New York Islanders Have Had Three Main Positives This Year
Despite the 2021-22 NHL season being a massive disappointment for the New York Islanders, there are still many positives to take away.
For the first time in the Barry Trotz era, the Islanders will miss the postseason. After having to play their first 13 games on the road, dealing with numerous COVID-19 cases and struggling on offense, the Islanders found themselves in a hole.
Despite the Islanders’ horrible season, many individual players have shined.
Islanders’ center Brock Nelson has a career-high 36 goals and a career-high 58 points. Nelson also has tied his career-high in power-play goals this season with 10 and has tied his career-high in game-winning goals with five.
Defenseman Noah Dobson has also played a huge role for the Islanders this season. Dobson has 48 points on the season with 13 goals and 35 assists. The last time an Islanders’ defenseman finished the season with at least 50 points was Mark Streit during the 2008-2009 season. Dobson is third on the Islanders in points — only Nelson and Mathew Barzal have more points than Dobson.
Dobson has 20 power-play points and four game-winning goals. What is even crazier about Dobson’s breakout performance is that he is only 22-years-old. Dobson’s strides this season have been enormous, and his ceiling keeps on getting higher.
But how can we forget about Ilya Sorokin?
He established himself not only as the Islanders’ true starter but as a top goaltender in the NHL. Despite the Islanders’ 36-34-10 record, Sorokin is ranked second in the NHL in save percentage at .927 and is ranked fourth in goals-against average with a 2.35 GAA. Quite impressively, as well, Sorokin has seven shutouts on the season, putting him second in the NHL.
Sorokin’s numbers speak for themself, but when you put them in perspective compared to the rest of the team, his season is even more remarkable.
Therefore, these three players have stood out on a disappointing Islanders’ squad this season.
Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.
