Islanders' blown leads have led to an abundance of overtime losses

RALEIGH, N.C. —– The Islanders could be leading the Eastern Conference in points right now. They could have up to nine more than they do.

But consistent success in games that go past regulation still eludes them.

“There’s definitely been games we would have definitely liked to have two [points],” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “We definitely can be better in overtime, for sure.”

The Islanders conclude a two-game road trip against the Hurricanes on Saturday night at PNC Arena in the second of five straight matches against Metropolitan Division opponents.

A discussion of their overtime performances is certainly relevant given the trip started with Wednesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals, dropping the Islanders’ record in games past regulation to 4-9 and tying them with the Kraken for the most losses in the NHL in overtime/shootouts.

The Islanders also entered Thursday tied with the Maple Leafs in having played the most games that have gone past regulation (3-6 in overtime and 1-3 in shootouts). That includes their first two games against the Hurricanes, a 4-3 overtime loss at UBS Arena on Nov. 4 and a 5-4 overtime win in Carolina on Nov. 30.

The Islanders sat third in the division on Thursday, a day off from practice after playing on back-to-back nights.

Nine additional points — and, to be fair, nobody expects an NHL team to go through the season perfect in overtimes or shootouts — would have put them ahead of the Rangers and Bruins, the teams with the most points in the conference.

“Right now, to be honest, we’re going to focus on the positive of coming back in [Wednesday’s] game,” Anders Lee said after he forced overtime against the Capitals with an equalizing goal at 12:02 of the third period.

But Dylan Strome scored the overtime winner on a four-on-three power play after Dobson tripped defenseman Martin Fehervary 43 seconds into the extra period.

“Yeah, we don’t want to give up any points,” Lee said. “Nobody does. It’s frustrating. We can definitely have better overtimes. So we’ll focus on that. At the end of the day, all you can do is look back on this and see how we can get better. See if we missed anything on the kill. I don’t think so. Just a good shot with an extra guy.”

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the points the Islanders have ceded in overtimes or shootouts is how the game made it past the third period to begin with.

The Islanders have held a third-period lead in nine of the 13 games that have gone past regulation, four that turned into overtime losses and two that became shootout losses.

The Islanders had two-goal leads in six games that eventually went past regulation — which led to three overtime losses and one shootout loss — and three-goal leads in two of the matches, which both ended in overtime losses.

That speaks more to an inability to hold leads but it all ties together.

So, yeah, the Islanders could be leading the Eastern Conference right now.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.