Groundhog’s Day: Islanders Implode; Red Wings Win 4-2

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (8-9-5) found a way to do it again. The Islanders blew a third-period lead for the fourth time in five games. Oh, and by the way, it’s the second time they’ve done it in three games against this same Detroit Red Wings (9-10-2) squad.

The Islanders have given up a league-leading 33 third-period goals in just 22 games this season. Abhorrent, unacceptable, deplorable—you choose the adjectives—they all accurately describe the final 20 minutes of Islanders games nowadays.

Lucas Raymond scored the game-winning goal for the second consecutive game against the Islanders. Honestly, the whole game basically played out, so according to the stereotypical Islanders game, you’d be wracked with Deja Vu after watching.

The Islanders outshot the Red Wings 29-21. They largely outplayed Detroit in the first two frames. Then, they didn’t anymore. Whatever affliction that’s affecting this team is becoming inexplicable. How can a team dictate terms for 40+ minutes and then consistently wilt like a rotten flower?

Semyon Varlamov stopped 17/20 in the loss. Alex Lyon, now 3-0-0 against the Islanders and 1-4-0 against everyone else, stopped 27/29. His best save came with under 20 seconds left, robbing Simon Holmstrom point-blank in the slot.

The Game, Abridged:

The game played out exactly like countless other Islanders games have this year. The Islanders came out motivated, taking an early 1-0 lead behind an Anders Lee one-timer from the slot. They had the game’s first six shots and seemed to have a grip on things in the first period.

Then, Detroit scored on just their second shot of the period. Moritz Seider wired a slapper past Varlamov. The Islanders recovered enough to get a power play just moments later. Instead of gathering control, the power play showed nothing, and Detroit controlled the rest of the first.

In the second period, the Islanders played their best period. They outshot Detroit 9-7 in the frame and had the better chances for a large swath of the period. Eventually, Maxim Tsyplakov slowed up a rush and found a wide-open Isaiah George. George sent a low shot toward the net, where Brock Nelson tipped it off Lyon’s pad and right to Kyle Palmieri’s stick.

Palmieri, the hottest Islander around, buried it without hesitation. 2-1 Islanders. Palmieri’s team-leading 10th of the season. That lead carried into the third period, where the Islanders actually came out relatively strong. Then, Dylan Larkin tripped Jean-Gabriel Pageau, sending the Islanders to their third power play of the game with just 11:27 to go.

The power play sucked the life out of the team and the building. The team failed to generate anything of substance. 47 seconds after it ended, Larkin tied the game.

Said Nelson, “(On the) Power play, we have the opportunity to kind of put it away or further out of reach and take control, and weren’t able to do it..”

On the ensuing shift after the Red Wings’ goal, Grant Hutton made a silky move and rang it off the crossbar, down into the blue paint, and out.

A couple of plays later, Detroit scored for the lead. Raymond deflected a Simon Edvinsson shot home. Boos were audible. The crowd knew the inevitable had occurred.

The Islanders’ best chance to salvage anything came during the 6v5 when Lyon robbed Holmstrom, who once again couldn’t buy one. Edvinsson floated one into the empty cage with two seconds left and a hostile UBS Arena crowd left with another sour taste in their mouth.

Locker Room Reacts:

Postgame, Nelson had no answers for the media. “I don’t know, this one hurts. It’s disappointing, and then obviously, they get one and tie it, and you want to respond and get back on it, and then they get another one.

“I don’t know, you have to find a way. We have to believe. Our jobs here (are) to get the job done, and we know we can do it. It’s a matter of going out there and getting it done and executing.”

The loss left Nelson more frustrated than he’d been all year when he talked to the media postgame. Asked if anything changes from period two to period three, he said “I don’t know… I don’t think we let our foot off the gas, but it’s just a matter of a couple of plays where you don’t execute.”

Varlamov was more candid about what he saw between the pipes:

“I feel like in the third period when we give up the second goal, Detroit started pushing, and then we kind of sit back a little bit, and then we give up the third one.”

That really says it all. Varlamov says the quiet part out loud. Detroit tied the game with Dylan Larkin’s individual spin move from in tight, and the Islanders buckled. Detroit, just like on Thursday night just a few days ago, grabbed the Islanders by the throat, took the game over, and won.

Hutton showed similar frustration levels and was pretty candid about the seeming lack of confidence in the Islanders’ dressing room:

“Look, it’s a cliché, but it has to end, and no one in this room is okay with blowing these third-period leads. So something’s got to change. We got to play with a little bit more confidence down the stretch there when we have leads and find a way to get those points.”

Luck, or Lack Thereof:

When directly asked about what can change, Hutton said this: “A wise man once told me, ‘You create your own luck’, and we got to find a way to create our own luck. Because no one’s going to do it for us.”

Hutton, a call-up from Bridgeport and a reliable-enough defender, is blatantly honest. He’s a hard worker and should remain up as the seventh defenseman when Adam Pelech returns.

Head Coach Patrick Roy, after witnessing his team blow a fourth third-period lead in five games, remained steadfast in his belief that this is a good team and the game will turn. He thinks the team is playing well and is due for some positive regression.

The Islanders have yet to win two games in a row more than once this season. It’ll be Thanksgiving on Thursday, and that will not change before then.

When asked directly about that fact, along with Hutton’s quote about creating luck, Roy said this:

“It really sucks because we had a chance to play above 500. Don’t worry, we know all that. But I mean, at the same time, I think I think we just need to be resilient. Like I said, I mean, I know sometimes in life, you know, especially when I was playing, I mean, I said some nights better be lucky than good.

“Hopefully, at some point, we’re going to be lucky and good at the same time.”

Now What?

Hope can take a team far. It can keep belief high and spirits higher. What hope can’t do, however, is change what already is. The Islanders are now 8-9-5. At best, they will be 9-9-5 on Thanksgiving with just six regulation wins. That’s not statistics for a playoff team, and Roy knows it.

The top four in the Metropolitan Division are separating quickly. The Rangers are struggling and very publicly want to change. They’re 12-7-1. The Hurricanes, Devils, and Capitals all currently have cozy leads over the Islanders.

The Islanders can only look up to the Wild Card race where they see the upstart Buffalo Sabres and the struggling Boston Bruins. Coincidentally, those Bruins are here at UBS Arena on Wednesday. The next two games are against the Capitals and the Sabres.

The next three games will very likely guide the direction of the Islanders for the rest of the season. It’s time for the Islanders to create their own luck.