New York Islanders shockingly miss playoffs in NHL 16

The New York Islanders will be kicking off their 2015-16 season soon in their new home the Barclays Center.

Also on Empire Writes Back: Who was the best Islander of the 14-15 season?

With a new NHL season comes one of the better sports franchises games, NHL 16, which is made by EA Sports. Our friends over at GameSided.com did a comprehensive season simulation of the 2015-16 season for all the NHL teams to see how things would play out according to EA Sports.

The Islanders had a very successful 2014-15 season in their final one in the Nassau Coliseum, as they reached the playoffs. The Islanders battled with the Washington Capitals in a seven-game series but came up slightly short against Alex Ovechkin.

In the 2015-16 season, the Islanders will have a new home with slightly elevated expectations.

The NHL 2016 simulation didn’t have the Islanders coming close to reaching the expectations that they have in the real world. According to the simulation, the Islanders finished with a (39-35-8) record which placed them in seventh in the Metropolitan Division, only ahead of the New Jersey Devils.

It was shocking to see the Islanders place so poorly in the simulation after having a great season and an offseason that saw very few changes.

More from New York Islanders

The simulation did have John Tavares leading the Eastern Conference in scoring with a fantastic 92-point season. The problem with the Islanders seemed to be the supporting cast for Tavares, as there wasn’t much help for the Islanders’ captain in the simulation.

NHL 16 may be right about Tavares having a monster season, but it is highly unlikely that the Islanders will fall on their faces in the 15-16 season and finish seventh in the division.

New York has a talented young group of players that is only going to get better in the years to come with the experience that they are beginning to get. One of the main concerns about the simulations for Islanders fans is the poor season from Johnny Boychuk who played fantastic for the Islanders last season.

Last season was a career-year for Boychuk, who set career highs nearly across the board. It was also a contract season for Boychuk, as Islanders fans will hope his career-year wasn’t because of increased focus in a season before he was set to get paid.

The NHL simulation is a fun way to try and gauge how good or bad a team will do in the upcoming season, as a lot of hard work is put in by the creators of the game to give fans the most accurate experience possible.

For Islanders fans, they will hope that the NHL simulation is far from accurate this season, as they wish to reach the playoffs for the second straight season.

More from Empire Writes Back

Home/New York Islanders