“The numbers may not suggest so, but with my own two eyes I can tell that the Islanders are much more structured defensively this season.”
I’ve come across many sentiments similar to this one regarding the Islanders’ game under new head coach Barry Trotz. While it is often hard to measure defensive-zone play, there is numerical evidence that the Islanders have cut down on shot-danger at 5v5 (thus far) this season, according to offsidereview’s expected Fenwick save percentage stat.
Fenwick is simply all unblocked shot attempts (against, in this case). Based on shot attempts against (shots-on-goals as well as shots that missed the net), Islanders’ goalies have the highest 5v5 save percentage in the East (NJD is only team close), but they also have the second-highest expected save percentage in the East, as we see below.