The most telling Islanders statistic is 2-6. That's their overtime/loss record, meaning eight of their first 18 games have gone into extra periods, with six of them losses.
That tells us a lot about the young Islanders. They're good. They're good enough to hang with most opponents for 60 minutes. They just run into problems after the end of regulation.
A lot of this is a symptom of their age. Their three leading point-earners were all born after 1983. John Tavares went straight from the draft to the Isles' top line.
A lot of the overtime trouble is also a symptom of coach Scott Gordon's offense. It's a relentlessly attacking style that has players converging on the net. There's not much backchecking, or defense. It's all about skaters converging on the opposing goalie.
So basically, unless ...
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Article written by Steven Ovadia
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