An ode to the New York Islanders’ 10-game win streak
By Mary Clarke
The New York Islanders’ win streak hit double digits on Tuesday, highlighting the little things that have gone right for them over the last few weeks.
The 2018-19 season for the New York Islanders was no fluke. After dominating the conversation last year with 48 wins and finishing second overall in the Metropolitan Division, the Islanders have picked up right where they left off last year by cementing the NHL’s first double digit win streak of the season.
On Tuesday, the Islanders (11-3-0) bested the lowly Ottawa Senators 4-1, pushing their win streak to 10 games total as the NHL’s hottest team in the last few weeks of the season. The win streak is an impressive one, considering it has been the little things that have catapulted the Islanders into the NHL’s top three.
For starters, the Islanders haven’t been blowing teams out of the water in their 10-game win streak. Four of their 10 wins have been one-goal games, while eight of their wins have been decided by two goals or less. The Islanders have only allowed 30 goals against in their 14 games played this season for an average of 2.14 goals against per game, the fewest in the NHL in both categories.
In terms of shot metrics, the Islanders are allowing a middle-of-the-pack 31.1 average shots against per game, meaning goaltending has been a major factor in the team’s early success. And it has, as the platoon of Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov in net have combined for a league-best .931 save percentage, according to Hockey Reference.
The Islanders success on the defensive side of the game is in the hands of head coach Barry Trotz and his play style that has taken root in the New York locker room. In his first season with the Islanders last year, Trotz improved the Islanders’ NHL-worst 293 goals against in the 2017-18 season to a league best 196 goals against in 2018-19.
This season, the Islanders seem to be on track to once again be the NHL’s best defensive team. Through 14 games so far this year, New York is keeping teams to the perimeter in terms of their shot selections and giving up very few shot chances in the high-danger areas in front of the net at 5-on-5, according to Hockey Viz.
When the shots do get through the Islanders’ stout defense, the goaltending has been clutch in key situations. Goaltending coach Mitch Korn helped along Robin Lehner last season in net, and his adjustments have clearly aided Greiss and Varlamov this season as the NHL’s best goaltending tandem with 14 games between them.
Trotz’s Islanders won’t be shooting the lights out with energizing offensive hockey on most nights. The team boasts fun talent like Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey and Anders Lee that can light up scoresheets as needed, but the team’s 44 goals for on the season won’t be setting records any time soon. The Islanders’ strength under Trotz has so far been stout defense and stellar goaltending, a pairing not many NHL teams can say they have in this age of high end goal scoring.
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Losing Lehner in free agency was a blow many believed the Islanders weren’t going to recover from after the goaltender put up a strong performance for them in the 2018-19 season. Instead, it’s clear that Trotz’s system has helped propel the Islanders forward into a new, and potentially prosperous, era of hockey in New York.