In some ways, it was fitting that the New York Islanders played the Edmonton Oilers when they did. The Oilers fired head coach Jay Woodcroft on Sunday, Nov. 12, and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch. With the Islanders on a five-game losing streak and their season unraveling, Lane Lambert could be the next coach to be replaced with each loss looking worse than the last.
The Islanders lost 4-1 to the Oilers and a lot of the issues that have plagued them in previous games came back to haunt them in their first game of the Western road trip. They allowed four unanswered goals, including three in the third period. The offense once again looked hapless, failing to score after the first minute of action and the Islanders now have only six goals in their last four games. Lastly, they looked like an undisciplined team that handed their opponent an easy victory.
The Islanders are now 5-6-3 and only one point better than the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division. They have looked like one of the league’s worst teams and the recent game was another reminder of that.
Islanders’ Penalties Hurt Them Again
A common theme this season has been the Islanders making mistakes at the wrong time, leading to costly goals and a surplus of defeats. This game against the Oilers was no different. With the game tied 1-1, Simon Holmstrom, who has been one of the bright spots this season, took a tripping penalty. This allowed the Oilers to immediately generate shots on the goal and find the back of the net to take their first lead of the game.
Just 1:10 later, Ryan Pulock, who entered this game taking only one penalty all season, flipped the puck over the boards for a delay of game call. The Islanders were already on the ropes and this not only allowed the Oilers to maintain momentum but put the game away. They scored their second power-play goal to take a commanding 3-1 lead and all but seal the victory.
Related: 4 Takeaways From Islanders’ 5-2 Loss vs Bruins
The Islanders throughout the season have looked like an undisciplined team and it’s an issue that ultimately falls on Lambert. Under former head coach Barry Trotz, the Islanders had a lot of issues including, playing too slow, struggling to create offense, and favoring veterans over younger skaters, all of which resulted in his firing in the 2022 offseason. That said, the Trotz-led teams were always disciplined and would win games by making fewer mistakes than the opposition. Under Lambert, the opposite has happened and with the team struggling, the issue is on full display. The skaters play recklessly and are willing to take penalties or allow scoring chances the other way with a more aggressive mindset. Now, the team is watching their season spiral out of control and the lack of discipline is the main reason why.
The Absence Of Lee, Pageau & Other Veteran Skaters
Games like these are when the struggling offense starts to get noticed. The Islanders are averaging 2.35 goals per game this season and only 1.80 goals per game during the five-game losing streak. It’s hard to pinpoint one reason for the offense looking hapless but there are a lot of players responsible for its collapse.
Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau led the third line with Oliver Wahlstom on their wing for this game. The irony is that they looked like they had one of their best games in a long time, skating up the ice with the puck and establishing an offensive zone presence. Yet, they failed to find the back of the net and the three skaters combined for three shots on goal. Even in a game where they looked promising and poised to snap out of their slump, they were nowhere close.
At this point in the season, it’s becoming clear that the dropoff from some of the veteran skaters is turning the Islanders into one of the worst teams in the league. Pageau has only five assists so far this season, Lee has only one goal and one assist, and Pierre Engvall, who scored 17 goals last season, has zero through 12 games played. The second tier of Islanders forwards, the skaters that were supposed to keep the offense afloat, have been non-existent. It’s made the offense not just a bad one but arguably the worst in the league. Opponents only have to step up against the top line and on occasion, the second line, but after that, it’s an easy night to defend the Islanders.
Sorokin’s Night is All For Naught
Ilya Sorokin hasn’t looked like a dominant goaltender this season, one who could carry the Islanders even when the rest of the roster has struggled. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t had a good season in the net. He’s made remarkable saves and kept the Islanders in games throughout the season but the team hasn’t been able to step up and help him out. The result has been multiple games where the score is 1-1 or 2-1 heading into the third but once a goal is allowed, everything falls apart afterward.
He made 28 saves to keep the game against the Oilers close. The Oilers don’t have a dominant offense like they did last season but they still have the talent to run up the score and they created a surplus of scoring chances throughout the game. However, Sorokin blanked the Oilers through the first period of play.
The only time the Oilers could beat Sorokin after their first goal was on the power play. They scored twice on the man advantage and then the empty-net goal put the game out of reach with a 4-1 final score. The Islanders lost another game where the blame could be thrown around but Sorokin once again wasn’t the reason for the team’s defeat.
Oilers’ Stars Will Them To Victory
The Oilers, like the Islanders, have struggled across the board this season and they also didn’t put together a great game. They looked surprisingly slow and only generated 13 shots in the first two periods of play. However, Leon Draisaitl sniped a shot to the top corner of the net while Connor McDavid was able to sneak the puck past Sorokin on the rush. Zach Hyman scored on the power play off a McDavid pass and to cap off the night, Evander Kane scored on the empty net.
The star players stepped up for the Oilers and carried them in this game. This is what separates the Islanders from the Oilers. Both teams have struggled but the Islanders lack star players that can carry them. They have the depth that is meant to lead them to victories but this season, the depth skaters have instead become liabilities on the ice, leaving them with a grim outlook for the rest of the season.
Other Takeaways From The Islanders’ Loss
- Mathew Barzal scored his third goal and his 10th point on the season with his shot finding the back of the net early on in the first period. Unfortunately, that was the only highlight for the Islanders as things went downhill from there.
- The power play failed to score with a 0-3 night. The unit remains a weakness for the Islanders and it continues to cost them games.
- The Oilers won their first game with Knoblauch behind the bench. The same thing happened in Feb. 2022 with Woodcroft interestingly enough as his team beat the Islanders in his first game as head coach. The Oilers reached the Western Conference Final that season so the recent win could provide the spark this team needs.
What’s Next for the Islanders?
The Islanders continue their road trip with a back-to-back against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 15 and the Seattle Kraken the next night. The Canucks have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference this season and the Islanders will be tested early and often against them. The Kraken meanwhile will catch a team playing the second game of a back-to-back and will also look to take advantage of a struggling team.
The more important question about what’s next for the Islanders involves the bigger picture. The clock is not just ticking on Lambert but the organization as a whole. Will Lambert remain the head coach when the team looks like a mess and the losses continue to pile up? If he’s not to blame for this mess, then doesn’t that mean general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello, who bet on himself in recent offseasons, is the one that must go? If the Islanders indeed clean house and try to start over, will the core remain, or will a fire sale start to happen with the most valuable skaters like Brock Nelson being put on the trade block?
All the above things feel like overreactions to a losing streak. However, these losses have looked different. This team looks like a mess and there aren’t many avenues to turn things around. Suddenly, the ownership group has to take a hard look at the state of the franchise and wonder where to go from here. The next three games will be telling about what direction the Islanders will head in both this season and for the foreseeable future.
