The Islanders are walking a tightrope right now - trying to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race while dealing with a lineup that’s been hit hard by injuries. And while the team’s effort hasn’t wavered, Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Capitals at UBS Arena was another reminder that grit alone won’t get you into the postseason.
Yes, the score was padded by two late empty-netters, but the result still stings. That’s now three straight losses - a shootout heartbreaker to the Flyers, a 3-1 defeat to the Bruins, and this one to Washington - all games in which the Islanders held the shot advantage.
They’re playing hard, they’re controlling the puck, but they’re not finishing. And in this league, that’s the difference between climbing the standings and falling behind.
The injuries are no small part of the story. Kyle Palmieri (torn ACL) and Alexander Romanov (shoulder) are both done for the season.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau is out for at least a couple more weeks. That’s a top-six winger, a key defenseman, and your third-line center - all gone.
The depth is being tested, and while the next-man-up mentality is a staple in NHL locker rooms, there’s a limit to how much any team can absorb.
“These are big pieces,” Bo Horvat said after the game. He finally got on the scoresheet with a power-play goal late in the third, his first point in five games.
“They’re big parts of this organization. Big parts of our team.
But yeah, it’s the next-man-up mentality. We’ve got guys in here that can fill the void and do the job.
We’ve been doing a pretty good job of that so far. It’s just a matter of getting wins behind it.”
The Islanders did manage to snap an 0-for-29 power-play drought against the Flyers, and they went 1-for-3 with the man advantage on Sunday. Rookie Max Shabanov stepped into Palmieri’s spot on Horvat’s line and saw time on the top power-play unit.
Max Tsyplakov also drew into the lineup, skating on the fourth line. These are fresh legs, promising players - but they’re being asked to fill some big shoes.
Despite the 31-18 shot advantage and a 62-52 edge in shot attempts, the Islanders just couldn’t solve Logan Thompson. The Capitals goalie came up big early, robbing Anders Lee on a two-on-one just 42 seconds in, and flashing the glove on Jonathan Drouin later in the period. Those were game-changing saves, and they set the tone.
Meanwhile, Ilya Sorokin was solid again in net, but he’ll want one play back - a costly miscue that led to Tom Wilson’s second goal. Sorokin went behind the net to play a dump-in, tried to go high with an outlet pass, and Wilson picked it off for an easy finish into an empty cage.
“I think the team should change nothing because they played really well,” Sorokin said. “For me, I want to play more simple with the puck. Like today’s second goal - a bad decision.”
That mistake aside, Sorokin gave the Islanders a chance. But again, it comes back to scoring.
This team has just six goals in five games on this homestand. That’s not going to cut it, especially after the momentum of a 6-1-0 road trip that had things trending in the right direction.
“It’s frustrating,” Adam Pelech said. “I think we’ve been playing well the past several games and, unfortunately, we’ve had a tough time finding the back of the net. We just stick with it and hopefully we score a few more going forward.”
Tom Wilson opened the scoring with a power-play goal off a slick feed from Alex Ovechkin, who may have played his final regular-season game at UBS Arena. Ovechkin and Aliaksei Protas added the empty-netters to seal it.
Head coach Patrick Roy liked the compete level - and he should. The Islanders are not folding. They’re just not finishing.
“It’s just a matter of scoring goals right now for us, because we’re playing really well defensively,” Roy said. “We give ourselves a chance to win every night and I could not ask for any better than that at this moment.
But the standard is to win. Don’t get me wrong here.
And we want to be part of the playoffs.”
Roy also pointed out how the bench rallied behind Sorokin after the turnover - a sign of a tight-knit group that’s not about to let one mistake define them.
“If you know this group, you understand they will never give up,” Roy said. “This is not a group that feels sorry for themselves.”
That’s the right mindset. But at some point, effort and resilience need to translate into points.
The Islanders still have two games left on this homestand to salvage something. If they want to stay in the playoff hunt, they’ll need to turn puck possession into goals - and fast.
Because right now, the talent drain is winning out over the next-man-up mentality.