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The New York Islanders' game against the Seattle Kraken scheduled for today has been postponed, as a result of a weather-related state of emergency. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday.
New York’s most recent game came against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, as they fell 3-2. New York went down early in the first period against the Kings, off Quinton Byfield’s first NHL goal and only registered a total of three shots in the entire opening frame. The Islanders did have a much better second period where they were getting the better of the chances, but ended up allowing another late goal with just six seconds to go in the period, off a shot by Andreas Athanasiou. New York did try to press a bit in the third period, but it took until there was only about two minutes left to play for Mathew Barzal to get the Islanders on the board. Adrian Kempe would make it 3-1 on an empty net goal and while Casey Cizikas did get a late goal to make it 3-2, that’s where the game ended.
Now with the Islanders’ game against the Kraken postponed, the Islanders’ final game of the month comes tomorrow against the Minnesota Wild.
Something that’s become apparent during the Islanders’ recent stretch is that while they can pick up points against teams outside the playoff picture, as they should, once they encounter a more difficult opponent, they struggle. This was evident again in their loss to the Kings.
During their stretch after the break, the Islanders have gone 7-3-0. It’s an impressive stretch, but also look at their results based on quality of competition. Their wins have came against the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. Of the bunch, the Oilers are the only team with a points percentage above .500 and even they rank just ninth in the Western Conference (in points percentage). The Islanders have only faced three teams in the last 10 games who sit in the top 15 in the league in points percentage, being the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, and they’ve lost every game.
So tomorrow’s game against the Wild will be another good test. They Wild have been one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season, but the Islanders can’t squander chances to pick up points on home ice.
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