Two days off couldn’t be coming at a better time for the Islanders.
A letdown performance on Saturday was probably inevitable after the Islanders played with four defensemen for most of Friday night, but the Isles very much looked like a team in need of some rest during a 1-0 shootout loss to the Flyers at UBS Arena courtesy of Tyson Foerster’s game-winner.
The Islanders tried their best to grit it out, keeping the game as low-event as possible and leaning on Ilya Sorokin in net when needed. But after getting to overtime with the match scoreless, the Flyers finally kicked the door down.
It looked like the Islanders might get a reprieve after they killed off Alexander Romanov’s interference penalty before the halfway mark of the final period.
That — along with 60 minutes of desperation in the defensive zone and a regulation shutout for Sorokin — was enough to get the Islanders a point which, on a night like this, qualifies as a sort of win.
But the Islanders’ three-on-three woes continued as they failed to convert a series of chances in the back-and-forth overtime period, including Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal both having chances on the doorstep on which they could not finish.
And come the shootout, Sorokin’s 40-save brilliance was finally broken.
It was not as dire a situation as the night before in Ottawa, where the Islanders literally played with four defensemen for most of the game. But where adrenaline might have gotten them through that win, it was clear by the second period Saturday that the Islanders had some tired legs on the back end, and would need some serious help from their goaltender to win this one.
The first five minutes were really the only time all night that the Islanders were able to match the Flyers’ energy. After that, they endured a 17:55 spell without a shot, crossing over the first and second periods, and spent most of the game in their own end.
Though Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc could spell the top-four defenders at times, unlike the night prior, the Islanders still looked like a team very much missing Adam Pelech, who went on long-term injured reserve Saturday, and Sebastian Aho, who is out for an unknown period of time.
The addition of Mike Reilly, who was claimed on waivers Saturday and will join the team on Sunday, should help shore up the back end. But the Islanders will nonetheless have to endure at least three-plus weeks without Pelech — their rock on the blue line — as he is not eligible to come off LTIR until Dec. 19.
The Islanders had no choice but to try and get through Saturday as best they could, using Noah Dobson on the left side to form a pair with Scott Mayfield and keeping Romanov with Ryan Pulock.
It was a chance to extend their winning streak to four and catapult up to second in the Metropolitan Division — which would have been quite an impressive feat after the Islanders were down in seventh just eight days earlier.
But from the moment Pelech and Aho went down early in Friday’s game, this was always going to be a game where the odds were stacked against the Islanders and where getting two points would require the combination of Sorokin and some good luck.
There are no excuses in hockey, of course, and regrouping in time for a three-game road trip starting in Newark will be nothing short of vital. The Islanders can’t exactly afford to wait for Pelech’s return to start winning games again.
But some rest and recovery on Sunday will be a pretty good first step toward a successful trip.
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