The New York Islanders have seen their fair share of ups and downs this season but have looked strong since mid-January. A seven-game win streak was foiled by reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, but the New York team was able to bounce back with a 2-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on February 4.
The Islanders looked to continue their dominant streak against a formidable Winnipeg Jets team on Friday night. However, Winnipeg managed to top the Isles in a 4-3 win at home.
While Isles Nation may feel like this was a fair loss to a cup-contending team, the game exposed some clear weaknesses in this Islanders team, now sitting four points out of a wild card spot.
Early in the first period, what looked like a clean break for the Jets was overskated by Dylan Samberg, taken away by Simon Holmstrom, and passed over to Jean-Gabriel (J.G.) Pageau. After getting it up the ice, Pageau passed the puck back to Holmstrom, who slid it through the legs of Jets’ goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck.
Just a few minutes later, a sloppy defensive zone play from the Islanders allowed Alex Iafallo to push his way all the way into the offensive zone, notably through Bo Horvat, and lift the puck over Ilya Sorokin. Despite having eyes on the puck, a close shot going low-to-high seemed to catch Sorokin off-guard and Iafallo had the game tied at one a piece.
Just after the halfway mark of the first frame, an escape attempt from the Jets was foiled by Marc Gatcomb, who was able to dump the puck back into the offensive zone for the Islanders. While the Islanders did not show much attack on the forecheck, the laid back approach may have worked in their favor. A tiny scuffle along the boards behind Hellebuyck was “won” by Winnipeg, but the puck leaking out caused the Jets’ goaltender to try and help out. Hellebuyck’s tip led the puck directly to Gatcomb’s blade, allowing him to easily score on a distracted and out-of-position Hellebuyck.
Five minutes into the second period, a poor giveaway in the Winnipeg zone led to a great offensive chance for the Jets. The lack of speed from the islanders created a clean chance for Gabriel Vilardi, who netted it easily past Sorokin.
With a tied game, the Islanders needed a boost and a better structure. Instead, however, a structured play starting behind Hellebuyck somehow caught the Islanders unaware and lazy in the neutral zone, giving the Jets easy entry into the offensive zone. A play from Cole Perfetti behind the net led to a stunner by Nikolaj Ehlers, and the Jets had their first lead of the game. Sorokin had no chance to stop the shot and the obvious lack of defensive awareness put the Islanders in a bad spot.
To emphasize the point, a deflected puck off Adam Pelech’s skate gave the Jets an opportunity for bang-bang play. Sorokin looked a bit tripped up and Villardi scored his second of the game.
A two-goal deficit had the Islanders looking hungrier in the third, but not hungry enough. A shot from the blue line by Alexander Romanov was tipped in front, but Kyle Palmieri was able to get to the rebound. Palmieri whiffed on the first attempt but, with a mostly empty net, was able to reduce the deficit to one.
With just over two minutes remaining, the Islanders added an extra attacker but failed to convert on the advantage. Winnipeg won the matchup 4-3, extending their win streak to eight games.
Overall, the New York team did a good job to take advantage of some odd bounces and puck luck but against a team as strong as Winnipeg, their deficiencies in the neutral zone and a lack of energy in defensive zone, specifically in front of their own goaltender, were glaring.
The Islanders will look to bounce back on Saturday, February 8, against the Minnesota Wild, before heading into a two-week international break.
