New York Islanders
Last season: 39-27-16 (3rd place in Metropolitan Division, lost to Carolina in five games in first round).
COACH: Patrick Roy (150-104-29 in four seasons with two teams).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 10 vs. Utah.
DEPARTURES: F Cal Clutterbuck, D Sebastian Aho, assistant coach Doug Houda.
ADDITIONS: F Anthony Duclair, F Maxim Tsyplakov, G Marcus Hogberg, assistant coach Tommy Albelin.
GOALIES: Ilya Sorokin (25-19-12, 3.01 goals-against average, 0.909 save percentage), Semyon Varlamov (14-8-4, 2.60, 0.918).
BetMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 45-1.
What to expect
After a strong finish down the stretch, the Islanders head into their first full season under Roy with a focus on getting off to a strong start. The defense-first mentality that helped the Isles reach the Stanley Cup semifinals in consecutive years under Barry Trotz has been supplanted by a little more offensive focus. The Islanders return mostly the same lineup that played in first-round losses to Carolina the last two years, so there is familiarity for a team looking for its first Cup title since wining four straight in 1980-83. The Islanders have had some success bringing up young players to fill in for injuries, and will need to replace the departure of longtime favorite Clutterbuck and possibly Matt Martin, who is in training camp without a contract.
Strenths and weaknesses
The good: Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders multiple 30-goal scorers for the first time since 2017-18. Nelson (34 goals, 35 assists) topped 30 goals for the third straight year, and 30 assists for the second straight. Skating on a line with Horvat, Mathew Barzal scored a career-high 23 goals and reached 80 points for the second time in his career. The team averaged 2.99 goals per game, their highest since 2017-18.
The not-so-good: Special teams has been a big focus during camp after the Islanders finished last in penalty-killing at 71.5% and 19th on the power play at 20.4%. Albelin was brought in to take over special teams and he and Roy have the Islanders returning to an aggressive structure on the PK that was successful previously under Trotz. The Islanders also struggled in games that went beyond regulation, finishing with 16 losses in 26 games, both tied for most in the league. Their .385 winning percentage in overtime and shootouts was tied for fifth-worst. Sorokin, who is recovering from offseason back surgery and could miss the start of the season, is coming off the worst goals-against average and save percentage of his four-year NHL career.
Players to watch
Horvat had 33 goals and 35 assists in his first full season with the Islanders, topping 30 goals for the third straight year and finishing two points shy of the career-high 70 he totaled with the Vancouver Canucks and Islanders the previous year. Adding the speedy Duclair on a line with Barzal and Horvat should help bolster the scoring.
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