Islanders Need Signs of Life in Los Angeles Tonight

The New York Islanders (29-27-7) take on the Los Angeles Kings (33-20-9) in Crypto.com Arena tonight at 10:30 on the East Coast. Heading into this one, the Islanders not only need a win for their playoff race but one to settle themselves down.

Heading into tonight, the first two games after the Brock Nelson era ended have been hard to watch. Not only because the games are ridiculously late at night for those on the East Coast, but because the Islanders look lost. They’ve played loose, unstructured, and against their identity.

That identity, one formed under Barry Trotz, has changed over time. Without Nelson, the Islanders have not consistently generated offense. They allowed the last-placed San Jose Sharks to open their game, outshooting the Islanders 17-1.

If not for Sorokin’s heroics, the Islanders would probably have lost that game. What followed up a mediocre-at-best effort in San Jose came one devoid of life in Anaheim. The mediocre Ducks handed it to the Islanders and ground their way to a 4-1 win, with the Islanders’ only goal coming in garbage time.

That brings us to tonight’s game against the Kings. The Kings are 20-3-4 at home this year. They just beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 in a high-flying, emotional victory. LA is also jockeying for playoff position with the Edmonton Oilers, so they need this win badly.

It’ll get ugly fast if it’s another lifeless effort for the Islanders.

Is fan interest low for the rest season?

The other reason the Islanders have to show some signs of life is they’re actively losing fans’ attention. Scouring social media and talking to some folks, it’s pretty clear this product has grown sour.

The talk of a retool this summer piques many’s interest, but as for the remaining 19 games this season? It’s a hard sell. I’m not trying to be too harsh, but it’s easy to be dissuaded from believing a prolonged run of success is imminent to end the season.

The offense is low-event. After two bad showings without Nelson, the top six remain unchanged at the morning skate, according to Andrew Gross. After a one-game experiment with Adam Boqvist at center failed, the defense is back to the original pairs from Saturday’s win over the Sharks, with Scott Mayfield as a healthy scratch.

The entire bottom six, except for Maxim Tsyplakov, is filled with players best served on the fourth line, all of which are low-event forwards. Yes, Marc Gatcomb’s a great story, and Hudson Fasching’s resilience should be admired, but they do similar things without much of a scoring punch.

The Islanders return home on Friday night this week. If it’s a poor effort and a loss tonight, just how crowded do you think UBS Arena will be for a Friday night game, even if it’s the Edmonton Oilers?

That’s the real reason the Islanders need to show life. They have to give their fans a reason to care to watch this stretch run, whether it’s a reason to believe in a playoff push or to see Simon Holmstrom’s continuing breakout. What it can’t be, however, is a lopsided result against them again.