PHILADELPHIA — The Islanders’ current run of fine type needed to finish in some unspecified time in the future.
Sunday afternoon in opposition to the Flyers, in a recreation the place Cal Clutterbuck and Andy Greene have been held out of the lineup — which the Islanders insisted was for upkeep, however actually seemed like asset safety with the commerce deadline on Monday — was pretty much as good a time as any for the outcomes to begin aligning with the crew’s gloomy outlook but once more.
The Flyers dropped the Islanders, 2-1, dropping their file to 26-25-9, stopping them from sweeping the season collection, and snapping a six-game factors streak for the visiting crew.
The Islanders had performed a few of their greatest hockey of the season — and gotten a few of their greatest outcomes — going into the competition. However Ilya Sorokin’s 35 saves couldn’t belie a efficiency wherein the Flyers outshot their guests, 37-27, because the Islanders have been saved out of the offensive zone for lengthy stretches and reverted to previous errors.
“We didn’t have lots of juice tonight, plain and easy,” coach Barry Trotz mentioned. “Mentally, we simply didn’t have the juice.”
A pair of Kevin Hayes objectives within the second interval epitomized these errors. The primary, at 4:22 of the interval, got here following a giveaway from Sebastian Aho deep within the Isles’ defensive zone, establishing a straightforward two-on-one for Hayes to transform on a feed from Travis Konecny.
The second, 10 minutes later, got here on the facility play following a Kieffer Bellows hook — the third of 4 penalties the Islanders dedicated within the recreation — when a unfastened puck bounced Hayes’ manner and he put it into the web.
“We had a turnover on the primary objective they usually acquired a power-play objective,” Trotz mentioned. “We didn’t generate sufficient. We handed up some seems and we have been simply probably not sharp.”
Casey Cizikas began the scoring with a slap shot from the highest of the zone at 12:50 of the primary interval that made its well past Carter Hart.
However after a powerful first interval, wherein the Islanders handed the puck crisply on breakouts and generated probabilities, they began to look extra like a crew that was taking part in for the fifth time in eight days. Needing a objective within the third interval, the Islanders didn't put the requisite strain on Hart within the Flyers’ internet, and got here away empty-handed.
“Simply wasn’t a type of video games the place it was coming simple,” Anders Lee mentioned. “There wasn’t lots of pucks on the market to make alternatives.”
The main target now turns to Monday. Clutterbuck and Greene aren’t anticipated to yield a large haul if moved, however each could possibly be of some use to playoff groups. If president Lou Lamoriello decides to maneuver extra items — particularly, Semyon Varlamov or Josh Bailey, each of whom have a number of years left on their offers — the Islanders can anticipate a larger return.
The crew’s efficiency in opposition to the Flyers, if nothing else, served as a healthy dose of actuality.
This season will quickly be thrown into the trash heap of historical past. How the Islanders strategy the deadline, although, will dictate a lot of what they will get from it.
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