Are the Islanders already in trouble after just three games?

The New York Islanders have stumbled out of the gate with an 0–3 record — their worst start in over a decade and a troubling sign for a team expected to contend for at least a playoff spot.

First overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer has looked as advertised, notching a goal and two assists in his first three games, but early defensive lapses, a stagnant offense and inconsistent goaltending have raised questions about whether head coach Patrick Roy’s system can hold up in the rugged Metropolitan Division.

A 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday saw the Isles give up four goals in the first 30 minutes, taking the home crowd out of the game. 

While it’s too early to panic, history isn’t on their side: teams starting 0–3 have made the postseason less than 15 percent of the time over the past decade.

Let’s start with the bad before we get to the good (and yes, there is some good).

What's going wrong for the Islanders?

The Isles rank 27th in goals scored with an average of 2.33 per game. They’re 28th in assists with just 11 and they sit 30th in goals against average at 4.33 — only Ottawa and San Jose are worse. Perhaps most concerningly, the Islanders are one of just three teams in the league with at least three games played and no victories.

Islanders have some reason for optimism amid slow start

The Islanders have scored two power-play goals, ranking them around the middle of the pack — a huge improvement for a team that finished dead last in that category last season. If that improvement holds up over a larger sample size, it would be a huge boost for the team.

And then there’s 18-year-old phenom Schaefer. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh noted, Schaefer’s No. 48 jersey “littered the parking lot” at the Islanders’ recent home opener. The rookie defenseman has already taken 13 official shots on goal, second-most on the team, and has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise slow start.

Islanders need to get going sooner than later

Still, the Islanders have been outscored 13–7 through three contests, and their next seven games don’t get any easier with matchups against Edmonton, Carolina, Detroit and Boston looming. A 3–7 start is a real possibility, and that doesn’t set a hopeful tone for a team built on just that: hope.

But as the saying goes — hope isn’t a strategy. The Islanders need to start finding the win column before the season gets away from them.