Top 3 moments that Islanders looked foolish in 2019-20

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 13: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers takes the shot against Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden on January 13, 2020 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 6-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Thinking back over the 68 games of the 2019-20 season, on what three occasions did the New York Islanders look absolutely foolish?

This season had its share of blunders. The New York Islanders just haven’t been able to reproduce that consistent form that saw them put up 103 points last season.

Looking back at the 68 games played so far in the 2019-20 season, here are three times the New York Islanders looked absolutely foolish.

6-2 Loss to the New York Rangers

It was January 13, 2020, and it was the first time the Isles were going up against the rival Rangers. Islanders fans had been waiting months to confront their cross-town rivals and we finally got the chance halfway through the season.

The Rangers might have been able to land Artemi Panarin in free agency, at our expense, but we had a better team. And we wanted to show both Panarin and Rangers fans.

It all started off well. Jordan Eberle scored 18 seconds into the game. The Isles were all over the Rangers for the first few minutes into the game until Ross Johnston decided to fight Micheal Haley at 2:13.

Then before the puck can even hit the ice after Johnston’s scrap, Matt Martin and Brendan Smith got into it. Both would be done for the game after receiving a game misconduct for their fight.

That’s when the game would turn.

The Rangers would score six unanswered goals on the Islanders. Artemi Panarin would net himself five points with two goals and three helpers.

The Islanders looked completely lost against the Rangers. With Matt Martin being forced to sit out the rest of the game, the Islanders fourth line (the identity line) was completely missing. Prior to the meeting, both Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas were sidelined with injuries.

The Isles got absolutely embarrassed by their rivals and looked absolutely foolish for it. The Isles were supposed to be the superior team but that team absolutely didn’t show up on this occasion.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 18: Devon Toews #25 of the New York Islanders celebrates his second period goal against the Washington Capitals at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Devon Toews doing the Bird

Five days after that 6-2 loss to the Rangers, the Islanders had a big game on Long Island against the Metropolitan Division and league leaders Washington Capitals.

After that embarrassing loss to the Rangers, the Islanders needed a big win to feel good about themselves. Taking down the best team in the league would certainly help the players, staff, and fans feel better about their team.

By the end of the second period, the Islanders were running rampant over the Capitals with a 4-1 scoreline. But as the Isles put in their fourth goal against the Caps, goal scorer Devon Toews got too hyped and decided to do Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s famous celebration to mock the Caps.

Bad call.

The Washington Capitals would come into the third period with a huge chip on their shoulders. The 2018 Stanley Cup champions would not be mocked so easily.

In the third period, the Caps would put up five unanswered goals to take a 6-4 win over the Islanders. As Trotz would say after the game, the Isles poked the bear and paid the price.

However, #Isles Barry Trotz clearly was not a fan of D Devon Toews' goal celebration yesterday (didn't cite Toews by name). Said Isles "poked the bear" against Capitals. Not smart. Trotz also says not mature.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) January 19, 2020

Toews’s celebration wasn’t the only reason the Islanders lost, but it certainly didn’t help in the least. Devon Toews certainly must-have felt particularly foolish for his celebration.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 17: Mattias Ekholm #14 of the Nashville Predators (L) celebrates his go-ahead goal at 19:12 of the second period against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on December 17, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

8-3 Loss to the Nashville Predators

A month before the 6-2 loss to the Rangers the Isles welcomed the Nashville Predators to the Nassau Coliseum. With wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Buffalo Sabres, the Isles were getting back on track with a three-game winning-streak before welcoming the Preds.

Leading up to the game, Nashville and had gone 3-2-0 over their last five games and held a 15-6-2 record good enough for sixth in the Central Division with 35 points. They were also coming to the game after playing the Rangers the night before.

After going down 1-0 4:39 into the game, the Islanders were able to bounce back with a strong opening eight minutes in the second period. With goals from Brock Nelson, Derick Brassard, and then a short-handed goal from Casey Cizikas they were up 3-1.

With a 3-1 lead in goals and with a 10-2 lead in shots at that point in the period, the Isles looked like they’d cruise to a win. And then the Islanders folded like a house of cards. The Predators held a 7-1 shot advantage after Cizikas’s goal, scoring on four of those seven shots to take a 5-3 lead.

Not only did the Isles take their foot off the gas, but they made mistake after mistake. Two of the Predators goals in the second period came directly following a giveaway or takeaway.

Nick Bonino‘s goal to make it 4-3 would come off a Devon Toews giveaway, and Rocco Grimaldi‘s goal to make it 5-3 came from a Filip Forsberg takeaway on Adam Pelech.

Nashville would put up four unanswered goals in the second period and add another three in the third for an embarrassing 8-3 scoreline.

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This game alone showed us that no lead was comfortable for the New York Islanders. Going up 3-1 halfway through the game was never a sign that a win was imminent even though the Isles were 57-2-3 when scoring three goals under Barry Trotz before the loss.

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