Islanders suffer fourth straight defeat, seventh loss in last 10
The Hurricanes celebrate a second-period goal as the Islanders' Matthew Schaefer skates away on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. Credit: AP/Karl B DeBlaker
RALEIGH, N.C. — The downward spiral continued.
This time, the Islanders simply couldn’t play up ice against the Hurricanes.
But the specific reasons why the Islanders have lost four straight games in six days and seven of their last 10 are not quite as important as the untimely nature of this freefall, which has left their playoff hopes dangling.
“We’ve been knocked down, there’s no doubt about it,” Anders Lee said after the Islanders’ 4-3 loss to Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina on Saturday night at Lenovo Center. “But this thing is not over. This race isn’t over. I believe in this group. The guys in this room believe in it. We’re hitting a tough patch at just a really bad time of year.”
The final score was made that close on Lee’s six-on-five tip with 1:37 left in regulation. The Islanders were outshot 40-16, and only because they took 10 shots in the third period.
In reality, it was close only because an under-siege Ilya Sorokin played like a Vezina Trophy candidate in his 11th straight appearance, including starting both ends of a back-to-back set for the third time in a row.
The attempts, including blocked shots and missed shots, were an insanely lopsided 82-32.
The Islanders (42-31-5) remained in third place in the Metropolitan Division, as the Blue Jackets lost their third straight. However, they easily could be out of a playoff spot, which they’ve essentially held since Dec. 4, by the time they face the Maple Leafs on Thursday night at UBS Arena to start a season-ending four-game homestand.
The Flyers, Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Senators are all within one point of the Islanders. The Senators, Red Wings and Flyers have all played one fewer game.
“It’s all about the next game,” defenseman Scott Mayfield said. “We’ve got to start getting some points and stay in our position. I don’t know what the other scores are, but you can’t drop games like this. We haven’t done four in a row all season and it’s not a good week to do that.”
The Islanders were coming off Friday night’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers at UBS Arena that left coach Patrick Roy saying he needed to do a better job of having his squad ready.
“We’re right there in the standings,” Roy said. “I know they have a game in hand on us, but it’s not the time of the year where you’ve got to feel sorry for yourself. You’ve got to go out there and play and refocus for the next game. It’s not good timing to lose four in a row. I get it.”
Roy altered his lineup, inserting defenseman Isaiah George for Adam Boqvist for the first time since George was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on March 26, with defenseman Ryan Pulock taking Boqvist’s place quarterbacking the second power-play unit.
Max Shabanov was reinserted on Brayden Schenn’s line after being a healthy scratch the previous seven games and having played only twice since Jan. 31. Struggling Ondrej Palat was dropped to the fourth line, with Kyle MacLean coming out of the lineup.
Shabanov gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 2:15 of the second period, taking Cal Ritchie’s feed to the left post to beat goalie Brandon Bussi (Sound Beach). It marked Shabanov’s first goal since Dec. 27.
But the Hurricanes’ onslaught in the offensive zone was relentless, and Jackson Blake tied it at 2-2 at 11:15 of the second period off Logan Stankoven’s feed. The Islanders’ first power play turned into the Hurricanes’ NHL-leading 12th shorthanded goal as Sebastian Aho took Seth Jarvis’ feed to finish a two-on-one rush.
The Hurricanes out-attempted the Islanders 61-13 through two periods.
“That’s the way they play,” Pulock said. “They play a pressure system. We know they’re coming. You’re trying to make quick plays and get pucks out. Usually when you come into this barn, you know you’ve got to win an ugly one. I thought coming back on a back-to-back, we competed all night, but they were just all over us.”
Jarvis lifted a one-timer over Sorokin’s glove to make it 4-2 just 24 seconds into the third period.
Marc Gatcomb, coming out of the penalty box, gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:17 of the first period as he got to the right post to knock in Simon Holmstrom’s cross-ice feed off the rush. But defenseman Sean Walker sprung Jarvis past Pulock to tie it at 1-1 at 11:07 of the first period.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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