That is what it seems to be like when the season slips away in January.
Overlook the season. This is perhaps what it seems to be like to look at a complete period of a franchise come to an finish.
Only a week in the past, Lou Lamoriello was placing an optimistic spin on his staff’s playoff possibilities. Now, after Thursday’s 5-3 defeat at house to the Flyers, the Islanders are 9 factors again of the final playoff spot within the East and simply two factors up on the last-place Sabres.
Technically, there nonetheless is an opportunity — no one will get mathematically eradicated after 44 video games, in spite of everything — however does this seem like a playoff staff to you?
Proper now, it extra carefully resembles a scenario during which conserving the core intact on the commerce deadline might be merely untenable, barring an entire 180 over the approaching weeks. The Islanders have hoped in opposition to hope that this group nonetheless may contend for a Stanley Cup, however proper now, they’re an even bigger risk to win the draft lottery than a championship. Prefer it or not, that’s an goal reality.
“We have to start winning hockey games if we want everybody to stay, right?” Bo Horvat stated, articulating the scenario staring the Islanders within the face 50 days from the commerce deadline. “It’s on us at the end of the day to do what we can here on the ice and in the room to gather this team and push for a playoff spot.”
After dropping the opening sport of this homestand Tuesday, coach Patrick Roy questioned his staff’s starvation. After this one, when requested whether or not the Islanders had the required starvation for all 60 minutes, the pinnacle coach flatly replied, “No.”
“We need more consistency and that urgency from the start to the end,” Roy stated after noting that he favored his staff’s pushback within the third interval. “We cannot have holes in our game.”
The Islanders got here out with some initiative Thursday and appeared to seize maintain of the sport early when Max Tsyplakov laid out Ryan Poehling with a hard-but-legal hit that helped result in the staff’s first power-play aim in over a month.
However not solely did they hand the initiative again throughout a flaming wreck of a second interval, the Islanders’ starvation seemed utterly zapped as they gave up three straight targets, all of their very own making.
Anthony Duclair’s blind move from the wall to the center of the ice coupled with poor play on the entrance of their very own web allowed Sean Couturier to jam the puck in to tie the sport at 1-all on the 5:15 mark.
Then, with the Isles on the facility play, they gave their earlier particular groups aim proper again, permitting a shorthanded rush on which Noah Dobson didn’t cowl Garnet Hathaway for a 2-1 Flyers lead.
A couple of minutes later at even power, the Islanders leaked one other odd-man rush, this one after Adam Pelech was caught out of place, and Morgan Frost made it 3-1.
“I think we just didn’t manage the puck well,” Roy stated. “You’re looking at all the chances we have, most of them came from turnovers. Either from the breakout or it’s at the blue line, and we gave them an odd-man rush. Can’t win in this league if you don’t do a better job, if you turn over the puck too many times.”
There have been moments of struggle within the third interval — Mat Barzal’s aim 30 seconds into the body and Anders Lee’s late power-play aim at six-on-four, each of which quickly minimize the result in one. However the Islanders couldn’t maintain on to the momentum on both event, with Ilya Sorokin out of place on Cam York’s aim 5 minutes after Barzal’s aim and Noah Cates scoring into an empty web simply when it seemed just like the Isles may drive time beyond regulation.
After profitable three straight video games out West, this seven-game homestand was the second the Islanders needed to cement themselves as contenders. As an alternative, they’re doing the other.
“You always want to stay positive, but at the end of the day, we realize where we are in the standings,” Horvat stated. “If we’re not winning games, we’re not gonna be climbing.”
This staff can channel John Belushi in “Animal House” all it desires and say that nothing is over. However the Islanders are what their report says they’re, and they’re the place the standings say they’re.
Proper now, they’re 17-20-7, the Fifteenth-best staff within the 16-team Jap Convention and 9 factors from the playoff cutline.
Proper now, their playoff likelihood is dwindling towards zero in January, and after 4 years of hanging on to this core with no playoff sequence win, it positive seems to be prefer it’s time for the Islanders to face the results.
