Islanders look to finish .500 on road trip when they face Leafs
Islanders center Mathew Barzal celebrates after scoring against the Stars in the second period of an NHL game Saturday in Dallas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
TORONTO – The Islanders have four players on the roster from the Toronto area and six who grew up in the province of Ontario, not to mention some coaches from the area. So Sunday’s day off was a chance to catch up with family members, something no longer taken for granted after the now-lifted border restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday, it’s back to business as the Islanders conclude a four-game road stretch against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena having lost at least two straight games for just the second time this season.
“We have an opportunity to go .500 on the trip and that’s what we’ll look forward to doing,” coach Lane Lambert said.
The Islanders (11-8-0) started the trip with a 4-2 win over the Senators before returning to New York for a day. Since returning to the road, they’ve lost to the Predators, 5-4, in a game the Islanders fell behind 4-1 before unsuccessfully trying to rally. The Stars scored three goals in the third period in Saturday night’s 5-2 win over the Islanders.
“It’s a tough road trip,” said Mathew Barzal, who scored his first two goals of the season on Saturday to go with his 19 assists. “We’re playing three really good teams. We came up a little short in the last two. We felt like we probably should have gotten a point or two in one of them. It’s going to be a good one (Monday).”
Overall, the Islanders are 4-3-0 on the road in November, a month in which they play 10 of 15 away from UBS Arena.
The Maple Leafs (10-5-4) are 7-2-2 at home and 6-1-2 in November after Saturday’s 5-2 win over the visiting Sabres. Ex-Islanders captain John Tavares has two goals and four assists in his last four games and 10 goals and 11 assists overall. He’s one of four Maple Leafs with at least 20 points along with Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and Auston Matthews. Barzal is the only Islander with at least that many.
The Islanders know to snap their losing streak, they must put together more of a 60-minute effort, rather than either starting or finishing well. Their defensive effort was leaky in the first period against the Predators and not good enough in the third period against the Stars.
“It ends up 5-2,” captain Anders Lee said. “But it was 3-2 late and we’ve just got to find a way to get one and limit just a few mistakes that ended up in our net.”
“I think we did a better job at the start,” Kyle Palmieri said. “I think we were on our toes and getting in on the forecheck and getting pucks in. There’s some stuff we can get better at. Clean up some stuff in the defensive zone. I think we can do a little better of a job limiting the chances.”
The Islanders’ longest losing streak is three games from Oct. 22-26, including road losses to the Lightning and Panthers.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
