trim_14028474-D033-4FF6-B654-3A09671C9AFC The New York Islanders' five-game road trip ended on Thursday night with a 2-1 regulation loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Islanders went 1-2-2 on the road trip and sat with a 7-8-5 record through 20 games this season. Let's dive into the numbers from the lackluster road trip: Goals: The Islanders scored an average of 2.4 goals per game on the road trip, being held to two or fewer goals in the final three games. One goal in each could have made all the difference, losing all four games on the road by a goal, three of which saw Long Island have a third-period lead. They allowed 2.4 goals per game, as well, which was a positive. Power Play: The Islanders' man advantage wasn't one on this trip, going just 1-for-12, an 8.5 percent clip. Noah Dobson needs to be more of a threat at the point to shoot, while the rest of the players on the ice need to get shots on goal from wherever they can. Anders Lee has been phenomenal in front of goal this season, but the problem has been getting the puck there. Penalty Kill: A positive takeaway from this trip is that the shorthanded units look vastly improved. They allowed just two power-play goals on 12 attempts, good for 81.8 percent. The two forwards were more aggressive than ever, hovering their blue line, and the defense cleared sticks and bodies in front. Shots For/Shots Against: The Islanders averaged 26 shots per game but let up an average of 31. Solid goaltending gave the Islanders a chance to win every single game, and while 26 shots per is a tad low for their liking, the focus should be on the quality, not the quantity. Because offense has been hard to come by, getting shots low and hard at the goalie and jumping on secondary chances seems like the best route to consistent offense for this team right now. Next Man-Up Mentality: The Islanders have seen some players really step up on this trip. Anders Lee (3G, 1A), Kyle Palmeri (1G, 3A), Pierre Engvall (3G), and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1G, 2A) led the way up front in the points department. Lee and Ryan Pulock each had 12 shots. Dobson led the team in average time on ice (23:47), followed by Pulock (23:42) and Alexander Romanov (21:02), who looked solid in his first two games back. Bo Horvat led the offense with an average of 20:23, followed by Pageau (19:40) and Palmeri (19:39). Miscellaneous: The Islanders averaged 18.4 blocks per game, 17.4 hits per game, 14.2 giveaways per game, 3.2 takeaways per game, and 12.6 misses per game. Dobson led with 19 blocks. Mayfield led with 12 hits. Pulock led with 10 giveaways. Isaiah George led with three takeaways. Bo Horvat led with 14 misses. Blown Leads: The Islanders surrendered three third-period leads on this trip and were outscored 8-5. They entered the trip 5-0-0 when leading after two periods but failed to win the last two games when taking the lead into the final frame.
