Islanders’ top candidates for 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

The New York Islanders had a very slow start to the 2023–24 NHL season, but they had a huge run just before the Christmas break. Between November 4 and 16, the Long Island residents went through a seven-game losing streak that left them at 5-6-5 and far from a postseason contender in the Metropolitan Division.

After roughly six weeks, the Isles are in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-8-9. They have won 11 of their previous 17 games. For a team that was having trouble scoring goals and keeping them out of the net, it has been an incredible comeback. As goals have started to come in, Ilya Sorokin has recently reverted to the brick wall we’ve come to expect from him, largely because of the play of Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Anders Lee on the top line.

Following two consecutive Memorial Cups, which are given to Canada’s top junior hockey team, Noah Dobson spent two half-seasons with New York before starting to play defense regularly in 2021–2022. In 80 games, he scored 13 goals and 51 points, emerging as the team’s most potent offensive weapon from the back end.