In a game between two teams that have tried their best to hand a playoff spot to one another, it took the Red Wings 36 minutes to grab hold of the proceedings.
But once they did, Detroit parlayed that momentum into a 6-3 rout over the Islanders at Little Caesars Arena, extending the Isles’ losing streak to six with a defeat that will hurt more than all the others.
Going into Thursday, the Islanders could have all but erased the damage from their previous five games with a win.
Coming out of it, they are five points back of a playoff spot with 14 games left in their season, with not just the Red Wings ahead of them but also the Capitals — a deficit that is far from insurmountable in theory, but one that looks like a massive climb in practice.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted,” J-G Pageau told reporters. “One thing, there’s no quitters on this team. Everyone embraces the challenge. Gotta get ready to start a winning streak and that’s gonna be our mindset right now.”
The Islanders did not ever get close to doing that Thursday.
After a power-play chance followed Mike Reilly’s game-tying goal at 13:25 of the second, it appeared that the game might be shifting in favor of the visitors.
But not only did the Islanders fail to convert at five-on-four, they fumbled away the go-ahead goal themselves shortly after the power play expired as Ilya Sorokin left Christian Fischer’s rebound out for Andrew Copp, who swept it in unimpeded for a 2-1 Detroit lead.
Just 2:08 later, at the end of a long shift in which the Islanders could not get out of their zone, Dylan Larkin strolled into the slot unguarded to bang in a one-timer off Alex DeBrincat’s feed and make it 3-1, swaying the game’s momentum fully in the Red Wings’ favor.
Can’t happen. Keeps happening.
“That’s on us,” Reilly told reporters. “That’s not bad luck or anything. Just a couple breakdowns there.”
And instead of showing some resilience in the third period, the Islanders’ desperation looked like it was on life support. Just over five minutes into the third period, Copp made it 4-1, finishing a three-on-two break on which Islander forwards did not appear interested in backchecking.
Shortly thereafter, Patrick Kane easily finished off DeBrincat’s feed to make it 5-1.
Can’t happen. Happened again.
By the time Pageau and Brock Nelson scored within two minutes of each other to give the Islanders some momentum midway through the third, it was enough to make for some interesting six-on-five play after Sorokin was pulled, but not to put the game back into play. Larkin, in his first game back after injury, sealed it with an empty-netter at 16:15.
A slew of lineup changes, including moving Mat Barzal back to center, helped result in a choppy start where neither team took the reins during the first period.
But instead of slowly wading in before grabbing control, the Islanders ultimately handed the initiative over to the Red Wings, displaying a lack of desperation in a game that was easily their biggest of the season.
Coach Patrick Roy took an optimistic tact postgame, saying he liked the new lines and thought the team had played reasonably well.
He said, surprisingly: “I know the name of the game was winning. I would say this: Our guys played a really good game. You play the game again and I’m pretty sure we would win it.”
That cheery analysis aside, the result stood as a total indictment of the roster that the organization has repeatedly shown faith in over the last three seasons.
So too does the team’s 29-24-15 record that is only good enough to be in the playoff race because of the struggles of other teams.
Since they last won a playoff series in 2021, the Islanders have steadfastly avoided major changes to their roster and front office — though they have twice changed coaches — even as the results have repeatedly come up short. It would be hard to do so again if they don’t make the playoffs.
There is still time left for the Isles to reverse their fortunes before that becomes a real possibility. But a successful season looks further off than ever after Thursday.
“There’s no reason for them to quit, because they’re playing well,” Roy said of his team.
If that doesn’t become apparent in the form of wins soon, it’s not going to matter.
