The Islanders look like a club struggling to reach the finish line. With two losses already this week, and three of the final five games in March, you have a troubling trend.
On Monday night, Something seemed amiss Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The cameras caught plenty of empty seats around UBS Arena, and the atmosphere felt strangely tame.
Then the Islanders imploded in the second period, surrendering five goals before the visitors added three more in the third. It was the most goals they’ve allowed in a game all season. By the third period, Ilya Sorokin was already pulled, and the Pens ended up winning 8-3.
Now is the time to elevate their game, but the team isn’t. Winning at home would have made it easier to go on the road in a Tuesday night game against the surprisingly good Buffalo Sabres. But Buffalo did what Pittsburgh did the night before — score a flurry of goals (this time, three in the 3rd) to beat the Isles 4-3. The loss moved the Isles to 42-29-5, putting the team in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with 89 points, one point ahead of Columbus and three points ahead of Ottawa, Detroit, and Philadelphia with six games remaining in the regular season.
The good news is that the Islanders play five of their last six games at home, including the final three, albeit against tough clubs, the Senators, Canadians, and Hurricanes. But after struggling so badly on Monday night at UBS Arena, why should anyone have faith?
To their credit, the Islanders have bounced back from ugly losses this season, most recently beating the strong Dallas Stars last Thursday after dropping a stinker to the bad Chicago Blackhawks. But they can’t keep relying on rebounds. Eventually, that pattern catches up.
Patrick Roy (photo, Sports Illustrated)
The defense has been terrible too often this year, and it’s showing at the worst possible time. There are plenty of other questions, too. Start with head coach Patrick Roy. Like many NHL coaches, he may be reaching his expiration date. It looks like the players have stopped listening, and it’s fair to wonder what exactly he and his staff are teaching when the team looks so overwhelmed defensively.
GM Mathieu Darche inherited Roy when he took the job last offseason and gave him another year to prove himself. A playoff miss could lead to a coaching change.
Darche might also follow the Mets’ David Stearns playbook and move on from some longtime stalwarts. As good as they’ve been, what have they won? Players such as Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas, Scott Mayfield, and Adam Pelech — along with injured Kyle Palmieri — may have run their course with this group.
The back-to-back losses against the Pens and Sabes have created plenty of fresh doubts. If the Islanders play themselves out of a playoff spot, offseason conversations will start immediately, and you can bet they won’t be pretty.
