Injuries, COVID-19: Things began to unravel for the Islanders when defenseman Ryan Pulock sustained a lower-body injury during a 4-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 15. The initial timeline for Pulock's recovery was 4-6 weeks, but he did not play another game until Feb. 1. New York was ravaged by COVID-19 shortly after Pulock's injury; forward Josh Bailey tested positive Nov. 16, and six more players -- forwards Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas and Ross Johnston, and defensemen Adam Pelech, Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene -- were in NHL COVID-19 protocol by Nov. 27. The Islanders lost 11 in a row from Nov. 7-Dec. 5 (0-8-3) and haven't had more than a four-game winning streak (March 29-April 3) the rest of the season.
Lack of scoring: New York consistently struggled offensively nearly from the start; it was were shut out four times in the first half of the season, including three times in November. Lee (26) and center Brock Nelson (34) remain the only players who have scored at least 20 goals. Forward Kyle Palmieri, who signed a four-year contract after he was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on April 7, 2021, went 16 games without a goal from Nov. 20-Feb. 2, a drought when he also had a lower-body injury that sidelined him for one month.
Slow start in new home:The COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction of UBS Arena, forcing the Islanders to play the first 13 games of the season on the road (5-6-2). It took almost another month after their new home opened Nov. 20 to win a game there; New York lost its first seven games (0-5-2) before a 4-2 victory against New Jersey on Dec. 11. The Islanders have since recovered and are 19-8-2 at home since the season-opening skid.