It’s a story that has played out over and over again over the last few seasons.
Third period meltdowns that turn wins into losses. Mistakes at crucial times that result in the puck in the back of their own net. Points slip away and leave the Islanders in need of a late season push for the playoffs.
As the Islanders get ready to face the Capitals Friday afternoon in Washington, they continue to spin the “we’re playing well” narrative while they search for answers.
“I feel like we’re playing good,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy after Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Bruins at UBS Arena. “I’m not stupid. I know that. I know it’s a big part of the equation here. What good is it going to do to us if I’m always focusing on the result? We do a lot of good things. I’d rather focus on things we’re doing well and hopefully that will turn around for us.”
Wednesday’s loss followed up a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Monday night, the latest in a string of blown third period leads. Despite the Islanders’ inability to put games away, they still believe that things will eventually go their way.
They maintain that belief even though Islanders Country is running out of patience.
“The belief is always going to be there,” said Captain Anders Lee. “We’ve shown our capabilities. We’ve played good hockey. We’re just not putting it all together right now and we have to be better.”
After Friday’s game in DC, the Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night and will face the Canadiens Tuesday night in Montreal. There are also games coming up against Eastern Conference opponents Carolina and Ottawa, so the Islanders have a roadmap in front of them to try and move up the standings.
“It’s a good time for us,” said forward Brock Nelson. “We’re talking about getting on a good stretch against teams we’re chasing. We have a lot of hockey left. We know we can get the job done to go on a little bit of a run and all of these games are crucial. We want to take it one day at a time and one game at a time.”
At the moment, the Islanders are 8-10-5 for 21 points, which places them second to last in the Metropolitan Division, but they are just three points out of the second Eastern Conference wild card spot.
There’s still a lot of hockey left to play, but the Islanders have to try and stay afloat as they wait for injured players like Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair and Adam Pelech to return to the lineup.
“We need to find a way to come together and fix the problem and right now we’re just not finding them,” said defenseman Ryan Pulock.
But for the moment, the Islanders have to rely on what they have and not what they don’t have.
“I’m going to stick with our guys,” said Roy. "It’s a great group. We do our best with the guys we have. We know we gotta find a way to stay close to that .500 mark for when all the guys are going to be back. That’s what we’re trying but we piss away some games that we could win. It is what it is.”
The Islanders are hoping the turnaround comes Friday against the Capitals, as they hope to turn the page on their early season struggles.
“It’s frustrating,” said forward Kyle Palmieri. “We’ll reset and get ourselves ready to go on the road and play Washington.”
If the Isles don’t get on track soon, it’s not going to matter when the injured players come back, because they will have dug a hole too deep to come out of.