Besides a few players having strong 2021-22 seasons, the New York Islanders underperformed as a team. Many players failed to get off to strong starts, which derailed their seasons. Other players failed to play their roles effectively throughout the season.
With the roster more or less the same, with a few changes on the backend, the New York Islanders will be relying on a handful of players to bounce back this upcoming season.
Mathew Barzal
It’s no question that Mathew Barzal is the most important player for the New York Islanders. No, he may not light up the goal department, but his dynamic playmaking ability and shape-shifting skating ability makes him a threat when the puck is on his stick.
Although not named the “franchise player”, he is relied upon heavily to produce offensively but only produced 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists) in 73 games played. He has the talent but needs to find a compatible partner on both sides for him to produce to the level that the team needs. Now, he has not been given a superstar to play alongside him, which would help mightily with his production.
But despite contrary beliefs, there are offensive weapons on this team. It’s about getting them to produce with Barzal and vice versa.
Because of the lack of offense the Islanders showcased a season ago, Barzal at times tried to do more, which led to a substantial elevation in giveaways from just 45 in 55 games during the 2021 season to 82 (tied for team lead) in 73 games in 2021-22.
Although Barzal’s season shot totals were higher in 2021-22 than in the season prior (more games, more shots), his shots on goal per game decreased increased from 2.43 to 2.21. Barzal has a brilliant wrist shot, and he should trust it more in certain situations.
Barzal is a facilitator, and often when he enters the offensive zone, he tends to peel back along the end walls and either use his skates to cycle the offensive zone or dish the puck to his defenseman at the blue line to start a cycle.
In what is likely a looser system under Lane Lambert, we could see Barzal do more to get to the slot and let that wrist shot go, whether he is shooting to score or for a rebound that his teammates can bury.
As Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” and the Islanders can use as many shots on goal as they can to create more offensive opportunities.
Anthony Beauvillier
Out of all the New York Islanders forwards who had tough seasons, Anthony Beauvillier may have had the toughest. in terms of expectations. After 15 goals in 47 games during the 2021 season (0.32 goals per game), Beauvillier only scored 12 goals in 75 games played in 2021-22 (0.16).
Early on in the season, Beauvillier’s struggles led to him being a healthy scratch, and even saw minutes on the fourth line in order to get back to the basics.
Beauvillier missed the fourth-most shots amongst the forward group (47) and had the second-most giveaways (54).
At the age of 25, the Islanders need their speedy, dynamic forward to find his game early in 2021-22. Although the lines are not set yet, he did end his 2021-22 season playing strong alongside Anders Lee and Brock Nelson.
Oliver Wahlstrom
After lighting the lamp 12 times in 44 games during the shortened 2021 campaign, there were high expectations for him to be a major producer this past season. Due to his own game and the strict leash of Barry Trotz, Wahlstrom saw his ice time limited often.
With less time to leave your mark as well as the potential for playing time to dissipate with every mistake he made, Wahlstrom did not seem to have the confidence that we saw a season prior.
Wahlstrom
Semyon Varlamov
Having a starter as a backup in today’s NHL gives the New York Islanders a powerful advantage that very few teams in the NHL have. That is if Semyon Varlamov can bounce back from a nightmarish season where injuries and the irregular schedule disallowed any chance to get into a rhythm.
Varlamov has been a name that had circulated around during the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, but he remains on the roster entering the 2022-23 season. Although his role is much different than it was a few years ago, it’s still critical that he finds his game early as he will still play a big role for the Islanders this upcoming season.
In a span of a year, Varlamov went from posting a .929 SV%, 2.04 GAA, and shutting the door seven times (tied for NHL lead) during the shortened 2021 season (35 starts) to a .911 SV%, 2.91 GAA, and two shutouts in 29 starts.
It’s not out of the realm of possibilities with a lessened workload and an expected regular, uninterrupted schedule that the Varlamov of 2020-21 comes back out to play. The Islanders could certainly use it.
Casey Cizikas
The only member of the New York Islanders fourth line that stayed healthy for the most part, despite a two-week bout with COVID-19, was Casey Cizikas. But, with his two long-term linemates by his side consistently, Matt Martin (started season hurt, in and out) and Cal Clutterbuck (season-ending surgery in March) he struggled to play his role for the majority of the season.
Despite posting a career-high in the face-off dot, 55.6 percent, Cizikas struggled to stay out of the box, posting a career-high in penalty minutes.
In 74 games, Cizikas recorded 48 penalty minutes, 0.64 penalties per game, 1.42 penalties per 60 minutes. All of his penalties were minors, but he was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety for boarding Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brendan Smith in a game on Apr. 8.
In a 6-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena on Mar. 10, Casey Cizikas made four trips to the penalty box. Fortunately for him and the New York Islanders, players stepped in and got the job done on the penalty kill.
After the game, head coach Barry Trotz was able to joke about what transpired and sent a message to his veteran.
“That’s suspendable by me in my world,” Trotz said postgame. “But, you know, you have nights like that. One for sure was unfortunate. But Casey is a really important part of our penalty kill, and obviously, guys have to step up and do a really good job. The guys did a fantastic job.”
Despite a coaching change, Cizikas will be relied upon to be a top penalty killer and limit his infractions in 2022-23.
