Islanders News: Shocking position at Thanksgiving weekend

Well, I don’t think anyone could have guessed that this would happen: an eight-game losing streak only seventeen games into the season.

This is certainly not where I thought the New York Islanders would be at this point of the season. Yet here they stand, coming off a 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, getting shut out by Tristan Jarry. Tristan. Jarry. The guy whose spirit they broke only six months ago. He stopped by to return the favor.

So, the Islanders finish their first homestand at UBS Arena at Belmont Park still in search of a win there. They have not won a game since November 6 on the road against the Winnipeg Jets. They have not held a lead since their twenty-three-second lead in Tampa Bay almost two weeks ago.

Making matters more frustrating, as Bleuchz noted on Twitter, the process actually hasn’t been terrible. But the shooting luck dried up just as the lineup fell into shambles, and neither has recovered. Basically the Murphy’s Law of NHL seasons.

Islanders News

About last night:

• Mark it eight, Dude. [LHH]
• Jarry gets a shutout. [NHL]
• Wasted a gem from Ilya Sorokin. [3 Takeaways]
• The only goal he conceded was to Kasperi Kapanen off the rush. [Rapid Recap]
• The Islanders did play better than they have recently, but it wasn’t enough. [Newsday]
• They probably belong there in last place. [NY Post]
• A lot of interesting notes in the NYI Skinny. Among them: The Isles have been outscored three to one on their power play in November; this is the first 0-4-0 home start in Isles history; only the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets have lost more games to open a new venue than these Islanders; never has a Barry Trotz-led team lost eight in a row.
• And Trotz sounds like he’s out of answers right now.

Moving on:

• Josh Bailey is out of Floridian quarantine and skated with the team yesterday morning. He wanted to play, but Trotz did not feel he was ready. [Newsday]

• The Isles’ morale is apparently not as low as the fans’ morale is, but those slumped shoulders at the final horn last night say otherwise. [Newsday]
• This Day in Isles History: The Isles debut their first-ever third jersey, the orange starfish, sported here by Michael Peca. They skated to a 2-2 tie against the Ottawa Senators (2001).
• Trotz has COVID concerns about the 2022 Olympics. [NY Post]
• The now-depleted Bridgeport Islanders lost to the Providence Bruins last night at home. [B-Isles]

Elsewhere

Yesterday’s and last night’s NHL scores include the Predators knocking off the Devils in regulation and the Hurricanes providing the same fate to the Flyers. But the Rangers came back to beat the Bruins in regulation.

• At the end of the Rangers-Bruins game, Artemi Panarin threw his glove from his bench at Brad Marchand on the Boston bench. Marchand had a pretty good quote about it. [Sportsnet]
• And Panarin got fined for it.

• Less than halfway into his four-year deal with an AAV of $6.2 million, the Senators are waiving Matt Murray. Oof. [Fourth Period]
• Drew Doughty is inching closer to a return. [NHL]
• Ondrej Kase’s mother wants him to be more careful. The oft-injured forward has other ideas. [TSN]
• The Wild won the other night against the Devils despite getting stuck in New Jersey holiday gridlock. [The Athletic]
• Sharks GM Doug Wilson has taken a medical leave of absence. [NHL]
• Some Thanksgiving power rankings from Canadians. [Sportsnet]
• DGB answers some questions like “are the Montreal Canadiens bad?” and “who’s sadder: Sabres fans or Canucks fans?” [The Athletic]