Islanders Morning Skate Updates Ahead of Battle With Maple Leafs ELMONT, NY -- With the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/new-york-islanders-toronto-maple-leafs-history] season about two months old, important takeaways can start to come out of the first 27 games. Mathew Barzal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/mathew-barzal-new-york-islanders-postseason-horvat-wahlstrom] and Bo Horvat [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/bo-horvat-new-york-islanders-vancouver-canucks-trade-lamoriello] have formed a terrific one-two punch on the top line, and Semyon Varlamov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-ilya-sorokin-seattle-kraken] has picked up the slack for a human Ilya Sorokin [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/ilya-sorokin-new-york-islanders-extension-anders-lee-scott-mayfield]. On the blue line, Noah Dobson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/noah-dobson-new-york-islanders-11-points-11-games-defensive-play-1-on-1] has put together an impressive bounce-back campaign. Dobson suffered from regression in 2022-23 after a breakout season the year prior. While his offense didn’t lag too much, his defense took a considerable step back. Fast forward to this season, and Dobson is putting together a more complete package. Through 27 games, Dobson has tallied five goals and 22 assists, good for 27 points, and his most recent performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs put him in the Islander's record books. With the secondary assist on Nelson's 1-1 goal on Monday night, Dobson became the fastest Islanders’ blueliner to hit 20 helpers since Vladimir Malakhov in 1993-94. Dobson was just getting started, as he would add two more assists in the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win over Toronto. He recorded the secondary assist on Kyle Palmieri's 3-1 tally at 1:10 of the second period before coming up clutch again for New York in overtime. With Auston Matthews cutting to the net in the extra frame, Dobson stayed compact, helping to strip the puck from No. 34 and get it to Mathew Barzal. Then, Barzal fed Horvat for the game-winning tally, as Dobson's defensive play has now played a role in each of their three overtime wins this season. With that third and final assist, Dobson has the fifth-most assists through the first 27 games in franchise history: At an 82-game pace, Dobson could finish with about 15 goals and 67 assists, both of which would shatter career bests. While his offensive game has rebounded, he has been noticeably better on the defensive side. Between killing penalties and continuing to grow alongside Alex Romanov, Dobson has become a more mature player as well in what is turning into a Norris-caliber season for the youngster. Matthew Page [https://twitter.com/matthewpage24] contributed to this report.
