Indignation: Last Place Sabres Humiliate the Islanders 7-1

ELMONT, NY — If you’re a fan of an old enough age or have seen the classics, you’d know that December 23 is the day Festivus is celebrated. Festivus is a made-up holiday invented by the sitcom Seinfeld. It’s the day when one airs their grievances at those around them. After the Buffalo Sabres (12-19-4) pounced to a 5-0 lead in the second period, fans of the New York Islanders (13-15-7) aired their grievances with their hockey team.

From boos to “Fire Lou” and “Lou Must Go” chants, the Islanders faithful made it very clear how they felt about the effort, or lack thereof, put in front of them. The Islanders had no energy, fight, or will to compete. Their penalty kill got hemmed in on both attempts in the first two frames. On paper, the kill went 1/2 on the first tries.  In reality, the Sabres scored about two nanoseconds after the first penalty expired, a de facto power play marker for the Sabres.

Couple that with being beaten to every loose puck, outmuscled, outworked. You’ve got yourself an absolute disaster. Ilya Sorokin‘s recent dip continued as he allowed five goals on 20 shots in the first two periods.. While obviously, it’s nowhere near all his fault, he certainly isn’t exactly putting up superstar numbers.

Why This No-Show is Worse Than the Others:

The Sabres entered UBS Arena without a win for the last 13 straight games. They’d lost six straight in regulation. Their last win came on November 23 in San Jose against the lowly Sharks.

This team has blown a 4-0 lead during this losing streak. The opposition routinely blows Buffalo out of the barn. The Sabres starting goalie, Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, had allowed 10 goals in his last two starts. He got pulled from his most recent start.

The Islanders attacked a vulnerable goalie with five shots on goal in the first period. The Sabres came out hard and fast, immediately looking to set the tone with solid forechecking and puck possession. They peppered Sorokin. Just 2:07 into the game, Beck Malenstyn deflected a Jacob Bryson shot home. It did not improve from there.

Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch couldn’t connect during a 2-on-1. The Islanders had two shots in the first 12 minutes. Then, in the waning moments of their first power play, Rasmus Dahlin flung a puck from a sharp angle toward Sorokin. Dylan Cozens jammed at it, then split two defends to hit Jiri Kulich, who rifled it home.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, I joked the second period couldn’t possibly be worse than the first period.

The Second Period:

However, the second period was significantly worse. After essentially being played off the ice in the first 20 minutes, the Islanders did not show up for the second period.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau took an obvious hooking penalty six minutes into the second period. The kill went as expected. The first 46 seconds saw Buffalo whizz the puck around and ended with Jack Quinn ringing it off the post. Off the ensuing face-off, Buffalo chased in with a set play. Dahlin to Quinn to the cocked and loaded Jason Zucker, whose one-timer put the Sabres up 3-0 just 26:53 into the game.

Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy opted against using his timeout, trusting his guys. They did not snap out of it.

With under five to play in the second period, Scott Mayfield turned the puck over with a pass up the middle. Buffalo made a couple of nice passes, and after Sorokin robbed Zach Benson the first time, he immediately stuffed in the rebound unchallenged on the backdoor.

2:36 later, Quinn rifled one in off another passing play. From any standpoint, the Islanders looked horrible. Their structure did not exist. They lost every battle and let Buffalo have their way all night.

Kyle Palmieri redirected an Anthony Duclair pass past Luukkonen to make it 5-1 with 55 seconds left in the frame. They didn’t even go for the handshake line on the bench.

Other Thoughts:

The third period showed some fight, if you even want to call it that. The Sabres were more than okay with the Islanders just having fun in their zone, all while not allowing a goal.

Roy pulled Ilya Sorokin with 11:53 to go in the third period trailing 5-1. All told, that shows how badly Roy wants this to work. Pulling the goalie in a spot where it’s likely never going to happen proves it. Thompson scored one from his own zone into the empty cage.

Late in the game, Kulich wired home his second. You could see the relief pouring out from Buffalo’s bench all game. Every blocked shot drew stick claps against the bench. That was a team that played with true desperation.

The arena emptied, and the fans chanted, “Lou Must Go!” The remaining fans cheered when the announcement came, “Last Minute of the Third Period.”

The Islanders have had their share of embarrassing games this year. Be it the Seattle Kraken debacle, or the 3-0 lead into a 6-3 loss against the Florida Panthers, or any multitude of blown third-period leads, the Islanders have not been a fun team for their fans all too often this year.

The real crime of tonight is that it directly followed up perhaps their best effort of the season in Toronto. With all their forwards finally healthy, the Islanders came home and laid a total egg. They sink to last place in the Metropolitan Division.

For all the talk of a resurrection from the outside, like the last two seasons, this one resembles the 2021-22 season far more. Through 33 games that year, the Islanders began 14-14-6. That team finished on the outside.

While there’s always time, through 35 games, this team is worse than that one. They’re 13-15-7 and in last place in the division. Time is running out on the 2024-25 New York Islanders.