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The New York Islanders have dropped their first two games of the 2021-22 season, falling 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes, then 5-1 to the Florida Panthers.
It’s a rough start for a team that should be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season. At this point though, there’s certainly no reason to be concerned about the slow start.
Against the Hurricanes, the game was fairly even through much of the first two periods. They didn’t allow many chances off the rush, with most of the goals coming off coverage issues and simple mistakes in the defensive zone. However, New York did have a poor third period and didn’t generate much offense to try to tie up the game.
Against the Panthers, the Islanders did a great job of shutting down chances early on and were certainly the better team in the first period, hitting multiple posts, along with some other near misses. However, the game got away from them in the second period and they had a very hard time generating quality chances after that.
While the team looked good at times, they weren’t able to put together a full 60 minutes in either outing. Simply put, we just haven’t seen a full team effort yet, with many players seeming to lack a sense of urgency and focus. The point is, we’ve seen the Islanders go through some longer rough stretches over the last couple years, where they don’t really look like themselves. Given the sample size we have from past years of their ability to get back on track (with largely the same roster), there’s no reason to worry about the first two games of the year.
We also have to factor in the quality of competition. The Islanders started their season by facing two of the Eastern Conference's strongest teams on the road, which was never going to be an easy task.
All of this said, there are some things to keep an eye on. Zdeno Chara has struggled quite a bit at times. He’s lost some fairly winnable defensive zone battles and got beaten badly down the wing, leading to a goal against in each game. Noah Dobson also doesn't necessarily seem capable of taking a larger role yet, which doesn't help the situation on the back end after Nick Leddy's departure. It's early, but the Islanders could certainly look to improve their defense group with an external addition at some point this season.
Ilya Sorokin has been a factor in the losses as well and while he arguably hasn’t allowed a really weak goal yet, not many of the goals against could really be categorized as ‘unstoppable.’ At certain times, a team needs a big save and Sorokin wasn’t able to provide one in the first two games.
The team also placed Leo Komarov on waivers, which is a step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned. The Islanders need more out of many other forwards, but Komarov simply isn’t an impact player regardless.
The Islanders should have the perfect opportunity to get back on track over their next three games, against the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Arizona Coyotes. They’re in a tough spot with a 13-game road trip to start the year, but should have a chance to pick up some wins over the next week.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Projecting the New York Islanders’ 23-man roster
Contract details for Zdeno Chara and Zach Parise revealed
Islanders’ opening night roster released
Where will the Islanders finish within the Metropolitan Division?
Islanders sign Ryan Pulock to eight-year contract extension
Analyzing Ryan Pulock's contract extension 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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