The Stadium Series this weekend at MetLife Stadium was supposed to be a celebration of hockey for Metro New York. It was for the Metro Divison-leading Rangers, but it was something different for the struggling Islanders.
The Islanders blew a 5-3 lead in the third period and lost 6-5 in OT to the Rangers. It was the same old story for the Islanders–turning over the puck and being careless offensively, especially when under pressure.
That pretty much sums up the 2023-24 season. This team blows leads and loses games, and that’s a big reason why this is not a playoff team.
That, of course, was not the plan. The Islanders hired Patrick Roy in mid-season to replace Lane Lambert and jump-start a struggling team. But the outcome has been the same–shaky goaltending, defensive issues, penalty-kill problems, and offensive struggles at times. Roy has not been the elixir fans had hoped for, and one reason is the roster. This is an older, flawed team.
My take is that the Islanders have already seen their best days, and they went as far as they could in their recent Eastern Conference Final appearances. The roster has been around for a long time, so eventually, sustaining playoff status was not going to be in the cards. That situation started being apparent last year and hasn’t gotten any better this year. There wasn’t much optimism for the Islanders to start the season, and the Islanders tend to win two and then lose two straight in a wash, rinse, and repeat cycle.
On Sunday, the NHL showcased the Islanders in a national spotlight game, and what the nation saw were franchises going in different directions.
