What’s to Blame for Islanders Current (and Past) November Slump?

Nov 5, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

How can you tell it’s November in Islanders country? Mustaches and an Islanders losing record.

Coincidence? I think not.

It’s been said that the dynasty era New York Islanders were the first to grow playoff beards, setting the trend for future NHLers. However, it seems that the Islanders participation in Movember has created a curse.

That’s right, you heard it here first. The Islanders perennial November slump is caused by mustache curse.

As the Islanders rolled into November, fans across New York were holding their breath. At first, it seemed to be going well. With their faces still smooth, the Islanders won back to back games against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. Three days later, however, the hair started coming in thicker and the wheels fell off.

Loses to division rivals and teams below them in the standings began to pile up, with their only victory coming against the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout.

As the Islanders pointless streak continued and their lip-lettuce more noticeable, Captain John Tavares only made things worse when he became the face of Gillette Canada in spite of his mustache. Here’s what Tavares had to say when asked about the honor,

“I’m pretty proud of my mustache and my mom seems to like it. And if we’re being honest here, at least mine is better than Sidney Crosby’s.”

Well, Crosby must have heard the comment and when the Islanders visited Western Pennsylvania, as he made sure to show Tavares who’s boss by scoring late in the third to get the win for the Penguins to keep the Islanders’ November slide going.

With their mustaches at full capacity, the losing didn’t end there as the Islanders would lose three more times, including a 5-0 thrashing to the Red Wings.

Interestingly enough, as the Islanders got set to play the Washington Capitals on the last night of November, many of the players mustaches were gone or trimmed. The result? The Islanders got their first point in two weeks.

The curse had been lifted.