Backcheck
Team diagnostic
2025-26last seasonAs of Sun, Sep 20

New York Islanders

5-on-5 · model-estimated

Islanders: a outshot/run-and-gun team (0.0% 5v5 xG) with league-average goaltending, flagged for regression (1 signals).

How to read this

This is one team through the publication's three layers. The identity row separates process — the chances a club creates and allows (, ) — from luck, which is what measures. Process predicts the future; luck predicts a correction.

Everything below follows that split: regression flags mark places where results have outrun (or trailed) the underlying play, talent tiers and the player table rank the roster by a model-estimated , and roster needs compare each position group against league average. The proxies rank things usefully but share credit with linemates — read orderings as solid and exact magnitudes as approximate.

PROCESS
chance creation and possession — xG%, Corsi. The repeatable part.
RESULT
goals, wins, special-teams conversion. What the standings see.
LUCK
PDO, finishing vs expected, GSAx — the part that mean-reverts.
GOLD/RED
regression flags: gold = watch it, red = act on it
Fine print · verbatim from the model
  • WAR / Impact are model-estimated proxies, not cap-validated
  • Roster-need gaps are ordinal — ranked correctly, magnitudes relative
Identity · outshot/run-and-gun
0.0%
xGoals %
This team gets buried territorially.
49.0%
Corsi %
0.00
xGF / 60
0.992
PDO
Luck is about neutral; the record is earned.
Strengths
  • Elite top-end talent: Matthew Schaefer.
Weaknesses
  • Out-chanced at 5v5 (0.0% xG share).
Regression watch · luck-reconciliation

Team finishing is -22 goals below xG — finishing should rebound.

Flags mark gaps between process and result likely to move toward the mean.

Talent tiers · model impact
Elite01
  • Matthew Schaefer
Top03
  • Bo Horvat
  • Anders Lee
  • Adam Pelech
Middle09
  • Mathew Barzal
  • Brayden Schenn
  • Simon Holmstrom
  • Jean-Gabriel Pageau
  • Emil Heineman
  • Tony DeAngelo
  • Casey Cizikas
  • Calum Ritchie
  • Marc Gatcomb
Depth09
  • Anthony Duclair
  • Kyle Palmieri
  • Ryan Pulock
  • Max Shabanov
  • Kyle MacLean
  • Ondrej Palat
  • Carson Soucy
  • Adam Boqvist
  • Scott Mayfield
Rate-first

Special teams

Power play
0.00 xGF/60 · 16.5% SH%
4.96GF/60
Penalty kill
0.8 Kill%
6.98GA/60
Source · MoneyPuck 5-on-5 + ST splits
Team GSAx +0.0

Goaltending

Above expected
GoaltenderGP
Ilya Sorokin5590.590+0.0
David Rittich3089.440+0.0
Source · GSAx = xGoals − goals, computed in-app
Roster needs · ranked
01
Depth defensehigh
team 39.2 vs league 87.3
-48
02
Bottom-6 forward depthhigh
team 40.2 vs league 81.9
-42
03
Top-6 forwardhigh
team 57.7 vs league 86.1
-28
04
Top-pair defensemanhigh
team 72.1 vs league 91.5
-19

Gaps are ordinal — needs are ranked correctly; treat the magnitude as relative, not absolute.

Top players · adjusted impact
PlayerGPTOI/GP
Matthew SchaeferD8218.8+75.90+3.1
Mathew BarzalC8115.7+57.40+2.8
Bo HorvatC6813.8+67.90+2.7
Anders LeeL8212.9+64.50+1.8
Brayden SchennC8013.7+51.00+1.4
Simon HolmstromR7912.5+43.30+1.3
Jean-Gabriel PageauC7412.2+45.80+1.1
Adam PelechD8217.6+68.30+1.1
Emil HeinemanL8213.6+46.30+1.0
Tony DeAngeloD7616.8+47.60+0.9
Schedule load · logistics

How hard is this team’s season, logistically? This grades the schedule itself — travel, rest, and clustering — separate from how good the team is.

Logistics, not talent

Schedule load

DEPTH
Load index
29/ 100 · pctile vs league

The 23rd-heaviest schedule in the league84 games, 1.3 days average rest.

Total travel
36,524
road miles flown
13
Back-to-backs
2 games, 0 days off
12
3-in-4s
3 games / 4 nights
10
4-in-6s
4 games / 6 nights
6
Longest road trip
2,871 mi
Rest-days distribution
0d13
1d43
2d21
3+d6

Nights of rest before each game · 0 days = red, 3+ = green

Rest advantage

21 games with more rest than the opponent · 22 with fewer · 40 even.

Hardest stretches
  • 6 games in 11 days with 5,479 travel miles

    Dec 10Dec 20

  • 6 games in 13 days with 6,640 travel miles

    Nov 7Nov 19

  • 6 games in 10 days with 2,599 travel miles

    Feb 20Mar 1

Source · NHL schedule · arena coordinates · rest & travel model
By the Model5-on-5 aggregates · MoneyPuck* WAR / Impact are model-estimated proxies, not cap-validated