The Islanders are in a tough situation. They’re not making the playoffs and unlikely to win the draft lottery. The team has shown occasional signs of slowing down the deluge of shots against, but it has not been enough to get wins. Things are bleak.



You don’t need the stats to tell you that this season has not gone how the team had hoped. So instead, let’s go positive and talk about an aspect of the team that has improved this year: the power play. Last year, the Isles converted on just 14.9% of their power play opportunities, which put them at 28th in the league. This year, they’re at 21.2% as of Saturday, which has moved them up to eighth.



That’s not to say things are perfect. Being eighth still leaves plenty of room for improvement, especially for a team that’s built around a dynamic offense. It also hasn’t prevented agonizingly long goal droughts. And if we’re looking at the team’s goal scoring rate,...