Here's a quick piece on the New York Islanders players who have eclipsed career marks with five games to go in the regular season.
For the first time since 2017, we have a solar eclipse.
Blinding the world for a good few hours, here's a quick piece on the New York Islanders players who have eclipsed career marks with five games to go in the regular season.
Mathew Barzal: On pace to set a new career-high in goals and assists, Barzal has already set new career bests in two categories. His 227 shots on goal shatters his previous career mark of 179, which he set back in the 2018-19 season. He also has a new career mark in takeaways, with his 83 surpassing the 70 he had in 2019-20. He also leads the NHL in that category, two up on Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl's 81.
Bo Horvat: In his first full season with the Islanders, Horvat leads the team with 32 goals. He is unlikely to reach his career high of 38 with just five games left but has already reached a new best with six game-winning goals, scoring five last season. As we have seen with Barzal, Horvat has already surpassed his career-high in shots on goal, with 235, passing last season's 229.
Brock Nelson: Like Horvat, Nelson has reached the 30-goal mark for a third straight season but is eight shy of setting a new career high (38). The only new career number that Nelson has reached is in the shots-on-goal department. His 237 surpasses his 222 from last season.
Pierre Engvall: After inking a seven-year extension, Engvall hasn't had the strongest of seasons, serving as a healthy scratch three times and struggling to fit into Patrick Roy's lineup. Despite that, he does have two new career numbers, scoring two power-play goals this season, with one his previous career high, which he scored three times over his five-year career. He also has blocked a career-high 19 shots, surpassing his 12, which he accomplished in back-to-back seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau: The Islanders shutdown centerman has never shied away from laying the body. Entering his 12th NHL season, his career high in hits was 175, which he set last season. He's surpassed that this year, with 191, and could reach 200 for the first time in his career.
Cal Clutterbuck: The Islanders oldest player, 36, has had a phenomenal year. He's on pace to play in all 82 games for the first time in his 17-year career. He's been a physical player, surpassing 4,000 career hits, and has used his body on the penalty kill. We are here to tell you that Clutterbuck has a new career high in blocks, with 54. He recorded 53 during the 2017-18 season.
Noah Dobson: The 24-year-old has been a true No. 1 defenseman for most of the season, keeping his name in the Norris Trophy race. Outside of already setting a new career-high in points with 68 and a career-high 58 assists, Dobson has set new career marks on the defensive side of the puck. His 176 blocks surpassed his 154 from 2021-22, while his 83 hits this season surpassed his 2021-22 total of 78.
Alexander Romanov: The other 24-year-old defenseman has reached a new career-high in goals, with seven, and shots on goal, with 113, but for a defensive defenseman, he's relied on to be a shot blocker at 5-on-5 and the penalty kill. This season, he's set a new career high in blocks with 156, surpassing his career-best 144, which he set during his first NHL season, the 2021-22 season, as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
Ilya Sorokin: The Islanders' No. 1 netminder has struggled this season, failing to record new career marks in most categories. But he does have a new high in assists and points. He's surpassed his career assists and point total with two, tallying his first career assist last season. Unfortunately for Sorokin, his 11 overtime/shootout losses, with eight his career high before this season, which came in 2021-22.