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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity, and this week’s stretch of games could prove just how costly earning just one point versus the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres will be to the Islanders’ playoff chances.
“We didn’t really come ready to play,” was the honest assessment from Kyle Palmieri after Friday’s 5-4 OT loss. That was followed up by a “just not good enough” performance, according to Anders Lee, where the Isles wasted 34 saves from Seymon Varlamov and were shutout 2-0 by Buffalo on home ice.
‘Just not good enough’ also sums up the attitude of the fans toward Bo Horvat. It’s often stated that winning is a great deodorant. As long as the Islanders were winning, fans were willing to keep (mostly) quiet about Horvat’s scoring drought and focus on the faceoff wins, minutes logged, and other intangibles.
But after consecutive losses, especially a shutout loss against a defensively challenged team, patience has started to wear thin. Horvat has no goals in his last 11 games and just two in the 15 games that Mathew Barzal has missed, with only one coming at five-on-five. The underlying stats show that Horvat is getting his chances at a higher clip at even-strength than any other Islander over the last 10 games, but goal-scorers need to score goals, and Horvat was in the midst of a career season when he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks. His shooting % numbers indicated he was due for a correction, but this has been beyond that.
“Since Barzy’s been hurt we’ve tried a number of different guys with him,” head coach Lane Lambert said following the Islanders’ 2-0 loss on Saturday to the Sabres. “It’s been a little bit difficult but we’ll continue to try and find a way here.”
It’s difficult to replace Barzal, but it shouldn’t be this difficult for Horvat to break through. The Isles have made due thanks to secondary scoring, but the time has long passed for Horvat to contribute what he was brought here to do. He’s getting the chances; now he has to get on the scoresheet and carry this team offensively during the final eight games that will decide whether Horvat and the Islanders return to playoff hockey this spring.
Coming up, the Isles need to play better as the schedule gets tougher, and nobody scored more big power play goals than Brock Nelson. Plus, the latest playoff odds, Zach Parise staying forever young, Mike Bossy’s late goal vs. the Whalers, and a different type of race at Belmont on Sunday.
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