The fourth line scored a goal when Kyle MacLean knocked one in. It was all breaking the Islanders’ way for the first time all season.

Finally, the team had a one-goal lead to protect late in the third. Behind some strong saves from Sorokin, the Islanders held out long enough for Horvat to get an empty netter, another scarce event in these parts.

Just a perfect weekend for the Islanders.

So, is it a turning point?

Well, the Islanders will wake up tied with the Rangers in points at 29. The Rangers have played three fewer games, but hey, it’s a very positive thing.

Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and Adam Pelech continue to skate as their returns draw near. Pelech has already skated with the team multiple times.

For all the negative, the team did an admirable job of staying in the fight, no matter how frustrating it could’ve gotten. That stems right from the head coach, Patrick Roy. On multiple occasions, I asked him point blank if frustration had set in.

Every single time, he replied with a resounding no. There’s a belief in that room that cannot be shaken or questioned, even if they’re perhaps the most frustrating team in the league at times.

The Islanders have an opportunity in front of them. They play two straight at home against the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. They turn around and play the Blackhawks immediately after in a pretty weird home-and-home setup with Connor Bedard’s team.

The Kings are a strong team, but catching them on their first game of an East Coast swing is pretty advantageous. After that, you simply have to beat the Blackhawks. Then again, the final game of Lane Lambert’s tenure featured a collapse and loss to those bottom-feeding Blackhawks.

The opportunity, as always, lay in front of the Islanders. Let’s just see how much of a turning point this weekend will be.