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The New York Islanders dropped both of their games this weekend, falling 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, then 5-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
The losses mark a five-game losing streak for the Islanders, as they continue to stumble to the finish line this season.
The loss to the Sabres was a disappointing effort, with New York managing only 11 shots through the first two periods. The game was tied at 1-1 through 20 minutes, until Buffalo scored three second period goals, leaving the Islanders in a huge hole. Noah Dobson and Kieffer Bellows each scored to briefly make it a one-goal game in the third period, but a goal from Jeff Skinner sealed a 5-3 win for the Sabres.
The Islanders also gave up six power play opportunities and while the Sabres only capitalized on one for them, they’re not going to get much going offensively while spending that much time down a man.
It was a better showing against Carolina yesterday and even though the Islanders ended up down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, they managed to battle back and tie the game in the second frame. However, they got nothing going in the third period, managing only five shots and a goal from Max Domi, followed by two empty netters later on resulted in a 5-2 loss for New York.
It’s a poor way to be ending the year, after the Islanders looked a lot better for a good stretch of games last month. Even if it was clear the team was missing the playoffs, it’s still a pretty dull way to enter a long offseason and doesn’t raise much hope that it was mainly a poor first half of the year.
The Islanders now have just three games remaining, with a road game against the Washington Capitals tomorrow, followed by a back-to-back where they’ll play the Capitals at home on Thursday, then a final game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.
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Quizwiz OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Islanders sweep home-and-home against Blue Jackets, shut out Rangers Cory Schneider, Jean-Gabriel Pageau lead Islanders to win over Devils Islanders' offense slows down as five-game road trip comes to an end Mike Bossy passes away at 65 Islanders continue to struggle vs. tougher competition, sign William Dufour