Islanders regaining identity, but it’s likely too late to make playoffs

The Islanders talked for therefore lengthy about discovering their id that it virtually turned summary.

The staff that made its hay with a checking fourth line, carrying down groups into exhaustion and making it inside a sport of the Stanley Cup finals final 12 months — that was gone. These Islanders have been a poor facsimile. A slower, sloppier, error-prone copy.

That was the case for lengthy sufficient that the staff will possible be a vendor at subsequent week’s commerce deadline, and that barring a whole miracle, it’ll miss the playoffs this spring.

But lastly, forward of Thursday’s sport towards the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the Islanders have discovered one thing resembling the id they’ve so usually preached.

“I think just playing more Islander hockey, what we’re used to,” Noah Dobson advised reporters Tuesday evening following a 4-3 shootout loss at Washington. “I think when we’re playing that way, we got all four lines chipping in, all six D and we get great goaltending. I think it’s been more of that consistently.”

Dobson couldn’t put his finger on why that’s been the case currently, however any impartial observer will again up his assertion.

The Islanders have gotten factors in 4 straight, successful three in a row in regulation for the primary time all 12 months forward of the loss to the Capitals. In Washington, they fought again to tie the sport and get a degree at six-on-five earlier than failing to attain in time beyond regulation.

Dropping factors to the Capitals — the staff they’re ostensibly attempting to overhaul for the final wild-card spot — isn’t a perfect consequence. But a 19-point hole between them makes it clear that, at this level, the main target is as a lot on simply enjoying higher and proving they’ll nonetheless attain a excessive stage as it’s attempting to make the playoffs.

The Islanders gained’t outwardly admit that their playoff chances are high cooked — they’re a aggressive group, and till the mathematics says in any other case, they’re technically nonetheless in it. But they’ll learn the standings like anybody else.

“We’re competing,” Anders Lee advised reporters. “We’re in every game. Top to bottom, I think we’ve all played pretty solid hockey from the goalies on out and we’re just trying to continue to put these good games together. And when you start getting results and you start feeling good about yourself and your team game, then things start to come a little easier.”

Few individuals in hockey anticipated the Islanders to move to Madison Square Garden for the primary time this season because the staff squarely out of the playoff race, going through a Rangers staff that expects to make a postseason run.

But, a minimum of, the Islanders go into Thursday feeling good about their play. If nothing else that stands in distinction to the primary rivalry matchup of the 12 months, again in November, when the Islanders have been within the midst of an 11-game dropping streak and performed a lineup full of AHLers because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

“We couldn’t put a full 60 consistently playing that Islander identity,” Dobson mentioned. “And I think we’ve just been doing a better job of that as of late.”

For the following six weeks, the Islanders can play with that in thoughts, understanding that even with out the playoffs, they’ll show to themselves that their id remains to be intact.

“You want to know where you stand, you want to know the guy next to you’s gonna be with you when the bullets fly and from now until the end of the season, we’ve gotta have each other’s backs,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz advised reporters Tuesday evening. “We gotta be in the foxhole with each other. And just leave it out there and just see what happens.”