The New York Islanders will miss the postseason for the first time since 2018, but despite the disappointing season, some roster players impressed in specific scenarios. Here are five versions of Islanders players who were a thrill to watch this season.

“Second-Half Palmieri”

This offseason, Kyle Palmieri was given a four-year contract extension worth $5 million per year. With the loss of Jordan Eberle to the Seattle Kraken, general manager Lou Lamoriello felt he needed to re-sign the veteran forward and Long Island native.

About halfway through the season, this deal looked like a colossal mistake. By mid-February, Kyle Palmieri had played 29 games in which he scored just one goal and six assists.

He had no defensive impact and looked very sluggish. I’m not sure what Palmieri ate for breakfast on the morning of February 15, but his two goals in Buffalo that day spiraled into a huge turnaround.

Including that game, Palmieri recorded at least one point in 19 out of the next 35 games, totaling 13 goals and 11 assists in the span. His highlight-reel goal in the waning seconds of the Islanders’ game against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 8 stands out.

Palmieri has looked faster, stronger, and his puck control and stick-handling have improved magically.

Head coach Barry Trotz has been discredited for having too much faith in veterans and not giving younger players as much of a chance. This may be true for some players, but his trust in Palmieri eventually paid off. Hopefully, Palmieri can continue this success for the remainder of his contract and help the Islanders make it back to the postseason.

“Shootout Semy”

Semyon Varlamov has been outshined by Ilya Sorokin in goal this season. However, despite playing a backup role on a struggling team, Varlamov has been a solid goaltender overall.

Unluckily, for some reason, the Islanders have tended to score more easily when Sorokin plays. Still, there has been one special situation in which Varlamov has looked incredible — the shootout.

Varlamov’s first shootout appearance came on Dec. 5 in a 2-2 game against the Chicago Blackhawks. This shootout was forced by a Noah Dobson goal to tie the game with four seconds left in the third period.

After a missed try by Islanders’ Oliver Wahlstrom, Varlmov shut down Jonathan Toews with an incredible lunging pad save. While the Islanders lost that one, his next shootout appearance was a classic.

Incredibly, Varlamov made four saves and forced five misses, totalling nine rounds without a goal. Finally, in baseball fashion, Wahlstrom’s “walk-off” goal won the Islanders the shootout in the bottom of the ninth.

In Varlamov’s third and final shootout, he faced the Washington Capitals on March 15. After stopping Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom, Varlamov allowed a goal to T.J. Oshie that Kyle Palmieri was able to match. Varlamov then stopped four more, denying Daniel Sprong, Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson and Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Once again without help, Varlamov gave all he could but allowed the game-winner to Anthony Mantha. Despite his 1-2 record, Varlamov has stopped an incredible 16 of 20 tries in the shootout, with some highlight reel saves along the way.

On any other team, he would have multiple wins.

“Sorokin at UBS Arena”

Playing at home can be really advantageous. No travel necessary. You get to sleep in your own bed the night before. And of course, thousands of your fans will be there to cheer you on.

It’s typical for players to perform slightly better at home, and for teams to win a few more home games than away games each season. But Ilya Sorokin has been significantly better when playing at the Islanders’ brand new stadium, UBS Arena. He’s been very solid on the road, but particularly incredible during home games.

Starting the season with 13 away games was tough, and the Islanders only one five times. Even then, the Islanders lost their first seven games at UBS Arena. They finally defeated the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 11. Even though Sorokin was between the pipes for some of these lackluster performances, his statistics at home remain exceptional.

Somehow, Sorokin’s record is 13-4-4 on home ice. His save percentage is .933 and his goals against average is 2.01. To put that into perspective, that’s almost identical to New York Rangers’ goaltender Igor Shesterkin’s full season statistics, Sorokin’s longtime friend. Shesterkin is essentially a lock to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender. Theoretically, if the Islanders got to play every game at home, Sorokin would be in a neck-and-neck race with Shesterkin for the trophy.

“Pageau Against the Devils”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been a solid middle-six center for the Islanders the last two seasons. He’s been the team’s best face-off winner, and has averaged about a point every other game. But Pageau has turned into a scoring machine against the Devils this season.

The Islanders are generally successful against the Devils — they have won nine of the last 12 matchups. But Pageau has caught fire against them particularly this season.

Pageau didn’t get on the board during their first matchup, as the Islanders were shutout in a 4-0 loss. In their second matchup against the Devils, Pageau made an incredible spinning pass to set up Zach Parise on a breakaway to score a short-handed go-ahead goal. For good measure, Pageau added one of his own on a one-timer from Oliver Wahlstrom to ice the 4-2 win.

He missed the contest on Jan. 13 with an injury, but returned for their final matchup on April 3. Pageau scored three times, giving the Islanders a 3-0 lead. His amazing natural hat trick was his 11th, 12th and 13th goals of the season. When the Devils began to shorten the gap and they made it a 3-2 game, Pageau fed Palmieri and got an assist on what ultimately was the game-winning goal.

“Brocktober… in March?”

Fans have given Islanders’ standout forward Brock Nelson the nickname “Brocktober” for his exceptional play at the beginning of seasons during the month of October. However, Nelson, like the rest of the team, wasn’t special during this past October. However, Nelson was hot in a different month this time — March. March was the Islanders’ busiest month, and Nelson appeared in all 17 games.

During this time Nelson averaged over a point per game, with 13 goals and eights assists for 21 points. Nelson had two separate streaks of four games with a goal. He scored four times between March 5 and March 11 and five times between March 24 and March 29. Nelson was also the star of the show on March 19 where he registered a hat trick in a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars. All three of his goals were in the third period.

The Islanders’ overall play improved a bit in March and they went 10-6-1. Unfortunately, it was too little too late, and the Islanders were unable to make it back into the playoff race.

Ben Kule

Die-Hard Islanders fan and writer from Plainview, Long Island, NY. I have a passion and knowledge for this team and I enjoy sharing that with others