Nyorai kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Kutengwa kwevanhu vatatu kwakakosha kwakaitwa pamberi pemwaka wa2001-02, wekutanga waLaviolette. Alexei Yashin akawanikwa kubva kuOttawa Senators mukutsinhana neanotungamira Bill Muckalt, mudziviriri Zdeno Chara uye wechipiri we Islanders'mukusarudzwa kwese muna 2001
. Tevere, vaIslanders tarisiro Tim Connolly naTaylor Pyatt vakatengeswa kuBuffalo Sabres mukutsinhana naMichael Peca, uyo akazova kaputeni wechikwata. Nekuda kwekupedzisa neyakaipisisa rekodhi mumwaka wapfuura, muchengeti wepagedhi weDetroit Red Wings Chris Osgood aive anotevera kuwedzerwa, akatorwa sekutanga kusarudzwa munaGunyana 2001 kuregererwa kunyorwa, achiwedzera aimbove muchengeti wepagedhi weStanley Cup pasina kupa chero vatambi mukutsinhana. Kuwedzerwa kwakaratidza kuva rubatsiro rukuru, sezvo timu yakavhura mwaka iine 9<unk>0<unk>1<unk>1 rekodhi, yakanakisa munhoroondo yefranchise. Vakapedza mwaka iwoyo nekurova zvinyorwa zvitsva; mapoinzi avo makumi mapfumbamwe nemapfumbamwe akacherechedza chechina chikuru chegore rimwe chete munhoroondo yeligi (mapoinzi makumi mana nemana kupfuura mwaka wapfuura), nepo 66 yaOsgood yakatanga yakapfuura rekodhi yaBilly Smith yemakumi matanhatu neshanu. Munguva ye2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, ivo vaive vakaiswa chishanu uye vakatarisana nechina-yakaiswa Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders vakarasikirwa mumutambo wokutanga wekutanga mumitambo minomwe; boka reimba rakakunda mutambo wose wehurukuro. Kunyanya, Mutambo 5 wakaratidza Gary Roberts achirwisa mudziviriri weChitsuwa Kenny Jonsson, uye Darcy Tucker achinyudza Peca necheki isina chokwadi iyo yakatsemura kaputeni weChitsuwa pamberi pe cruciate ligament, ichibvisa vatambi vese kumutambo wekupedzisira. Mamiriro ezvinhu pakati paTucker naPeca akakonzera kutsamwa, nekufungidzira kuti Tucker aida kukuvadza Peca mutambo usati watanga, izvo Tucker akaramba.