Depleted Islanders valiant effort not enough as loss to Panthers ends win streak at seven
SUNRISE, Fla.— Gravity finally caught up with the Islanders.For pretty much the entire duration of the seven-game winning streak that got snapped on Sunday, the Islanders have been accumulating injuries and winning anyway.
It was bordering on the absurd, and that was before Saturday, when the Islanders gritted out a win in overtime after Scott Mayfield and Mathew Barzal both limped up the tunnel.The Islanders deserve a whole lot of credit for rallying around the flag, fighting through all the injuries and putting together a January that saw them jump from the outer fringe of the playoff race to right in the thick of it.But the reality of their situation hit a whole lot harder after a 6-3 defeat to the Panthers on Sunday in which they nearly rallied to yet another absurd victory before finally running out of gas, ceding a hat trick to Carter Verhaeghe.This was about as much a scheduled loss as any game on the calendar — the second end of a back-to-back with their fourth-string goalie, Jakub Skarek, making his NHL debut on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champs, and with a laundry list of regulars out.
It’s not so much about the result, though it must be said that every defeat at this point deals the Islanders a blow in the standings.It’s about the big picture in which the Islanders are living, at least for the next week before the NHL takes two weeks off for the 4 Nations Face-Off.The club didn’t provide updates on Barzal or Mayfield on Sunday, saying they would know more about the status of both in 24 hours.But even if both return in time for Tuesday’s home match against Vegas (which would come as a pretty big surprise), the Islanders needed the layoff to start yesterday.Despite an excellent January, the Islanders still need to make up points to get above the playoff cutline.
They cannot tread water, but they’re missing the entire right side of their defense corps, their second- and third-string goalies, their most dynamic offensive playe...