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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Isles have played worse games this season. There’s no debating that. Saturday night, for a good two and a half periods, was probably uglier than what we saw Monday in Washington. And yet, this one stuck with me a little longer than most — not because it was a disaster, but because it felt like a missed opportunity.
That’s a different kind of frustration.
This wasn’t a night where the Islanders were overwhelmed or outclassed. It was a night where things just didn’t break their way, and where they didn’t do quite enough to force the issue when chances presented themselves.
The offense remained uneven and hard to predict, and when they finally scored, it came in a fittingly strange way — Mathew Barzal cashing in on an assist from Capitals winger Tom Wilson.
Sometimes hockey writes its own punchlines.
At the other end, David Rittich wasn’t quite at the level he had been when the Islanders needed him most earlier in the season. Two goals in the second period — ones he’d probably want back — changed the tone of the game. Two quick strikes can do that, even on a night where the overall effort wasn’t lacking.
"To be honest, I thought we didn't give them much tonight,” said Anders Lee. “They got two in a minute, or whatever that was (31 seconds). I don't think that's a team epidemic type of thing. It’s one of those tough games where we played solid,” Lee said. “4-1 sounds worse than it was.”
