Is There Any Reason to Believe in These Islanders Anymore?

It happened again last night. The New York Islanders (7-8-5), who again had a one-goal lead in the final five minutes of the third period, withered to dust as they fell 2-1 in regulation to the Detroit Red Wings. This particular collapse stung even harder than the last. One year after blowing virtually every lead they had, 26 of them, the Islanders are on pace to do it again.

The Collapse:

The goals last night did not inspire much confidence. Ilya Sorokin played an outstanding game again, but it didn’t matter.

Alexander Romanov’s stick exploded at the Red Wings’ blue line, leading to Jonatan Berggren flying down the ice unchallenged as Noah Dobson defended a pass that would never come. Berggren walked right in and fired a shot past Ilya Sorokin with 4:46 to go. Then, during the final minute, the Islanders lost the game in regulation.

Dylan Larkin chipped a puck in, raced in, and bullied Ryan Pulock away from it in the corner. Isaiah George then made an ill-timed naive mistake, floating to the corner to try and swat the puck away. Larkin saw it and quickly smacked the puck to the middle, away from George. The puck went right to Lucas Raymond in the slot, who stuck the dagger in the Islanders with 51 seconds to go.

Why This Loss is Embarrassing:

The saddest part about it is not one single Islanders fan should say they were surprised. This is a team that honestly got outplayed most of the night. Detroit outshot them 31-23. By the way, this same Detroit team came off a game where the futile, no-good, very bad San Jose Sharks outshot them 34-20 and won 5-4. The game prior? The Los Angeles Kings outshot the Wings 41-18. The Anaheim Ducks beat these Red Wings 6-4 last week and outshot them 29-25.

Heck, even the Pittsburgh Penguins, in all their glory, outshot the Red Wings 33-31. In fact, the last time Detroit outshot an opponent was all the way back on November 9, in a 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers.

Look, lose all you want. Blow leads all you want. This Detroit team stinks out loud. They’re a bottom-five group in the NHL with skilled players who don’t play with any true system and mediocre defenders. Outside of the Islanders, Alex Lyon is 1-4-1 this year. Lyon entered yesterday with his last three games all being ugly losses, with the following statistics: 23/28, .821. 5 goals allowed (GA). 23/29, .793, 6 GA. 34/38, .895, 4 GA. All three regulation losses.

Against the Islanders? He’s now 2-0-0, stopping 52/53 shots, good for a .981 save percentage. Outside of games against the Islanders, Lyon has a .871 save percentage. That includes an inflated 15 free saves in a blowout loss to the Rangers, where Lyon entered in relief.

That’s a bad goaltender who’s now beat the Islanders twice.

More Worrying Trends:

This loss, more than any other on the road trip, shows how bad the Islanders can be. They learned nothing from the game against Detroit in October. That game allegedly taught the Islanders that the best way to score is to wreak havoc in the net front, get in Lyon’s field of vision, and cause issues.

For just a moment, it felt like the Islanders did learn. Simon Holmstrom immediately got in front and had a pretty deflection past Lyon to give the Islanders just under six minutes into the game. For just a moment, maybe they learned. The penalty kill went 3/3 and looked sharp. The power play remained laughably bad on their sole attempt, but the team is down Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair.

They didn’t generate much for the rest of the game. They were outshot 11-6 in the second and 9-8 in the third period. Detroit had the better opportunities and eventually got rewarded.

Closing Thoughts on Why This Team is NOT Serious:

The Islanders have allowed a total of six goals in the last three games. They’re 0-2-1. What more is there to say that hasn’t already been said?

This team, unlike any other, finds a way to lose games regularly. That’s not what a good team does, folks. The Islanders have played 20 games, and they’ve won seven. They’ve only won four in regulation. Not a single one of those regulation wins came after holding a one-goal third-period lead.

The Islanders have scored 49 goals in 20 games. If you remove the five in Vancouver and the six in Colorado, that number drops to 38 in 18. That’s 2.1 goals per game outside of the two offensive explosions.

It’s a team that cannot reliably score, function on special teams, or close out even just one third-period lead. The Islanders cannot be taken seriously. I guarantee the teams against the Islanders play far more confidently when trailing than any other opponent in the league, except maybe the Penguins.

There’s a saying for life. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. A quarter of the way through the 2024-25 season, you better believe these are the Islanders. Barring an unforeseen change, this is who the Islanders are. Don’t expect anything else, and you won’t be disappointed.

What’s Next:

The Islanders return home on Saturday to face the St. Louis Blues. At home, the Islanders are 2-3-2. They’ve blown a lead in four of the first seven home games. Their wins came in a shootout against the Montreal Canadiens after blowing a late third-period lead and in a comeback against the Penguins. Both wins came in a shootout.

The Islanders will aim for their first regulation win at home of the year on Saturday night when the puck drops just after 7:30 p.m.