Three Takeaways From The Weekend for the Islanders

Yesterday afternoon, Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech returned to the New York Islanders’ lineup. However, the game did not go to plan for the Islanders in Chicago. The lowly Chicago Blackhawks played spoiler and seized four different one-goal leads, with the final dagger coming with 54 seconds left off the stick of Connor Bedard.

It’s a dagger that sent the Islanders back to seventh in the Metropolitan Division. They are unable to seize more ground on the plummeting New York Rangers, who remain ahead of the Islanders by one point. The Islanders outshot Chicago 33-23 but trailed for large swaths of the game, trailing 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and finally 4-3.

It’s more wasted points in a season full of games lost to subpar competition, such as losses to the Anaheim Ducks and the Montreal Canadiens.

Here are three takeaways from this past weekend:

Takeaway #1: The Special Teams Have Sunk The Season to This Point:

Look, it’s no revolutionary take or opinion here. When you have the league’s worst power play AND the league’s worst penalty kill, odds are they’ve cost the team a win or two.

Or, in this case, probably closer to a dozen. Seriously. Last night, in a game tied with one minute left in the third, the Islanders’ power play went 0/4 while the Blackhawks went 1/2. How many times has this been the case for these Islanders? Winning at 5v5, only to have special teams completely derail the game.

The hope now turns to the returning Barzal and Anthony Duclair. However, Bo Horvat is now on the mend, which throws another question into the setup. He’s listed as day-to-day, but his status for Tuesday in Carolina seems doubtful.

This is an above-average to solid team at even strength. They limit the opponent’s chances and typically outscore them at 5v5. However, the Islanders are flunking every major test when it comes to the game-deciding special teams.

Takeaway #2: Barzal Needs Time to Ramp Up, But He Needs to Give More Now Anyway:

Barzal returned last night, and well, it left most wanting more. His passes, timing, and overall play were off. That’s to be expected when you haven’t played a game in over six weeks, especially with an upper-body injury.

Barzal suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury, and perhaps it’s an injury to one of his arms that affected him. If so, it could explain the timing and perceived hesitancy with his passes. It takes time, but he’ll be just fine.

The issue is that the Islanders need that now. With Horvat out, Barzal has shifted back to the center and serves as the leader of the top line. Barzal, with just five points in 11 games now, needs to produce more.

If he doesn’t, the power play will continue to suffer while the Islanders’ power play continues to twist in the wind.

Takeaway #3: Sorokin Needs a Break:

Ilya Sorokin has now started eight straight games for the Islanders. That’s largely due to Semyon Varlamov being out with an undisclosed lower-body injury initially deemed day-to-day. Now he’s on IR, and there’s no word on whether he’s even skating.

Look, last night isn’t on Sorokin. Blown coverages, a 5-on-3, and lazy defensive coverage left him out to dry. However, he certainly didn’t steal the game with an awe-inspiring save he usually can make.

The winning goal from Bedard leaked through him and found a way to score. A more-rested Sorokin may come up with that one or the Teuvo Teravainen power-play one-timer. Instead, after eight start starts, fatigue may be leaking in. He made just 18 saves last night on 22 shots with him in the cage.

The time to give a start to backup Marcus Hogberg has already passed. If the Islanders were to do that, it would’ve been on the back-to-back last weekend or one of these Chicago games. Instead, Sorokin started them all.

The next two games on the calendar are road trips to see the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those are not the teams to test Marcus Hogberg out against, so it’ll be Sorokin’s net. But make no mistake- he needs a breather. It’s unsustainable to run him into the ground.

The last thing you want is for him to burn out in March during the stretch run and become unplayable in potential playoff games like last year. This is all without mentioning his off-season back surgery, which we still don’t know the severity of.