Andrew Fantucchio
When the New York Islanders took off on a four-game road trip a couple of weeks ago, I was a big proponent of the idea that they needed to keep their heads down and continue pushing forward while they endured a lengthy losing streak.
That seemed to work a little bit as the team pieced together a string of gutsy wins. But after their loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, keeping their heads down is no longer an option.
The Islanders need to take a look in the mirror because accountability has to be taken for the way this season has gone so far.
Sitting at 8-7-6, many of the Islanders’ losses have followed the same pattern. They build an early lead but snap under pressure by taking careless penalties, exposing a shorthanded unit that’s been nothing short of horrendous.
“It’s extremely concerning,” head coach Lane Lambert said after the Islanders followed that exact script last night. “We had the game under control. We have a power play, and we take the penalty, and then we take another stick penalty. All of a sudden, instead of being up five-on-four, we’re down four-on-three, and they end up scoring. Those are mistakes that we made, and we have to be better.”
Of course, the Islanders have to be better. The question is how.
Their struggles late in games aren’t a tactical or personnel issue. The problem is in their heads.
“I think it’s just a mindset,” Bo Horvat said. “[It comes down to] not sitting back, keeping our foot on the gas and playing in their end.”
The Islanders have sung that refrain for weeks, but the song is starting to sound out of tune with barely any tangible consequences.
The one instance where someone was held accountable was when Lambert scratched Pierre Engvall from the lineup after the forward made a costly turnover in his own zone the previous game. Since then, little steps have been taken to discipline repeated mistakes.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Islanders are going into every game, trying as hard as they can to right the ship. But at some point, actions need to be taken when efforts aren’t producing results.
Whether it’s more instances of players being benched or more extreme measures, something needs to be done.
Bad losses can’t keep going unpunished.
