Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Last night’s final 20 minutes made the blown third-period leads versus Detroit and Carolina look good.
The Islanders were in a good spot, tied 2-2 heading into the third at home against a Minnesota Wild team that had lost its last three road games. Instead, they were inexplicably flat to start the period, fell behind, and Pierre Engvall made an inexplicable turnover that led to a goal that took the air out of the building.
Three third-period penalties didn’t help, either.
By the final minutes, modest chants of “Fire Lambert” and “Fire Lou” were heard at UBS Arena, demonstrative of a fan base frustrated by a team that isn’t doing the things they’re supposed to be good at to be successful and close out games.
This stat, courtesy of Arthur Staple, tells the story. The Islanders have had a lead in each of their eight home games this season but have just nine points (3-2-3) to show for it and are now -8 (16-8) in the 3rd-period/OT goal differential.
“We just gotta find ways to get the job done. There’s something going on, and as a group, we’ve got to figure that out,” said Casey Cizikas. “These third periods are killing us.”
The Islanders need to figure out what’s going on and figure out what type of team they’re going to be. What’s particularly worrisome is that if the Islanders aren’t going to be a team that plays smart, structured hockey and can close out hockey games, what kind of team are they going to be? That’s supposed to be their identity, and right now, they’re not playing to it.
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