ST. LOUIS — The striking thing about the Islanders’ dressing room Tuesday night was that it was anything but triumphant.
Far too often this season, the Islanders have tried to put a happy face on a loss.
Tuesday, after beating the Penguins 5-4 in overtime, they refused to put a happy face on a win.
The first thing Mathew Barzal said to a group of reporters after recording the game-winning assist?
“Oh man, we really gotta figure it out late in games.”
No lies detected there, after the Islanders nearly issued a repeat performance of Sunday’s overtime loss to the Rangers, fumbling a 4-2 lead in regulation and letting the Penguins get away with a point in a game where they had control.
Adam Pelech’s first goal of the season in overtime meant the Isles left Pittsburgh unscathed, but this has happened often enough this season for the Islanders to know that is the exception, not the rule.
Fifty-five games into the season, the Islanders are also well aware of the standings — which have them tied with the Devils, four points back of the Red Wings for the second wild-card spot.
If they’re going to put together a run, it means the players in the room need to raise the standard.
“Just timely stuff,” Barzal said. “Even [with the score] 1-1, I take a bad penalty. It could easily go 2-1 there after we scored. It’s little things, we have to find a way to get rid of.
“I saw a stat today, actually, I think we’re fifth without having the lead, or something like that, in the league. And all the teams around us are top contenders. I mean, we really have to find a way, because we’re in every single hockey game. We really do have the lead a lot and gotta find a way to get over the hump. It’s nice to get the win tonight, but it shouldn’t have got there. Gotta find a way to be better.”
The Islanders do indeed rank fifth in least amount of time trailing, behind just the Bruins, Canucks, Capitals and Panthers.
That is a testament to both their own underlying talent and the way it has been tossed away through 55 games. Few teams in recent history have been more self-defeating.
Refusing to settle is a good step in changing that.
“I think the guys have started to understand. It’s like I said, it’s their team and I’m here to help them,” coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s a partnership. I love to see them involved. I couldn’t ask for any better from this group. This is a very nice group, they care and they want to win. So I love that.”
The Islanders’ next four games all come against playoff contenders — starting with the Blues on Thursday before the Lightning, Stars and Red Wings. Tampa Bay and Detroit, the two teams currently holding wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference, are of particular importance.
The time to think about building blocks and silver linings is over. The time to cut out bad habits and get down to winning has arrived.
The sloppy penalties and reversion to defending when holding a lead, in particular, need to be cut out. Barzal, who has taken two of those penalties in the past two games, put himself first in line on that front.
“Two stick penalties in the last two games just can’t happen,” he said. “Great for our kill to get that confidence. Obviously it’s been a little rough at times this year. But like I said, we gotta turn the page quickly, and I thought we did that on the Ranger game, which was a tough one. Came here tonight and we were ready to play.”
The gravity of the Islanders’ situation finally looks to be at the forefront of the dressing room’s mentality. Now they need the results to go with it.
“It feels good,” Cal Clutterbuck said. “But the reality of it is, we’ve got a long road ahead. We’ll enjoy it tonight and tomorrow we’re all about the next one. Obviously we’re gonna have to string some together.”
