RALEIGH, N.C. — Maybe don’t book your playoff tickets just yet.
The Islanders still hold the first wild-card spot. They still should make it.
The odds still favor them. But over a weekend back-to-back when winning one game would have made them a virtual lock, the Islanders instead not only dropped both, but got badly outplayed twice.
That Sunday’s edition came against a potential first-round opponent in Carolina is icing on the cake, as the Hurricanes beat the Islanders 2-1 in a game that was only that close because of goalie Ilya Sorokin’s brilliance, as Jordan Martinook netted the winner.
“Chances for us,” coach Lane Lambert said, “were few and far between.”
To be exact, the Islanders finished with four high-danger chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Pierre Engvall skates with the puck during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes. NHLI via Getty ImagesIn some ways, this was a worse performance than the previous night’s 5-0 loss to the Lightning. At least in that one, the Islanders outshot Tampa.
On Sunday, the PNC Arena ice was tilted from puck drop.
The Islanders repeatedly mishandled the puck in their own zone, giving Carolina high-danger chances on a platter and, not for the first time this season, having no answer whatsoever for the Hurricanes’ high-intensity forecheck.
Most damning, in Game 78 of 82, the Islanders did not seem to know where their own teammates were, resulting in constantly misplaced passes, especially in the defensive zone.
“We just gotta focus on getting pucks in deep and getting pucks into good spots where we can forecheck,” Ryan Pulock told The Post, pointing out another area where the Islanders were inadequate on Sunday. “When we did do that and we were able to get on forechecks, we were able to turn pucks over.”
Despite Carolina doubling the Islanders up in shots on net through the first 40 minutes, the game was tied at one going into the third, courtesy of Sorokin’s standout play and Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s goal in the first period on a feed from Pierre Engvall.
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jesse Puljujarvi goes for the rebound against Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConBut less than three minutes into the final period, Carolina made the Islanders pay. Martinook’s wrist shot beat Sorokin on a two-on-one rush, leaving the Islanders 17:29 to regain some offensive momentum and tie the game.
Even when given their second power play of the game, as Carolina’s Sebastian Aho went off for cross-checking with 4:36 to go in the match, the Islanders could not capitalize.
Bo Horvat got the lone shot on net for the Islanders over the two-minute span with Frederik Andersen successfully fighting it off.
Sorokin was the only thing standing between the Islanders and a blowout.
It’s no secret that he will be the biggest factor to them winning, or competing in, any playoff series. That’s not going to change with four games left in the season.
But Sorokin can’t be perfect — as evidenced by a rare error on Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s goal, which trickled through him at 9:27 of the second — and needs more support than he got this weekend.
Otherwise, it will be a quick exit for the Islanders in the playoffs, if they do get that far.
Even with the uncharacteristic mistake, this wasn’t a night when there was any way to reasonably blame the goaltender for this loss, in which he stopped 33 of 35 shots.
Making his second start in 23 hours after getting pulled in Tampa, Sorokin was once again hung out to dry.
Stefan Noesen attempts a between-the-legs shot during the third period against the New York Islanders. NHLI via Getty Images“Sometimes, you just have to muck it out of your own zone,” Kyle Palmieri said. “They’re not always gonna be pretty breakouts. There’s gonna be pucks off the glass and rims that end up in skates. You gotta find a way to get it out of your zone.”
After the Penguins beat the Flyers, they are just one point behind the Islanders with a game in hand.
The Panthers will have a chance to move within one point when they face Buffalo on Tuesday.
To get to the playoffs, the Islanders need to score — they have done so just four times in their past three games.
More than that, they need to generate sustained momentum offensively, a task that is nearly impossible when the power play is a black hole, having scored just five times since Mathew Barzal got hurt, and when even breaking out of their own zone looks as hard as it did on Sunday.
Whatever the standings say, these are non-negotiable characteristics of winning hockey.
And right now, the Islanders don’t have them.
