Postgame Mailbag: Islanders Losing Streak Continues, Same Mistakes Continue

The New York Islanders failed to collect a point on their Florida trip, losing 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night before a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night. Although the effort was not as bad as we saw in the Thursday night 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the continued struggles are concerning.

Here’s your NYI Hockey Now Postgame Mailbag:

Do you think the Islanders will make a trade at some point if they don’t improve? (@BryanWolfe20)

I think the trade talk may be a bit premature just six games in the NHL season. Now, if things don’t turn around over the next month or so, I think general manager Lou Lamoriello will start looking around and seeing what the market is for some of his players. Lamoriello thinks very highly of the young players in the system, so If he believes they are ready to help the Islanders, I think we could see a few prospects get a chance. But if the Islanders turn things around but are still in need of some support, most likely on the offensive side of the puck, this would be the season to get the goal scorer this team has been longing for.

How much of this is actually on Lane? Right now, much of it feels on Lou. (@jonnymax)

Like any NHL coach, Lane Lambert has to work with what he has. General manager Lou Lamoriello showed faith in his group by not moving anyone at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline and not making any moves this past offseason to bring in a goal scorer. As you can see with the line tinkering, and the in-game adjustments, Lambert is doing everything he can to help right the ship.

Just nothing is working.

Effort and compete level. Where did it go? Why is it lacking? They can beat bad teams but can’t beat good teams. Also, they are playing from behind constantly. That goes back to compete level. (@jeffrey_melcer)

There are multiple ways to lose at the NHL level. As we saw on Thursday with a lack of effort and on Saturday and Sunday, stronger efforts but mental mistakes. This Islanders team, given their offense, cannot be trailing in games on a nightly basis. I don’t think their compete level has been an issue the last two nights, but it certainly was against New Jersey. It’s concerning when you see players puck-watching or see veterans making rookie mistakes.

Barzal is disappointing for a $9.1M player… Not a scoring threat. Looks pretty one-dimensional. Can’t even use his speed or strength to create chances for himself. (@JPDSalzar)

At $9.1 million a season, Mathew Barzal needs to be noticeable every night. That does not mean he has to be a point-per-game player, but he needs to be a threat when on the ice. There have already been a few games this season where he did not stand out and when you have his speed and kill, he needs to be causing panic in the offensive zone. He has been strong in the defensive zone, getting back to break up plays, but as we saw against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he is still holding back from shooting when high-scoring opportunities present themselves.

They can beat non-playoff teams and cannot keep up with playoff teams. (@HandsomeRick)

In order to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you need to take care of business against the weaker teams and steal some games against the elite franchises. So far this season, the Islanders have dominated the weaker teams, in the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, but have struggled to get results against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers (times two), and the New Jersey Devils, which was an opponent and game that should have had a different result.

Last season, the New York Islanders struggled against the good teams and were not good enough against the bad teams.

There’s little room for error in the tough Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference, so if you are not going to beat the elite teams, you have to beat the bad teams, and that might not even be enough.

They haven’t looked good at all, but honestly, what did people think their record would be through these 6 games? 3-3?@MattB2475)

If you looked at the Islanders schedule heading into the season, their first six games, one could argue that they should have at least had three wins and possibly steal a point or two against one of the stronger teams, at least a winning record or at the very least a .500 record (3-2-1, 3-3-0). But that loss to New Jersey hurt their ability to do that.

It will never happen, but man, would it be fun to watch Raty, Dufour, Barzy, Wally, Dobson, and Sorokin…right now while they’re young. (@holidaymatinee)

The Bridgeport Islanders are on an absolute roll right now, winners of four straight. William Dufour has two goals and is skating on the top line with Aatu Räty and Simon Holmstrom, as all three look strong. Ruslan Ishkahkov looks dominant with six points in four games too. You are looking at the future there, at least two of the three, and with Barzal’s long-termers deal and the likelihood that Oliver Wahlstrom, Noah Dobson, and Ilya Sorokin will be around for the foreseeable future, eventually, these players should all be playing together with the New York Islanders.

But there is zero point in rushing prospects up.

However, if things start to get ugly here, we could very well see some call-ups.

Here are the New York Islanders Stories to Know For Today:

The New York Islanders started off slow yet again, which allowed the Florida Panthers to score two in the first, ultimately winning 3-2. The Islanders have now lost their third-straight contest and are 2-4-0 on the season. New York Islanders.

The Bridgeport Islanders (4-1-0) recorded their fourth straight win Sunday afternoon, as they defeated the Hartford Wolfpack (0-2-1-1) by a score of 5-2. But despite their modest win streak, the Bridgeport Islanders are not satisfied. Bridgeport Islanders.