Surprising Trend Emerges From The Islanders' First Seven Games

The New York Islanders have had what can only be described as a frustrating start, opening the year 3-3-1.

Moreover, the Islanders have alternated wins and losses through their first seven games of the year.

Already, there's trends forming that the Islanders will have to address to gain more consistency throughout their game.

First, one key is scoring first. The Islanders are 3-0-1 when they score first, with Thursday's loss to Ottawa representing the first time they've lost after scoring first. They still collected a point.

When they allow the first goal, the Islanders are 0-3-0, and have been outscored 12-6 in those three games.

Through three games, chasing games has not been conducive to success in any way. The Islanders are, to their core, a defensive-minded team.

They do not do nearly as well when they've got to chase the game and open up their own play to chase offense.

Playing from ahead, however, allows the Islanders to be stingier defensively, and more selective of when to fly forward for rush chances and try to overload their opponents.

A lot of people have pointed to special teams as a reason for New York's futility. While it's certainly been far from perfect, the Islanders' special teams units have done their job through seven games.

In each of their three regulation losses, the Islanders' special teams units have contributed at least one goal.

Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, whom the Islanders play for a second time on Saturday night, the Islanders allowed one Toronto power play goal, but Emil Heineman scored a short-handed goal.

The Islanders' power play went 0-4 in the one-goal loss, so that was certainly a notable area for improvement.

New York's next game was a 6-0 rout of the New Jersey Devils, and the Islanders scored on the power play, going 1/3 in the win.

Next, the New York Rangers scored a power-play goal in a 5-2 win over the Islanders, but the Islanders also scored one. Nobody could pin that game on the Islanders' special teams, either.

The Islanders scored a power play goal for a third-straight game against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-1 win, a game that Bo Horvat opened up with a power play goal.

Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bolts went just 1-for-5 on the man advantage. The Islanders went 1-for-2, but still lost 5-3. 

The Islanders won the special teams battle, but lost the game.

In the Islanders' next game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Islanders lost the special teams battle to the Canucks, but found a way to win 3-2 over Vancouver.

Finally, back to the Thursday, neither New York nor Ottawa struck on the power play in the tight shootout loss.

There's no clear trend through seven games about the special teams units, one way or another. New York's been above or at league average on the powerplay, a massive improvement from recent years.

Through seven games, the Islanders have yet to record a point if they've trailed at any point in the game.

That is, by far, the headline through their first seven games, entering a Saturday night game against the Maple Leafs.