Another week has gone by without a New York Islanders’ win — but they did get three points in three overtime and shootout losses. A favorable schedule ended with their losing skid reaching 11 games.

Dec. 2 – Islanders vs. Sharks

After a short halt to the Islanders’ season last week due to a COVID-19 outbreak, the Islanders resumed action against the San Jose Sharks from UBS Arena on Thursday night. The Islanders were looking to snap an eight-game losing streak. The Islanders’ top line came to play early on with Mathew Barzal snipping one past Sharks netminder Adin Hill to give the Islanders a lead 1:10 into the first. It was their first lead in 357:48, and their first lead at UBS Arena.

Later on in the first, the Sharks tied it up. After a scoreless second and third period, the Islanders and Sharks were off to overtime. 39 seconds into the extra frame, Erik Karlsson scored on Ilya Sorokin to win the game for the Sharks. The Islanders earned a point, which was their first in eight games, but still fell short. At this point, the Islanders were winless (0-4-1) in their new building.

Dec. 4, 2021 – Islanders @ Red Wings

A few days later, the Islanders traveled to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Red Wings. It was the first meeting between Detroit’s newest defenseman Nick Leddy and his former team. An early short-handed goal by Cal Clutterbuck gave the blue and orange a lead, but just 3:28 later the Red Wings tied it and shortly took a 2-1 lead in late in the first.

The struggling Islanders’ power play capitalized twice, with both goals being scored by Oliver Wahlstrom. After 60 minutes, the Islanders and Red Wings were tied at three each. Moritz Seider was the hero for the Red Wings in overtime as he beat Sorokin on a wicked one-timer. The losing skid hit double digits after this loss.

Dec. 5 – Islanders vs. Blackhawks

The Islanders and Blackhawks met on Sunday for the second time this season. In their previous dual, the Islanders won in dominant fashion by a score of 4-1. Unlike the Islanders’ previous two games, they found themselves trailing early on with a goal from Blackhawks’ forward Brandon Hagel on Semyon Varlamov.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a huge game-tying, power-play goal. Not only was it a big goal for the team but for himself as he has struggled to score.

In the third, the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead. With 2.3 seconds left, Noah Dobson tied the game at two with a blast from the point. For the third straight game, the Islanders were headed to overtime but this one required a shootout, in which the Islanders fell short. The blue and orange earned a point, making their third in three games.

Jacob

Writer for Drive4Five covering the New York Islanders.