Boston Bruins: An in-depth analysis of the New York Islanders
By Matt Hawkins
Bruins In-depth Analysis of the Islanders:
Regular-season offense
Like the previous two seasons under head coach Barry Trotz, the Isles were towards the bottom of the league in total offense. They scored 156 goals (2.79 goals per game), which ranked 20th in the league.
Overall, the Isles don’t really have any actual superstars on offense, besides center Mat Barzal, who is one of the fastest and most creative young players in the league.
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Instead, they rely on a physical, defensive style of hockey where they roll out four effective lines that can all shutdown the opposition. The goal of the Islanders’ gameplan is to force you into a mistake and then take advantage of that mistake. They don’t shoot often as they pick their shots wisely with just 1,623 shots on goal (29.0 shots per game) throughout the season — 55 less than the league average.
The Isles are a well balanced team. They may not have had a 20-goal scorer this season, but they had seven players score at least 10 goals and four players with at least 15. Center Brock Nelson and left wing Anthony Beauvillier are their biggest goal-scoring threats, both scoring goals at 0.32 goals per game pace this season.
Additionally, the Islanders didn’t have one player scoring at a point-per-game pace this season, but they had five players score at least 30 points. Barzal is their biggest threat, scoring 45 points in 55 games this season, and he can either beat you with a sick pass or a highlight reel goal.