Islanders can't afford to keep letting points slip away
Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders tries to play the puck against Dmitry Orlov of the Washington Capitals at UBS Arena on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Missed opportunities are often the biggest factors in wasted seasons.
The Islanders have been missing a lot lately, either through blown leads, the inability to win in overtime or shootouts or not taking advantage of playing on home ice.
Still, the Islanders get another huge opportunity to feel good about themselves as they conclude a five-game homestand on Wednesday night against the NHL-best Bruins. They also face a tough road test against the Sabres, on the Islanders’ heels in the Eastern Conference playoff race, on Thursday night.
“We’ve got to regroup here,” captain Anders Lee said after the Capitals rallied from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. “We’ve got a big week in front of us. But this one is going to sting.”
Tuesday’s loss after building a 3-0 lead at 3:51 of the second period left the Islanders (23-18-4) a disappointing 1-1-2 on their lengthy homestand. It also allowed the Penguins, who have played two fewer games, to move past them and into the second wild-card spot. A regulation win over the Capitals, in the first wild-card position, would have left the Islanders just one point behind them with a game in hand.
It also dropped the Islanders to 3-4 in overtime games. A 2-1 shootout loss to the Stars to open the homestand left them 0-3 in the post-overtime skills competition.
That’s seven valuable points that have been left by the wayside, points that could well determine whether the Islanders qualify for the playoffs or miss for the second straight season. Last season, the Islanders were 3-10 in overtimes and 2-6 in shootouts and missed the playoffs by 16 points.
The Islanders have scored only seven goals in their last four games and coach Lane Lambert was asked whether this team has enough finishers to be efficient offensively.
“Absolutely,” Lambert said. “We’ve been creating opportunities. There are certain guys that have been in droughts and they’ll come out of them.”
Defenseman Sebastian Aho, fourth-liner Matt Martin and third-liner Hudson Fasching scored against the Capitals.
Among the top-nine forwards, Brock Nelson has gone 13 games without a goal, Josh Bailey is without a goal in nine games and Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s goal drought is at six games. Anthony Beauvillier has one goal in 10 games and Lee has two goals in nine games.
But Tuesday’s game really turned on Alex Ovechkin’s unpenalized, high hit on Pageau that knocked the center wobbly and out of the game for, presumably, concussion testing before he returned. Martin racked up 10 hits but there was no real physical retaliation against Ovechkin.
“We’ve got to play hard,” Fasching said. “We can’t let them dictate the game with physical play. I think we’re a strong team and we can play through that.”
Lambert, asked about the Islanders’ physicality, cited Martin’s game-high 10 hits.
But so far this homestand, Lambert has been questioned about the Islanders’ urgency, their inability to score and their perceived lack of a physical response.
Not ideal.
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.
More Islanders
