[dannibalcorpse]

The midway point of the year has come, and there’s no two bones about it: the New York Islanders are struggling. After 41 games they find themselves 18-20-3, 3 points behind the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The team’s struggles were most notable in December, when they went 4-10-0 and gave up 4 different third period leads.

Goaltending continues to be the weak point for the team. Jaroslav Halak has the better numbers of the two goaltenders, going 11-8-0 with a 2.99 GAA and .889 SV%. Thomas Greiss, meanwhile, is 7-12-3 with a 3.09 GAA and .892 SV%. In positive news, the team’s offense has stepped up. John Tavares leads the team in scoring with a 14-19-33 line, with Jordan Eberle (12-17-29) and Andrew Ladd (11-13-24) next behind him. Nick Leddy (4-20-24) and Johnny Boychuk(4-19-23) have provided a punch from the blue line, but beyond them there’s not much cause for celebration. Anders Lee has scored 12 goals despite missing a chunk of time earlier in the year, and Brock Nelson has found the back of the net 10 times despite limited minutes. Mat Barzal has adapted to the NHL game more over the last quarter of the year, going 3-10-13 in the last 21 games.

League-wide, almost every team seems to be having problems keeping the puck out of the back of the net, especially when playing against Sidney Crosby. The Kid leads the league in goals (28), assists (36), and obviously points (64). The runner up, Nicklas Backstrom, is far behind him with 51 points. And despite strong performances from wins leader Braden Hotlby (21-3-3, 1.99, .917), goals against leader Jonathan Quick (19-7-1, 1.71, .923), and save percentage leader Aaron Dell (5-5-0, 2.19, .931), goalies across the league have seen a significant downturn in their fortunes. The average goals-against average is 2.73, and the average save percentage is down to .901, a far cry from the .913 the league put up in 2016-17. Pundits point towards the crackdown on slashing leading to higher quality scoring chances, but it remains to be seen if this is a blip on the radar or the new normal.

A few trades have been made as we head towards the new calendar year, most notable in Nashville as the Predators sent Pekka Rinne and a 4th round pick to the Candiens in exchange for Jonathan Drouin. Drouin apparently wore out his welcome quickly in Montreal, and surely his 5-8-13 line in his first 29 games did not help. He’ll assumedly slot into the top line in Nashville with Calle Jarnkrok and Viktor Arvidsson. Needing a new goalie to back up Juuse Saros, Nashville then flipped a 5th rounder to Pittsburgh for Antti Niemi; Niemi reported to Milwaukee to get some reps on the ice before heading up to the big club. The sell-off in Vancouver continued, as Jim Benning sent D Erik Gudbranson to the Preds for the rights to 2016 3rd round pick Rem Pitlick; the Canucks picked up another 2016 3rd rounder playing in college by sending Ben Hutton to Buffalo in exchange for Casey Fitzgerald. The Blue Jackets made a few moves to strengthen their depth as well - picking up Jay Bouwmeester from St. Louis in exchange for David Savard, and getting Troy Brouwer from the Flames in exchange for Jordan Schroeder. Finally, tough guy Micheal Haley found his way back to the San Jose Sharks, with Aaron Dell being shipped off to Sunrise and the Florida Panthers.

DOWN ON THE FARM

The Sound Tigers have broken out in a good way, running up their record to 18-12-2 behind the strength of wingers Stephen Gionta (7-16-23) and Tanner Fritz (10-11-21). Ross Johnston continues his strong campaign, with an 8-12-20 scoring line through his 32 games. The Isles have to be pleased with their future on the blue line: 2017 5th round pick Sebastian Aho has worked his way into the lineup with a strong 3-11-14 line in 16 games, while 2014 4th rounder Devon Toews (8 assists in 17 games) and 2015 3rd rounder Mitch Vande Sompel has put up a 1-9-10 line in 22 games. Goalie Kristers Gudlevskis has picked up his play as of late, running his record to 10-7-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .913 SV% and throwing his name into the conversation as a potential call-up.

In Worcester, the Railers have struggled mightily, going 5-22-3. Viktor Crus Rydberg has done what he can (9-12-21), but the goalie situation has been dragging the team down. Hampton actually traded Worcester’s starting goalie, Eamon McAdam, after an 0-5-0 start with a 3.96 GAA and .880 SV%. The Isles GM was able to extract a 3rd round pick from the Coyotes for the 2013 3rd rounder, so most see this as a positive for the Islanders. McAdam will try to resurrect his career in the desert and show he was worth the investment to John Chayka.

Overseas, Islanders fans have their eyes on two goalies from the 2014 class. Linus Soderstrom, playing for HV71 in the SHL, has gone 12-3-2 with a 2.03 GAA and .924 SV% as a 21 year old. In the KHL, Ilya Sorokin has put up even more mind-numbing numbers; in 13 starts, Sorokin is 10-3-0 with a 0.94 GAA and .958 SV% with 8 shutouts! The 22 year old Sorokin recently signed an extension with CSKA Moscow through the 2019-20 season, however; Soderstrom will be available to come over after this season and may be a more realistic target for the Islanders to focus on.