The New York Islanders had a rocky regular season with plenty of twists and turns. At times, they looked like one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, a team that knew they entered the season with the message that last year was an outlier and they are a perennial contender. Likewise, the Islanders entered stretches where they were awful to put it lightly. When they struggled, they looked like an aging team in desperate need of a re-tool or a rebuild.
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The end result of this roller coaster season was the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 42-31-9 record. The Islanders will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a tough matchup but a team they can pull off the upset against. The upcoming series will be intriguing and filled with many storylines but looking back, the journey for the Islanders to reach the playoffs was a wild one. There were a lot of pivotal moments that defined the 2022-23 season and brought out the best and worst in this team.
1. Islanders Comeback Against the Avalanche (10/29/22)
An early win doesn’t typically feel like a notable moment in an 82-game season. However, this was the game where the Islanders showed they can beat any team on their schedule. When the team is at its best, there isn’t a team that can stop them and it’s the reason general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello stayed quiet in the offseason, signaling confidence in the roster. That said, the win against the Colorado Avalanche also showed that this year’s team would look different from last year. The Islanders were going to play faster and with a stronger emphasis on the offense.
The Islanders trailed 3-0 in the second period to the defending Stanley Cup Champion but came back to win 5-4 with a four-goal third period. The offense needed to step up to win the game and more importantly, the defensemen needed to play a big role offensively. Ryan Pulock created a scoring opportunity with his shot from the point, allowing Zach Parise to collect a rebound near the net and cut the Avalanche lead to 3-2. Scott Mayfield, who usually skates at the point, scored on a one-timer from the face-off circle to tie the game. The defensemen stepped up when the Islanders needed them most to help them come back and put together an early season signature win.
It was a comeback and a game that had first-year head coach Lane Lambert’s imprint all over it. The defensemen joined the rushes and stepped up in the offensive zone while the team collectively played at a fast and aggressive pace. While the pace allowed the Avalanche to find plenty of scoring chances as well, the aggressive style allowed the Islanders to ultimately come back and win the game. It would become a theme for the Islanders all season. They were a third-period team all year, outscoring opponents 91-69, and also had an offense willing to play more aggressively and create more scoring chances.
2. Sorokin’s Shutout Against the Oilers (11/23/22)
Ilya Sorokin put together multiple remarkable performances this season. He carried the Islanders to the playoffs and with six shutouts, it’s hard to pinpoint one game as his signature moment of the season. However, his shutout against the Edmonton Oilers was arguably the best goaltending performance all season from anyone in the league and it put him in the Vezina Trophy discussion.
Sorokin will be a Vezina Trophy finalist and his capabilities is unquestioned. He had a .924 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA) on 1,838 shots with 35.9 goals saved above average (GSAA). Likewise, Sorokin also had a lot of games that could have been Vezina Trophy moments including a 41-save shutout against the New York Rangers on Oct. 26 and a 44-save performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 20. His game against the Oilers put the hockey world on notice that the Islanders might have the best goaltender in the league.
He made 49 saves and shut out the Oilers in the 3-0 victory. The Oilers have two of the game’s best goal scorers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and one of the best offenses in the NHL, one that would finish the year averaging 3.96 goals per game, which is the best in the league. Sorokin made them look hapless with a plethora of remarkable saves and even with the defense allowing multiple scoring opportunities, he stepped up and carried the Islanders to a victory.
3. Islanders Lose More Than a Game Against the Blues (12/6/22)
The 7-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues was a turning point in the Islanders’ season, starting a downward spiral for them. This loss was the moment the Islanders went from Eastern Conference juggernaut to a team treading water in the playoff picture, something they’d do until the final game of the season.
The loss stung for a multitude of reasons. They allowed seven goals for the first and only time in the season, making it arguably the worst defensive performance of the year for the Islanders. They also allowed seven goals to a struggling Blues team that finished the season in sixth place in the Central Division. However, what truly hurt the Islanders was the injury top-pair defenseman Adam Pelech sustained in the third period of the game. He went headfirst into the boards and suddenly the team was without their best left side defenseman and would be for a significant amount of time.
Pelech missed 21 games as he recovered from the brutal injury. In his absence, the Islanders went 7-9-5 and plummeted in the standings with the defensive unit particularly falling apart. The bright spot from the injury is that it forced the Islanders to become versatile on the defensive end of the ice. Pulock, who also plays on the top pair, played alongside Alexander Romanov, a young, hard-hitting skater who was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens during the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Over time, Pulock and Romanov formed a dynamic pairing and helped turn the Islanders’ defense into one of the best in the league. The connection wouldn’t have formed if Pelech stayed in the lineup and in the long run, the team would have been worse down the stretch because of it.
4. Islanders Conclude Awful Month with 2-1 Loss vs. Senators (1/25/23)
The Islanders’ loss to the Ottawa Senators capped off the worst month of the season. They went 4-8-3 in January and the offense averaged only 1.93 goals per game in the month. The loss was another brutal game where the Islanders only scored one goal and looked hapless on the offensive end, losing 2-1 and falling to 23-22-5 on the season.
This was rock bottom for the Islanders. This was a time when, by all accounts, they didn’t look like a playoff team and instead looked like a team that needed to hit the reset button on their roster. A veteran-heavy team looked slow and lacked a goal-scoring presence in their top six, raising questions about how the roster was constructed and what the future would look like. Heading into the All-Star Break, a re-tool looked like the most viable option. Instead, Lamoriello doubled down and made the biggest acquisition of the season.
5. Islanders Acquire Horvat
This move turned the Islanders’ season around and without question saved Lamoriello’s job. The move was a shock but Lamoriello saw an opportunity to make a splash and he did just that. The Islanders acquired and subsequently extended Bo Horvat during the All-Star Break, adding an elite center to their lineup. The trade required them to send Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a 2023 first-round draft selection to the Vancouver Canucks, but Horvat was the spark that the struggling team needed.
The Horvat addition gave the Islanders life and kickstarted the strong second half of the season where they went 17-9-4 to secure a playoff spot. Horvat wasn’t the goal scorer many hoped he would be when he joined the team, scoring only seven goals and nine assists after scoring 31 goals and 23 assists with the Canucks in the first half of the season. However, he improved the Islanders in all facets to turn them into a contender.
He centered the top line and created scoring chances for the rest of his line and his ability to possess the puck both in the face-off circle and in transition made the team a more efficient one. Moreover, Horvat’s defensive contributions at the center position helped turn the defense into one of the best in the league down the stretch. The Islanders acquired a star and for the next eight years, they will have an elite player to build a contender around, making the move payoff for both this season and for years to come.
6. Islanders Beat Penguins for the Third Time to Win Season Series (2/20/23)
In hindsight, this game between the Islanders and the Penguins was the difference between a team that was worthy of making the playoffs and one that wasn’t. The Islanders stepped up in the clutch and with three unanswered goals in the third period, they came away with a crucial win. The Penguins played down to their competition and ended up losing a game they could’ve easily won.
Trailing 2-1 in the third period, Horvat started the comeback with a tough angle shot that slipped past Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. An Anders Lee goal a few minutes later and a Brock Nelson empty-net goal in the final minutes capped off the 4-2 comeback win and left the Penguins stunned, squandering a game they controlled for the first 40 minutes. The Islanders stepped up when they needed to and their stars, notably Horvat, Lee, and Nelson, willed them to a victory. It was the first game the team played without Mathew Barzal, who was out with an injury, and the top-six forwards stepped up in his absence to give the team a massive win.
The win ended up having massive implications in the Eastern Conference standings. The Islanders secured the season series against the Metropolitan Division rival and improved in the playoff picture. Ultimately, they would sweep the Penguins in the season series and clinch a playoff spot by only a few points. The four matchups ended up being the difference between the Islanders making and missing the playoffs and the third win put them in the driver’s seat for the rest of the season.
7. Engvall & Palmieri Form Scoring Connection vs. Ducks (3/15/23)
The Islanders went 2-1 on their West Coast road trip in March. The 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks was both a statement and a significant one for the team’s second line. Specifically, the game showed the impact Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall have playing alongside one another. Engvall was the Islanders’ final trade deadline acquisition as Lamoriello added a reliable scorer to strengthen the forward unit. Early on, he struggled to find a role in the offense but the game against the Ducks was when he finally made his mark.
Engvall and Palmieri combined for two goals and four assists in the decisive victory. Both skaters are instinctively shoot-first players but thrived playing alongside one another. Palmieri would find open shots but also allow Engvall to find scoring chances near the net and the connection took off against the Ducks in a six-goal performance for the team.
After struggling to find a role in the forward unit, Engvall became one of the best skaters on the team. He scored five goals and four assists and notably formed a strong connection with Palmieri, who scored six goals and six assists in the final 13 games of the season. The game against the Ducks was the first one where Lambert saw the chemistry forming and the two skaters have been together since, making them a crucial part of the offensive success.
8. Islanders Secure Their Playoff Spot
After the up-and-down season, the Islanders clinched their playoff spot in the final game of the regular season. On April 10, they lost to the Washington Capitals 5-2 and their playoff hopes looked in jeopardy with the defeat putting a lasting imprint on the year. The Islanders looked doomed to miss the playoffs because they played down to a Capitals team that was out of the playoffs and wasn’t playing their best players including Alexander Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie.
Fortunately, the Islanders rebounded in the final game of the season and put together a dominant performance against the Canadiens, defeating them 4-2 behind a two-goal game from Nelson. With the win, the Islanders were back in the playoffs and proved that the 2021-22 season was an outlier for an otherwise great team. As an added bonus, the next night, they secured the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as the Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers, allowing them to avoid the Boston Bruins in the first round.
Other Significant Moments That Defined the Islanders’ Season
There wasn’t a specific game or a moment to point to but the Islanders’ x-factors played a pivotal role in the playoff-caliber season. Hudson Fasching, Parise, and Sebastian Aho were all expected to play minimal roles but they all stepped up and became crucial parts of the roster. Fasching wasn’t on the opening night roster but put together the best season of his career, scoring 10 goals and nine assists while emerging as a versatile forward for the Islanders.
Likewise, the Barzal injury was a big moment in the season. Not because the Islanders unraveled when they lost their best playmaking forward but for the opposite reason. They stepped up and played their best down the stretch to secure a playoff spot, going 14-7-2 in his absence. After Barzal’s injury, the Islanders changed their identity as they became a slower, defense-first team, something they were under former head coach Barry Trotz, oddly enough.
The Islanders’ journey is far from over as they are about to play a much-anticipated first round series against the Hurricanes. The road to reach the playoffs was a long, rocky, and difficult one but the Islanders showed that they can make a run at the Stanley Cup, overcoming obstacle after obstacle.
