What at one point looked like a down year has turned out to be very different.
This season hasn’t been easy for Kyle Palmieri. He went through scoring slumps a couple of times this season. He scored six goals after two months into the season, but he experienced a 12-game scoreless streak that started mid-December and continued into January.
It sure seemed like this would be one of those seasons where nothing went right for him. Yet he’s a game away from tying his career-high 30 goals after scoring his 29th goal of the season in the Islanders’ 4-1 victory over the hapless Devils on Monday night at Prudential Center.
He scored the Islanders’ second goal of the game in the first period, which might as well have meant the visitors clinched a playoff berth. When the game was over, the Islanders officially clinched it.
One can argue that Palmieri has been the best Islanders player this season. It’s been him when the Islanders have needed a big goal during the team’s playoff push. Since March, he has scored 14 of his 29 goals. It was only fitting that he played a role in the Islanders clinching a playoff spot. Along with Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, he’s been the reason this team has fought its way to the playoffs.
This is the first time the 33-year-old winger has been healthy for the Islanders in his time with them. He’ll finish the regular season tonight by playing an entire 82-game season, which is impressive for any player who has to grind it out the entire season when one realizes the wear and tear that comes with it. It would be well-deserved if he could end the season by tying or exceeding his career-high.
Palmieri found his groove when Patrick Roy replaced Lane Lambert as the Islanders head coach in January. It started when Roy paired him with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and from there, the Islanders forward took off and hasn’t looked back. He demonstrated how valuable he can be when he finished off Mike Reilly’s shot on a power-play goal in the first period to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead over the Devils.
This is the type of game he plays where he finishes the scoring chances. He knows how to finish his linemate’s scoring opportunity because he is stationed in the crease, and he knows how to score a greasy goal and how to compete for rebounds around the crease.
When a player is around the net and has the ability to knock the puck in, that’s a gift. It’s why Palmieri has been in the league for 15 years now. He continues to do this, and it fits the Islanders’ style of grinding it out. His play will be valuable come playoff time since those types of goals stand out more.
Palmieri is a veteran that knows how to play the game. It’s one of the reasons why Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello acquired him three years ago. He knows his player’s game well from their time with the Devils.
Palmieri should be appreciative of what he’s gone through this season. It hasn’t been easy, but his experience and even-keel approach helped him navigate it and become the team’s most valuable player.
Palmieri plays like a veteran who’s gone through the wars, and the Islanders got it at the right time.
