New York Islanders season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the New York Islanders at the pause:

The New York Islanders lost their last seven games (0-3-4) before the NHL season paused on March 12, but a team record 17-game point streak earlier in the season (Oct. 12 to Nov. 23) has them trailing Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets by one point in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

To showcase the top performances this season, here are their top players in various categories:

MVP

Mathew Barzal has three goals in his past 33 games, but the center is a legitimate threat to create offense on every shift. Even with his struggles to score goals, Barzal entered the pause as New York's leading scorer with 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games. He also leads the Islanders with 70 takeaways and their forwards in ice time per game (20:03).

Rookie

The Islanders opted to keep defenseman Noah Dobson in the NHL at the end of training camp rather than return the 19-year-old to junior hockey. He played sporadically in the first half of the season, but Dobson has shown glimpses of the player New York was hoping for when it selected him with the No. 12 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 34 games.

Defenseman

Ryan Pulock has taken another step this season after he and Adam Pelech shut down the top players on the Pittsburgh Penguins during a four-game sweep in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round. The Islanders' leader in ice time per game (22:24), Pulock has 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) and a plus-8 rating in 68 games. He leads New York defensemen with 163 shots on goal and 139 blocked shots.

Defensive forward

Casey Cizikas may very well be the engine that drives the Islanders; they went 2-7-4 in the 13 games before the pause after the center's left leg was lacerated by a skate blade against the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 11. Cizikas, who has 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in 48 games, leads New York in plus-minus (plus-12) and shorthanded goals (three) and is tied with forward Josh Bailey for second with 38 takeaways.

Comeback player

Andrew Ladd has played four NHL game this season, but the forward may have finally started feeling like himself again when the season was paused. Ladd missed 44 games last season with an injured right knee, then had surgery after tearing the ACL in his left knee during a game against the Arizona Coyotes on March 24, 2019. Ladd, who spent most of this season with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League, scored his first NHL goal since Oct. 30, 2018, in the Islanders' 5-4 shootout loss at the Vancouver Canucks on March 10.