New York Islanders fall back out of playoff spot with bad loss to Jets

The New York Islanders started hot, but cooled off quick in 4-2 loss to the Jets on Thursday.

Brock Nelson was back in the lineup for the Islanders on Thursday.

The Islanders got off to a quick start and just 38 seconds into the game Adam Pelech wristed a shot from the point passed Connor Hellebuyck to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. It was only the second goal of the season for Pelech.

John Tavares continued the hot start but couldn’t finish a couple golden opportunities in front of the net. Hellebuyck looked shaky and the Islanders were pressuring him from the very start.

The Jets found their legs and settled into the game after a rough start. At the 9:22 mark of the first, Nikolaj Ehlers rocketed a shot from the point that took a sharp deflection off the post and went right to Bryan Little who tapped it into a wide-open net. Thomas Hickey and Travis Hamonic both went to block Ehlers shot, leaving Little all alone.

Josh Ho-Sang brought the energy again in the first, but the Islanders went 0-2 on the power play in the opening frame.

The Jets power play on the other hand was sharp in the first. With less than five minutes to go in the period, Hickey took to a penalty and Winnipeg capitalized. Little found the back of the net for the second time of the period and the Jets had their first lead of the night.

The Jets took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

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As furious as the Islanders played in the first the second was not kind to them. They came out sloppy and let the game get out of control.

An awful line change led to an odd man rush for Winnipeg and Mathieu Perreault put up the Jets up 3-1. There were too many mistakes throughout the whole period and the Islanders left Thomas Greiss out to dry way too many times.

Minutes later Nick Petan would score for the Jets to take a 4-1 lead but Doug Weight and company challenged for offside. It was a good review and there was no goal on the ice. That seemed like a great turning point if the Islanders planned on coming back and getting themselves back into the game.

It did not work like that.

The Jets continued to dominate, controlling play in the Isles zone for minutes at a time. At 11:31 the Jets stormed the net and after a flurry of chances Adam Lowry buried the puck and this time Winnipeg led 4-1 for real.

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It was a horrid period for the Islanders who were booed off the ice. They were lucky to come back against the Hurricanes on Tuesday and would need another miraculous effort to save themselves in this one.

The Islanders have now allowed 12 goals in their last five home periods.

For the second time in the game the Islanders would start a period with a goal. 1:02 into the 3^rd Anders Lee would spin around in the Jets zone, giving himself a wide open land to beat Hellebuyck and score. Lee’s 26^th of the year brought the Isles within two.

The Islanders offense would push after the goal but even with a power play they failed to capitalized. They put themselves in position to have to score three in the third and although they played a solid period they couldn’t generate a comeback.

On a night where the Lightning played the Leafs this was an extremely disappointing loss for the Islanders who now fall back out of a playoff spot.

Next: Andrew Ladd One Away From 20

They will get their next try on Saturday when they take on the Blue Jackets in an afternoon matinee.