The New York Islanders can’t get any sort of rhythm of going. That’s more because of the current climate of the world than it is their actual play on the ice.
A 3-2 overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers on New Year’s Day was the ninth time in the last 11 games that the Islanders — who are trying to dig themselves out of a hole created by an 11-game losing streak — have collected at least a point.
The problem is that Saturday’s tilt at UBS Arena was just the second time in 13 days that the Islanders played a game.
Following a shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 19, the Islanders — along with the rest of the league — were put on pause with an elongated holiday break after COVID surged throughout the NHL.
That break was extended even further when their game originally scheduled for Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings was postponed, too. But they came out well the following night against the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 victory before taking down Connor McDavid and the Oilers in extra time — the first time in seven tries the Islanders won a game that went beyond regulation (1-6).
It’s the first time since Nov. 4-6 that the Islanders had won consecutive games which continued to provide an inkling that the team is ready to make a push up the standings despite notable absences such as second-line center Brock Nelson (COVID) and top defenseman Ryan Pulcok (lower-body injury).
In typical, recent fashion, however, the Islanders are looking at another lengthy break after their west-coast swing against the Seattle Kraken (Jan. 4), Vancouver Canucks (Jan. 5), Oilers (Jan. 8), and Calgary Flames (Jan. 11) was postponed with Western Canadian teams not admitting any fans in their arenas.
The Islanders are next scheduled to play on Jan. 13 against the Devils, which gives them an additional 11 days off. That means the Islanders will have played just twice in 24 days.
“We’ll have a plan in place. This is a real good opportunity for us,” assistant coach Lane Lambert, who filled in for head coach Barry Trotz (personal reason) on Saturday, said. “We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup with COVID and injuries. This is a chance for us to get healthy and press forward because we know it’s going to be a real sprint to the end for starters but it’s also going to be demanding with the number of games we’ll have.
“We’ll structure it well where they have work time and they have time to rest as well but I think it’s a moment for us to seize this as an opportunity.”
When asked about their sporadic schedule, both captain Anders Lee and second-line winger Anthony Beauvillier — both of whom scored in Saturday’s win over Edmonton — provided identical answers.
“It is what it is,” they both said.
“You don’t have much control over that kind of thing,” Lee continued. “You try to get in a rhythm, you try to get things going and starting to feel good and you string a couple together. But this is what’s presented to us and the schedule that’s in front of us is set a little bit.
“We can take this time to work on quite a few things, get healthy… and take on the rest of the year without interruptions.”
Due to a season-opening 13-game road trip scheduled to allow the completion of UBS Arena and multiple COVID outbreaks amongst their ranks — the Islanders have had 16 skaters and coaches test positive for the virus over the last five weeks — only the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche have played fewer games than New York’s 28 this season.
“It’s been a weird season for everyone, right? We’re just going to take the time off if we don’t have any games and make the most of it,” Beauvillier said. “Get ready, get prepared, get stronger. It’s really all we can do. We have to take it the right way, take advantage of this time, and keep working on our game.”
There was some frustration that seeped through, though.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s never easy really,” Beauvillier continued. “You want to get the momentum going and have games and play and get points… It’s the world we live in. It happens to other teams, too.”
