Lou Lamoriello tells fans some players didn't meet expectations
New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello watches his team during practice at UBS Arena on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 in Elmont, New York. Credit: Jim McIsaac
President and general manager Lou Lamoriello told a group of Islanders season-ticket holders on Sunday during a pregame fan forum at UBS Arena that “several of our players have not lived up to their expectations.”
“Trust us, we want to win,” Lamoriello said hours before a 4-1 loss to the Lightning.
The Islanders are headed toward their first playoff miss since Lamoriello took control of the franchise in 2018. He was quizzed on a wide range of topics in the 45-minute session without divulging specifics of his plan to improve the team’s performance.
“We don’t like where we are today,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t mind hearing boos. We need to hear that.”
A good portion of the session was aimed at promoting the Islanders’ 50th anniversary celebration, which will take place over the course of next season.
“I feel young,” the 79-year-old Lamoriello said after watching a video highlighting the franchise’s history.
Another no-goal
Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s apparent equalizer on a backhander with 14.8 seconds remaining in the second period was overturned when the Lightning successfully challenged that Kyle Palmieri was offside. Instead, the Lightning took a 2-1 lead into the third period.
“I didn’t see the replay of it, but they looked at it and it was offside,” Pageau said. “It’s unfortunate. It would be a tie game. But I thought we played two solid periods and we were right there. We were just not able to get that extra goal in the third.”
Hutton recalled
The Islanders brought up defenseman Grant Hutton from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on emergency recall and he logged 16:46 while paired with Andy Greene. Coach Barry Trotz said defenseman Sebastian Aho was “nicked up” after playing 13:38 in Saturday’s 6-3 loss in Boston. Trotz said Aho will travel to Columbus for Tuesday night's game against the Blue Jackets.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
