Don’t Panic Over Islanders Losses to Buffalo Sabres
After two dominating wins against the New York Rangers and a clinched playoff spot for the third consecutive season, the New York Islanders battled the Buffalo Sabres for two games.
In both contests, the Islanders found themselves up by two goals. However, the Islanders in both games surrendered their two-goal lead and ultimately fell, costing themselves the opportunity to collect three additional points against an inferior team.
After back-to-back losses to the NHL’s biggest dumpster fire this season, the Islanders look swagger-less, and in fans’ eyes, doomed for an early first-round playoff exit.
In their division, the Islanders now sit in fourth place. They will most likely have a playoff matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Washington Capitals.
In the first loss, Jean-Gabriel Pageau was out of the lineup, and in the second loss, Mathew Barzal was out of the lineup.
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Barzal and Pageau being out of the lineup is not the reason the Islanders lost. The loss was because the Islanders did not come out of the gate with any fire. Their defensive play was sloppy and the team played with no heart. The Islanders also ran into a hot rookie goaltender, just having one of those games where no matter what the Islanders did, they were not going to score.
However, panicking over these two losses, even though horrendous, would be jumping the gun. These two losses to the Buffalo Sabres are not going to determine how the Islanders will perform come playoff time.
The losses indicates a lack of desperation in the Islanders play. The losses are less indicative that the Islanders are a terrible team but more indicative that they are a team that has not found their playoff groove yet.
There is no need to panic and Islanders fans should always believe. If the Islanders do not raise their intensity over their next remaining games, there should be some slight panic. However, come playoff time, there is no reason to believe the Islanders will be shellacking on the ice and that every player will not be playing with every ounce of fire they have in themselves.
Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.
