Doug Weight got his team to eight over allowing 40+shots in 2017-18 also before it caved in.
Halak-Greiss-Berube all had 50 save wins, and played great to make it only two under 500.
This year the team faces 40+ shots most games, always allows goals when other teams (even Sharks) puts on the pressure.
Anyone thinking this is sustainable for 82 games or thinks another 12 over is a playoff seed, don't see it, the mild west is awful as usual, and Devils/Canes with their offense can rip off 9/10 wins despite their goalie issues. Flyers for now not going away, and usual fringe teams (not Wings) could take the next step at any time.
Our team is waiting on those 53-15-21-44-18 goals not coming often, but worse they got MUCH slower in the defensive zone in crunch time, and killing penalties, and for now have journeyman Robert Bartuzzo/Mike Reilly holding it together with Bolduc, as Dobson has been nothing short of a Norris canidate, who's outside shots produce most of those bad goal rebounds this team lives on for now, as Romanov is showing signs off his injury, and Mayfield is clearly playing big minutes hurting also.
Nice to see Lee showing signs but skating open ice goals he produces not happening. What happened against the Kings besides a bad goalie allowed two poor rebounds? Oh, that's right Sorokin had to stop a breakaway to get game to overtime, teams know.
The goaltending has prevented the blow outs, the opposing goaltending has been horrendous which is a new league trend which keeps NY in games as point shot rebounds produce most of the goals while we see the 40 shots against/100 shot attempts against.
My guess is Dobson's shots stop finding big rebounds, Nelson keeps producing, and we will see with Horvat, who does look settled in finally here as a legitimate top line talent. So many players are overdue to produce but here we are at 9-1-2 (blown Devils game/Sharks as 1-2) and they have to make that push to ten over playing this way. Do I expect this to be the formula that works? No.
Does it buy Lambert time? Absolutely as coaches are dropping like flies but here this family cluture really bonds them together, but you need an offense to produce three goals which is happening (somehow) as goaltending has turned blowout losses into wins or overtime points.
#NYC #NYI #isles Dolan, Kim Stone and John Collins hire another former Msg employee (Janet Duch) to work at the failed Belmont experiment. John Collins even speaks. https://t.co/IXbPRECw2v
— New York Islander Fan Central (@NYIFANCENTRAL) December 13, 2023