In part 1 of this New York Islanders mailbag, we had a nice mix of existential questions about the direction of the franchise and smaller-focus questions about young forwards.
We’ll continue that trend here in part 2. The Islanders are still decimated by injuries and still have trouble holding leads — more on that in a moment — but they have stabilized a bit by going 3-1-1 in their last five.
These are still questions from a couple weeks ago, but as Saturday’s blown late lead shows — that’s four games of 15 this season in which the Islanders have allowed a tying goal inside of five minutes to play — the same problems persist.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
Why can’t this team hold a lead? System? Personnel? Mental? Why is it when the other team doesn’t give up and tries to, you know, win, this team continues to turtle and hope for the best? And the obligatory question: why are the special teams so incompetent? — David F.
To quote Patrick Roy after Saturday’s game: “Are you asking if our asses are tight?” Yes, we are. And yes, they are.
It is primarily mental to me, since this is an issue that transcends two seasons and two different coaches. Defending a six-on-five is just penalty killing and that’s obviously been an issue for the same stretch; it’s also a matter of will and not panicking in a tense situation. The Isles’ will seems to have eroded with all these blown late leads and the panic level is sky-high.
You could see it developing on Saturday. There was no aggressiveness when Jack Hughes had the puck along the half-wall, just five defenders getting smaller and smaller in front of the net. That tells me they’re just not confident in their ability to defend beyond the dots.
There are some scheme issues — hard to imagine you’d want Grant Hutton out there in the closing seconds — but it does seem largely mental at this point.
And the special teams are ugly again: 28th on the power play and 30th on the PK. Seeing those rankings, you’re almost impressed the Isles are 6-6-3 right now. Obviously missing Mathew Barzal hurts the power play a bit, but what hurts that unit the most is not having a reliable QB at the top of either group.
Noah Dobson just doesn’t look as decisive as he was last season — that goes for a few areas of his game — and Ryan Pulock, despite the heavy shot, has never really worked as a PP QB.
I do wonder why Dennis Cholowski isn’t working with one of the PP units while he’s in the lineup. It’s clear Roy doesn’t trust Cholowski much at five-on-five, but he’s got the only two goals by defensemen this year, so why not give him a PP look?
Why was Matt Martin signed to a one-year deal, what is his role going to be and how does it affect the Isles’ ability to maneuver the cap situation to make a move for a scorer? — Philip K.
Lou Lamoriello can be tough when he needs to but he’s also pretty loyal to the guys who want to play for him. Martin qualifies more than most — he was a decent-sized free-agent signing by Lamoriello with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 and was the first acquisition Lamoriello made as Islanders GM.
It’s not a problematic signing at the moment because the Islanders do need bodies, Martin doesn’t have to play every night and if the Isles do need a roster spot, Martin’s $775,000 could be buried in the AHL.
Ilya Sorokin has looked much better than expected coming off back surgery. But don’t you also agree that Semyon Varlamov looks more like Varly of two years ago, not last year? He’s been less than impressive. — Josh L.
Varlamov rebounded with a nice outing in Ottawa last week so maybe his rough start is behind him, especially now that Sorokin is settled in as the No. 1. Varlamov giving up one softie a game through his first five starts would be a bigger issue if Sorokin weren’t playing at his 2022-23 form so far, but Varlamov’s best two starts of the season have been his last two.
Will they extend Brock Nelson during the season? — Jerome M.
Nelson’s play, as usual, certainly justifies an extension, but the team sitting at .500 outside the playoff picture dictates that Lamoriello wait to see what his team does over the next couple months.
Among the over-30 crowd, there’s no trade chip more appealing than Nelson, who looks to be the same player he’s been the last five years: a 30-plus-goal scorer who is the biggest scoring threat on the roster.
It would be great to see Nelson extend and finish as one of the three top goal scorers in Isles history. But the team has to keep its options open.
This defense corps really concerns me. I was one of the biggest cheerleaders of bringing back Mike Reilly, but he’s looked more like Hudson Fasching in Year 2 vs. Year 1 if you know what I mean. Do you think Lou will be willing to make in-season trades to bolster the defense? With Reilly reeling, it would seem Dobson is our only D-man now capable of creative offense through skating, possession, stretch passes and shooting. Limited defense/talented offensive D-men like Shayne Gostisbehere and Tyson Barrie were available for pennies and Lou always likes to pass on these types of signings. — Josh L.
Reilly was having a rough go before his head injury and we’re not going to see him for a long while. Cholowski, as mentioned, doesn’t have the trust to play a regular shift. Isaiah George could fill that gap but he’s trying to keep his game very simple at the moment.
With Alex Romanov due to return on the upcoming road trip, that takes away the pressing need for another rush-generating D-man. The biggest change would simply be for Dobson to return to his form from last year.
I know his stats have not blown anyone away, but I have been very pleased with Max Tsyplakov. What’s your assessment on his play thus far? — Daniel L.
On this team, I think 2-7-9 in 15 games is pretty darn good! You have to like what Tsyplakov has brought this year. These European lottery tickets have always seemed to be losers for the Islanders going back a long way — Kirill Petrov, Miks Indrašis, Jan Kovár, Anatoli Golyshev — but Tsyplakov looks to be a player who is comfortable in North America on and off the ice.
I’d guessed that Tsyplakov would score 20 this season and that could be a stretch. But a 50-point rookie season would be impressive — he just needs to cut down on the careless penalties, especially in the third period.
We can utilize a better net-front presence to obstruct the eyes of the opposing goalie. We have Anders Lee but we continually look for bumper shots or wide angle. What can the PP do differently? Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes use the blue line as a shooting gallery. It’s a copycat league, or are they that good at moving the puck to find shooting lanes through bodies? — John B.
Could use one of those Makar/Hughes-type guys! Dobson can get closer to that level because we’ve seen him do it. He’s trying harder to distribute so far this season rather than getting more pucks downhill. Not sure if that’s a stylistic change or simply situational, but the Islanders forwards without Barzal are definitely more inclined to score off rebounds, blocks or other such broken plays.
It’s a very below-the-hashmarks power play, with Lee, Nelson and Kyle Palmieri excelling there. Bo Horvat’s bumper shot has worked well but without Barzal, that’s a hard one to pull off.
What do you think the ceiling is on a player like Simon Holmström? He plays a nice game but doesn’t seem suited for top-six duties at this point. — Garrett F.
No, I’d agree Holmström is a third-liner, but he could be a very good one. He has some offensive upside as he’s shown the last couple games, but it’s still inconsistent; the one area he seems to be comfortable with is forechecking and defending, so the new third line with Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas is working well.
You can make a pretty decent living in the NHL as a third-line wing who can also kill penalties and contribute on a second power-play unit.
We know the team is stuck with the weight of multiple heavy contracts and Lou is unpredictable. But for fun, why don’t you tell us how YOU might “fix” this team in the short term — get crazy with it. — Phil C.
Finally, someone asked me to be GM!
My main focus would be to try to shed Pulock, Adam Pelech or Scott Mayfield, as impossible as that might be due to injuries or contracts. Even if it takes sending an asset along, going with a new face — preferably on a faster, younger body — to put on one of the two pairs behind Romanov-Dobson is imperative to get this team playing at a higher tempo.
Selling off Nelson and Palmieri for draft picks feels like moves you make if all hope is lost; with Barzal healthy, this forward group isn’t a total mess. For me, the offensive issues start with the back end and a group that’s done some amazing work but has maybe gotten a bit stale.
(Top photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)
