The New York Islanders blew a third-period lead again on Saturday night, allowing their 3-1 lead to evaporate against the New Jersey Devils in a 4-3 overtime loss.
Related: Islanders Lead Evaporates In The Third; Lose to Devils 4-3 In Overtime
Through 40 minutes, the Islanders only found themselves tied with the Devils because of Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 19 of 20.
And, once the Islanders broke the game open with two goals in 1:56, courtesy of Dennis Cholowski and Brock Nelson to give themselves a 3-1 lead, it looked like the tide had turned.
The Devils refocused and got back to their game, scoring with 4:27 to play in the third before tying the game with 50 seconds to go with the empty net:
“The first 40 was not our best. We didn’t forecheck like we were capable of. We didn’t possess the puck offensively,” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, they had a lot of good chances. Ilya made some great saves for us, but in the third, we played hard, and we played well, and it’s too bad that we gave up a goal hitting our skate, and it went in.
“That’s bad luck. I know it’s cliche, and we repeat that, but it is what it is.”
This marked the third time this season that the Islanders led in a game but lost and the fifth time in 15 games that they had lost a lead at some point.
That empty-net tally was the third 5-on-6 goal the Islanders have allowed this season, the second most in the NHL, with two of three coming against the Devils.
The other came against the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-3 regulation win.
How do the Islanders break this prolonged habit?
“Well, first of all, it’s a matter of confidence. That’s the first thing, and secondly, we need to defend better around our net,” Roy said. “They pick up rebounds, so we got to find a way to box them out and put our hands on those pucks and do a little bit better job.”
“We can’t throw pucks away. We got to eat those pucks and swarm it and kill the clock. You play against the clock. When they pull the goalie, it’s a clock. It was a 1:06, I think, or 10, whatever it was, and you need to kill the clock. So, it’s don’t get rid of the puck, eat the puck if you don’t have a play, and these are things that I hope that the more we’re going to be exposed, the more we’re going to feel confident.”
Roy continued:
“I’m watching a lot of teams; they’re successful because they’re good in those battles, they’re swarming well, and they find ways to eat the puck and find a way to battle for those rebounds and get those pucks out, and that’s how they score goals.”
Talking to the players postgame, one could tell that this blown lead and ultimate defeat stung more than the others.
“I’m glad of the way that we responded from the first half of the game and in the second half of the second and in the third,” Islanders forward Casey Cizikas said. “We played really good hockey after that first half, but that one stings. Really wish we could’ve gotten two there.”
The Islanders had been playing great hockey as of late, winners of three straight entering Saturday’s showdown with the Devils, wins that came without the entire left side of their defense and two-thirds of their top line.
And with a five-game road trip upcoming to Western Canada, Seattle, and Detroit, heading onto a long flight with a four-game winning streak was huge, something they were 50 seconds away from accomplishing.
Instead, it’s a deflating loss with Connor McDavid up next.
Through 15 games, the Islanders have had the lead 14 times but have failed to hold that lead 11 times, losing three games.
The team’s struggles with holding leads, losing 23 games in 2023-24 in which they had a lead, was supposed to be a thing of the past after a Roy training camp.
According to MSGSN statistician Eric Hornick, seven of those 23 games were lost after Roy took over for Lane Lambert on Jan. 19.
Call it a trend, one that needs to end if the Islanders are to consistently succeed in the NHL.
