SUNRISE, Fla. — “Do-or-die” may not be enough to describe the situation the Islanders face. That’s because the Islanders not only need a dramatic turnaround in their play to get past the playoff cut line, but they also need some help.
Heading into Thursday night’s trifecta against the Panthers here in suburban Fort Lauderdale, the Islanders are six points behind Washington, the last playoff spot in the East, with 11 games left for both teams. ing. in their season.
The Islanders are four points behind the Red Wings with one game in hand, and one point behind New Jersey with two games in hand.
The Flyers, who have held on to third place in the division for much of the season, look a little vulnerable, but they have a must-win game coming up at Wells Fargo Center, and the Islanders have won 73 games to New York’s 71. They have a 7 point lead over the Reds. This road trip is scheduled to end on Monday night.
But the Islanders have taken their destiny out of their hands by losing seven of their last eight games.
With three straight games at Florida, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, the margin for error has shrunk beyond recognition, and they can’t afford to fall below five, preferably six, points.
Understandably, their recent play doesn’t give us much confidence that they can rip off the heater they need to perform in the final week of the season.
“We were a little faster in D-zone coverage, second-fastest. [before the current losing streak]” coach Patrick Roy told reporters after the Islanders practiced for the second straight day before the team’s flight south. “It gives us less time and space to give other teams in D-zone coverage. It’s been slipping a little bit, so that’s why we’re practicing a lot.
“And the other thing that’s starting to slip is our one-on-one fights. That’s why we’ve been practicing for one-on-one fights the last two days.”
In fact, during eight straight games starting March 11 in Los Angeles, the Islanders spent more time looking indifferent than attacking, forechecking or supporting each other.
After losing six straight wins, some kind of slump was expected.
But not so sudden, not so dramatic.
The resulting waste of a manageable schedule means that saving a season depends on finding the same sudden and dramatic reversal, only in a different direction. .
For a team that hasn’t overcome its mental inconsistencies all season, so much so that Roy acknowledged after Sunday’s loss to New Jersey that it’s a deep-rooted problem, it’s a tougher job than it sounds.
“We’re playing like we’re practicing,” Roy said. “When you practice at competition level, sometimes you want to go on a little longer because you want to look at your heart. Do you give up when you get tired, or do you find a way? Because sometimes it’s not your body that you need to persuade, but your body. , because it is the heart.”
Even if the Islanders are able to perform well, they will need help from a team that has been willing to give hope to their rivals all season.
Captain Anders Lee told reporters, “I think we just have to come here and give it our all.” “I think we needed to put in two days of hard work to make sure we were in a better position than we were a few days ago and get our legs together and be ready for Thursday. I was there to get better.”
The question is whether everything the Islanders have is enough to make the playoffs.
There just isn’t enough of that these days.
