The Islanders Continue To Struggle Defensively

While scoring goals is the name of the game in the NHL, a team has to be able to keep the puck out of its net consistently to win a lot of hockey games and get to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Islanders, they have not been a good defensive hockey club so far this season. The Islanders are currently 20th in the league in goals-against, as they have given up 32 goals in nine games, which means they are allowing close to four goals per game.

There are a few reasons why they have not played well on the defensive end of the game in the early going. For starters, their franchise goaltender, Ilya Sorokin, continues to struggle.

As of this writing, he is 2-4-0-1 with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .868 save percentage. Sorokin's issues between the pipes are starting to become an unfortunate theme for both himself and his team.

This season, Sorokin has had trouble controlling his rebounds, is getting beaten on shots he should stop, and he cannot seem to be able to allow less than three goals a game. Just look at his statistics from his last five games:

- October 13th vs. Winnipeg Jets: Four goals allowed on 25 shots (.840 save percentage)
- October 18th vs. Ottawa Senators: Four goals allowed on 32 shots (.875 save percentage)
- October 21st vs. San Jose Sharks: Three goals allowed on 36 shots (.917 save percentage)
- October 25th vs. Philadelphia Flyers: Three goals allowed on 26 shots (.885 save percentage)
- October 28th vs. Boston Bruins: Four goals allowed on 21 shots (.810 save percentage)

Another area that the Islanders are struggling with has to do with the way they constantly give up high-quality scoring chances. Yes, it would be great if Sorokin could stop all of the high-danger chances he faces, but he clearly cannot do it all on his own.

After his team's win over the San Jose Sharks on October 21st, Roy told reporters that his club needs to find a way to limit the number of quality scoring chances they give up.

“Everybody knows that we’re giving a lot of chances from the pocket, so we have to do a better job there,” Roy told reporters on Oct. 21.

Speaking of giving up a lot of quality scoring opportunities, according to an article in The Athletic by Jesse Granger, Sorokin "has faced more shots from the slot than any goalie in the NHL." Granger also pointed out that this has negatively impacted Sorokin and the team's defense.

"His .857 save percentage on high-danger shots is well above the league average of .811, but facing this quantity of those chances has led to goals against and poor rebounds – neither of which is good for a goalie’s confidence."

The Islanders also need to be better defensively on the penalty kill. As of this writing, they are 24th in the league in that category, as they have killed off just 71 percent of the penalties they have taken so far.

Simply put, the Islanders need to get their defensive game in order. From getting better goaltending from Sorokin, to clogging up the slot in front of their net, to limiting the number of penalties they take in a game, everything needs to be much more consistent without the puck if they want to give themselves a chance to play hockey this spring.