Time to Make a (Home)Stand; Tsyplakov Talks Recent Struggles

EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders skated at their own practice facility for the first time in two weeks after a five-game road trip that finished 1-2-2. The trip ended in the most frustrating way possible for the Islanders, as they blew three consecutive one-goal third-period leads and only got one point from all three games.

Talking about those third-period struggles, Head Coach Patrick Roy shared a quote from perhaps the greatest NFL Coach of All Time, Bill Belichick, and applied it to his Islanders:

“(Bill) Belichick said a lot of times ‘making a mistake at the wrong time or the penalty at the wrong time could cost the game to your team.’ (That’s) been hurting us in that third period. So, we have to be very good in those clutch moments.”

It isn’t good enough, and it’s led to some serious questions about the team.

What’s Next:

The Islanders have an upcoming stretch to try to change the tide. They play three games in five days before Thanksgiving and five in the next eight days.

It starts tonight at UBS Arena when the St. Louis Blues come to Elmont to take on the Islanders. In October, the Blues shut out the Islanders 1-0 in overtime, ending the Islanders’ first road trip of the year on a sour note.

The Islanders play 4 of the next 5 at home, and Roy knows how important winning at home has become to the Islanders.

“We need to become homers. That’s it. We want to try and win as many as possible, but it starts tonight. We’re going to focus on tonight, and we’ll see how it goes. It’s time for us to win some home games and play well in front of our fans.”

Brief One-on-One with Maxim Tsyplakov (edited lightly for clarity)

As for the players, it’s become unquestionable that frustration is also mounting for them. NYI Hockey Now spoke with Maxim Tsyplakov about the recent road trip:

Q– Where’s the excitement to be home after how the road trip ended?

A- Yeah, I’m excited to play at home, but I think this trip is not good for us. We (need to get) more points, and (we need to do it) it as the home team. We need to be better. We need more goals. We have a lot of chances for goals, but sometimes it’s not lucky. Sometimes the goalie makes saves. We need to be better in front of their net.”

Q- How does this team start to score more goals when needed?

A- We play good. I like how we play.  I have a lot of chances, every game I have chances, but I can’t score. Need to be better with my shots (and score more).

Q- From your view, what’s been the struggle in the third period?

A- “We play well offensively, defensively, goalies play great, (we) block a lot of shots, but the third period is so bad. We need to be better in the third period, and I think if we play good in the third period, we win the game. We try and (want) to be better in the third period and the whole game. We want to win.”