Assessing the New York Islanders through their first 20 games

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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 16: Scott Darling (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Three things that will Stay the Same

The Isles have a lot of hockey left to play but it is relatively safe to say these three things will stay the same as the season enters its last three quarters.

John Tavares leading the team in scoring

John Tavares currently leads the team in scoring he is tied at 23 with Josh Bailey after 20 games.

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As long as Tavares stays healthy he will continue to emerge himself as the team’s best scorer.

Year after year he winds up leading the team and sometimes, it is not even close. He might have some competition this season with the likes of Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal.

But when it is all said and done Tavares will be the team’s leading scorer like he is now.

Dominance at home

As much as I have stated the issue and shaky future the team has at Barclays Center, the Isles will continue to be awesome at home.

I am aware they have played some weak teams at home this year, but it is still really impressive they don’t have a regulation home loss this year. They sit at 6-0-2.

The schedule is about to get a little more tough but they have a decent stretch of home games coming up.

Expect the Barclays Center to remain a tough place for opposing teams to visit for the next stretch of the season.

Playing in the playoff picture

The Isles are unlucky in that they have to play through a very tough Metropolitan division. However the benefit to that is they will always be right in the playoff picture.

With all the teams within less than 10 points of each other, the division is wide open. The teams will all beat and lose to each other as the season progresses.

The Isles will remain within a few points of a playoff spot or in a playoff for most of the year based off of what we have so far.

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