Islanders News: Skid at 11, no solace in incremental progress

Well, here we are. It is Dec. 6, 30 days since the New York Islanders’ last victory.

Sunday night they did several of the things a team needs to do to have a chance at a win ... except finish, including the shootout where the coin never flipped for them, because this team largely cannot score.

As Barry Trotz said in post-game, there are things they’re doing that are better than they were at their nadir...but it’s a low bar.

They’ll try to end the 11-game skid Tuesday in Ottawa, where the Senators somehow have even fewer points than the Islanders, though they are coming off a 6-5 OT win over the Avalanche, because the Sens can score.

Islanders News

Here was Barry Trotz’s postgame. The coach said he liked a lot about the game — power play, work ethic, saves, continuing to fight — but it feels like 10 minutes of sadness:

• About last night: More misery for the Isles, nice conclusion to Chicago’s road trip. [LHH | Newsday | Sun-Times | Second City Hockey]
• Rummaging for silver linings: The power play, incredibly, provides some hope. [AM NY | Post]
• It was Semyon Varlamov’s first game since before the COVID pause; he looked pretty good. [Newsday]
• The latest former Islander to take over behind the Blackhawks bench, Derek King was happy to be back and take in the long-sought replacement for Nassau Coliseum. [Newsday]
• Coverage news: The Athletic announced that Kevin Kurz, who’s long been a great read on the Sharks beat, will now cover the Islanders. [Athletic]

Elsewhere

Lots of breaking news last night and this morning, with changes in Vancouver and Philadelphia. Here are the scores, which include the Flyers getting trounced in coach-firing fashion, and the Blue Jackets winning in regulation.

• Last night news broke that the Canucks were finally firing Jim Benning as GM. Travis Green is also out as coach. [Nucks Misconduct | NHL]
• It may be one of those cases where fan outrage reached such a fever pitch that the franchise had to make the firings now. [Sportsnet]
• Bruce is back! Boudreau gets the nod to coach the Canucks. [Vancouver is Awesome]
• The Flyers are firing coach Alain Vigneault [BSH | ESPN] after this horrifying blowout loss to the Lightning. [NHL | BSH]
• The Leafs’ point streak ended with what they called an officiating “gong show” in Winnipeg. [Sportsnet]
• Meanwhile, Connor McDavid was tossed with a major, and the Kings ran away with it against the Kings. [Sportsnet]
• Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is IR but only expected to miss about a week. [NHL]
• No cap shenanigans, just rehab: Nikita Kucherov is skating again with the Lightning. [NHL]