John Tavares winning faceoffs during scoring drought
John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders in action against the New York Rangers. (Nov. 15, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
John Tavares' goal drought is at 10 games, and that's one of the main reasons why the Islanders have struggled so much. Tavares carried the offense on his stick through the first two weeks of the season, with six goals and four assists in the Isles' first six games.
In the last 15 games, Tavares has two goals and four assists. It's been a dozen games since he scored on a goaltender. The 10-game drought is tied for the second-longest of Tavares' young career -- he went 17 straight games without a goal, from Jan. 18-March 6, 2010, in his rookie season -- but there's a different look to this slide for the Islanders' best player.
His first two seasons, Tavares tried to hone other aspects of his game when the puck wasn't going in for him, but it was a struggle. He had a harder time letting go when he wasn't scoring.
This season, he has four assists in these 10 games, but he's also only a minus-2 in a stretch the Islanders have gone just 2-6-2.
Perhaps most important is his role as Jack Capuano's top faceoff winner.
In the 10 games, Tavares is 117-83, a .585 winning percentage. He was 30-10 in the two games with the Devils this weekend.
"I'm not just trying to think about scoring goals, because there's other ways to contribute," Tavares said. "I'm trying to win faceoffs, be good in my own zone and contribute in other ways."
He's not only trying, he's succeeding to an extent. The Islanders need Tavares to be their go-to scorer, and he still leads the team with 16 points through 21 games. But the funk he's in hasn't affected his overall game, which is one small positive.
Points at a premiumThe Islanders' win Saturday gave them 16 points. Since the lockout, teams have needed roughly 90 points to reach the playoffs. So the Islanders would need 74 points in their final 61 games.
Farfetched, not impossible, but history is against them: The only Eastern Conference team as far out of the top eight on Nov. 26 as the Isles to reach the playoffs was the Caps, in 2007-08.
That season, Washington had 17 points on Nov. 26. The Capitals fired coach Glen Hanlon on Nov. 22, brought in Bruce Boudreau and turned things around in a much weaker division than the Isles are in.
"We know where we are, and it's going to be tough, but you have to start by building up some confidence and some wins," Jay Pandolfo said. "I think we've got the desperation in our game. If we string some wins together, we're right back in it."
Plus/minus
Plus: Michael Grabner converts the Isles' first shorthanded goal on a breakaway in Saturday's 3-2 win.
Minus: How many more breakaways will it take for Grabner and the Islanders to score again?
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