3 questions facing New York Islanders

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the New York Islanders.

1. Can Bo Horvat return to form?

The center was traded to New York by the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30 and admitted there was a subsequent physical and mental toll. He begins the first season of an eight-year contract with the Islanders, for whom he had 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 30 regular-season games after tying his NHL career high of 31 goals in 49 games with the Canucks.

Islanders television analyst Butch Goring told NHL.com he "felt like an Islander" while playing for the 1980-81 Stanley Cup championship team, his first full season after he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on March 10, 1980.

"The second year, I was with those guys," Goring said. "I partied with those guys. I traveled on the road with those guys. I saw their personalities. I practiced with them."

Horvat is facing a similar transition, and a full training camp to bond with teammates should help.

"Horvat is going to be a much more adjusted player," Goring said. "A lot more comfortable player not only on ice but off ice."

2. Where is Mathew Barzal's best fit?

Barzal was on Horvat's wing for three games before his regular season ended with a lower-body injury sustained Feb. 18. He's been a center throughout his NHL career, but expect the Islanders to evaluate if the two can replicate the chemistry they had playing together.

"I think that you do what's best for the team, and Mat will do whatever is asked of him," general manager Lou Lamoriello said last month. "Prior to him getting hurt, I thought they had some pretty good chemistry going and they did some good things. We'll wait and see. We've got to maximize the talents together to get the best possible team we can on the ice that gets the best results. You have to give up your own identity sometimes to have team success."

3. Can they fix the power play?

The Islanders ranked 30th (15.8 percent) on the power play last season and were 1-for-18 with one short-handed goal against in the Eastern Conference First Round, a six-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The bar is high for defenseman Noah Dobson, who tied Barzal for the team lead with 19 power-play points (five goals, 14 assists), and there will be opportunities for others. One is Oliver Wahlstrom, a 23-year-old forward who has recovered from a knee injury that ended his season Dec. 27. Wahlstrom signed a one-year contract July 17, and this could be a make-or-break season for the No. 11 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He has 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) in 161 regular-season games, including 19 (10 goals, nine assists) on the power play.

"I think [Dobson is] going to be one of your elite scoring defensemen in this league before his career is over," Lamoriello said. "I think we've got some pretty good pieces for power play. We just have to get it to jell and understand there's only one puck out there. We have to move it, work it and as they say, get it to a 2-on-1 so that gives you a best chance to score."