2018–19 New York Islanders season

2018–19 New York Islanders
Division	2nd Metropolitan
Conference	4th Eastern
2018–19 record	48–27–7
Home record	24–13–4
Road record	24–14–3
Goals for	228
Goals against	196
Team information
General manager	Lou Lamoriello
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Anders Lee
Alternate captains	Josh Bailey Cal Clutterbuck Andrew Ladd
Arena	Barclays Center Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	12,442
Minor league affiliate(s)	Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) Worcester Railers (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Anders Lee (28)
Assists	Mathew Barzal (44)
Points	Mathew Barzal (62)
Penalty minutes	Scott Mayfield (68)
Plus/minus	Casey Cizikas Adam Pelech (+22)
Wins	Robin Lehner (25)
Goals against average	Christopher Gibson (1.50)

The 2018–19 New York Islanders season was the 47th season in the franchise's history. It was their fourth season in the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, which they moved into after leaving Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County on Long Island at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. The Islanders also used Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as a part-time venue starting this year where they played half of their 41 regular season home games, and as well as all first-round playoff home games. The Islanders entered the season looking to improve on their 35–37–10 record from the previous season, as well as make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015–16 season. They were able to improve their performance, despite losing their longtime captain and franchise player John Tavares in free agency. The Islanders clinched a playoff spot on March 30, 2019, with a 5–1 win against the Buffalo Sabres. On April 16, the Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, making it their first playoff series sweep since the 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, in the second round, the Islanders were not able to capitalize on their success against Pittsburgh, as they were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Standings

Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	48	26	8	44	278	249	+29	104
2	x – New York Islanders	82	48	27	7	43	228	196	+32	103
3	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	44	26	12	42	273	241	+32	100
4	x – Carolina Hurricanes	82	46	29	7	44	245	223	+22	99
5	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	47	31	4	45	258	232	+26	98
6	Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	37	8	34	244	281	−37	82
7	New York Rangers	82	32	36	14	26	227	272	−45	78
8	New Jersey Devils	82	31	41	10	28	222	275	−53	72

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Conference standings

Top 3 (Metropolitan Division)

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	48	26	8	44	278	249	+29	104
2	x – New York Islanders	82	48	27	7	43	228	196	+32	103
3	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	44	26	12	42	273	241	+32	100

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 15, 2018.

2018 preseason game log: 5–3–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 2–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1[a]	September 16	Philadelphia	0–3	NY Islanders		Lehner	—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 17	NY Islanders	1–3	Philadelphia		Greiss	17,725	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 18	Philadelphia	5–1	NY Islanders		Lehner	4,744	1–2–0	Recap
4	September 20	New Jersey	0–2	NY Islanders		Greiss	4,722	2–2–0	Recap
5[b]	September 21	NY Islanders	3–2	Philadelphia	OT	Lehner	—	3–2–0	Recap
6[c]	September 22	NY Rangers	2–5	NY Islanders		Greiss	—	4–2–0	Recap
7	September 26	NY Islanders	4–3	NY Rangers	OT	Lehner	13,347	5–2–0	Recap
8[d]	September 28	NY Islanders	4–5	Buffalo		Greiss	—	5–3–0	Recap
Notes: a Game was played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. b Game was played at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. c Game was played at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. d Game was played at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.

2018–19 game log
October: 6–4–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 NY Islanders 2–1 Carolina OT Greiss 18,680 1–0–0 2 Recap 2[a] October 6 Nashville 4–3 NY Islanders Greiss 12,163 1–1–0 2 Recap 3[a] October 8 San Jose 0–4 NY Islanders Lehner 8,790 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 13 NY Islanders 2–5 Nashville Lehner 17,208 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 October 17 NY Islanders 1–4 Anaheim Greiss 16,909 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 18 NY Islanders 7–2 Los Angeles Lehner 18,230 3–3–0 6 Recap 7 October 20 NY Islanders 1–4 San Jose Lehner 17,414 3–4–0 6 Recap 8[a] October 24 Florida 3–2 NY Islanders OT Lehner 9,743 3–4–1 7 Recap 9 October 27 NY Islanders 6–1 Philadelphia Lehner 19,247 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 28 NY Islanders 2–1 Carolina Greiss 10,367 5–4–1 11 Recap 11 October 30 NY Islanders 6–3 Pittsburgh Lehner 18,509 6–4–1 13 Recap
November: 6–5–2 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 1–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12[a] November 1 Pittsburgh 2–3 NY Islanders SO Greiss 10,910 7–4–1 15 Recap 13[a] November 3 New Jersey 0–3 NY Islanders Greiss 11,901 8–4–1 17 Recap 14[a] November 5 Montreal 4–3 NY Islanders SO Greiss 9,402 8–4–2 18 Recap 15 November 8 NY Islanders 2–4 Tampa Bay Lehner 19,092 8–5–2 18 Recap 16 November 10 NY Islanders 2–4 Florida Lehner 11,947 8–6–2 18 Recap 17[a] November 13 Vancouver 2–5 NY Islanders Greiss 8,806 9–6–2 20 Recap 18[a] November 15 NY Rangers 5–7 NY Islanders Greiss 13,472 10–6–2 22 Recap 19[a] November 18 Dallas 6–2 NY Islanders Greiss 10,650 10–7–2 22 Recap 20 November 21 NY Islanders 0–5 NY Rangers Lehner 17,297 10–8–2 22 Recap 21 November 23 NY Islanders 4–3 New Jersey OT Greiss 16,514 11–8–2 24 Recap 22[a] November 24 Carolina 1–4 NY Islanders Greiss 10,015 12–8–2 26 Recap 23[a] November 26 Washington 4–1 NY Islanders Greiss 9,072 12–9–2 26 Recap 24 November 29 NY Islanders 1–2 Boston SO Lehner 17,565 12–9–3 27 Recap
December: 9–4–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 6–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25[b] December 1 Columbus 2–3 NY Islanders Greiss 13,917 13–9–3 29 Recap 26[a] December 4 Winnipeg 3–1 NY Islanders Greiss 9,125 13–10–3 29 Recap 27 December 6 NY Islanders 2–6 Pittsburgh Greiss 18,440 13–11–3 29 Recap 28 December 8 NY Islanders 3–2 Detroit Greiss 19,515 14–11–3 31 Recap 29[b] December 10 Pittsburgh 2–1 NY Islanders SO Lehner 13,917 14–11–4 32 Recap 30[a] December 12 Vegas 3–2 NY Islanders Lehner 9,182 14–12–4 32 Recap 31[b] December 15 Detroit 3–4 NY Islanders SO Greiss 13,917 15–12–4 34 Recap 32 December 17 NY Islanders 4–1 Colorado Greiss 15,066 16–12–4 36 Recap 33 December 18 NY Islanders 3–1 Arizona Lehner 11,640 17–12–4 38 Recap 34 December 20 NY Islanders 2–4 Vegas Greiss 18,226 17–13–4 38 Recap 35 December 23 NY Islanders 3–1 Dallas Lehner 18,031 18–13–4 40 Recap 36[a] December 28 Ottawa 3–6 NY Islanders Lehner 13,434 19–13–4 42 Recap 37 December 29 NY Islanders 4–0 Toronto Lehner 19,514 20–13–4 44 Recap 38 December 31 NY Islanders 3–1 Buffalo Lehner 19,070 21–13–4 46 Recap
January: 8–2–1 (Home: 5–2–0 ; Road: 3–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39[b] January 3 Chicago 2–3 NY Islanders OT Lehner 13,454 22–13–4 48 Recap 40 January 5 NY Islanders 4–3 St. Louis Lehner 16,801 23–13–4 50 Recap 41[b] January 8 Carolina 4–3 NY Islanders Greiss 13,769 23–14–4 50 Recap 42 January 10 NY Islanders 4–3 NY Rangers Lehner 17,938 24–14–4 52 Recap 43[a] January 12 NY Rangers 2–1 NY Islanders Lehner 15,497 24–15–4 52 Recap 44[a] January 13 Tampa Bay 1–5 NY Islanders Greiss 11,193 25–15–4 54 Recap 45[a] January 15 St. Louis 1–2 NY Islanders OT Lehner 10,402 26–15–4 56 Recap 46[b] January 17 New Jersey 1–4 NY Islanders Lehner 12,088 27–15–4 58 Recap 47 January 18 NY Islanders 2–0 Washington Greiss 18,506 28–15–4 60 Recap 48[b] January 20 Anaheim 0–3 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 29–15–4 62 Recap 49 January 22 NY Islanders 2–3 Chicago SO Lehner 21,330 29–15–5 63 Recap
February: 8–4–2 (Home: 5–1–1 ; Road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50[b] February 1 Tampa Bay 1–0 NY Islanders SO Greiss 13,971 29–15–6 64 Recap 51[b] February 2 Los Angeles 2–4 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 30–15–6 66 Recap 52 February 5 NY Islanders 1–3 Boston Lehner 17,565 30–16–6 66 Recap 53 February 7 NY Islanders 2–1 New Jersey SO Greiss 13,265 31–16–6 68 Recap 54[a] February 9 Colorado 3–4 NY Islanders OT Lehner 14,216 32–16–6 70 Recap 55[a] February 10 Minnesota 1–2 NY Islanders Greiss 13,825 33–16–6 72 Recap 56 February 12 NY Islanders 1–3 Buffalo Lehner 16,894 33–17–6 72 Recap 57 February 14 NY Islanders 3–0 Columbus Greiss 16,531 34–17–6 74 Recap 58[a] February 16 Edmonton 2–5 NY Islanders Lehner 14,812 35–17–6 76 Recap 59 February 20 NY Islanders 2–4 Calgary Greiss 18,632 35–18–6 76 Recap 60 February 21 NY Islanders 3–4 Edmonton OT Lehner 18,347 35–18–7 77 Recap 61 February 23 NY Islanders 4–0 Vancouver Lehner 18,871 36–18–7 79 Recap 62[b] February 26 Calgary 3–1 NY Islanders Lehner 13,097 36–19–7 79 Recap 63[b] February 28 Toronto 1–6 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 37–19–7 81 Recap
March: 9–7–0 (Home: 5–4–0 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64[b] March 1 Washington 3–1 NY Islanders Greiss 13,971 37–20–7 81 Recap 65[b] March 3 Philadelphia 4–1 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 37–21–7 81 Recap 66[b] March 5 Ottawa 4–5 NY Islanders SO Greiss 11,445 38–21–7 83 Recap 67 March 7 NY Islanders 4–2 Ottawa Greiss 11,967 39–21–7 85 Recap 68[b] March 9 Philadelphia 5–2 NY Islanders Greiss 13,917 39–22–7 85 Recap 69[b] March 11 Columbus 0–2 NY Islanders Greiss 11,827 40–22–7 87 Recap 70[b] March 14 Montreal 1–2 NY Islanders Greiss 13,274 41–22–7 89 Recap 71 March 16 NY Islanders 1–2 Detroit Greiss 19,515 41–23–7 89 Recap 72 March 17 NY Islanders 3–2 Minnesota OT Greiss 18,696 42–23–7 91 Recap 73[b] March 19 Boston 5–0 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 42–24–7 91 Recap 74 March 21 NY Islanders 0–4 Montreal Greiss 21,302 42–25–7 91 Recap 75 March 23 NY Islanders 4–2 Philadelphia Lehner 19,668 43–25–7 93 Recap 76[b] March 24 Arizona 0–2 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 44–25–7 95 Recap 77 March 26 NY Islanders 0–4 Columbus Greiss 17,928 44–26–7 95 Recap 78 March 28 NY Islanders 5–4 Winnipeg Lehner 15,321 45–26–7 97 Recap 79[b] March 30 Buffalo 1–5 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 46–26–7 99 Recap
April: 2–1–0 (Home: 0–1–0 ; Road: 2–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80[b] April 1 Toronto 2–1 NY Islanders Lehner 13,917 46–27–7 99 Recap 81 April 4 NY Islanders 2–1 Florida SO Greiss 13,775 47–27–7 101 Recap 82 April 6 NY Islanders 3–0 Washington Lehner 18,506 48–27–7 103 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) Notes: a Game was played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. b Game was played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Islanders faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and swept the series in four games, marking the first time since the 1982–83 season that they swept the series.

The Islanders faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs at Barclays Center, and were swept in four games.

Player statistics

As of May 3, 2019

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Mathew Barzal	82	18	44	62	–5	46
Josh Bailey	82	16	40	56	+8	21
Brock Nelson	82	25	28	53	+20	28
Anders Lee	82	28	23	51	+20	58
Jordan Eberle	78	19	18	37	–6	17
Ryan Pulock	82	9	28	37	+21	22
Casey Cizikas	73	20	13	33	+22	36
Valtteri Filppula	72	17	14	31	+19	16
Anthony Beauvillier	71	18	10	28	+1	8
Leo Komarov	82	6	20	26	+18	42
Nick Leddy	82	4	22	26	0	18
Cal Clutterbuck	73	8	15	23	+6	44
Adam Pelech	78	5	16	21	+22	24
Scott Mayfield	79	4	15	19	+18	68
Johnny Boychuk	74	3	16	19	+10	25
Devon Toews	48	5	13	18	+7	4
Matt Martin	67	6	8	14	+5	53
Andrew Ladd	26	3	8	11	+3	16
Tom Kuhnhackl	36	4	5	9	+1	10
Michael Dal Colle	28	3	4	7	+3	2
Ross Johnston	17	1	3	4	+3	23
Thomas Hickey	40	0	4	4	+5	33
Josh Ho-Sang	10	1	1	2	+2	6
Tanner Fritz	8	0	1	1	–3	2
Luca Sbisa	9	0	1	1	0	4
Stephen Gionta	5	0	0	0	–4	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jordan Eberle	8	4	5	9	+4	2
Mathew Barzal	8	2	5	7	+2	8
Josh Bailey	8	4	2	6	+2	0
Devon Toews	8	1	4	5	–3	0
Brock Nelson	8	4	0	4	–2	2
Anders Lee	8	1	3	4	–1	8
Valtteri Filppula	8	0	4	4	0	2
Tom Kuhnhackl	8	0	3	3	0	2
Leo Komarov	8	1	1	2	+1	8
Anthony Beauvillier	8	1	1	2	0	0
Adam Pelech	8	0	2	2	+1	6
Scott Mayfield	8	0	2	2	–1	8
Nick Leddy	8	1	0	1	–1	0
Ryan Pulock	8	0	1	1	–2	4
Johnny Boychuk	4	0	1	1	+2	0
Matt Martin	8	0	0	0	–4	0
Thomas Hickey	4	0	0	0	–3	0
Michael Dal Colle	1	0	0	0	–2	0
Cal Clutterbuck	7	0	0	0	–4	4
Casey Cizikas	8	0	0	0	–6	6

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Robin Lehner	46	43	2,615:49	25	13	5	93	2.13	1,323	.930	6	0	1	0
Thomas Greiss	43	39	2,293:42	23	14	2	87	2.28	1,185	.927	5	0	1	4
Christopher Gibson	2	0	40:00	0	0	0	1	1.50	17	.941	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Robin Lehner	8	8	449:00	4	4	15	2.00	233	.936	0	0	0	2
Thomas Greiss	1	0	36:27	0	0	2	3.29	10	.800	0	0	0	0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Islanders. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
• ^‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
• Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and honors

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Date
Thomas Greiss	William M. Jennings Trophy	June 19, 2019
Robin Lehner	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	June 19, 2019
Robin Lehner	William M. Jennings Trophy	June 19, 2019
Barry Trotz	Jack Adams Award	June 19, 2019

Transactions

The Islanders have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Eamon McAdam	To New York Islanders Matt Martin

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
June 21, 2018 (2018-06-21)	Kristers Gudlevskis	to Dinamo Riga (KHL)	Unknown
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Valtteri Filppula	from Philadelphia Flyers	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Jaroslav Halak	to Boston Bruins	2-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Leo Komarov	from Toronto Maple Leafs	4-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Alan Quine	to Calgary Flames	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	John Tavares	to Toronto Maple Leafs	7-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Chris Wagner	to Boston Bruins	2-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Tom Kuhnhackl	from Pittsburgh Penguins	1-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Matt Lorito	from Detroit Red Wings	2-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Mike Sislo	from Buffalo Sabres	1-year
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	Calvin de Haan	to Carolina Hurricanes	4-year
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	Robin Lehner	from Buffalo Sabres	1-year
July 4, 2018 (2018-07-04)	Nikolai Kulemin	to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)	3-year
July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09)	Connor Jones	to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)	Unknown
July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09)	Jan Kovar	from Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)	1-year
July 31, 2018 (2018-07-31)	Kyle Schempp	to Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)	1-year
August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04)	Shane Prince	to Davos (NL)	2-year
September 24, 2018 (2018-09-24)	Luca Sbisa	from Vegas Golden Knights	1-year
September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27)	Brandon Davidson	to Chicago Blackhawks	1-year
February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24)	Jeremy Smith	from Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)	1-year
February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26)	Dennis Seidenberg	None	1-year
March 21, 2019 (2019-03-21)	Grant Hutton	from Miami RedHawks (NCHC)	1-year
March 26, 2019 (2019-03-26)	Bobo Carpenter	from Boston University Terriers (Hockey East)	2-year
April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02)	Mason Jobst	from Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten)	2-year
June 10, 2019 (2019-06-10)	Jeremy Smith	to Kunlun Red Star (KHL)	2-year

Contract terminations

Date	Player	Via	Ref
October 11, 2018 (2018-10-11)	Jan Kovar	Mutual termination
May 15, 2019 (2019-05-15)	Yannick Rathgeb	Mutual termination

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Thomas Hickey	4-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Christopher Gibson	2-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Seth Helgeson	2-year
July 5, 2018 (2018-07-05)	Jakub Skarek	3-year
July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09)	Ross Johnston	4-year
July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)	Kyle Burroughs	2-year
July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)	Devon Toews	2-year
July 17, 2018 (2018-07-17)	Ryan Pulock	2-year
July 23, 2018 (2018-07-23)	Brock Nelson	1-year
August 13, 2018 (2018-08-13)	Noah Dobson	3-year
October 13, 2018 (2018-10-13)	Stephen Gionta	1-year
December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03)	Bode Wilde	3-year
March 28, 2019 (2019-03-28)	Oliver Wahlstrom	3-year
May 23, 2019 (2019-05-23)	Brock Nelson	6-year
May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)	Arnaud Durandeau	3-year
June 14, 2019 (2019-06-14)	Jordan Eberle	5-year

Draft picks

See also: List of New York Islanders draft picks

Below are the New York Islanders' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	11	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	United States	U.S. NTDP (USHL)
1	121	Noah Dobson	D	Canada	Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
2	41	Bode Wilde	D	United States	U.S. NTDP (USHL)
2	431	Ruslan Iskhakov	C	Russia	Krasnaya Armiya (MHL)
3	72	Jakub Skarek	G	Czech Republic	Dukla Jihlava (ELH)
4	103	Jacob Pivonka	C	United States	U.S. NTDP (USHL)
5	134	Blade Jenkins	LW	United States	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
7	196	Christian Krygier	D	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)

Notes:

1. The Calgary Flames' first-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 24, 2017, that sent Travis Hamonic and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019 to Calgary in exchange for a second-round pick in 2018, a conditional second-round pick in 2019 and this pick.