Filed under:
Or maybe the Islanders are the bad team.
Yet another night where the New York Islanders controlled the run of play as far as the underlying numbers show, and it meant absolutely nothing. Aside from shooting more—mostly from the perimeter, I guess looking for tips if we’re being charitable but not often finding them and instead sending muffins into the goalie’s glove—this looks just like year’s team, except they have an even worse scoring problem.
The penalty kill also might be even worse than last year. And as previously noted, the Islanders have blown 90% of the leads they’ve gotten so far. They keep dropping points to the teams they should beat, games where you look back later in the season and say “Man, if only they closed out that game against the Devils instead of somehow snatching a regulation loss out of it, or the Sharks game at home that went from 4-1 to 4-4 in six minutes and then a 5-4 OT loss, they’d be in a lot better shape.”
Throw this Ducks game on the pile with the Red Wings and Utah games for the 2024-25 version of our late-season look back; nine games into the season and they already have three standout losses among the pack. The Islanders are clearly frustrated, but I don’t think anyone has stepped up and said something like “We need to give Ilya Sorokin more goal support because he’s pitched four gems now and we’ve lost three of them, scoring a single goal in just of one of those losses.” It’s just something along the lines of “If we keep playing like that, the results will come.”
Ordinarily, given the underlying numbers, I’d be inclined to agree with that sentiment. But this is the team we’ve seen struggle to score for years; why should we expect the results to be any different?
These guys need to get mad for a change. Playing emotionally isn’t always a great strategy, but last night was the most lifeless 42-shot performance I’ve ever seen. While Patrick Roy tried to snap them out of it last year, it looks like, dare I say, a country club atmosphere. Wake the hell up.
Oh yeah, and the Islanders will do this all over again tonight, visiting the hot and inspired—imagine that!—Columbus Blue Jackets. They’re shooting the lights out at a probably unsustainable pace, which sounds to me like the perfect recipe for a regulation loss.
FIG Picks go here. When in doubt, go with the shutout.
Asked Roy about Engvall, who played 9:16:
“He didn’t play a lot. I’m not going on the calls. There’s not much to say.”
Asked Roy about Fasching, who played 7:56:
“I thought he was good. I thought he played well. He did what we were asking for.”#Isles
Last night’s NHL scores include the Capitals handing the Rangers a regulation loss and the Kraken (visiting the Canadiens) and Senators (hosting the Blues) putting up snowmen en route to big wins.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support (MA). Visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). Call 877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 21+ (18+ D.C.) and present in select states (for KS, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino). Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT) or visit FanDuel.com/RG.
