It’s still early in the year, it seems, but as it turns out, most teams are already 1/8th of the way through their season. Life comes at you fast, I suppose. The New York Islanders have played 13 games this season, and 10 of them have been at the Barclays. They are finally on the road tonight, headed south to Tampa where they will take on the Lightning.
In recent years, this has been a highlight affair between two up and coming teams, with some of the youngest best and brightest players in the game, with Jonathan Tavares headlining the Isles and Stecen Stamkos leading the Lightning. Now, I suppose that mantle has been taken by the Sabres and Oilers, when people look forward to Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid. Before them, it belonged to the Penguins and Capitals. When Ovechkin and Crosby take the ice, it usually still is appointment television
The window for Stamkos and Tavares seems to be unfortunately short. Tavares’ Islanders, despite all those home games, sit only at 5-6-2. A lot of their issues have stemmed from close game misfortune, as opposed to systemic issues on offense or defense. That’s rather disheartening, because typically, the puck bounces better at home than it does on the road. Perhaps the ice at the Barclays really is that bad. Maybe Kyle Okposo was a good luck charm.
Tampa Bay has been a bit better, and may be even better than their record indicates. Still, their results have been rather ho-hum, sitting at 7-5-1, though with more games on the road. They are good on the power play, they are good on the penalty kill, and score an above average number of goals and are better than average at keeping goals out. They aren’t dominant, though, and project to be a good test for the Islanders. Is it the home ice that has the Islanders shaken, or are they really on the downward slope.
If nothing else, perhaps some time away from home will allow the Isles to really appreciate home ice when they come back to Brooklyn.
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