To find out the last time the Islanders lost consecutive shutouts, you have to go back 49 months. That time, it was a chaotic two-game series, with losses 5-0 and 1-0 in Nashville and Las Vegas. The 7-on-4 stretch was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes, the 120-minute chaotic offense that ruined a promising start to a four-game road trip can rightly be called an anomaly.
But that doesn’t make it any less urgent, with back-to-back games between the Senators and Rangers looming over the weekend and the Islanders needing to do better if they are to still be in the playoffs entering Monday.
A 13-goal outburst in the two games that started the road trip was probably a necessary setback for the Islanders.
And certainly, the circumstances (against the Kings in the second end of a back-to-back and against Buffalo in the first game back on the East Coast) didn’t help.
But the obvious knockback is that the Islanders scored a ton of points against two scary teams in San Jose and Anaheim, but struggled when the competition got tougher.
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but Islanders can’t wait to find out.
“What became clear to us this morning is we need a net presence,” coach Patrick Roy told reporters after the team’s practice on Long Island on Friday. “We need to support each other in battle. We need to jump on loose pucks a lot faster. We’re probably closer to a five-man unit than we’ve been in the last two games. ‘Cause two games. There’s just too much talent to have back-to-back shutouts.”
Unsurprisingly, Thursday’s 4-0 loss to Buffalo was the Islanders’ second-worst performance of the season in terms of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. It was the worst possible outcome.
While the scoreline was poor for the Islanders in Los Angeles, where the Kings’ quick transitions and David Rittich’s strength at the net combined to create a tough night for the offense, it was the exact opposite in Western New York.
Thursday was an Islanders vs. Islanders game, with nearly every pass missed and nearly every player out of sorts.
The impact extends to the power play, which has missed 11 consecutive scoreless chances since Brock Nelson’s goal in Anaheim and is an abysmal 5-of-37 (13.5 percent) since Feb. 20. .
“I feel like I overcomplicated things a little bit,” Roy said Thursday night. “and it is, [assistant coach John MacLean] Pregame: Just keep things simple and move the puck quickly. But tonight somehow our feet weren’t there and our execution wasn’t there. ”
Ironically, the power play’s slump coincided with the penalty kill becoming acceptable for the first time all season.
If the Islanders can get both going at the same time, they’ll probably make the playoffs.
In any case, the islanders are currently walking a fine line.
They have clinched a playoff spot with their play over the past few weeks, but that won’t last long if they have a bad weekend.
The Red Wings aren’t the only ones following suit. The Capitals and Sabers appear poised to compete for the two wild-card spots and the three spots between third place in the Metropolitan Division among the six teams.
“Once you find that way, your confidence comes back quickly,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said on Friday. “You just stick to it. I think that’s going to be our mentality.”
