As encouraged as coach Barry Trotz was by how his New York Islanders played Sunday night, he also knows moral victories won’t help the club climb back into the playoff picture.
The Islanders will look to snap their first losing streak in almost two months Tuesday night when they oppose the Ottawa Senators in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders dropped their second game in a row Sunday when they trailed wire-to-wire in a 4-3 defeat against the visiting Minnesota Wild.
The Senators began a back-to-back set Monday, when Tim Stutzle’s goal with 38 seconds left in overtime produced a 3-2 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
The Islanders fell due to multiple missed opportunities, as they outshot Minnesota 43-21, including 18-5 in the third period. New York had five shots after pulling goalie Ilya Sorokin with a little more than two minutes remaining but couldn’t get the tying goal.
“I thought we played a helluva hockey game,” Trotz said. “I’m sure they’re happy with the win on the other side, but they know that they’re leaving here feeling like they stole it, I think.”
The loss dropped the Islanders to 10-6-1 since an 11-game losing streak from Nov. 7-Dec. 5. New York is 17 points behind the Boston Bruins, who sit in the final Eastern Conference wild-card position, but the Islanders have five games in hand on the Bruins.
“We lost wiggle room at the start of the year,” Trotz said. “We’ve got (45) games left, so I can’t tell you what the other teams are going to do, but obviously we’ve got to gain some ground.”
Thanks to a 4-15-1 start, the Senators lost their wiggle room even earlier than the Islanders. Ottawa, which is on pace to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season, has 32 points, tied for the third fewest in the NHL.
However, the Senators have been a thorny foe for contenders over the last 19 games. In that stretch, Ottawa went 10-6-3 while recording wins over a trio of first-place teams — the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche — as well as two victories over the Oilers, who could have moved into a tie for the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot with a win Monday.
The game against the Islanders on Tuesday provides a unique challenge for the Senators, who can further dent New York’s playoff hopes while getting the chance to play in front of a full house during their first visit to UBS Arena, which opened in November.
Ontario’s COVID-19 capacity restrictions began easing Monday, when a crowd of 500 attended the game against the Oilers. It was the first time Ottawa has played in front of fans at Canadian Tire Center since Dec. 11.
“Tonight was great — even a few fans was exciting,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “We’re going into New York (on Tuesday), where it’s going to be loud and they’re going to be screaming. Our guys have never played there. It’s an all-new element.”
–Field Level Media
