What Is an Ideal Record for the Islanders’ Opening Road Trip?
While the 2021-22 New York Islanders season will be historic for the opening of UBS Arena in Belmont, it will also be historic on the road as well. While the arena is on target for a mid-November deadline, the Islanders will embark on the second-longest road trip in National Hockey League history with 13 away games.
On paper, it seems like a very daunting task. In a trip that spans five weeks, the Islanders will play games in 12 cities across two different time zones, and there is very little time off between games save their bye week and time between games in Nashville and Montreal. However, even for as rough as it seems on paper, it can be a chance for the Islanders to prove their worth early in the season.
The Islanders will likely be in the playoff hunt deep into the regular season, but there is a lot of potential for the Islanders to make a statement with a strong start. However, that’s not to say it won’t be easy, as being away from family and Long Island for so long will be a large mental adjustment. With the schedule they have to open, what teams are on the docket to start the season, and what is the ideal record for the Islanders to aim for on this road trip?
Division Foes:
To start the season, the Islanders don’t have a lot of games in the division on this road trip. In the 13 games, the only three Metropolitan Division teams they’ll play are the Carolina Hurricanes on opening night (October 13), the Columbus Blue Jackets (October 21), and the New Jersey Devils (November 11). Even for the changes, all three clubs have gone through, they can’t look past any of them as they all have their strengths.
For starters, the Devils and Blue Jackets are each teams looking to break out this season. The Devils are a rebuilding team as of today, but their roster got several massive upgrades. The headliner move is signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton, but several other substantial moves were made, including the signings of Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Bernier, and the trade for Ryan Graves. Add the young talents of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and New Jersey is a team that could surprise people and return to prominence. Columbus started its own rebuild this offseason, but the team still has pieces that can play spoiler. The Jackets got some young talent this offseason in several trades, including Jake Bean from Carolina and Adam Boqvist from Chicago, and several notable veterans can be found throughout the roster, such as Gustav Nyquist, Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Boone Jenner, and Alex Texier. Add a quality goalie tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzikins, and the Jackets can definitely be in most of the games they play.
Carolina however is the toughest of the three teams in the category. They enjoyed a fantastic year last season, winning the Central Division and advancing to the Second Round, but they couldn’t overcome the Lightning juggernaut. The roster remains very well rounded, headlined by Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Jacob Slavin, and Nino Niederreiter, but several controversial moves were made. Carolina signed a Tony DeAngelo that drove himself out of the Rangers’ lineup, let Calder candidate goalie Alex Nedeljkovic go to Detroit for a minimal return, offered Dougie Hamilton less money than the industry believed he was worth prior to him signing with New Jersey, and signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a bloated offer sheet. Although Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta aren’t the level of Nedeljkovic and Petr Mrázek, who is now in Toronto replacing Andersen, they have the potential to form a solid tandem if all goes right. As a result, despite some iffy decision-making, Carolina is still a very tough team to play against, and that game can mean a lot to decide the division.
Atlantic Opponents:
On the other side of the Eastern Conference, the Atlantic boasts three different teams in four games of the Islanders’ schedule on the road trip. These teams include the Florida Panthers twice (October and November 16), the Montreal Canadiens (November 4), and a highly anticipated rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning (November 15). All three of these teams made the playoffs last season across two different divisions, including the two Stanley Cup Final teams in Tampa and Montreal.
To start, the Canadiens are in a very interesting situation entering this season. Even for their Finals appearance this summer, a lot of turnover has occurred on the roster. Shea Weber suffered several injuries during the playoffs, and it will keep him out for the season and, possibly, his career. Carey Price also suffered hip and knee injuries, and he could miss notable time during the season as well. Add the notable departures of Kotkaniemi, Phillip Danault, and Corey Perry, and Montreal will be missing some of what got them to the Final. However, that is not to dismiss them outright, as their big names of Tyler Toffoli, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and newcomer Christian Dvorak can keep them in the running for the playoffs as the season progresses.
As for the Sunshine State, both of its teams are Stanley Cup contenders. The Panthers, after spending years in a proverbial muck, broke out in a big way. The team’s depth made massive strides with Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, and Anthony Duclair contributing regularly, and the team’s structure made strides under Joel Quenneville. However, it wasn’t enough to end their drought of not winning a playoff series, as they fell to Tampa in six games. However, Florida is looking to stay the course, bringing back most of their roster, save buying out Keith Yandle and trading Anton Stralman to clear cap, and letting Chris Driedger go to Seattle in the Expansion Draft. With the development of the past year, Florida is looking to ride off of last year to reach its long untapped potential.
Moving up north, the Lightning remain just as good as ever. Not only by winning their second Stanley Cup in a row, but most of their roster remains intact. The team did see some turnover in the form of Yanni Gourde leaving in the Expansion Draft and Tyler Johnson going to Chicago to dump cap, but the high-end talents remain. The team added to their depth with the signings of Pierre-Edouard Bellmare, Perry, and Brian Elliot, and young names in Ross Colton and Alex Barre-Boulet are looking to continue their developments. With all the talent on their roster, the Lightning remain the top of the food chain, and teams like the Islanders will be eager to knock them off after last season.
Western Conference Opponents:
The largest chunk of games for the Islanders’ road trip comes in the form of Western Conference teams. The Islanders will visit six of them in the 13 games on the road, including the Chicago Blackhawks (October 19), Arizona Coyotes (October 23), Vegas Golden Knights (October 24), Nashville Predators (October 30), Winnipeg Jets (November 6), and Minnesota Wild (November 7). Four of the teams in this group made the playoffs this past year, and two back-to-backs fall in this group as well.
The rebuilders in this group include the Blackhawks and Coyotes. Chicago is in an interesting situation: even after a solid start, the team tapered off and missed the playoffs once again. However, there were some good things to happen to them, as Kevin Lankinen emerged as a young goalie option and Alex DeBrincat was a strong scoring option as well. Add to the fact they were without Jonathan Toews, and the Blackhawks think they’re in a position to contend again. Several old faces in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were traded, but several desperation moves were made to recapture that form. Seth Jones, who struggled mightily this past season, was acquired for a hefty package and signed to an eight-year, $76 million deal. Also, Marc-Andre Fleury was acquired for a very minimal return after his Vezina Trophy season. Even with the moves they made, time will tell if they are meant to return to the playoff picture. Arizona, however, is going in the opposite direction of adding all the draft capital. The team took on the bad contracts of the NHL in Andrew Ladd, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Anton Stralman to get a head start on the rebuild. Add the departures of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Connor Garland, Antti Raanta, Darcy Kuemper, and Christian Dvorak, and Arizona will be in a transitional phase to find a new identity.
The playoff contenders in this group are Nashville, Winnipeg, and Minnesota. For starters, Nashville is in a bit of a last-chance year. The team sold some pieces in Ryan Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson, and Pekka Rinne retired after spending his 15-year career in Nashville. However, even with these losses, the Predators still boast the likes of Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Juuse Saros in net. With the moves they made, it’s possible that if struggle this season, Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm may be gone come the Trade Deadline. Winnipeg is in a similar situation, as their success hasn’t reached the level of their 2018 playoff run. Even with the talents of Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck, they’ve been shocked in the postseason as favorites to go deep. They made the moves to address their weakness in the defense by bringing in Nate Schmidt and Brendan Dillon, and those two will be key for Winnipeg to reach their potential.
The two strongest teams of the bunch are Minnesota and Vegas by a noticeable margin. The former in the Wild enjoyed a phenomenal year last season. After the team lacked a true superstar for a long time, Kirill Kaprizov enjoyed a fantastic rookie year and won the Calder Trophy. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, and Kevin Fiala also contributed as young pieces of the core, along with a sturdy defense led by Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, and Matt Dumba. Even if the team couldn’t quite keep up with the Golden Knights, Minnesota saw it as an opportunity to pass the baton to a new era, buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s contracts. In fact, the Islanders’ November 7 game will be the return of Parise to his former home rink as well. Even if the Kaprizov contract saga isn’t over yet, they still have time to right the ship and lock him down long-term. As for the Golden Knights, they remain a Pacific division powerhouse. The high-end talents remain, but there may be a sense of desperation creeping in on Vegas. They haven’t been able to get the elusive Stanley Cup, even with the talents they have, and made major changes in hopes of getting over the hump. The obvious move is trading fan favorite, Vezina Trophy winner, and original Knight Marc-Andre Fleury. However, Cody Glass and Ryan Reaves were also traded away as well. Even though a lot of the key pieces remain, it’s possible that if the Golden Knights fail to launch again some of the core could be gone.
The Ideal Record: 8-5
Looking at the roster of the Islanders’ road trip, they will be facing four rebuilding teams and nine playoff contenders. Looking at each group of teams, winning two of the three games in the Metro is the best case for the team’s division hopes. The Atlantic is a tough draw with the teams they’ll face, so taking two of those games will suffice, especially with Tampa twice on the horizon. The Western Conference has a wide variety of teams in terms of strength, so to pounce on the beatable teams will be key before facing the contenders. With this in mind, four games in the West is the most ideal situation, bringing the total record to 8-5. It will be difficult to play as a road team for a month and it’s hard to predict possible letdown games, but to finish three games over is the most ideal way to finish.
I am a first year student at Hofstra University and an avid Islanders fan. I have been writing for Drive4Five since March 2020. My family has been season ticket holders for the team since 2016, and hockey is my favorite sport. As I expand my knowledge in the field of Journalism, I am writing to express my love for the Islanders and the NHL.
