Islanders: Three Takeaways from Disastrous Game 5 in Tampa

2 of 3

Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders were off their game from the opening faceoff on Monday night in Tampa and were obliterated 8-0 as a result.

Coming off a hard-fought Game Four win, the New York Islanders found themselves on the wrong side of a lopsided result in Tampa on Monday night.

Here are three takeaways from the blowout loss.

1. The Islanders Dreadful First Period Doomed Them

The old saying goes you can’t win a game in the first period, but you can certainly lose one. The Islanders’ first-period performance doomed them in Game Five before they ever had a chance to find their footing in the contest.

When the Islanders are on their game they’re clogging lanes, making smart, safe decisions, and disrupting their opponents’ zone exits and entries. We saw none of that early in Game Five, and Tampa Bay’s first two goals illustrate that perfectly.

There was a lot of talk about bad puck luck on the first two Lightning goals, but that seems to be a pretty disingenuous way of looking at things. The Islanders’ sloppy decisions created Tampa’s luck.

On the first goal, scored by Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, the mistake wasn’t one made in the defensive zone but rather in the neutral zone.

Fresh onto the ice after a D zone faceoff, Kyle Palmieri had an easy chance to rim a puck around the glass or dump it to the weak side and allow linemate J-G Pageau to chase it down. Instead, he opted to softly chip it off the near-side wall in an attempt to give Travis Zajac a chance to scoop up an area pass.

Instead, Tampa defenseman Jan Rutta got to the loose puck first, swung it back into the neutral zone and the Lightning easily entered the Islanders zone on a 3v4 situation. Stamkos ended up with the puck on his stick, and it wound up in the Islanders net just 45 seconds into the first.

On the second goal, it was more of the same sloppy mistakes with the puck. Leo Komarov found himself with an easy opportunity to get the puck across his blue line, but opted to hold onto the puck, and was checked off it. From there, Tampa’s Yanni Gourde carried it low and attempted a cross-crease pass which redirected behind Semyon Varlamov off a sliding Andy Greene.

In isolation, you could make the argument that Tampa’s first two goals were solely the result of good fortune. With context, we can see that they were a combination of some random good fortune and Islanders mistakes that created the opportunity for some lucky bounces to go Tampa’s way.

Regardless, the Islanders lost a game. That’s it. One single game. Whether the score was 1-0 or 8-0 it still counts the same, and that means this is still a series. Don’t give up on this team yet, there may yet be enough magic left in them and the old barn in Uniondale to force a Game Seven.

2. Status of Mathew Barzal for Game Six

How the Islanders will rebound from this 8-0 Game Five defeat is not so concerning. They’ve shown an ability in the past to bounce back from lopsided playoff losses in a respectable fashion, and there’s no reason to think they can’t do that again. But potentially doing so without the services of their best forward? That’s a different beast to tackle all together.

Last year the Isles gave up 8 goals to Tampa and lost 2-1 in the next game.

Against Boston they lost the first game 5-2 and won 4/5.

Against WSH in 2015 they got obliterated in G5 and won G6 at the Coli

Against PIT in 2013 they got obliterated in G5 and lost the next in OT..
— Carey (@habermetrics) June 22, 2021

That may be the reality New York is staring in the face after Monday night.

Mathew Barzal cross-checked the Lightning’s Jan Rutta in the face after Monday’s second period had come to a close, and he’ll almost certainly be facing a meeting with the NHL’s Player Safety Department on Tuesday. That meeting will ultimately have a tremendous impact on how Game Six at Nassau Coliseum goes on Wednesday.

With their season on the line will the Islanders be able to push forward and force a deciding Game Seven in Tampa? Will that even be enough to get Barzal back into their lineup, or will this be a multi-game suspension?

Obviously, it’s too soon to tell, but what’s certain is Barzal absolutely cannot be tangling up in stuff like this at the end of periods. The Islanders center has always played with a chip on his shoulder, and that’s not a bad thing, but when it crosses a line and could potentially lead to a suspension in a crucial game, it becomes an obvious problem.

I don’t know if you can really call Barzal’s play dirty, as it seemed like just your routine stick jousting duel when it began. I wouldn’t say the intention there was necessarily nefarious on Barzy’s part, but again, the DoPS’s opinion on that will hold a lot more weight here than mine.

Oliver Wahlstrom #26 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

3. Is it time for the Islanders to make a Lineup Change?

Oliver Wahlstrom was shown sitting in the press box on NBC Sports’ broadcast of Game Five, and it made me wonder whether we’ll see him play in Game Six at Nassau Coliseum with the Islanders’ backs against the wall.

Wahlstrom’s inclusion in Game Five’s lineup may or may not have made a difference in the game’s outcome. That point was argued online by several Islanders fans all throughout the game. But certainly, something can be said for rolling the best lineup the Isles have at their disposal in a Game Six win or go home situation.

That isn’t to disparage the lineup Trotz has fielded since Wahlstrom’s injury either. The Isles have won two series and finished each of their first two opponents in six games with this lineup.

That said, Wahlstrom pretty much undeniably brings more upside to any potential lineup than Travis Zajac (who could probably use a night off anyway) or Leo Komarov.

Wahlstrom’s rate of individual expected goal (ixG) creation per 60 minutes was better than any other Islanders player between mid-March and early April, and he outperformed his xG totals in that time by scoring 5 goals on 3.81 ixG, according to Evolving Hockey.

There’s also a case to be made that Trotz could go back to Michael Dal Colle in Zajac or Leo’s place. MDC has borne the brunt of a lot of disdain from the Islanders fanbase, and he certainly lacks the potential upside of Wahlstrom, but one thing he does really well is forecheck.

MDC’s rate of recovered dump-ins per 60 minutes was second highest on the Islanders throughout the regular season, according to Corey Sznajder. In a series which has seen both teams so heavily rely upon forechecking to create offense that’s a potentially valuable asset to have in your lineup.

Whatever Barry Trotz ends up doing with his lineup for Game Six, I think the fanbase having some faith in his decision is owed to him. He’s transformed this team from a core of underachievers to a group now in their second consecutive Stanley Cup Semi-Finals. Let’s just wait and see what he decides to do with this group on Wednesday night.

Home / Editorials