Desperate Measures

The times are calling for it

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Good Morning, Islanders Country.

Let’s start off with some good news, shall we? The Isles have played 57 games this season and have not lost by more than three goals in any of them. 

It is the first time in club history this has happened!

If it feels like we’re grasping for straws here, it’s because we are. Over the last seven games, the Islanders have picked up 10 points, but that stat falls flat after picking up just two points in three winnable games against three teams that will all miss the playoffs - all by a healthy margin.

The Islanders had a 4-2 lead against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, and not much has gone right since. Rather than carrying a wave of momentum into back-to-back games with Boston and Pittsburgh, they’ve left themselves and their fans frustrated by missed opportunities and the points that slipped away.

Liam McHugh @liam_mchugh

Isles in a fight for the wildcard and in the last six days they’ve lost to vancouver, montreal in OT and ottawa in a shootout. canucks & sens were both playing second games of back to backs.

The Islanders talk like a desperate hockey team, but that isn’t necessarily translating to desperate hockey on the ice, even when some of Lane Lambert’s lineup decisions indicate otherwise. The newest Islander, Bo Horvat played a career-high 27:49 on Tuesday night; it was the most ice time for any Islander forward since Kyle Okposo played 28:20 on April 11, 2010.

Noah Dobson played 25:57, and Mathew Barzal played a career-high 25:50.  It is the first time three Islanders played at least 25 minutes since 2016. We even saw an in-game demotion from the first to fourth line for Josh Bailey, who didn’t see the ice during the final 10:10 of the game.