There are seldom meaningless NHL games in March, but for the Islanders every recent game has felt like a life-or-death affair.
Following a franchise-record nine-game road trip, an eight-goal meltdown against the Hurricanes on Monday and the redemptive heroics the following night in Raleigh, the Islanders needed an easy win.
What better opponent for that than the Jets, who came to Brooklyn having lost four straight?
And yet, after the Isles took an early lead, Winnipeg took control and never looked back in a 4-2 victory. The game never was particularly close, as the fatigued and frustrated Islanders clearly still were recovering from their brutal road trip.
“We looked like a tired team,” interim coach Doug Weight said. “We looked like a team that practiced twice in the last 25 days — which we did.”
The Islanders showed urgency out of the gate, and it only took Adam Pelech 38 seconds to put a John Tavares pass into the Jets’ net. They actually looked like the better team for much of the first period, outshooting the Jets 11-7 and managing some excellent chances.
“You always kick yourself when you have five or six great opportunities to make it 2-0,” Weight said. “We had the power play, we had four or five really good opportunities, we had a lot of jump.”
But just as in Monday’s drubbing, in which the Isles also took an early lead, things went downhill quickly once the energy disappeared. Jets forward Bryan Little scored twice before the first period was over, and Mathieu Perreault made it 3-1 just three minutes into the second.
After a fourth goal was called off via replay, Jets center Adam Lowry made up for it, giving Winnipeg a 4-1 lead.
Anders Lee attempted to make it interesting with an unassisted goal very early in the third, and Ryan Strome was inches from pulling the Isles within one. They had plenty of chances as the game wound down, managing 10 shots in the third, but the Jets were able to salt it away for their first win since March 4.
“We just dug ourselves into another hole, which we’ve kind of done lately,” Tavares said. “Sometimes we’ve come out of it, but it’s hard to do that game in and game out.”
Cue desperation mode for the Islanders, as their playoff hopes took another hit. They are a point behind the Maple Leafs for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card.
“It’s a good thing to be in these games, that you have to lay it on the line, that you feel like you have to win,” Weight said. “But with 12 games remaining, and the circumstances we’re in, everyone wants to do a little extra, and it becomes detrimental.”
With as a brutal five-game stretch against the Blue Jackets, Rangers, Penguins, Bruins and Predators looming, the Isles are in danger of falling further out of the playoff picture if they can’t find some consistency down the stretch.
“You’re not going to win one, lose one, win one, lose one and think you’re going to the playoffs,” Weight said. “We have to step it up, and find a way to win eight or nine games.”
The Jets are far from elite competition, and it will certainly get a lot harder over the next five games.
“At this point in the season, you have to be able to rebound,” forward Anders Lee said. “Good teams are coming into our building, and we have to be ready to go.”