When the NHL season is all said and done, there's only one stat that matters, and that's the point total next to each team. Despite the up-and-down play from the New York Islanders, they keep finding ways to bag points.
When the NHL season is all said and done, only one stat matters, and that's the point total next to each team.
The New York Islanders may not play in a stacked Metropolitan Division, but it's coined the toughest division for a reason, given how close the teams tend to be from start to finish.
For all the complaining as of late about loser points -- points awarded to teams that lose in overtime or a shootout -- they are critical for teams across the NHL, especially the Islanders.
In 2022-23, the Islanders needed all 82 games to qualify for postseason play, and loser points came into play as they finished the season in the top wild-card spot, just a point ahead of the Florida Panthers and two points in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Now, one could argue that if the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes, a bottom-feeder a year ago -- twice rather than losing both of those games in regulation, they wouldn't have had to rely on Game 82.
While that may be true, one could also say that the Islanders earning a losing point against the most elite regular season team of all time on Dec 13, 2022, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, or when the Islanders lost 1-0 in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche on Dec 19, paid dividends in their road to the postseason.
Regardless of how you slice it, the ability to earn points ultimately allowed for a playoff berth.
Although the point system never changes as the season progresses, there's no question it's harder to earn points as the games pile on.
No player is 100 percent healthy come the end of the season, and the 82-game schedule is a grind. That's why earning as many points as possible early in the season is so important.
"I want to be in a position where we're not just trying to sneak into the playoffs. It's going in and having a little comfort halfway through the season," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said at his end-of-the-year press conference back in April. "I feel like the last two years, it's been 45 games in, and we're scratching and clawing.
"I think those first 30 to 40 games, especially up until Christmas and the All-Star break, has got to be the main focus next year to try to put ourselves in a position where it makes it easier in those last 30 games."
Whether it was blown leads at a ridiculous rate or failing to show up in the second of back-to-backs, the Islanders have thrown points directly out the window through 32 games this season.
But, on the contrary, the Islanders have found ways to earn the points despite the madness.
They own a record of 15-8-9, good for 39 points in 32 games, and are sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have a game in hand.
Their eight regulation losses are the sixth-fewest in the NHL this season, and they have only found themselves trailing 11:24 minutes per game, which ranks second, per MoreHockeyStats.com.
Their nine overtime shootout losses are the most through 32 games in the franchise's history, surpassing the seven through 32 games by the 2009-10 team.
As for how this season compares to last season, the Islanders owned a record of 18-13-1 through 32 games, a difference of two points, per Eric Hornick's "The Skinny."
The standout is clearly the "loser point" column.
Again, it's not ideal to be falling that many times in the extra frames, but points are points, and their 3-2 overtime loss against the Washington Capitals was a perfect example of that.
The Islanders have struggled mightily on the second leg of back-to-backs this season, failing to show up early or show up at all, but they have found a way to earn points in three of the five games (0-2-3).
New York trailed the Capitals 2-1 entering the third period in a game that could have been over in the opening frame if it wasn't for the play of netminder Semyon Varlamov.
Islanders captain Anders Lee was able to knot the score at 2-2 at 12:02 of the third period before New York ultimately fell in overtime while shorthanded.
"It was a gritty point. That's a big point," Lee said postgame. "Obviously, we'd love to get two, but considering the circumstances, how the game was going, how we were feeling, it wasn't our best game, but we found a way to end the game 2-2 to give ourselves a chance in overtime.
"You're gonna have nights like that where you got to find a way just to tie it up and give yourself a chance."
This loss came less than 24 hours after the Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 at UBS Arena.
The Islanders have points in 16 of their last 18 games, as they continue to earn points, regardless of their performance.
Now, the Islanders turn their attention to a Carolina Hurricanes team that has won just four of their last 10 games (4-4-2) but is coming off a decisive 6-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
After playing Washington and now moving on to Carolina, the Islanders will finish up the 2023 calendar year against Metropolitan Division opponents, meaning massive points for the taking, even if it's just one.
After Carolina, the Islanders play the Penguins and Capitals at UBS Arena before a New Year's Eve showdown in Pittsburgh.
The Hurricanes play Thursday against the Penguins before hosting the Islanders Saturday night at 7:30 PM. With the two teams separated by two points, the Hurricanes could be tied point-wise with the Islanders by then.
The Islanders have faced the Hurricanes twice this season, and the script has been ultra-similar.
On home ice, the Islanders watched a 3-0 lead evaporate in a 4-3 overtime loss to Carolina on Nov 4.
Then, in Carolina, on Nov 30, the Islanders blew a slim 3-2 lead and a 4-3 lead in the third period before Barzal scored in overtime for the Islanders' first extra-frame win of the season.
Although the New York Rangers are leading the Metropolitan Division by six points, the point separation between the second and sixth seeds sits at just five points, making it all more important for the Islanders to head into the New Year as high up in the division as possible.
Whether you look at the Islander's season thus far with a glass-half-empty or a glass-half-full mindset, New York, with their negative five-goal differential and technically more losses than wins, has found a way to continue to earn points.
This ability to find a way to rack up points with three key defensemen out injured gives the Islanders a much stronger chance of doing what Barzal said come season's end, which may allow them to rest players and get healthy rather than having Game 82 decide their fate.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.