# 2018–19 New York Islanders season

The 2018–19 New York Islanders season was the 47th season in the franchise's history. It was their fourth season in the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, which they moved into after leaving Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County on Long Island at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. The Islanders also used Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as a part-time venue starting this year where they played half of their 41 regular season home games, and as well as all first-round playoff home games. The Islanders entered the season looking to improve on their 35–37–10 record from the previous season, as well as make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015–16 season. They were able to improve their performance, despite losing their longtime captain and franchise player John Tavares in free agency. The Islanders clinched a playoff spot on March 30, 2019, with a 5–1 win against the Buffalo Sabres. On April 16, the Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, making it their first playoff series sweep since the 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, in the second round, the Islanders were not able to capitalize on their success against Pittsburgh, as they were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Washington Capitals | 82 | 48 | 26 | 8 | 44 | 278 | 249 | +29 | 104 |
| 2 | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 43 | 228 | 196 | +32 | 103 |
| 3 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 42 | 273 | 241 | +32 | 100 |
| 4 | x – Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 44 | 245 | 223 | +22 | 99 |
| 5 | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 47 | 31 | 4 | 45 | 258 | 232 | +26 | 98 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 34 | 244 | 281 | −37 | 82 |
| 7 | New York Rangers | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 26 | 227 | 272 | −45 | 78 |
| 8 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 31 | 41 | 10 | 28 | 222 | 275 | −53 | 72 |

### Conference standings

Top 3 (Metropolitan Division) :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Washington Capitals | 82 | 48 | 26 | 8 | 44 | 278 | 249 | +29 | 104 |
| 2 | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 43 | 228 | 196 | +32 | 103 |
| 3 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 42 | 273 | 241 | +32 | 100 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 15, 2018.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.
2018–19 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
Notes:
$^a$ Game was played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
$^b$ Game was played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. :

### Playoffs

The Islanders faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and swept the series in four games, marking the first time since the 1982–83 season that they swept the series.
The Islanders faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs at Barclays Center, and were swept in four games.
2019 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

As of May 3, 2019

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mathew Barzal | 82 | 18 | 44 | 62 | –5 | 46 |
| Josh Bailey | 82 | 16 | 40 | 56 | +8 | 21 |
| Brock Nelson | 82 | 25 | 28 | 53 | +20 | 28 |
| Anders Lee | 82 | 28 | 23 | 51 | +20 | 58 |
| Jordan Eberle | 78 | 19 | 18 | 37 | –6 | 17 |
| Ryan Pulock | 82 | 9 | 28 | 37 | +21 | 22 |
| Casey Cizikas | 73 | 20 | 13 | 33 | +22 | 36 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 72 | 17 | 14 | 31 | +19 | 16 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 71 | 18 | 10 | 28 | +1 | 8 |
| Leo Komarov | 82 | 6 | 20 | 26 | +18 | 42 |
| Nick Leddy | 82 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 18 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 73 | 8 | 15 | 23 | +6 | 44 |
| Adam Pelech | 78 | 5 | 16 | 21 | +22 | 24 |
| Scott Mayfield | 79 | 4 | 15 | 19 | +18 | 68 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 74 | 3 | 16 | 19 | +10 | 25 |
| Devon Toews | 48 | 5 | 13 | 18 | +7 | 4 |
| Matt Martin | 67 | 6 | 8 | 14 | +5 | 53 |
| Andrew Ladd | 26 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +3 | 16 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +1 | 10 |
| Michael Dal Colle | 28 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +3 | 2 |
| Ross Johnston | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +3 | 23 |
| Thomas Hickey | 40 | 0 | 4 | 4 | +5 | 33 |
| Josh Ho-Sang | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| Tanner Fritz | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –3 | 2 |
| Luca Sbisa | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Stephen Gionta | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jordan Eberle | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +4 | 2 |
| Mathew Barzal | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +2 | 8 |
| Josh Bailey | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | +2 | 0 |
| Devon Toews | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –3 | 0 |
| Brock Nelson | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | –2 | 2 |
| Anders Lee | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 8 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Leo Komarov | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 8 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Pelech | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 6 |
| Scott Mayfield | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –1 | 8 |
| Nick Leddy | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 | 0 |
| Ryan Pulock | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 | 4 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 |
| Matt Martin | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 0 |
| Thomas Hickey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 0 |
| Michael Dal Colle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 0 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 4 |
| Casey Cizikas | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –6 | 6 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Robin Lehner | 46 | 43 | 2,615:49 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 93 | 2.13 | 1,323 | .930 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Thomas Greiss | 43 | 39 | 2,293:42 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 87 | 2.28 | 1,185 | .927 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Christopher Gibson | 2 | 0 | 40:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.50 | 17 | .941 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Robin Lehner | 8 | 8 | 449:00 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 2.00 | 233 | .936 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Thomas Greiss | 1 | 0 | 36:27 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.29 | 10 | .800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Islanders. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
* $^‡$ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
* Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Date |
| Thomas Greiss | William M. Jennings Trophy | June 19, 2019 |
| Robin Lehner | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | June 19, 2019 |
| Robin Lehner | William M. Jennings Trophy | June 19, 2019 |
| Barry Trotz | Jack Adams Award | June 19, 2019 |

## Transactions

The Islanders have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details | Ref |
| July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) | To Toronto Maple LeafsEamon McAdam | To New York IslandersMatt Martin | |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| June 21, 2018 (2018-06-21) | Kristers Gudlevskis | to Dinamo Riga (KHL) | Unknown |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Valtteri Filppula | from Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Jaroslav Halak | to Boston Bruins | 2-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Leo Komarov | from Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Alan Quine | to Calgary Flames | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | John Tavares | to Toronto Maple Leafs | 7-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Chris Wagner | to Boston Bruins | 2-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Tom Kuhnhackl | from Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Matt Lorito | from Detroit Red Wings | 2-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Mike Sislo | from Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) | Calvin de Haan | to Carolina Hurricanes | 4-year |
| July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) | Robin Lehner | from Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| July 4, 2018 (2018-07-04) | Nikolai Kulemin | to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) | 3-year |
| July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09) | Connor Jones | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | Unknown |
| July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09) | Jan Kovar | from Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) | 1-year |
| July 31, 2018 (2018-07-31) | Kyle Schempp | to Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) | 1-year |
| August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04) | Shane Prince | to Davos (NL) | 2-year |
| September 24, 2018 (2018-09-24) | Luca Sbisa | from Vegas Golden Knights | 1-year |
| September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27) | Brandon Davidson | to Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year |
| February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24) | Jeremy Smith | from Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year |
| February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26) | Dennis Seidenberg | None | 1-year |
| March 21, 2019 (2019-03-21) | Grant Hutton | from Miami RedHawks (NCHC) | 1-year |
| March 26, 2019 (2019-03-26) | Bobo Carpenter | from Boston University Terriers (Hockey East) | 2-year |
| April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02) | Mason Jobst | from Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten) | 2-year |
| June 10, 2019 (2019-06-10) | Jeremy Smith | to Kunlun Red Star (KHL) | 2-year |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Thomas Hickey | 4-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Christopher Gibson | 2-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Seth Helgeson | 2-year |
| July 5, 2018 (2018-07-05) | Jakub Skarek | 3-year |
| July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09) | Ross Johnston | 4-year |
| July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16) | Kyle Burroughs | 2-year |
| July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16) | Devon Toews | 2-year |
| July 17, 2018 (2018-07-17) | Ryan Pulock | 2-year |
| July 23, 2018 (2018-07-23) | Brock Nelson | 1-year |
| August 13, 2018 (2018-08-13) | Noah Dobson | 3-year |
| October 13, 2018 (2018-10-13) | Stephen Gionta | 1-year |
| December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03) | Bode Wilde | 3-year |
| March 28, 2019 (2019-03-28) | Oliver Wahlstrom | 3-year |
| May 23, 2019 (2019-05-23) | Brock Nelson | 6-year |
| May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31) | Arnaud Durandeau | 3-year |
| June 14, 2019 (2019-06-14) | Jordan Eberle | 5-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the New York Islanders' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 11 | Oliver Wahlstrom | RW | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 1 | 12$^1$ | Noah Dobson | D | Canada | Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 41 | Bode Wilde | D | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 2 | 43$^1$ | Ruslan Iskhakov | C | Russia | Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) |
| 3 | 72 | Jakub Skarek | G | Czech Republic | Dukla Jihlava (ELH) |
| 4 | 103 | Jacob Pivonka | C | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 5 | 134 | Blade Jenkins | LW | United States | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 7 | 196 | Christian Krygier | D | United States | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |
Notes:
* The Calgary Flames' first-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 24, 2017, that sent Travis Hamonic and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019 to Calgary in exchange for a second-round pick in 2018, a conditional second-round pick in 2019 and this pick.