New York Islanders fans cheer after defenseman Noah Dobson scored the game-winning goal during overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in Elmont, N.Y. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — There is an abundance of questions surrounding the Islanders with their 2023-24 season finally kicking off on Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres at UBS Arena.
If answered correctly, they’re a playoff team squeaking out of a top-heavy Metropolitan Division. If not, the new season will be spent much like last year — playing catch-up.
Here are five big questions that the Islanders need to answer this season.
Will the power play click?
A well-oiled power play has been something that’s eluded the Islanders for years, now. It most recently derailed their chances in the first round of the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes, going 1-for-18 in the six-game loss.
They’ve shown much of the very same units throughout the preseason and are hoping that time to mesh will provide an improvement. After all, in theory, Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat are top-tier playmakers while Brock Nelson has flirted with 40 goals in each of the last two seasons and Noah Dobson has shown flashes of becoming a bona fide power-play quarterback.
“It needs to be better,” Barzal said. “It just has to be. If we’re going to be in the playoffs and win, we’re going to need a good power play.”
Can the first line work?
Mathew Barzal has had to adjust playing on the wing, but a late audible has seen Lane Lambert shift the playmaker from the right side to the left — a move that Barzal himself asked for. Now 100% healthy after missing the final two months of the regular season, he and Horvat looked as any threatening first-line duo should in the seven games they got together.
Now Barzal is more comfortable and Horvat has had an offseason to settle into his new home — and big things are…
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