What went wrong on the NY Islanders road trip?

There was hope the NY Islanders would come out of their longest road trip of the season on a positive note, maintaining striking distance of the playoffs with some of their top players nearing a return from injury.

A third period comeback against the defending Western Conference Champions in their first game of the trip stole the Islanders a point, followed by their best performance of the season against the Vancouver Canucks, seeing the Islanders earn a quick three points. But from there it was all downhill. Yielding one point in their final three games, the Islanders ended the trip last night with one of the most deflating losses of the season.

Same old story

It's been a similar story to last season, with blown leads dominating the headlines, and this road trip is no different.

The Islanders allowed only thirteen goals over the 5-game trip - an average of 2.6 goals per game. Looking from afar, you'd expect the Islanders to have been successful on their West Coast swing. But the timing of those goals was the killer. Of the 13 goals allowed, 10 were during the third period or overtime. but 10 of those goals came in the third period or overtime.

While they haven't been able to close games out in the third, they've had plenty of opportunities to bury their opponents earlier in the game, but could never extend their lead, with last night being a prime example as they carried a one-goal lead for nearly 50 minutes.

"Scoring a goal could change the rhythm of the game," Patrick Roy said after last night's loss. "In Calgary, or here (Detroit), or St. Louis - all the games we lost by one goal, I guess that could have made a difference."

The Isles have 19 points through 20 games - a pace that won't be good enough to make the postseason. But the Eastern Conference is struggling as a whole, and the Islanders sit just two points out of playoff position. On the other hand, they're just three points off from being in last place in the East.

The Isles head home for three games starting Saturday, where they'll need to pick up some points in their home arena.