Can the New York Islanders Escape November Collapse?

Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

In recent years the New York Islanders have had a scary trend develop; they have one calendar month which is so bad it all but eliminates them from playoff contention. That month has been November.

The previous three seasons in which the NHL had a November schedule (the lockout wiped November off the map for the Isles most recent playoff appearance in 2012-13) the team could not rebound from horrific Novembers. The team’s cumulative record was 9-24-6, garnering only 24 points in 39 total games, in November over that span. Those stretches left the team out of realistic playoff contention by the time Christmas rolled around; an embarrassing fact in a league where more than half of the teams make the playoffs. So the question is simple: do the 2014-15 Isles have the makeup to avoid the “disaster month”, or are they doomed to repeat the past?

I believe this team has the ability to escape such a month, it is whether or not they have the makeup, and the fortitude, to avoid one that concerns me. Most of the young core players that Islander fans are relying upon to carry this franchise to the next level have been a part of these collapses, that fact cannot be overlooked. Captain John Tavares, no doubt the best player on the team, will be called upon to rally the troops to ensure that another season destroying swoon doesn’t occur. Are we sure he can do this? Remember, he was on all of the recent teams that fell apart for a month straight.

The team has added veterans to help Tavares and company this season, among them Stanley Cup champion defenders in Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. Relying so heavily on two players that did not even participate in the preseason with their new teammates to take leadership roles early in the season could be a bit much to ask. These two should help this team in terms of teaching the younger, untested, players what it takes to win, but the Captain, and both alternate captains, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen, will be the primary voices in the dressing room and all were staples on the Isles teams that have fallen apart in the eleventh month.

However, the area in which the team has needed the most help in recent years, and was seemingly ungraded the most in the off season, has faltered yet again on Long Island. The goaltending situation during the first ten games of the season has been atrocious, with the exception of a brilliant performance by Jaroslav Halak against the Rangers. Halak and Chad Johnson were imported to solidify the Isles back end, but so far they have been guilty of far too many soft goals.  Despite their 6-4 start, The Isles have yet to surrender less than three goals in a game, a streak that must come to an end if they would like to continue stacking up W’s.

These Islanders are talented enough to stay afloat the whole season and be a legitimate threat in the East, I do believe that, what I have yet to be convinced of is whether they are strong enough mentally to stay focused for 82 consecutive games. This will be the determining factor in whether this team takes the next step to being a fixture in the playoff bracket every year, or the team that comes up short.