When the New York Islanders arrived for training camp, Patrick Roy‘s first with the squad, the team’s new identity started to take form.
“We’re trying to build a culture and new identity for this team,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau shared back in September. “[That identity] is playing hard for a full 60 the way we want. We want to build that identity.”
“We’re creating that culture, that identity, that Patty wants and we want,” Scott Mayfield added. “You see it in the practices, you see it the way we’re working — we are a little more physical and doing a little bit more skating — and that’s the biggest difference from previous camps.”
While work they did to start the 2024-25 campaign, the foot didn’t always seem on the gas at the consistent rate needed for success, blowing leads and failing to score on their chances.
Then, before they could get to their “A” game, the injuries started to pile up.
First, Anthony Duclair went down for 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 19.
Then it was Alexander Romanov, suffering an upper-body injury against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 25.
Less than a week later, the Islanders lost their star Mathew Barzal to an upper-body injury, with a 4-6 week timeline, landing him on long-term injured reserve after a collision against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 30.
Against the Buffalo Sabres last Friday, the Islanders welcomed Romanov back to the lineup after a three-game absence, only to lose him yet again, as he’s missed two straight games with an upper-body injury.
In that same game, the Islanders also lost Mike Reilly to an upper-body injury after he was knocked out by Sabres forward Jordan Greenway, the same person who hurt Romanov, along with losing defenseman Adam Pelech to a jaw injury that will have him out for 4-6 weeks (injured reserve).
The Islanders had a choice to make. They could wave the white flag, with two-thirds of their top line and the entirety of the left side of their blue line out.
But in that third period against the Sabres, the Islanders chose to band together and raise their game, coming away with a 4-3 win to snap a three-game slide.
“That was a gutsy win by everybody, and we said it before the game. Guys are going to have to step up when guys go down. And did we ever tonight,” Horvat said. “There are so many guys who not only play really well and get on the score sheet but also put their bodies on the line. And definitely, it wasn’t an easy game for the defense back there, but it shows the character of this team. We found a way.”
Related: How ‘Gutsy’ Win Over Buffalo Could Turn Islanders Season Around
Consistency is about building on successful performances. The banged-up Islanders did their best against the New York Rangers, falling 5-2 in a game where their 5-on-5 game was more than good enough to get a win, with thier special-team failure proving costly.
Related: WATCH: Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin Robs Rangers Reilly Smith In First Period
“We played a great game. We did a lot of good things,” Roy said. “There are always things you think you could get better at, win or lose. It doesn’t matter. We gave up a little too many chances on our tracking, so in our defensive zone, we need to be a little bit better at it.”
On the offensive side of the puck, Roy wanted a patient attack.
“I love the way we controlled the game Sunday, and that’s something that we want to continue to work at, controlling the game,” Roy said. “The teams that I played with, and we won, we were controlling the game. I want our guys to know that when we have the puck, we control the game. When we’re ready to attack, we attack, you know? You don’t have to do something if there’s no pressure. We must take our time, and when we’re ready, we attack.”
Related: Roy’s Message To Islanders After Tense Start To Monday’s Practice
Their game against the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins was an opportunity to shake off the Rangers’ loss and grind to a victory.
After going down 3-1 early in the third period, it seemed that this would be another one of those games where the Islanders failed to rise to the occasion, regardless of the injuries.
But they changed the narrative with a pesky third-period comeback to force overtime.
Simon Holmstrom scored his first career power-play goal before Jean-Gabriel Pageau buried from the slot to tie the game at 3-3 with 7:22 to play in the third.
Then, in overtime, the Islanders took a penalty with 2:30 to go, which is usually a death sentence.
The Islanders penalty kill, which had allowed a power-play goal on three tries to sit 4-for-12 on home ice, rose to the occasion.
A shootout was needed, where Horvat scored the winner in round two. Ilya Sorokin made three saves to give the Islanders the win, making it two wins in their last three games.
Related: Third-Period Comeback Helps Islanders Snatch 4-3 Shootout Win Over Penguins
“I think just staying level-headed, not getting down on ourselves, not getting frustrated, even though it’s tough sometimes,” Horvat said, is how the team came back. “We got a positive group in here, a good group of leaders that keeps the room positive, and as soon as we established what we’re made of, and our identity, and getting back to the basics of how we have success, we took off there in third. So we got to do more of that.”
The Islanders’ identity is being molded. It’s not completely there yet, but that difficult team to play against has come to the forefront as the injury list has grown.
“Really happy with the group, how we just stuck with it,” Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. “We found a way. We’ve been in that position at home quite a few times, and we haven’t been able to get that tie there. It’s nice to see a power play, a big goal, and a big kill in overtime. Just a huge win. Hopefully we can get some momentum and feel good.”
It’s been a team effort since the Barzal injury, but a few players have truly stepped up.
Ryan Pulock, who is playing his off-side, has averaged 27:56 minutes per game, with Noah Dobson playing 26:46 and Scott Mayfield playing 23:05.
Horvat has led the forward group, averaging 21:47 a night.
The Islanders, who were top-six goal-heavy before the injuries, are now getting goals from up and down the lineup, with nine goals coming from seven different goal-scorers.
Kyle Palmieri and Pageau have two, with Casey Cizikas, Brock Nelson, Horvat, Holmstrom, and Maxim Tsyplakov scoring.
Oliver Wahlstrom and Pierre Engvall have raised their game over the last three.
Depth defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Grant Hutton have done what they could to help take some minutes off the big three blue-liners.
Isaiah George, who made his NHL debut on Tuesday night, earned trust immediately, playing 15:41 including a 40-second shift in overtime.
Sorokin has played in all three games, stopping 99 of 109 shots, a key player in these last two wins, doing all he could to keep them within striking distance against the Rangers.
“What I love about our group is that they’re resilient. They don’t feel sorry for themselves,” Roy said. “We should feel good about ourselves.”
On a team level, the Islanders’ power play has still been rough, 2-for-14 over their last three, but the two goals have been huge, with Palmieri’s against Buffalo giving the team a two-goal lead with Holmstrom’s against the Penguins cutting the Islanders’ deficit to one in the third.
Allowing the shorthanded goal against the Rangers ultimately cost them, as well as going 0-for-5, so let’s not just think it’s fixed because it’s not. But two power-play goals in three games isn’t something to ignore either.
The penalty kill is 8-for-11 (72.72%) after going just 6-for-16 (37.5%) through the first 10 games of the season.
They’ve been more physical, going from 19.75 per game before the Sabres game to 21.3.
Finding consistency with so many players out is a tough task.
But the good teams find a way.
While the team certainly hasn’t been good enough in 2024-25, sitting with a 5-6-2 record through 13 games, the season isn’t over.
They’re a point out of a wild-card spot with 69 games to play.
The only way for the Islanders to keep climbing and not fall back into the same patterns that plagued them when they were healthy is for them to live up to the identity that they sat out to have, the one that’s come to life over the last three games.”
Up next for the Islanders is the Ottawa Senators (6-6-0) on Thursday night across the border.
With Romanov and Reilly not yet returning to the ice and Barzal, Duclair, and Pelech not close to coming back, pesky will have to be the name of the Islanders’ game yet again as they try to build on their most impressive win of the season.
