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The Islanders have five weeks to start proving general manager Lou Lamoriello right for standing pat at Monday’s trade deadline.
They’re 1-for-1.
The Isles started off what will be a long last leg of a season in which the games will hold meaning for few outside their own room with a 3-0 win over the Senators on Tuesday night.
Though Cal Clutterbuck, one of two trade candidates who the Islanders committed to by giving contract extensions at the deadline, remained out of the lineup with an unspecified injury, the team continued a recent good run with a bounce-back victory.
“We believe in this group,” Scott Mayfield said on Tuesday morning. “It’s nice to see that vote of confidence from management as well.”
Following Tuesday, the Islanders are 27-25-9, a record that Lamoriello clearly sees as a result of external issues that derailed them early in the season more so than a fundamental flaw in the roster. Certainly, a 13-game road trip followed by a COVID-19 outbreak to start the season was not ideal. But Lamoriello’s belief will be tested — not just in the next five weeks, but next season, as the Islanders are more or less committed to bringing back a similar roster in 2022-23.
The contest against the Senators was befitting of two teams out of the playoff race in late March.
The crowd at UBS Arena was sparse. The game was lacking in energy. If this is any indication, it is going to be a long end to the season.
It took until the third period for anything of note to occur — the teams combined for 33 shots on net through the first 40 minutes and high-danger chances were few and far between. The Islanders and Senators alike had the look of teams with one eye on the calendar.
Just how disinterested did they look? At one point in the third, as the Senators passed the puck across the blue line, it hit off the skate of an Ottawa defenseman, bouncing back down the ice. It felt something like a symbol of how the night was going.
Ironically, the Islanders broke the deadlock a few minutes later, with Scott Mayfield cleaning up a rebound from Brock Nelson at 9:49 of the third. Anders Lee added an insurance goal at 17:25, cleaning up a loose puck in the crease, and Zach Parise made it three with an empty-netter in the final minute.
Mayfield’s first goal since Jan. 21 helped the Islanders walk away with a win, as did a shutout effort from Semyon Varlamov, who finished with 24 saves. Those facts, as well as two points, will make them happy. It’s hard to imagine much else from Tuesday will do the same.
Prior to the game, the Islanders spoke about their goals — finding some consistency, winning as many games as possible and proving that they can continue the success this group has had in the past.
The more important test won’t come until next season.
But right now, the Islanders are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. And even if their play was uninspiring on Tuesday, that is a fact in which they can take some much-needed solace.
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