Why the Islanders’ offense failed to start the season

There’s a story, and a story that’s unique to the Islanders right now, and that’s the one Patrick Roy said Tuesday night with a wink he hoped he wasn’t asked about: three shutouts in six games.

Anything this early in the season is a small sample of numbers that will average out to some extent. The Islanders are not shut out 41 times. They will not finish the season with a shooting percentage of 6.6. In any sample of six games, luck plays a role, no matter how good, bad or mediocre.

Still, it’s hard to look at three shutouts in six games and be anything but concerned, as is the fan base – which booed the Islanders until the final minute of Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Detroit, in which the Red Wings were limited to eleven shots on net – is anything but thrilled with this 2-2-2 start to the season.

Analyzing how much of this is luck and small-scale theater versus an actual problem is a matter of educated guesswork. But we can try. And what both the advanced stats and the eye test show is a little more problematic right now than the Islanders just getting opportunities and not taking advantage of them.