It’s just one game out of an 82-game schedule so let’s not make a mountain of ice chips over it.
But Wednesday night’s match against the Bruins at UBS Arena to continue a seven-game homestand is one the Islanders should win if they are the kind of team they believe they are and the playoff contender outside observers are starting to trust they can be.
It will be their third and final match against the Bruins and the Islanders (13-8-2), who are 1-1-0 on the homestand, have yet to beat them. The Bruins (13-11-0), without Brad Marchand and long without Patrice Bergeron, were not expected to be among the Eastern Conference’s legitimate playoff contenders this season But they’re hanging around after a rough start and the Islanders could wind up vying with them for a wild-card spot.
In that context, two points on Wednesday matters very much.
The Islanders are banged up, with defenseman Alexander Romanov (right shoulder/injured reserve) out for five-to-six months and third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body) out on a week-to-week basis. Fourth-line center Casey Cizikas missed Tuesday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center for maintenance and coach Patrick Roy took a long beat before saying yes when asked whether he expected Cizikas to be available against the Bruins.
So possibly stay tuned there. Kyle MacLean would be the next next-man-up for the Islanders.
But the impressive thing about Tuesday was the Islanders actually practiced, something they hadn’t done since Nov. 12 in Las Vegas. The schedule has been rugged since as they navigated three time zones in a 6-1-0 road trip, then returned to Long Island for a 2-1 loss to the Blues on Saturday and a 1-0 four-round shootout win over the Kraken on Sunday.
Now, the Islanders should finally be rested and out of scramble mode after taking Monday off from skating.
“It was kind different today,” Roy said. “We haven’t practiced. The key was working on things we think we have to do well tomorrow against the Bruins and I thought we accomplished that.”
That would include getting more traffic to the crease, a specific issue against both the Blues and Kraken. And, as always, there was more power play work. The Islanders are in an 0-for-19 rut over their last six games to fall to an NHL-worst 10-for-75 (13.3%) even as Roy expresses his “love” for the entries and offensive-zone puck possession time.
Still, the Islanders have won three of their last four and, to circle back to the original theme, should beat the Bruins on Wednesday.
“I think getting Sunday changed the mood of the weekend,” captain Anders Lee said. “It was a tough one on Saturday. It was a tight game and we came up short. But to rebound and play a solid one on Sunday — obviously it was a light-scoring affair — I just think our game in total was a strong one and we found a way to win.”
That’s something the Islanders have not been able to do against a middling Bruins’ team despite numerous chances to do so.
Again, part in parcel why completing the task this time seems crucial.
The Islanders lost 5-2 in Boston on Oct. 28 despite leading 2-0 after a dominant first period. Then, the Islanders stopped getting pucks deep into the Bruins’ zone and started taking penalties. The Bruins came into the game on a 1-7-0 skid and with rookie coach Marco Sturm criticizing his team after a loss the night before in Ottawa for not buying in.
“We fell asleep for half a period and it cost us the game,” Bo Horvat said after the loss in Boston.
In many ways, that kickstarted the Bruins’ renaissance. A 4-3 shootout win at UBS Arena on Nov. 4 also was very helpful to their cause as the Bruins rallied three times after the Islanders took one-goal leads. Marat Kuhsnutdinov beat goalie Ilya Sorokin — Wednesday’s expected starter — at 15:06 of the third period to force overtime.
It will be interesting to see if there are any lingering hard feelings over Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov’s heavy-handed hit on No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer in the second period of that game.
However Wednesday’s match unfolds, the Islanders need the two points, even if this is just one of an 82-game schedule.
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.