The Islanders are dealing with the opposite problem: the goaltending is fine and the forwards are thinning out. They opened 4-0, beating Chicago 4-1 with Ilya Sorokin making 22 saves. Then Tampa Bay scored twice in the 1st and twice more in the 3rd to beat them 5-3, their first loss at home. Mat Barzal is still out. He's skating again after a lower-body injury, but Pete DeBoer says they're 'still in the initial phase of return to play' with no timetable. Alexander Romanov is gone 6-8 months with a torn ACL.
The name to watch this week is Bo Horvat. The Islanders captain went into concussion protocol after a hit from Frank Nazar late in the Chicago game, and DeBoer had just called that game Horvat's best of the season. Whether he's cleared by Tuesday changes the Islanders' depth down the middle. A lineup without Barzal already showed against Tampa that it can fade in the 3rd period. Take Horvat out too and the forward group gets very thin, even against a Canucks team that has struggled to defend.
The matchup is pretty clear. The Islanders scored 3 in the 2nd against Tampa through DeAngelo, Schaefer and Schenn, so this team can push the pace when its defense gets involved. Vancouver has allowed 4 or more in 4 of its 6 games. The Canucks' path is the Calgary game: a goalie who sees the puck, and a team that plays a low-event game and doesn't trade chances with a deeper home side. Linus Karlsson's goal was Vancouver's only offense in New Jersey. Jake Allen stopped 20 of 21 that night, and Sorokin is a step above that.
The Rangers game reshapes the Vancouver side of this before anyone in Elmont takes a shift. A win, and the Canucks arrive with a pulse and probably a rested goalie. Another loss, and the road trip starts to feel long.