Takeaways From the Weekend & Looking Ahead

The New York Islanders’ trip to California rolls on. Last night, the Anaheim Ducks soundly outplayed the Islanders en route to a 4-1 win. In the first two periods, the Ducks held the Islanders to 16 shots and outscored them 2-0. Any whispers of a comeback were put out when Mason McTavish scored a power-play goal just 43 seconds into the third period.

The loss showcased the worst of what could happen the rest of the year. The Islanders looked slow, uninspired, and unmotivated. Last night, the Ducks entered nine points outside of a playoff spot and had lost two straight. They surgically dismantled the Islanders, utilizing their speed to prevent them from getting to their forecheck, and they just took it to them.

On special teams, the Islanders got beat there as well. Such is the theme of the season. With McTavish’s strike on the man advantage, Anaheim’s power play moved from 32nd to 31st. The Islanders sunk back to 32nd.

The Islanders scored a late goal to prevent a shutout, as Anthony DeAngelo scored the garbage time goal with a wrister through a crowd.

Takeaways From Last Night:

• When this team is off, it’s hard to watch. Last night’s game just had no energy for the first two periods, and it looked like two teams in the bottom 10 of the NHL were squaring off. Without Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal, this group’s forward depth will be tested and exposed.
• Patrick Roy loves analytics. There’s no other explanation for pulling the goalie with over 12 minutes left while trailing 3-0. He usually only does it when he knows his team doesn’t have it and is trying to spark them. Last night, it didn’t work as Sam Colangelo tucked in his second of the night into the abandoned cage.
• The Adam Boqvist center experiment did not work. After DeAngelo had a terrible icing while trying to force a pass, the Boqvist line was forced to take a defensive-zone face-off while tired. Pierre Engvall took it and lost it. The Ducks made two passes, and Drew Helleson sent a shot that beat Marcus Hogberg through a screen. Ugly.
• After a night of praise, Noah Dobson had a really bad game. On the first Ducks goal, he took a bad pinch trying to shut down Colangelo on a zone entry. Two passes later, Colangelo had a mini-break while Dobson chased helplessly as Colangelo made it 1-0. It was far from anyone’s best last night, but Dobson struggled last night.
• Marcus Hogberg played well for the most part. He probably wants the Helleson goal back, but he could’ve done nothing on the other two. He played well and gave the Islanders a chance. In games Ilya Sorokin has started, the Islanders have won 24 of the 46. Of all other games, the Islanders have won just five of the 18 other games.

Looking Ahead:

After facing the basement-dwelling San Jose Sharks and the mediocre Anaheim Ducks, the Islanders now have the third-hardest remaining schedule in the NHL based on opponents’ winning percentage. Only the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings have it worse.

That hard schedule kicks off right away. The California road trip ends on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, who sit third in the Pacific. Then, the Islanders come home to welcome the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The only good news is the Oilers play the night before in New Jersey. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers return to UBS Arena on Sunday, but again, they play the night before in Montreal.

Even so, the Islanders will be underdogs in their next three games. If they manage to win two of them, their playoff fight can survive. If not, Islanders fans will be addicted to tankathon.com by the time this season ends.

Starting with that game against the Oilers, Sorokin will need some help during a stretch of seven games in 12 days. All but one are played in UBS Arena, with the exception of March 18 in Pittsburgh.

As stated above, the Islanders are 23-19-4 in games Sorokin starts. He has one more win when he entered overtime after Hogberg’s injury.

In games without Sorokin getting a result, the Islanders are 4-8-3. That’s an ugly record. After those 7 games in 12 days, the Islanders have a road back-to-back with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes on the final weekend of March. All this to say, it will be very tough sledding for the Islanders to get themselves back into it.

Every loss counts more, with every win attempting to claw their way back out of the pit they’re in.