The islanders fall in the usual manner; Lose to Ducks 3:1

The Anaheim Ducks (4-4-1) defeated the New York Islanders (3-4-2) 3-1 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. The Ducks have lost four of their last five games, going 1-3-1 over that stretch. On average, they conceded just over three goals per game in these defeats. The Islanders scored once, and it took 81 seconds of a 5-on-3 game. The Islanders’ last goal before Mat Barzal’s power play marker came more than 90 minutes earlier.

Lukas Dostal stopped 40/41 shots. Leo Karlsson, Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano scored for Anaheim.

The Islanders’ locker room refused to acknowledge the disappointment, except for Matt. Barzal. He made it clear that his game is far from acceptable, especially in a 5v5 format.

Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat preached patience and being watched. Horvath emphasized that this team believes in itself and has shown the ability to overcome adversity since he has been here.

The worst thing about this game is how familiar it is. The Islanders were not allowed into the game until tonight. three of his first six games. They outplayed teams just to score goals and give away free points. The Islanders’ special teams have been a major issue since the 2023 Carolina Championship. row. The power play failed and the penalty kill faltered and almost single-handedly eliminated the Islanders that year.

The focus during that off-season seemed to be on unit repairs. Instead, the Islanders came back and struggled with penalties last season while the power play remained mediocre.

Non-special teams:

This year both groups killed the islanders. Take today’s game for example, where the Islanders beat the Ducks 41-22. The power play got two opportunities in the first 40 minutes. They scored neither and didn’t even pretend to look threatening. Islanders head coach Patrick Roy changed his lineups every game, and nothing worked.

In the end, the Ducks crushed the Islanders 5-on-3 with two flagrant penalties from Frank Vatrano and Robert Fabbri. The Islanders had 81 seconds of 5-on-3 play and needed 84 seconds to finally score on the power play. Barzal passed the ball once to Horvat to give the Islanders life. In the end it didn’t matter. They won’t score again.

Meanwhile Pierre Engvall He played all of 9 minutes and 16 seconds tonight but managed to convert not one, but two penalties in the first 40 minutes. Yes, the calls could be weak. But the referees only whistled for him, and they both came as the Ducks forwards beat him down.

The Ducks scored on both occasions. The first came after Casey Cizikas failed to clear the ball and then Noah Dobson turned the puck over in his own net. On the second play, Mason McTavish yanked Dobson so hard that he stumbled while McTavish tossed the puck over the back door to a wide-open Troy Terry.

In the third period, a penalty brought one kill. The Ducks were up 2-0 and intentionally weren’t too aggressive on the power play. There was no need for this. They could afford a more sloppy power play after opening the score at 2/2.

After the game, Roy was cagey about his thoughts. Engvallciting his limited ice time. Moments later, Roy praised Hudson Fasching’s performance.

Fasching played almost two minutes less than Engvall. This tells you everything you need to know about what Roy saw in Engvall. Roy already mentioned Matt Martin meeting against Columbus. Don’t be surprised if it’s for Engvall.

Tsyplakov’s assessment:

The Islanders entered this season with five players ranked in the top six: Barzal, Horvat, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Duclair. Duclair suffered an injury, which opened up second place, which went to Simon Holmström.

Maxim Tsyplakov took sixth place. He was good. Tsyplakov makes beautiful passes and continues to grow. However, there are problems. He certainly slows the game down almost every time the puck gets on his stick. Sometimes it’s the perfect piece and it looks amazing.

At other times, the Islanders were really able to use speed in transition and in a hurry. Tsyplakov looks almost afraid to rush up the ice, preferring to stay away from the puck until he can score it.

Tsyplakov also misses a lot. He fired seven shots tonight. One hit the target. Three were blocked, and three did not hit the net at all. In the last six matches (including today’s), Tsyplakov has taken one shot on goal per game. Much of his passing came from Palmieri and Nelson, who led the team in goals with four each, but Tsyplakov needs to start moving the puck better in the offensive zone.

Holmström’s assessment:

Holmstromhowever, he can’t seem to get out of his way. Holmstrom will likely win the award for most disappointing Islander on the roster this season. It is clear that his hockey IQ is off the charts. He always takes the right position. This positioning is a big part of why he is so good defensively and why he is seen in the top six.

However, to be successful in this league as a top-tier forward, you must find a way to communicate your style of play to those around you. On the third line, Holmström circling the tops of the circle and getting open for a pass worked perfectly. Anders Lee will be in front of the net while Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Holmström have the puck.

With Barzal and Horvat, Holmström needs to get into goal more. Too often, he and Barzal end up on top of each other and end up turning pucks over. Tonight I really thought these two played their best game.

The biggest success came in the first period when Holmström made a fantastic play and sent the ball across the ice to Barzal at the doorstep. Barzal snorted and powerlessly sent the puck over the net.

Holmstrom’s main problem is hitting the net. Like Tsyplakov, he has an excellent throw. Like Tsyplakov, Holmström has to score a goal. Holmstrom sent seven goals into the net, as did Tsyplakov. One managed it. Five missed completely and one was blocked.

One big problem:

The Islanders’ problems become pretty clear when you put them in black and white. They have four players who are consistent scoring threats. All the opponents have to do is step on them and force the rest of the islanders to defeat them.

Overall, the Islanders are not difficult to play against. This has been happening since spring 2021. Three coaches, key trades and injuries. All of this led to the same grim problems with one root cause.

Nobody in the NHL is afraid of the Islanders. That is, the Islanders don’t have much respect for the goal threat. Teams had a healthy respect for the Islanders’ defense and penalty kill. This doesn’t exist either.

There are teams that earn a kind of respect when they walk into the building. When the New York Rangers walk into the building, they have respect for their team. Offense, defense, special teams, you name it. When teams play the Islanders, there’s none of that.

The way this manifests itself is quite simple. Teams are forced to challenge Rangers, which leads to mistakes that hurt the opposition. When teams play the Islanders, they can force the Islanders to beat them and sit back.

So the Islanders can play the way they want. The Ducks will allow them to outscore them 41-22, especially when the Islanders’ primary attack (for now) is dumping pucks from the blue line without much coverage. That’s the recipe for the Islanders: outplay their opponents and outscore them by a wide margin, but don’t score or lose.

Final conclusion:

The Islanders won three games in nine games. One against Colorado avalanchewhich at that time had a traffic cone online. Another one came against Montreal Canadienswhere the Islanders squandered a lead in the third period but won in a shootout. The last victory was against New Jersey. Devilswith another blown lead in the third period, but this time winning in overtime.

Losses? Unlucky lead and inability to score. Closing three times. 1-3-1 at home against only one playoff team last season. Rinse and repeat last season’s procedure.

The New York Islanders have not been a good hockey team through nine games. They have lost four of their last five. In October they play 1-3-1 at home in front of an increasingly frustrated and smaller crowd.

Since he took over Florida Panthers Down 3-0 in the first period, the Islanders were outshot 9-1. Tomorrow night they have a chance to stop the bleeding in Columbus, a team that just beat the Edmonton Oilers like a drum. The puck drops at 7 p.m.