Better off by accident
How key losses led to the Isles focusing on little things leading to wins
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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
I’m not saying the Isles are better off without JG Pageau and Mathew Barzal; I’m saying the Isles are better off because they’ve been without Pageau and Barzal.
There’s a difference.
Without them in the lineup, the team seemingly had an epiphany and realized it couldn’t win playing the way they had for more than half of the season.
Undermanned and short on skill compared to their opponents most nights, they reverted, out of necessity, back to their structured success of years past. That familiar calling card has them, for the first time in months, looking like a team that deserves to be in the playoffs and one that could be a tough out if they got in.
Players say their approach hasn’t been different, but it was the loss of Pageau and Barzal that forced them to focus on what should have been the focus all along. The Isles are now doing the little things and doing the little things more consistently, and it’s being backed up by relentless effort across all four lines.
It’s impossible to know for sure if this turnaround would’ve happened without the injuries, and it’s unclear whether Lane Lambert is asking his team to play differently or if they are simply playing differently. But by focusing on the little things, it has fans wondering whether big things await.
Coming up, the Islanders go for the season sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hudson Fasching is on the rise. Plus, Alexander Romanov is making strides, playoff odds break 50%, Bill Torrey Appreciation Night at the Coliseum, and a wake-up call for ESPN analyst PK Subban.
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