Isles Lose Again: Roy Rips ‘God Awful” Duclair,’ Pulock Admits ‘Mistakes’

ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders (32-32-10) slump continued as they lost their sixth straight game, this time falling 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning (44-25-5). The entire team knew this game was a must-win, yet came out utterly lifeless.

The Lightning took a quick 3-1 lead in the second period, and the game was over. It didn’t matter how many penalties Tampa would take (five, by the way), they were not allowing another goal or losing the game.

Casey Cizikas showed the biggest heart of any when he dropped the gloves to fight Yanni Gourde with all of 6:49 left on the clock. The rest of the team did not have a pulse for the entire third period, simply allowing Tampa Bay to turn the game into a snoozer.

Of every forward in the lineup, only the bottom six and Bo Horvat looked to have any interest in the game to my eyes. Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstrom have cooled 0ff significantly. Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau finished a -2 and lost throughout the neutral zone. As for their linemate, Anthony Duclair? Islanders Coach Patrick Roy had more than a few things to say.

Roy Loses It on Duclair:

Anthony Duclair played just 12:15 tonight. After the game, Islanders Coach Patrick Roy was asked about Duclair.

Roy, with fire in his eyes, obliterated his player. “He was god awful. He was god awful., He had a bad game, and that’s why I didn’t play him a lot. And he’s lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on him, but that’s how I feel.”

Then, asked what Duclair isn’t doing, Roy continued to unload, “He’s not skating, he’s not competing, he’s not moving his feet. He’s not playing up to what we expect from him. It’s an effort thing.”

Then, he ended his presser, roughly two minutes in length. It said all that needed to be said. Before that, a restrained Roy bemoaned the power play’s inability to do anything, including on a 5-on-3 opportunity.

Roy said the team could not be clutch or step up in any key moments of the game, a growing theme.

Pulock Disappointed, Calls Out Islanders Mistakes:

Ryan Pulock seemed out of answers about what’s gone wrong with the Islanders. He provided some insight, and really called out his teammates and himself.

“We’re making mistakes that are critical, and it’s costing us. There’s just moments where you have to bear down and get a puck out or bear down. Don’t change or whatever it might be. We’re just kind of killing ourselves with little mistakes.”

Pulock didn’t name names, but if you watched this game, you could figure out who he may have been talking about.

Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov’s struggles continued and, as Pulock said, failed to bear down or get pucks out, and it cost New York on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s game-opening goal. Later, Anthony DeAngelo inexplicably went for a change with the Bolts possessing and rushing ahead for a three-on-one, which Victor Hedman scored on. That goal made it 3-1 Tampa Bay.

Pulock finished his availability by saying “Guys in here care. [They] want to battle and I find, we are battling. We’re just costing ourselves with little mistakes. We have eight games left and have to go win those games.”

With New York now firmly in 12th in the East and five points out, they have no other choice. Even going 8-0-0 may not be enough.

Horvat Disappointed, Expects Better from Himself:

Horvat scored the lone Islanders’ goal tonight, a first-period shorthanded goal on a two-on-rush. Despite that and an overall strong effort, Horvat did not like his game by the time the horn sounded.

First and most obviously, they lost again. They’ve sunk lower and lower. Nobody is going to be happy after a loss even if they scored five goals.

However, what Horvat knows, this team needs him more than ever. With Mathew Barzal on the shelf and Brock Nelson gone, he’s stepped up. Tonight, he scored his shorty, but whiffed on a backdoor tap-in along with being denied on a breakaway. He also had another two-on-one, but Andrei Vasilevskiy kept that out.

Said Horvat, “[I’m] kicking myself that I could have been a difference tonight, burying those opportunities on the breakaway and the other two-on-one, he’s a great goaltender. He made some nice saves and I’m happy with getting the chances, but not happy not making the most of it.

Similarly to Pulock, Horvat said the Islanders have to win the rest of their games. He also pointed to little details like Pulock: “We had a chance to gain a little bit of momentum going into the third on the power play. [Then,] we took the penalty and I’m not blaming anybody, but it’s just like, and even after that, it just wasn’t enough push by us. We didn’t really sustain a lot of his own pressure and it was a little bit too back and forth. We knew they were going to pack it in and we just didn’t do a good enough job.”

Final Takeaways:

Dissatisfaction, desperation, and frustration have consumed the Islanders’ room. Pulock says the room cares and is fighting. His coach specifically said at least one player isn’t.

This season is a death by a thousand cuts, all building to this recent 0-4-2 run which can be best described as a fatal blow. the Islanders’ latest playoff odds sit at a measly 3.1%, and even that feels generous. The Buffalo Sabres, who until tonight had been in the bottom of the Eastern Conference virtually the entire season, are closer to catching the Islanders than the Islanders are to a playoff spot.

Nothing beyond that sobering statement of fact needs to be said.

New York has two days off before they host the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.